I can't be stopped

Apparently I want my child to grow up to be a yacht owning, tennis playing, loafer wearing, mercedes benz driving, prepster yuppie who vacations in St. Tropez. ;-)

Scored these shorts for Isaiah on clearance at Old Navy today, this will be the fifth pair of madras I've bought this year.

Whaaat? I've got a thing for boys in plaid! {and possibly polo shirts} :P

downtown fresno, ca.

Last weekend, these two friends

decided to take a trip downtown and go on a little photo adventure!

I've been wanting to head down there & snap some pics for awhile now and I knew Sarah would be the perfect model for the job, I mean, have you seen this chica WORK IT? ;)

And you know what? The girl did not dissapoint!

The sunset was amazing that night!

One of my favorite things about Sarah is her tenacity. She exudes confidence in everything that she does and it's so inspiring to me!

I may be outspoken and a bit of a loud mouth (:p) so a lot of people think I have no problem with confidence but truthfully, when it comes down to it I can be pretty self conscious.

Sarah has always encouraged me to just be confident in myself and I love that about her :)

Speaking of being ourselves...

haha!

There's a good reason this girl has been one of my very bestest friends for almost 11 yrs!

;D

And hey! It wasn't just me playing photog, Sarah snapped a few photo's of yours truly, so why doncha mosey on over there & check em out yo! ;)

The End.

a {beautiful} concept

Give Good { a notion brought to print via : Studio Mela -one of my VERY favorite etsy shops!}

3 years ago today...

Malachi Josiah came into this world & blessed us with his preciousness.

He had a hard time but was stubborn from the very beginning, overcame and he was able to come home and be in our arms sooner than the dr's expected :)

He has brought SO much happiness, cuddles & laughs into our lives and I'm sooo happy he's a part of our little family!

I know that Isaiah would agree, this little brother is the best present I could've gave him in the world.

This morning when Isaiah woke up, I heard him hug his little brother and tell him, "Happy Birthday Malachi, you are the best!"

Hearing those words just MELTED my heart and makes me so thankful for the bond they have.

Happy Birthday little man!! We love you oh so much!!!

Kindergarten Graduate!

Goodbye teachers, goodbye books...

It's summertime!

Ok so I say this everytime one of my "babies" hits a milestone but, I CAN'T BELIEVE how fast my kids are growing up!

I am SO proud of the person that Isaiah is becoming but at the same time I'm like, whoa!

Hold on!

Can we get a second to catch our breath here?!

Isaiah made us burst with pride this year, he is a math and science whiz like his daddy

and a super swell reader like his mama ;)

I just love how eager to learn he is!

Right now he really is excelling in all areas of his studies and I hope it continues that way!

He has most of his times table's memorized and he's even started to delve into chapter books!!

His smarts amaze me everyday and I am so looking forward to seeing him learn & push himself even more

next year when he starts First Grade :D

These are a few pics from the day he graduated, last week.

Lining up to walk onstage,

He loved that tassel :)

precious child!

I was so bummed that he was stuck in the back row! He's tall but not tall enough to be seen over the caps very well ;)

Accepting his diploma,

this Mama probably should've set her flash...

Isaiah's Kindergarten Classmates!

Isaiah with the best Kindergarten teacher in the WHOLE WORLD, Mrs. Taylor. She was MY Kindergarten teacher too!

Malachi had drawn Isaiah a picture & put it in an envelope for him to open after graduation...here he is giving it to him :)

Isaiah is such a good big brother, look how cute his face was when he opened Malachi's "present" :)

Isaiah is SO excited about going to First Grade, after the graduation ceremony was over he thought they were going to waltz right over to the new teacher's class and get crackin' on some first grade schoolwork.

LOL!

I had to explain to him that he got some time off and that he'd be going back to school in the Fall to begin his First Grade adventure. Turns out, he was ok with that ;)

The Best Things in Life Are Free...

True dat yo! ;)

Free float night at Sonic was last week and after bathtime I loaded my boys into the car in their jammies and headed over to Sonic to partake in some of that free deliciousness.

The boys were already excited just to be up past their bedtime & out on a "trip" so as soon as they realized ice cream was involved too, they were super stoked :)

It was pretty crowded but the line moved suprisingly fast!

Whenever I see kids feet dangling when they're sitting like this, it always takes me back to being little again. I love it.

Apparently this ice cream float stuff is serious business.

mmm, they were good.

he thought so too ;)

Malachi had to make sure he had EVERY last bit out of his cup before we could leave LOL!

what happens when you let the children stay up after their bedtime and then give them a cup of sugar (read: MAD ENERGY) masked as a rootbeer float.

The sky was just gorgeous that night so I couldn't help but snap a few foto's as we walked to the car.

I just love how the clouds looked... aren't they purty?

So, even though it probably would've only cost us around $5 to make our own floats, I can't ever say no to something free but especially when I think it will make for a fun little adventure with my boys :)

Isaiah's out of school for the summer now so we are some adventure seeking fools!

haha!

Hey! Thanks for the memories Sonic!

SQUEEEE!

official new moon poster!!

6 months from today I will be standing in line to watch New Moon and I am so excited!

Even more reason to be excited is that I have a date to watch said movie with

 this lovely lady blogger.

Yeah, I totally just outed you  Morgan.

We're fan girls, we know it, we ain't afraid to show it!

;D

Beachy Keen!

Isaiah LOVES the beach so when we asked him what he'd like to do to celebrate his day his answer was of course " GO TO THE BEACH!!" and who says no to the beach right?

So off we went!

Isaiah lovin his new bday present!

For the past couple of years, every time we go to the beach as SOON as we hit the sand Isaiah dives onto the ground to do this:

"Sand Angels!"

LOL!

Even though we didn't arrive until around 12:30pm, it was still a bit overcast, there was steam & fog in the air and it was a chilly 60 degrees out. But did that stop my boys from having fun in the sand? No way!

Look at Malachi actually having FUN at the beach! Nothing like last years trip haha!

After a bit of splashing & digging for sand crabs & playing, the boys were shivering from the cold so we decided to take a stroll & look for some goodies while they warmed up a bit.

First stop? Lunch! To fill my grumbling tummy.

Anyone who knows me knows how I looooooove food, love it. SO of course there are food pictures ;)

There are few things better than beach food. Not gonna lie, it's one of my veryFAVORITE parts of going to the beach!

There's a little place in Pismo Beach, CA called Splash Cafe and the food there is soooo good.

I should've taken a picture of the line you have to wait in to get the grub but once it's in your hands the wait is all forgotten! They have THE BEST fish n chips I have ever had, hands down. And the clam chowder is ridiculous!

So OF COURSE I had to have a bit of both ;)

While I was eating my food on the curb Malachi spotted a man making balloon animals & such on the corner so naturally the boys had to get one of their own.

Mali & his "pop"

Isaiah got a bear/monkey/something or other lol!

After I was done eating we were walking back towards the beach when we spotted a new frozen yogurt place that had opened up and we stopped in for a treat.

While we were there Isaiah asked if could get some & I told him no way! b/c while I was waiting in line for my food TJ had taken them to go get ice cream cones. he had just had a cone BUT his daddy argued that "It is his birthday" and Isaiah threw in "Don't you remember, I'm King for the day!"

So look what spoiled 6yr old got some froyo:

I was really proud of him though b/c when he noticed Malachi checking out the goods, he actually offered & gave him a bite! He can be the sweetest <3

Oh what was that you say? You want to see a pic of MY frozen yogurt? Why, of course!

Mmm, it was SO GOOD.

Seriously.

When we were walking back towards the beach we stopped inside this store, Hotlix, so I could show Isaiah some things that fascinated me about this store when I was young

(ok so truthfully they still fascinate me :P)

Hotlix, along with some other delicious treats, carries a variety of bug candy & "treats" O_O

I tried to get Isaiah and/or Malachi to try one but they refused. They decided on PopRocks instead, BOooooring! ;)

In just a few more steps we were back to the sandy beach and Malachi & Isaiah were ready for some more fun & hooray!

The sun had come out!

First thing on my husband's agenda?

BURY THE KID!

digging the hole

getting settled

Allllmost there...

And done!

It made me feel a little claustrophobic seeing him packed in there all tight but he was happy as could be & thot it was "sooo cool!" haha!

The water was SO FLIPPIN FREEZING, I don't know how or why Isaiah & TJ love to go out there so much but they do!

TJ kept telling me "come on! you'll get used to it!!" but if getting used to it means deadening all my nerve endings then no thanks. I'll just stay on the shore snapping picture thankyouverymuch ;)

And so I did.

Before we knew it the sun was setting and it was time to head home.

When we were standing by out blanket getting ready to gather up our stuff TJ told us to hold still for a sec so he could snap this pic of our shadows :)

I was so impressed that he thought to capture this, I must be rubbing off on him!!

Isaiah's pose cracks me up :D

After I got home and uploaded these I saw some photo's that I didn't know were snapped of me & the boys :D That made me happy!

In need of an ab workout much? yeahhh.

love it.

And then there were the 2 that the birthday boy apparently snapped of himself LOL!!

I adore beach trips and hope we're able to fit a few more in this summer.

Until then, goodbye beach! Thanks for a Sensational Six Year Birthday! :D

This child was the beginning of a love so powerful, it overwhelms me at times.

6 yrs ago today, I gave birth to a precious baby boy who came screaming into my world & rocked it like no other. 

My Isaiah Daniel is one of the most hilarious, witty, smart, thoughtful, most handsome, loving, silly, mischievous, adorable human beings I EVER met.

I am ridiculously glad he so unexpectedly came into my world  and made it an indescribably better place.

He grabbed ahold of my heart within the first second he arrived and he will have my unconditional love & adoration always & forevermore.

My sons are 2 of my very best friends and it seems kinda silly when I say it out loud but it really is the truth. 

They are the 2 people that know me the very best of all, they've seen me in my best of times and seen me in my very worst of times and yet they love me more than I could ever ask ANYONE to love me.

 They are the 2 people that can make me laugh so hard I cry AND make me so angry I could (and often do) scream.

These boys are my entire world and it all started on May 16th, 2003 @ 3:02pm

 with my baby boy Isaiah :)

(Isaiah can read like a pro now so I wanted to write a letter 

that he could come on here & read himself on his birthday ;] )

Isaiah Daniel, 

I love you so much more than I know how to put into words! 

You make Mama SO happy and SO proud each and every day.

I was going through your picture albums and Mama started crying big happy tears because even though you are only 6yrs old today, you have made me SO very proud in SO many ways.

Do you know that you are the very best big brother I have ever known in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD?! 

It's true!

You and your brother are so very blessed to have each other and God blessed you with such a special relationship. 

It makes Mama happy to hear the kind words you speak to Malachi and to see you helping him and loving him the way that you do.

 Thank you for taking such good care of that silly brother :)

Isaiah, Mama loves you so so much and I am SO HAPPY that you were born. Even happier than you would be if I gave you 3 bowls of ice cream, all the toys at the store AND a hundred dollars! Can you believe it?! Crazy huh!

God has big humongous plans for your life, precious boy, and I can't wait to watch him fulfill them as you keep growing up.

I love you always and forever and ever,

Mama

Not a Vegetarian...

"Isaiah, you need to do your homework. Sit down and read this book aloud to me."

"Umm, Mama? This book says "How We Get Our Food." I don't want to learn about farms and stuff. Can't we just eat foods that come from plants and not farms??"

"Oh, you mean you want to be a Vegetarian?"

"NO. I mean, I want to be a Fruitatarian. I don't like vegetables either..."

Crazy Kid.