What A Block Head

Sometimes it's better not to ask, don't you think???

The Old Miss

With all the news of the Mississippi River flooding, we thought we take a drive along the river yesterday to check it out. It has only been a week since we were last down there and we couldn't believe how much higher the water had gotten since then.

This is a picture of the Quincy Boat Club. Todd's parents belong here and we come to different events during the year with them. As you can see, the parking lot is completely underwater. His mom said they had cleared everything out, including the cabinets, knowing the water would continue to rise.

Here is one of our favorite restaurants, The Pier. Luckily it is built up off of the water but you can see where the parking lot is flooded too. They have a bridge coming off of the top story that goes out to the street so they can stay open during the flood.

If you look out into the water you can see a round wooden deck of sorts. A lot of people have been married here, or had pictures taken here. Most of it is underwater. You can also see the wooden poles coming out of the water marking various heights of previous floods. This year is supposed to be the worst flood since the flood of '93 and I definitely remember how horrible things were that year. That's another story in itself!

Here's the playground we went to last week and the water was high, but not this high.

This is the parking lot of the playground we went to last week. We actually parked between those two trees.

I had to go to the bathroom really bad (all that water, you know) but once I saw the way to the bathroom, I didn't have to go so bad. It wouldn't have been worth wading through all that water to reach the building. I probably would have wet myself on the way.

This is a picture taken from our van of the Memorial Bridge. This is the bridge that will be closed down any day now. You can see how high up the water has come to the bridge. It has been closed a number of times in the past b/c the water has come up over it. The bridge we are driving on will then become a two way bridge. Normally large barges and boats can pass under there with no problem at all.

I took many pictures yesterday and have taken a number back when we have had flooding in the past. It is always amazing to me the power that water has. It is such a life sustaining substance, yet it can wreck havoc on the lives of many people in many ways. People all up and down the river are sandbagging, vacating, removing items and taking other precautionary measures to ensure safety. The water is expected to continue to rise during the next week. I only hope it doesn't get as bad as it is predicted to be right now.

That Hurts....

The other night Aiden kept begging for another drink. It was getting closer to bedtime and he tends to wet through his diaper if he drinks too much. So I said he could have one more little drink and then I would have to cut him off. He got a scared look on his face, made a cutting motion on his arm, and fearfully says to me...."You going to cut my arm off?"

Sometimes I forget that the little guys take things more literal than me!

My "Bud"ding Photographer

Noah borrowed the camera for the afternoon awhile back and took quite a few pictures. I love this one that he took of his rose bush.



It's a beautiful picture, but what's even more amazing is that he took one this professional looking when the rest of his pictures.........................

look like this..................

and this...............(love the blur effect)

it doesn't get more exciting.............

than Drew watching TV.....although I guess it's an interesting angle.....

but I must admit, I laughed my butt off at this one....it just may be my favorite.

Noah caught the cat sticking his tongue out at him!

Phlbbbbbbfffftt!!!

One Wild Saturday Night

We headed out to the St Francis Parish Picnic last night. It's a yearly tradition and we always meet up with both sides of the family as well as some friends. It was a perfect summer night and the boys were so excited to go. We started off with the bounce house.

Noah is jumping away.

Aiden is bouncing off some energy.

There's Noah and Aiden........see Aiden trying to escape up the wall in the background?? Drew decided he was too old to go around Kiddie Land playing games with us but I was a little nervous about his walking by himself. So I let him go as long as he stayed in that area so I could keep an eye on him. Mostly I kept an eye on him while we walked around with the others. For awhile I followed him around but he would catch me getting too close and turn around to me saying "Mom! What are you doing?? I thought I could walk by myself" Sheesh, why does he have to grow up so quick. So no pictures of Drew. The crowd was huge so I feel like I spent most of my night standing in line after line and didn't get to do much socializing. The cotton candy line about did me in. I won't get into the whole story but let me just say that after a half an hour wait, me and another mom got a little snippy since people behind us were getting theirs. The interesting part of the night......Drew won 2 cans of soda at one of the games and I was trying to juggle them around all night along with other things. I accidentally dropped one and it exploded all over me and about 10 other people. There's nothing like soda and humidity to make you feel sticky. It was not one of my best moments. But it gets better. We get home around 10:00 and want to hurry and get the kids in bed since it's so late. Todd is getting the other soda can out of his pocket and drops it and it freakin' explodes all over our living room. It looked like a soda massacre. A picture wouldn't have done it justice or else I would have taken one. Soda on the carpet, couches, tv and entertainment center, the walls, the vertical blinds, the clean laundry still in the basket, and on our family of 5. What a crappy ass mess to clean up at that time of night but Todd and I agreed it was pretty darn funny. And hey, we have a clean, shampooed living room now. Never mind that we just shampooed it a week ago! Oh, and did I mention that something happened with our toilet in the bathroom earlier in the day and water leaked all over our basement? We had already run the shampooer over the carpet about 5 times sucking up the water. The fun never ends here people!

I also scored me some good bling last night. Don't you love all the beautiful jewelry Noah won for me?? He was so sweet how he presented each piece to me as he won it. The green smiling hand is for me because it's my favorite color, that orange/yellow bracelet he said matches my hair (??really??), some I had to close my eyes and he slipped them on. That kid will be quite the romantic as he gets older.

Noah wasn't the only one with jewels. When I went to check on him before I went to bed, I noticed he had fallen asleep with his crown on. Good Night King Noah.

Flashback Friday Part 1

I had been pondering what to write about for Flashback Friday. So many memories, so little time, ya know?? I was going through an old album from high school and found some possibilities but decided to come back to it later. I ended up taking a bike ride with Noah and we rode by one of his friends' houses and they invited him to play for awhile. So I took a long bike ride by myself with my ipod. Let me tell ya, there's nothing like it. It was overcast, windy, with the hint of the rain to come and wonderful day to bike, listen to music, and let my mind wander. A lot of times, I end up over by Quincy University. It's a good distance for walking and biking and I also like to go "visit" Kathy by her brick. Today it ended up being one of those days. I was sad to see some weeds coming up around her brick, I had to clear them away. It's hard to believe it's been a little over 2 years since she passed away. I think about her often and it always makes my heart hurt to think of her kids growing up without their mommy.



What really got me thinking back today was coming upon this sight on campus.

They were tearing down Solano Hall. It's been set to be torn down for quite awhile, even years I think. How I just happened to come across it today when it was in progress, I don't know. It made me very sentimental. I took choir in that hall. I took music history in there. I met a boy there. I made memories there.

Fr. Dennis was the choir director when I was there. A lot of people called him Father What-A-Waste because he was attractive for a priest. We may go to hell for that. When Todd and I decided to get married in the Quincy University Chapel, we asked him to marry us and he accepted.

I couldn't help thinking back on my time in college. It's amazing how one little memory can spark off hundreds of others that you thought you had forgotton. Like chipping a little bit off of your front tooth on a beer bottle the first night of college (it took years to smoth out on its own)...............intramural volleyball, basketball and softball..................the stifling suffocating feeling of walking in the college library.............Father Bob coughing up herky's at 8am every morning during Calculus...........grilled cheese at 3am on Kathy's sandwich maker...............shaking John Michael Montgomery's hand after his concert.......................having the Gin Blossoms come to campus and getting to meet them backstage (thanks Todd!)..................Tapped Out (what us girls named our house that we lived in for 3 years).............................was Mark gay or not?..........................Vodka and Kool-Aid, what were we thinking?...............working at the movie theatre......................trips to the Palace in Keokuk.............road trips......................late night popcorn and Dr Pepper study breaks.....................parties,boyfriends, heartaches, girl friends...oh, and classes..........I could spend days.



I can honestly say I have no regrets over anything I did back then but I do have regrets over things that I DIDN'T do. I hate that feeling. I know there are no do-overs in life. I passed up certain opportunites because I was too scared to take chances, too scared of what others might think, or just because I let my anxiety get the best of me. I don't want to live that way now. What I wouldn't give to go back and relive certain parts of my college years. Part of me wanted to grow up so fast and now part of me wants to be that kid again. Funny how the time flies.......

Here's a view from the back of Solano Hall.

Flashback Friday Part II

Ok, so I will take some flack for this one, but I don't care.

What do you see when you see this picture???? The top one is the old Busch Stadium right before a concert. A concert back in August of 1990 to be exact. The bottom picture was taken during the actual concert. Can you tell who it is?? 5 of us girlfriends stood there screaming our little hearts out for New Kids on the Block. We didn't care that we were so far away that they looked like ants. We were seeing them live!!!

And now, on October 24, 2008 ........me, Dianna, Erica, Julie, and Jen are going to Chicago to see them in concert again!!!! You don't want to know what we paid for tickets but let me tell you, we have better seats this time. And we are already acting like giddy little school girls because our favorite high school heart throbs are back together again. It's going to be an awesome weekend, just us girls.

Potty Talk

AIDEN: "Mom, I so proud of you."

ME: "Why are you proud of me Aiden?"

AIDEN: "Because you pee-pee on the potty all the time."

ME (laughing hysterically): "Honey, I've been going on the potty for a looooong time. I'm proud of you for going on the potty like a big boy."

AIDEN: "Oh, otay."

Summer Fun

Summer is finally here. The boys are all home and the warm weather has finally arrived. We've been enjoying not having our summer activities up and going yet and just doing what we want without a schedule. The weekend was a lot of fun. Saturday morning we met Beth and the kiddos at the library summer reading program kickoff party.

Here's Aiden sitting patiently while he gets a lion painted on his face. Remember his Leo the Lion addiction?? It was worse today.

Noah got a butterfly on his cheek

Ty and Aiden get chummy with Leo the Lion. (for about the 500th time that day for Aiden)

The Jesse White Tumblers were amazing. They also did the bounce house, a dunk tank (Noah and Drew both dunked the coach of the Quincy Gems baseball team), crafts, ate popcorn and checked out some books. All in all it was a fun day. Drew asked why I didn't have many pictures of him. I reminded him that he thought he was too big for certain things and he didn't want me taking pics.

That evening we went to Matt and Beth's for a BBQ. We got the slip-n-slide set up and the kids had a blast. Todd had a ski rope to pull the kids that hadn't mastered sliding yet or just wanted a fast pull. Beth's pictures turned out so much better than mine. (Can you email them to me???)

TY

BLAKE

NOAH
DREW
AIDEN
Grandpa John and Ellie
Sunday we had one of the cousin's graduation parties and they had their heated swimming pool open. The boys were in heaven~~They swam their little hearts out and went down the water slide a number of times.

Noah

Aiden, with me cautiously watching on the side of the slide.

Drew

The boys ended up going home with Grandma and Grandpa Klauser to help plant a small garden and do some fishing so Todd and I ended up with a few hours to ourself. It was heaven!! We ended up using our gift certificate to eat supper at The Pier and it was such a nice, relaxing dinner. What a great weekend.

My Belated 35th Birthday Present

I finally did it. I got my tattoo. I've always thought it would be cool to get one but never knew what to get. Todd and I decided for our 35th birthdays last year that we would each get one. Todd got his last July. Here's the picture of his. I should have gotten mine in December but for various reasons, time got away. So I finally got it done yesterday! I wanted a four leaf clover for various reasons....good luck, being part Irish, and green being my favorite color. My favorite part though is having Todd,Drew,Noah,& Aiden's initials on there. THEY are my good luck and the best gifts in my life and I smile everytime I look down at my "little work of art". I know my mom is probably cringing right now. Sorry mom. Remember when you got upset that Nate got his ear pierced when he started college?? I said it wasn't a big deal, you could always take it out and it would go back to normal. I said it wasn't like he got a tattoo or something. Wait...... that isn't helping my case at all! :) I love it and I'm happy as a clam so that's all that matters. This guy is so funny. You should see some of the signs in his shop. This was the card I got that explained how to take care of my tattoo. Make sure you read #7 and #9. When Todd got his done, he asked why those two were on there. He said he does it to fuck with the college students. (the shop is located right across the street from the university). I think that is hysterical.

Some Days..............

Some days.....I wish I could be my cat. What a life.

Flashback Friday

I've been excited all week to do Flashback Friday today. We were at my parents last Friday and was looking through old pictures so I brought an album home to scan a bunch in. These are all pictures of me from when I was 4 and 5 years old and they all have a special meaning to me. Bear with me, some of these stories will get long. I know my family will appreciate all of these pictures.....to the rest of my dear friends, I hope I don't bore you too much.

This first picture is me with my Grandma Bozarth and my baby brother Matt. My Grandma passed away when I was in the second grade so unfortunately I don't have a whole lot of memories of her. But the ones I do have are great and I have grown up listening to many many stories about her. She gave birth to 9 children....that alone is an amazing feat to me! I don't have many pictures of her so this one is special.

I love the way she is looking at Matt in this one. I don't know if he's trying to fly away or what! :)
Ok, now I get made fun of for this all the time. This was taken when I was 4 years old, sitting on the wall by Niagara Falls. You can see by the look on my face that I was NOT happy about this. I swear to this day, this is why I'm scared of heights and don't care for water. I was so scared I would fall over. My parents insist there was no way I could fall and that there was about 3 feet of ground behind that wall even. I'm not buying it! :)

This is my second favorite picture of me and my best friend Dianna. We are exactly 2 years apart and as you can see, were pretty chummy even when we were little. THIS is my favorite picture of us.
I also get made fun of when I cut desserts to pass out. Apparently my portion sizes are too small for my piggy family. I think it all stemmed back from this memory. I had one of those little cake mixes and made this cake for my dad. Can you even see the cake I'm holding and the microscopic piece he is holding??? I was so damn proud of that cake.
These next two pictures also mean a lot to me. This is my Grandpa Bozarth and me. He was confined to a bed all the years I knew him. He passed away when I was in 7th grade so I do have more memories of him. Unfortunately I was too young to appreciate him at the time, but now I can look back and love him and appreciate him all the more. He got out of bed to come help me blow out my birthday candles and share a birthday kiss.
This is me proudly holding my new baby brother Matt. I remember mom being pregnant with him and I was so excited. I had my heart set on a baby brother so luckily it worked out in our favor!! Back then, kids couldn't come up on the maternity floor so I remember my dad taking me to the hospital and holding my up on his shoulders and we waved to mom and Matt standing in the hospital window. I also love this picture becuase I'm having a really cute hair day. Sue me.
This has always been one of my favorite pictures of me and Matt. I am a little modest so I drew in a cute bikini top to cover my tiny

ta-ta's. Do you love that sly little grin my brother is wearing??

I hope you enjoyed Flashback Friday as much as I did. I can't wait to get another album from my mom and dad's house and take another trip down memory lane. Have a great weekend everyone. It's actually going to be hot and beautiful here for the first time this year. Woohoo~~

The Big Moment Has Arrived......

It has traumatized him for months!

"I never want to lose my teeth"

"Mom, what if I swallow it??"

"What if it falls out when I'm sleeping??"

"What if it hurts??"

I've spent many a moment consoling him. Today, it finally happened.......Noah lost his 1st tooth!! He was so excited when it fell out during breakfast. And NO, he did NOT swallow it, it did NOT fall out when he was sleeping, and it did NOT hurt. So he is a happy little guy who is no longer afraid to lose his teeth. He's also very excited for the tooth fairy to visit him.

He also informed me that he doesn't have anything to put his tooth in like Drew does so I said I'd come up with something for us to make to keep the tooth in. (The Tooth Fairy doesn't like to dig around under a pillow looking for a little white tooth.) I ended up taking him to Hobby Lobby and we bought this little wooden box for him to decorate with his markers. He was really pleased with this creation. I think the Tooth Fairy will like the easy access also.

I'm Free!

I have the house to myself for at least 4 whole wonderful hours! WOOHOO! Yippee!! Whatever will I do with myself? (insert delirious laugh) Oh, I have so many things planned. Fun, relaxation, peace and quiet, all for little ole me.

Wait, did you hear that??? Neither did I!! My house is quiet!

Did I mention that I'm home all by myself?? :)

Up, Up and Away...........

After supper last night, Drew and I decided to take a bike ride. As we took off into the neighborhood, we saw a hot air balloon in the sky. We rode around for awhile watching it and as it came closer to our house, we rode back home to get our camera. This is a picture Drew took from our front porch.



It started heading over towards the mall and we thought maybe it would land over there, so we rode our bikes over that way. It didn't end up landing there, but Drew was able to catch it in his hand for a little while. It got a little heavy though.....

It was a fun adventure for us. I don't know where it ended up landing. We gave up and went home to watch the American Idol finale.

DAVID COOK ROCKS!!!

Sharp Dressed Man--David Cook and ZZ Top


Hero-David Cook and David Archuletta