Todd's 39th Birthday

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

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

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!

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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

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

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

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

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?? :)