that time natalie and i took our kids downtown on a friday night to take pictures of jackson for his baptism announcements in front of grafitti

the boy who couldn't boil a noodle

do you teach your kids to cook? 

i had a boy babysit the boys for me last year. he was 13 so i just assumed he could do basic cooking. i had leftover spaghetti sauce so i said for dinner he could just boil some spaghetti and microwave the sauce. 

but he didn't know how to boil spaghetti. 

so i got out some hot dogs and said he could microwave them for dinner. and i had the popcorn popper out so they could have popcorn while they watched a movie.

i came home to find out that he had no idea how to use an air-popper, and they ate cold hot dogs for dinner. 

and they almost started a fire trying to figure out how to use the air-popper.

i thought back to my childhood and couldn't remember a time when i wasn't cooking things for myself. i was 4 when my brother started paying me a quarter to make him popcorn. i believe i was 7 when i started baking all my siblings birthday cakes. by 6 i could at least make noodles, grilled cheese sandwiches and fry, poach & scramble eggs, and make a killer chocolate chip cookie.

after that incident i realized having the boys in the kitchen with me was more than just a fun activity. i'm determined to raise boys that know how to cook everything that i can cook. 

i can't tell you how nice it is to sleep in on saturdays and not have to worry about breakfast because jackson is in the kitchen happily making toast and scrambled eggs.

teach your boys to cook!

(i was in the kitchen on mothers day happily baking some brownies, when payton came in wanting to share the load so i could enjoy my day.)

the pictures were so cute they didn't need a description

on the farm

payton went to wheeler farm with his buddies eli & landon. it was such a perfect way to spend the morning. the boys spent an hour climbing a big tree and ginger and i just relaxed, talked & took pictures. the weather was perfect, the boys were perfect, and being there made me walk away even more convinced that i want a mini farm someday.

water and chalk

the best thing about spring so far has been playing with sidewalk chalk and the hose. that is really all you need to entertain a group on kids on a beautiful sunny day.

the one where they have big muscles

nate has been doing a lot of soul searching lately to figure out what he wants to do with his life. he's almost done with school and he has a lot of really cool career options available to him.

i think destiny came knocking this evening and showed us a clear path for not only him, but our boys as well. We could build a legacy and pass it on to generations of Boden's.

my kids are still littles and they helped their friend and his mom move out of their apartment. they weren't just sitting around playing either. see all that stuff by the truck? They hauled all the stuff up a flight of stairs. no joke here. they were born to move. born to be heavy lifters.

i can see it now.

"BODEN & SONS MOVING COMPANY"

future.

a day with payton

is it corny to say that payton's birthday was "dreamy"? 

well, corny or not it was dreamy.

i'd had one of the worst days ever the day before his birthday. waking up in the morning finding out that someone has stolen your debit card number and gone on a shopping spree sucks balls. big time. but the god's of fraudulent charges were smiling down on me and i was able to take care of everything that day. 

when it comes to birthdays for my boys i like to keep them small. now that i'm an adult and all "self aware" i realize how much big gatherings stress me out. when they're older they can have big birthday parties with friends, but while they're small i want to soak up all the memories that i can. 

after payton had cake and opened his presents jackson went to his cousins house for a sleepover. so payton and i set up his hot wheels tracks and put together his various lego sets. we played, laughed, he told funny stories, then he told me "all i wanted for my birthday was to spend time with you".

seriously, best.thing.ever.

then i laid down on his bed and fell asleep listening to the cute sounds and things he would say while playing with his legos. 

it was dreamy.

raising boys

one year older and wiser too

has it really been 5 years since this little man arrived?

aren't little tee ball players the cutest

payton had his first tee ball practice last night. it was extra fun since not only does he love playing baseball, but his best friend eli is on the same team.

i love love love this time of year when we get to spend our evenings outside at baseball games.

easter photo shoot

greatest hits

sometimes i miss those days when you HAD to develop photos in order to see them. granted, half of those developed photos ended up looking like shiz, but at least they were there. they existed in a physical form that you could touch and carry with you.

too many wonderful photos live on my computer and have been forgotten. though with my new mac they seem much more accessible. i've been going through all of our photos and brightening them up. therein lies the beauty of digital photography. those photos that would've turned out dark and lackluster after being developed can now be given new life through the magic of photoshop.

now i just need to commit to developing those photos that have been given a new lease on life.

here are some of my faves, many of which have been seen on here before...