i'm just a little jealous...

I’m a big fan of lego building, and that was one of the things I was most excited about when I had the little dudes…

you know, someone to build stuff with!!

so with the $50 in cash (birthday gift from nana and papa), ryan and jacks set off to toys r us, and returned an hour later with a big lego box and mere coins in his pocket. best part, ryan asked me to help him build his new house!

there’s a little backstory here, when I played with legos, I kept them in ziplock bags according to size and color. I tried to teach the boys this very handy technique… hmm… it didn’t stick. they have a lego lair of chaos in our basement. I can’t handle the bedlam of not knowing where all of the red pieces are, not to mention to tiny special pieces. so, I don’t play with them. I know it sounds “a bit” anal retentive, but I do enjoy shelving books for a living…

anyway, when ryan asked me to play, I started to organize all of his pieces and parts.

he humored me, and thanked me for my help… and even kinda agreed that it was handy. but all I could think about was looking for all of these bitty special pieces in the lego lair…

so, back to the jealousy…

check out the detail of this house!!

lawn mower,

basketball hoops...

… it’s awesome!!

kinda like my kid... happy birthday, ry-man!!

memories of memorial day...

for the last few years, my little family has made the trip known to us as the "journey mecca" for the long memorial day weekend… we road trip to denver, my hometown

it's kind of a bittersweet trip because it's so short...

we never get to see everyone we want...

the rockies always lose when we’re in coors field...

and there is always something different, a change i wasn't prepared for...

like my granny who looks awesome for 81... but 81?!? how is that possible? I have strong memories of her towering over me with her afterwork fresca-vodka cocktail… amd that’s not her anymore

and my city isn’t MY CITY anymore. i’ve been gone so long! it’s growing and absorbing little towns, making it one continuous mass of humanity from ft collins to colorado springs... where are the open spaces of my youth?

(i know they are there, but they are few and far between it seems to this girl!)

and this is the killer... my boys are the BIG boys!

i don't notice it so much here, i noticed it at this sweet bbq (out in one of the last open space communities left) where there were all of these little guys and gals looking up at jacks and ryan. now i had to worry about them being too rambunctious for the little ones--not so much that they needed me to rescue them. then i saw that for years i have been using my guys as a buffer for iffy social situations. i felt lost with my little anchors...

however, this bbq had some of the most wonderful hostswho made me see that some of us are small and some of us are big, some of us are babies and some are grannies… but we all grow everyday… all of us learn something, even if it is nothing more than never let dave hold your popsicle!

for more pictures of this beautiful place in the city, check out my sweet friend’s blog: http://sweetpeaandbeans.blogspot.com/

win or lose...

... it's always a good day with friends at coors field!!

perfect afternoon

spring in idaho is a fickled thing

sun, snow, rain and lots {lots} of wind

but yesterday was good...

today, my friend and i were talking about the behavior patterns from 2, 3 and 4 year olds that repeat themselves in tweens/early teens. and i said {maybe annoying my dear friend} that i was lucky because we never had the terrible twos or threes.

they have always been really fun to be around--most of the time. and i know that they are starting to stretch their wings and pushing for independence, but the thing is that although the guys have been going to this park for most of their lives (on visits even before we lived here), they still love coming to park on sunday afternoons... even with us. i can only pray they grow into young men who are as sweet as the toddlers they once were.

i'm kinda hoping that the behavior of giving mom hugs and kisses starts repeating itself too!

(oh, snap, now i'm crying...)

butterflies...

nana and jackson...

ryan patiently waiting for one to land on him...

jackson... not waiting... one just found his way to his cap!dave, also not waiting... all of the boys... looking at something a little gross, i guess!

missing...

... a retro coleman cooler with a bottle opener handle (said cooler was holding 100 year old whiskey, beer and sandwiches)

... variety of fly-fishing equipment (rods, reels, fly boxes)

... camera (MINE!!)

all items may be found along the shores of the south fork of the snake river, please let us know if you have seen them

things (thankfully) not missing:

dave... and his good fly rod, thank goodness for the lifetime guarantee... oh, and the sun screen and cigars

my dad--with the bum hip... and who is said to be out-fishing the great trout-slayer, but the camera with the proof is sleeping with the fishes*

scott and scott's dad's drift boat... the drift boat that spilled out three of my favorite guys in the world into the river!

and one heck of a fish tale...

one that gets better with each telling

_____________________

so while i have no camera to document the {big sigh} momentous moments of my childrens' lives, i luckily still have my phone...

pre-soccer game snap in my office

GO SHOCKERS!!

(cute coach, huh?!)

*sleeps with the fishes just like luca brasi

i'm in love...

we only got to spend one day in glacier national park, but it was one of the most beautiful days of my life.

now, don't go thinking that this has diminished my love for YNP... because it's a different place with different things... like weeping walls...

avalanche residue, still with drip-dropping snow melt...

waterfalls all over the place...

breath-taking views...

mountain goats and wildflowers...

and who would have thought that these guys would be there?

THIS was not something that i loved about GNP, but learned that i've been to lake sherburne, there are snakes there and so i'm good with that one visit!

my boys on the snake infested rock beach...

of course

ryan taking the road less traveled...

jackson... being jackson

summertime...

...and the livin' is easy...

the plan was...

...they would fly down to arizona to see their nana and papa.

they could beat the heat with a swim everyday,

they could take an art class with their zia,

they could go to the mine and see the big trucks...

but no one said anything about a road trip to DISNEYLAND!

and yet, i guess that's what being the nana and papa warrant... you get to do whatever you want, whenever you want! so today the four of them leave green valley for the happiest place one earth; while dave and i are at home, thankful that we again have water,

the big backhoe is no longer in my front yard and that idaho falls might just get into the 70's and summer can finally start! yea!

as a matter of fact...

... why no, granny, i haven't updated the blog... it must mean that it's time to do so, if i'm getting update requests! : )

speaking of granny,

!!HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

our granny turned 80 this month, and we road tripped to colorado to celebrate her over memorial day weekend!!

some of my cousins with granny

ali, daniel, granny and mallory... the two party girls on the right : )

our trip was planned this year (unlike last year) and all of the sudden it became this crazy-hectic-totally-fun weekend for us,

first we had granny's party...

we have no idea what was over there, but it was far better (to the boys) than a room full of people they didn't know

then we went to the denver museum of nature and science to see how we now measure up to the dinosaurs...

last time we checked, these guys were a bit below the t-rex's knee... and the one on the left didn't have quite the attitude. he used to be happy to have his picture taken in front of the dinosaurs... {big sigh}

a teaching lesson for our little pals on how to have a super-fun pillow fight and how to make a dog pile...

thanks for the picture megs...

and finally, the hentzen memorial day tradition:

a colorado rockies game...

next time we're going to call ahead for winning game...

not a sad, sad, s-a-d loss

and the long, long, long drive home...

they almost fit!

my mom just sent these...

i'm not sure what else to say

ryan-- and his pimp sunglasses

is it me, or do jackson's legs look long enough to drive that thing?

this is my dad's new toy, by the way.

you let them retire to arizona and they go crazy...

here and there... and there

it's been a very hectic april...

i have been to boise for my annual meeting for the Idaho Center for the Book, and who knew that boise had so much to offer?!

if you're ever in our captial, check out the viziato... 90 minutes of pure heaven! and then there was this awesome flatbread community oven place that i had lunch at with my friends, amy and jacquie--thanks for lunch amy : )

but then we had Easter... and sadly, this is an Easter without pictures. i hate to say that {in this independent-woman day and age} there are things that i really rely on my husband to do... things like bring paper towels and toilet paper up from the basement, pay the bills--literally, write the check, put a stamp on the envelope, and mail it; scoop snow, take out the trash... oh, and make sure there are batteries in the camera.

i've adapted to some of these, like i keep the toilet paper (all 12 rolls in the linen closet) and cait brings up paper towels when she cleans; and the boys scoop and take out the trash... but i still don't pay the bills... and call me lazy, i don't do batteries.

so when we were coloring eggs, i picked up the camera and saw that the batteries were dead, i just set it back down and went back to coloring eggs--how sad is that?! i kinda chalk it up to not wanting to celebrate anything while dave is gone. pathetic, but i love this man and when he's gone, so is my enthusiam...

okay, anyway...

the good part is that he came home and we all flew to houston to see the morrisseys thenext weekend! they had another baby! another girl {for me to indulge}...

so, we're the very proud god-parents to erin...

and to collin...

and reagan...

and now to summer anne!

now, you may recall i have had this love/hate relationship with texas... okay, mostly hate. everytime we would travel there was always--i mean, always--a major hassle. and this trip was awesome! we had the most fun! the guys played with all of the morrissey cousins, just like they were one of them. i sometimes feel bad for jacks and ryan because they don't have cousins, but it's just the way it is. i could blame my parents for just having me, but why?! i just have to be thankful that we are so blessed with great friends and they great times we get to spend together. and it's so nice that somethings never change and can be counted on... like dave and erik having many beers.

we got home on monday, and now i'm in the flathead valley... eventful times.