March...and April

I'm behind as usual...again.

Rather than a lengthy post I think I'll stick to some photos to recap the highlights. :) Forgive me for taking the lazy approach.

A bunch of us got together for a little bowling to celebrate Joy's birthday.  It was a lot of fun, and we definitely need to do it again soon. 

A birthday morning is as good as Christmas morning for this cow-licked duo. Since we planned to head out to FL on the boys' birthday, we promised them an early start and managed to squeeze a lot into their day. 

We were planning on a birthday party for the boys, so I promised them a big Angry Birds cake for it. I had no intentions of throwing together a cake before we were scheduled to leave, but the look on Ben's face when I told him no cake was enough to make me feel like poo, so this is what he and I came up with. Ben did all the decorating himself. 

Regardless of the sad circumstances for our FL visit, we had absolutely no problem enjoying the beautiful weather and our wonderful friends' company while we were there. I was really grateful for the opportunity to spend so much time with Emma. Her personality is something else, and I thoroughly enjoyed all the time I had with her.

Brandi asked me to make a birthday cake for her mom, Debbie's, surprise party. Debbie is a huge Disney fan, and I was excited for such a fun theme. After returning home and feeling a little down, this was a wonderfully fun distraction. 

We got incredibly lucky this year and have been enjoying pretty mild weather now for a couple of months. It's fun to be in a home where we get seasonal surprises for the first year. I had bulbs to plant in the fall and waited too long and missed my window. I was happy to see the last tenants had some planted some and we were treated to a flower bed of tulips. We also had the most gorgeous (and unfortunately super stinky) blossoms on the tree in our front yard.  

Another Canfield member joined the world. Preston James was born on April 8. I'm so excited to meet him in May. :) Congrats again James, Brooke, Jaydaka and Madison!

I was all excited for clear skies and a reasonable hour to view the lunar eclipse. I was awake but had set my alarm in case I dozed off....good thing I went out early to check if things had started because I had looked at the wrong time zone and nearly missed it.

I was in the worst of moods before I started the boys' birthday party cake and was no mood for making decorations or hosting a party, but after I got started on these figures for it and saw the boys' excitement grow with each one I finished, my spirits lifted tremendously. :)

While D and the boys went on a fishing trip with my dad to Lake Powell, I headed out to MN to spend some time relaxing and talking the ears off of my dear friend Lyndsay. One of these days I'll figure out how not to be such a chatterbox! 

Zach has no problem pooping and peeing wherever, whenever. He layed down some serious stink in a bucket on the boat during their fishing trip, and it was so bad that Ben puked over the side of the boat.

Minnesota

Our original plan for visiting my friend Lyndsay in Minnesota was slightly delayed, so I'm thrilled that we were still able to make it happen. We spent most of week hanging out at her home with her family, and we had an awesome time! If you were to transplant our old single 20-something selves into the same situation, we probably would have been bored to tears...I guess our idea of fun has changed quite a bit since spouses and kids have entered the picture.

I don't think Evy quite knew what to think of these crazy boys at first. 

Lyndsay and her hubby Bud's home was situated in a great spot that made me feel like were miles away from anyone else. Their home is this super cool modified dome house that's huge, and the property surrounding it is equally as great. There was plenty of room inside and out, and the only time we ventured out was to a couple of nearby parks. 

Our time hanging out was easy and relaxing, which pretty much mirrors Lyndsay's personality perfectly. I love being around her, and our visits are too few and far between. It was great to be able to spend some time getting to know her husband a little better and soak up Evy, who is growing up way too fast! The boys were also thrilled with their time with Alana when she was with us. If it weren't for my parents, who were anxiously awaiting our visit, we would have loved to stay for another week.

I've always joked with Lyndsay about never visiting her in the winter, but after our time there, I would be more than happy to visit her anytime of the year. 

Thanks Lyndsay and Bud for opening your home to us and for the wonderful hospitality! I loved our visit, and hopefully we'll enjoy another one before too long. 

18 Days into 2012

I've been slacking....over half the month is already over!

The boys and I got bugs as the year started, and we're finally sounding human again first thing in the morning rather than that cough-up-a-lung sounding cough. I forget how really awesome it is to feel well until I get sick. Unfortunately I can be a really grouchy sick person, and I think Darius had about enough of me.

My parents came to visit and just left us yesterday. We really enjoyed having them stay with us, and the boys of course love the extra love and attention. We mostly just hung out and did what we normally do when they're not around. We visited the park, fed the ducks in our pond, had a pizza night with the Bacon's, and went to the Y. Mom gave the boys haircuts, Darius and Dad got a couple rounds of golf in, and Mom helped me with some sewing projects.

Haircut - Day 5

Turkey Lake Park - Day 6

Fishing Turkey Lake - Day 6

After the time we spent living with my parents in Cordova, we've come to really enjoy our visits from them. It's nice having them around, and we were sad to see them leave. And speaking of Cordova.... whoa that's a whole lot of snow we just dodged! I feel for what the residents are going through, but I'm so relieved we moved when we did.

Here's an old photo from the back porch of my parents house in December 2009. That's a lot of snow to me, so it's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that this amount is just a fraction of what they're up against.

During our visit with my parents we had to make a quick trip to Louisiana. My parents actually booked a cruise out of Cape Canaveral leaving the same day as we did, and returned the day after we got back. It was a special treat for the boys to see both sets of grandparents a day apart considering where everyone lives. It was a long drive there and back, and the trip itself was packed full. We enjoyed our time with Margaret and Alfred, and then we took the time to drive down to the Leesville area to visit with Darius' friend Randy. We finally got a chance to see the burger restaurant he opened a couple of years ago, and he treated us to lunch there. We spent the evening watching the Saint's game at his business partner's home, had some great barbecue, and shot skeet. I had my first experience shooting a shotgun, and it was fun!!

Louisiana - Day 14

After picking up my parents from their cruise, we headed over to Cocoa Beach. We spent a good part of the day there, and met up with my friend Lyndsay and her family in the afternoon for a few hours. It wasn't the best beach weather, but we all had a really good time.

Cocoa Beach - Day 15

Day 18 we dropped my parents off at the airport, and in the evening we had Lyndsay and her family over for dinner. They're here visiting Orlando for a week, and I'm so happy that we had the chance to meet up with them while they're here. I haven't seen her since her wedding and since then she's had a baby, who I was super excited to meet. She's got a great little family, and I really enjoyed our time with them. 

Something special along Lake Superior

Lyndsay's and Bud's wedding was held at the Lutsen Resort along Lake Superior. It was incredibly beautiful! After a couple of drinks to unwind from the long drive from the airport, followed by a nap in the car, I woke up just in time to meet up with the girls who were headed down to the lake. There was a bonfire on the shore of the lake and I had the chance to meet Lyndsay's friends and family. Everyone was so nice and so much fun to be around.

I was fortunate enough to be able to stay at the last minute with 3 super awesome women! Jack, (who was the only one there I already knew), Mel, and Karen. Lyndsay stayed overnight in the room with us and we had a little jacuzzi party, drank margaritas, and had some good quality girl talk. It had been years since I had seen Jack and about 2 since I had seen Lyndsay. Some of my most memorable single days include my adventures with Lyndsay and Jack. It felt so great to be there with them.

The day of the wedding I didn't know what to expect. I thought I would end up being in the way, but instead I was fortunate enough to be able to help out a bit. Curling hair may not seem that exciting, and it may seem silly, but I was as happy as a pig in poop to be curling my friend's hair on her wedding day.

The wedding itself was very simple and very special which reflects Lyndsay all the way. I was so incredibly fortunate to be present. Lyndsay is just an awesome person, and there's no other way I could ever make anyone who doesn't already know her see that about her, aside from just stating it. I don't know Bud except from what I've heard about him from Lyndsay, but I have to believe that he's a very good man in order for him to have Lyndsay as his wife. I'm so very happy for them both, and I wish them all the very best that marriage has to offer.

And to my friend and partner in life: Darius, there's no way I can adequately express how extremely grateful I am to you for graciously handling up on the boys and giving me the opportunity to be there at my friend's wedding. I have some very special memories now that I'll have with me forever, and you're at the root of them. I love you, thank you!

Lucky me!

The Thursday before last we had planned on flying out of Cordova with the Bacon's as far as Seattle. They were scheduled to leave the following morning back to FL, and we had plans to fly to MN for my friend Lyndsay's wedding. The flight load to MN went from good to terrible in about a week, and we knew there was no way all 4 of us would make it there in time for the wedding let alone get home in time for Darius to be back to work. Since Darius already had the time off from work he volunteered to stay home with the boys and at let me try my luck on the flights. He didn't like the idea of me traveling alone but knew how important it was for me to be there. Lucky me for having such an awesome hubby!

Getting to Seattle almost didn't happen for the Bacon's. The rest of my family were actually traveling with us on the same flight, and we ran into a little issue when we stopped over in Juneau. Turns out the flight wasn't fully booked, but the plane was loaded down with so much fish that they were going to bump the Bacon's from the flight. Joy was headed down to Seattle for just the weekend and volunteered to be bumped instead so that they wouldn't miss their flight in the morning. I guess her empty seat was enough for the weight and balance to be just right, and the Bacon's were able to continue on to Seattle. Lucky me for having a thoughtful sister!

That night after arriving in Seattle I parted ways with Michael, Patti, and Dylan. My flight out in the morning was so early that I had planned to just stay overnight in the airport. My parents instead talked me into staying in their hotel room. I have generous parents, lucky me! In a few short hours I was up again and back at the airport waiting on standby for the first flight out to MN.

I knew ahead of time that the flight was pretty much full and that it would probably mean I wouldn't get a seat unless someone didn't show. Sure enough an agent told me that the flight had checked in full, and she would add me to the standby list for the other flight out to MN that day. I was asked to stick around the gate until it was boarded. I'm so glad I did because someone didn't show, and at the last minute I was handed a boarding pass for the last seat on the plane. Lucky me!

Thank You

It's been a full year now since I've started this blog! I'm actually surprised I've kept it going, even more surprised that I have enjoyed it as much as I have.

It was my brother Eric's blog that first sparked my interest in starting a blog, and then all the extra motivation I needed came in the form of offspring. Having kids really does flip your life around in one direction or another. I have such a terrible memory and there are so many years where I can't accurately recall so many of the things that I would like to. Last year I attempted to start Ben's and Zach's baby books and became so frustrated with trying to fill in the gaps of all the 'firsts' that I forgot to write down. My memory is bad enough that I'll forget the date my boys started walking if it's not noted somewhere. I want Ben and Zach to have something to look back on when they get older because there's a good chance they may inherit my bad memory.

Life is unpredictable and, although it's unpleasant to think about, it can run out at any given time. I want to make sure that I take the opportunities I have to save my family's memories as they happen. When I'm old and senile I hope to have a very full blog of memories to look back on. I hope that I'll look back on this entry year after year to remind me why it's important for me to keep going.

Aside from my selfish reasons for this blog, it's important to add that I also keep it up for all our awesome family and friends. This blog has been a great vessel for me to share with everyone what goes on in our lives. For those of you that regularly check this blog (you know who you are) a great big THANK YOU!! I think of all of you each time I post a new entry and knowing that you care about what's going on with us gives me the extra push I sometimes need to post a new entry. I appreciate so much all the positive feedback and comments you share with us! We love you all! Thanks again for sharing the past year with us. I'm looking forward to many more!

And to my friend Lyndsay...Happy Birthday!