I'm Back.....

I know it has been forever since I have blogged. The last half of April through May have been very busy for us with trips scheduled every 2 weeks. Right when we recover from one trip we were headed out again. We have finally caught up and things are getting back to normal.

My college roomates and I were finally able to celebrate our 30th birthdays. Yes, I just turned 31. We had been planning for a few years to take a trip for your 30th birthdays, but it ended up last spring that 3 out of the 4 of us (not me -)) just had babies or were pregnant. So we waited a year. We had a great time. I truly love these girls. We really enjoyed ourselves. We were able to escape our normal lives of being "mommies" and were able to relax and enjoy the peaceful ocean of Mexico. No little voices were calling our names or demanding anything of us!! We have already begun planning the trip for our 35th. Get ready husbands, we are thinking of including you this time. Thanks for taking care of our little ones while we were gone.

Blake is almost out of school for the summer. Wed is his last day. Next year he will be attending a church Kindergarten since he will be such a young 5 yr old and then head to public Kindergarten the following year. It is so crazy to think I almost have a 5 yr old.

Below are some pics of my trip and of the kiddos from the last few weeks....

We had just arrived in Mexico after being in Customs for 1 1/2 hours. Yuck!!

View from our room...

Our second night after dinner...

And our final night after dinner...

Pictures from Blake's Game day at school

Blake with his speech teacher, Ms. Dollar

Playing the drum..

Today was all about painting with our water colors. This is relatively new for Ben. He loves it!

Colorado Springs

This past weekend, Brent and I traveled to Colorado Springs for my good friend Heather's wedding. Heather and I have been friends since the 6th grade and it was a honor to be apart of her big day. She looked beautiful and Brent and I had a wonderful time.

Grandy came over to watch the boys. They seemed to have really enjoyed their time with her and PaPa. Donuts 2 days in a row and all the attention that they could possibly get. What could be better?? Everyone was pretty exhausted when we came home. I'm sure they were going non-stop.

Here are some pictures of our trip and the amazing views of Pikes Peak and the Garden of the Gods.....

Sweet Dreams

I went to check on the boys during halftime of the Mavs game tonight. I saw Ben "Striking A Pose" and knew I had to risk taking a picture. I thought he would definitely wake up, but he didn't. Then of course I had to go see what Blake was up to.

Also, we went to see Cousin Bryce play one of his last baseball games as a Freshman. Wow, that seems crazy. He was Ben's age when he was cheering me on at my high school basketball games. He had a great game pitching and had a couple nice hits!! The boys loved seeing him play. Ben has prayed for Cousin Bryce's baseball the last several days. Too cute!!

South Beach - Part II

More pictures....

Blake loved swimming. He felt big with his floaties. Hopefully he will lose those by the end of the summer.





Ben's version of swimming. He didn't get off the steps which I guess is a blessing since I was at the pool by myself this day. This is also why I chose to put the lifevest on him.

Blake perfecting the back float

More beach time

Blake and I tearing it up

Check out these moves

All wiped out

Here is the video of Blake dancing. It was taken on our camera but it is really dark. If I find a way to lighten it up, I will correct.

South Beach - Part I

We just returned from a family vacation to South Beach in Miami. Brent had a conference for work and we turned it into the annual Baldwin family trip. Our flight left at 6 AM in the morning. I have never gotten up so early in my life. We did make the flight. That was quite an accomplishment with all of our luggage and the chaos of traveling with 2 kids.

The boys had a blast and were very well behaved. They really loved the beach and swimming in the pool. As soon as Blake woke up he was constantly asking me if we could go swimming.

Blake and Ben also had their first limo ride. Since there were 8 adults and 4 kids (another family that works at the Baldwin agency came with us), Papa Bill got us a limo. They thought it was great!

Another highlight was Blake dancing at the dinner the last night of the conference. Check out the video at the end! He was really loving it. He was just dancing right along all the older adults. We were cracking up!!

Here are a ton of pictures.....

On the plane heading to Miami. What a great husband to sit in between the boys.

Inside the Limo

Playing at the Beach. Ben wouldn't have anything to do with the ocean.

We loved going to the beach at dusk. We could play in the sand and not have to worry with sunscreen (yuck)!

Just a Little Loud.....

We had a birthday party for one of Blake's neighbor friends on Saturday. Here is a clip of Happy Birthday Blake-style.......

Yes, he needs to learn volume control!! The poor birthday boy had to cover his ears.

Just a little embarrassing for mom, but also pretty funny.

Easter Weekend

Well this is my first post. I had previously said that I would not have a blog, but I guess I will give in. I am addicted to checking all my friends blogs. I have had the domain for our blog for a couple of months, but have never posted. Maybe this will help me get going.

We had a great Easter weekend. We headed down to Papa Bob's farm in Canton with my family on Sat. My cousin Ryan, Susan, Cody, and Casey were visiting over their Spring Break. The boys really enjoyed it. Ben stayed close to the barn playing ball, throwing rocks, and attempting to play ping pong. Blake really enjoyed riding with mom and dad on the 4-wheelers. He couldn't get enough. We rode around the trails with our cousins for a long time, but Blake never tired.

On Sunday we went to church and then headed to Uncle Brock and Aunt Erin's house. Erin's parents always come for Easter and they are sweet to invite us over as well. The only problem we get into is that Blake and Ben want to dominate Grandy's attention and it makes it hard for her to talk with Erin's parents. I hope they enjoyed their time once we headed off for nap time.


We ended our Easter day with our Sunday night dinner (6 adults and 6 kids). We have 2 great families that we get together with every Sunday night for dinner. We rotate each Sunday and it always provides great food and fun. Thanks to the Russes for hosting and the great steak and potato.

Here are some pics to capture our fun Easter weekend......



The boys enjoyed dying their Easter eggs...


Ben wouldn't let go of his Easter basket on the way to the farm.....

Blake on the Big 4-Wheeler all by himself...

Blake and Mom (before we got too dirty and dusty)....

Getting ready for the big hunt with our cousins...

Blake and Ben getting lots of eggs.....

The Easter egg hunting crew. Minus Ben Plus Bailey (the dog)....

Trying to get a pic together. It isn't going to happen....

The Easter egg hunt starting at Brock and Erin's...

Ending our great Easter day at Sunday night dinner....