BBFE (Best Brother Friends Ever)

Just thought I would share a few recent pictures of my 2 favorite boys in the whole wide world!  Thanks to Maggie Brown for taking/sharing most of them:)  She is the best babysitter ever!

What up, ladies?  Wanna ride?

Ian in heaven @ the Star Wars summer reading program opening night!

Lollipops + Star Wars - who doesn't love it when Maggie babysits?!

Sleepover - this one is just precious!

Milo helping Daddy in the kitchen.  He loves this thing!  We need to go hiking before he is too big for it:)

May Madness

I always forget how crazy the month of May is for us - our anniversary, Mother's Day, end of school, as well as many other birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and family to celebrate.  It is all wonderful stuff, but the time gets away from me so quickly!

Casey and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary.  Maggie hung out with the boys while we enjoyed a night out ourselves.  We tried a new sushi restaurant - Happy Sumo.  Contemporary, but delicious.  I had the BEST martini of my life there.  I am not sure what has been wrong with the prior martinis I have had, but this one was awesome.  I could have had many of them, fortunately I stopped after one.  We were going to hit up Boondocks after dinner for go-karts + mini golf, but the weather took a turn for the worse.  So, we headed back to LMT and decided to go bowling and drink PBR from a pitcher.  It's always good to go back to your roots from time to time.  Ha!

Sunday was our actual anniversary.  Casey set up a nice little spot in our family room/play room - ha!  Doesn't it look loverly?  What you can't see on the other side of the room is all the couch pillows, blankets and a tent piled up from a day of fort fun:)  We enjoyed a relaxing, delicious dinner with a bottle of bubbly with homemade sorbet for dessert.  It's been a wonderful 6 years and cheers to many more!

Mother's Day weekend was busy, busy. Maggie + John got preview passes for us to check out the new Asian Tropics exhibit at the Denver Zoo. It doesn't officially open until next month, so it was fun to get a sneak peek. It was a pretty chilly day, but we had a great time! So happy that the elephants have a new home.  This was Milo's "first" visit to the zoo.  He has been before, but was always sleeping in his stroller oblivious to all the excitement going on around him. And we of course had to take in a carousel ride!

The unfortunate part of Mother's Day weekend is that I got a nasty cold.  It started on Friday evening and I woke up Saturday feeling so blah.  I made it through the day, but by 7:30 Saturday night I was in bed.  I beat Milo + Ian.  I was out and didn't wake up the next day until 8:30 AM.  What?!  Sleep - the best Mother's Day gift ever!  I felt a little better, but still a bit off.  I was determined to have a great Mother's Day with my BFF, Kate.  But first, I was awakened by my beautiful babies, fresh flowers, and gifts.  I am so blessed!  I couldn't get them to take a picture with me though, so I photo bombed their Star Wars movie time before sneaking off with Kate:)

 



Ian wrapped up the school year last Thursday.  I took the day off to celebrate with him and his classmates.  It was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed a picnic on the lawn.  It is hard to believe the school year is over.  He is all about his summer break right now, but once that wears off I am sure he will be psyched to start the new school year.  I can't believe how fast the time goes.

 Ms. Geri

 Ms. Angie

 Max's mom knows how to make balloon animals!

 Da Boys of Small Wonders Preschool

We finally got Ian's bike ready to ride!  He was so excited to try it out.  He took us on a walk around the block to show off his new skills.  I was hesitant to start with the training wheels, but since we live on a fairly busy street I needed to have some reassurance that he would be okay on his own while I am trying to corral his crazy brother.  He does have a helmet, but it is getting too small.  We need to crack open the piggy bank and get a new helmet for the summer.  Next on the list, bikes for Mommy + Daddy so we can go on family rides!

Saturday was Ella's first dance recital and there was no way we were going to miss it.  I took Ian to pick out a flower to give her after the recital.  He was so excited!  I think his favorite part was being able to clap at the end of each scene.  Ha! 

 My silly little guy:)

 Ella did a great job and Ian was psyched to give her the rose (Bachelor reference not intentional) after her performance, but quickly became shy once everyone wanted to take pictures.  He really wanted Ella to take a picture with him on the rock, but she's no dumby.  She knew she wasn't going to be able to balance on that rock.  Ha!  So, Ian hammed it up and it actually turned out quite cute.  It was a great day and we were so happy to be a part of Ella's first recital. 

An ice cream treat post-recital to celebrate.   

LegoFest and Sunflower Farm

LegoFest rolled through Denver the end of April - something Ian has been looking forward to for quite some time.  The flyer was hanging on the fridge for weeks, taunting him.  Milo was excited too, but I think he thought we were going to a Packer game.  Ha!

Star Wars - need I say more?!  Ian, in true big brother fashion, told Milo about each of them.  Their names, their weapons, where they live.  This kid is dialed in - he's got the 411 on SW if anyone wants/needs to know more.  I love the bottom center picture of Milo.  It's the best!

         

So many Legos.  There was definitely a lot to see and do, but it is probably geared more towards older kids.  I thought Ian would love the big Lego pile, but instead he found it a little intimidating.  I can't blame him.  There were a lot of cool things, but most of them involved standing in line and with a toddler running around it wasn't the easiest to manage.  We still had a lot of fun and it was definitely worth seeing.  I feel so uncreative with Legos.  I am always amazed by what others can create with them. 
                  

                     
                                       
Ian found his fit at the Lego Speedway.  He spent the most time at this exhibit.  Nothing like building a race car, then watching it crash at the bottom and you get to do it all over again.  Milo wanted to join in the fun too, but what he really wanted to do was climb on and into the race track. 
                 
             
                  
You should have heard the conversation Milo was having!  He was full on talking and moving the head up and down to make it seem like he was responding to Milo.  This kid is a riot.  Maggie got Ian to sport his best Ninja pose as we were leaving.  A great time was had by all for sure.

The school year is winding down.  It is hard to believe Ian's last day of school is the 17th.  I think everyone is looking forward to it though.  You start to see the glazed over look in everyone's eyes.  I was lucky enough to join Ian for his last field trip of the year.  I wasn't going to miss a chance to visit Sunflower Farm.  I love this place and they have been having issues with the county government and haven't been able to open the farm to the public like they used to.  It was a gorgeous day!
             
The tree house + rope bridge were a hit, something that he wasn't big enough to enjoy the last time we were there (I believe I was 7 months pregnant with Milo the last time we went).  Of course, the loader was a hit.  I am pretty sure he could have played on it all day + been content.  I, however, was determined to get him to try the zip line and ride a pony. 
             
Tom + Jerry - the friendliest turkeys I have ever met.  And a very pretty peacock that loved to show off!
             
             
Lots of animals to feed and things to play on.  I enjoy seeing Ian interact with his classmates.  He is content going off on his own, but not afraid to jump in and play with others too.  I didn't want to leave.  I wanted to be able to stay and play with Ian all day long.  Alas, reality kicked in about 11:30 and I had to head to work.  I am so thankful I got to go on this field trip with him though.  These are the moments that I don't want to miss out on. 
               
                                        
Saving the best for last though - Ian's first zip line!  It took me awhile to convince him to try it out - he was just so enthralled with the loader and the animals that he didn't want to check out anything else.  But all it took was one run and he was hooked!!  We spent the rest of the afternoon taking turns on the zip line.  I was so jealous.  I have to do it some time.  It looks like SO much fun and judging by all the giggles coming from this area, it is without a doubt the best activity at the farm.