Tonight we celebrated Caleb and Aunt Michelle's birthday with the Gransee's.  Gotta love it when it rains while you are swimming!  A birthday squeeze for Aunt Chelle!Noah was a very willing "helper" to Caleb tonight while he was opening his gifts and blowing out his candles.  I loved seeing how excited he was for Caleb's birthday.  Such a fun night!

Caleb is two! We had a great day celebrating our sweet little boy. He started out the day with a trip to the airport to pick up Laney. Then it was to Bagel Nosh to have a "fancy" bagel (this is what the boys call a non-Sara Lee type bagel). We paid a visit to our new favorite splash pad in Fountain Hills, and then had cheeseburgers with fries and watermelon for dinner. Everyone went for a evening dip in the pool, and the kids sported their Mater lips lollipops. Then we all gave Caleb a few presents to open, sang happy birthday and let him blow out the candles on his "cookie cake". This kid definitely prefers cookies over real cake. This picture is hysterical to me! I am so easily entertained.

Having been to Maui before and seen all the touristy things, this time it was all about relaxing with the ones we love.  Other than eating out a few times, we mostly just hung out at the beach or at the condo together.  We tried to get a few family pictures, and this gets a little trickier with each new little one added into the mix.  

The boys loved hanging out on the beach. We had a blast watching them play in the water and sand, boogie boarding, paddle boarding, and hunting for sand crabs. Hey there little crabby patty, you've got sand in your eyes!The paddle boarding was really fun, but did require a lot of balance. My dad thought it was so easy, he just started doing cool tricks on it. :-)

If you've never been to Yosemite, this is what you've been missing! It is the most beautiful place I have ever visited. In the midst of peaceful meadows, towering rock formations, and waterfalls, you cannot help but think about the God who created them. I wish I would have taken more pictures (I only got the camera out on two of the seven days we were there) and I wish I would have taken pictures of the rest of my family we went with, and not just my boys! But here's what we've got... The boys loved riding the shuttle bus all over Yosemite Valley, hanging out nonstop with their dad, and playing in the dirt with their cousin Aaron. I loved being with my family, and cooking with dutch ovens. We made the best lasagna, cinnamon rolls, biscuits, and blackberry cobbler. It was also great to be outside with the highs in the 70's, and letting the boys get really good and dirty. I'm still trying to get the dirt out from under their nails.  Got to get back to the laundry... we are leaving for Maui in eleven days!

Every couple of weeks, my parents sign up to flood their yard in order to deep water the citrus trees.  One more perk of living here, I'd say! Knowing how much our cousin Aaron loves a good swim, we had to invite him over too.

Today we drove out to Schnepf Farms to meet up with some friends and pick us some peaches.    We also rode the train and played on the playground at the farm.  It was warm, but worth it! Hoping to make a fresh peach pie today!

Noah turned four yesterday!  We had a fabulous day celebrating, and my favorite quotes from Noah are, "Are my legs four too?" and "It feels so good to be four!"Caleb thought it might as well be his birthday too- especially since Noah is always looking for someone to ride with him in his new Gator!Sometimes, being four just takes it out of you!

This boy comes from a long line of car lovers, so I shouldn't be surprised that where there is an engine and wheels, there's Noah.  Uncle Jeffy came this weekend to work on his Mustang and finally take it home, and Noah begged to hang out in the garage all weekend long. We also had a little family shindig while Jeff was here, and I love how the little ones all play outside together these days!

Decorating eggs, and pretending to eat them...Egg hunt #1Poor little donkey!Our mother cannot resist matching shirts...Egg hunt #2

Just had one of those milestone kind of birthdays.  My mom, grandma, aunt, sister, and cousins and I all went out for lunch to celebrate.  I felt very loved!  I took pictures of my food because Cory wasn't there to tell me not to :-)

Catching up a little bit, we were able to spend a long weekend up at the cabin for New Years.  There was just a little bit of snow on the ground... enough to justify getting all bundled up to feel it crunch under your boots.  Caleb, you can go play in the snow next year!We just relaxed...Read books...Stayed up too late...Happy New Years 2010!

Can I just say, I am a COOKIE person!  I love cake, pie, ice cream, and candy, but most of all I love cookies!  So I get a little excited when this day rolls around each year.  It's quite chaotic with all the kiddos underfoot, and this year they really wanted to help (can't blame them, but yuck), but we managed to get it all done.  These are my favorite Christmas cookie recipes, and a few pictures of all the fun.  

I have been feeling the pressure from my faithful blog readers to get something new posted here!  I do have some good excuses for my lack of posts, such as my broken camera.  Actually, I had a broken foot on my flash.  I learned the new lingo from the camera repair shop.  Also, I am finding that I am lugging my big camera to special events with every intention of taking pictures and posting them, but the evening goes by and I'm so busy chasing Caleb that I never even get the camera out of the bag!  I know... wah, wah.   Here's a picture of my new favorite hobby... hiking! After living in Arizona for 29+ years, I have finally learned to appreciate the "unique" beauty of the desert. I even asked for hiking boots for Christmas. We are planning a trip to Yosemite this summer. Can you say Half Dome?I told Noah I needed a picture of him for the blog and he wanted me to take a picture of his new Ford Thunderbird. And Caleb wants to tell you all that he really likes pizza!In addition to the beautiful chaos that surrounds this season, my heart has been longing to make preparations for the true reason we celebrate. My mom gave us this book at the beginning of advent, and I have found that God has faithfully provided small quiet moments in my day to sit, read, and contemplate. I pray the same is true for you!

Uncle Jeffy and Aunt Jenna are here for Thanksgiving, and we spent time with them yesterday at our beloved train park.  After we had a nice dinner all together at my parent's house last night, Jenna introduced us to this little number... Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding. Here is the recipe.  If you like bread pudding, you've got to try this!What a lovely way to end the day!

I haven't had too much to post about lately.   The kids have been sick, so mostly my pictures would be of snotty nosed sad little boys in there PJ's.  So I haven't had the camera out of the case very much lately.  But I'm thinking we are getting better now.  These are pictures from the cabin that Cory's mom took this fall.  Cory and Caleb having a good time at the park. Three generations of Gransee men.Making sure Caleb's little tree is okay.Noah at a car show up in Show Low. He continues to love all things cars. I'm not sure if this picture makes me want to laugh or cry! Caleb is back on breathing treatments for the flu season, so we are pretty used to seeing him like this. I think it's really cute when babies have ears that stick out, but I'm glad his don't look like this all the time!

Noah loved his "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" pumpkin that Cory carved for him while he took his nap today...Trick or treating with Aaron and Brynn.Don't you wish your UPS guy was this cute?Sit back and enjoy the loot! No pictures to post of Caleb this year... poor little guy is sick and had to miss out, but he had fun having his Nana and Bompa all to himself for the night while we went out trick-or-treating.

Since our airplane ride home was leaving from Louisville in the evening, we decided to make the  1.5 hour drive from Wilmore to Louisville after stopping at a quaint breakfast place, and then spend the rest of the day at the Louisville Zoo before heading to the airport to catch our flight.  This little cafe was called "Main and Maple" and they had really good cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting. I also tried "grits" for the first time, seeing as how I was in the South. They are um... gritty. It was a nice zoo, and the animals were pretty active and out in the open, but pictures of animals at a zoo are rarely impressive, so I'll just post the ones I took of the humans there.  The zoo had a really cute train ride that was broken down that day, and Noah was a little disappointed. But, then he loved being able to walk on the tracks (since the train was not running). Noah also loved (as I knew he would) riding in the airplane. When the plane was getting ready to lift off, he would look out the window and say, "Faster, faster airplane, you can do it!" Once we had been flying for a little while and had leveled off, he asked "Why did the plane stop?" It is kind of funny how the sensation of movement goes away after a while. Thanks for the lovely visit, Kristin and Laney! We can't wait to see you at Christmas!

After our coffee, we headed out to visit Asbury's Equine Center.  This is the road we took to get there, and I had to ask to pull over for some pictures. Kaelyn was the only one who would get out of the car with me, so we took pictures of each other. We thought the kids would love the horses, which they did, but Noah was also interested in this "newer fsphreder"  (manure spreader?).  I have no idea if that is an actual manure spreader, but Noah said it was, and they were fast friends.  From there we went to Boyd's Apple Orchard. We played on the slides, climbed hay bales, went on a hay ride tour of the orchard, and rode horses. When we went inside for lunch, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and did not hold back. They had so many apple desserts! I didn't know where to start! Fried apple pie, funnel cake, carmel apples, and apple cider donuts!After a sleepy drive home, we read books, watched football and rested.  We grabbed a quick bite to eat to dinner, showered the kids and put them to bed. Kristin and I stayed up late catching up. Such a great day!

I've got so many pictures to share from our trip to Kentucky to visit Kristin and Laney. I went a little camera happy so I'll post each day separately.

What we really want to do is go run around outside... But since Arizona summers don't always allow that... Puzzles keep our little hands busy in the meantime.

This weekend we decided to tag along with my family on a little trip up to "Flagstuff" (as Noah would say).  So nice to be able to play outside with the kids!  It was also nice to spend some time with cousin Laney, who will soon be joining her mama in "McTucky" or "Kentucky" depending on who you ask.  

This is Noah riding a go-cart for the first time in his little life. He seriously was smiling so hard I thought his cheeks would explode! And here he is crying on my shoulder because he couldn't ride the fast ones with the big boys. Oh the life of a 3 year old!

I've been wanting to post some pictures from our time at the cabin this past weekend, and I finally have a free moment!  I tell you, these boys are keeping me on my toes lately.  Noah is 98% potty trained (even at night) and I'm glad to be over that hurdle... Hopefully his teeth won't rot from eating so many Dum Dum lollipops!  Anyway, it is so nice to have a place to getaway to when you just can't take the heat anymore.  We enjoyed morning sunshine in the 70's, and afternoon thunderstorms.  Great weather for taking a walk, mountain biking, playing at the park, sitting on the deck, and taking a nap.  Delightful! We also got to cheer on Uncle Doug as he completed the Aquabike. We are really proud of him!   

7:30am... Curious George and a strawberry smoothie.

We love it when my brother Jeff and his beautiful wife Jenna come and visit!  They are so much fun, and it's great to have time together as a family.  Here are some pictures from our weekend, courtesy of Cory's phone. 

We got to see where Uncle Doug works this week, and Noah was on cloud nine!  Very cool.   Little (and big) boy's dream come true!

Since the temperature outside has been creeping up, there is a sense of urgency to enjoy being outside while we still can! Good day for another visit to the train park, and for an ice cream cone too.

It felt so good to enjoy the 70 degree weather at the train park today.  Laney and Noah played on the playground and watched the train pass by before they took a ride on it themselves.  When it came time for the train to leave the station, Noah was a little nervous, so Laney held him extra close. Such a good cousin she is. Caleb looked cute enough to eat in his little train hat... BG's shoulder was perfect for teething. All four top teeth are trying to come through at the same time! Poor baby.

Tonight I took the boys to my cousin's church in Queen Creek to hear the Watoto Children's Choir.  They are from Uganda, East Africa, and are touring all over the United States.  The kids are adorable and so talented, and they are filled to the brim with energy and joy.  Their stories speak of God's protection and love, and of hope for a nation ruined by disease, war, and corruption.  Check out their website to find out where they are singing next, and go see them if you get the chance!

Since we were in southern California for the wedding, we decided to give Noah his first taste of concentrated commercialism and overstimulation coated in a thick candy shell.  Of course, he loved it.  He didn't love getting off the rides however... But, that's a two year old for you.  A few highlights... Gotta do the teacups! Noah meets his hero face to face at last. Good thing you never have to get off the train. My view of the back seat before we even left the parking lot!

We made the trek to California to witness my cousin Kyle and his bride Sarah say "I DO!".  It was a beautiful ceremony with a really fun celebration to follow.    We're a little tired here from the drive that day, but there nonetheless!

Lots of pictures and catching up to do! Here is our group shot from our New Years getaway to the cabin with Cory's family. Some people worked on puzzles... Some people played with playdoh... Some people took naps... Some people played with the wildlife... We all woke up to a winter wonderland on the very last day! So Uncle Dustin took Noah out sledding... Can you tell Noah LOVED it??? I love that we live in the desert, but are only a couple hours drive from all this fun stuff! Great memories made.  

This weekend we did a couple of really fun things with the boys and our families.  On Saturday, we drove down to Tempe Town Lake for the Fantasy of Lights Boat Parade with Cory's family. The wind coming off the water was really chilly, but stopping by Starbucks on the way home for a salted carmel hot chocolate warmed us right up! On Sunday, we went to my parent's house for dinner and then walked to a neighbor's house to check out his backyard train set up. Very impressive!Then we walked back to their house to watch the Survivor finale (so glad the good guy won!) and ate some hot apple crisp together.

Just got home from our church's annual women's Christmas dinner.  I think it gets better and better each year, and I love starting out the Christmas season this way.  I usually hostess a table for the women in my family and some close friends, but this year I stepped back and just helped out with the centerpiece.  We went for a rustic, cozy Christmas feeling in our table decor.   What I love about the Christmas dinner: 

Last night, some of the girls in the family got together for dinner.  We made these cute little snowman gift tags too.  It felt good to be "crafty".  It's been a while! Thanks for having us over Aunt Trudy!

Cory and I went on a much needed dinner and a movie date tonight.  As we headed out by ourselves, we realized that this was our first time alone together out of the house since Caleb was born almost four months ago!  Cory's mom watched the boys for us, and encouraged us to see the movie, Fireproof.  Even though we were the youngest couple in the theater (by far), we were really glad we chose this movie.  If you can get past a few really cheesy parts and amateur acting, it's actually a worthwhile flick...  You might even find it strikes up a healthy discussion with your special someone.  

I am slowly but surely getting unpacked and converting the mounds of dirty laundry on my bedroom floor into neat little folded stacks to be put away.  We had a lovely little long weekend getaway to visit my dad's side of the family in southern California, and we also spent two days at Sea World.  Here's a bunch of pics! We also visited Griffith Park, which is where I used to love to go when I was little with my Grani and Papa. Noah rode the train and a pony all by himself. He was so stinkin proud! After that, we drove to San Diego and relaxed at the hotel. Caleb and Noah loved the view of the marina from the balcony. I loved strolling along the boardwalk, and stumbling out of bed to go get bagels and coffee from the Einstein's Bagels just down the way.

My mom signed Noah up for a music class at the multigenerational center nearby.  He has so much fun!  Actually, we both do!  My mom comes along to hold Caleb while Noah and I sing and play.   Noah and I pretending we are pieces of toast about to "pop" out of the toaster!

I'm a little behind on my blogging! Last Thursday night, Cory and I left the boys with his parents (for six hours!) and met some friends for a concert with Jars of Clay and Switchfoot. Third Day was there too, but we left early. We had a great time, and it was a trip down memory lane listening to vintage Jars of Clay songs that we loved in high school. Raise your hand if you were cool in the 90's! I got a picture of them with my phone saying hi to the fans. Don't they look charming in their all white outfits and skinny jeans?

I've always hated to exercise, but I've found that I don't mind walking.  I know it's not the world's best workout, but it does at least help tone the postpartum flubber.  Noah, Caleb and I have been waking up early to beat the heat.  We have a great urban fishing lake nearby, and we do a few laps around the lake and then hit the park on the way home.  Sometimes we meet my cousin Melissa and her baby Aaron there too (sorry if you read her blog too, as we are copycating each other).   As you can see, Noah was mad that we stopped to take a picture. Little stinker! He is SO two.

My sister scored some free DBacks tickets so we decided to make it a girl's night out. Who cares that the Dodger's spanked us... we just wanted to get out and have some fun! I debated about leaving Caleb for so long (5 hours!), and when I came home, the first thing Cory said was, "Please don't leave me again." Good thing he has the day off tomorrow! We did some fun stuff this week. Noah had his first Krispy Kreme experience. Go ahead buddy... take a bite! Noah and Laney had the San Tan splash pad all to themselves. This picture looks kind of blurry, but is actually in focus. It was such a humid day that the misters didn't evaporate. It felt like we were in a cloud! All in a day's work...

This has always been one of my favorite SNL commercials... Just thought I would post it for old time's sake, especially since I am knee deep in mommyhood.  Anyone else feeling like a mom?

I'm finally finding a minute to post pictures from this past weekend... My brother and sister in law came to visit us.  We had so much fun, as always.  Our weekend was filled with swimming, watching olympics, laughing at the kids, passing the baby, and eating at home and out.  Speaking of eating, we love Culver's!  Can you believe we actually ate all that food?  And then we got frozen custard for dessert!  The picture of Noah with my dad is of them tasting the table salt.  Whatever keeps him entertained is fine by me!

We also got to spend some time with Cory's cousin Lacee and her five adorable kids visiting from Wisconsin this weekend.  Here are some pictures from our ice cream night at Joe's Farm Grill.   Noah and I highly recommend the fresh strawberry shake!

This morning Noah and I met a bunch of our friends at Bounce-U, which is a big room full of inflated slides and jumpy things.  It was a lot of fun!  Aunt Kaelyn sweetly chased Noah around all morning for me, so I got off easy.   I get to be pregnant with these sweet girlfriends. Candace is about 14 weeks, Susie is 23 weeks, and I am 32 weeks.  (Can you say small, medium, and large?)

This morning Noah and I headed over to San Tan Village for a little fun in the water.  We've been to a few of these little water parks in the past, and Noah has never been brave enough to even touch the water.  This time, he ventured out and let the water touch his toes... I'm not sure how he can resist. If there weren't so many other mom's there, I would've run through myself!

This weekend we headed up to Cory's parent's cabin in Show Low.  How lovely it was to spend a few lazy days in the 80 degree weather!  Our brother in law, Doug, participated in a triathlon up there, and we got to cheer him across the finish line.  Way to go, Uncle Doug!   Do you notice how food just tastes better when you are surrounded by nature and the ones you love most? Here's a little update on Baby #2... I'm now 30 weeks along, and met with my doctor last Thursday. We scheduled my c-section for August 4th, and it's nice to have that date in mind... Now if things could just happen a little early like they did with Noah, I won't complain a bit! So at most, I have nine more weeks. Noah is crazy about his Grandpa Art "Bompa", and it doesn't hurt that Bompa will take him for a golf cart ride around the neighborhood anytime Noah says, "Ride? Okay!!!" We love escaping to the cabin... Now back to reality!

The other day when Laney came over to play, she and Noah came up with a little game that kept them entertained for quite some time. It goes like this:

We had a great weekend celebrating Cory's birthday, and visiting with his Aunt JoAnne and Uncle Ben from Illinois. Noah is always ready to hand out kisses to willing recipients! Mmmmmmwwhhhaa!

My sweet husband spontaneously decided to redesign our blog, and I am so impressed!  Happy Valentine's Day to me!  I made a nice, but simple dinner for us last night (grilled London Broil, roasted vegetables, and baked potatoes).  After Noah went to bed, we spent the evening relaxing, eating Dibs, and watching Survivor.  Once again, a nice night in.  

We spent the weekend up in Show Low with some of Cory's family. I was expecting lots of snow and cold weather (Noah now owns some cold weather gear), but instead we had one beautiful sunny day, and the next a lazy rainy day. Noah loves the park in Nana and Grandpa's neighborhood, and is finally old enough to brave the big slide. Here he goes!So fun!!!Woah!!Grandpa took Noah for a nice wagon ride.