What??!! My baby is FIVE!!??

Was it really five years ago when I held Holden to my chest for the first time? Little did I know what was in store for me. . . .Such a precious dark curly haired lil guy, Holden has grown to be a handsome, spunky, full of energy boy who is full of love but don't stand in his way . . . or else. . . . (If you've every stood in his way you know exactly what 'or else' means).

Every day is a new adventure . . . sometimes a challenge . . . but the hugs, kisses, and cuddles (and the foot massages) at the end of the day is worth it all.

Last fall Caden and Holden got themselves a kitchen spoon and dug a couple holes to put plant some bulbs in our front yard. They were very delighted today when we found these beautiful lavendar flowers sprouting from the ground after long since forgetting their labor.

Fresh lil' hand made orange juice

Caden Picking Oranges

Holden Juicing Oranges

Mom and Dad Enjoying Oranges!!

Quiet time please . . .

Gotta love boys. They never. . . let me repeat . . . NEVER stop fighting (unless they are asleep). I was trying to take a test for my online logic class tonight and despite separating them to different rooms and trying to convince them that it was past 10 o'clock and indeed bedtime, they did not get the hint. They continued to argue . . .So I instructed them to immediately get a blanket and a pillow and lay in the kitchen floor, while I did my homework at the table. They were not allowed to make a sound. . . 3 minutes later . . .

. . .my house is so peaceful . . . besides my dog snoring and the keyboard clicking I am finally sitting in complete silence . . . who wants to do homework now??

I cannot believe that the time has finally come!

It has been a long, hard road - - - but lots of fun along the way.

Polar Bear Boys

Okay, it is not actually the middle of winter, but that pool is COLD. Caden said, "It is colder than the freezer box!" Holden said," AAHHHHH its freezinger than cold. shiver, shiver" They have been begging to get in the pool for the last week so to curb the crying, I agreed to the madness. Unfortunately, I think I made it worse! After I forced them to get out. Holden cried at the back door until I had to use corporal punishment to stop the fit.
(pics downloaded from end to beginning and I was not about to manually fix it. So you will have to go to the bottom of the pics and scroll up to get them in the right sequence)

the little bunny's cold

yeah, my kids rock!

the cold dance

no, I didn't push him

sputtering cold!

okay. . . I did push him here . . . but he just didn't have the guts to go all the way. . . :)

polar bearing around . . .

oh yeah! its cold!

having trouble getting off the 1st step.

More Anniversary pics