{My boy}....he grew up. He got taller, taller than me by 3 inches that's not saying much because I am short, but it is big for this boy he loves that he is getting taller. He got handsome, he has always been a cute boy, but now he is handsome and he likes the girls. He's acquired a little bit of a mouth and I have tried to nip that in the butt, not attractive for a cute boy to have a potty mouth. He got smart and really cares about school and doing good in school. He got a rude awakening when he realized how expensive gas is to put in his truck. He is my boy and I LOVE HIM....back to blogging to much has been missed. Life is good.

{My boys}...they are so handsome and make me proud. Christmas time is here may it bring my boys good cheer.

{Make it good}....but remember the REASON for the SEASON.

{Christmas Christmas time is here}....time for joy and time for cheer. We've been good but we can't wait hurry Christmas hurry fast. I have listened to this song a few to many times this year with the little man. He is loving all the Christmas music and the traditions of getting ready for the big day. This time of year is exciting yet busy. Every year I tell myself that I am going to be ready a week in advance so we can just enjoy the season. It looks like, once again I will more than likely be wrapping presents all night long on Christmas Eve. Remember the anticipation of Christmas from when you were a child? I sure do....I had some almost perfect Christmas days growing up and I really want to pass that on to my boys.....ENJOY...LIFE IS GOOD.

{I think every once in awhile}....we need to take a step back and be grateful for all that we have. The month of November is the best month to do that, with Thanksgiving right around the corner. I have so much in my life to be thankful for, and a lot of things in my life that I take for granted. My kiddos, are my everything, they make me laugh, cry, spend all my money, but most of all bring me so much happiness. I love being involved in my kiddos activities. Jaden is still really active in baseball, and sometimes I think we focus to much and then realize that it will not last forever. Jaxen is not really an organized sport type of kid, he is really competitive and hates to lose, but doesn't like to told what to do, which can be a problem. I am also thankful for my family, I have the best family, on both sides. My sisters, what can I say, they are my best friends and a day don't go by that I don't talk to a least two of them. I am thankful for my beautiful home, after 14 years of living in it, I finally have it how I love it....lots of stuff and color. I am thankful for my husband, who works hard to take care and provide for his family. I am thankful for my jobs...I could go on and on because obviously I am only lucky person....Life is good.

{ANnuAl HAlLoOWeEn gAMe}.....Every year the rival Canyon View and Cedar baseball team have a halloween costume game. It is hilarious and the kids love it and look forward to it every year. It is great to see the boys out of character, just having fun with no pressure to play good. What a great tradition...

The little man is growing up...I was browsing through some pictures and ran across this fun picture.

{NOVEMBER}....is quickly slipping by and Christmas will be here before we turn around. Life is good, and once again I am pretty much behind on life. The kiddos are still just being kiddos. Jaden is out with friends every chance he gets and Jaxen can't figure out why he can't go with the big boys. Jaden decided not to play basketball this year, which makes me sad, but he didn't want to spend all of his time doing that when he could be focusing more on baseball. Jaxen is killing Kindergarten, loving it and of course the smartest in his class, just ask him. Get out there and get your Christmas shopping done, time will soon be running out....

The little man is officially in Kindergarten. I can't believe how the time has flown and now my buddy leaves me for a couple of hours during the day, which makes me happy for his independence but sad for my loneliness. He is rocking school and says that he is the KING OF THE PLAYGROUND and the boss (that doesn't surprise me one little bit). His teacher is Mrs. Werber and he thinks she is great and has cool hair. He is learning to read and can read most of his sight word books by himself. Jaden picks him up from school a couple of times a week and all of his little buddies wish they had a brother that could drive. I am so glad that my children love going to school and learning.... LIFE IS GOOD.

Fall is in the air everywhere. I love it, the weather has been to die for and of course Halloween candy on the shelves could put a smile on anybody's face. I am seriously so made that I have let my blog go, I forgot how happy it makes me to go back and look at the cuteness of my kiddos. I have made myself a super duper big fat promise to get back at it.... In the meantime, enjoy OCTOBER.

{FuN VaCAtiON}......to grandma's house he goes. Jaxen has spent a little time at grandma's house this summer. This last trip over he stayed an entire week and I rode over for a couple of days so it broke up the time a little. He had a great time over there, took swimming lessons for 5 days and passed the level 1 swim class, he is still timid in the water but I think it is important for them to learn how to swim. Most of the cousins were there and they had a great time just playing together, helping grandma in the yard, playing with MJ (the dog), making smores at night, and swimming. Jaxen you are so lucky that you have a great family that takes the time out to play with you and to take care of you when you are gone....Summer is slipping by and then we move on to the next phase of school. I can't believe my baby goes to Kindergarten...Life is good, especially when you have a smile like the little man....I love that kid!

{HAPPY BIRTHDAY}....the big "16", can't believe that is even possible. I put 14 candles on your cake hoping that it wasn't true, but it is, the driver license in your hand is more than enough to prove it. You are the best kid a mom could ask for, you are funny, a hard-worker, a friend, a great brother and many other things at that. At 16 you.....love music, hanging out with your buddies, your new truck, you love that you have a job so all those things like that rockin stereo system can become possible. You love staying up late, lifting weights, chocolate milk, mountain dew, your little brother, baseball. I love this time in your life even if it kinda makes me a little teary to think that time is soon running out and you before I know it you will be packing your bags and moving on to another phase in your life. I love your carefree spirit and how you can hang out and be friends with anyone around. You are such a great kid and you make me proud everytime I look at you....keep up your love for life and always make the best out of what life offers you. I LOVE YOU....but turn down the stereo.

july 4th....

{Time is flying by}....for me and I am sure everyone else. I can't believe that it is the fourth of July already and summer will be over as fast as it started. I am super behind on my blog and my life but what do you do. We have had a great summer this year. I have been working a lot and so I have tried to sneak in some fun times when we get a chance. Jaden is playing summer baseball and doing pretty good, he got a job this summer working for my brother and it has been a little rough trying to work, lift weights, hang-out, play baseball and just be a kid. More hours in the day would sometimes be nice. Jaxen just finished up T-ball, he wasn't a huge fan, wanted to play with the big boys. All in all life is moving by and I am trying to just enjoy the moment and live life. HAPPY 4th of JULY....

{Missing the little man}.....he decided to go spend some time at Grandpa's and Grandma's house. I wasn't sure how he would do because in all of his 5 years he has only spent one night away from home. He is doing great and has not even missed home at all. He really thinks he is a farmer and loves helping Grandpa around the farm. Our house has been quiet, clean and lonely. Miss you little man....Thanks for letting him play out his dream of being a farmer.

{This little girl is so stinkin cute}.....I heard she can hold her own on the playground too.

{I love my boys}....so dang much that words can't begin to express how I feel. It has been super hard this year with the space between them because it seems like we are always dealing with different a level of things, that range from 5 year old tantrums right up to 16 year old tantrums. It is never-ending and I mostly feel like the bad guy. However, I realize the importance of sticking with discipline even if it is hard and makes everyone miserable. It is necessary to raise healthy, happy kiddos. I decided that some pictures are better than no pictures and these came off of my phone therefore the quality is not great. I love them, how they play catch together and those rare moments when you know they love each other.

{Jaxen}....the little man, one of a kind. You are a handful right now little man. You keep me running with all of your boundless energy. You just now figured out how to whistle and you whistle a little tune every where you go. You are loud and I mean seriously loud, your raspy voice echoes endlessly through the house, ballpark, store or wherever you are. You love to make up stories about how you are a farmer and in that little mind of your's I truly believe that you believe the stories that you tell. You love your dad more than anything, a hug and a kiss is in store every night for him or you can't go to sleep. Even though you make me tired because you are a night owl, I love being a mom to a crazy, loud, fingernail biter LITTLE MAN....

{I am seriously so sad}...that I have been slacking so bad on my blog. It is time to get back on track, missing to much of my kiddos without it. I just recently printed this quote big and hung it in my house. I LOVE IT.....

{Cute fun seniors}.....can it be possible that school will be out in less than a month?

{So blogging}....has taken a short backseat to Instagram. I swore I was never going to Facebook or Instagram because I really don't need one more hobby to look after. I admit I am hooked. I love it. I love BLOGGING to so I am sure I will be back shortly. In the meantime you can follow me on Instagram...alishablack4

{Photography}....what an amazing concept, being able to capture moments that won't last forever. LOVE IT...

{HAPPY EASTER}.....everyone. I really can't believe that it is the little man's sixth Easter. I remember taking these pictures like it was yesterday. We had a fabulous Easter this year, the weather was awesome, the company was great and it was just an all around good time. I am so glad for the great family that I have...i really consider myself lucky. More pics of Easter fun should arrive on the blog sometime in the near future....

{He told me last night}.....as we were laying on the couch watching Spongebob Squarepants for the 5000 time (pretty sure the same one over and over) that he would love me even when I get OLD and FAT and can't breath when I run because that is what kids do, love their moms no matter what. I am super glad he has my back because I really am not looking forward to that. For some crazy reason I enjoy breathing when I run....I love my little man.

{SPRING + NICE WEATHER = BUSY}.....I am booking up super fast this spring. I only have 3 spots left in April and May is filling up fast. It is time for me to get back to work after pretty much taking a couple of months of due to really crappy weather. I am excited to get back into the swing of things with all the fun stuff that is coming up this year. THANKS...

{WHAT to do....WHAT to do}.....I have a serious problem with the little man, he started biting his fingernails a couple of weeks ago and it is driving me crazy. It seems like he traded off picking his nose for biting his nails, one is a lot less gross that's for sure. He bites them clear down until he can't bite any more. Any suggestions on how to stop your kid from doing this? I have been pretty lucky that my kids have not had to many crazy bad habits because it bugs when all day long you have to remind them to stop. HELP.....

{HAPPY "11" BIRTHDAY}.....cute boy. Hope you have a HAPPY day. Love from your favorite aunt, of course.

{INSANITY}....something that every sane person should try at least once in their life to see what they are missing.

{HAPPY ST.PATRICK'S DAY}.....yes the leprechauns were lame this year. Pretty sure they were busy at a baseball tournament all weekend.

{He informed me today as we were}....walking around the block on his new bike that he got for Christmas, that he finally got to ride because it was like an amazingly 70 degrees that he hates the number 3 and wishes that it wasn't in the numbers. He thinks they should replace the number 3 with the number 6 so it goes 1 2 6 4 5 6 7 8 9 10. His mind is random, what would make him hate the number 3? He keeps me thinking, this little man of mine.

{WOW}.....is the first and only thing that crossed my mind today. Sometimes you have mOvE on, cArRy on, rOcK on and.....

{A trip to the}....cheap seats, thanks to a filled-up sticker/good behavior chart from the little man. A few times watched on the Kindle Fire, and don't forget the nightly routine on DVD. Let's just say the movie was a HIT....I quite enjoyed it myself. What's the bribe for the sticker chart this week?

{What a almost}....gorgeous spring-like day. The type of day that makes you thirst for more, it gives you ambition, makes you want to get up and jump for joy. It seems like an eternity since we have pulled out the scoters and gone for a cruise around the block. I have hope that many more days like this are on the way. YIPEE for spring.

{I love HAPPY}....sometimes you are and sometimes you aren't, it is how it goes. Only you can change things.