Where does the time go?

I haven't posted in nearly 5 months. I have thought many times about writing a blog. Sometimes, I have even pre-planned one in my head. I just haven't actually made it to the computer to type it.

Instead of trying to "catch up" on what has happened in our OH SO EXCITING(ha) lives, I will write about what I started this blog for in the first place, as a place to write about and post pictures of our family.

January is the month of both of our boys birthdays. So along with being sick off and on all month, we have also been celebrating birthdays most of the month.

This sweet little boy turned 3 on January 9th. I'm not sure where the time has gone with him either! He has grown up so much in the last year. He is definitely not a baby any more. He is smart, funny, sweet, and a CONSTANT ball of energy. He loves to make people laugh and is very good at it. His vocabulary amazes me! I am constantly thinking to myself where in the world he learned that particular word! He LOVES all things transportation. Airplanes are his favorite but he also really enjoys rockets, trains(Thomas), cars, and especially school buses.

Last night was his first night in his "big boy" bed. He has been in a toddler bed for just at a year but with the upcoming arrival of his little sister(more about her in a later post) we needed to combine rooms. So, last night, we made the big switch and the boys now share a room. Kyle was so "escited" to have a sleep over with Elijah. I know that excitement will eventually ware off but it is great right now.

AND, this sweet boy turned 6 on January 25th. And that is VERY hard to type! I can't believe he is getting to be so grown up! And forgive the picture! He doesn't actually LOVE having his picture taken and the day before his birthday we found out he had strep throat(AGAIN) and double ear infections(AGAIN)! He has grown up a lot over the last year as well. . in different ways. He is compassionate, dramatic, funny, sweet, and smart! He is quite the little reader and "tech" guy. He loves all things technology including the computer(he has it ALL figured out), DS, and anything else he can get his hands on. He loves legos, super heros(still), but his favorite right now is Ben 10. He is a great big brother and is VERY excited to have a little sister. He is constantly talking to her and loving on her while she is in Momma! :)

Mother's-Day-Out

Kyle, our youngest, is 2 1/2. He is quite the little character. He is hilarious, active, smart, sweet, cuddly, mischievous, and a stinker all rolled into one. He keeps us entertained and on our toes. He has been in some sort of childcare since he was 7 weeks old. However, he has always been in the home of friends during the day not in actual daycare situations with other kids. Today, as I took Kyle to his first day of MDO I thought it would be easy after all, this wasn't the first time I had dropped him off. I was wrong. He was big and excited(until they wanted him to put his lunchbox in the basket outside the door!) and Mommy was NOT! I could barely hold myself together as I rushed to my car. Driving away, I cried. My sweet baby is growing up!

I tried to get some good pictures of him before we left this morning but he didn't want to put down the new cup he picked out. So, these will have to do! :)

All things new

Last Monday marked new beginnings for each of the four Garzon's.

Ricky started a new bread route that is in town. This was especially exciting because it means much less time going from town to town which results in earlier mornings but shorter days. We are all excited that Daddy gets to pick up Elijah from kindergarten MOST days. And that we get to have afternoons and evenings at home together.

Since Daddy was in town last Monday, he came by to give Elijah hugs and pray for him before his new beginning.

After a long summer of WAITING and WAITING for phone calls, interviews, and job offers, I FINALLY was offered the perfect teaching position in LATE July! I am teaching 1st grade at Ridgecrest Elementary(phenomenal school) ONLY in the afternoons and ONLY math and science. If you know me well, you know that this is an amazing fit for me. I will admit that I was extremely nervous about going back to "babies" and it has been a difficult transition but I am thoroughly enjoying it. I get to spend all morning with Kyle most days. This was the most appealing part of this particular position for me. I have worked mostly full-time since Kyle was a newborn. I never dreamt that a position like this one would be available at such an amazing school! But, it was an answer to prayer and we count my new job a true blessing! And, to make it even better, Elijah gets to be at school with me!

Mommy and Elijah in Mommy's classroom the 1st day of school!

As hard as is to believe still, Elijah is now in kindergarten! I just keep thinking that it seems like yesterday that he was born and now here he is in big boy school! He LOVES it! He has the most amazing teacher(although we still LOVE and miss both Miss Heather and Mrs. Heather) and the best possible fit for his needs(and NO, I didn't request). He loves being a Ridgecrest Raider!

He wanted me to take a picture of his backpack. He is awfully proud of it because it says his name! (Thanks again Mis! :)

My sweet boy, all grown up!

Elijah and Mrs. Smith

I love the look on the little girls face behind him. . .like WHAT are you doing in here woman! haha! :)

And not to leave the little guy out! With all the rest of the families schedules changing, that means changes for him as well. Kyle has the craziest schedule but he is settling into it. He gets to stay at home in the mornings with me and all day with Ricky one day. He will begin Mothers Day Out next Tuesday(something that I am VERY excited for him for! He is such a little social guy!) and will go two days a week. And he gets to go to a dear friends two afternoons a week. He loves her and her little boy. She is such a blessing to us and to our little man!

Kyle was VERY ready to go to see Mrs. Courtney and Bryson

Not Itchin'

7 years ago today, I married my sweet, intelligent, adorable, hilarious, amazing Ricky! The last seven years have been an incredible ride! 9 moves, 8 different houses/apartments, a slew of jobs, and two kids later!

Our Wedding Day-August 9, 2003

Heading Home from the Hospital with Elijah-January 2005

Our little family-December 2005

September 2006

Oklahoma City Trip-June 2007

Our family of 4-April 2008

An updated family of 4-July 2010

My sweet hubby and I

So, unlike what many have been told us, after 7 years we are not itching! :)

(And, this post made me realize that Ricky and I do NOT take pictures alone together!! This must change!!)

Horse. . .2010 model

I do not like to have tons and tons of toys all over our house. I am a bit anal; as in I follow the boys around picking up after them. . .A LOT. . .TOO much! I also am constantly going through their toys picking out toys that they don't play with anymore to go in the garage sale pile. Kyle is 2 1/2. He is not a baby anymore (as hard as that is to admit). A few months ago, I put a horse Kyle had in the garage sale pile. After countless times of him pulling it BACK out, I finally have given in and realized that he still enjoys this toy and doesn't want to let it go quite yet.

Until a few days ago, I hadn't really watched him play with his horse. I knew that he kept his "keys" in the basket but thought nothing of it. Until I saw this. . . .

Not only does he use the keys to start his horse, he also uses the remote keyless entry to lock and unlock him when he is not on him! HA!

The swing set

Elijah and Kyle's birthdays are both in January. This means we get a new supply of toys about one month before that happens all over again. Now, don't get me wrong, I love that our boys are loved and we appreciate every gift they are given. However, this can be overwhelming for a mom that is a tad bit anal and a has an ounce(or two) of over-organizer syndrome! This year was especially bad since we were not living in our house but instead in a little bitty two bedroom apartment(which we were VERY thankful for). So, I asked my parents to consider giving the boys a swing set(to be purchased at a later date). They agreed this was a good idea. Due to crazy schedules on both ours and their parts, we didn't get the swingset purchased until early June. My parents were not available to stay that weekend to help with the assembly. After borrowing tools from a friend (THANKS David Merrill!!!), Ricky and I decided to tackle the daunting task alone. (Now before I go on, I would like to tell you that neither Ricky nor I are OVERLY handy.) I could stretch this post out for a VERY long time but lets just say after 3 weeks, 24 hours of labor(some by myself, a lot with just Ricky and I, and a few late nights with Adam Grubb. . .THANK YOU ADAM), quite a bit of frustration, and EXTREMELY anxious boys we FINALLY have a finished product!

The framing to the clubhouse! This part took over 3 hours(I realize most people probably wouldn't take that long!)! It was only Step 1 and 2 of 24 steps!

I'm not sure why Elijah is wearing sweat pants in the middle of a hot June day but this was after several more steps and shows 2 of the 5 windows on the clubhouse.

With a LOT of help from Ricky, we added the bay window, roof, "table", ladder, and railing. Ricky and Adam are responsible for the rock wall!

And FINALLY, the finished product! I documented all of our progress but am just now realizing I don't have a good picture of the entire swing set! Adam again assisted Ricky and I with the swing beam and then Ricky and I with some help from Elijah added the swings.

Kyle woke up from his nap that afternoon to find swings in the backyard. He was anxious to try them out. So, we let him. . .in just his diaper(he is still wearing diapers to nap and to bed).

And with that, I declare that I am DONE using power tools and assembling ANYTHING for a VERY, VERY long time!!! And if you need to find the boys and I for the next few months, we will be in our backyard, enjoying the fruit of our labor! :) Thanks to my Dad and Mom for a WONDERFUL birthday present!

It's been a while...

Where to begin!?!? We have been back in our house for nearly 4 months now. When we moved back in, we decided to not get cable or internet for a while. Ricky surprised me this week and got internet. We have iphones for most things and one of our neighbors had unlocked wireless internet we could access. So, I didn't really see much point in purchasing our own. . .but Ricky is right, that really isn't honest! So, with our own internet, I can now blog more which I am excited about!

Life has been crazy busy since my last post!

Elijah's t-ball season is winding down with 3 games and a party left. I was very nervous for him to play but he has done really well! The first game was pretty entertaining! All the kids ran in all different directions, fits were thrown(not just by Elijah), and it was pretty much mass chaos. But, the kids have learned a lot and are all playing better.

Elijah graduated from Polk Street. This was a bittersweet day. I am excited for him to go on to kindergarten but Polk Street has been his "home" during the day for 3 years! He started as a 2 year old. He came out of his shell during his 3 years there. And it looks like we will continue our years at Polk Street with Kyle.

We have had quite a few activities with the church including Elijah's first time to sing in "big church". Once on Sunday night with the children's choir and then again on a Wednesday night with his Mission Friends class. We also have gone to Wonderland with the youth, went to the WT swimming pool, and several other things. Church activities will keep us quite busy this summer. We are loving First Baptist though! We are so blessed to have been welcomed in to such a great church family!

Ricky bought the boys a pool a few weeks ago. They LOVE to swim and would stay in it all day, every day if I allowed. Last weekend, we had some of our friends over for a cookout and swimming. This family goes to First Baptist with us. Adam is the Associate Youth Minister at the church. Our entire family adores this sweet family! We feel so blessed that the Lord has placed them in our lives! I attempted a picture of the three boys(Logan, Elijah, and Kyle) but this was the best I got.

And we can't leave out sweet Kenlee (she didn't want to swim but still looked precious in her little swim suit)! I have loved being around a little girl. . .something I don't get to do very often!

And last but DEFINITELY not least, this sweet little boy is potty training(ed)! He has been wearing his cute little big boy undies all week and has very few accidents. He is even waking up from naps dry! We are delighted at the thought of having a diaper free household!!