Flash Back Friday....okay, really Saturday

I was dying tonight as I looked through a forgotten folder of photos on our computer.  I cannot believe how much bigger my brood has grown over the past two years.  But alas, no matter how many times I tell them to stop growing, they just won't do it :(

So, to jump start me blogging again, here are my favorite "new" pictures of my kids a few years ago:

March 2010:

 Robby was pretty attached to his pacifier and little blankie in "three's" and would routinely try to sneak them into his every day life.  After his comfort items were taken away time after time during the day, he got smarter and would try to "hide" these items from us.

This picture brings tears to my eyes as I remember just how much Eli has grown over the past 2+ years.  I am still clinging to him as the little baby he used to be even though he is quickly growing into a little boy right before my eyes.

April 2010:

 I remember these lazy April evenings where we headed across the street into Power Ranch with fishing poles in hand to try to catch some fish.  Did I mention the fact that we actually never caught anything at that man-made lake/pond?  That's okay, my boys loved going anyways and Maddie would fall into the water at some point and get muddy and entertain us with all of her tumbling tricks. I guess not much has changed these days.  The boys still LOVE fishing and Maddie loves getting dirty and doing gymnastics. Whew, I am glad to know there are a few things that haven't changed all that much.

 When Maddie was in the 3-4 year old age range she was in love with anything fancy or princess-like.  She would spend hours dressing up in her princess costumes and wear fancy dress up high heels.   She also loved when I would do her hair all curly.  These days she still continues to like make up and dressing up, but now wants to look "grown up".  Sadly she hasn't worn a single princess dress up outfit in over a year and most of the time will hardly let me touch her hair. 

I think these pictures have to be some of the sweetest ones I own.  I love the look of pure joy on Mr E's face as he rides with Papa on the ride-on lawn mower.  I have countless memories of these precious rides that Papa would give my children on many Sunday evenings after dinner.  One of the things we miss most about moving from Arizona has been all the special grandparent/extended family time that we used to have. I sure hope my children will always remember all the fun things they have experienced with each of their grandparents and maintain close relationships with each of them.

May 2010:

 I am sure someday Mr E will want to kill me for posting this, but I think it was absolutely hilarious how long his hair got before Jesse finally took control and forced me to allow him to buzz off E's hair.  Maddie standing in the background of the picture also makes me smile because I distinctly remember that swimsuit she was wearing. I remember how excited she was to pick it out because she loved anything with frills on it.  She thought she looked just like a ballerina when she wore that suit and consequently would wear it nearly every time it was clean in her drawer.

June 2010:

I have never seen this picture before today.  It was one that Jesse took while driving in the car one day.  It makes my heart happy when I see my children demonstrating love to one another.  Sure there is plenty of disagreements in our home, but there is also a lot of love between siblings as well.  I also cannot believe that Eli is now currently the same age as Robby was in this photo.

July 2010:

 Two years ago, I found this amazing deal on a huge above-ground pool at Kmart.  I was so excited to have a fun place for the kids to play in our very own backyard that was large enough for them to enjoy themselves, but also small enough that I could sit on the patio and watch them play.  In reality the pool ended up being a BIG pain to set up and the kids loved to lean over the edges which would cause the water to go spilling out on the grass and create large muddy spots.  It also took tons of time and water to fill this thing.  But, the children loved playing in it and it sort of forced Jesse to put grass in the backyard.  Nevertheless, when we got ready to move the pool was one of the first items I listed and sold on Craigslist.  Someday we will have another pool, but definitely not one like this.

 I have told this story to many people of the day a roadrunner came into our house, but I had forgotten that Jesse actually took a few pictures of the bird. One morning we were woken up to Maddie running into our room screaming "there's a bird in our house". I am still not sure how the slider door to our backyard was open (either left open overnight or opened in the morning by Miss M).  We came downstairs and sure enough our friend the roadrunner was standing on our kitchen table.  Now this same bird basically lived on our street and we had seen it countless times on our fence, in our frontyard and in our yard and our next door neighbors yard.  But it was definitely the first time it had come into our house.  Jesse tried to scare it away but it flew straight into our downstairs bathroom and first hid behind the toilet before flying up into the window above the bathtub.  In the old fashioned cartoons with the Coyote and the Roadrunner you think of this cute little harmless bird that runs really fast and says "Meep Meep".  In reality these birds have HUGE sharp talons that you wouldn't want to mess with.  After snapping a few pictures and letting the bird hang out for a bit in our bathroom, Jesse finally managed to prod the bird out of our house while the children and I waited safely upstairs.  Needless to say we will never forget this experience.

July 2010:

Jesse took Robby several times to these special classes at the Home Depot for children.  They were free and each child received a free work apron as well as some kind of cool toy that they made.  Robby loved using a hammer and other "big boy" tools at the class as well as having his best bud Luke there with his dad also.

 I am seriously DYING as I look at this rosy cheeked picture of my youngest from 2010.  Out of all my kids he has definitely changed the most in the past two years.  Thank heavens he still considers himself a "baby big boy" these days otherwise I might really lose it :)

 These two pictures make me laugh sooo hard.  They definitely fall in the some day "black mail" category but I couldn't help posting them.  The kids were supposed to be getting ready for bed in pajamas.  I started laughing so much I had tears rolling down my cheeks when Robby showed us what he was wearing.  He even tried to do a "ta-da" like Maddie learned at gymnastics. 

That's all for now, but I have some funny ones that I found from last summer as well that I may have to post on another "Flash back Friday....okay, really Saturday" day