Honorable Hawk

I am so proud of Mr. Cole Robert for being chosen as one of this month's Honorable Hawks at his elementary school.  Every month recognition is given to students from each class that exemplify the attribute that is being focused on for the month; things like safety, kindness, school spirit, etc.  This month the focus was ACHIEVEMENT; and I could not be more proud of what Cole has achieved receiving this award.  It's kind of a big deal. 

Here is his certificate and bracelet!  He was so funny about this; he didn't even mention it to me, I just found this stuff in his backpack.  I said very excitedly, "COLE!  YOU GOT THE HONORABLE HAWK AWARD!", to which he casually replied, "I know."  This is so very Cole-esque; he is a pretty mellow little dude.  I don't think he gets this from me.

Immediately upon learning about this, we went straight to the store for celebratory treats.  Cole picked pizza for dinner, and chocolate ice cream, chocolate syrup, and chocolate sprinkles for dessert.  He does get this from me; we both share a deep love for all things chocolate!

Way to go, Cole!  We are crazy proud of our Honorable Hawk!

                      

Prayers For My Friend

It is with a hurting, yet hope-filled heart that I am asking my friends and family to pray for my Shanna.  A few days ago we learned some unhappy news, and she shared about it HERE.  You know how much I love my girl, and I really HATE that this is happening with a capital H-A-T-E!   But I know that she is going to be okay.  I also know that God loves us, and he hears our prayers, so please pray pray pray for my friend! 

LOVE you, Shanna, with a capital L-O-V-E!

Saturday Adventures

Yesterday I got to go out for the day and celebrate my Shanna's birthday with pedi's, tasty food, and shopping.  We made it all the way down to Southcenter, which is real far away from our usual Fred Meyer, Costco and Target haunts.  It's amazing what's out there beyond the five mile radius of my house.

I ♥ my girl and loved our time together.  Thanks for a fun day, Shanna love.  So glad that I got to spend so much time with you yesterday, my sister of the heart!

While we were away, Chad took the boys on an adventure to the snow.  I was a little nervous for him to journey with all three of the boys to the wilderness without me there to remind us all to be cautious and careful, but they managed just fine without me.  (Well, to be entirely honest, Chad DID get the Adventure Dodge stuck in the snow; it's unlikely that would've happened with me there!  But other an that, all was well and everyone returned to me unscathed.  Well, to further the honesty, Chad DID come home with a giant scratch that spans the length of his arm, but other than that, everything really was fine.)   To read all about the boys' undertakings in the wild, click HERE for BWBB - Special Ops.

After such a great day, the fun continued with the Edwards girls coming over for dinner (which they brought....BONUS!), and some dancing, singing, and Play Doh'ing.  I even got to paint little Addison's toenails and fingernails.  It was so fun for me...and fun for her too, but I think a little more for me.  (I asked if I could do a little mini make-up session on the girls while they were left in my care; Amy said yes, but Daddy Derek seemed to disapprove, so we kept it strictly to appropriately light pink polish and nothing else!  We don't want the girls to get banned from the Boyd house because someone is too crazy over girl children to keep herself together!)

Addison kept telling me that her toenails and fingernails were, "So beautiful."  I couldn't agree more!  (I also asked her if I could do things to her hair, but she was opposed so I respectfully refrained.)



Such a fun day for everyone.  And let it also be mentioned that the SUN was SHINING!  This makes everything even better!  Hurry up, Spring!

Love In Leavenworth

Chad and I got to spend Valentine's weekend in Leavenworth with our friends, Derek and Amy.  (Click HERE to see Amy's post about our adventures.) I LOVE Leavenworth, but having just been there in September, I will say that one doesn't really need to visit too frequently.  Not much changes in the quaint Bavarian town (not Bar-varian, I'll thank you Chad and Amy not to mock me), including the Christmas decorations that were still adorning the stores in mid-February.  (I frown upon this; Christmas decor isn't special if it's not December.) 

We had such a fun time with our friends. 

The boys had a really super fun time shopping around the gift shops.  Chad and Derek just love to shop.  Real men love porcelain cats wearing hats and stuffed animals.  You can tell by these cheesy grins just exactly how much they enjoyed this portion of the trip.  Happiness abounded!

Now just look at the sincere grins on these girls' faces.  We loved the shopping, and even more than that, we loved the eating.  A real highlight for me was eating delicious food that I didn't have to shop for, prepare, or clean up afterwards. Food always tastes better when these three elements have occurred without my involvement.  We ate delicious food all weekend!  I LOVED IT!

In the true spirit of Valentine's, let me proclaim that I had a wonderful time with my favorite man in the world.  
It was delightful! 

♥Happy Valentine's Day, Chaddy!♥



Thank you to our Edwards friends for a super fun get-away.  We collectively decided that this is something we will do every other weekend.  Do you think our children and their caregivers will mind?   Chase, who is currently (as I type) pulling on my shirt and telling me that he's hungry, doesn't seem to give his seal of approval.  Maybe we'll shoot for annually instead of bi-monthly. 

Thank you very much to Grampa and Gramma for watching our boys for us!  We appreciate you and love you!  (I didn't even mind that Caden called me 'Gramma' for three days afterward.....well.....I minded a little, but it was totally worth it!)

On another note, I changed the text font on my blog to match my post and sidebar titles.  Do we like this, or does it make it harder to read all these words?  Cast your vote, please!

Tech Savvy

Cole was one of four students in his class invited to present Voice Thread technology at the 2011 Tech Expo at the Showare Center.  This was a huge event with booths from elementary, junior high, and high schools from our district.  The Showare Center was absolutely packed!  Here are some pictures from the big extravaganza!

His teacher is getting him all set up!  Notice that he's wearing an official Tech Expo shirt and a badge! 

Very official!

Here is his artwork on the Smartboard.

Here is Cole showing the ladies how it works.  (This cute little nugget of a girl is our neighbor, and possibly his future wife.)



And then his dad and brothers got a demonstration too.

I am so proud of this boy for being chosen to do this, and I think we can tell by his face that he's pretty proud too.  Such a tech savvy young man!

My L♥ve Bugs

Happy Valentine's Day from my l♥ve bugs!

January Project Life Favorites

Here are some of my favorite PL pictures from January.  Like last year, I'm still doing a picture a day, but I've decided not to post each one of them on my blog this time around.  Here are some highlights from our first month of 2011.

Chad started his own blog, and properly outfitted himself and the boys for a photo-op to give it a manly appearance.

Caden caused quite the traffic jam betwixt all his cars, a Spiderman scooter, and his bare tootsies. (There is also a headless Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in the pile-up.)

Teamboyd bumper sticker.  We love us.



Happiest baby on the block! (Any time is a good time when you're Caden Riley.)

Chase now gets a letter of the week from preschool.  This is a big moment.  This door used to be filled with Cole's letter of the week projects a few years ago, but now it's the big 4 year old Chase's turn.

This is my table at Art Night at Cole's school.  These little Lucha Libre masks might not look like much, but they took HOURS to cut and assemble.  Totally worth it as the kids LOVED this project.

Chase built this airport, and specifically requested that I take a picture for my Project 365.  Love that my kids know about this, and put their requests in!



Gifts from the Irish!  (Thank you, Eefie!  I ate nearly all the chocolate by myself, even though it technically wasn't for me.  I did share minuscule amounts with the boys.)

Hello, lover.  (I am so deliriously excited about this!  Thank you, Grampa and Gramma!)

This face on my sweet Coco Puff reminds me of what he looked like when he was a tiny baby.  I still see it in him every now and then.



There it is, January in a nutshell.  On to February!