Life With Three Boys..............

Our Thanksgiving "Turkey"

2011-11-23T11:22:00.002-06:00

Aiden's Kindergarten class and the 4 year old preschool class had a Thanksgiving Feast at school today. The kids could dress as Indians or Pilgrims and could each bring a finger food of some sort to share. My husband loves to come up with all of these crazy ideas and usually can make them work. Todd and Aiden decided to make a "turkey" out of rice krispie treats, using cocoa krispies to give it the browned, right out of the oven look. :)

It turned out amazingly well. I just laugh every time I look at those little turkey wings. I think it creeped a few of the kids out though. I'm not sure they really got that it was a giant rice krispie treat. But it was certainly a hit!! I have a feeling he will need to make this every year now.

I had the honor of getting to "carve" it at school today. I think I needed something more than a pie cutter on it though. It was so tasty and Aiden was so proud of the treat that he and his daddy made together.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Drew's First Year of Football

2011-10-09T18:52:00.000-05:00

One football game left before Drew's football season comes to a close. He's wanted to play for years but never really decided to commit to it. We knew going in what a time commitment it was which is one reason why I was so hesitant to let him do it (that and the risk of my little baby Drewdles getting hurt--sorry Drew). We gave in this year. 5 days per week of practice, even when he started playing games each week, and throw in the homework load of a 7th grader, and let's just say it was a rough start. For the kid who has excelled in every sport he had tried, football the was the first tough challenge for him. I see this as a good and bad thing. Drew is one determined guy--when he wants something, he works his butt off to accomplish it, no matter what it is. To see him feeling so upset and defeated in the beginning about killed Todd and I. Even though our hearts wanted to let him skip practices or give up, we knew he wouldn't learn anything from that. He had to finish the season out for his team and honor his commitment. I can honestly say that I think he is happy he did. He never complains about practice anymore, he is enjoying the games, and is having fun with his teammates. Will he play next year? He is still undecided. :) The time comittment is really hard and I understand that. We'll see when next year comes. But for now, I am so proud of him for sticking with it, working hard, and reaping the benefits of his hard work.

For one, isn't he so handsome in his football uniform?

Two, after each game a kid is given one of these horseshoes for being the Player of the Game. (His team is the Colts) Drew received one after one of his games early in the season for his awesome tackles. We were so proud of him and you could tell he was so proud to have earned it and that the coaches noticed how hard he was working. It now has a special spot in his room.

Drew is #50

I know it's hard picking him out in these next 2 pictures but I swear he's in there. lol

I think this season of football was a learning experience for Drew, Todd and I. I've also learned a lot more about the game itself and thoroughly enjoy watching it. Go Colts!!

An Anniversary & A Birthday Rolled Into One

2011-09-24T14:07:00.003-05:00

September 23rd and September 24th are busy days in our house. This year was no exception. The 23rd is Todd and I's anniversary. This year we celebrated the big 16. It's also the day before Aiden's birthday. He got to bring birthday treats to school (chocolate cake balls that he helped his daddy make), got sung Happy Birthday to in front of the school, and got to bring our kitty Chloe in for show and tell. That evening Todd and I got to go out for a nice supper at One (an awesome new restaurant), finished up a little birthday shopping and rented Bridesmaids to watch after the boys went to bed. It was the perfect day. This morning on the 24th a certain little someone was up early ready to start celebrating his birthday. Todd surprised him with with doughnuts for breakfast and his brothers gave him their birthday gift--a frog Webkinz. Now they could all play Webkinz together on the computer. Then we headed off to Aiden's early morning soccer game. Uncle Scott gave him his birthday gift afterwards so he was so excited to come home and play (Ninjago Legos). We played until lunchtime and then Aiden got to pick where we ate for lunch. Burger King was the birthday boys' choice. So exciting huh?? When we got home, we gave him the rest of his gifts and have been playing since. The rest of the day is wide open......what else will the birthday boy want to do? Are you on the edge of your seats?

Next weekend is his joint birthday party with Noah, Ty, and Christopher. Yes, September is always a busy month!

An unrelated piece of excitement from today.....Drew lost his last baby tooth. Why does this make me a little sad? He was so nonchalant about it. He forgot to even tell us until about an hour after when we were driving to lunch. I guess I should be thankful those last 2 teeth came out on their own, saves me having to pay to have them pulled. It's the little things. :)

2 Teeth, 1 Day, 1 Happy Kid

2011-09-10T13:24:00.003-05:00

We started September off with a bang. Aiden had a first on the 1st---he also had a second. We're talking teeth here. When Aiden went to the dentist for his kindergarten checkup, the dentist asked if we knew he had 2 loose teeth. Of course we didn't since I don't spend a lot of time with my fingers in my kids' mouths. Right before we left town for Todd's Ironman, they were really loose and I was so afraid he would lose his first one while we were out of town. Thankfully he waited until we got back. The evening of September 1st, Aiden was sitting on the couch with us watching some TV and he was playing with his tooth. Suddenly he shouted "My tooth came out!". We were all so excited so he said he wondered if the other one would come out. Not even 15 minutes later, tooth #2 made it's exit. It must have been time though, because both of his grown up teeth were already visible in his gums.

He was so excited for the tooth family to come that night for the first time. The tooth fairy is a big chicken. She is always scared that she is going to get caught, but thankfully she pulled this one off. Aiden woke me up in the middle of the night saying he had a bad dream. I went to tuck him in and he asked if the tooth fairy came yet and I said I didn't know, but he could look. He said, "I'll just wait till morning". Before I could say anything he jumped up and looked. He was so excited to see 2 crisp one dollar bills lying there that he wanted to run in and show Noah. I did convince him to save that until morning though.

When I asked to get some pictures of him and his missing teeth, he insisted Miss Chloe be in some of them.

She's such a good cat, she just kind of hung out there on his shoulder while we took pictures.
A close up. Look at those pointy things coming in. They freak me out a little bit. He kind of looks like a vampire.

Why does that make them look so much more grown up? Seeing how great he has been doing in kindergarten tells me he has definitely grown up some. He's becoming my big little guy. Love him.

Little Miss Chloe

2011-08-20T08:54:00.004-05:00

Ever since Grayson died in October, the boys have been begging for another cat. I love cats, would have 10 if I could, but after the financial and emotional strain of Grayson's health and then passing, I was scared to do it again. I just wasn't ready. Grayson and Jack were best buds, I was also worried we couldn't find a cat that would have that same relationship with Jack. Plus, things were going so well with Jack, I didn't want to jeopardize anything with him. But you could tell he missed having another cat around.

Then my husband started saying we really needed another cat for Jack. For HIM to say that, well, I wondered if maybe it wasn't time to start. The boys of course, are like their momma. We go to the Humane Society and fall in love with every homeless cat we see. They just want a cat. Me, the committment-phobe, is scared to pick just one. I need to find the one that has the best personality to fit with life with 3 boys and one very large black cat. How do I do that?? I hemmed and hawed for weeks. Then of course I thought the timing was all wrong, I was started a new job, school and sports were starting back up, Todd was going back to school, bringing a new cat in seemed crazy. Well, we are a little crazy and you can never pick that "perfect" time for something like this and sometimes these little furry creatures find you. We were at Petco and the Humane Society always keeps a few cats over there for people to adopt. We actually went to see another one but wasn't sure about his personality. This little girl below was in a cage off to the side, I might have left if Noah hadn't pointed her out. We got to get her out and she loved and snuggled with me, Noah and Aiden. She was a doll. We went back again the next day. Still loved her. We went back to the Humane Society and no one else seemed to "fit" just right even though we gushed over them all. Something was just right about her. Her name was Tova......we went to adopt her. All through this, I'm thinking "this is crazy, this is crazy".

We brought her home and to say Jack was pissed was an understatement. I have never heard such screeches, hisses, and moans to come out of his mouth. But we gave him time and only introduced them for bits and pieces here and there. Within 2 days they could be around each other full time. I was amazed at how quickly it happened. We've had her for a week and a half now and they play, chase each other, sometimes sleep together. She is just the sweetest, loviest little girl and has been good with all of us. Anyone that has been to our house knows how affectionate Jack is. You will get cuddles whether you like it or not. Now we are lucky to have 2 cats that love to snuggle, love the affection of our family, and give it back in return. Now we can only hope and pray that we continue to have 2 healthy cats.

Yes, I had to get her a girly collar. I don't get to buy girly things much so even a cat collar got me excited. Sad, huh?? :) It only took our family 3 full days to agree on a name for her, that was sad. LOL It's hard to tell in the pictures, but she has a lot of brown mixed in with her black, gray and white. She has such beautiful colors and markings. I love her white stomach and paws too. She's a beautiful kitty.

Bus Ride

2011-08-19T13:33:00.002-05:00

Many years Aiden spent waving out the front door as his brothers hopped on the bus to ride to school. He met them at the door in the afternoons when they hopped off the bus and came running inside. Preschool started and he was sad that he still couldn't ride that bus. He had to wait until kindergarten. 1st day of school.....no buses. But today, finally, he got to ride the bus. That is all he has talked about since last night. He knew he was going to sit by Noah. He was dressed, backpack on and outside at 7:20. The bus doesn't arrive until 7:45. Such a long wait. Finally he saw it coming and was jumping around and pointing as if his brothers had never seen the bus before.

And off he went with a half a wave to mom, anxious for that long 9 block journey to school. Yes, that was 9 blocks. But, he was on a school bus. He's a big guy now.

1st Day of School 2011

2011-08-18T13:36:00.005-05:00

Wow, seems like just yesterday that I thought having all of my boys in school was light years away. I've had kids at home with me for 12 1/2 years, seems so wierd that I'll never go back to that stage again. I had been so emotional about school starting this year and honestly kind of dreading it. I have been so fortunate to be home with them most of the time during the years. I have an amazing job that I love and have the flexibility to only work 1-2 days per week. I wondered what would I do when they went to school? I know what the "plans" always were but sometimes you don't know if that's what is best once the time actually comes. I knew what my ideal situation was but in this day and age its not always possible to have that. I've always had faith that things would work out the way they were supposed to. Luckily for me, the perfect opportunity fell into my lap. Our school had always had a part time Kindergarten aide until about 3 years ago when the numbers started to drop. This year we have 16 Kindergarteners so they were able to hire a part time aide. It is the perfect job for me, I can have fun with the kids for a few hours in the morning, still work my other job, AND have some free time for me a few afternoons a week. How many people are blessed enough to have not one, but two jobs they love and look forward to? Seeing all of my boys at assembly this morning and then at recess, reassurred me that I made the right choice. What a great 1st day it was. The best part was, instead of crying that my baby was starting school, I got to spend the morning with him. I'll only be there from 8-10:30 every day so he'll still have plenty of time independent of me. It's win- win for both of us.

On to the pictures.....I know you don't want me to ramble on and on. :)

Aiden has been ready to go ever since he picked out his bag. He had to have a messenger bag like his big brother Drew.

I knew Todd would take 1st day of school pics of me too, just didn't realize I had to have one by myself. lol

The two "kindergarteners".

My big guys.

Drew--7th Grade. Noah--4th Grade. Aiden--Kindergarten

Drew keeps reminding me--only 2 years until high school! Ack

Me and my boys.

Todd and his boys.

(love how Aiden is standing here--he has a little swagger)

Tried to snap some pics in front of school but Drew was appalled and went inside. My other two were game though! Even Mary posed with us! :)

Aiden and Gabe were excited that they were seated next to each other. Mrs. Wolkitt had a new pack of crayons for each kid to open and color with.

I snapped one last picture of Dad and Aiden before Todd had to leave for his school. Today he had meetings all day and tomorrow is his first day with students. He is starting his 17th year of teaching this year. And as busy has he's been getting ready for the start of the year, he still took the time to make homemade cinnamon rolls for us for breakfast and another batch that he took to our school for our staff. What a guy!

Today was just a half day for everyone. Tomorrow everyone will be all day except Aiden. He goes a half a day tomorrow and then starts all day on Monday. He is so excited to get to eat at school and ride the bus. I loved my first day. The kids were so cute, we had a lot of fun, and I felt right at home there. I guess having already spent 7 years volunteering there helped with that!

We are all looking forward to a great year!!!

Water Fun

2011-08-09T20:20:00.010-05:00

We've definitely had a lot of fun in the water this summer. Here are just a few of our water adventures!

Out at my Dad's cabin, someone had put a rope swing down by the lake. The boys were dying to try it. I was a little nervous about it, but once again, Todd and the boys talked me into it. (God thought He was being funny when he sent this little ole chicken 3 fearless boys!)

I needn't have worried, the boys had a blast and no one fell off and tumbled down the hill like I thought they would. (If you could only imagine the scary thoughts that run through my brain)

Aiden flying off on his first turn.

Noah going in for the landing.
Drew flying through the air.

Todd actually went first to show the boys how its done. I just stood on the landing and took pictures---I was worried my upper arm strength wouldn't be enough to make it to the water. lol

Another day we headed out to the ole Mississippi River with Todd's parents and their boat. The boys love getting out on the skis and tube. Are you noticing a theme with daredevil stunts??

Drew popped right out of the water like he's been skiing for ages, even though he hadn't done it since last summer.

Then Drew and Todd decided to ski together. This picture just warmed my heart. I know they both really enjoyed this moment.

Aiden stood on the front of Todd's skis so he could feel what it would be like to ski. We didnt have skis small enough for Noah and Aiden's feet but since then Todd's parents borrowed some kids skis so when we head up on the river this Friday, Noah can give it a try!

I love this look on Aiden's face--what an adrenaline junkie.

Then we broke out the tube.

I just love the sweet smile on Noah's face. He was loving it and kept asking to go faster.

Drew always asks for waves, he likes it fast and bumpy. How he can hang on is beyond me.

Aiden usually rides with Todd but his arms were getting tired, so big brother Drew offered to take Aiden in the tube. They looked so cute out there together.

One of our favorite places is Bob Mays Park. The playground is nice but my boys like the running/biking trail and the creek. One hot day the 5 of us took a creek walk from our usual spot all the way down to where the trail ends.

We found a lot of "treasures" along the way.

We saw frogs, fish, bugs, minnows and quite a few crawdads. We even found these two baby crawdads. I think all babies are cute but really, these didn't do anything for me. :)

The best thing we found on our walk that day was a $5 bill floating in the creek. No lie. The boys argued over who got it but since Todd found it, he tucked it in his pocket. He planned on using it for treats at the St Anthony picnic that night.

We've done so many things involving water this summer. It's been a hot one so that's about the only way we can stand being outside. Hoping for a few more pool days this week and one more day on the river before school starts. Summer flew by way too quickly once again!

Noah & Baseball

2011-08-01T11:48:00.005-05:00

Sometimes I laugh at how clever I am with blog post titles. Ha!

Another season of baseball has come to a close. I've never been a baseball fan, it bores me silly. I'm also thankful that only one of my boys plays. I will have to say, though, that this has been the most fun season for me to watch.

This year is the first year they are old enough to start pitching on their own instead of the coaches doing it. Midway through the season they were also able to start stealing bases. It has been fun seeing them grow from little t-ball players to real baseball players. Of course seeing them in their official baseball uniforms was pretty darn cute. First year of wearing a cup=lots of laughs. Just sayin'. I have a strange sense of humor.

Cutest little baseball player. This kid has a smile that melts my heart.

Noah says one of his favorite things about playing baseball is having his dad as his coach. To say that made Todd's day is an understatement.

Here is a picture of that coach and his son. Priceless!

Our Vacation

2011-07-29T13:01:00.012-05:00

I'm finally catching my breath from returning from vacation and having to get caught up once again with everything--laundry, groceries, work, baseball, scouts, VBS, volleyball......whew, I just may need another vacation. Unfortunately, school starts 3 weeks from today. Say wha???? Yes, we like to start school in the middle of August when it's hot and miserable and the kids would rather be at the pool.

So, I've been busy enjoying my summer and have been a bad bloggy girl. I have a list of posts to post, so that is my goal for the upcoming week. Hold me to it, will ya? But before going too far back in time, I've been anxious to get my vacation pictures up. I got a little picture crazy but then still think of things and places that I wished I had photographed.

We headed up to Sheboygan, WI to stay at Blue Harbor Resort on Lake Michigan. We had wanted to go to a beach this summer but didn't have the time or desire to drive to an ocean or the gulf. My friend Kathryn, from Seeking Sanity, posts such beautiful pictures of the Lake so I asked her where she lived and she suggested this place to us. This girl deserves some compensation or something because it was perfect!

This is where we checked in at the resort......they had me at "turret". Seriously, would love to build one on my house.

Our view of the resort from the beach.

I got to meet Kathryn and her 4 adorable kiddos! I started reading her blog long, long ago. We both had hubbies named Todd, 3 boys, our kids went to Catholic schools, and I found that she had a lot of the same thoughts and feelings as I did. If we lived closer, I could totally hang with her. I was so excited, and a little nervous. I was afraid my shyness would get the best of me or that one of my boys would do something really embarrassing. (they are good for that you know!) But from the second I called her on the phone, she was so easy to talk to and so adorable!

We managed to capture all 7, (yes, 7!) of our kids in a picture. They had a blast digging for treasure, playing on the boogie boards, playing in the sand, catching fish with their buckets, and burying dead fish. (don't ask, lol, it must be a boy thing)

After extensive research, we have come to find that this is the only way to keep Aiden still.

The waves weren't as big as they would have liked that day but they still gave those boogie boards a workout.

Our resort had an indoor waterpark too--7 waterslides, lazy river, and other water fun. We had a blast. The two slides that you rode down on a tube on were so fast and fun. The double tubes were the best, I got to ride down with my boys, my hubby, and even got my mother in law to go down with me!

These lily pads were a hit with ALL of my boys. You had to get across using the ropes above it but my boys like to do things the hard way, and would try to get across hopping from one to the other, they move around a lot so it was tricky, but it didn't stop them.

Go Daddy, Go Daddy

There was a putt putt course within walking distance so we took a stroll over and played and stopped in an ice cream place close by on the way back for a late night snack. Peanut butter cup, my love, I miss you.

This little turkey was the only one to get a hole in one that night!!

We had lunch outside of Brisco County Wood Grill our last day there. It was such a gorgeous day, the temperature was perfect, and what a view!

We were at a strip mall in Kohler, WI and there must have been a sand sculpture competition. I took a couple of shots of the winners, both guys were from IL. This is a scene from Pinnochio! Amazing isn't it?

We were so excited that they had a Target! Yes, our small town roots are showing. While us girls hit Pier 1 and Michaels nearby, the boys had a little fun. Or should I say, they had a "ball" at Target!

One of Aiden's guilty pleasures on the trip. Only took 2 days to eat.

At night, they have a bonfire on the beach at the resort and you can come down to make s'mores and play. Drew was feeling sick that night so I stayed back with him and the rest went down. They ate s'mores, hula hooped, and played some other games. This was the view from the walkway between the lake and the resort at night. Gorgeous huh?

Our last day we headed to the beach again. It was really crowded that day despite all of the heavy fog. It was so funny watching it fade and come back and literally seeing whisps of it go right by you. The water was a bit warmer that day which was good because it was a cooler day.

We rented a long board and paddle for everyone to try. Todd, Scott, Drew, and Noah all did it and had a lot of fun.

Drew was a natural on it. He hopped on like he'd been doing it forever while we got some good laughable video of Todd and Scott falling off. :)

One of the many gorgeous views from the beach on the other side of the resort. It was beautiful here, with parks and playgrounds. We had so much fun.
We took a family picture on the beach. (and unfortunately our only)

I managed to snap a quick picture of the boys on the playground with the lake in the background.

It was a very relaxing trip, but it went by very quickly. I'd love to head up there again someday.

Todd's 39th Birthday

2011-06-25T21:32:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we rang in Todd's 39th birthday. He wanted to spend the day doing special things for and with those that he loved. He treated us all to doughnuts for breakfast. We played a family game of ball tag (I'm not in good enough shape for that game, but I held my own!), did some yard work, and then we all went to Roly Poly for lunch. Yummm.

In the afternoon he promised each of the boys some special time. Noah wanted to take Todd to Sheridan to swim so that's what they did. Then Aiden and Todd rode bikes down to Washington Park to play in the fountains. When they finished, Noah and I met them at I Scream for some ice cream. That evening we headed to Aunt Peggys' house for a housewarming party. She surprised Todd with this birthday cake. It is so totally him....a runner that is thinking about Math. Pretty much sums him up....unless he is biking/swimming and thinking about Math. :)

The Math God himself. :)

We did get a few sprinkles.....it lasted just long enough for us to move everything into the garage and then it stopped. LOL But look at the beautiful rainbow we were left with! It's been awhile since I've seen one. The top got lost in the clouds but you could see it coming down on the other side of the house. Aiden took off running to look for the leprechauns and pot of gold. It broke his hear when we told him we couldn't quite see where it ended. What a great way to end the day.

Proud of This Boy

2011-06-15T10:19:00.002-05:00

This is one of Drew's creations from the Cake Decorating class he took at Children's College.

Yes, I'm proud of that. But I'm more proud of the personal lesson he learned from that. See, Drew loves Cake Boss on TLC. He also has a Dad that likes to decorate cakes, had even taken a class at one time. So when he was picking out classes to take at Children's College, he was excited to see a Cake Decorating class on the list. (He also took Guitar Lessons). A couple of days before college started, he told me he didn't want to take the class, he wanted to do something different. He was worried that he'd be the only boy in there and he was worried what the other kids would say. I was apprehensive at first because I knew he really wanted to take it. When he looked at what else was left available during that time slot, nothing really jumped out at him. We let him sit on it for awhile. We weren't going to force him to do it if he was that uncomfortable but at the same time didn't want him to be scared of trying something because of what other people might say. The turning point was when we were talking about it and he said, "I really want to take the class, BUT...." I told him that if he really wanted to take it he should, he shouldn't worry what other people might think or say. I also seriously doubted anyone in the class would say anything anyway. When Todd told him that he was the only guy when he took his cake decorating class, I think that cinched it. He took the class, he was the only boy, he LOVED the class-it was easy to see in his excitement. And you know what? No one made fun of him, his teacher told him she had a boy each time she taught the class, he was also the oldest one in there too. I'm so proud of him for making the decision to do something he really wanted to do regardless of what anyone else might think or say. I hope this was a good lesson learned. He's a strong kid, has always been a leader. He is getting to an age where peer pressure will be worse though and I understand what it's like to worry what others might think. Unfortunately I've always been that way although I've gotten a lot better at it as I've grown older. I have faith he will make good choices. Maybe not always, but that's how we learn and grow. I'm proud of this boy.

Racing

2011-06-11T13:25:00.010-05:00

Saturday Drew and Noah competed in the Tri-Jesus Triathlon. They've done this race in the past and have enjoyed it. This year Drew was in the older kids division (11-14) so he had to go twice the distances as Noah. I was a little worried since they didn't train at all this year but they both pulled it off without a problem. Noah is like a little turtle.....slow and steady. He doesn't feel any pressure to beat anyone, he just plows along at his pace. I'm so proud of both of them. I'm not even in good enough shape to do the kids tri much less the adult one!

Drew starting off on his swim--he had to swim 4 lengths of Wavering pool. He's become a much stronger swimmer in the past couple of years.

Noah starting off on his swim. He had to swim 2 lengths of the pool.

Drew's finished swimming and running out to his bike.

Noah has finished too and heading off for the bike portion.

Even though Drew had twice the bike ride, he swam at an earlier time than Noah so coincidentally they ended up finishing their bike portion together. I was excited to catch a shot with both.

They are heading up the last big hill and then will start their run.

Noah at the start of his run.

Drew at the start of his run.

Noah crosses the finish line. Yay Noah!

Drew crossing the finish line. Way to go!

****************************

I realized that I never posted pictures from the Bridge the Gap race back in May. It's a fun race to participate in because you get to cross the Mississippi River on one bridge to the Missouri side and the cross back over on the other bridge to the Illinois side. For some reason we always end up with yucky weather on the day of this race, this year was no exception---cold, rainy, and windy. But it didn't stop us!

Here is my brother Matt, nephew Blake, and Drew and Noah before the race. The 4 of them ran a 5k. Great job guys! I walked a 5k and Todd ran a half marathon.

After the race was the kids fun run. My niece Ellie was old enough to run for the first time in it. She was so cute. She has a little swagger when she runs, I just love it.

Ty and Aiden before their fun run race. Aiden cracked me up wanting to wear that sweat band. Trust me, there was no sweat to be had on that chilly day. It did make him look cool though.

I love seeing my family enjoying sports and exercise. I'm the one lagging behind my 4 guys so I intend to get in better shape. Maybe, just maybe, one day I'll run with my 4 guys instead of walking.........................Ok, even I laughed at that. But, who knows?

The Cutest Baseball Player

2011-06-07T07:36:00.002-05:00

I can get away with saying that because he is also my ONLY baseball player. He is pretty darn cute though, especially in those baseball pants. They have to be so hot though between those and the tall socks.

This year he plays big guy baseball---meaning the boys pitch now instead of the coaches (it's fast pitch too!), they have to wear the required baseball clothes, and they play with a scoreboard and umps. You can tell they feel pretty big out there! Noah loves baseball but he told Todd what he loves most about it is that he is his coach. Love that kid.

A Mini-Vacay

2011-06-02T13:28:00.009-05:00

We decided to head to St Louis this week for an over nighter. It was one of the rare weeks this summer where no one had work or extra curricular activities and we were all ready to get away and relax.

Tuesday we hit the City Museum. We had been wanting to go there for some time and it was worth the wait. The boys had an absolute blast. There were so many cool things to climb in and on, things to explore, slides, magic shows, mini trains, etc

This was the "hamster wheel". All of my boys gave it a try.

The skateless park was one of the boys favorite places. We went back in here 3 times. It's set up like a skate park but you don't wear skates. They just ran, climbed and slid.

We went to a magic show. My boys all LOVE magic so you can only imagine how thrilled Noah and Aiden were to each get a turn assisting.

Noah got to help with the disappearing gerbil trick. He wanted someone in the audience that had gerbils but Drew refused to raise his hand and go up. This was right up my future vet's alley, so Noah ran right up. He DID make the gerbil disappear too....I didn't figure that one out.

At the end, he sat the gerbil on Noah's head.

Aiden had his turn awhile later. He had to pick 3 sugar packets and the magician poured them into his hand. Here he is acting like he is pouring them on Aiden's face, but his palms are now empty.

He makes the sugar reappear and pours it onto Aiden's hand.

One of the many slides. Even Todd took a turn sliding down.

The outdoor ball pit. Can you find all of the boys? :)

Just part of the outdoor climbing area. Yes my boys were up climbing in that plane and through the wire contraptions. It made my feet sweat.

See the long slide on the side of the building? Yep, they slid down that too.

My boys pausing long enough for a quick pic. They were in heaven up there.

When we checked into the hotel, Aiden immediately jumped on this and said this was where he was sleeping. I told him he got to sleep in a real bed with Noah.

We made time for swimming too followed by time in the hot tub. I don't know why it was so foamy but the boys had a blast with it.

Even Todd had to get in on the foam action.

Noah had a faux hawk and a beard.

Drew playing it cool.

The next day we did some more shopping and hit the zoo. Across the street from the zoo is the Turtle Park. The boys wanted their picture taken on the gargantuan turtle.

We had so much fun at the shark and stingray exhibit. These rays are so used to being pet that some of them were like little puppies begging for attention. Noah and I both had our hands in the water and 3 of them came up nudging us to pet them. I have to say I fell in love. Todd is now making fun of me and Noah for wanting a pet manta ray. We can't help it, we are crazy about animals, although normally I go for the furry kind.

Drew could pet the rays and the shark but couldn't bring himself to touch the crab.

We had so much fun in the primate area. These chimps were hilarious. Some hung out up by the glass, some were picking stuff off of each other to eat ( I know, gross), some were relaxing in the shade.

This one just makes me laugh.

Eating, shopping, exploring, swimming,animal watching....it was a great getaway. It's amazing how much fun you can pack in 36 hours!!!

Day 2 of Summer Vacation

2011-05-26T10:52:00.002-05:00

1 box of Legos + 3 boys of varying ages x a little creativity=hours of fun together

PRICELESS

If only they always played together this well..............

Preschool Graduation Day

2011-05-18T14:18:00.005-05:00

The big day has arrived.....Aiden's preschool graduation! What a bittersweet moment. The reality of him actually going to kindergarten in the fall has hit. He is not a little guy anymore. 5 1/2 years ago when he was born, I was enjoying all of my little guys, only one being old enough for school. I thought the days of all 3 being in school full time were light years away. Then I blinked and here we are. I'm afraid to go to sleep for fear of waking up and having them be ready to graduate high school and college. It's not just the realization that they are growing up so fast, but also the fact that I will be entering a new phase of my life and it scares me. For the first time in 12 1/2 years, I won't have kids at home with me. I don't know if I like that feeling. Waaaaay back when, I had plans of how things would fall into place once the boys were all in school. Now that the time is here, I'm rethinking things a lot. Thinking about what I want, what works for our family, what will keep our family as a whole the happiest and running smoothly, what is best financially. I had faith that things would fall into place, and slowly they are. I'm starting to see what I will be doing and feeling good about it. I'll fill you in as things progress a little more. :)

So back to today. The kiddos looked so cute dressed up and they put on quite a cute little production for us. I missed the graduation caps that Noah and Drew wore back at their graduation, but that's ok. Aiden even had a line from a poem to memorize and he did it just fine!

I had a hard time getting all the kids in one photo. He had 18 kids in his class this year and they were such a cute, well behaved class. I was impressed.

Singing one of their songs.

Receiving his diploma from Mrs. Steinkamp

Waving the ole diploma at us as he walked out the door. I think he was pretty proud of that!

Enjoying a celebratory snack of cookies and punch.

Big brother Noah got to come down for the ceremony. (Thanks Mrs Benner!)

Grandma Paulette and Grandpa John

Grandma Tunie

Me and my little sunshine. Dad had to dash out to get back to school so I didn't get a picture with him, I was bummed.

Aiden & Mrs Steinkamp--she is an amazing teacher with the most creative ideas. She's earned quite a reputation since she moved back to Quincy to teach here. Both classes for next year are already at capacity with a waiting list for each. That speaks highly of her!

Aiden and Mrs Blickhan--she is the teachers aide and we love her too. Both women are so patient and loving with the children. You can not ask for more!

The outside of the diploma

The "official" document.

He's ready for kindergarten!

It's just hard to explain to him that it will be a full 3 months before he starts! Let's enjoy summer vacation first shall we?? :)

Pictures From Mother's Day

2011-05-09T09:24:00.006-05:00

Mother's Day and gorgeous weather....we HAD to take some pictures!

After church we went to Grandma Tunie and Grandpa Ken's house. Todd and his Dad cooked us a DELICIOUS lunch. So much better than trying to fight the crowds somewhere. Todd made me Bourbon Salmon Skewers. Mmmmm, my baby knows me well.

Drew and I out on the deck.

Me and my Mr. Noah
Love this sweet smile on Aiden.

The Cardinal. Drew was all over the backyard taking pictures of him. Had to post one of them for him.

Our best attempt at a group shot.

Grandma Tunie and her Grandboys

Tunie and Her "Babies"

Our last attempt at a group shot.

Then we headed to my mom and dads to visit before my mom headed to work. I'm mad that we forgot to take pictures while the rest of the family was there. I would have loved one with my mom, my 2 brothers and me as well as one with mom and all 7 grandkids. Another time I guess.

Grandma Paulette with my boys (and Maggie who decided to pick that time to stand on the picnic table!)

Me and my Mom (and Maggie once again)

It was a wonderful Mother's Day, my boys were so sweet to me, reminding me once again how awesome it is to have 3 boys that love their mommy. My hubby spoiled me with food and housework. The boys made the cutest gifts for me--I'll need to take some pictures of them. It was a busy and relaxing day.

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T20:18:00.002-05:00

These 3 beautiful boys.........

call me MOM!

What better gift could I ever ask for? Last week Aiden kept asking me who my favorite son was. I kept trying to explain that I didn't have a favorite, that I loved each of them for their uniqueness. How could I explain that I love each of them the most? For their similarities, for their differences, for the little things in them that are so special to me, the parts of them that are like me, the parts of them I wish I were like, everything about them.

Even on the hardest days, the ones where they frustrate me to pieces, I would never, EVER exchange the gift of being their mom. I am so incredibly blessed with these three for so many reasons. I love being their Mom.

Roller Hockey

2011-05-07T17:21:00.003-05:00

After many attempts, I have decided it's near impossible to get a good picture at roller hockey. Between the constant, quick movement and the terrible lighting, everything is either a blur or dark. I managed to get some usable ones from Drew's last night of hockey. They had a winning season and it was exciting. You wouldn't believe how fun it is to watch 10-13 year olds play roller hockey--very intense!

He wasn't too thrilled to pose for a picture in his gear, so I snapped one really quick.

That's him in the front going towards the puck. I can't believe how far he has come in the 2 years he has played. He has scored almost every week and some weeks, multiple times!

He's the blurry one in the front. Notice the score?? Drew's team is the '6'.

Drew's hockey team.....with their 1st place medals! Woohoo!! So exciting for them!

We're done with hockey until late fall. I know Drew will be anxious to start up again.

Easter Moments

2011-04-26T10:03:00.006-05:00

We had a wonderful 5 day Easter break even though the weather didn't cooperate too much. I didn't get all the pics I wanted due to camera mishaps but managed to still capture quite a bit and "borrowed" some too.

Saturday we dyed our Easter eggs. The boys loved using the clear crayon that came with the kit to draw and write on them before coloring them. We even had an egg that looked like a Poke-ball. Imagine that!

Saturday night was the big Klauser family Easter up in Mendon. Grandpa Ken always puts on a big egg hunt for all of the kids. Funny how he didn't start doing that until he had his first grandkid. :) It's only for kids up to age 10 so Mr. Drew was too old again....he helped take pictures though.

Easter morning we had Noah and Drew in our bed before 7am and the 4 of us were lying there waiting for Aiden to wake up! He finally got up at 7 and the boys rushed out to find there baskets and eggs. We only managed 2 not so good pictures of that. Todd and Drew then dressed and headed off to the Vet's Home to meet the other Scouts to help push all the residents in wheelchairs over for mass. I took the younger 2 to mass a little later in the morning and then we all headed to my parents for brunch. They had an egg hunt in the backyard for the kids but my camera battery was dead by then.

Aiden wanted to pose with the tree.

Going for the holy look.

Our attempt at a family photo. :)

My mom and dad with their 7 grandkids. (borrowed from my SIL Beth) I just love this photo!! So special.

The whole Bozarth clan. Maggie even snuck her hairy butt in there. :)

That evening we headed to Todd's parents for dinner and one last egg hunt.

We had a yummy meal over there and then spent most of the evening playing Dance Central on their Xbox Kinect. So cute and so funny watching the boys learn all of these dance moves. They had a blast though.

Back to the real world today but we enjoyed our relaxing 5 day break together. How blessed we are to have our families near to share it with.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T07:45:00.000-05:00

Did you catch the Easter Bunny leaving you goodies?

Our Version of a Jack-in-the-Box

2011-04-11T07:12:00.001-05:00

Catching Up.....again

2011-04-08T08:25:00.006-05:00

I feel like life is always about trying to catch up.....I'm doing good to just hang on for the ride. This is just a smidge of what we've been up to the last few weeks. The boys had Art Night at school in March. Each grade focused on one particular artist and tried to create art similar to the artist. The preschoolers learned about Picasso. The face on the left below is Aiden's recreation of a Picasso. Not too shabby. We also had the yearly Pinewood Derby race for Scouts. Noah made his car to look like an orange popsicle. Pretty cute idea I have to say and he got 1st in his age group. Another kid in his group actually beat him but he got 4th place out of all the age groups so Noah got the 1st in in his age group. Confusing for little ole me.

I've posted about Drew's birthday and the birth of his "birthday buddy", cousin Luke but I realized I hadn't posted any pics from his bday party a couple of days prior. Drew is a hockey fanatic and loves the St Louis Blues so Todd made him a "St Louis Drews" cake.

Love the expression. I can just hear him saying "Don't you dare take a picture". He should know me well enough that I'm going to take pictures anyway. :)

His brothers and cousins made him a birthday card. So sweet.

That night we got to watch the cousins for awhile. This is how I like to watch a movie. 7 of us cuddled on the couch watching Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. (and watching Drew play Pokemon on his Dsi)

Drew opening his Electronic Arm from us. He built the arm all by himself and it has a controller he uses to move it and pick things up. I think I have a future engineer on my hands. He loves building and creating and he's all about the electronics and solar power lately.

This past weekend I attended a Mary Kay Career Conference in St Louis with some of the other ladies in my unit. We had a lot of fun and learned sooo much! It was a VERY inspiring 24 hours. (sorry the pic is blurry, it was the only group shot I got)

Sunday night Todd and I met up with some friends and saw Bret Michaels in concer for the 2nd time in 6 months. It was a great concert once again and Bret told the audience he loves it here so much that he wants to come back in late fall, early winter for another concert. Woohoo. I am there!

Aiden has been the one with a large social calendar lately. He's had 3 birthday parties in 3 weeks and has another one coming up in another week. Here he is at Gem City gymnastics. Those preschoolers had a ball there and loved that big foam pit. Aiden would run and jump into it doing a "cannonball". My little wild man.

Looking forward to the hot weather coming this weekend. I have to work then meeting the family out at the cabing. I can't wait to get pictures of all of the kids out there.

Best Birthday Ever

2011-03-30T08:44:00.003-05:00

Those were the exact words Drew spoke to us more than once on his birthday. Why was it the best? His new baby cousin Luke was born that day, forever making them birthday buddies. It's kind of neat that they are the oldest and youngest of the cousins. You had to be 15 or older to go up to the hospital room but we decided to give it a try anyway. I couldn't burst his birthday bubble...he wanted to meet his little buddy and I wanted a picture of them together on this special day. Drew was pretty smitten with him.

Isn't he just adorable? I can't wait to have more snuggles with him. He is just too precious. Uncle Todd was happy to get a turn.

I was in absolute heaven (thank you Drew for capturing such a special moment for me) He smelled like sweet baby and had the softest hair. I fell head over heels in love.

We're hoping they get to go home from the hospital today. The two younger boys are so very anxious to meet their newest cousin and the rest of us just want another turn holding him and kissing him. Welcome to the family Luke Mathew....you are the perfect addition to our family. What a ride you are in for! :)

Happy 12th Birthday Drew!

2011-03-28T13:13:00.003-05:00

12! Your last year before you become a teenager. It's so hard to believe how fast the time has flown but at the same time, I sometimes have a hard time remembering when you were little. I pulled out all of these wallet sized pictures today from your first 2 years of life. You were such a beautiful baby! I still think you are beautiful but we'll just say "handsome" instead, ok?? I know you think the angel wings are cheesy, and I have to agree, but at the time it just seemed perfect.....and look at that sweet little face. The other day I was thinking about the song your Dad made up for you when you were a baby. Anytime we sang it to you, you'd calm down.

"He's just the cutest little baby in the whole wide world

And he belongs to me.

His name is Andrew, Andrew the Cuddlebug.

Andrew's my Sweetpea.

He's Andrew Todd Klauser"

I'll never forget that song

(top left and bottow two-Drew at 3 months, top right-Drew at 6 months)

(from left to right--1 year, 18 months, 2 years)

(18 months)

(almost 12!)

(Valentine's Day)

The next picture I will post will be of you and your Birthday Buddy! Cousin Luke was born this morning weighing 9lbs 5 oz. I know you two will have a special bond and you will always look out for your little cuz.

You're an amazing kid that never ceases to amaze me. You are everything I had hoped you would be an even more, you make me so proud. I love you Drewdles.

Spring Pictures

2011-03-21T14:19:00.002-05:00

The boys just got back their spring school pictures. I was thrilled with how good their fall ones turned out. (see sidebar) I'm every bit as happy with these. My kids can be really photogenic when they want to be. When they don't want their picture taken (aka...when mom is taking the pictures!) they can get interesting!

Aiden 5 1/2

Noah 9 1/2

Drew 12

I'm so proud of these 3 handsome dudes. Drew and Noah just got straight A's on their latest report cards. Aiden just got registered for Kindergarten next year. (I'll need someone to hold me that day) I sooo miss the younger years and sometimes have a hard time remembering what it was like then. I love the stage of life we are in now but it makes me sad how quickly we have gotten here. It's hard to believe that Drew only has 2 years of St. Dominics left and then he heads off to high school. My last baby is about to enter school full time in just a matter of months. I've had a kid at home with me for 12 years, I feel like I won't know what to do with this next stage of my life. I'm just so lucky and blessed to have these 3 boys and to live through every stage of life with them.

An Early Birthday Gift

2011-02-25T09:29:00.003-06:00

Drew has been loving roller hockey and having a blast with it. His Grandma and Grandpa Klauser asked him if he'd be interested in seeing a Blues hockey game for his birthday gift. Drew said he'd love to see the St Louis Blues play the Chicago Blackhawks. Lucky for him, they happened to play each other on Monday afternoon, when Drew was off of school for Presidents Day.

On Monday Todd and Drew headed down to St Louis early enough to hit a few stores and eat lunch at Union Station before walking over to the stadium. Todd was able to get some good photos---they said they had awesome seats--and got some video too which I'm attempting to upload now. For some reason I can rarely get it to work on blogger.

Todd and Drew's 'self-portrait' before the game.

A couple of action shots.

Drew sporting his Blues hockey jersey that he received for Christmas from us.

The final score......unfortunately the Blues lost but it was a close game until the end.
He was so excited after the game. He even bought a hockey puck and a Blues ball cap as souveniers. I know Todd had every bit as much fun as Drew.....he really enjoyed having a guys day, just the two of them. I can't believe his birthday is coming up in a month....the big 12. His last year before becoming a teenager. Oh my.

Proud Moments

2011-02-22T11:02:00.004-06:00

My boys always make me proud......Drew and Noah gave me a couple of more reasons last week.

For Catholic Schools Week the 5th and 6th grades had a poster contest with the theme having to do with Catholic Schools being A+. Guess who got 1st place? Drew! Here's a picture of his poster hanging up in the hall at school. He did an amazing job. My children did NOT get their drawing skills from me. I struggle with stick people.

(if you can't read it, click on the picture and it will blow it up)

Then on Friday was the school spelling bee. Each individual class had a spelling bee and the top 2 spellers from each grade would go on to the school spelling bee. I was so excited when I heard that both Noah AND Drew would get to participate. The kids participating ranged in ages from 3rd grade through 8th grade. It was Noah's first year to be old enough to participate. I thought he might be a little nervous but he seemed right at home up there. Of course I was sitting in my seat nervous enough for both boys. Each time they got up to spell a word, I felt sick to my stomach. I didn't want one brother to get upset by being beat by another, I didn't want either one of them to get out early on and be disappointed.

I worried for nothing. Drew got 2nd place and my little ole 3rd grader, Noah got 3rd place. I was so proud of them and so excited! They were both happy with the outcome too, no hard feelings between brothers. Whew!

More Winter Fun

2011-02-17T08:11:00.006-06:00

I figured I'd better post the rest of my snow pictures. That warm spell we had melted all of the snow from the blizzard and gave us a glimpse of springlike weather. I'm hoping these are the last snow pictures I'll have from this winter!

A couple of weeks ago Todd and Noah headed up to Camp Eastmen (up by Nauvoo, IL) with the cub scouts for a day of winter activities. They did all sorts of fun activities. These are just a few that Todd captured on film.

The weather was just warm enough that the snow was packing great. The kids had a ball rolling snow for snowmen, snow balls, etc.

They panned for 'gold'. Noah even went back a second time to get more so he could make something special for me for Valentines Day. I'll have to post a picture of it soon. So sweet and thoughtful and who doesn't love a little 'gold' for a gift? ;)

They got to try out snowshoes.

For one of the boys' scout meetings, Todd had the boys over and they built this dog sled. They had fun pulling each other around on it.

One snowy Saturday a few weeks before that, we had our cousins Carter and Ian over to play. The boys had a blast in the backyard. Carter is 3 so our little hill was just perfect for him. He's a smaller version of Aiden....no fear and wanted to be like his big cousins. He hopped on the sled head first and took off down the hill.

Noah and Aiden slid down together.

Aiden is a little free spirit.

Noah took Carter for a ride.

Little Ian stayed inside with us girls. Doesn't his cuteness just kill you?? I'm in love with this kiddo. He's my little buddy.

He was so proud of his popsicle. :)

Drew was supposed to camp at the winter cabin with his scout troop the same weekend that Noah went up to Camp Eastman. They had to cancel because of all of the snow. A lot of the backroads leading up to Camp Saukenauk hadn't been plowed the camp was closed. This coming weekend though is when they rescheduled. Looks like the weather will be a little better too so maybe I won't worry so much!

Life with Our Girl

2011-02-14T04:46:00.003-06:00

Usually this blog is filled with stories about our family from the point of view of "Our Girl". Today we are taking over her blog so that we can tell you why she is so special to us.

Our first Valentine's Day together you cooked dinner for me. It was a candle lit dinner with Dijon Chicken, wild rice and heart shaped jell-o. It was the first time I had had rice. Over the years I have tried so many new foods thanks to you. Everything from brats to potatoes. Most of my favorite foods are ones that I never would have tried if I hadn't met you.

Shortly after we started dating I messed up my back. I wasn't able to do anything except lay around. Most girls would have been bored or given up on me, but not you. You would always stop by and stood by my side. You even got everyone together for my birth day.

Looking back at all the past Valentine's day cards I realize you have always tried to give me what I wanted. I have a Lamborghini and a monkey because of you. You always do the little things that make me feel special.

When we were first dating we would always take pictures of the two of us. They were the ones we took of ourselves while holding out the camera. Now all of our pictures feature three little guys who are not so little. Those three boys love you sooo much. I love the way that each of them looks at you.

Drew is our oldest but he is still our baby. He loves getting to stay up late and being included on some of the grown up things that we let him do, but at bedtime each night he still wants you to tuck him in. When he hugs you I can still see the baby in him. He also loves doing things for you. Watching him pick out presents for you is such a joy. He ponders over every detail because when it is for you it has to be just right.

Noah has the biggest heart I have ever seen in a kid. He and you share a special bond and love for cats. I used to think that being your cat would be the easiest life on the planet but Noah gives you some competition. He is stating to grow in so many regards, but he is still our little Noah. I love seeing him nestle up against you on the couch. He truly loves his family and puts the his brothers before himself. That is something I know he got from his mom.

Then there is Aiden. He is non-stop boy unless he can sit and cuddle with mom. The way he looks at you is amazing. His big brown eyes just stare at you in pure amazement. It is as though the sight of you takes him to some fairy tale land. He really would marry you if he could. I love the way he has to be touching you at all times. Watching him play with your hair an the comfort it gives him is something special. The way he comes in and falls asleep in our bed every morning making sure he can hold you is fun to watch.

Kelly you are absolutely the love of our lives. You make each one of your boys who they are. You make us each better and we love you for it. Happy Valentine's Day from your boys.

Blizzard 2011

2011-02-03T19:38:00.008-06:00

What was your favorite name for the Blizzard??? Some of my favorites were Snownami, Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse, Snowgasm (so bad I know), and Snowcation. Yes, it was a Snowcation for sure. The boys had 4 snow days In. A. Row. We're on Day 3 right now and have been enjoying ourselves especially since all 5 of us are home together. I guarantee though, that come Monday, I'll be very ready for my loves to all go back to school so we can get in some sort of routine.....and I can have a few moments to myself!

I had been taking pictures of the bushes outside of my window all day so I could see the progression of the snow. This was not even halfway through the storm. Needless to say, when all was said and done......there was not a sign of a bush anywhere.

It was so hard to capture on camera just how hard it was coming down sometimes. There were periods where you could hardly see down the street.

I took this around 9pm and it was still pouring down. You can kind of see where Todd cleared a path to the front door. It didn't take long at all to fill in. See Drew's little tree out there?? That just makes me laugh.

Morning little tree, I know you're in there somewhere.

We have this big thick curtain of snow just hanging off the whole front of our roof. It is kind of spooky actually. I call it our Snowvalanche. Just waiting to see whose head it falls on.

See that indentation in the middle? That's where Todd shoveled the night before. Yes, that is where our sidewalk should be.....with bushes on either side.

View from the street.

My sweet Drew trying to dig us a sidewalk.

Noah tries out the new walkway.

Drew standing in the plowed street. That's how deep our yard is there.
Aiden stops to give me a smile.

Aiden is yelling for help. He fell in the snow for the first time and was having a hard time getting back up.

Drew starting on his igloo. He has put a lot of time and effort in it and it is pretty good sized. I probably won't melt until April. LOL

Think Todd could back his car out into the driveway?? For the record....our driveway STILL looks like that. Luckily we've only needed to get the van out so far.

Climbing a small mountain. We got about 18 inches of snow but with the drifting, there are some really high peaks to climb.

The view out of our sliding glass doors. Yes, that is a porch swing in the background.....looking a little wonky. It would have been nice if hubby had put it away in the garage for the winter.

Jack got out a couple of times (only once on purpose). Wierdo LOVED the snow and was romping around in it. He came in all covered in snow and shook it all off. He's been meowing ever since to go back out. I guess it would be hard to lose him in all of the white.

Todd dug a nice snow tunnel out for the boys in one of the drifts in the yard.

It looks like frosting up there.

View from my window this morning. Sunshine and icicles.

Wishes of a 5 Year Old

2011-02-03T07:08:00.002-06:00

Aiden, as we cuddled in bed this morning. "Know what I wish? I wish that no one ever died, not even pets, and that Grayson would come back, and that every day was a snow day, and every day was Christmas, and the snow was ice."

Amen! Well, maybe except for the ice part.

Ski Trip

2011-02-02T07:59:00.003-06:00

This post is long overdue but I wanted to get it done before I started posting pictures of the great Blizzard of 2011. :)

A couple of weeks ago the 5 of us went skiing at Snowstar up in Andalusia, IL with the Boy Scouts. Todd used to ski when he was a kid but the rest of us were first timers. I was so excited because skiing was something I always wanted to try. Wouldn't you know I woke up with horrible back pain (thanks to shoveling snow) and couldn't even bend over. The 2 1/2 hour ride up was very uncomfortable. I tried to be a good sport and I spent the day watching my 4 favorite people ski and taking pictures. Luckily as long as I stood up, I didnt feel too bad. Bending and sitting was no fun.

The boys took to skiing like it was inborn in them, honestly. We paid the $5 for ski lessons. Since it was mostly adults and kids Drew's age and older, they all went in one group and then Noah and Aiden got their own personal instructor which was amazing. She was so good with them. Drew couldn't get in for a snowboard lesson for another hour so he gave it a go on his own.

Here Noah and Aiden get ready to go down the bunny hill with their instructor for the first time!

Drew trying out the snow board on the bunny hill. He eventually got a little frustrated and switched to skiis. He never took a lesson, just went out and started skiing.
This is the 2nd hill they mastered, it had little ramps and other fun stuff to do. Noah is in the brown coat on the left and Todd is helping Aiden go over the little jump.

Self portrait of Noah and Todd on the ski lift. I think all of the boys enjoyed the ski lift as much as they did skiing down those bigger hills!

Noah skiing down one of the bigger hills.

Drew heading down.

Todd and Aiden going over the jump again. He was loving it.

The weather wasn't too bad. It had been brutally cold the day before but I think it got up to 18 that day. Yes, that was cold, but we had tons of layers on and there was no wind. The boys had a blast. Thanks to Grandma Tunie and Grandpa Ken....this was our family xmas gift from them. I think it might be an annual xmas gift now as we are all excited to head back there!

When we left we met cousin Kris, Brian, and sweet little Katie for supper at a neat little pizza place. I was excited to find out that we were skiing near where they lived and we enjoyed getting to meet up with them and visit. It was such a wonderful day. To see the sheer joy on the boys' faces as they coasted down the hill. It made me want to be out there with them so bad. Next year. :)

Yes, I Still Embarrass Easily

2011-01-23T21:03:00.003-06:00

We were sitting with my friend Johnna and her husband, Mark, at the boys' soccer game the other night. Aiden points to Mark and says "Is it just me, or is he bald?" Mark takes his baldness in stride and jokes around with Aiden. Just then someone they know walked up to them to say hi. He happened to be follically challenged himself. In his usual LOUD voice Aiden says "Look now there are TWO bald guys!".

During Mass, there is about a 20 minute period where they take the kids that are preschool through grade 4 out for their own little lesson on the homily. Noah and Aiden like to go to this. When they get back to their seats Noah informs me that Aiden was talking to much today. Really, that is nothing new. What embarrassed me is what Noah told me next. They kids went around the room and had to say what they are praying for. When it was Aiden's turn, he says "I'm praying for boobs." No, that wasn't a typo for books. My 5 year old son is praying for boobs. I'm sure all men pray for boobs at some point in their lives.....I just didn't think Aiden would be starting so soon.

Random Thoughts

2011-01-15T21:01:00.005-06:00

You have GOT to be kidding me. I just typed up a whole blog post, hit 'publish', and got some wierd error message. It said to hit 'back' and try again. Yeah, I did that and there was nothing there but my title! What??? I have to start over? Heck, I don't even remember what all I said anymore, that's why I titled it Random Thoughts. Here goes nothing.

Aiden started indoor soccer last week. They spend about a half an hour doing various drills teaching them the basics of soccer. Aiden hangs on the coachs' every work and does everything he says. It is so stinkin' cute to see him standing there with his one foot up on the ball. Then they split up the last 15 minutes and scrimmage. Aiden scored a goal last week and he scored 3 today!!! He's a speedy little devil and has got some good moves. I almost feel bad for some of the little 3 year olds. We may have another soccer star on our hands.

So, the phone rings and it's 911 calling us to see if we are ok or if we really have an emergency. Todd asked the boys if anyone had been on the phone and Drew said he didn't see anyone on the phone. (The 3 boys had been playing downstairs). Todd apologized and hung up. Aiden then admitted that he called by singing "I called 911...." I don't remember how the lyrics go to that song but hearing him singing that made me go from being mortified and embarrassed to laughing my butt off. Seriously, there has to be a parenting book out there somewhere that applies to Aiden. I'm completely clueless on how to parent him anymore. Nothing works with him. I remember when he was 2 and we jokingly talked about having a velcro wall to stick him too just to keep him out of trouble. I think we need to revisit that.

Noahs' room turned out so cute!! I just love all the added touches we gave it. It had been 10 years since the boys' rooms had been painted so it was time. After hitting a few snags with the project (and kind of expensive ones at that, why am I not surprised?) we decided to take a few weeks off before tackling Aidens' room. I'm ok with that. Seeing as how we had planned on doing the boys' rooms last summer, it's obvious we don't always stick with our plans. :)

Noah is down to just a cough, Drew was still running a fever and had a headache today, and then tonight, just when I thought we were heading to a good spot, Aiden started complaining that his head hurt really bad and he didn't feel good. I gave him Tylenol and he promptly fell asleep, even with the lights and TV on. NOT a good sign. We all know Aiden is never motionless unless he doesn't feel well. I hope it's not a long night.

I'm ready to bury into my bed myself. Between taking care of what seems like a neverending week of sick kids, doing a bedroom remodel and tackling other projects around the house (because I love to overextend myself), working on volunteer stuff for school, and worry, worry, worry...........I'm just plain exhausted. Here's to a MUCH better week ahead!!!

Cosmo & Gizmo

2011-01-11T19:43:00.002-06:00

I'm kind of missing these little guys. We enjoyed our little houseguests over Christmas break. They were cuddly little balls of fluff.

Maybe we'll see them again over Easter break?

December

2011-01-01T09:44:00.010-06:00

Whew what a whirlwind month December was! I do have to say it was one the best Decembers I had in ages. I was determined to make this a meaningful Christmas and a stressless Christmas. I feel like I succeeded. I didn't pick up the camera as much but I think not having a computer to put them on had some to do with it too. But now I have a working laptop thanks to awesome Christmas sales and Christmas money so I have my pictures back, my itunes, and everything else I couldn't access the past month. Whoooeeee!

I decided to take the lazy way out and post the whole month at once so I can start fresh in 2011. I only have a handful of Christmas memories here but still a lot of pictures.

This is what our Christmas tree looked like when we let the boys decorate. Clumps of ornaments here, bare spots there, but they are so proud of it and I was proud of myself for not fixing any of it. Jack must have liked it too because he was found perching about halfway up the tree.

I love this picture of Aiden and Drew. Aiden just climbed right up on him and they were being so cute together.

In this one, one of them tooted, and of course they were dying laughing. Life with boys right??

The annual boat club Christmas party. Here they are waiting patiently for Santa to call their name. No, the boy next to Noah does not have a fungus growing on his face. They had face painting and he wanted camouflage.

Love the expression on Aidens' face. I can just hear him now "Serwiously, I was good this year"

Noah slyly looking at his gift, wondering what was inside.

Drew was slightly embarrassed at having to sit on Santa's lap but I told him that was the only way he'd get his gift. Oh, the torture.

Aiden smiling sweetly.

We didn't get hardly any picture of Drew and Noahs' xmas program. We could barely see either one from our seats. We did get some good video though. We were able to get some cute pictures of the preschool program. Only about half of the kids are in this picture. After this song, the rest came out dressed as all parts of the nativity. This was taken during the first song, right before Aiden covered his face with his hand and started crying. As he pulled his hand away, he had blood gushing out of his nose and all over his hand. Thank goodness for Dad, who leapt right up there, got him out and we took him to the bathroom to clean him up. Luckily it was one that stopped pretty quickly (his tend to last awhile) and we snuck him back in by the end of the song. Wonder how many people will get to see the bloody reenactment on their video.

One of my favorite pictures of Christmas. A few days before, I walked into the living room and found all 3 of them snuggled up on the floor doing their Night Before Christmas I Spy book together. So sweet.

Christmas Eve at my parents' house.

The reindeer tracks as seen from our living room window.

The Grandkids....next year there will be one more in the mix!

Aiden and Ty so excited to open their gifts.

Noah

Drew

The icy trees the day we went sled riding.

(These next pictures are borrowed from my sister in law---she captured much better sledding pictures than me)

Sled riding was perfect that day. It was warm enough to not freeze, but cold enough that the snow wasn't melting. The kids had a ball and we had this hill to ourselves.

This is my beautiful niece. She couldn't possibly be any cuter, could she?

Aiden, Drew, Noah, and Ty heading down on the toboggan.

My Drewdles posing for his Aunt Beth.

Noah in his 'genie' pose.

Drew 'snowboarding' down the hill on a sled.

My favorite picture of Aiden, completely captures his free spirit.

Looking forward to a new year. 2010 was good to us in so many ways, I hope 2011 does the same. Looking forward to many new adventures with my boys!

Taking Back Christmas

2010-12-05T08:23:00.002-06:00

I've "written" this post in my head so many times over the past month. It always sounds good until I sit down and then I'm speechless. But I feel it so much in my heart, I've got to write about it.

I haven't enjoyed Christmas the past few years. Yes, I said it. I've been a Grinch. I've stressed and stressed, tried to cram too much in, tried too hard to find all the "perfect" gifts, and probably made Christmas less fun for my family. This year I was bound and determined to take Christmas back. Take it back to the time where it was magical to me, where I could enjoy it, revel in it, find meaning in it.

I remember Christmas Eve at my Grandparents house, sitting on the landing at the top of the stairs with my cousins. We'd be looking out the windows just watching for a glimpse of Santa's sleigh. THAT was magic!

Sleeping in my brothers' bunk beds with him so we could talk about Christmas morning and wake up together the next day to peek out in the living room before waking mom and dad. Magic.

Going downtown to the old JCPenney store building to see Santa, Christmas programs at school, live nativities, Christmas carols, making handmade ornaments, giving to others, baking cookies, the list goes on. I want my kids to grow up and look back at their childhood Christmases with fondness and love.

I've made some changes this year. I hope everyone is ok with them. I'm spending less, buying less and focusing on things more important than gifts. Honestly sometimes I wish gifts weren't even in the equation. We do not want for much, our kids have too much, our house is full in every aspect of the word. My kids aren't even asking for much this year, they don't want anything. The focus is on the other aspects of the season.

Do you know what? It's working. With the exception of a few things breaking down around the house, I've been calm, relaxed, and loving this Christmas season. My family is too. We are slowing down and savoring time together. Christmas movies, hot chocolate, game nights, decorating, family and friends, GIVING, taking time to appreciate the beauty of it all. Amazingly my Christmas shopping is almost done, cards are in the mail. The rest will get done in due time, I will NOT stress over it. I'm going to enjoy all of the fun things we have planned this month. It will all fly by as it always does but this time I will be taking it all in and not be stressing over all the non-important stuff. We are so incredibly blessed. Todd and I have seen things this year that reiterate that over and over to us. We try so hard not to take what we have for granted. We have love, laughter, and health in our lives. What more do we need? There are too many people out there lacking in all 3 of those things. I want my kids to know and appreciate what they have. I want them to see the true meaning of Christmas.....Jesus' birth, giving to those less fortunate, and of course Santa. I know the Santa days are dwindling for us. I want to keep that alive as long as possible also.

I hope everyone else can enjoy this Christmas season also. Find the beauty, find the magic, spend time with family and friends, go to Church, focus on others, listen to Christmas music, watch the classic movies of the season, enjoy the lights, anything that puts you in the Spirit.

What makes Christmas "magical" for you?

It Was Just A Matter Of Time.......

2010-12-03T15:32:00.001-06:00

Really, do you expect anything less from our house?

Drews' Photo Shoot

2010-11-23T13:17:00.005-06:00

Drew has been having fun with my camera lately, just enjoying taking pictures of everything. I loved some of his shots and just had to share. I did NOT edit, crop, or do anything to his photos, they are straight from the camera so I was impressed with his skills.

This is from Geography night----just had to show his project that he did with 2 friends.

He spent 2 days doing photo shoots of Jack. He didn't mind as it meant getting to spend alot of time outside, which is his favorite thing.

I kept looking at these photos thinking how cool that he got a shot of a squirrel up there, but now I'm thinking it's just the tree. I'll have to ask him. What do you think?

I just love this one. I don't know what it is, but I think it is so cool.

This one just makes me laugh.

One of the last living roses on Noah's rosebush.

Jack

2010-11-20T22:28:00.000-06:00

Oh, to be a cat, especially my cat.

The Boys' School Pictures

2010-11-10T09:34:00.002-06:00

Alternately titled..."Cutest Boys Ever".

Wow, I was blown away by their school pictures this year. I usually get the cheapest package, mostly to get the class picture for a keepsake for them. I hate ordering pictures before you see them and let's face it, school pictures aren't always the best. I'm kind of regretting it this year though. They turned out super adorable of all 3 boys. They just look too grown up. I know, I know, I say that every year. I'm just finally coming to terms with the fact that my boys aren't so little anymore. But they are definitely turning into handsome young men!

Aiden Pre-K 4

Noah 3rd Grade

Drew 6th Grade

Love these boys. They just melt my heart every day.

Why There's No Place Like Home

2010-11-08T11:41:00.002-06:00

Life gets crazy sometimes and you get so caught up in your kids' schedules, your family, housework, school, etc that sometimes you forget to make time for yourself. I need that time, even if it's an hour here or there. Having that time to be "me" helps me to be a more patient mom and wife. Us girls took an overnighter to St Louis this past weekend and I think everyone agreed it was much needed. (although poor Johnna had a migraine all day Sunday....no fun for her!) We ate a lot of yummy food (Chipotle and PF Changs to name a couple), laughed a lot, shopped a lot and loved that extra hour of sleep from Daylight Savings Time. As much as I look forward to these special times with my girlfriends and as much fun as I always have, it always feels good to get back home.

Sometimes you don't know how much you are loved and appreciated until you leave. I got a lot of hugs and kisses from Todd and my boys last night and enjoyed hearing about their busy weekend. Right before bedtime, Aiden cuddled up with me on the couch and told me he missed me. Then he whispered in my ear "My heart belongs to you." Oh my goodness, I thought I'd cry. I know that kid is head over heels in love with me and hearing his sweet voice whisper that in my ear made me melt.

Today the boys didn't have any school so I was looking forward to a relaxing morning with them before I went to work. I woke up to a sweet little face (Aiden's) peering down at me on the bed saying "Hi Princess". Drew then made me coffee in bed and cooked me and the boys pancakes for breakfast! And if that wasn't enough he went out back and swept all of the leaves off of the deck and rake all of the one side of the backyard. He is so incredibly sweet and thoughtful. I have 3 amazing boys and an amazing hubby. While it was good to get a break from them and have some much needed girl time, there's no place like home. My boys, Todd, our comfy bed, our cat, our home. It's good to be home.

After raking leaves the boys had a blast playing in them. They also had "leaf tag" so some of the raking needs to be redone. I also had to vacuum leaf fragments off of the carpet. But it was worth it. It's a gorgeous day, we're home relaxing, and I caught the joy on their faces. I love being home.

Halloween Weekend

2010-11-02T17:20:00.006-05:00

Our Halloween weekend was a busy one! Friday night we met Matt, Beth, and kiddos at the mall for some trick or treating. I also took Drew, Noah and Aiden through the Haunted House. That was pretty funny. Let's just say we know who the real chickens in the family are (and it's not me!) After that we all came back to our house to hang out.

Saturday night we headed to a party given by one of the familys at school. They have one every year and it's a blast. They have a haunted trail, hay rides, bonfire, games for the kids, etc. The boys love being able to run around with their school friends and we enjoy hanging out with the parents.

Before the party, we bought this.....................
We've been saving money for years to replace our van. We know we can't afford car payments so we've had to save for the last couple of trade ins. I'm proud to say we havent had a car payment since 1997! It can be done. Anyway, we knew we wanted a KIA and have kept in touch with the dealership waiting for the time to be right financially and the right deal to come along. We were going to start looking hard next week after we flipped our house that we had bought with Todd's brother. That was going to be the boost we needed to finally trade. Saturday though, the dealership called, said they had what we wanted and it was the last day of the month, they were trying to beat Chevy in sales for the month and they could make us a deal. By golly, they did. We got a 2009 Kia Sorento with only 16,000 miles on it for an affordable price. So we did it!

After church Sunday we came home and carved these......... Aiden wanted to paint his white to be a ghost pumpkin--pretty creative I must say! Noahs' is the one above that (those are pumpkin tears!) and Drew's is to the left. He liked that he was big enough to carve on his own this year.

Daddys' the man when it comes to carving. Aiden helped scoop seeds.

Drew drew his face on before he started carving. Drew drew sounds funny doesn't it?

Hey, even mom got in the picture for once (thanks Drew) I spent what felt like days pulling pulp off of seeds to roast them. I was craving them. They were taking too long to roast so Todd turned up the stove to 400 degrees and they got a little burnt darn it! All that work. Oh well, I'm still eating them.....I read about all of the health benefits and I need all the help I can get!

Soon it was time to dress up and do some trick or treating. First stop, Grandma and Grandpa Klausers house. Too bad Darth wouldn't wear his mask. He's too cute to be a bad guy.

Six of my favorite people in the world.....soon to be seven with another nephew set to arrive at the end of March!! Seriously the cutest Ariel ever. Pikachu almost looks like an extra grandkid

My boys.

We hit some of the familys' houses and then came home for supper. We then walked around our neighborhood with the boys. There were tons of kids out that night. Funny thing is, most of them don't even live in our neighborhood. People come and park to go through our neighborhood. That's just funny to me but it sure does make it more fun.

When the boys were tired of trick or treating, we headed home to put warm PJ's on an watch some TV cuddled on the couch. Aiden had a blast sitting by the front door waiting to hand out candy to the kids.

Catching Up

2010-10-29T13:34:00.007-05:00

I was looking at my most recent post and decided it needed to be replaced by a new one, I was just getting too sad. So much has happened since then, it's been a whirlwind of highs and lows. I keep hoping life will slow down a bit....hopefully November will be that time before the craziness of the holidays hits (Although I have a plan for a much simpler, less crazy Christmas this year. More on that later.)

Well we lost the battle with our cat, Grayson. Just uploading these pictures today made me sick to my stomach and brought tears to my eyes. I miss him so much and I know our other kitty does too as well as the boys. I took these pictures of the boys saying goodbye to him. I tried not to get their faces in them because they were so upset but I knew someday they'd appreciate having these last pictures with their furry friend. As many of you know, we'd been battling health issues for months with him. First a blocked urethra, then a bladder infection that we couldn't clear up for anything, then the stones in his bladder. He was scheduled for surgery on the 22nd but a few days before he woke up in really bad shape. I took him into the vet to find out he had a blocked urethra again. He would have to have 3 different surgeries to be well again. I asked the dreaded question that I had an awful feeling I knew the answer to. Then what?? I so appreciate the vet being honest with me. He told me Grayson's prognosis was poor. Since he was having such extreme problems at such a young age (he was 3) then the chances were great that we would continue this cycle again and again. Considering the money we had spent over 2 1/2 months ($3000) and how miserable Grayson has been and would continue to be, we made the horrible decision to put him down. I NEVER want that decision again. The only thing that helped was that the vets and the techs all came in and told me I was doing the right thing. I felt like such a dork. I was there by myself for 2 hours and probably owed them a box of Kleenex by the time I left. I also thought we'd have more time to say goodbye but because of the blockage, we had no time. They were able to take a syringe to his bladder and remove some of the urine to buy us time until the boys got home to tell him goodbye. It just all happened so fast and was such a blur. NOT what I had been planning my day to be like. To break the news to my boys.....heartwrenching. I made the choice to stay with Grayson during the process. I was completely freaked out at the thought of it but wanted him to know he was loved through it all. We actually got to be in a beautiful and peaceful room. They gave him a shot to put him to sleep and I got to hold him through it all. When we were ready, they came back in to give him the shot to stop his heart. God forbid anything should ever happen to my family because I about lost it when the vet listened to his heart and there was no longer a beat. I sat and held him for a long time after that (sorry if that's morbid to you all, I just couldn't let go, this was my furry baby) I finally allowed Todd to pick him up and put him in the box they provided for us. That about did me in too. He now is buried safe and sound with other previous pets of the family out at my dad's cabin, where we have so many beautiful memories.

Sweet sweet Grayson

*******************************************************************

Between a sick cat, two different sick kids, a car AND a van all in the shop, a crappy new teachers' contract, and some bad news for some people that I love, we actually did have some good happen too. I haven't taken too many pics lately but thought I'd throw just a few in.

My brother Matt and sis in law Beth had their awesome annual Fall Harvest party. The best part is everyone brings canned goods to donate to a local food pantry and this year we had over 400 items. They have so much fun planned for the kids too.....here they sat waiting to start hitting the pinata!

Drew got to go on a 2 night campout with the Boys Scouts. That same weekend, Todd and Noah camped out with the cub scouts. Aiden and I went along for all of the festivities but came home at bedtime and "camped" in my warm, cozy bed. Todd caught this picture of Noah after he'd fallen asleep.

Aiden is counting Noah's push ups while Dad cheers him on. The kids all took a fitness test that day.

We attended our 2nd annual Trunk or Treat at school last friday night.

Aiden was an adorable Darth Vader, minus the mask.

Drew dressed in his hockey gear to go as a......hockey player. Bet you didn't see that coming did you??

Noah was Ash, the cutest Pokemon trainer you will ever find.

My genius husband borrowed an overhead projector and along with our DVD player, set up a "theatre" in the back of the van. He even pulled the bench seat out of the back and set it and some chairs up for seating. We showed the movie Monsters vs. Aliens. The kids got a kick out of it and were running in and out all night. We won 3rd prize for most creative trunk.

This has by far been the most beautiful fall weather we've had in years. We had a gorgeous field trip to the pumpkin patch with the 6th grade class, trips to the apple orchard with my family, other fun field trips with the two older boys, trips to the cabin and fun class Halloween parties. This weekend I look forward to a fun Halloween party with families from school and trick or treating with the boys.

After all the events of the past weeks, both bad and good, I'm plain exhausted and am soooooo looking forward to a girls weekend away to St Louis next weekend. We're going to Christmas shop, eat good food, relax, go out, and sleep in. We won't have to worry about anyone but ourselves (a rare occurrance) but will also inevitably spend a large amount of time talking about and shopping for the same people we are escaping from ! LOL

Man's Best Friend......

2010-10-12T18:24:00.000-05:00

Is Not Always A Dog

This is why we spent a couple grand to make this cat healthy again. A certain little someone, who is head over heels in love with this cat, would have been crushed. Problem is, Grayson is having issues again. I'm just sick over this. We can't continue to drain our savings account yet we can't speak of the alternative. There is no clear cut answer here. All I know is something has to be done before our house is ruined and before he gets any worse off. Technically Grayson is my cat, it was love at first sight with him. But everyone here knows his heart belongs to Noah and Noah thinks the sun rises and sets on Grayson. First thing when he gets home or wakes up in the morning, guess who he searches for? The vets are kind of stumped as to what his whole problem is. Last urine text showed abnormal cells in it that they had never seen before. What do we do with that??? I feel either decision I make will be the wrong one. It's tearing us up. But we have to do something. To start, it's time to call the vet again and discuss options. He has an ultrasound Friday and then we should have answers, I hope.

Happy 9th Birthday Noah!

2010-10-11T06:26:00.003-05:00

Today is my sweet Noahs' 9th birthday. So hard to believe he's getting so close to the double digits. We started off celebrating a day early (on 10-10-10!) with a swim party at Sheridan with his classmates and family.
It was such a gorgeous day, we decided to do cake, ice cream, and gifts outside on the deck!

He opted for one candle over nine so it didn't tax his lungs too much to blow that out! :)

Noah picked a sea animal theme since we were swimming.

He was spoiled with so many wonderful gifts.

Drew giving 2 thumbs up before going off of the dive.

I know Noah enjoyed his party and for his birthday today, he's also lucky to only have a half day of school because of teacher inservices. So we are picking up Subway and meeting Beth and kids at the park to enjoy some more wonderful fall weather.

Oh, Mr. Noah, there are some things I never tire of. One is your sweet smile, your big green eyes, and your cuddles. You have one of the kindest, gentlest hearts of anyone I have ever met and even though we jokingly refer to you as The Cat Whisperer, there is definitely a special connection between you and animals. You will make an amazing veterinarian someday. You're goofy, you're imaginative, you're super smart (who gets all A+'s on midterms anyway?!), generous, and the slowest. eater. ever.! :) We love you for everything you are and so very proud of you. Love you my Little Porkchop.

Another picture I will never tire of. He had the Cutest. Cheeks. Ever.
Seriously, there has never been a more adorable Dumbo!!! 12 months old and toddled around amazingly well in that costume!

Happy 9th Birthday to my Noah!

Memories

2010-10-09T13:53:00.001-05:00

Playing around on http://www.wordle.net/

Titled "Memories". I'm going to play around till I get it just right, print it out and frame it. I might do a Christmas one also.

A 5 Year Olds Views on Marriage and Death

2010-10-03T21:03:00.002-05:00

Aiden has been on this kick lately about wanting to marry me. We keep trying to explain that he can't marry his mommy, I'm already married to daddy, and so on.

Cuddling in bed at bedtime tonight, the conversation started again. He asks me who he is going to marry and I say we have no way of knowing. It could be someone he works with, or someone he meets in college, or a friend of a friend. He then asks when he gets married, how long will he be married. I tell him that when we get married, it's supposed to be forever. To which he replies, "You mean until it's dark out?" Mmmm, not quite getting that concept. He also tells me he can't be a grown up because he doesn't know how to cook anything except peanut butter and jelly. I reassure him that there are guys out there with that same problem but I will make sure he knows how to cook.

Then I make the mistake of trying to explain the idea of forever by saying that when we get married, we should be together until we die. Death is not an easy topic for a 5 year old. Why, oh why, did I go there? He starts getting upset about me or Todd dying and I told him that hopefully me and daddy live a long life and don't die until we are really old. He starts crying and cuddles closer to me and when I asked him what was wrong he says "But you're almost really old!" I felt bad to see him so sad but I laughed out loud at that one. Yes, a real LOL! Then we went through a million scenarios about who dies first and this and that. Oh. My. God. That was painful.

I get him tucked in and come out to blog about this little conversation because I was still snickering about it. I'm typing away and Aiden gets out of bed and comes out to ask us if he will have a car when Todd and I die. We told him he would. He gets really despondent looking and says, "But I don't know how to drive." We assure him he will by then and please go back to bed and stop thinking about death.

A few minutes later he comes out again all worried, because once Todd and I die, AND he and his brothers die, then who will feed and water the cats?? I tell him that cats don't live as long as people and that the cats will die long before the rest of us. Now go sleep on that! Haven't heard a peep since. I'm trying to be honest with him but at the same time, get the conversation over with. I didn't have the best answers, I know. Unfortunately this kid does not forget anything!! So I'm sure it will come up again!

Ty & Aidens' 5th Birthday Party

2010-10-01T10:27:00.007-05:00

I have to start off the party post with one of the cutest pictures ever! My sister in law, Beth, made these superhero shirts with the boys initials for them to wear to their party. She also took this picture. It just perfectly captures them and their relationships. These 2 cousins were born 4 days apart and have been tight ever since. I swear they are brothers from different mothers--it's scary how much they are alike sometimes. I just want to hug them both up every time I look at this picture. (yes, we've heard all of the t and a jokes. lol)

Obviously we've got the superhero theme going on here!

Aiden's "Cupcake"

The kids got to decorate their own superhero capes and they turned out so cute.

Here Aiden is trying his out as he "flies" through the air.

SuperDrew

Dance Noah

Preparing for the superhero obstacle course.

Show 'em what you've got Super Aiden!

Noah and Ty show off their muscles.

Princess Ellie has no trouble showing up the boys.

The birthday boys blow out their candles.

Big brother helps Aiden read his cards while he opens gifts.

The boys were showered with all kinds of birthday goodness.

The weather was beautiful, the kids had a blast, it was a good day indeed. Now to finish getting ready for Noahs birthday party. Have kids 2 weeks apart keeps life busy this time of year!

One more time because I can't get enough of this cuteness!

Happy 5th Birthday Aiden

2010-09-24T05:56:00.003-05:00

The many faces of Aiden.....how true this picture is. You can be sweet and affectionate, you can be silly and funny, you can be a wild man, you can be mischievous and rotten, and sometimes you can just 'be'. Funny how your 5th birthday is hitting me the hardest. Is it because you and your brothers are growing up so fast? Is it because seems so old compared to 4? I see a lot of changes in you this past year. You are definitely growing up.

Looking back at baby pictures of you, I came across so many that made me smile, laugh, and even cry.

This was one of the ones that made me cry. This was taken at Children's Hospital in St Louis after you spent 4 days there when you were barely 2 weeks old. While you were there, I saw you go through some horrible procedures and tests that made you cry out in pain. You had tubes going into every orifice of your body. The hardest part was that the one thing that would give you comfort, couldn't give you. Since they weren't sure if you would need emergency surgery or not, you were kept on IV's and I couldn't breastfeed you. It was killing me. Your story had a happy ending....you didn't end up having the disease that was first suspected. This picture was taken moments after all of your tubes and IV's were removed and I could cuddle you like I wanted and nurse you finally. Little did we know you would end up needing surgery a few years later but for something totally different....your first, and hopefully your last, hernia!

Your first trip to the pumpkin patch. I'm not sure you were awake for a lot of it!

Your brothers were so enamored with you when you were born. They came home from school everyday and couldn't wait to hold you and talk to you.

Drew and Aiden

Noah and Aiden
You were so lucky to have your cousin born just 4 days after you. You have been best buds ever since. It is so fun to watch you two play and talk. It's like you are in a world all your own sometimes.

It looks like you guys were trying to kiss here. :)

You were my little follically challenged little boy. Your brother's had haircuts by their first birthday but your hair took its sweet time. It was busy growing those gorgeous dark blonde curls that you sport now.It was worth the wait!

Aiden 10 months old
Aiden 2 years old

Your second Halloween you dressed up like a lion. This was taken at the Halloween party at your brothers' school. You didn't even go to school there yet but you won the costume contest anyway. Who could resist the cutest lion ever?

My sweet Aiden, what a journey we have been on together. 5 years that would never have been the same without you. You definitely complete our family and add a lot of spark to it. You are inquisitive, determined, spirited, affectionate, funny, smart, and all ours! Some days you challenge me to the point where I want to rip my hair out and other days you call me your "pretty princess" and give me more love, hugs, and kisses than I ever thought I could have. I love you Aiden Sunshine. Happy 5th Birthday to you. I look forward to MANY MANY more with you.
I asked you this morning if you felt any different now that you were five and you said "yes, cause now I'm a little bigger." Yes baby, you are.

15 Years and Counting.......

2010-09-23T06:00:00.003-05:00

This picture has a lot of meaning to me. I didn't know it at the time, but on New Years Eve 1992, I first laid eyes on the guy that would be my future husband. I honestly have to say, it was his hair that first caught my eye. He had Tommy Page hair, and I was a huge Tommy Page fan. ;) And come on, getting squished between 3 cute guys for a picture is pretty awesome too. (Beastie Boys, Tom? Really? lol) I saw him again a couple of weeks later when he and some friends came to a party at Tapped Out (the name us girls gave to our house in college). His friend Brad was dating my friend Erica and she told me that Todd wanted to ask me out.

On January 24th, 1993 he called me and asked me out on our first date. That first date was on January 26th, 1993. It started with pizza at The Tower and ended with a kiss during a dance to an Air Supply song. Cheesy, yes, but oh so awesome.

This picture was taken in April 1993, it was shortly after this that I realized I had fallen in love with him. It was scary and exhilarating at the same time.

We continued dating through college and had our share of ups and downs. Todd proposed to me in January 1995 and we planned on a fall wedding as well as trying to finish up our last semester of college.

This picture was taken on the day of our college graduation. The world seemed wide open to possibilities that day--we were 22 year old engaged college graduates. We bought our first house, we started new jobs and planned for our wedding day on September 23, 1995.

We had our college senior pictures taken at the same time so we could have our engagement pictures taken also. This wasn't the one used in the paper, we used a little bit more formal of one. This was my favorite one though. (we both were workin' the awesome hair back then, weren't we?)

This was taken at a Halloween party the month after we got married. I was crazy about cats even back then and I was in love with a vampire long before vampires were hot!

This story has continued through 15 wonderful years of marriage. No doubt the best parts of those years were the addition of Drew, Noah, and Aiden to our little family. Todd, you have given me more than I have ever deserved and all I ever wanted. You let me be me, you support me in whatever I do, and you make me strive to be a better person. I love you, babe. I look forward to the rest of our journey together.

Happy 15th Anniversary Todd!!

Here's a link to my post on our 13th anniverary. It has one of our wedding photos on it.

Five years ago today we celebrated our 10th anniversary. Shortly after our wonderful dinner out, I went into labor with Aiden. That story will continue tomorrow when we celebrate our baby's 5th birthday.

Happy 40th Anniversary!

2010-08-29T08:38:00.003-05:00

40 Years ago you said "I Do". You were young and in love (and look how cute you guys were!)

In your wildest dreams did you think that 40 years from then you would have 3 grown children?

6 beautiful grandchildren with one more on the way?

A daughter-in-law and son-in-law that you love like your own?

I think the 40 years have fared well for you! There have been hurdles but most of all there have been many blessings. We thought for your anniversary we would surround you with pictures of those that you love and who love you so much in return.

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad! I for one would love to see 40 more years, filled with good health, laughter, and lots of love.

We love you!

His Catholic Education Is Already Paying Off

2010-08-27T22:09:00.002-05:00

Aiden and I were having our morning cuddle on the couch when he says to me, completely out of the blue, "If someone you love dies, and you want to be with them, then you have to die too." Of course hearing this makes me heart skip a beat and make me a little sick to my stomach. I explained to him that if someone you love dies, even though they are in heaven, you can still talk to them and they can hear you. I also explained that you didn't want to die too because there are too many people that would miss you and someday you will be together in heaven. Then....... I finally got where he was going with this. He replied "But Jesus is dead. And God is always with us even when we are alone and lost. He always loves us and we can always talk to him" My heart just melted hearing him tell me all of his. He IS listening in preschool and what he hears really does stick with him. There is hope for my little wild man.

My Furry Babes

2010-08-24T15:30:00.002-05:00

I just love seeing them hang out together. They both love getting fresh air and sunshine.

Grayson is on a slow road to recovery after his urethral block and urinary tract infection. Blockage taken care of, infection lingers on, we're on week 3 of meds for him. I want my healthy playful kitty back.

Aiden's First Day of School

2010-08-23T10:46:00.003-05:00

Today Aiden finally had his first day of school. It was hard for him to see his big brothers go off to school last week and know he still had to wait to go himself. Today was the big day and he was so excited. He was ready to go long before me!

I managed to get a picture of him with his big brothers before they left for school.

When we got to school, he hung up his bag, turned his name around to show he was here and found his name at the table. He went right to work drawing some pretty flowers for me and chatted with his friend Gabe. They share a love of Transformers and other action figures.

I snapped a pic on the way into his classroom also. My baby is such a big guy now.

3 mornings per week to myself. Oh what will I do?? :)

I'm excited to pick him up though and hear all about his first day!

Last Day of Summer Vacation

2010-08-19T07:26:00.003-05:00

The last day of summer vacation was overcast and a bit cooler than usual which was nice. We met Beth and the kiddos at Bob Mays Park and walked down to the creek for some fun. The water felt so good and the kids had a great time.

Goofing around.

Sand surfing

Waterfall surfing.

Ellie enjoyed finding pretty leaves for all of us.

Ty and Aiden looked for "treasures" in the water.

Just had to snap a pic of these cute little feet and calves. Love this girl.

The boys explored all over and love all of the little waterfalls.

We attempted a picture of all 6 cousins. This was my best one, Beth. What have you got? LOL

Noah looked so sad and forlorn. I'm a horrible mommy for saying he wasn't old enough to go down by the more dangerous ledge.

Check out the green heart shape rock Drew found. Pretty awesome.

I love how you can see some of her reflection in the water.

These two dudes crack me up. They are both turning 5 together next month!

Creek wading at its finest.

Surfing the wave?

We spent a couple of hours down there and then went up to the playground and played. We all worked up an appetite so on the way home the boys and I got some lunch at KFC. What a fun day to end summer vacation.

Drew & Noah's Triathlon

2010-08-18T09:28:00.007-05:00

Last Saturday was the 3rd annual Tri-ing to Help Triathlon put on by the Quincy Multisport Club. For the 3rd year, Todd was race director and I was so proud of him and his hard work to put this race together to raise money for a good cause. This year the money was raised for His Ranch over in Taylor, MO. The couple that owns this ranch raced for the first time last year and their whole family raced this year. This is a picture taken after the adults race and before the kids race with all the racers.

Grant, Noah, Ben, and Drew getting ready for the race.
Drew diving in.

Drew on is lap back

Noah swimming back.

Noah coming in from the bike portion.

Drew coming in from the bike.

Drew crossing the finish line! He got 1st place in his age group and 2nd place overall. Great job!

Noah crossing the finish line. He got second place in his age group. Way to go Noah!

Drew and Noah with some of their "fans". Thanks to both sets of Grandparents and to Uncle Scott for coming to cheer our little racers on!

First day of school pictures posted below! I'm slowly getting caught up on my blog posts. Tomorrow......how we spent our last day of summer vacation.

1st Day of School

2010-08-18T08:49:00.002-05:00

Today is Drew and Noah's 1st Day of School.

Drew humored me for a few pictures even though he informed me he was not a baby anymore and shouldn't have to do this. Thanks Drew. :)

This year Drew is in 6th grade, Noah is in 3rd grade, and on Monday Aiden starts 4 yr old preschool.

Yes, Aiden is wearing fleece mismatched PJ's. He likes to put them on around the house, even on days when it's 90+ degrees out. He can't understand why I won't let him wear them to bed. That's another story for another day. :)

Colorado Favorites (Part 3)

2010-08-14T14:45:00.008-05:00

Today I uploaded all of my scenic pictures. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves because words don't do them justice. And if you think the pictures are pretty, it doesn't even begin to compare to what it looks like in person. The Rocky Mountains never fail to leave me speechless and in complete awe of their beauty.

Sprague Lake

Stanley Hotel-coolest tour ever!
Alberta Falls

Dream Lake with Hallet's Peak in the background.

See that little lake nestled back in there? I just stared at it wondering if anyone had ever set foot in it before.

LOVE seeing the elk everywhere.

The trees, the smell of pine. mmmmm

So many beautiful flowers. We have pictures of every kind we saw.

Love how the moon is perfectly lined up about the tree.

More Colorado Favorites (Part II)

2010-08-10T07:54:00.009-05:00

The best part of going to Colorado is by far the time we spend in Rocky Mountain National Park. The views are breathtaking, the smell of pine and clean air is invigorating, and the cooler temps and no humidity sure beat the heat at home. But after long days, we have to let loose and get a little crazy.

The hotel in Kearney Nebraska after day 1 of driving is the perfect way to let loose after 8 hours in the car....they have two water slides and an indoor play area for the smaller kids. My boys were in heaven. Aiden was going down by himself, swimming to the side and would shout, "this is awesome!"
Noah zooming down.

Everyone took turns getting their picture taken with the funny glasses.

When we cooked out up in the mountains, the kids had time to run around and play, wade in the water, look for chipmunks, etc.

The slide, oh the slide, I guarantee you will feel like a kid again once you coast down this! We went over and over again. The family would line up across at the top and all slide down together.

My hair just cracks me up in this picture.

The bungy trampoline was new this year. My boys were anxious to get on it. Drew was even doing flips up in the air.

They would pull you down and let go and you would shoot up in the air like you were on a slingshot. (Noah)

Noah, Aiden, and Blake patiently waiting their turns.

Aiden may be only 4 but he is fearless. He had every bit as much fun as his brothers did.

My Dad watching the fun with 3 of his 6 grandkids.

The Go-Karts. They have to love seeing our family coming. You don't even want to know how much we spend on this and the other activities. But that's what vacation money is for right??

Aiden rode with his big cousin Sarah. Noah rode with Olivia

Drew was excited because this year he was big enough to drive by himself. He did really good too and at the end of the night, he managed to pass everyone on the track! He was pretty proud. Me, I'm just nervous about him driving in 5 years!

More Colorado pictures tomorrow, hope you aren't sick of them yet. I'm planning on doing some of the scenic ones next.

For the first batch of favorites, see my post below.

Some Colorado Favorites

2010-08-09T10:46:00.007-05:00

So many Colorado shots, I thnk I captured a lot of the wonderful memories we made there a well as some of the beautiful views. I'm posting some of my favorites today in random order and will post some more tomorrow. These are all some of my favorite people shots and I'll save scenic shots for another day. :) For those of you that haven't already heard, there were 30 of us family members what went to Estes Park. We go every few years or so.I think I figured this was my 7th trip but only 3rd for Todd and the boys.

Boys doing the Captain Morgan pose. So wrong but so funny.

Drew took this shot of Todd and I right after I gave him a new wedding ring for our 15th anniversary. He lost his back in November so figured chances of it turning up again were slim. :) This is at the Alluvial Fan, always one of my favorite spots in the Rockies.

Me and my Godfather....my Uncle Joe. This was taken on a hike up to Dream Lake....my new favorite spot!

The boys in front of Chasm Falls. I love Aidens' eyes in this picture. It looks like he's cooking up something no good.

A family shot at the Alluvial Fan.

Drew

Me and my Godson/Nephew Ty. I love this picture of him and I. He has the cutest smiles.

My mom, dad, and two brothers and I. I love this shot because it is rare to get one with just the 5 of us. Oh, and Nate really isn't that tall. I think he's standin on a rock. lol

Daddy and his boys.

Aiden wanted his picture with his cousin Ellie. This is such a cute picture and the wind picked up with the storm that was coming which just added to the cuteness.

The boys again. They were such good sports about posing for us.

I just love Aiden's pose here.

Last time we were here 3 years ago I got a picture of Blake and Noah sitting at this same place holding hands. They wanted to recreate the picture.

Cousins and buddies.

Todd had the boys howling at the moon.

More pictures coming tomorrow.......for real this time!

A Panoramic View of Colorado

2010-08-05T17:34:00.005-05:00

Shortly before our trip to Colorado, Todd figured out how to use our panoramic feature on our camera. These are some of the shots he took with it. I'm going to get a few of the really beautiful ones developed and framed for the basement.

This is an example of one that did not turn out. You basically take 3 pictures and it shows you where to overlap when you take them. Then it "stitches" them together to make one shot. Not sure if the lighting changed during the process or what but you can kind of see how it puts it together.

This last one I'm pretty sure is due to the clouds moving so much. I think Todd took his on his Hallet's Peak hike.

MANY more vacation pictures to come. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get up some of my favorite shots.

Our "New" Piano

2010-07-15T09:15:00.002-05:00

One of my dreams has always been to learn to play the piano, but kind of figured it would be a good idea to get a piano first. Todd's Aunt Diane and Uncle Mitch wanted to get rid of their piano and offerred it to us for free. This was a couple of months ago. Why did it take so long to get it to our house??? We tried moving it ourselves a couple of times. The problem is, it had to be moved out of their basement and up their steps and then into our basement, which luckily has a walk out. Well we couldn't do it. And I threw up in my mouth a little when I found out what various places charged to move a piano (have to pay for a minimum of 2 hours). We debated for quite awhile on what to do because this "free" piano certainly wasn't going to be free anymore. Todd found a place to do it cheaper but the money still made me faint at heart. I seriously wanted to back out. Todd said we were doing it anyway. (Sometimes I love a take charge kind of guy). So this morning, it took a whole whopping 45 minutes for the movers to transport it and we are now $322 poorer. Yes, it's a freakin' ripoff but the boys are thrilled to pieces and I'm already dreaming of composing my first piece.

My OCD is kicking in because I look at these pictures and see something glaringly wrong. It's not centered under the artwork. It's killing me.....must move it now. Is it wrong that I'm already excited to start "decorating" the top of it?? I see all kinds of cool arrangements. Of course most of them won't be possible as two little furry balls of trouble would probably ruin it.

Now lets see if we can get some piano lessons in the budget!!!

Creek Walkin'

2010-07-08T22:53:00.005-05:00

The boys' latest obsession is going wading in the creeks. The last week alone, they have waded twice at the creek along the Bob Mays Park trail and once at the creek at South Park. Tonight at my mom and dad's they begged to go down to their creek. It was something I always loved as a child too and back then we lived about 6 blocks from South Park and my friends and I would ride our bikes down there and hike along the creek. When we head to Colorado on vacation next week, I guarantee the boys (and I!) will be ready to do some wading in the clear, beautiful streams!

Todd took these pictures of the boys this afternoon when they went wading at South Park. One more thing to love about summer!

I love the look of pure joy on Aiden's face, you can almost hear his laughter.

I love the brotherly memories being formed.

They even found some raccoon tracks.

It looks like Noah found a cave but it's just a little hollowed out part in the rock ledge. I love his little face.

Time to sit and take a break.

I love this picture. It may just become my next blog header.

This has nothing to do with creek wading but is just another example of something the boys have enjoyed doing together. For some reason, Aiden and Noah love sleeping together. Since the boys' all switched rooms, they had been a little spooked so sleeping together has helped them both. This is what I saw when I checked on them before bed a couple of nights ago. Hopefully this will be another memory they will look back fondly on someday.

Florida Slideshow

2010-07-08T07:15:00.000-05:00

Here are the majority of my pictures and Dianna's pictures from my trip to Florida. Enjoy!

Free slideshow personalized with Smilebox

4th of July Weekend

2010-07-06T09:24:00.005-05:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. It started off with a wedding for Todd's cousin Saturday afternoon. The wedding was beautiful, the bride even more so, and the look on the groom's face when she walked into the church was priceless. He was overcome with emotion and it was so sweet.

That evening we headed to Aunt Janet and Uncle Tim's house for their annual 4th picnic. We got to meet the newest member of the family, little Reid. Such a cutie he is and since they live in Ohio, we had to soak up every second with him since it might be awhile until he visits again. What a sweetheart.
Aunt Jan and Uncle Tim's party was extra special because they had all of their kids and grandkids home. They went from 0-3 grandkids in no time at all and our family couldn't be more thrilled. Nothing better than babies and toddlers to snuggle and play with.

My Uncle Joe (Aunt Cindy??), one of them, took this picture of me and my Dad. He was trying to pick me up and hold me like a baby since everyone else was doing that with the babies. This picture is dear to me because 1. it's hilarious and 2. I don't have many pictures of just me and my Dad and this shows us being goofy and having fun. Love you Dad.

Don't my boys do a wonderful balancing act?? Who knew they were so talented??

Drew and Noah tossing Blake back and forth.

All of the cousins that were present. We are so lucky to have such a big family and our get togethers are always a blast. We always miss those that can't be there with us.

"Look Mom, I can drink and shoot fire out of my hand at the same time!"

Aiden having some sparkler fun.

The fireworks are the highlight of the night. Everybody can bring whatever they want and it all gets shot off. There is nothing better than cozying up on the lawn with your family and having your own personal fireworks display.

Sunday the 4th was a wonderful day too. We took my brother in law Scott out to lunch at Steak n Shake and gave him his birthday present. That night we went to a cookout at my mom and dad's. We ate good food, had lots of laughs, and enjoyed watching old home movies. Nothing better than that! This weekend kind of marked the halfway point of our summer. I hate that it's flying by so quickly but at the same time, oh what a great summer we are having!!! So much more to look forward to also!!

Father's Day 2010

2010-06-22T11:24:00.005-05:00

Father's Day was a busy day this year. We got together with Todd's mom and dad the night before and went out to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. I didn't even think to bring my camera to the restaurant so I will have to do pictures of Grandpa and the boys later.

My siblings, spouses and I chipped in and got my Dad a tree for their new house. Matt went over that morning and planted it for him. I got a picture of my dad and the boys with it shortly afterwards. Looks good!

Me and my Daddy. :)
These are 4 of my favorite guys! Todd and his boys.

Absolutely LOVE them!

Around noon we headed up to Camp Saukenauk to drop Drew off for Scout camp for a week. I had been dreading this day for months. But seeing the place first hand and seeing Drew's excitement helped make it easier to leave him there.

Drew in front of his tent, all unpacked and ready for fun! He's already survived multiple thunderstorms and tornado warnings. He can't say there wasn't any excitement. He did say that so far it's even better than he thought it would be which is great because he really had it built up in his head.

After dropping Drew off we headed to our family reunion at Resevoir Park where we got to get some more pictures.

Noah with his Godfather/Uncle Matt

Todd and his Goddaughter Ellie.

My and my brother Nate with our Godfather/Uncle Joe

The rest of the day we relaxed. Todd got to take a nap, we make an awesome dinner and relaxed around the house. Now we're looking forward to Thursday. It's Todd's birthday and family night up at camp so we'll get to spend the evening with Drew. YAY!

He Had A Dream

2010-06-20T07:00:00.001-05:00

My Dad had a dream. Once upon a time he wanted to buy some hunting ground and build a log cabin on it. Little did he know at the time that his dream would someday be a place filled with so many special memories for his ever growing family.

That place is called Almost Heaven. In 1998, the dream started becoming a wonderful reality.

The family was much smaller at the time, but that would soon change. (fall 1998)

This special place held a lake for swimming, fishing, boating, kayaking, and a beautiful view.

We never ever tire of seeing all of the beautiful deer that roam these woods, along with many other critters, flowers, blackberries, springs, and even an old abandoned cemetary.

There's always fun to be had whether it's water fights...... lounging on the porch..........
playing a game of jump rope......

and the ever popular Gator rides around the land.....

pile in and off we go........

and the annual Bozarth Boys Memorial Day Campout.........

So on this Father's Day, Dad, thank you for starting an amazing family tradition and a special place that the family can always gather to have fun, hang out, and make amazing memories together. This is truly a dream come true for your family. We love you!!!

Easter 2010

Happy Father's Day Dad!

My Florida Trip 2010

2010-06-16T08:14:00.016-05:00

Finally I got my pictures uploaded. Blogger was being a pain in the butt for a couple of days. I hopped on a plane and flew to Pensacola, FL from June 8th through June 13th to visit by friend-since-birth Dianna and her family. The last time I traveled by myself anywhere I was 18 years old and was flying to the same place. I was a little nervous and a whole lot excited. Honestly, the hard part was being away from my family.....I had never been away from them for that long and I knew I'd miss my boys like crazy, especially when I knew how much fun they had had down there 2 years ago when we drove down.

I tried to limit my pictures in this post but it is still pretty long so bear with me. On Wednesday we found a new park down by the water. The playground was so nice and had a covering on it to give it shade which was really nice. The breeze coming off of the water was great too. We had just finished up at Krispy Kreme (yum!) and headed to the park for while. This picture below was taken on the walk along the water. It was so beautiful down there.

We drove around in the historic part of Pensacola next and I had to get out of the car to get a picture of this little guy. We saw herons everywhere and I got such a kick out of them and how they walked. They were so cute and were ok with you getting up close to them.

This is our first trip to the beach. We went late afternoon and the weather was perfect and there weren't hardly any people there. With the oil approaching, I had a feeling that tourism was down and that made me sad. We always hit Pensacola Beach when we are down there and that is always one of my favorite places.

Me and Delaney were being goofy with our shadows.

We had Dianna take our picture together. Isn't it cute how Delaney just fits in the palm of my hand? :)

I loved this picture of Delaney taking a picture of Mallory. Those two girls are so precious and I sooo enjoyed my girly time with them. Doing their hair, playing Polly Pockets, Barbies, dancing with the wii, girly clothes. It was so fun.

Me and my best girlfriend!

My self portrait. I was being a little goofy. Must be the salty air.

An abandoned sand castle. Delaney claimed it as her own by writing her name in the sand by it and then her and Mallory put seashells on it and added some nice touches.

Some old tar balls. I was so fortunate that the water was still swimmable and gorgeous but these were reminders of what was yet to come.

On Friday we took their boat out onto the water and took a long ride up to Sand Island for the day. It was one of those perfect and relaxing days. I got to see one of my heron friends again as we put the boat in by the dock. So cute.

I just loved these colorful houses along the side of the beach. Probably a little hard to see in this picture taken from the boat but they were every color of the rainbow.

This beach was so neat as there were sand bars everywhere and you could walk forever without the water getting above your knees. The kids had a blast in it. We saw TONS of hermit crabs, it was just crazy. We thought maybe it was mating season as a lot of them were paired up in twos. ;)

There is the boat and tent set up in the background. We just hung out for the day and ate, swam, relaxed. Dianna's nephew Charlie came along too and the 3 kids were so fun to watch in the water.

Preston found 3 different little crabs and this guy was the smallest. See how he compares to a quarter?

I love this picture. You can see the Pensacola Lighthouse in the background. It is thought to be haunted and was investigated by Ghost Hunters which is one of my favorite shows! Some of our little birdie friends hanging out. You can see the yellow boom already placed here with only a small area left open for boats to get by. We heard they closed it off completely later that night. It was wierd seeing all of the booms and coast guard and other workers out. It was a constant reminder of what was to come. I was very thankful to have plenty of time to enjoy the water before the worst hit but it makes me sick to my stomach to think of all that is happening down there and wondering when Dianna and her family will get to see clean beaches and water again.

The three kiddos eating their lunch...with a great view.

Dianna took this picture of me playing with Mallory. Ignore my saggy and flabby bod, must work on it.......

and focus on this sweet little face running towards me. That huge smile was all for me and I loved every bit of it. She's the same age as Aiden so in a way and Delaney is right in between Noah and Drew so they helped keep me from getting homesick. Love these girls. I love this picture too because although I think Mallory looks a lot like her daddy in the face, in this picture, she looks just like her mama did as a little girl.

That night we went to a fish fry at Dianna's parents' house. Growing up next door to them in Hazelwood Ct meant spending lots of time together. Even though I hadn't seen them in awhile, I felt right at home in their house and loved seeing the whole family and spending the evening with them. It just felt right and I miss them all already. I so regret not having my camera out that night but at the same time, sometimes it's nice to live in the moment and not behind the camera. I have so many more pictures but also so many more I wished I had taken. But I have so many wonderful memories from my trip that I won't forget, pictures or not. Shopping, eating out, hanging out with the girls, Preston's yummy grilled chicken salad, the girls' making their own storybooks and us making up funny stories with them, the dancing wii game that made me feel like a dork. I'll never be able to listen to Hot n Cold by Katy Perry again without doing the dance. Salt water, various salt water creatures, how warm the water was, finding sea shells, getting to sleep all night without being woken up, the breeze off of the water, hugs and kisses from the girls, hitting thrift shops with Dianna and some of our favorite crafting stores and more.

Kayak Fever

2010-05-22T08:15:00.004-05:00

We are loving the kayaks that Todd built. Summer with them will be fun. We had a couple of more opportunities to try them out lately. The week of 1st Communion, Noah invited his whole class over along with a few of their siblings over to Grandpa and Grandma Klauser's house. The kids had a BALL! They fished, kayaked, rode the paddle boat, jumped on the trampoline, and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows on the beach. It was a wonderful night. Drew is already planning a day this summer to have his friends out.

Grace and Mandy take a small break after their turn on the kayak.

The girls had no problems touching the fish OR the worms. Can't say the same for all of the boys!! LOL

The kids all had some good luck catching fish.
Ian was a kayak addict. I think he could have rowed all night.

The paddle boat was a hit too.

On Mother's Day we took the kayaks out again and this time I got to take a turn as well as Grandma Tunie and Grandpa Ken. Uncle Scott was a big ole wuss and wouldn't get in one. We need to work on him.

Drew takes Grandma on a ride while Grandpa take a solo run.

Me and Aiden take a ride. I was amazed at how relaxing and comfortable it was. I got to take a turn by myself and I could have paddled around all night. You definitely feel it in your arms later....at least you do if you're out of shape like me!

Drew and Grandma Tunie.

Noah and Drew take a spin around the lake.

With gorgeous weather in the forecast, we are heading out to my Dad's cabin to spend the whole day doing a little bit of everything. I can guarantee there will be some kayaking!!!

This And That

2010-05-18T15:20:00.008-05:00

The end of the school year is always a hectic time so blogging had been put on the backburner. I have so many pictures to share from various things though so bear with me, this may be a long post! :)

Today was Aiden's last day of school and for the last hour of the day, the parents were invited in for snack time. We were also surprised with a little "show" from the kiddos singing and dancing to a few of their favorite songs. It was so cute. 2 of the kids were missing today so it was a small group. This was a song about a butterfly.

This picture just cracks me up. The expression on Aiden's face makes me laugh and I love how MJ is midair. One year of preschool over, one more to go. My baby is growing up. He has his first school picnic tomorrow and is excited to have me there all morning with him as well as getting to see his big brothers there.
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Aiden and I were looking at pictures of him when he was a baby and he was asking me various questions as we went along. Out of the blue he asks, "What did I eat as a baby?" I told him he drank mommy milk. He then asked where the mommy milk came from and I told him. He started laughing hysterically and said "Ohhhh, Mom, that's gross!" You weren't saying that 4 years ago kiddo! Not even a minute later he's asking if you can have some now. Uh, not gonna happen buddy.

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Me and some of my girlfriends out on a Saturday night a few weeks ago. We hit The Blind Pig and then karaoke at State Street Bar and Grill. A good night.

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A few weeks ago we competed in the Bridge The Gap race. Todd ran a half marathon, Drew ran a 5k, and Noah and I walked a 5k.

Here's Todd with his medal wearing boys! Jackie Joyner Kersee was there to hand out the medals at the finish line. It was so neat to have an Olympic medalist put a medal on little ole me. This picture would be really good......if it wasn't all blurred. Autofocus, you let me down.

The cousins after they all finished their various races. These photos speak a lie also. It may look sunny and nice but it was cold and windy and was overcast all morning until this point. Brrrrr!! The wind on the bridges is even worse.

Me and my Noah after we crossed the finish line.

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A few days after Noah's first communion, the whole school had mass at St Anthony's and the 2nd graders did the mass and got to wear their 1st Communion clothes again and have their 1st Communion for the 2nd time. I got a few different pictures.

Noah and his teacher, Mrs Lammers

The 3 Beautiful Girls, they look so angelic even though they have to deal with 8 boys everyday.

The Dudes

Love this picture.

Noah reading at the beginning of Mass.

They sang a song at the end of mass that is so beautiful. If I can figure out how to take it off of the camcorder, I will post it. It was so good and made me cry both times I heard them sing it. They had the hand motions to go with it.

Another post to come on Saturday!! I might just get caught up on my pictures yet!

Gerbil Casserole Anyone?

2010-05-15T13:00:00.002-05:00

My husband decided to be nice and clean out the gerbil cage for Drew while he was gone. Normally Drew puts them in a Rubbermaid tote to run around in while he empties it out. Todd wanted something with a lid on it to keep the cats from getting to them. Why he picked one of my casserole dishes, I'll never know. But those who know my husband probably aren't very suprised by this! :)

Aiden and Cousins Play Soccer

2010-05-13T11:10:00.001-05:00

Aiden is loving soccer this year. It might have something to do with the fact that his Uncle Matt is his coach and he has his cousins' Ty, Hunter, and Carter on his team. I haven't gotten any pics of him by himself yet but he had team pictures the other day so I'm anxious to see how that one of him turned out. I tried my best to capture some pictures at his last game but those 3 and 4 year olds move around so fast, it's hard!!

Here are Hunter and Aiden conversing before the game.

Uncle Matt talking to Aiden, Ty, and Hunter. Probably coming up with a game plan I'm sure. :)

Aiden (with the yellow ball) going in to score his goal!

He's done a great job this year of going after the ball and dribbling it down the field.

Aiden and Ty are talking strageties.

An attempt at a team picture. I was laughing so hard. Carter kept putting his hands up (he has them by his ears in this picture), the little girl in the front kept putting her hands up her shorts, and the Carter would take off running. It was comical, but was also stressing me out. I felt sorry for the photographer!

Only 3 games left in the season, I'll be sad when it's over. It's so cute to watch and Aiden is getting so much more out of it this year than he did last year.

Happy Mothers Day

2010-05-09T16:06:00.003-05:00

Top 3 Reasons Why I Love Being A Mom:

These 3 boys have given me the best mother's day gift of all....the gift of themselves. Today has been absolutely amazing. They have each touched my heart in so many ways today. Pictures will come of all the treasures they have made for me. My hubby and boys treat me so well and I am so blessed. Being the only female in the house certainly has its perks!

Happy Mother's Day to my mom who has done so much for me over the years and not only still does but does so much for her grandkids. Thanks for always being there. Love you!

Noah's 1st Communion

2010-05-03T12:22:00.008-05:00

Yesterday was Noah's 1st Communion. He was so excited for this day to come. He got all dressed up yesterday and Daddy put on his tie. When he walked in my bedroom and I got my first glimpse of him. I know it sounds corny, but I stopped breathing for a few seconds and my eyes got all misty. He was so beautiful and handsome. When did he grow up so fast??? The mass was absolutely beautiful from the music to the children to all the things the kids did through the mass. It was so very special. I wanted to share a few pictures from his special day.

Here Noah is entering the church in procession

My sweet boy
Noah reading his petitions.

The group sang a song that just melted my heart. It was beautiful. I'm glad we have it on video.

The entire group.

He just looks so angelic here, my sweet little guy.

What a handsome dude. He looks so grown up

I really hope someone else in my family got a better picture of this shot. Todd and I look scary but really, we are very proud, happy parents.

Noah with his Godparents---Aunt Beth and Uncle Matt. Aren't they an adorable trio?

Another one of those pictures that I hope someone else in my family got a better shot of. Todd looks pissed, I've got bad hair goin' on, and Aiden looks like he's clinging to me for dear life. LOL
That's the statue of St Anthony hanging out in the background.

Noah opening his St Matthew medal from mom and dad.

Love the excitement on his face.

On Weds, the kids have a school mass and the 2nd graders get to wear their 1st Communion clothes and do the mass again. Afterwards, the 2nd graders and their parents get to have breakfast together. It will be such a special morning. Todd and I both arranged to get off work to go and are so excited. I know I will have more pictures that day because we get to take some class pictures and I forgot to get one of Noah with his teacher. I'm also going to try for another one of us and Noah.

I'm so proud of my big guy!

(If any of my family has a shot of Noah receiving his first communion could you please send it to me?? I'd love to add it in)