Three Stripes

Look who ranked up! Nathan is now the proud owner of not one, not two but three black stripes on his belt. Don't ask me what those stripes officially mean 'cause I have no clue. But they mean the world to Nathan and that smile on his face is priceless to his dad and me.

We're still here

We have been super busy lately. We have either baseball or jiu jitsu every single night during the week and some weekends. School is wrapping up so there have been lots of test and assessments. Nathan has decided to join band next year so we have to get ready for that as well as get him signed up for the advanced academic classes. I can't believe my little man will be in the 6th grade next year.
He's still a goofball though. I don't think that will ever change.

Brandon is really enjoying baseball. He had a game last night in the freezing pouring rain and he still managed to have a  huge smile plastered to his face. He also got his first hit of the season! It was super exciting!! I jumped and screamed and just about cried I was so happy. It was pretty freaking awesome!

BJJ and Baseball

 

Brandon started baseball yesterday. I'm not sure who is more excited about him playing, him or me!

 

Nathan is still going his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes and loving every single minute of it.

We are staying busy, trying to stay warm and getting ready for spring break.

Worms and dirt kinda day...

Brandon had never wanted a simple, ordinary birthday cake. It always needs to be different and unique, just like him. This years birthday cake was worms and dirt. And I have to say, it was pretty yummy!

After blowing out the candles and making a wish he devoured a glob of cake the size of his head. Then he ripped into his presents like any newly appointed 7 year old. He ohhh'd and ahhh'd at all his new treasures and couldn't wait to play with everything at once. It was a pretty good day for the little man.

Birthday #11

I've decided to no longer have anymore birthdays for my boys. 11 for Nathan is enough. No more getting older, no more getting bigger, no more growing is allowed.
I really don't think that is going to fly, but it was worth a shot.
Nathan had an amazing birthday yesterday. He wanted an ice cream cake full of dark chocolate brownies, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge and caramel sauce. It was rich and gooey and simply delicious! He got some amazing gifts, hung out with lots of people who love him dearly and got to go to his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class. He went to bed exhausted with a huge smile on his face.
Birthday #11 was a success.

I wanna play in the snooooooooooooooooooowwww

That is all I heard for 3 straight days. It's colder than cold outside but when there is snow on the ground, the temperature no longer matters. So, I bundled the boys up and tossed them outside.

They pelted each other with snowballs, made snow angels and ran around the yard like fools until they could no longer feel their faces. Then when they could no longer take the frigid weather, I unbundled them and thawed them out with hot cocoa. Now they are wrapped up in blankets watching football. What a life!

A day late...

We had some nasty weather on Halloween night, so our trick-or-treating was postponed to the day after Halloween. That was just fine with the boys. A day late is better than no trick-or-treating at all!
They had a great time.
Nathan was a death lord. I don't exactly know what that means but he was pretty freakin' excited about his costume.

Brandon was Captain America. He loves super heroes and Captain America is one of his absolute favorites!

So after filling their buckets to the very top, they helped me hand out some candy. There were some really great costumes this year. But none of them looked as good as my two boys!