My man

Dave reached a new milestone today...a new decade!

That grants me bragging rights...right? Below are 30 random things about Dave...in no particular order.

1. As a child, he had the most amazing imagination. He was convinced that he was Mickey Mouse and Spiderman.

2. He got his first 4.0 GPA in Graduate School.

3. He can name the brand of a hearing aid from many feet away. (These are made by Microtech...if you were wondering)

4. He looks dreamy in a shirt and tie.

5. He's horrible with names - so don't feel bad if he forgets yours...

6. He's a very hard worker.

7. He's very quick on his feet....even at 30.

8. He LOVES Jell-o.

9. He served his mission in Salt Lake City.

10. He's a great dad!

11. He's one of the humblest people I know.

12. He really likes black licorice - which I find to be super gross.

13. He slept through the 6.7 Northridge earthquake.

14. He absolutely hates weed whackers.

15. He's a published author...of his dissertation

16. He's a stellar athlete.

17. He's a very content person - he wants for nothing.

18. He has superb money skills.

19. He despises Q-Tips. (but I still use them)

20. He's a very jolly person - he's always singing or whistling

21. He's not the biggest fan of the water.

22. He laughs in his sleep.

23. He is not a morning person.

24. He really loves our pigs...I mean dogs.

25. He's brave - he's willing to try almost anything...food, skydiving, you name it.

26. He was the only guy in his entire class in graduate school

27.He loves the Los Angeles Dodgers.

28. He's extremely supportive.

29. He's my best friend and a good, good man.

30. He is wondering if I am almost done with this because he wants to go to sleep.

Happy Birthday Dave.

Love you.

Another year

Well, since I have been absent for so long, I should have something extremely exciting to post, but I have put my camera charger in a very special place...so special that I can't remember where that is. I am sure I will come across it when I actually clean my house this week. Three weeks of constant partying has caused me to neglect my housekeeping duties.

So...I thought I would reminisce about the past year - I celebrated another birthday a couple of days ago which caused me to think about everything that happened in my glorious 27th year.

Since I turned 26...

I have lost 38 pounds...yes, it's true...but only because on my birthday last year I was 8.5 months pregnant with an 8 pound 11 oz baby

Which means that in the last year I have given birth...just 13 days after my birthday last year

I watched my husband graduate with his doctorate degree - Hallelujah!

I have gone back to school to finish my bachelors degree

I have moved...into the house next door

I have started running every day (thanks for the motivation Sharlene)

I celebrated my 6th wedding anniversary

I got a new sister-in-law

I lost the tail light on my van...which I'll probably get a ticket for...I should take care of that...

I sent my "baby" to preschool

I spent many hours volunteering in that preschool which I loved.

I didn't see one snowflake (yay for me)

I completed my "Year Supply" :)

I didn't exactly get full coverage sunscreen on Bradley's nose last week while we were at the beach which caused 2 noticeably large blisters which are now scabs...sorry my son

I thought I was clever enough to give Brooklyn a beautiful haircut...which she is still recovering from

I decided that I would never again give Brooklyn another haircut - it's worth the $12 for someone who knows what they are doing

I have completely avoided (at all costs) potty training Jack...do you think if I wait long enough that he will just train himself??

I have started to actually go to bed at a reasonable hour and get up early - very much out of character for me

I have thought about developing some kind of hobby since I am a very hobby-less person - but, alas, I haven't done it.

Well, I guess that will do for the year. I am one year older, and hopefully wiser too. Let's see what 27 brings.

Look Mom!

"Look Mom, I'm Jack in the box."

Very clever Jack...I wonder where the previous contents of that box have been dumped...

Look who's on the move

My baby boy has decided that it's finally time to crawl. I use the word "finally" loosely as I was really in no hurry for him to crawl, and was actually a little bit grateful that he was taking his sweet time, but knew that it was about that time (and I didn't want to get chewed out by the pediatrician for him being late)so I'm proud of him for figuring it out. Now I just have to figure out what to do with the slightly larger boy in the background of this picture (aka Jack) who is a little frustrated with Bradley's new found freedom.

Bradley has been awfully cranky the last couple of weeks (which is TOTALLY not like him) due to his frustration of not being able to move. So, even though this means I will have to make sure all ingestible items are picked up off the floor, I am happy for him (and me) that he is back to his normal cheery self. He is such a delightful little fellow but doesn't get much blog time so here's another cute picture of him just for fun.

10 months old

A trip to the Fire Station

I was able to go on a field trip to the fire station with Brooklyn's school. We walked all the way from the school. My jab was to stand in front of the mailboxes so that 22 oblivious 4 year olds wouldn't go home with someones address imprinted on their forehead.

The fireman had Mrs. Herman dress up in his fire gear. The kids thought that was pretty hilarious.

Sorry, this is a little blurry but here is the whole class about to be run over by a fire engine.

And of course, it wouldn't be a true field trip without a picture of Brooklyn with her buddy Logan.

We had lots of fun. Thanks to Stephanie for watching my boys so I could have a fun time with just Brooklyn. I really think that I was destined to be a preschool teacher...or maybe just a preschooler...it is so much fun being with these cute kids!

More birthday

Grandma came to town so we decided to really celebrate Jack's birthday. The measly little cupcake on his actual birthday wasn't quite celebration enough. So, as per Jack's request, we made a train cake. I debated for a long time on how I wanted to do it but finally decided to let the kids be involved and we would do a train cake gingerbread house style.

Hard at work. Each of us had our own train car to decorate...although I think more of the candy went into our bellies rather than on the cake.

Here's the birthday boy with the finished product.

Sorry, I'm too lazy to turn this picture. Just tilt your head to the right for a top view of the Birthday Express.

3 whole years

Would anyone like to know what I was doing 3 years ago today? I was cuddling my brand new baby boy! (and looking terribly pale)

Jack Timothy Bowen

7 pounds 4 ounces

This one is my all time favorite picture of Jack!

This boy is a classic. Without a doubt he is the spice in this family. I can't get enough of his charming personality. It's hard to believe that he's already 3! We love you Jack!