thanks, dad...

last weekend, dave went to colorado for a fishin' trip, and yesterday he came home with these...

and {thankfully} no fish!

clever, clever boys...

before we woke to our debilitating 6 inches of snow yesterday,

it rained...

...and my clever boys made rain angels!

twelve...

so now my baby is twelve...

it seemed like i'd be changing diapers and washing bottles for the rest of my life! then all of the sudden it started...

he became the "big brother"...

he became totally absorbed by thomas the tank engine...

he started to become this cool little dude...

we started going to parks and museums...

like the denver art musem where he reached out and touched {yes, touched} a monet!

then he started pre-k...

and now BOOM--he's twelve!

it happened so fast!

so this cool {almost} twelve-year old kid opted for a weekend trip to jackson, wyoming for snowboarding rather than a birthday party*...

so it was... has been... a great ride!

happy birthday, jacks!!

*THANK GOD! i was spared a house full of boys this year!!

lent...

so as Lutherans, we're not required to give up anything for lent, but i do... maybe it's my inner-roman-catholic trying to escape, i don't know for sure.

dave gave up adding sugar to his coffee. it might not sound like much, but 1/4cup of sugar a day has made a difference to how much sugar i have to buy each month.

i gave up cheese... i love, love, love cheese! all cheeses... it's been hard because i eat cheese on everything, but i've noticed what not eating cheese is doing to the scales at weight watchers on friday mornings! good things!!

jackson, well, he's confident in the fact that Jesus suffered enough on the cross to save him from his sins, he didn't feel the need to give up anything.

and ryan... oh, ryan... after his brother pummeled him {again} for some smart-aleck and/or biting remark, ryan decided he'd be nice to jackson for lent. it's an admirable quest, but i heard he also got his face pushed into a fence for sneaking his brother's pringles the other day...

* * * * *

last night, we're playing a game of cadoo and ryan isn't winning--he hates not to win.

in some major winning moment, i guess dave's cameo, and ryan utters "cheeses"

jackson looks at me in horror...

dave is looking at ryan in disdain...

then it dawned on me what he actually said... Jesus.

i'm jonesin' for cheese so hard, i missed that my precious baby took the Lord's name in vain!

Easter is in 25 days... thank GOD!

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!

arizona...

this is the lastest bit of wisdom from my parents:

when the mountain is PINK,

we DRINK!

who are these people?!

i sure like 'em, but what have they done with my parents?!

and now... jacks in 2010

if you could be anywhere in the world right now where would you be? italy… because it has spaghetti and cool art

Name your favorite sports team? chargers

What makes you laugh? getting tickled

What do you fear? spiders

What is your most prized possession? wii

Who is the most caring and lovable person that you know? mom... i promise, i didn't bribe him or anything!!

What house chore do you hate the most? cleaning the basement

Favorite sport? soccer

Favorite place in the world? disneyland

Favorite video game? new super mario bros

Favorite thing to do as a family: play wii

Favorite musician? bon jovi

Most influential person(s) in my life: dad

Would you prefer..Cake or pie? chocolate cake with chocolate chips in the cake, chocolate frosting with chocolate chips on top of the frosting with mint chip ice cream

Whats the weirdest thing you have ever eaten? nothing… I don’t eat weird things

jackson isn't easy to pin down... and with sketchy wireless it was hard to finish this for him. but i love his smile when he's playing their made-up game of lego-checkers because he knows he's beat ryan, and is relishing in making ryan squirm!