A Hunky Birthday

Today, Stephen is celebrating his 37th birthday!

I love him.  

I love him more and more each day.  

I am so grateful he is in my life.  

I have learned this year to support my husband.  I am surprised at how much I was not supporting him.  Marriage is a true learning and growing experience.  I know that I love Stephen.  Now, I must show him, daily, that I love him.  

Stephen is extremely supportive.  

He is kind.

He is selfless.

He is a hard worker.

He loves video games, so the boys and I got him the playstation virtual reality set.

Stephen is a great cook.

He has a funny, quiet sense of humor. 

He is one of the healthiest people I know.

Stephen is constantly researching new ways to improve our family's health.  

Stephen is loving.

He is a great father.

Stephen is my very best friend.  I love spending time with him.  We have tried to go on a date once a month to strengthen our friendship and our bond.  

We spent his birthday as a family.  The best way to spend a birthday, in my opinion.  We got him a chocolate cake and went out to eat.

I love this man.  

I really love this man.

He has made me a better person.  

More than anything, I appreciate his sacrifice, example, and love for me. 

A Swim Meet

Today was our last swim meet of the season.  We are missing the last two weeks of swim team this summer.  The boys were a little reluctant to get out of bed this morning.  They are finally feeling the effects of late summer nights and early summer mornings.  I am looking forward to relaxing a little more these last few weeks of summer.  I know the boys are really looking forward to just goofing off until school begins in August.  Why does summer have to go by so fast?  I love summer SO MUCH!  

Nolen and Edward did not want to swim on the team medley relay's today; however, they swam on the freestyle relay's at the end of the meet.  This meet was really fun because the pool had an out door hot tub that all the kids could climb in after their race.  Edward and Nolen spent most of their off time in the hot tub.  

Both boys swam the freestyle.  Nolen swam his favorite stroke, back stroke.  Last week, he got an eye lash in his eye while he was swimming back stroke and I had to fish him out of the water.  It was hilarious and anxiety ridden all in one moment.  Both boys swam breast stroke in the same heat.  

I love swim team.  I am so glad my boys really love it.  I spent my childhood at a pool nearly all summer.  Swimming has been such a great way to relieve stress.  I have been swimming almost every morning while my boys have been swimming with the team. 

Swim Hungry.

An amusing day!

We spent the day at Cliff's Amusement park as a family. It was so fun! We had gone a few weeks ago but got rained out so we made a plan to go back before the end of the summer. We went to water mania first and the boys swam for an hour. Then we rode all the rides together. I love being a family of four. Edward rode the Rattler for the first time.  He said it was so fun! We had a blast! I love spending time together as a family!

This is 36

Today is my 36th birthday!

I am so happy.  

I have not been this happy in my adult life.  

I remember the amazing times I had as a child and a teen.  It was so fun to laugh with my best friends about anything and everything.  I have finally found my way back to a mature state of happiness.  It is a different kind of happy.

This last year I learned a lot about myself and the relationships I want in my life.  I have found deep meaningful relationships that I want to treasure always.  I have spent quality time with the people I love.  I make memories with the friends and family that matter the most to me.  I am so grateful to the people in my life that take time away from their priorities to spend quality time with me.  

I worked incredibly hard to lose weight and love myself this year.  It has been a major learning curve, but worth all the effort.  I am back to my old ways of waking up early to exercise and that has made a huge difference in my life.  I don't have to sacrifice time with my family just so I can exercise.  

I am truly loving life.

Here is to a great year!!

2007

Recitals in June

These two boys are just amazing!  I have been teaching them piano for a year and a half now.  They are getting better at practicing each day (and I am getting better at making sure they practice every single day)!  I have found a pretty good system that motivates my boys to practice.  After school, the boys have to do their chores, practice the piano and cello, and finish any homework that is sent home.  Then they can earn their 1 hour of ipad time.  It also helps me remember to stay off the ipad or computer until that one hour a day.  I limit myself and them at the same time!  I have to say, it is SO hard!! 

This summer is no different.  I scheduled ipad time for 2:00 in the afternoon and the boys have lots of little things they have to get done before they can get their ipad.  One of them is practicing their instruments.  I love hearing them learn and grow each day.  I have also LOVED watching each of my students grow and gain confidence.  I love teaching piano!!  

2017 Swim Team

Swim team is officially in season!  The boys have done three swim meets and have loved every minute of being in the pool.  They made some great friends on the team this year and they love hanging out with them every morning at practice.  These two boys work their hardest to get better at each stroke.  Nolen has improved greatly since last year and Edward's times are at least 5-10 seconds faster than last year.  His favorite stroke is breast stroke.  He usually gets first place at the meets!  Nolen loves the back stroke.  He is getting better and better each day!

First swim meet of the season!

Today was the boys first swim meet this year! Nolen is swimming on the competitive team this year and loving it! He is a much stronger swimmer after swimming last fall. Edward has grown tremendously over the last year. His strongest stroke is still breaststroke. Nolen did amazing in the back stroke which is his favorite stroke.
Two nights ago, Nolen fell and his tooth went through his upper lip. He knocked his front tooth out. Luckily, it was a lose baby tooth. There was blood everywhere! I was a bit worried about swimming today, but he did great. We had a fun time at our first swim meet!