The Times I Was So In Love with 2015

There has to be a yin to every yang... a sun for every moon... a day for every night. 

Previously I talked about the bad times in 2015. There were some frustrating moments for sure, but I am fortunate and grateful that for every bad moment I had ten times the good moments.

There were plenty of things this past year I cherished.

Kisses

I got to kiss Austin on his 3rd birthday at the exact time of day he was born.. 3:34pm. I will kiss him every year at that time for as long as he'll let me! After that I'll sneak it somehow!

Owen was born at 11:32pm...so a little harder to give him birth time kisses...but we make up for it at all other times of the day. He loves to kiss his Momma! I was blessed to have so many kisses in 2015.

Is This Seriously Oregon??

Oregon had an unseasonably WARM spring.. these pictures were taken in February and in April! I am so thankful for the beautiful weather we had... sun bathing in the spring is unheard of here!

Love On the Mountaintop

One of my best friends married the love of her life in February and I got to stand by her side (they met at my wedding!!!) and they got married the day after my birthday. So I got to spend my birthday at a beautiful snowy ski resort, and watch two amazing people promise to love each other always. And I got a picture at the exact moment a snowflake was in front on my nose... I mean come on. How lucky am I????

Taking a Break From Being Parents

Neal and I don't get to escape for date nights very often.. maybe once every several months... but in April we went to our first Murder Mystery party! It was so fun to dress up and I got to discover the dead body! My scream was *on point*

Parenting is hard and you've got to get silly and be just a "dating" couple again sometimes!

Imagination at Play

Threenagers can suck sometimes... but three is also the age where imagination really comes out, and I have LOVED watching Austin's emerge! Potholders become "fire" from a dragon, towels turn you into superheros...it reminds you that world can be magical if you choose to look at it in that way.

Sprouting

Oh how this little one has sprouted in 2015! From rolling over to crawling to WALKING... he's just grown and grown... too fast, really. Once he started moving.. he never stopped!

Best Brothers

When I found out Owen was going to be our second boy I immediately hoped and prayed that he and Austin would grow up to be best friends. We have our shaky moments but this last year these two have started to play together, cuddle each other, hold hands in the car and get into mischief together. 

My two boys are just my everything!

Pools & Popsicles

We didn't have a single weekend go by without getting in our little pool! Wow, Oregon had a HOT summer... this pool on Amazon was the best purchase ever! We made the best memories having pool parties in our backyard and eating Popsicles all summer long!

Mother's Day

My Mother's Day was just perfect this year.. Neal knows me so well and made sure I got the morning with my boys, then the afternoon in a quiet house to relax and recharge. That quiet downtime is so important for my mental health! My little stinkers showered me with the sweetest little gifts too.. I couldn't be more lucky to be their Momma. 

Surviving Another Baby Year

Owen turned 1 in August!! We survived our first year of "baby" with him and our first year of being parents to TWO kids!!! It was an accomplishment! My sweet little piglet was the cutest birthday boy and couldn't get enough of his cake!

The Start of Activities

Your kids reach a certain age and the activities begin... even though they made our life more hectic and busy, it was so fun to watch Austin experience new things! He took a soccer camp, and several rounds of swimming lessons in 2015... and have you ever watched a bunch of 3 year olds try and play soccer?? #Adorbs

5 Years Into Forever

Neal and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary! He surprised me with a wine tasting journey as we made our way out to the Oregon Coast for the weekend.. he knows me so well and always tries to surprise me and make me feel special. I know, I'm a lucky, lucky gal!!! 

You have to have a bit of a sense of humor to enjoy the Oregon Coast.. when is it NOT windy??

We had the perfect weekend to celebrate how far we've come in 5 years, and how many more years we have to enjoy each other.

A Place to Call Home

This is the day we got our keys to our new home! I talked about the cruddy side of moving in my So Over it post.. but really...it was all worth it. We got a beautiful home with plenty of room for the boys to grow up in, run around in, and cause mayhem in. I can't wait for all the memories yet to come! And all the projects... lol. 

Breaking the Rules

This year Austin has been able to handle late nights better so we've been doing special "party" nights on the weekends! Making s'mores in our firepit, watching movies... we put little brother to bed and got to enjoy our first born. It's been hard for him to share the spotlight with his brother, so I'm thankful we've had these nights with him.

Being Complete

We are a family... a family of four. Two beautiful, healthy, growing (like weeds!) boys... So many adventures still ahead of us because we are still a pretty young family. Bring on the adventures...I can't wait!

My heart is full, and so very happy.