What's happening.

So much to blog about, so little time. Let's see, here's some of our highlights from the week/weekend.

Cal went to vacation bible school last week at St. Paul's & had a blast (& so did I since I had 3 hours of peace with my lil' one every morning). He came home every day and would sing his little head off about Jesus and even told us one night while getting ready for bed that he was going to "snuggle Jesus tonight." We're working on curing some serious mommy-attachment issues before he goes off to big-boy preschool in the fall and while I don't think he's fixed, it was good practice.

last day of VBS

(sorry about the sideways video, I took it on my camera & have no idea how to flip it)

On Saturday, Ian, the kids & I ran in the Mid-C Challenge (a race for employees/families of the 3 local PUDs) and we all came home with trophies. Cal got 1st in his division (stroller division, thanks to Ian) & Bennett got 2nd (thanks to me).

pre-racepost-raceobviously, all that running was tiring.Bennett turns 1 in less than a week & we're in full blown celebratory mode. And little mister has been taking a step here and there on his own and I've managed to miss all three occasions. But I guess it's only fair that he does it for his daddy since I get to see all his other tricks all day long. And this trick never gets old, the second he gets upside-down he automatically goes spread eagle. We took in an acting performance by Logan and #1 fan Cal was definitely impressed.

And we finished the weekend with a trip to Lincoln Rock to hang with Lars & the kids.

The last week.

For the last couple of weeks things have been so crazy and all my days seem to blend into one (speaking of which I've been making Ian play Mancala w/ me so I can exercise my brain cause I really feel like this stay-at-home-mom thing is taking it's toll on my 'smarts') so here's a mish-mash of the week.

Cal's gymnastics class wrapped up for the summer & his class had their "big show" for friends & family. He was pretty tickled to show off his "tricks" for his fan club.

My sis, Logan & road tripped over to the westside for the Issaquah Highlands garage sale. More on that HERE. I was SOOOO excited to finally go since I missed out last year cause I was about to pop, and it definitely didn't disappoint. I'm already looking forward to next year. This was one of my scores, best $2 I've ever spent... And while us girls were off having fun, Ian got in lots of man time with the boys. Including a trip to the PUD's Lineman Rodeo.Cal wants to be just like daddy so of course he insisted that his apple juice was beer and walked through the park saying how good his beer was.

Cal's been dying for a hockey stick cause his toy hammer just wasn't cutting it, so after laying his eyes on one at a sporting good store and confessing his love for the "red hockey stick' to Ian & I over and over and over to point where we couldn't take it anymore (and telling me "I can't sleep cause I can't stop thinking about it"), we let him count his money, take $17 worth of quarters to the store & buy it. I don't think he's ever loved something as much as he loves this thing. He sleeps with it every night.

We celebrated this awesome dad on Sunday.

And had a BBQ with the fam to celebrate another awesome dad

And this week, Cal's been going to vacation bible school and is loving it (aside from some initial major seperation issues from momma). He's been singing about Jesus non-stop (& talking about how much he love Jesus & God). Love it!

Guess who got a nose job!?

This little lady (not me)...We chose to have a surgery done that will hopefully "improve her quality of life" and make breathing a little easier (& quieter). Nothing but the best for our little princess. I don't entirely understand the surgery but the purpose was to fix her soft palate so they went in with a laser and removed excess tissue in her nose and in Suz's case, her throat. Now time to tend to my lady and make her recovery as comfortable as possible.

Take aways from today.

* I'm so grateful for my 2 boys after seeing what's going on now-a-days with 8th grade girls. Yikes. Showing more skin and wearing more makeup than I ever have...

* When you're pregnant, there's nothing more annoying than strangers giving your belly a rub. When you have a baby, there's nothing more annoying than complete strangers kissing your kids & sticking your baby's hand in their mouth (ya, weird).

* I have zero willpower. Cal's kids meal from DQ came with a Dilly bar and I ate it when he was napping (and this isn't the first time this has happened).

* I loved coming home today to find a big Crate & Barrel box on my doorstep. Took my back to my wedding/registry days.

* I am going to be a hot mess if either of my kids ever needs surgery... Leaving Suzie at the vet broke my heart. But, as I was a mess Cal pointed out some flowers in a planting strip and said, "mom, be happy. I got you those flowers (pointing to the flowers on the side of the road).

and to follow my random thoughts from the day, here's a random pic of the boys helping me getting ready (go figure, my hair dryer is now a gun) Look who graducated 8th grade/middle school today!

T Minus 2 weeks...

Countdown is on until Bennett turns 1, and I’m kinda having a hard time with it. I don’t know what it is about the 1 year milestone, but it makes me an emotional mess (same with Cal). It's the reality that my baby will soon be a toddler not a baby, that I don’t get to say his age in months anymore or that everyday they need mama a little less. Also, it probably has a little something to do with this being the fastest year of my life, hands down.

It seems like just yesterday I was hugely prego, dilated to a 4 for weeks thinking little man was going to come any minute, that I was being induced and had the world’s fastest labor since B was beyond ready to make his debut, that I was a little freaked out when it came time to deliver cause there was no dr. around since baby came so fast and it was in the hands of the nurses (fortunately my dr. ran – literally - into the room, work clothes and all and was there to welcome Bennett into the world), that the first words out of my mouth when I saw B were “look at all that hair,” B crying and crying and crying when he was put on my chest and me thinking "crap, what do I do," and then he stopped when it was time for the first bath and didn't make another peep while at the hospital, the immensely grateful feeling that consumed me after B was born for his good health after a bit of a scare when I was prego, our first night together (just me & B) in the hospital since Ian couldn't stay cause I was in a shared room (that’s a whole other story), and bringing baby home and it just feeling right having the two boys under our roof.

Here’s to the last 2 weeks of calling my boy my 11 month old!

dance party in the bath tub!

Giddy up.

Looky, looky at our fearless 3 year old. As soon as we got to the petting zoo (hosted @ the hardware store this past weekend) Cal had his eye on the prize and was set on riding this big guy. He proudly put his $1 in the jar and didn't look back at us as he hopped aboard and off he went for a ride.

and what a difference turning 3 makes, Cal couldn't get enough of getting his hands on all the animals (he's always loved animals, just used to be a little freaked out to get too close)

such a fun little afternoon, we finished it with a wagon ride led by draft horses & cowboyBennett was feeling a little left out so he couldn't wait to get home and play with a horse on his scale

Like father, like son.

Dudes Camping

2011 Smith/Hakensen/Hunter Camping Trip had a new member this year...Callahan!

We did everything including eating, drinking, sleeping, and pooping. And that's about all we did now that I think of it.

Roastin mallowsCampJim and his rattlesnake-deterrent hat.

Cal with his big-boy beer and a stick.

Taking care of some business

Powder sugar doughnuts are critical camp supplies.

Summatime (kind of)!

We embraced this week's summer days with big old open arms & soaked up every last bit of vitamin D our pale bodies could take.

summer = time to fill up Suzie's pool for the first swim of the year

the girl just couldn't waitthen poor Suz got the bootWe've also had lots of fun park playdates this week after one of our park days Cal had a dentist appt and when I made his appt with this new dentist I mentioned how much he loved the 'smile bugg' so he ate it up when they took his picture w/ it and he even got to sit in it.park + dentist = one VERY tired kiddo and a park day wouldn't be complete without a milkshake from "jocks in the back" (aka jack-in-the-box)