June 12 of 12

 Well, another month has come and gone and here is the evidence of the passing time...

 1- Apparently the particular scene in Hercules was mesmorizing.  He had that same look on his face for almost 15 minutes all the while tickling his own belly with his blanket.  He cracks me up.

2- Grady has begun sound effects.  They say boys are born automatically equipped with car and gun noises and Grady fits the standard.  His Vroom sound is the best!  He gets irrate if it's not acknowledged.
3- My laundry helpers.  Axel loves hanging the shirts He will ask, "little one or big one?"  It's a great deal...he loves thte job and I love the company.  If you didn't notice the hangers double as a bow and arrow.  The result is many a broken hanger.
4-Grady Mack Hubbard.  I found the overalls that say, "Built Like a Mack".  Could that be any more perfect.  It's true too cause Grady is one tough cookie.
5-I babysit a boy named Colby and he happened to get a bloody nose so I made it into a "bloody" good time.  Pardon the pun, it was unavoidable.  Tissue plugs all around.  The boys thought it was awesome.  So did I, plus Colby didn't feel so weird...Bonus!
6-What can I say..I am a list person.  I get great satisfaction from checking things off.  The kids seem to enjoy that too.  Plus it made clean up a breeze since it was on the list!
7-Pet Peeve: stepping on cooked Ramen noodles all day.  A pet peeve I didn't really know I had until today.  Just when you think you have sweeped them all up...
8-My recent project of writing and laminating all my recipes with a picture. I'm a visual person and it helps me decide the menu.  Aren't they beautiful?  I love them.

9- Axel dresses himself if you can't tell.  The backwards hat is a new development to his recent ensambles, but the 18 month size belly shirt is not.  He loves that thing because it is a monkey riding a motorcycle with flames..What's not to love?  The shorts and cowboy boots combo is also a regular with him, and definitely not worth picking a fight over.  Wolverine wears boots so he does it to be like his newest hero..Wolverine. Still I think overall he pulls off the look quite well.

10- Look at that face.  You just try to keep that monkey off the big side of the jungle gym.  He is unstoppable.

11- Kisses from the mother figure.  His face is just munchable..like I said before..look at that face!

12- Funny faces, no shirt, captain America pajama bottoms = a great end to a great day.

Axel got a certificate for his first half year of preschool.  They had a big bash to celebrate the end of school.

They put on a performance where they turned into butterflies.  He did great!

Girls still have cooties I guess.

This was one of the pictures of Axel from preschool.  Looks like fun.  This picture cracks me up big time!  (see what I mean about the monkey motorcycle shirt)

And this is how I usually spend my day.

 

And this.

And the boy is finally home.  Watch out ladies he is single and he plays a mean guitar!!

Just like old times  It almost felt like he never left!  We are glad you are home little bro!

Well almost all girls have cooties...but not Lillya.  She is the lucky one that Axel was kissing all during Primary a couple of months ago.  After that we made sure to have the talk with him...the talk meaning giving only high fives and hugs to girls until he is married!  We will see how well it works.

His PJ's say "Chicks dig Scars" and boy does he have a scar that the chicks will dig. 

May 12 of 12

May 12 of 12



#1 Hub in his killer apron cookin up our weekend tradition of dutch pancakes.  A perfect start to my Mother's Day!

#2 One reason I LOVE dutch pancakes is because it is the one meal that there is no battle.  We get no objections from Mr. Picky pants himself because this is the meal where he stockpiles for the entire week.  He eats like three pancakes on average.  And this is him putting on the powdered sugar all by himself saying over and over, "I do this!  I do this myself!" 

#3 The surprised look on my face when I opened my Mother's Day gift. 

#4 And now I am showing off my Mother's Day gift of a cotton candy machine.  Oh how well Eli knows me.  I absolutely love cotton candy and he knows that whenever he surprises me with it, it is worth more than a bouquet of flowers....so imagine what kind of "Velvet Bonus Bucks" an entire machine got him.  It was seriously the best gift ever!

#5 Yeah, the boys love my gift as much as I do.

#6 And there's all the boys in my life in their nice suits.  They make a handsome crew.

#7 I chose to have a stress-free Mother's Day dinner, hence Axel eating cereal.  No fights tonight babe!

#8 We are definitely steak and potatoes people!  I wanted steak, loaded sweet potatoes and a killer chef salad...Texas Roadhouse style.  Oh how we miss you Texas Roadhouse!

#9 Can you see my love of cotton candy in my eyes?

#10 Grades loves to stand while he eats and loves watermelon.  You can tell by his cheesy grin.

#11 Na na na na na na...BIG GUNS!

#12 Captain America taking a bath.  Axel was hilarious to listen to as he was giving Captain America a bath slash drowning him.  Bytheway the figurine is really a dollar store special but to Axel it has played whatever role he wants him to be so he has been Captain Kirk, Iron Man, and now Captain America. 



Here's to the boys that make me a Mom.  I love every minute of being a Mom.  I know that God knew that motherhood was the fastest way and most ideal and perfect setting for me to develop the qualities I will need for eternity.  Those quatlities like patience and humility.  Thank you for teaching me so so many things Axel and Grady. 

Celebrating Spring

Spring brings with it a celebration of sorts.  Winter and the feeling of being couped up in the house leaves and the sun finally comes out beckoning you to come out and about.  When I put that into words I all of a sudden have the image in my mind of scenes from movies where people have been underground for so long and finally get to immerge into the sunlight and outside world.  You can see them slowly coming out and shading their eyes and they are so happy to finally get a breath of fresh air.  Yeah, that is how I would describe Spring. I love all the seasons and the changes and feelings they all bring, all different and all good.  Okay enough "insightfulness" if some would call it that. 

Our celebration was a wienee roast.  Oh how simple are the things that entertain us Hubbards.  It is the simplest things that are the most fun as depicted in the pictures below.





All the boys off searching for firewood.  Eli was probably wishing that I would put away the blasted camera so I could do my part in gathering dry wood too.  But they were handling it quite well and it was so cute to see them following in Dad's footsteps.  They are good ones to follow my boys!



Playing in the weeds, Axel is begging me to take his picture while Grady is enraged because his hands are sticky from marshmallow.  You pay the price for eating roasted marshmallows...and the price is worth it!



Oh what fun to be had in nature!  Opportunities are endless.



My boys are a bunch of pyros...especially Eli.

Grady is fascinated with the whole process too.

The water was too cloudy for fishing...but it was still worth a try.  It was perfect for throwing rocks into though which is always loads of fun!



Who doesn't love a good roasted marshmellow?  And the goo that remains if you don't have the best aim to your mouth.  Grady for instance is sporting the handlebar marshmallow mustache..and might I say it looks good on you buddy!  Mine, on the other hand, would not be coined as adorable but rather just plain sad. :)



Fishing at a duck pond right by the mall in Bozeman..isn't that cool that this little set up is right by the mall?  Yeah, it is a well kept secret.  I love the look on Axel's face here. Some guy was there throwing a tennis ball in the water for his big black lab to fetch so needless to say we didn't catch anything.  And Axel kept yelling at me to tell me the guys name.  When I say, "I don't know" that is just unexceptable to him, so he resorts to his whiney voice which immediately gets a response from me, "Bob!  Axel his name is Bob!" And finally Axel is content.



Look at that stud!





Axel ran in his first ever fun run.  It was probably more of a fun gallop in Axel's case since that is what he did was gallop.  He attached himself to one of the teachers and kept nagging her to run with him.  Good work Axe. 

He did fourteen little laps and ran the entire time.

Us, cheering him on.  Grady finally wiggled free and ran straight for the play ground, and was inseparable with the slide.



Mid gallop.



Afterwards, Axel ate his entire bodyweight in bananas, which proved what a little trooper he was. 

Blog Party Weekend

Ha ha ha! Get it Blog Party Weekend...like Block party weekend. On that note, yeah I am pretty awesome and just decided to do one freaking huge update instead of a ton of small ones to catch you up on what's been going on in ole B town..aka Bozeman.

Axel got his first full on teeth cleaning done by the gorgeous fabulous all around great gal dental hygenist Mariah. She was amazing with him, she definitely has the experience under her belt so her awesomeness was to be expected. She showed him all of the tools and let him play with the water squirter and sucker thing-a-ma-jig that we would all love to play with really. She even made his day by letting him wear the spiderman sunglasses. She does make going to the dentist way fun! I love getting my teeth cleaned soley on Mariah's expertise, and conversation of course. She is my big sis afterall. He even sat still for flouride, which was cheesecake flavored and oh boy was it delicious! Axel thought so too.

This was Axel's first day of school, at least the first day where he got to ride the bus. Now, that is all he talks about. He colored a paper on what he would wish for if he could wish on a star. The teacher wrote in the blank per his request, "Ride Bus!" Those are two words that frequently leave his lips. He absolutely loves it. Hopefully he still loves it just as much when he is eighteen! Ha ha!

We were graced with a visit from the Gregory clan the last part of March and boy did we make some memories and have a blast. I know you are dying to ask how four adults and six kids functioned in a small two bedroom apartment. To tell you the truth, I didn't really notice the chaos that much. All the kids had a slumber party in the boys room and Sunny and Trav slept in the living room. Course I don't think much sleeping went on there....with kids getting up in the night...what were you thinking? Shame on you. ha ha. Really though, it was way fun. Axel insisted on sleeping on the floor with Braxton every night, so Pacen got his bed. And Pacen who was the biggest sweetheart would get up when Grady cried and find his binkie and rub his face til he went back to sleep. Where was I? you ask. Oh don't worry I was sawing logs down the hall oblivious to the whole dillemma. It did only happen a couple times, not every night, just so you know.

Axel was bff's (best friends forever in case you have suppressed memories from grade school and jr. high to remember what that stands for.) with a different Gregory every day. Can I just say how freaking awesome Sunshine's kids are. Even though there is a huge age difference between those boys and Axel, they didn't just tolerate him they would play with him and laugh at his jokes which made a big impression on Axel. Towards the end Axel wouldn't go anywhere without Camille (Tennille as Axel called her, he finally got it right by the time they left) and Addie was his playmate choice as well. It was cute to watch.

Our neighbor Jeremy didn't have the same opinion though as he kept asking when they were leaving and telling me that kids are okay from a distance. He is the Forest Gump of the complex and you would be stupid if you got offended so I would just respond with a, "I actually really like them up close!" It's funny now he doesn't complain about Axel and Grady nearly as much. Apparently seeing what six kids are like as neighbors made the two kids he does have as neighbors a dream for him!

Sunshine and I hit the tizown while she was her. We did a lot of thrift shopping. I had to show her Bozeman's hot spots! We found some great deals and ran those kiddos all over town. They were sure troopers. The store clerks however were not. I even overheard one employee in Costco dropping the F bomb about all our kids. They weren't that bad, don't take it out on the kids just because you hate your job. Would you rather us fit in with the normal population of Bozeman and come in with four dogs instead? She has my pity! :)

It really was the best to have the Gregory's here. I love hanging out with Sunshine. She cracks me up and is so freaking awesome. She has the biggest heart I have ever seen. She snuck buying me a new broom and a maple syrup holder to name a few. I just have the best sisters in the whole world. It gets lonely here and was nice to hang out with one of my favorite peeps. We talked into the night, painted toenails and even had numerous dance party's to try and get Pacen to bust a move. Even if she did bring the pink eye weird cold virus plague to our house, I would have them all back in a heartbeat. I can't wait til we can live closer so we can make these type of memories all the time and not just once in a blue moon. It is nice to know we left Sunshine with a lasting impression too as we passed on some of our favorite addictions to them...Saturday morning Dutch pancakes and Sunday night Orange Julius and popcorn. Yes! Their impression was left on us too as Axel prays for them in every single prayer to this day almost a month later..."Bwess Sunsine, Twabis, Pacey, Bwaxton, Cameel, Addie" He will repeat their names a couple times per prayer. It is pretty cute...unless it is fast sunday and we are eager to eat. :)

So, these are some of the things we did to entertain ourselves.

All the kids watching the new Chipmunks movie...oh yes that is Pacen picking his nose...in his defense he did not eat it. Luv ya Pacey!!

We put on a little easter egg hunt courtesy of Sunshine and the dollar store. They loved it. Check out them cowboy boots.

The kids showing off their spoils. I'm sure Jeremy will appreciate their sugar high.

Grady also enjoying the hunt. Sunny gave him a foe hawk much to Eli's total disdain. It never lasted more than a second in Eli's presence no matter how much gel she used.

Here are some pictures I took on a random day and experimented editing them. I thought they turned out cute. This is also an attempt to make the grandparents who better read this, miss us even more...maybe so much that they can't contain themselves and hurry up here to visit us!! The first one is in my April 12 of 12 but I had to post it a second time cause it is my favorite!

We can say goodbye to anymore binkie shots because the dentist made the weaning process official. Yes, he has binky mouth. He sucks on it pretty hard, probably since it was the only thing that got him through his meningitis trauma...in my opinion. So, now we see his temper rear its ugly head pretty frequently. Curse you binky...why do you take with you all the peace and happiness in our home?

This is the reaction Grady will give us every time we ask if he has a buger. He will bring his hand up to his wrinkled nose and blow. I absolutely love it. Unfortunately, since I snapped the picture he hasn't done it since. Oh well, at least I got it on film. :)

Mom sent the boys their Easter spoils that they would have gotten had we been able to go home for her annual Easter party. It is a pretty big deal and I'm glad they were still able to have some of the fun even if it's not quite the same as hanging out with the fam. We officially miss all you guys. sniff sniff.

Here are some more Gregory moments..a bit out of order. A whole lot of Horsey Rides, though I don't think this horse is going to make it very far at all before collapsing.

This one is a bit sturdier under the pressure....

I love Grady sneaking in this picture

I love that face...even if he is sporting the foe hawk

This is where we went on Easter Saturday. The Museum of the Rockies or Dinosaur Bones as Axe calls it is one of his favorite places. This is Big Mike the T-Rex

Grady sat still long enough for them to paint his face to look like a bunny. He has had the practice though. Axel paints his face all the time with watercolors, cheese, ink etc....

I think he was trying to figure out what the heck the lady was doing.

Axel requested a dinosaur on his face and held equally still. He talked about it the rest of the day and even said goodbye to it when we washed it off at bathtime all-official like.

Axel, Camille,and Addie are eating my attempt at homeade donuts on one of their favorite spots
the balcony. The donuts were pretty great!

Another one of my favorite pics.

And now for the finale: (drum roll) April's 12 of 12..

1- I am studying the Daughters of My Kingdom Relief Society manual which has been wonderful. It really makes me feel empowered as a woman and daughter of God and makes me more aware of the gifts that God has instilled in all of us. It motivates me to go and do!

2-Axel and Grady are my little helper chefs. I made the aprons a long time ago and Axel is always sure to pass everyone's out to wear while we are all "cooking". Things take a lot longer but it is fun having them help in the kitchen....most of the time.

3-My onery self taking a much needed nap and Axel snapping the picture. He is just getting so good and is really sneaky with the camera. I don't know what kind of nap I expected to get with Axel around. So, lets just say I rested my eyes.

4-Axe pants getting on the bus. He was actually excited to pose for the picture. I'm glad it's not such a fight to get a good picture out of him these days.

5-Laying Grady down for his nap. Tennille gave him his spotted puppy and he loves it. He always gives it kisses and just sits there stroking it.

6-The picture I also previously posted. It captures something I can't describe between the two of them. They fight together, they copy each other, they laugh together, and cry together. They are best buds and best bros. It is great to witness that love.

7-Axel's new found love....vacuuming. It is mine too since we had to get a new vacuum! The old one burned up after seven long years (not bad for a $50 vacuum ha ha). But he is making the mistake of showing me he can do these things...so hopefully he loves it as much when he is eighteen...it's funny how many things that phrase applies to.

8-Like I said they laugh together and fight together. This is why it takes me so long to get ready in the morning. They not only have to be in the same room as me always but also on top of the counter. The reason the counter looks so clean is because Grady has thrown everything off onto the floor. And I wonder why I have to keep replacing eye shadows...they shatter when they hit the floor in case you don't know. Bytheway, yes that would be a dentist glove they are fighting over. You have got to be kidding me.

9-That is Grady staring at our neighbor Jeremy walking away after a quick hello to us. He will usually say hello and ask if Eli is home and tell me that Eli seems withdrawn and stressed. Then he moves on to say how he can't understand what Axel is saying. He'll then tell me Axel kind of gets on his nerves and finish off with "when are you moving again?" It is a good time. Lately when he is out and sees that Axel is coming out to say hello, he will shoot right back into his house to avoid talking to him. It cracks me up. You gotta love Jeremy...or do you. ha ha

10-Axel came out in Grady's pants. It is funny that his little bootie fits in those little things. They actually look like capris on him. Maybe I should try just living on chocolate milk, pancakes, and hot dogs and then maybe my butt will fit in tiny jeans too. ha ha! He decided to model them for us on the cedar chest. Whenever he puts on his own clothes or shows me his undies he will pose by sticking his butt out to the side and putting his hand on his hip. Where does he come up with this stuff?

11-I also previously posted this one too. This is the facial reaction you are met with when you ask Grades if he has a boogie.

12-And finally the end of today is like the end of actually everyday in the Hubbard home. We sit down after the kiddos are in bed and crochet while watching the tube. That is right I said crochet. I taught Eli and you should see his hats. He is amazing at the hook. He's also successfully crocheted a sock....soon to be wool socks for fishing and various wintry manly activities. Did I also mention how manly Eli is? He definitely has the crochet fever when he described to me the sensation he felt as he ventured into JoAnn's and his mind started to race with all the possibilities of what he could make. I think he is the best thing ever. He always jokes about how manly he is as he sits down to crochet. I just love his guts and this makes him more of a man to me than ever.

March 12 of 12

1- Axel is quite the photographer. He stole the camera and was in his room for a while and this is what I find while browsing through his many many photos. He is actually getting pretty darn good. Franchesco aka Trickle is his favorite car. He got new Cars2 undies and will not take off the Trickle ones for anything. Technically isn't Franchesco one of the opposing characters...maybe Axe has a dark side. Ha ha

2-Axel got the watercolors and not only the world was his canvas but Grady too. Grady was obviously having a ball too. At least they are happy right? Even though the carpet in their room is now spotted as well.

3-I received a call at 7:30 this morning requesting my babysitting services today. One of the beloved activities of coloring was used to bide the time. I even sat down and colored one...it is pretty addicting. I actually miss coloring. It is nice when you have kids you have an excuse to do all the things that you loved to do as a kid...not for entertaining yourself of course but the sole purpose of making your child a rounded individual...ha ha... I am so looking forward to coloring eggs this year.. Thank you Axel!

4-Slivers. Our deck is wood and Axel's feet are bare. Natalia, the girl I was babysitting, brought Axel's slivers to my attention. He had three on the same foot. Of course I had to venture in digging them out...gently. He didn't cry but occasionally would say, "Ow!" And Natalia would offer words of encouragement saying,"Oh, Axel! Be brave! Close your eyes! It won't hurt I promise!" It was pretty cute! And Axel was very brave.

5-The squirt bottle is a much coveted item at our house. It usually only comes out on the worst of bed head days, haircut time, and recently has shown itself because we planted some grass in a dish so Axel could watch it grow and the squirt bottle is the watering can so to speak. Why the limit on the squirt bottle? Because as you can see in the picture, Axel squirts absolutely EVERYTHING and everyone in his path.

6-Apparently, Grady's naptime wasn't soon enough for him. He was kicking his feet on the floor one minute and the next he was in dream land snoozing away. Oh the positions and places that kiddos fall asleep.

7-We went to Dairy Queen for ice cream for Family Home Evening and this sign was in the window. Eli said, "Look Velvet, they have condoms available on request can you believe that?" Apparently I could because I let out a gasp and had to triple take the sign. I kept wondering why Dairy Queen of all places...they really are doing everything they can to stop teen pregos...Finally the true meaning of the sign clicked. Uhh duh!

8-Grady's adventure on the big wheel. It lasted for about a minute as you can tell. I went to take the picture and he fell right as it snapped. I guess we will have to wait until his feet actually touch the ground.

9-I am officially a biker babe! Eli was looking on craigslist for some chaps for himself and found a lady selling all of her harley leather gear for a STEAL! It would have been idiotic not to jump on that. So, I got the hook up, a jacket, vest, helmet, chaps, gloves, and even a bag. haha. I bet she paid close to $1000 for all of it. Yes, I love scoring a good deal! So, of course I had to fashion show it off.

10-Yes, Grady is in a jacket, shorts, and snow boots. Look, we were in a hurry okay. He did look pretty ridiculous, yet he pulled the look off rather well, or maybe it is just his cheery countenance that distracts from his outfit. ha ha

11-Axel had to have his picture taken too if Grady did. I told him to say cheese...which he did but also found it the opportune time to pick his nose right as I clicked. Hey I am fine with an occasional pick but it is the eating it thing that I am trying to teach Axel is off limits entirely!! I guess you could say he is coming up with a new definition to "Picky Eater" ha ha Okay I know that was a bad pun. But the good news is, he didn't even attempt to eat that one so he is at least listening to the important stuff we are trying to teach him!

12-Almost the second we got in the house from picking up my new motorcycle gear, they became Axel's possessions, apparently not mine anymore. When I attempted to borrow them to try them on, he wigged out hollering, "MINE!" Oh brother! It was a feat to try to explain to Axe that he couldn't ride on the Sporty yet cause it is still in storage. Don't worry Axe, we are all feeling the anticipation of getting the bike out so we can just ride! :)

I'd say it was a pretty darn good day!