July 12 of 12 and some other randomness

1-This is how I felt when I woke up this morning
2-We started off this morning with a mini-marathon of Shaun the Sheep
3- Axe woke up with PMS today.  I learn to pick my battles  and today I didn't pick very many hence the popcorn bag  from Target for breakfast
4- I always get excited when I get new dishrags!...I got new dishrags!
5-Axel pretending to be trapped and tied down with a twig.  He is so creative.  I absolutely love it!
6- Grady's obsession:  CARS
7- I am actually planning a birthday party for Axel.  He picked Batman invites so.."Calling All Heros..."
8- I made spoons that resembles the boys.  Grady was quite impressed with his spoon!
9- And here are the spoon avatars of the boys camping for the night in too small of a tent.
10- Cotton Candy Tongues Baby!
11- I got new running shoes and actually tried them out.  I know,  Are you impressed or what?  The ole ipod shuffle is the only thing that gets me through.
12-Eli was gone on a scout camp out so I scrapbooked til 4:30 in the morning...oops!  But guess what?  I am all caught up, which is quite a feat!   

Thanks for the haul of Cars Grandma Pennie!

The boys got a tour of the fire department.  Axel looked shell shocked the whole time and then he finally opened up when they let him sit in the drivers seat.  Grady was Mr. Curious George.

Twinners.  I love those boys.

Kisses for the Big Brother.

Oh the fun to be had with an old shower curtain.  What a goober.

Grady doesn't sleep walk or sleep talk but he is the king of sleep eating!

Grady might need a smaller helmet what do you think?

It must have been hot cause Grady came to me demanding that I take off his shirt at the park today.  

Our fourth of July celebration...Spiderman came with us!  Doesn't he look thrilled?

Visitors!

 Here the Hubbard household is getting all lonely in the Big Sky and we get a double dose of much needed and wanted company from the my big sis and her family and Eli's parents.  Boy for us having visitors is like Christmas for us, so we treat it as such and eat like it's a holiday and play like it's a holiday!  Mariah, Alan, and the girls were the first ones to arrive at the end of June.  We had a blast playing games, watching movies and showing them the sites of Bozeman...including but not limited to hiking the M and swimming with the ducks at Bozeman Pond.

The happy crew at the beginning of the hike...I guess that is why they look so happy! 

Halfway to the top

Aww..a family picture.  Let me tell you Grady was thrilled to be in that back carrier.

I told you he was thrilled!

Aww...Sisters!

Mariah and Axel,her shadow during their visit, he collected a bouquet of wildflowers for her...I guess I am chopped liver.

Another family photo much to Eli's pure joy and satisfaction! But I had to document us actually making it to the M on the mountain. 

Axe and Tess scoping out the view.

A perfect time for me to discover the panoramic feature on the camera.  It gives you a taste of what was waiting for us at the top.  Well worth the hike!  Isn't Bozeman beautiful?

Eli carried the "load" on the way down.  Don't worry he fell asleep with Eli...he bawled with me.  I really am chopped liver.

A day after Murr left was the also much anticipated arrival of Lisa and Neil.  We did a lot of movie watching and a lot of late-night-slap-happy games of Rummy!  We were pretty bummed when it came time for them to go home.

You'll never guess who Grandpa's shadow was the entire week.  Axel went EVERYWHERE with Grandpa, he wore what Grandpa wore, he ate what Grandpa ate and drank what he drank (Coke).  I think he is going through withdrawals without his regular bike rides and his regular Coke fixes.  He was asleep when he left and I knew the minute he was awake because I could hear him wailing from the room..."Graaaammpa"  It was so heartbreaking that I may have shed a few tears myself.

We tried out Music on Main where they close down a couple blocks and a live band plays.  It was pretty good aside from the "edgy" women and boozers.  Can you tell we didn't stay very long?

Grades sporting the tiger visor that Grandma and Grandpa gave him and Axe.

We decided to celebrate Neil's birthday a little early with a banana bars cake and mustard colored frosting.  The decorating was kind of last minute and apparently I am out of every color but yellow.  Good times.

Eli's father's day shirt I made him...For those of you who can't see it it reads, "Team Tyler's Van  because even if Edward doesn't regret saving Bella, We do!"  He loved it!  He also got Sherlock Holmes and swedish fish.  He is such a great dad and deserves a lot more.  I still don't know what I ever did to be lucky enough to be married to him!!  I love you, Hub!

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.