Birthday!

Wow!

 It has been a long, long long time!  Blogger has totally changed.  So, I am going to act as if no time has passed and just pick up from our current happenings. Never mind the fact that I just spent an hour trying to get these pictures to post and figure everything else out. I hope to change our header when my sister takes our family photo next month so stay tuned for that!
This top picture was taken at our recent adventure to Glacier National Park in Montana.  It was beautiful!  We had a great time and we found out we have some great little hikers on our hands (well, with a little ice cream bribery the first hike).
We traveled on the older boys' birthday (I think they are going to get accustomed to that because we did it last year too).  When we got back it was into party mode.  We had a monster truck bash!  The boys chose the theme a while ago and it is amazing what you get if you pray about it, yes, God even blesses us with monster trucks.  The boys (all 4 in the family) got to ride on one thanks to some friends letting me know they were in town.  After being so excited about the pics I had for the invites I was just going to make my own decorations so I headed to the dollar store for some plain old plates and what did I find? You guessed it MONSTER TRUCKS!  We were decked out in monster trucks!  Like I said all I had to do was ask!

 Easiest cake I have ever done and it is not really cake but cupcakes!

 The boys before they got into their cupcakes and after:

 Drew is the one I always give the blue things to because they always make the most mess (moms you know what I mean).  The boy does not like to get dirty and he is always asking me about stain removal, yes, stain removal. He is as you can see always ready to cheese it for the camera!

 Gavin-Mr. photogenic.  He is also the messiest kid I have met!  Notice the cupcake even on his shirt!  But, man, Is he cute! The bangs have been cut since this pic because they were always in his eyes but the hair is staying long so he can be strong like Sampson!

J, what can I say about J. but he is a HANDFUL!  Cute but a full on tantrum throwing, "no" saying, I will run from you rather than do what you want me to do toddler.  His birthday is in a week and a half so I will hopefully post more about him then.  Look at those blue eyes!

Toot!

 I am not usually one to toot my own horn but I am going to today for 2 reasons: Number one I don't have time to do this but they are just so cute and Number 2 they are just so cute!  I know this is the last year that I will be able to  completely choose what the boys are going to be for Halloween. So, I decided  a long time ago what I was going to make for the boys (like when they were just 6 months old I read it in a magazine).  Then, ANdrew read about J's costume on MSN. THe other idea that is noteworthy is that they were like 8$ total.  THe spray paint and boxes and burlap are cheap and the rest was just time and effort.  Toot Toot!

You know we call him tater tot so this was very fitting.  He ate it up (pun in tended).  THen there are the big boys-"Two of a kind." The pictures speak for themselves. I have to admit the added bonus of lack of mobility was handy and hilarious.  It added to the fun factor for Andrew and I.  First, they could not reach in their own bag or see what was in their bag so they kept asking what is in there?  Then at the first house Drew fell and started yelling get off me!  Well, after Andrew and I stopped laughing we helped him onto his feet because he was literally trapped and could not get up.  The last picture is one that ANdrew snapped that showed the mobility issue.  Now what to do with all this candy!

Seattle, Soccer and School-Oh MY

Uncle Greg had a night layover in Seattle so we drove up to see him. 

Here is Uncle Greg, Drew, and Gavin and the hammering man in downtown Seattle.

The fresh fish market in Pikes Market.  There is a shark right in front of Gav and you will have to ask Greg for the rest of the story.  I only saw the end with a startled Gav and a laughing Greg.  Apparently the shark is on a string and when someone gets close one of the men pull the string. 

Here we are behind the market at a park overlooking the Harbor.  You can see the stadiums over  my shoulder.

Now onto soccer!  Drew scored his first goal in his first game. We were so proud. He came back over and he said, "this is the best game ever!"  He loved it!  He stayed right in there even though everyone else on the team is a head taller.  He loved it!  Gav on the other hand. . . .

This is what he spent most of his time doing.  When Andrew asked why he wasn't getting in there he said he didn't want to kick anyone.  He was more excited about his uniform and water bottle than the actual game.  There is always next week.  He is so excited about the tunnel!( They make a human tunnel for all the kids to run through and give high fives. )  The picture of Drew is through the tunnel.  You can see he loved it!

We quickly learned that they were not able to be on the field at the same time. . .  yes this is real.  I am glad that they love each other but GET IN THE GAME!  At least it had not started yet.

1st day of preschool!  They are going Mon., Wed., and Thurs. this year.  I have to say there were no tears from mom this year.   I could not get them out of the van fast enough. I love them but as I have said before I have never had just one home before.  Grocery shopping is so much easier!

 

In case you have been wondering what J. has been doing all this time while the bigger boys have been doing so much.  Well, he has been hangin' out (literally!)

Still getting used to the new blogger. This just took me 3 days to figure out:)

What We Have Been Up To. . .

Gavin is now on two wheels, he picked it up after like 2 days of practice.  This surprised us both because he really has no interest in his big wheel (unless someone else is on it).  Which leads to the next thing he is working on-steering. Due to the fact that he does not really ride his big wheel he is not that great at watching where he is going.  We are so proud of him though!

This is what Drew thinks of this!  He has no interest and yes that is a sled in July!

He wants Gavin to get a new bike so he can have the training wheels on.  He is perfectly content to cruise around on his big wheel.

The Boys

So we know I am a terrible blogger. I hope I have not lost all our readers. So, I posted the boys' birthdays pretty quickly so I thought I would go back and highlight each boy and tell you what they are up to these days.

This is an intense Greene team huddle! Actually they are waiting for cake!

We will start with the oldest, Drew.

Drew is our talker. If you ever have a conversation with him you will probably hear about his mean dogs, and his truck (sometimes trucks). He loves to tell stories and sometimes I think just hear himself talk. He is my TV junkie. I think he would watch all day and be perfectly content if I would let him. It is so hard to find pictures of the boys with clean faces and not in motion so this is the best I have right now of him runny nose, dirty face and all. He is a sweet boy with a huge imagination, strong opinion, and lots of questions. He is still my non-napper but he makes up for it by sleeping from 8ish to 8ish. If we could just do away with the crankiness at 5ish I would say that I love 4 year olds. I do have to say it is getting easier with them because they play well on their own finally. they are doing it as I type. They are hunting lions around their tent (that they made) in our living room. Oh, now it is monkeys.

Gavin. Gavin is still my early riser. I think he really enjoys helping Daddy make his coffee in the morning. So, he still naps but they are sure getting shorter and if he doesn't take one it is sure nice to have them all sleep in:) Gavin is our helper. He is a great big brother and sometimes even ahead of the game when we ask him to get things he is already back with the item in hand. As much as he loves his brothers he also loves to pester his brothers but he also cares for them very much and is always willing to help them out and in the next minute he is sitting on their back jumping. He likes to know what is going on for the day (I don't know where he gets this?). He is a lot quieter until he warms up to you and then there is no stopping him. It will be interesting to see how he does in preschool this year because he has really matured. Again, sorry about the messy face.

Last but not least is Tater, J tater, J. Little Bit or when all the above fail James. He is the reason the b on our computer is not working.

He is so good at playing on his own and with his brothers (most of the time, I mean he is 2 and the concept of sharing is still new). He thinks he is already 4 like his brothers and doesn't understand why he can not do all the things that they can do. He calls them G-man, unless he is really mad and Dew. So cute to catch some of their conversations. He is a climber although he catches on pretty quickly. He fell off the top bunk while trying to get down so now he climbs up, plays and then yells for someone to come and get him. Although I also found him on the kitchen island walking around up there, and I am still not sure how he got up there. Maybe he had a boost from his brother but they are already sticking together because no one would fess us. His language is exploding and he is really trying to communicate. The hardest part is trying to understand what he is trying to communicate. Most of the time it sounds like he has something in his mouth. He loves to sing and dance. There have been several times I look in the rear view mirror in the van and he is jammin'. I am pretty sure he is going to be our comic relief. One of his favorite things to do is to say "My owie hurts me. Need kiss." This is a picture of him kissing his owie when I was not quick enough to do it for him. So of course I did the responsible thing and I grabbed the camera and told him it needed more kisses. He definitely keeps us on our toes and all he has to do is look at me with those big blue eyes and I melt (I am glad that he can't read this but I am pretty sure he already knows).

I am amazed at how much God has entrusted us with as parents. They are pretty amazing and sometimes I have to remind myself of that when they are acting up or when we have a long day. They are great little boys and I can not wait to see what kind of men God has planned for them to become. I am so glad to be their mommy and have them as my "job" even though it is neverending and sometimes tough (who am I kidding when has it really been easy unless they are sleeping). Thanks for reading and I hope you keep reading, I know I say this often but I will try to do better at posting. Have a great day!

Birthday time!

birthday at the beach!

So many pictures so little time!

We had a ball (pun intended)!

Is it that time of the year again?

We have been busy with everything ending and getting ready for the summer. We had a baby dedication for James at church. When I see pictures like this I wonder are my boys really brothers from the same parents?

We have had a end of school program for the big boys. Their first performance other than in front of friends or family. We are really hoping they overcome their stage fright. This was the only picture that it appeared that they were doing what they were supposed to be doing. We are trying to compensate for this by finding some instruments. We just brought a drum set. Am I crazy or just delirious from the mayhem? I have come to the conclusion that I might as well embrace the chaos and noise and just add to it!

I can't believe they only have 2 days left of their first year. We added another day for next year:) Do you think I am excited about this or something?

We have been playing with early birthday gifts. (Thank you Grandma Susie and Grandpa Denny). This has been wonderful because we have also been dealing with some weird weather and therefore been cooped up inside.

Yes, this is a hole under our front porch from rain damage during a storm. Don't we live in the dessert? Oh the many joys of home ownership! Thanks for reading!