Yes, they really did say that

I haven't had much time to post a proper post but the kids have said some funny stuff lately so I thought I'd post that in the interim.

MJ: I had realized an hour before Annabelle's Mommy and me swim lesson that I didn't shave my legs. So I quickly unwrapped an electric razor I had gotten a year and a half ago in the hopes that it could bail me out (batteries needed 24hr charge so no luck!). Anyway MJ excitedly helped me open the package and when he found the little cleaning brush exclaimed, "Wow, Cool, A tooth shaver!"

Annabelle: I accidentally got to school (for MJ) 20 minutes early. I let the kids play on the playground till other students arrived and then I asked them to come back and wait with me. After playing Annabelle said to me, "Thank you play. Really fun!"

MJ: In my bathroom this morning he went to hang up a washcloth on the towel rack instead of the hand towel I usually have. A perplexed MJ said, "Wow, this towel rack is getting really high!"

And my favorite...
Annabelle: I was going to the bathroom and she handed me a book and called it, "privacy."

MJ's school picture

MJ had picture day at preschool today. The photographer was someone he knew pretty well and surprisingly he cooperated. Perhaps it was the bribe of "special candy" that the other kids didn't get if he smiled! Guess that's the perk of living with the person taking your picture! So here it is!

Happy Anniversary

8 years ago today (bah, I clicked post 3 minutes before midnight so perhaps this should read 8 years ago tomorrow!) I married the most fantastic man anyone could ever hope to meet. We had no idea what was to come and here we are 8 years later, best friends, parents, partners, and so much closer than we were the day we married. Ideally we'd spend this day together, privately celebrating the best and most important choice we've made in our lives. However current circumstances dictate that we must either acknowledge it in a less conventional way or wait until our reunion and celebrate then. Well I just couldn't let the day pass without celebrating it. Since Mike's card is on the counter, and gift...well, I don't have one, I decided to just post some pictures to remind us of our special day and the life we have created together since then.

"No matter if there's mountains you can't move Or harder times then you thought you'd go through And the weight of your world's too much to bear Just remember I'll always be there Long as I live Long as I breathe With every heartbeat I'll need you near me I won't leave you behind' Til the Lord says it's time to go with him I'm yours long as I live"

Partners no matter where we are!On our honeymoon when we found out just how daring we both were.

Getting the chance to be together during a deployment and standing on an erupting volcano.Bringing our first child into this world and forever changing the way we see ourselves and each other.

Enduring more time separated but growing closer still.

Being reminded just how sweet it is to be together.

Spending the night away from MJ for the first time. A first I need not admit, but you know what it was, as do far too many of your workmates!

Being blessed with a second healthy child, a daughter, who again changed the way we see each other and ourselves.

The blessing of having a family to count on, to support you, to lift you up, to celebrate you, to encourage you, and to love you unconditionally.

So my gift to you is just a simple thank you for choosing me, committing to me, not just on

that day but every day since. Your commitment to our marriage and our family is evident to everyone who knows us. But most importantly it's evident to me. Happy Anniversary. I love you!

Hanging out with Odge

MJ and I got to die eggs on Friday. I'm glad he asked about it because I was going to let this year pass by and not do it. He wouldn't have it. He was actually insisting because they did it at school (bad me forgot to send him in with his eggs and was bailed out by another parent who knew someone like me would exist!) and Annabelle dropped the eggs on the floor so we had to eat them. Funny though, MJ wanted to eat the eggs immediately after we colored them. That was fine with me, I think it was the first time all the Easter eggs didn't go bad in the fridge!

Wondering why MJ was dressed like Peyton Manning? Well the answer is obvious. I asked him to go get dressed so we could go to a sporting goods store to look for bathing suits. Wearing sports clothing was the obvious choice, if you are a 5 year old! He was so cute and so proud of himself. I think he got that it was funny too. That's what I get for sending him up on his own to get dressed. We went just like that (well we added a long sleeved shirt underneath.

And then MJ got dressed up for the races...he had his neck support, helmet, goggles, and fire retardant gloves. Heat rises, right? Guess he didn't need shoes.

Living with MJ is a challenge. He's tough. He doesn't listen. He doesn't pay attention. He's totally infuriating. But moments like these make those moments bearable. It's hard to stay mad at a kid dressed like that! And I love him.

Happy Easter

So the Easter Bunny managed to dig out our Easter baskets from a box stacked almost to the ceiling of our garage. Tough bunny, should give him a raise. The contents of the basket were a hit. The kids had mostly candy for breakfast. It was tough to just sit back and let them eat what they wanted, but I did for the most part. I tend to find the vast majority of holiday candy staling in the pantry. I remember thinking as a kid that my parents were strict with candy and then I remember being able to scarf down my Easter candy without explicit permission so I tried to be open to that. MJ's been really interested in volcanoes recently. I guess it's cause he can see Mt. Rainier from the car and we've talked about them a bit. Perhaps the Easter Bunny should have looked through the book first to see the 3 bodies preserved in lava rock. MJ thought they were frogs. When I told him what they were he said we'd have to be the fastest runners in the world to out run the volcano if it erupted. Hummm...let's hope we didn't put too scary of thoughts in his imaginative head! We had a couple families over today who have husbands/fathers with Mike. The Easter Bunny graciously delivered all of the eggs for the kids to our house, and in a shiny new laundry basket that I needed to boot. Cool bunny!

I bought Annabelle an Easter dress. I love it. She wore it for about an hour before she started pulling it over her head saying, "off!" So we changed her out of it eventually but not before I tried to get a good picture of her. Here she is doing her signature walk. I need to stop watching America's Next Top Model!

And her signature goofy smile.

They look thrilled to be stuck to the stairs again having to take a picture.

Always cooperative those two are! Each of them got one of those chicks that chirp when the sensors touch your warm skin. The kids really liked them.

Not sure I get the pose, but they look cute!

Scenes from the Easter party.

She was asking all evening for another, "pop." A bit of a candy lover this girl is!

The kids really cooperate for pictures together. Sorry honey, we tried!

And tried. This was after a little bit of threatening!

Getting ready for the Easter Egg Scramble (no hunt, it was pouring outside!)

Annabelle didn't understand why we weren't opening the eggs and eating the candy.
Checking out the finds before cutting the cake.Not only was it Easter but it marks the halfway point for us too. So I opted for a cake to celebrate that alongside our Easter celebration. It was a really nice day and especially nice to share the holiday with friends.

Jolly Green Annabelle

After struggling to get the kids ready to go to the gym for at least a half hour Annabelle comes to me as proud as can be displaying the "smiley" she drew on her hands. This is something she learned from the door people at Costco. Perhaps we should bring a piece of paper next time. I didn't consider how my 1.5year old would interpret an adult drawing on her hand, guess I know now. No wonder it takes me forever to get out the door!

It's tough to get mad at this face. She totally didn't understand why I wasn't as excited about her artwork as she was.

His Mother's Son

For some reason when I was a child people liked to give me things. In Hawaii, I actually had a homeless man stop me and give me his change. (I got yelled at pretty bad for actually stopping though! :)) Anyway I was heading out to go look at the antique and thrift stores for photography props. MJ decided to come prepared and had his wallet in his pocket in case he found anything he wanted to buy. I chuckled but let him bring it. We were in a thrift shop and while I was paying for my finds MJ was admiring a skateboard brand new in it's packaging. There was a nice guy who worked at the thrift store talking to MJ. MJ asked him if he had enough money in his wallet to buy the skateboard (he'd mentioned to Mike and I that he'd like to have one months ago), showing the guy his wallet with a single dollar bill wadded up and some change. The guy who had just commented that he thought the board was a bit overpriced scratched out the original price of $15 and wrote $1 and sent MJ to the register with a smile. I'm not sure which one of us got the most joy out of the whole experience. MJ who got to make a purchase all on his own and was absolutely thrilled at being able to do it, the guy who worked at the store who was smiling from ear to ear at having made this little boy's day, or me enjoying the kindness of strangers and watching my son drop a sweaty, wrinkled, one dollar bill on the counter to pay for his find. That crinkled up one dollar bill reminded me of working at the pool snack bar in the summertime and having little one's like MJ is now, approaching the counter, opening their palm with a handful of coins they had clutched so hard they were sticking to their skin and asking, "What can I get for dis many?" Not quite able to master the upright approach, Annabelle provided MJ with a motor and they both got to enjoy the new toy.

The skateboard made its way outdoors and will be a permanent outside toy.

Annabelle decided that she liked playing outside in just socks. We had a fantastic spring day, 65 degrees, a slight breeze, birds chirping, hummingbirds buzzing by (ok, they totally are freaky sounding, I have to give that to MJ), sunshine. It is so nice to have spring weather.

I bought a cool bubble toy and took it out yesterday with the kids. They (and I) had so much fun we had to stop at the store today to restock on bubbles. Check out this one MJ made.

Annabelle got in on the fun too, but getting the bubbles as big was a bit of a challenge for her.

This one's all about posture and expression.

And this picture, well there's no doubting that there's Crosson genes in this child. She looks like a combination of my brother Brian and I as children. Excuse the gross shirt...she was splashing in a birdbath next door. Gross.

Finally the yelling when I'm not trapped inside the car trying to talk to Kristi.

I was praying MJ wouldn't stand up while Belly joined him on his skateboard. Unfortunately he did...but Belly managed to hop off before getting hurt.

Annabelle thought sitting in the tire was funny. She joked that she was going potty.

I'm looking forward to many more spring days like this one.