Five

I've said it before, but this age is my favorite. I love 4-5 year olds, they're independent but their world still revolves around mom. They have the best imaginations and say the funniest things. And I just want to kiss that munchkin face and pinch those tiny buns all day long. This birthday is a sad one for me because it signifies that he really is growing up, but there is also so much to celebrate. He's been counting down to his birthday for the last 364 days, and could hardly contain his excitement. He was up at 6 am and couldn't wait a second longer to open his presents and eat his birthday donuts. But first he had to look in the mirror and exclaimed in disbelief, "I still look four-ish, not five-ish!".

The only thing he wanted for his birthday was a spark scooter. And legos, and hot wheels and nerf guns, and everything he's ever seen on the Hobby Kids TV Youtube channel. He spent the morning playing with his presents before his little party.

It was a total low key party thrown together a few days before when he wouldn't stop talking about having a party. We invited a few friends over for swimming and pizza. And a store bought cake. Because for a five year old, fluorescent air brushed buttercream frosted themed cakes is everything in life. This Finding Dory cake complete with a novelty bath toy hit the mark. I love these cute little boys, it was a fun way to spend the afternoon.

He requested a daddy date to McDonald's for dinner then we partied into the night with glow sticks in the pool and a movie party.  Five years old is a pretty great age to be. There's so much I love about this boy, I love that he lays in my bed watching the ipad every morning while I get ready in the bathroom and always comments that I look "beau-ful" when I come out. I love that he is so observant of me and notices if anything is out of the norm, like if I don't put mascara on, or like I always pull the front of my hair back in a bobby pin every night and if I don't he gets very concerned that I need my "night time hair". I love that every cat he sees he laughs about it being "naughty Nardo", a cat we found at a park that seemed tame but turned naughty. I love that he calls Jesus "Cheesus". I love that he wants to eat lunch at 10:00 every morning. It was PB&J, then just peanut butter, then nutella and now just jelly. I love that he gets a complex about using a car seat. He doesn't want his friends to know that he uses one, even though they all do to. I don't really love that he gets too embarrassed to let me kiss him in front of people, but I do love that he'll let me sneak in a kiss when no one is looking. I love that FHE is the highlight of his week. Mostly because he gets a tootsie pop for doing an act of service. But anytime during the week that I put a skirt or casual dress on his first reaction is, "is it church day today??". I love that he sits on my lap and lets me tickle his back during church. I love that he still climbs into bed with me every morning. I don't love that every time he is mad at me he tells me "I like Dad better", but I do love that he adores his daddy. Yes, I love everything about this boy, he completely rocks my world. Happy birthday, little man.

Pink for 40

Melissa is the kind of friend that always makes you feel special on your birthday, so when her 40th birthday was coming up we knew we wanted to do something special for her. Sedona is the perfect getaway, only a few hours from home and nestled in one of the most beautiful pockets of Arizona. Besides, it's home of the Pink Jeep Tour and I was anxious to check that off my bucket list. It did not disappoint. We giggled like little girls as we bounced around in the back of the jeep up and over these gorgeous red rock mountains. 

Another highlight of the weekend was sitting by the pool and doing absolutely nothing. Thumbing through magazines and sipping Diet Coke without a care in the world. It was heaven. Along with the delicious food we ate and the luxury of uninterrupted meals. So grateful for these wonderful friends and the great memories made.

I was only gone for two nights but loved coming home to these signs stuck in the yard. It feels good to be loved and missed.

Chill out

I always forget how brutal summer can be here. Summer is like child birth, you forget how painful it was and only remember the beautiful parts until it's time for it to happen again.  As the mercury rises to 100, I'm all like, it's not that bad. It's a dry heat. But once it starts creeping past 105 we're in the literal depths of misery and endless wo. I mean, Summer, I still love ya, but don't you think 120 degrees was just a little ridiculous? The only relief is water, so we tend to live in our swimsuits all summer. And our pajamas. Let's be honest, Sunday is the only day I put on a bra. Which as an added bonus makes laundry day a cinch. The kids like to use the underwater camera while we're swimming. Which means we end up with about 75 pictures of navals. But today Maddox was swimming underwater and told me I had to get the camera because there was the prettiest sun rays coming through the water. And he was right. I love that he notices beautiful things and I love that he knows I will appreciate it too. It was magical, our backyard pool was briefly turned into a mermaid, er merman, lagoon. 

Dad's swimming lessons are sure paying off, this little guy has officially earned his fish status. He swims all over the pool now. It's so fun to watch his confidence grow and see him beam with pride. It also puts me at ease knowing he can swim. Having babies around the pool gave Jason and I both anxiety. It's still so strange to me as we reach all of the "last" milestones with this one.

Now that the kids are older and capable swimmers, we decided to get season passes to Big Surf. We try to make it out there once a week and it has been the perfect way to get out of the house, turn off the tv, cool off and get utterly exhausted. Ryder even surprised me by going on all of the big slides that he was tall enough for. I'm learning that having the kids grow up opens the door to so many things we could never do before. It's kinda fun. 

I love the high five Jayden had waiting for Maddox when he came down this slide for the first time. It's a straight drop and even though he was nervous at first, Maddox faced his fears and loved it.

I love it. We go hard all day, pausing only to eat lunch out of the cooler on the small shaded grass island in the parking lot. They even each get their own can of soda, and that's a pretty big deal. These are the days I hope they always remember. I know I will.