Roller Coaster

When I re-read my weekly journal a the end of the week, I am always surprised at what a roller coaster the week seems. There are so many highs and lows and ups and downs that sometimes I feel silly and a little dramatic. But I think parenthood has a way of polarizing your emotions. The goods are REALLY good and the hard times are EXTRA hard. I've found that because I invest so much time and effort into raising these little people and because I love them so deeply, their struggles and successes impact me even more than my own challenges or joys. Being a Mom is the best AND hardest thing I have ever done. It is both. Sometimes both in the same day, sometimes both in the same minute. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am so blessed to be these sweet boys mommy.

I Will Save the Day

This kid has a thing for superheroes. Which is funny because aside from his Superman nammies he really hasn’t had much exposure to anything related to superheroes. No shows, games, books… so we’re totally baffled where he acquired his extensive Batman, Superman, and Spiderman knowledge. He charges through the house, cape billowing behind him, as he hollers, “I will save the day! I will stop the bad guys! Don’t worry Mom I will save you!” Thank goodness I’m in such good hands :). 

Disneyland

As part of our White family reunion, we went to Disneyland and California Adventure. I have always enjoyed those places, but going with the boys is just so special. This year was especially fun because Kellen was able to do so much. He loved the carousal, ate snacks non-stop in the stroller (all that excitement made him hungry!), and was scared of Mickey. Mason, unsurprisingly, adored Cars Land and could have spent all day there. He rode the “Mater tractors” several times.

We had a grand day and I could go on and on, but I’ll let the pictures do the talking. I will say that looking through all these photos again makes we want to go back ASAP!

Oceanside

Ahhhhhhhhh my happy place. Love is just not strong enough a word to describe how I feel about the ocean. Even though I haven’t lived in California for years I’m strangely possessive of it. It will always feel like home I think.

We weren’t actually at the beach very long on this particular day. It was windy, cool, and some of the kiddos were good and done after a couple of hours of playing. I’m still glad we got to sneak a trip in though, even if it was only a quick one.

Lollypop Lollypop

A long time ago I discovered the secret to getting my boys to smile for pictures… candy. All the better if it happens to be cute candy that can become a photo prop. I actually carry a box of tic tacs in my camera bag to encourage smiles. My boys are just so busy that getting them to sit in one place for any amount of time can be a challenge. But I don’t feel too guilty using one tiny breath mint each as motivation to sit still and say cheese for a sec. Interestingly “cheese” was one of Kellen’s first words. It’s like he gets his picture taken a lot or something.