My family

My little brother is getting ready to go on a mission, so I was able to fly out to Houston and see him before he takes off to California for 2 years. I was able to come out without the kids (wow!), what a good husband I have! We have been having a great weekend together and we were just trying to remember the last time we were all together just the orignal Woodwards.

Warning...these boys are taken!

Stuart had his dress blues out for a ceremony and oh how my heart melts when I see him in this uniform. Sorry, but these are the best looking of any of the services dress uniforms! I had also bought this little outfit for Zach a while ago hoping to get the two of them together in it, and it finally happened! Stuart was a little sad he couldn't find all his ribbons, but our window of getting a happy baby was short...They are pretty good looking boys if I say so myself and it was fun to see them together. Stuart is hoping that the kids will follow in our footsteps with the military, but Gracie can't because of her transplant and I don't think they have a special job for princess of the ship, so she is not interested. I am hoping for a dentist out of Zach but he is obsessed with the trash can, so we may have a garbage man in our future! Stuart gives up one weekend a month to still do the Navy reserves and he really truly loves it, so although it is hard for him to be working during our precious weekends, I know he is doing such an important thing. And every now and then I get perks like seeing him in his uniform!

Let's go to the park...

I finally stopped being so lazy and downloaded all the pictures from my phone onto my computer. So warning, some of these are old pictures, but still worth sharing. Plus after much thought and talking to my Mom I have decided that since this is my blog and my diary for right now, I am going to put what I want to look at and not worry so much about anyone else. I am so selfish, right? So unlike a middle child like myself!

The kids love the water faucet at this park, the poor dog never gets his turn.

Gracie is telling me "no more pictures Mommy". She is not my sweet little baby anymore, that is for sure!

Easter Baskets

Here are the baskets from Stuart's Mom. Lots of candy and toys, fun times!

Easter

So I'm a bad mom...I know this but am constantly reminded by other people's blogs. I did not take cute Easter pics of my kids this year and truth be told I didn't even get them a special outfit. I know, you are probably shaking your head with unbelief...and how I keep my kids is a shock to me too! But we didn't have traditional church this year on Easter so I really didn't see the point, but we are having out Easter program this Sunday so maybe I will take pics then and since you are all my good friends you will forgive and forget...right? We did however go over to my mother-in-laws house for a fun BBQ and kids had a great time. She did baskets, so I am kind of glad that I slacked off, we have candy coming out of our ears! And I am not really on board with the whole presents for Easter thing, but she made up for that too.

Zach is riding a fun toy at Grandma's house. She has to coolest stuff.

We let them play in a new sprinkler toy and they weren't super excited about that, but they did like watching it. That's right, it was warm enough to play outside in swimsuits. And I saw some people had snow...hmm, sounds good to me. We will definitely try it again when it gets even hotter.

Stuart surprised Max and Gracie with the sprinkler. I love how Max is running away, sorry it's not the greastest picture.

Zach did not really want to get wet, he would rather venture over to the neighbors house.Gracie is watching the sprinkler from a safe distance.

It was a fun, relaxing Easter this year spent with family. I was together with some women of different faiths a few days before Easter and it was great to hear their take on Easter but I really noticed that they focused on the death of Christ, and yes I know that this is a huge part of the story, but I am more touched by the story of Christ in Gethsemane and how he was willing to take on the sins of the world so we could someday live with him and our Heavenly Father if we just repent and follow him.

Another Birthday...

So this is a little late, but I liked some of these pics...so I wanted to put them up. I went to Disney World again for my birthday this year and once again Stuart was out of town. That makes 5 years in a row for anyone keeping score...oh wait, that is probably just me. So a sweet friend checked us in for free and we were able to make it a special day.

The kids love the play lands scattered all over the park, so it was a very laid back day. Waiting in line with 2 kids along is not an easy task to rides were pretty much off the to do list. We did go on Gracie's favorite ride, It's a small World and about 5 minutes in the ride broke and we sat there for 15 minutes. Of course the song did not break...my Dad shuttered when he heard this story. The kids didn't mind of course and it fun to be stuck right by Ireland and the can-can girls.

Gracie and I by the Castle, Zach was passed out by this time...it was a fun day. So I am a year older and a little wiser too. I can't believe how fast this year went by, I still feel like we just moved here and I was pregnant. I really hope this year is filled with growth and adventure, but mostly a lot of time with my family near and far and friends.

Birthdays!

Well my babies are 2 weeks apart, and although I really don't like combining the parties (I always had to share with my sisters and resented it), they are so young and don't know yet. So we had a BBQ and some cupcakes and called it good. Zach was not too impressed with his cupcake because it fell apart too easily, but he had a good time with the frosting. Gracie really liked that the cupcakes came with rings on them...she had to wear them all. She really wanted the princess cupcakes but I had to remind her that she was sharing with Zach, so we compromised with Nemo. Fun times!