last butte hike of the year. i think...

this morning, i came out of my darkened cave room to discover sunshine spilling into our great room.  so much in fact, that i couldn't even distinguish between the over-the-sink light that i left on last night and the brightness of the rays.  without a second thought, i asked jackie if wanted to go for a hike (that's like asking if he wants a tootsie pop!) and he quickly exclaimed YEP!  a quick change of the jammies (x3), a loading of the lunchbox, and we were off.  

it was only as we were barreling down the road that i glanced at the temperature gauge and saw an alarming 39 degrees.  whoopsie!  but like the snacks i never leave home without, the truck is always packed with extra mittens, wool hats and sweatshirts.  so i knew we'd be ok.

the side we regularly hike, begins with a steep climb, instantly warming up the body.  we hadn't been hiking for 5 minutes before jackie shook off his mittens and peeled off his jacket.  of course, that didn't last very long - until we got up and out into the open.  and then... brrrr!  

on top of the chilly temps, i now know why we only hike in the warm summer months.  mud!  the frost settles on the powdery dirt, and once the sun hits it, instant goop.  i must have fallen down half a dozen times - and that's really scary with 28 pounds on your back.  thankfully, all my spills were in relatively flat areas.  and just how sweet is my son?  oh, mama!  you ok?  i'm so proud of you!

 next year, he should be ready for a sheep hunt.

 half-way shot

 muscles!

 brrr!  

a little chilly at the top

the salami hanging out of dyl's mouth is a nice touch.

don't you think?

 coming down, making sure to get extra dirty.  

 mama, i so filthy!

four: a celebration

while jackie was holed up at the movies with his papa, dada and his lapful of popcorn, i was back at the homestead, decorating, baking and readying for the celebration.

i set up a little scene in our kitchen: presents on the table, balloons and our birthday banner, cupcakes simply decorated with candles and was all set for the boys to make their arrival.  but wouldn't you know it... i was changing a diaper and missed jack's initial reaction to seeing it all.  ben said he was really quiet, but his jaw was on the floor in amazement.  ok, so i've seen that look before, and i love it.  sure wish i could have shared it right here.  but you know me, i captured some other great jack looks, too.

 party hats all around...

 then again, maybe not.

 can you believe he was once that chubby little 14-month old???

we quickly sang happy birthday, jack took two licks of his frosting, and then exclaimed, let's open pwesents wight now, pwease.  what the birthday boy wants, the birthday boy gets!  so, while i finished his cupcake, he ripped into the biggest present first, naturally.  

 singing to him at this point.

 totally giddy.

 making a wish.

 see my bwue one?!

 dyl says CHEESE now!

 look who else can say CHEESE?!

 new float plane

 you think i love him a little bit?

 let's go fishing!

 i got onnnnnne!

papa got one too.

 i yike my new mack!

 papa sneaking in a smooch

 i can't remember what jack did...

 but he's learned to apologize quickly.

 wrestling with papa.

 woah.  my life just flashed before my eyes... 

the kid looks like he's 7!

 new floor firetruck puzzle

 and a fun stack game

 and as if there wasn't enough mess out already, 

we had to brake out the marbleworks.

 i love her a little bit too.

as you can see, jack's green room is no more; no more stripes, no more trees, no more glowing green.  we've been on and off about selling our home, and jack's room was the only space that would have needed a new coat (or three) of paint.  so with that, i selected the boring practical divine white. 

now that the kid is fully and completely potty-trained, we wanted to get him a new bed.  but, can i call this playground a bed?  actually, he has slept sooo good.  and having this in the house, coming into winter, i think is going to be pretty-dang nice.  there's a ladder to climb up and a slide to come down.  there's a fort (or a blind) underneath with plenty of room for all his trucks.  and as you can see, it's a huge hit with both kids.  dada's predicting broken limbs, but i consider this just one more job duty added to my mama/warden/cook/nurse/teacher/what... kids-falling-from-4-feet-high protector.       

 oh, she's gonna be trouble...

with just a 24 hour stay, we had to say good-bye to papa - about as fast as we said hello.  we always say that any amount of time is better than no amount of time, right?  we miss you already, pop.  come back soon.