We all know where Mom is… so I’m not going to rub it in anymore.

But I will share some pictures of her!

Mom has been hanging out with friends and family {new and old}:

exploring caves:

taking postcard-worthy pictures:

spending time with Steve (why didn’t anyone warn me about how windy it is here?):

taking lots of pictures of her boys:

and acting really stupid with her camera risking my life for you guys, my loyal readers:

The picture was worth it, right?

And yes, Jack was grabbed before he followed in my footsteps… and I gave him the “Mommy was having a crazy moment wrong, and it was dangerous” speech. Lesson learned.

Go visit Carin for more pictures, and while you’re clicking, stop by and congratulate my friend Jen on completing the challenge!

We’ve climbed volcanoes,

seen natural wonders,

experienced scary wild rides,

and spent lots of time with family.

And it’s only our first day here!

We’ll be leaving soon for our trip…

My bags are {almost} packed…

My house is tidied for the wonderful and amazing friend who is housesitting…

We have suitcases full of sunscreen, snorkels, and underwater cameras…

And a surprise helicopter tour planned for the boys.

We have people to see, and memories to make.

This afternoon Jack walked into the den and said:

Hey Mom and Dad…

Ahula! We’re going to Hawaii!

This week, Mom was spotted a couple of times.

The first was on Valentine’s Day, when she went out to dinner with her one and only:

And the second was Wednesday, when the temperature hit 75 degrees and a trip to Dairy Queen was in order.

The boys laughed and laughed at Mom’s hair flying out of the sunroof!

There’s nothing better than a trip to Dairy Queen after school – before dinner – on a warm day.

Well, rolling the windows down and pretending your hand is an airplane takes a close second.

It’s coming up, you know.

Our trip.

What, did you forget?

I didn’t.

To be honest, it’s coming up a little too fast.

I’m constantly reminded of all of the cookies and Coke I consumed during the past few months.

You know, the ones that are stuck on my butt?

Yeah, those.

I find myself daydreaming about this:

And then thinking about this:

Yeah…  oops.

It’s only been 4 months, but that bikini doesn’t fit me quite the same anymore.

I guess during the Christmas party season I forgot that I might need to wear it again.

Good thing that Athleta still had these in stock:

Because I may or may not have purchased one this week.

But despite what it seems, I’m not admitting defeat quite yet.

I’m working hard at being able to wear the bikini top, and I still have a fighting chance.

Thanks to these:

and this little piece of magic:

Oh, and this bar thingy? Amazing. I’ll tell you a secret – I can’t do a sit up without it.

This is helpful, too. Just don’t let the kids get a hold of it. Or do. It’s kind of funny.

Oh, and this helps, too. It’s my favorite. Except for the “Cardio Party.” Yeah, notsomuchaparty.

I am not one to be giving out exercise advice, but somehow {giving complete credit to the above products} I have lost about 20 sticks of butter since Christmas. I have yet to see where those sticks of butter came from (my toes do look a little slimmer), but I’m happy nonetheless.

Secrets? No, I don’t have any.

I run when I can, sneak 15 minute workouts in whenever Jack gives me a free minute (or 15), and try not to eat too many girl scout cookies. Oh, and I stopped drinking my daily Coke.

Because though they are Hawaiian in origin, I can’t fathom having to wear a muumuu in Hawaii.

Though if I had to, I would rock one.

*There are affiliate links in this post*

I just can’t figure it out.

On Friday night, we took the boys to Outback with some friends of ours. We recapped the rock story for her while Jack made all of his crayons “naked” (tearing all the paper off of them).

Saturday was relaxing… went running, cleaned the house a bit, and walked around Target with a girlfriend. Perfect day.

Sunday was Valentine’s Day. But you all know that, right?

I woke up to beautiful tulips and after going running with a girlfriend, I came home to fresh pancakes (with peanut butter and bananas, of course) made by my Valentine.

Last night, we went out for dinner with some great friends. We sat at the restaurant for 2 hours drinking fan-cee white peach and hibiscus margaritas, eating way too much chips and guacamole, and laughing at unsuspecting fashion failures people watching.

After we ate our weight in Mexican food, we walked on over to AJ’s and decided to do some window shopping.

If you’ve never been to an AJ’s, you should probably get on a plane and get on out here. It’s that cool. Amazingly beautiful bakery items, a sushi bar, a huge meat counter, and holycowthosearehugestrawberries produce. All at crazy expensive prices, but hey, you can’t have everything.  Hence, the window shopping.

I did manage to snag a picture of their beer selection.. It’s Steve’s favorite part of the store:

And I left with only one frivolous purchase:

Because isn’t she the cutest thing you’ve ever seen? It’s a dish scrubber. With it’s own little holder. Her name is Nicole, but she has friends… you know, in case you need one too.

So, we ate, we shopped, we came home.

And then.

Because the rock incident of the last 2 weeks didn’t wear me out enough, we hear this from Pauline, our amazing friend that loves on our kids when we go out:

“I need to tell you something.”

OhhhKayyyyy….  What?

“Jack cut his hair.”

Of course he did. He’s Jack. I’m not surprised.

“I’m sorry. I sent him in to brush his teeth, and he came out with his hair cut.”

Yup. That’s the Jack I know. But don’t be sorry… It definitely wasn’t your fault!

We couldn’t get a good look at it last night because he was zonked face first on his pillow. So we waited until this morning.

Before:

After:

Beautiful.

He’s proud of it.

I asked him why he cut his own hair.

He said, “It was too long.”

I took him to get it fixed today and the hairdresser gave him a hard time.

She told him that if he does it again, he’ll be getting a mohawk.

I completely agree with her.

Short, short, short… ugh.

He’s still adorable.

He told the hairdresser that it was ok to cut your own hair…

as long as your Mom says it’s ok.

I guess I must talk in my sleep.

*In the interest of full disclosure, there are affiliate links in this post*

If you were a fly on the wall at my house this weekend, you surely may or may not have heard these quotes…

From Michael:

Mom, can I play PSP?

Jack’s bugging me.

I’m full. Do I have to finish my breakfast/lunch/dinner?

Can I play PSP?

I’m hungry. Can I have a cookie?

Jack’s bothering me!

Mom, can I play PSP?

From Jack:

Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom?

Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad?

Michael, what are you doing?

Graciiiiiieeeeee…. (dog #1)

Rileeeeeyyyyyy… (dog #2)

Can I have a lollipop?

Michael, can I play?

Can I play with Molly?

Michael…  I want to come in!

Dogs… want a treat?

From Mom:

Jack. Stop. bothering. the. dogs.

Jack, if you don’t leave the dogs alone, we’re going to give them away.

Michael, no. You have played enough video games this weekend.

Jack, if you touch her collar one more time, you’re going to your room.

Jack, go to your room. And stop smiling.

No, it’s not ok to say that word.

I don’t know why God lets your mouth say it, but it’s not appropriate to say.

Michael, if you don’t eat real food, I’m never going to let you have sweets.

Of course you’re hungry at 4:30. You didn’t eat lunch. You’ll have to wait.

Jack, get the handcuffs off the dog.

Yes, I know she can still walk. I don’t care. Get them off her.

Don’t say that during dinner. It’s not appropriate to say at the table.

Michael, how can you not be hungry? You were starving an hour ago.

NO! You can’t have dessert! You didn’t eat dinner!

No, Jack. No lollipops. Because you’re not behaving today and you don’t need more sugar.

Yes, you have to go to bed right after your bath.

Because Mommy is tired.

No you can’t stay up with Daddy. He’s tired, too.

No, you can’t stay up by yourself.

Because I said so.

Because I said so.

Because I said so.

Goodnight.

I love you too.

I love you too. I already told you that.

Yes, I already tucked you in.

Michael, did you just call me from across the house to ask if I would turn your fan on?

Good. Night. Boys.

{waits 10 minutes}

Love you too.

Happy blogday bloggiversary (what are they called?) blog birthday to me!

One year of sharing funny stories, posting pictures, and meeting lots of new friends.

One year ago when my friend Suzanne mentioned how much she loves blogging, I thought “hmmm…  I bet that would be fun to try.”

I had no idea.

I didn’t realize that I would “meet” new friends and strengthen family bonds.

I didn’t know about the amazing and supportive community that bloggers have.

Now I know.

Since it’s my day and all, I decided that we should do something fun. After talking to Darcie I decided to steal her idea and host a scavenger hunt giveaway!

The rules

1. Send me an e-mail with the answers to the following questions. The answers are in the linked posts. I’m sure you’ll become so interested in the posts that you’ll almost forget all about the contest you’re entering, so don’t forget to e-mail me!

becca AT Our Crazy Boys (dot) com

2. Leave me a comment. Any comment. Tell me about your favorite post, tell me if you’ve been here one or one hundred times, or just say hello.

3. Once you do these two things (assuming your answers are correct), you’re entered into the contest.

The prize

One reader will randomly be chosen to win a $50 gift card to… wherever you choose!

Me? I would probably choose Borders. Or Target. But that’s the fun part. YOU get to choose!

The fine print

I can only ship to U.S. addresses

I have to be able to purchase the gift card online. As much as I love each and every one of you, it’s probably not in my best interest to fly across the country to buy you a gift card for the teeny tiny coffee house that you frequent.

Ready… Set… Go!

1. Who in the world is Marilyn?

2. Give me one hamster rule.

3. Michael is quite the swimmer. Tell me what stroke broke my heart last year during his swim meet.

4. Tell me the one creature that you could handle finding in your house (yes, this is an opinion question. A freebie, if you will).

5. What did Steve and I drink a little too much of in Cancun last year?

I’ll pick a winner on Wednesday, February 3rd at 8 p.m. Arizona time.

Good luck!!

This week, Mom was celebrating with some of her favorite people!

My friend best friend sister (in the “we have different Moms, but are totally sisters” way) Kristin recently turned 40 (yes, you read that right. It’s not fair. She doesn’t look 40) and in true Kristin fashion, she decided to have a party in the park, complete with egg races:

a pinata:

three-legged races:

and almost 100 hot dogs! See my boy there? He grilled all. day. long. He loved it. Oh, and that guy next to him? Kristin’s husband. The same guy that redesigned my beautiful blog button and made me my very own twitter button! Go ahead… look on my sidebar… I’ll wait a second.

Isn’t it be-U-tiful?!

So, everyone had a great time, and when we got home we all passed out from exhaustion.

Hope you’re all having a wonderful week!