4 Kids and Us

Happy Mother's Day and Happy Birthday JoJo

2011-05-09T07:05:00.000-07:00

I hope you are able to click on this picture to make it large, so you can read what I got for Mother's Day from Thomas. I absolutely love this. His comments were sweet but, very funny. I had great Mother's Day and my family bought me a bike, so now we can all go on bike rides together and I won't be left at home.

Yesterday we celebrated Joseph's Birthday and Mother's Day together with My parents and my sister and her family. The first few pics are from yesterday. Yes, I realize he looks a mess. That was his third shirt of the day. He had been outside for hours, had a water gun fight with Grandpa, ate a hamburger with lots of ketchup, so he was very dirty... just like a 3 year old boy should be.

On Saturday night (his actual Birthday) We had dinner at CiCi's Pizza after Thomas' baseball game, and then came home and he opened his presents from us.

I think he was a pretty happy kid, and all the kids had fun playing with the Play-doh... who doesn't like Play-doh.

In a couple weeks, we will have his Birthday party in the backyard with a few friends. He picked a Toy Story theme for his first party with friends.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T16:35:00.001-07:00

We colored eggs earlier in the week. Joseph had a great time coloring eggs for the first time.

Savannah... looking so much older to me these days.
Addy and one of her eggs.
Thomas and one of his eggs
The finished products!
Joseph looking at the goodies in his basket

Savannah excited about a chocolate Kit Kat bar.
All the kids checking out the Easter Basket Goodies!

Happy Easter

Meeting Nugget, Monkey Cove and Easter Eggs

2011-04-18T08:55:00.000-07:00

Monday, April 18, 2011

So, finally after many anticipated days of arrival..." Nugget" decided to show his face. My sister went in to the hospital on a Monday night and he didn't arrive until Wednesday. His name is Salem, but since he was know as Nugget for many months, I think he has a nick name that might stick.
My kids are very excited to have a new nephew. They are anxious to go see him again.

Bri and her cute little baby finally went home on Sunday... can't wait to go hold him again.

Our weekend plans completely changed due to rainy weather on Friday and cooler weather overall this weekend. We had intended to take the kids to a Royals game on Friday night, and then camping in our new tent on Saturday night. Friday night rained and Saturday night we worried might be too cold for our first camping experience in 2 years.... so we decided to surprise the kids with a trip to a hotel with a small water park... We told them we were going out to eat for dinner and it took a little over an hour to get there. Addy said " It must be really good if we are driving that far" During the day I had been secretly packing clothes for the night, swim suits, snacks etc. Somehow we got it all in the back of the van without them knowing. When we pulled up to Burger King (we wantet to eat something quick so they could start swimming) they were a little perplexed. We said peak in the back of the van and then they saw the swim bag and clothes and became very excited when we said we were going to a new place called Monkey Cove.

We swam for a few hours Saturday night and again Sunday morning. Then stopped for lunch on the way home. We were all tired but had a great time.

Sunday night we grilled out chicken and had corn on the cob and Addy said "this is the best weekend ever" We love these weekends when we can have lots of good quality family time.

We finished up the night by coloring Easter Eggs, because there just won't be any time this week. I work M, W, F, and S night this week, and there is also Swim team, Baseball, and Softball practice and Girl Scouts this week.

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Savannah has braces!

2011-03-24T09:06:00.001-07:00

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

We grilled hamburgers and the kids had a picnic under their swing set
The dogs sat patiently nearby waiting for some food to be dropped
We talked about going to the St. Paddy's Day parade, but instead slept in late that day, and hung around the house... also went out for a late lunch. Then I headed in to work later that day.
We also took a short trip to Collyer to visit family. 4 kids and 2 dogs... lots of activity in a Mini Van. George wasn't sure what to think on our way there, but he did much better on our way back home.
The kids played outside most of the time at Grandma and Grandpa Bray's house

They also had fun playing Croquet with their cousin Jake... who is a giant teenager that the kids think is the coolest guy ever. We think he is really cool too because he lets the kids climb all over him and bug him to death.

We got back in town on Sunday, and the kids had no school on Monday so we went to Heritage park, and played on the beach and waded in the water.

We went with the Beldens again... our friends who are like family to us.

The kids found lots of shells, and even a baby crawdad.

Addy and Jocelyn... two girls who I think will have a life time friendship. They have known each other since KDG... never once had class together, but have one of the best friendships!
Today is back to reality... the kids are back in school. I think for the most part they had a pretty good Spring Break!

Spring is here...

2011-03-11T14:25:00.000-08:00

Today was the beginning of Spring Break. I pulled Addy and Savannah out of School early and we went to Heritage Park to watch them stock the lake with 1,000 lbs of Trout. I called some other friends in the neighborhood and we all met out there for the big event. It was still a little chilly with the wind blowing off the lake, but it's starting to feel like Spring. I am just ready to get through the weekend. I work tonight and tomorrow night. It kind of stinks, I haven't worked a weekend for 6 weeks. I am loving my new schedule

.
Audrey, Andy, Nicholas and Joseph watching them dump the fish.

If there is a tree with low enough branches to reach, you can be sure to find Thomas and Savannah up there.
Joseph had blast running around. He can really keep up with the big kids this year.

Isn't it nice seeing a lake, and the Sunshine reflecting off of it...

Tried to upload a video of the fish being dumped, but it's not working, and I can't figure out how to delete it off the blog.

Pictures from the past couple months

2011-03-07T06:16:00.000-08:00

Back in January...
Addy has her 10th Birthday party at Skate City. She invited about 7 other girls and they all did really great skating. After they skated we headed to CiCi's Pizza for dinner

After dinner, the girls all came back to our house for a slumber party. It was the longest Birthday party ever, since it started at about 2pm and went till 10am the next day... but one of the easiest. Very nice group of girl

In February the girls participated in the Pinewood Derby with their Girl Scout Troops once again.

These are just some of the various cars that competed in the same heat as the girls.

Here is Savannah with her race car.

Savannah with girls in her troop

Here is Addy with her "Wii remote" car

Addy and the girls in her troop.

Also back in January Addy participated in her second Competitive Swim meet, Called Rock the Blocks. Here is a picture of her hanging out with some of her friends from her Swim Team. I feel blessed that she has made some great friends this year. This is the "Crash Room" where kids and families hang out between the different heats.

She also qualified for Division 2 Championships. She wasn't able to participate in that meet which was held in March because she was doing a special event with her Girl Scout troop that weekend. She still got a cool shirt with all the qualifying swimmers listed on back. I will take a picture of her next time she has it on. Pretty cool shirt! We are so proud.

Sunday afternoon

2011-03-06T14:00:00.000-08:00

"Mom... Dad... we have a great idea! Let's go to Chuck E Cheese today and use all of our left over tokens...and then we can go to the park after that..."

And so we ate lunch at home, took our left over tokens plus I got in an email for Savannah's 1/2 Birthday for 20 free tokens, and we went to Chuck E Cheese. The kids had a great time. Mom and Dad only spent a few bucks on a coke that we all shared.

Then we headed to a park after that and enjoyed the sunshine. There are so many parks around us, we could probably enjoy a different one every weekend. In fact, I am home with Joseph right now who is sleeping and Allen and the kids are at another park...

I prepared a lasagna yesterday that we didn't end up eating last night... so the wonderful Sunday continues as I get ready sit on the couch and read my latest book and dinner will be ready in about 45min! Hope you all had a relaxing Sunday afternoon as well.

Random thoughts

2011-03-04T10:07:00.000-08:00

So, I just downloaded a bunch of pics on the computer and decided to update the blog. We have been keeping busy as usual.

Thomas attended Kindergarten round up this morning. It amazes me that I will have 3 kids in elementary school next year.

Addy is still enjoying swim team and practices on average 2x per week. She has also been very busy with Girl Scouts. She is currently a Junior Scout and they have been very active this year.

Savannah is still keeping busy with Softball. She practices once a week with her team currently and then she has been doing some extra skills clinics on Saturday mornings. Savannah also has been back and forth to the Orthodontist. She will have a new palate expander and braces on her top teeth placed in just a couple weeks.

Joseph, Joe-Fish, JOJO makes sure that we

never forget about him. He is a little character, constantly has bruises, cuts on his face or some left over food smeared across his face. He says the funnies things, is starting to learn his ABC's

and is the fastest 2 1/2 year old you will ever see on a Scooter

I have an awesome new work schedule where I only work Wednesday nights so our weekends are free. This has been great for the family. I only have to work every 6th weekend, so we have been free to do so many more things on the weekends.

I have recently discovered that My kids enjoy Chinese food just like me. This is a great discover since Allen will never order it with me. Now this is our special treat when he won't be home to eat with us.

This is Bosco Bear. My parents new puppy. He looks just like my dog Toby from when I was a kid. The kids have only gotten to see him once and are anxious to go back over and see him again.

These are the beautiful flowers and box of chocolates that Allen surprised me with in the middle of the day on Valentines Day. They lasted for ever. Actually I still have two of the pink flowers still in the vase today.

This is the cool snowman the kids made in our last snowstorm, but he melted away the very next day... I am glad I got a cute pic.

Another picture of the kids out in the backyard during the last snow fall.

I hope those are the last snow pictures I post this winter. We are anxious for Spring. Spring means Baseball, Softball, playing outdoors, Sunshine... BBQ's, Roasting Marshmallows around the fire pit. Can you tell I am anxious for Spring?

The Great Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-08T15:01:00.000-08:00

We got almost 14 inches of snow in the "Great Blizzard of 2011" The kids have had a blast playing in the snow, building forts, and slides. The dogs have also enjoyed the snow quite a bit.

Father Daughter Dance

2011-02-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

The Girls had their annual Father Daughter Dance last Friday. They went with their good friend Jocelyn to get their nails painted before the big event.

We have been able to get a lot of use out of these dresses this year. They wore them for various Christmas events and they were perfect for this event as well.

All the Dads from Addy's troop took their daughters out to dinner at Zio's.Savannah went along too, as did some other siblings from other troops. My Dad met them at the dance.

This year I insisted on a picture at the dance, because they skipped it last year, so I don't have one from last year. I will post it as soon as we get it.

Addy also won a $50 gift card to the movies that night, so we can't wait to take the family and see a movie.

The pink is gone...

2011-02-02T07:29:00.000-08:00

So, my daughter is getting older. For her 10th Birthday she didn't ask for anything but to have a new room. She has had pink room since we moved into this house almost 7 years ago. She picked all her new decor, and colors by herself. We still hope to get a Swim Mural to hang up on the wall, similar to the one seen in Pottery Barn. We also need to hang her ribbons from her Swim Meets up.

There are still a few touches in the room that remind me that she is still my little girl... the stuffed animals on the shelves, the cute puppy poster on the wall. Then there are the things that remind me she is growing up. The Monster high dolls... not to play with, only for display... and the calender from the movie Twilight. So, I guess the word "tween" does mean something after all. She is in that in between stage of life, where she still wants to be a little girl, but she also wants to be a big girl. Only 6 more years till she is driving... where has the time gone?

What a morning...

2011-01-18T08:28:00.000-08:00

Joseph likes to keep busy, and he likes attention all of the time. So, today when Mommy was trying to work on removing the virus that has infected our main computer, Joseph was in the hallway making Mommy a picture on the wall. You see it is a beautiful picture, but not exactly the place that I would want it... which is the entry way right between the living room and dining room. I sent Joseph to his room and explained to him that that is not where we draw pictures. He helped me clean the wall with the magic eraser.

Now I am going to move onto another fun thing. Which is cleaning the muddy footprints off the carpet. You see yesterday when all the snow was melting and turning into slushy mud int the backyard our youngest black lab was out having a blast playing in it. Then when it was time for him to come in... my oldest didn't have a towel ready at the door... and well. George was in puppy mode and didn't sit calmly at the door waiting for to get the door but instead pranced around on the carpet and left a beautiful display of about 20 muddy footprints. Allen was a wonderful husband and went and purchased a new carpet shampooer last night, because each week... we have at least 3 episodes that require carpet cleaning, and it takes a lot of time to sit there and spot treat each stain. So this is now what I am going to do... clean the carpet and the stairs. The walls have been cleaned... the computer is still infected, but I have a laptop to use at the moment.

Oh and the other picture I had to share... Joseph using his sister Savannah's drinking glasses. The glasses are one big straw and he is drinking water from them. Just a funny picture from a couple days ago, that I thought you might like to see.

My Funny Boys

2011-01-13T07:44:00.001-08:00

So, I am learning a lot raising these two boys. They are very loud, laugh all the time and can make something as simple as eating cereal in the morning turn into something crazy and fun. These two boys make it all worth it. These two boys say the funnies things, and keep us laughing around here. A few recent ones that have been said

Thomas,"Mom why is the house so clean?" me, "I don't know Thomas what do you think?" Thomas, "I think that God came down here invisible and used his special powers and cleaned everything up."

Joseph goes around constantly saying "You no see me, Mommy" with his eyes squeezed shut.

I am trying to remember to write down all the funny things that come out of their mouths, so I hope to have more to share soon.

Snow Days!

2011-01-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

I am Back

2011-01-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

So I kind of got away from updating the blog for the past several months. I thought I would start with just a few pics from Christmas. The boys had a blast and received lots of toys that were from Toy Story 3, Bass Pro play sets with trucks, and boats and more action figures. Addy who will be turning 10 this month, received clothes, her very own Monster High Doll, and a guitar. Savannah got Wii and Ds games and her very own Tether Ball set, she also got the classic Sorry game. The kids had a great Christmas and have actually gotten a long very well this Holiday Break.

Softball practice starts back up this week, and Swimming continues with another Swim Meet in about two weeks. The girls also will be participating in the Pinewood Derby in a couple weeks, and then the Father Daughter Dance follows that. I plan to try and get the boys involved in something soon to get us through the winter. I am excited to be starting my new schedule at work in just a few weeks. I am part time casual so I only work 2 shifts a pay period,which isn't bad, but now instead of working every Friday like I have done for 6 years or so. I am switching to every Wednesday and then I have to work every 6th Weekend. This is so exciting because I will be able to enjoy the weekends with my family.

In about a week Allen and I will attend his Annual Holiday Party and I look forward to having a night away with my husband who I love very much. One of my Biggest new years Resolutions is to spend more time with my husband and be a more loving and supportive wife. I think sometimes as a busy Mom I may fail in this department. I intend to be much better this year. I love you Allen.

Spray park with Friends

2010-07-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

Addy has been taking art classes at the Nelson this week, so the kids and I have been looking for things to do. The first day the museum was closed... so we sat outside and the kids ran around the sculptures outside of the museum. I believe it was 99% and after an hour, we ended up going and sitting in the air conditioned car and watching a movie till her class was done. The second day we visted the museum and packed a picnic lunch. Today we met up with some friends and visited a spray park at a park in the area. The kids had a blast. Tomorrow is Addy's last class and I will post pics of the things she has made this week.

Fun at the Beach

2010-07-15T16:35:00.001-07:00

We may not live near an ocean, but we can still find beaches to hang out at that are close by. Last weekend, we went 3 days in a row.

Fourth of July

2010-07-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

My Friend Chrissi and I decided that we needed to arrange for a 4th of July parade this year. We had done this a few years ago but not had one the past few years.

We took a family picture in our Red, White and Blue!

Belden Bray Trip to the Zoo

2010-07-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to the Zoo a couple weeks ago, with our favorite family. The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time.

They had so much fun playing with this silly bird in the Rain Forest

Joseph loved the "ooh ah ah's" otherwise known as the monkeys

Audrey and Thomas hanging out.

The kids getting ready to ride the carousel.

Blueberry picking

2010-06-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

Thomas loved picking the blueberries and was really good at finding the nice, plump ones.

Joseph picked a few...ate a lot... and then decided the dirt was just as much fun.

Savannah helped Joseph pick some.

Addy loves blueberries and was an expert at finding the best bushes to pick from.

Thomas ate lots of berries while we were out there.

Joseph's highlight of the day was the train ride.

Addy decided she was too big for the train ride and stayed with me while the other 3 went.

We had a fun family day, and thankfully it wasn't too hot.

"Mom I'm Bored"

2010-06-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

This is the best thing ever. I found this idea on another blog, and filled it with over 250 slips of paper. The girls love this. They have been keeping busy for the past few days and I haven't heard either of them exclaim "Mom I'm bored" They have cleaned, built forts, made snacks, created frisbees, drawings etc.

Hot summer day

2010-06-24T06:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a gathering at our house with girls from Addy's girl scout troop. They were having their first meeting for planning their bridging ceremony to become Junior girl scouts. It was really hot once again, so the kids kept cool by playing on the slip n slides. I can't believe these girls are now fourth graders! Where has the time gone...

Last evening after T-ball practice I was out watering all the flowers and suddenly it became a game of Mommy trying to spray all the kids with the hose. They had so much fun, and I have to say I had quite a bit of fun myself.

Faith Wars

2010-06-24T06:07:00.001-07:00

Last week the kids and I attended out Church's Vacation Bible Camp. The theme was "Faith Wars" a take on Star Wars. The kids learned about how God always triumphs over evil thought the stories of Saul and his conversion to Saul. Saul Christian Hater (Darth Vader) became Paul Heaven Walker (Luke Skywalker).

I was a volunteer in Crafts, where the kids created night lights for their rooms. Even the 2 year olds got to come to craft. Thomas was so excited to finally be able to attend a camp and Joseph had a blast too. They all got to enjoy drama/ or puppets for boys. They all learned new songs from a group called the Lads! On the last day they kids all enjoyed bounce houses and huge inflatables outside, and Sheridans brought ice cream for the kids and adults. We all had a great time.

You can see more at this blog. Including a few videos.
http://kidscorvbc.blogspot.com/

Fun in the Sun

2010-06-17T11:16:00.000-07:00

It has been really, really hot here lately. We have made many trips to the pool, and also just had fun blowing up the pool and slip n slides in our back yard. Here are some pics from last week.

June update

2010-06-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

So, here is what we have been up to. Traveling, Camping, playing with puppies, visiting family, catching frogs, learning to sew, softball tournaments, softball practice, Tball practice, Tball games, swimming, playing, slip n sliding, playing with friends, having campfires, roasting smores, golfing, chasing Joseph,dealing with allergies, visits to the Dr., Sinus infections, trips to the pharmacy for more antibiotics, planting flowers, starting a garden, cleaning the house, doing laundry,reading, working, going to meetings, babysitting neighbor kids, sending our kids to neighbors, birthday parties,learning to bowl,...juggling it all.

Joseph, making a mess while trying to help himself more cereal this morning.

Addy and Jocelyn first golf lesson of the summer

Thomas at his friend Andrew's Bowling Birthday party.

Slip n sliding.

Savannah at her tournament this weekend, they had to dress up for the tournament so not their normal Softball uniform.

Addy and Joseph at Tball game

Thomas and Coach Daddy

Thomas and coach Martin

Addy learning Archery at Girl Scout Camp

Addy and her friends at camp.

Thomas catching a frog at Grandma and Grandpa Bray's

Grandma teaching the girls to sew

Climbing at Castle Rock

Family

Water gun fight

Joseph has two new "Yay yay's" thanks to Grandma helping the girls make new ones.

Playing with the puppies

Grandpa and Joseph
Allen, and his sister Kim, Brother Gene and his parents.

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

2010-05-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

The Good News is that yesterday my neighbor Erin that made Joseph's "Yay Yay" found out that her sister in law has some of the fabric left over and she is going to mail it from St. Louis so we can make a new one.

The Bad News is that yesterday Addy woke up complaining of a sore throat but no fever. Thomas woke up with a low grade fever, but after some motrin. He told me " My teachers don't live with us and they don't know I had a fever, and you're not going to tell them" Than he added " So take me to school lady!" Since it was his last day of school and we had flowers to give his teachers and it's only a few hours long, I took him. When I went to pick him up from school he was crying, and fever was up. Took him to the Dr. assuming sinus infection. Got home and the nurse from school called stating Addy now had a fever and her throat was looking worse. Took her to the Dr. positive for Strep! Shocking I know. Later on the way to pick up antibiotics at the pharmacy Thomas proceeded to puke all over himself in the car. He then threw up most of the evening. Today they both are much better. Joseph also was started on antibiotics because he has been fighting this cough, congestion business for weeks now. So, hopefully that will keep him from anything.

The Ugly... Allen just texted me that he is at the Dr. getting tested for Strep! He is one of the coaches for Savannah's softball team as you know. Tomorrow is a tournament day, three games in the morning. So far Savannah isn't having any symptoms other than her daily allergy/asthma stuff.

Have you seen my "Yay Yay"?

2010-05-12T08:09:00.000-07:00

Help! I have lost my very special blanket! My blanket that I call my "yay yay". I am very sad without it. I used to have my bottle that I loved very much, but Mommy and Daddy threw those away a few weeks ago. I have gotten used to the cup, even though I miss my bottle. Then we went to Church this weekend and I lost my yay yay. I hoped that someone would find it at the church, but so far no one has. I am trying to be a big boy since I just turned two and I haven't cried too much about it, but Please if you find my Yay yay will you bring it home to me.
It would mean very much to me.

Love Joseph

Lots going on

2010-05-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

Savannah continues to keep the family busy with her softball games, but everyone has fun going.

Grandma and Grandpa Bray were in town and able to see two of her games.

We have been having end of the year picnics with both girls Brownie Troops too.

We have been having fun roasting marshmallows around the fire pit with our friends.

Addy had her friend Deprise over

Savannah had her buddy Kelly over too.

It was a cold night so we brought out the " Snuggies"

Allen worked all weekend on getting our garden ready. This will be a first for our family .Wish us luck.

Thomas had his last Swim lesson, and did really well.

I attended Muffins for Mom's at Thomas' preschool

Only two more weeks left of school. Tonight we had a cancelled Softball game and we are all happy to have a night at home! These nights come very rarely any more.

My baby is Two

2010-05-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

Joseph is now Two. We celebrated his Birthday on Mother's Day with My sister Bri and my parents. Thomas told us that Joseph wanted a Thomas the Train Birthday party, so we had a few decorations, a Thomas Cake, and a Large Thomas the Tank Balloon. He received a new bat and ball, a pee wee football, a new Thomas movie, Color Wonder book and markers, a lawnmower that blows bubbles, and a fire truck that makes noises. He seemed very happy.

About a week ago, we got rid of all of his bottles, and he has done really well. The only thing that is making me sad is that we lost his favorite Blankie he called "yay yay" at Church yesterday. This breaks my heart. We are still hoping it will turn up, and I have a the friend who made the blankie looking to see if she has any fabric left. He keeps asking for it, but so far we have been able to distract him with other things.

Here are a few pics from his Birthday yesterday.

Keeping Busy...

2010-05-05T10:13:00.000-07:00

We have been busy these past few weeks. Here are a few pics to recap what we have been up to.

This picture is of Thomas and his class on Big Wheel Day they had 12 stations to go to with their bikes or scooters. They had a car wash, a station to decorate their bikes, they made license plates, had snacks etc. Thomas loved it.

This is Thomas and his buddy Andy.

Last weekend Addy and I spent the night at the Omaha Zoo in the aquarium section along with about 120 other girlscouts and Mom's. It was very fun. We went on a night hike and a morning hike and then Allen brought the other 3 kids up and we spent the day there.

too many pics to put on a blog. but here are a few of my favorites.

Addy and her buddy Maddy on the night hike.

This pic below is the troop that Addy will be switching too next year. She will bridge with them to become a junior girlscout in the fall. Many of her friends are on this troop and the day and time they meet works out much better for our busy schedule.

The kids have been playing for hours at a time on the swingset each day.

Here are the girls helping Allen pull the sod up to start our garden. I will have pics up of it soon. This will be our first year for a garden, but I think it will be a fun family project.

Team picture of Savannah and Allen. Their team is called the Firecrackers, they took third place in a tournmant last weekend.

Here is Savannah accepting her medal.

One day a few weeks ago, Joseph didn't want to take his spiderman slippers off when we had to go up to school for Thomas' speech class. I let him wear them there and he had lots of fun running around in his little slippers and had many comments from students that saw him.

This is Thomas and his buddy Andrew, trying out their TBall helmets.

Tball Starts next week!

Thats all for now.

Best Friends

2010-04-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

The latest and Greatest

2010-04-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

So, I knew things would always be busy with a big family, but I didn't realize how busy things could get. The past few months have been very busy.
I continue to work once a week, occ pick up some extra shifts. I am still involved in Building Better Mom's through my church. In fact I am going to be in a leadership role next year and moving up to the Mom's group that for elementary kids. I am still busy taking kids and picking up kids from school, various activities and friends houses.
Addy is still loving third grade, and has been involved in Zone through Church and also Girl scouts. She is switching troops this summer and will Bridge to Junior Girl Scouts in the fall. She will be joining a bigger troop and one that has many of her friends on it. The leaders are both friends of mine as well.
Savannah and Allen are busy with Softball, in fact they are up to 2-3 practices a week. Savannah continues to enjoy Brownies and stays very active in general. Both girls are doing well in School.
Thomas continues with Speech twice a week, and loves going to preschool. He is learning lots. He is currently in semi private swim lessons and did great at his first lesson last week. He starts T ball at the end of May. There are quite a few kids from the neighborhood and some from his preschool that will be on his team. Allen will help our neighbor coach T-ball as well. Joseph... well he is very ornery, and is learning to talk lots and say "No!" and, sneak out of the house, and break things and he loves color! He loves Black sharpie on the walls, green dry erase markers on the couches, yellow high lighters on the carpet. He also loves to take baths and seems to enjoy going to the bathroom in the bath. He is a cute, lovable little guy with LOTS of energy and curious about everything.

So the following are a few of the things we have done in the past month or so.

Savannah and her troop went to Great Wolf Lodge with their cookie money. I was one of the adult chaperones that went along.

My friend Lori I took our daughters to see Taylor Swift in Concert. Aren't their shirts cute. Lori and I picked the stuff out and she ironed on the letters TAYLOR. $15 for 3 shirts not bad at all.

Joseph was curious about the Easter Bunny, but didn't get too close. Thomas initially ran up to the bunny and said, " Mommy, Mommy! He's the one that's going to bring us candy!" He later saw the bunny from the back, and noticed the tennis shoes and the velcro on the back of the costume and whispered to me " I don't think he's the real Easter Bunny Mommy! I think he's wearing a mask." Pretty smart kid. I told him that yes it was someone wearing a mask, because the real one was at work getting all of his candy and goodies together to deliver the next day.

Allen's work had an Easter Egg hunt at a park the Saturday before Easter. That night we also had some of our neighbors over for a cookout and enjoyed a campfire in the fire pit and roasted marshmallows. The kids had a great day.

On Easter Addy woke up with a fever and Sore throat and ended up being positive for Strep! So, needless to say I didn't get very many cute pics on Easter morning. I took 3 of the kids and went to church, and then Allen and Addy met us over at my parents for an Easter lunch.

SPRING is here! The allergies are horrible, but the kids have already been fishing, and frog hunting and played at the park, and rode their bikes and enjoyed the swingset.

Last night after church and going out to dinner the kids had a blast playing tag outside until it got to dark to see.

Today I took the boys to Deanna Rose for the morning and we had a picnic lunch there. I didn't get very many pictures, because the boys were never still for long at all. Unlike the girls who never used to leave our side, the boys start running and don't look back!

That's All Folks!

I am finally getting the blog caught up

2010-02-28T20:28:00.000-08:00

I finally took the kids to Kaleidoscope. I haven't been since I was a kid. Things have changed quite a bit. We went with our good friends again, and the kids had a blast.

Pretty neat area for the kids to hang out, and best of all its FREE!

Then we checked out the Fairy Tale Exhibit

Once again, it was FREE! We finished up the morning having lunch at Fritz's Railroad restaurant! The restaurant where your food is delivered by a little train. The kids love it!

I have posted quite a few other pics prior to this one if you want to get caught up on our busy lives.

Pinewood Derby/Cookie Booth/Father Daughter Dance

2010-02-28T20:10:00.003-08:00

There have been lots of fun Girl Scout activities in January and February. The girls right before the Father Daughter Dance

Allen and the Girls. They also met my Dad at the Dance... I am bummed because I have no pictures of him with the girls.

Savannah and her troop selling Girl Scout cookies at their cookie booth.

Addy, Audrey and Jocelyn at the PineWood Derby Race

Addy took third place again this year with her car.

Savannah raced in the race following Addy's.

Savannah and her friend Abby

Savannah and girls in her troop after the race was over.

Monster Trucks

2010-02-28T13:11:00.000-08:00

We took the kids to Monster Jam, basically a Monster Truck Rally.

We had a good time, I think it would have been more exciting to see them outdoors, there just wasn't much room for the trucks to do anything to crazy.

These two trucks were the kids favorites.

Guess the earmuffs worked well (it was very loud) Thomas managed to fall asleep in the last 30min of the event.

Free entertainment Kidscape exhibit

2010-02-28T13:01:00.000-08:00

With 4 kids I am always looking for inexpensive things and this place was great. It is a small street scape, with different rooms, including a library, a boutique, a small Dr. office, a place to golf, play with cars and trains, and a stage. The kids had a blast and we stayed for two hours.

Kid Messes

2010-02-28T12:50:00.000-08:00

We like to keep our kids busy with things other than video games, TV and outings, which means sometimes you just gotta let em get messy. Here are some of the activities we have done over this long winter of being stuck indoors.

Shaving cream

Painting.

Monkey Business

2010-02-28T12:31:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I have been a little behind on the blog. I thought I would play catch up today and post some pics from the past few months. The following pics are from Monkey Business. I took the kids to play with their good Friends Jocelyn, Eli and Audrey.

Thomas was always running

Audrey playing

Addy and Savannah

Joseph playing in the little kid section

Addy and Jocelyn

Eli and Savannah " the competitive ones"

Addy, Jocelyn and Savannah

He's done it again

2010-01-04T13:08:00.000-08:00

Two years ago he finished the basement, last year it was built in's in the playroom and now Allen has redesigned my Laundry room so that I can store as much stuff as possible. I took this picture when Thomas ran upstairs to get a tank top on and a hat like Daddy. He was so cute. Allen built cabinets on one wall, and the opposite wall he put up hooks and organizers for all the backpacks, coats, lunch bags, shoes etc. Also a shelf across the top for more Stuff.

There is so much stuff with 4 kids and never enough space. This makes it so much nicer

Lots of craft stuff in the cabinet

Lots of appliances

Just lots of stuff.

We brought an old dresser in there to hold more craft stuff. Everything has a home now.

Christmas Time

2009-12-30T08:44:00.000-08:00

Relaxing by the fire, waiting for eveyone to come over and celebrate Christmas.

Grandma and Grandpa had just as much fun playing with the new toys.

The family.

The girls got new chairs from Justice from Grandma and Grandpa The boys both got new Imaginext toys.

A new Easel

Spike the Dinosaur

Grandma and Grandpa gave the kids stockings of toys too.

Savannah got a new softball bag. Addy got a snuggie. Can you tell the difference in personalities?

The kids enjoyed helping eachother open presents.

Best Expressions ever. The girls opening their DSI's

Zhu Zhu Pets!

Also accessories for Zhu Zhu pets

Bri and Steve

Mom, Allen and Steve... "Best Christmas Ever"

The Aftermath on Christmas Eve! Stuff everywhere...

Picture of our house on Christmas Eve with the snow falling!

Santa Came!

Still Snowing on Christmas Morning

Yeah! It's a White Christmas!

Building the Snow Fort

Playing in the snow on Christmas Day!

This past weekend

2009-12-21T19:10:00.000-08:00

Allen and his friend spent the day chopping up firewood. They both had a blast doing it. This picture is of Allen that his friend Leland took on his phone. They both had a blast doing this but are feeling a tad bit sore today. Here is the result... Lots of firewood for the fireplace and firepit this winter.

While the Men were out working hard. The kids were busy decorating a GingerBread House.

Joseph tried to help also...

North Carolina Wedding/Trip in October

2009-12-20T07:04:00.000-08:00

I realize that these pics are out of order, but I was so behind on updating my blog, that I wanted to get some of the pics from our trip posted. The three sisters.

My Beautiful Family

Mom and Dad

One of my favorite pics of Dad with all of us.

The Wedding couple

The ring bearers

The flower girls

Allen and I

The boys playing on the long wrap around porch at our cabin.

Bri and the goofy girls

Addy and Liss

Thomas and Liss

Thomas was so excited when he picked out this bow and arrow set.

The girls at one of the water falls

A beautiful view

The river at the base of Chimney Rock

The kids had so much fun climbing around on all the rocks near the river.

Family pic

Exploring one of the kid friendly trails

Getting ready to hit the trails

Another Family pic while visiting Chimney Rock.

December Moments

2009-12-19T12:39:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was the last day of school before Winter Break begins. The girls were all decked out in their Santa hats when they left for school. This was a picture from last week, when we had a brief snow one evening. We are still waiting for the big snow storm to hit us.

Visiting Santa at Allen's office.

Being goofy at home.

Thomas' Holiday party at School

Savannah at her Holiday party.

Addy at her Holiday party.

Cider Mill

2009-10-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I took the kids to the Cider Mill with Savannah's girlscout troop. We took a hayride, learned how cider and cider donuts are made, and we got to enjoy some too. We also played in the pumpkins. Here are a few photos from that day. As you can see Thomas wasn't too cooperative with getting his picture taken. He kept turning his head or making really goofy faces. I love this one of Addy and Joseph.

Today I am packing, and packing, and more packing. We leave for North Carolina tomorrow evening after school conferences. Then we get back next Thursday and we are having Thomas' Birthday party on Friday. So, not only am I packing I am also cleaning, and getting things together for a Spiderman Birthday party. Well, I must get back to preparing for the trip. As you can imagine trying to get 6 of us ready to be gone for a week is exhausting.

Making a Cake

2009-10-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

Monday was Allen's Birthday. The kids helped me bake a cake afterschool that day. As you can see they really enjoyed themselves.

The kid's are growing up

2009-10-03T16:51:00.000-07:00

Today Savannah played in her first Softball Tournament "The Monster Bash" They lost their first game, but won the second one. Each team had to be in costume today, decorate the dugout and then perform a dance. There was a pumpkin carving contest as well. Tomorrow they have two more games and if they win both of those there is another game late in the day. Their team is called the "Firecrackers: and the coaches were dressed in costumes that said "Diamond Matches"

Our coaches were great sports and danced with the girls. The song they danced to was "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. I videotaped the whole dance, but it's too long to post on my blog. Maybe on facebook....

Close up of Savannah and Allen

Also today I found this picture of Addy on her first Halloween

Now 8 years later... this is what her costume will look like this year.

Look at all the fun we have had.

2009-09-28T10:11:00.001-07:00

Trip to the Ren Fest with Bri, and Grandma and Grandpa Irwin

We also visited the Circus

The girls had Crazy hair day at School.

We took a trip to the Zoo

We had friends over to play and Mom cooked pasta for dinner!

October is right around the corner and we have Thomas' Birthday coming up, a trip to the Pumpkin Patch, the Cider Mill, Bri's wedding in North Carolina, and Halloween! It will be another fun filled month with our kids.

Me Vs the Hair Dresser

2009-09-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

Not a happy Momma right now. I just got back from getting Joseph's haircut. We have done this many times, and not had a problem. Today was a different story. I can't say his haircut is bad, it's just not that I asked for.

Here is the scene. I have just finished taking away the fourth bottle of hair product that Joseph has picked up and thrown to the ground when we are called back. I am nervous instantly. This is an older lady with glasses and a hairstyle that haven't been updated since the 80's. I tell her this, " I like to keep his hair longer so that we can keep the curls"
"Okay" she says and than proceeds to get out CLIPPERS! " Do you mind if I use clippers"
I say, "We don't usually use clippers and I don't want his hair to short. We normally get a scissor cut"
She says," Clippers are safer than scissors I will just use them at the base of his neck"
"Okay" I say
...Buzz, Buzz, Buzz, Buzz go the clippers all over the back of his head. Then she brings them up
around the front.
I say," I want you to use scissors now"
So, then she starts snipping away, Josph is screaming, and squirming and I say" he normally doesn't act this way (trying to make the point to this woman that neither of us like her)
She says," Kids always act this way"
I say "he has had numerous haircuts and he never acts this way" Again I say "you are cutting too much off"
She says," This is still very long to me" (I don't care what you think lady!)
I say," you need to stop this is not what I asked for"
She says, with scissors still in hand..." This is a little boys haircut, let me just finish"
I say, " I know what a little boy's haircut is and I didn't want one, we still wanted to keep his hair on the longer side" then added. "this is not what I told you I wanted"
"hmmm" she says

We are done.
We walk to the desk
"That will be $12 please"

I normally tip people a little something, but this woman got nothing. $12 was all she got, and I feel a little guilty for not tipping, but she did not do her job. Am I terrible?

Laundry can wait, these boys are too cute!

2009-08-31T10:53:00.000-07:00

I am supposed to be doing laundry, there is a pile of it on the couch, waiting to be folded. Instead I was in the kitchen sneaking a piece of Birthday cake, but then I heard giggling in the living room. Joseph had climbed onto Thomas' lap and then they began wrestling. I quickly ran to grab the camera. It's times like these that I realize just how lucky we are two have two girls so close and now two boys who can entertain eachother during the day while the girls are at school.

So, please ignore the laundry in the background!

Another busy week.

2009-08-27T12:41:00.001-07:00

Thomas is recovering from surgery well. He is still complaining of pain every once in awhile, but only using Tylenol as needed.
Savannah had her first game last Sunday with her new team, the "Firecrackers" Allen is one of the assistant coaches. Aren't they spiffy uniforms.

Ahh, what a cute Daddy/Daughter picture...

Allen has been pulling the boys in the bike trailer and the girls have been riding along with him this week on their bikes. The other night they rode up to the fountain to play around. I drove up to meet them... since I don't have a bike yet. I thought to bring the camera along and I am so happy I did.

I even got a few pictures of the boys sitting down.

These next two pictures of Joseph are from Wednesday. He tripped up at the school and smashed his head into a wooden bench. It made an awful sound, and instantly bruised and swelled up. I rushed to the nurse's office and got an ice pack on it right away... which I think helped tons, because it started to go down quite a bit. I can not even begin to describe how awful it looked when it initially happened. It swelled out and then kind of dented back in the center a little, I think from where he crashed into the edge. Yikes! I was very panicked, quickly had other people around me check the girls out of class, along with Jocelyn who I was taking home. I put Joseph in the car seat and headed up the street to Jocelyn's. Joseph was already getting very still, and sleepy so I knew I would be taking him in. I left the other kids with Lori, and headed to the hospital. Joseph fell asleep almost immediately and I began to feel sick to my stomach with worry. We got to the urgent care and when I got him out of the car seat he woke up and looked a little dazed for awhile, but than began talking and playing a little. It was at that point I knew everything was going to be okay. The Dr. checked him out, neuro checks were fine, and no reason to have to do a CT scan! (Thank goodnesss) I checked on him frequently last night. He is doing well today. You can tell in the pictures that the bump on his head is quite large, but let me tell you that when he first did it... it was twice that size. I am so happy he is okay.

Some new and some old pics

2009-08-21T07:52:00.001-07:00

Thomas

2009-08-21T07:45:00.001-07:00

This is Thomas shortly before going back to surgery. Can you tell by his expression that he has had a little medicine tohelp relieve his anxiety. He was very relaxed. The picture below is Thomas at home that afternoon. He is sporting his tshirt he got after his surgery, notice all those red slushy stains.

As you can see in the picture below he was hard to keep quiet and calm. This could be a long two weeks.

Today Thomas is actually staying somewhat calm at home. His throat is sore, and he is tired, but overall he is doing pretty good. I have to encourage him to drink often, but I think he will do fine.

Please check out this new blog

2009-08-19T13:02:00.001-07:00

Molly the Mom of Waverly is one of my sister Bri's best friends. Please read this blog when you have the time. Their story will bring tears to your eyes... at least it did mine. I am going to help pass this blog on to as many people as possible to try and help them out. Please feel free to do the same.

For the Love of Waverleyhttp://www.helpmattandmolly.blogspot.com/
Click the above image to access the blog! Bookmark it and check back often to see new updates, new fundraisers, and new pictures of the sweet Nagel family!

The girls first day of School

2009-08-14T06:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the girls had their first day of school. Savannah is in second grade this year and Addy will be a third grader. I finally went to Justice and bought the girls a few things, so the girls wanted to wear their new Justice tshirts on the first day.

(More info on what's been going on at our house in another blog that I posted last night.)

Fun with cousins

2009-08-13T19:52:00.001-07:00

One evening while Joseph stayed home with Allen... Stacey and I took the kids out to Celebration Park. This park has everything you could want at a park. Swings, slides, spinning things, sand box, mountains and rock walls to climb, and much more. Andra (4) and Thomas (3) had so much fun together

Here is Sophie (2)

Andra and Thomas again.

Alexis and Addy (8)

Sam and Savannah (6 but almost 7)

Thomas climbing really high! He was so proud of himself.

Here is the gang on the climbing mountain.

What have we been up too???

2009-08-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

I see it's been awhile since I last posted. Savannah's surgery went well, we had a couple little problems with bleeding in the 14 day period following her surgery. We had to make one trip to the ER, but the bleeding had stopped by the time we got there. We waited for an hr and 1/2 before I decided to head home and see the ENT the next day. No problems since... Thank goodness. Allen's Dad has been very sick and so his parents, along with his brother Gene and his wife Bev came in town and stayed with us for a few days while Keith ( Allen's Dad) had some tests done. We had a nice time visiting with family, only wish his Dad would start feeling better soon. The day they left we had visitors from St. Louis. My Dad's youngest brother Jim is married to Stacey (who is my age and weird to call her my aunt). They also have 4 kids close in age to ours. So While Jim was sailing in Michigan, Stacey and her kids came to play for a few days. I will post pics later. They left Friday afternoon, and then I worked Friday and Saturday night.

The night they arrived Joseph became sick with a fever and ran a fever till Sunday morning and still hasn't quite been himself. Allen then woke up Saturday morning not feeling well, and has been sick all week. He has been very tired, fevers sweats and chills, horrible sore throat, sinus infection and now having flare up of Asthma. I have never seen him this sick in our entire marriage. He was supposed to be on vacation this whole week but instead he has spent the majority of it in bed. The Dr. thinks it could be Mono... we are hoping not. He is on antibiotics because his throat looks so awful, so I keep hoping every day that he will finally feel better.

Today was the first day of school for the girls. They had a 1/2 day and tomorrow have a full day. They both seemed to have had a good day. Allen's parents are back in town today and staying through the weekend. Keith had to see another specialist this week.

Savannah also had her first softball practice with her new team last Sunday night. I had to take her because Allen was so sick, but he will also be helping out coaching on this team. Her new team is a competitive team and she already learned so much at her first practice. She will play for about 8 weeks, and then participate in a fall tournament. Then she will start practices up in January again in preparation for the Spring Season.

Currently Addy isn't doing any activities but would like to do more art classes and more golf lessons. We will have to look into to that.

Thomas will start preschool September 1st and he can't wait! Joseph isn't going to know what to do with himself. He is a wild one... I don't know what I am going to do without haveing all those extra eyes on him. He is always into something he shouldn't be.

We also have been cramming pool time in since there is only a few weeks left. We went shopping earlier this week and also got Savannah's ears pierced for her Birthday which is later this month. The bad Mom that I am didn't take any pictures. It was kind of a last minute thing.

I will try and post a few pics too.

My Brave little Girl

2009-07-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

We have spent lots of time cuddling and spoiling this little girl this week. Here she is right before surgery

My Brave little girl
Savannah had her tonsils and adenoids removed on Tuesday. Everything went really well. She is recovering well at home. She has been keeping quiet (which is hard for her) by playing games, puzzles and doing a giant activity book that her good friends Jocelyn and Eli gave her. This picture I took of her right before surgery. She wasn't really nervous at all. I can't say the same for her Dad and I. However, I am glad we did it, because the Dr. said her adenoids were huge, and her tonsils were in the Dr's own words " falling apart, cryptic and necrotic" in other words "disgusting! I am hoping this will make a huge difference for her this school year. Thomas is scheduled to have his tonsils out in August. I am not so sure it will go as smoothly for him. Trying to explain things to a 3 year old isn't quite the same as explaining them to a 6 year old. .

Busy Weekend

2009-07-20T07:46:00.001-07:00

We accomplished a lot this weekend. We moved Savannah into her own room. Savannah picked out a pretty blue color for her new room. Allen painted her room and painted the kids bathroom (finally after 5 years). I helped a little with the painting but he did all the cutting in which is the hard part. He also took down the twin beds in the girls room and moved them and then reset them up as bunk beds in Savannah's new room. Then he drove to my parents house, and picked up the queen bed which they had been storing for us for the past year and 1/2 and set that up in Addy's room. The Majority of this happened on Saturday. The rooms look great and both girls are happy. The boys will remain together in their room. Thomas has been sleeping in that room since Joseph was about 8wks old, we just finally moved all of his clothes in there this weekend.

On Friday night we attended a Free Friday night Concert. We picked up a pizza on the way, brought a few games to play and enjoyed music. We are going to do this again very soon, it was a lot of fun. Joseph danced and danced. The other 3 played washers and bean bag toss, and also threw the fribee around.

Sunday night I ended up taking Addy, Savannah and Thomas to the Tbones game, we met my parents there. Allen wasn't feeling well Sunday afternoon so he stayed home with Joseph. The kids had fun, but it was a lot hotter than we had anticipated and after a long, busy weekend the kids just were not in the mood, so we left about 1/2 way through the game. Before we left we all enjoyed hotdogs and the kids got cotton candy. We all received free Tbones hats and the kids were able to get their picture taken with the Culvers Ice Cream character and the Tbones mascot Sizzle.

Baby Ducks

2009-07-06T16:13:00.001-07:00

Today we took a trip out to my friend Lesley's house. My kid's had a blast playing with her 3 kids (triplets) and the baby ducks. We also saw from a distance, the cows, and the horse. We will have to take another trip out there when we have more time so we can see the chickens and the ducks on the pond, and possibly ride the horse. My kids think this is the coolest house ever.

The Fourth of July

2009-07-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

On the Fourth we had some of our neighbors over to grill out and let the kids play. We grilled hot dogs, the Men played a game of washers, the women actually got to sit and chat... the children ran wild! There were 8 adults and 10 children.

The Tree

2009-07-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

This a great climbing tree we found at a nearby park. The kids have a great time climbing the tree and using their imagination.

Trip to the Lake

2009-07-05T09:44:00.000-07:00

Daddy and the kids.

. Can you see the Lizard on Savannah's hair. They caught him the second day, and he hung around for a few days. He was very tame.

Addy was our big fisherman. She caught the biggest fish.

We rented a boat two different afternoons. The kids had a blast tubing.

The boys loved helping Daddy drive the boat.

Thomas spent most of his time in the water, which is amazing since he had told us that he "would never swim in a lake"

Savannah caught lots of little fish.

Grandpa and Savannah on the wave runner.

Allen, Addy and Thomas on the wave runner.

Our First Royals Game

2009-06-13T14:13:00.001-07:00

Getting ready to tailgate with friends.

Enjoying hot dogs all in a row.

Thomas was a little nervous at first with all the people, and noise but he quickly perked up when

Grandma and Grandpa arrived. They were supposed to sit with us, but their tickets were apparently for seats that did not exist. They were moved to other seats and then came back to sit with us towards the end.

Addy and Savannah goofing off with their friends.

Joseph was a trooper. He stayed awake the whole time. I am happy we brought the stroller in with us, because he spent a lot of time in it.

Addy and Savannah loved the whole experience.

Thomas was very happy after some cotton candy and a coke.

There were lots of fireworks at the end of the game too. We will definitely have to take the kids back again for another game.

Thomas wins

2009-06-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

We have had this game called Zingo for years. Thomas is finally old enough to understand the concept and play the game, and the girls let him win. Look at that happy face!

The 10 Commandments

2009-06-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

The girls have been at VBS all week, and have learned the 10 commandments. They have already asked if they can go to this camp again next year.

Keeping Busy

2009-06-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

Trip to local petting farm getting a picture with all 4 facing forward is getting to be more of a challenge

Trip to local park

There is a little village to play in, two playgrounds and a lake.

Birthday party with water slide

Another softball game

Joseph playing soccer while Savannah was playing softball.

Thomas and Addy in the bleachers

Savannah on first, after hitting the ball on the first pitch

Thomas yelling and cheering for Allen and Savannah out in the field

Vacation Bible School is this week too.

Next time you see the girls have them recite the 10 commandments.

Today we finally picked up Thomas' medal from playing soccer

Thomas told me it said "Thomas is the winner"

Today Joseph had his first play date with someone his age.

They became fast friends.

How Little Minds Think...

2009-06-08T08:34:00.001-07:00

Last night after Church we went to eat at CiCi's pizza. We were asking the kids about Sunday School and just talking over dinner. Addy then relays this story to us, that had us laughing and laughing.

This event happended a few nights ago. Allen and I were sitting outside at the time. Thomas had already been out of the room a few times and we were done arguing with him. He shares a room with Joseph. Addy and Savannah share a room. Apparently Thomas went into the girls room and said, " I am scared". Addy tried to make him feel better by telling him that he has nothing to be afraid of because Jesus is always with him and is always watching over him... Thomas then looked at Addy and said "You mean Joseph is Jesus?"

I am laughing out loud again as I type this. I guess in his mind, Joseph is always watching him and always following him around so it made sense to think that Joseph and Jesus were the same.

All by myself

2009-06-05T16:50:00.000-07:00

I started out trying to feed Joseph and he just insisted on grabbing the spoon, so I decided to try and let him feed himself.

He is finally doing it, a bit messy, but he is actually spooning the food into his mouth instead of tossing the bowl of food onto the ground.

He is so proud of himself.

The weekend

2009-06-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

Friday I took the boys to a park,while the girls were at their last day of camp.

They were wiped out later that afternoon.

Our next door neighbor found a turtle and gave it to the kids. He is a very fast turtle, he is on the towel, Thomas is not eating him, he is chowing down on his second sloppy joe.

Savannah with the turtle.

Savannah and Addy lounging at the neighborhood pool

Thomas is very exicted about swimming

Thomas with some of his friends at the pool. Notice he has a life jacket and an inner tube on. Too funny.

However, yesterday I was actually able to get in and work with Thomas a little. He took his life jacket off and swam a bit by himself and went under water about 5 times. By the end of this summer I hope he is as much of a fish as his sisters. It's just hard when I have all the kids with me, because Joseph is a bit busy, so I tend to stick Thomas in the life jacket a lot.

Addy the Golfer

2009-06-01T19:16:00.000-07:00

Addy was very excited about her golf lessons, here she is right before she left.

She rode there with her friend, but we went about 30min before class ended so I could watch and take some pictures. She is the one there at the end.

They were split up into pretty small class sizes and had a couple of adults working with them.

Here is Addy and Jocelyn at the end of class. Both girls really enjoyed it and said they wished they could go every day. I think that's a good sign.

Addy practiced some more when she got home and is outside practicing right now.

You gotta love Walmart

2009-05-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

Addy starts golf lessons next Monday. Allen went and bought her a junior set of golf clubs for a great price from Walmart. Addy has no clue (just like me) about Golf, so Allen is teaching her a few basics about the game prior to her lesson next week. ( I don't know if you can see all the little pins on her hat that she has been getting from camp, but we probably won't let her wear that hat to golf lesson .) He gave them to her last night. So she went outside to try them out. I think she is excited to finally have her own little sport since we have been going to Thomas' soccer and Savannah's softball games. This will be something her and Daddy can now do together.

It was raining so I didn't want to take the clubs out in the rain, but I wanted a picture of her with them. So here is a cheesy picture of Addy on the doorstep next to her new golf clubs.

Play Date with good friends

2009-05-27T08:09:00.001-07:00

This playdate happened the day before school got out. The kids had a blast playing with their good friends up the street. Our kids are all close in age, so they usually all have a blast together.

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

2009-05-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

Grandma reading books to the kids.

Grandpa fishing with the kids.

Grandma and Grandpa helping keep track of busy little Joseph.

We had a great time when Allen's parents came to visit. They were here for about 10 days. Kim (Allen's sister) and her son Jake came to visit for a short weekend too. Joe and Kasara and Kasandra were unable to make it.

We were all spoiled with Grandma's home made cookies and cinnamon rolls. It seems like we ate and ate all week long. The kids loved having everyone around. They played cards with Grandpa, listened to stories read by Grandma. They played and played and played.

We are still so grateful to Kim for bringing us Jarmins' old drum set. Thomas is having a blast playing the drums.

Two hits!

2009-05-27T07:43:00.001-07:00

Savannah got two hits in her game last night. I don't know how she had so much energy. She did great. Another Mom asked me what I gave her to make her so hyper. I just laughed. I think Savannah is just really enjoying herself. She is starting to understand the game more and getting better each time she plays.

Cowboys and Campers

2009-05-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

Howdy pardner!

The boy's are enjoying the cowboy hats that Aunt Kim brought.

The girls are at day camp this week.

Here is Savannah and her buddy Sara right before they got on the bus.

Here is Addy and her buddy Abbey as they were getting on the bus.

Yesterday was the first day of camp. Both girls had a blast. They each told me they made some new friends. I forgot to take pics of them when they came home last night, but they had lots of new swaps on their hats. (pins that are shared with a pal). The girls swaps that they brought were pet rocks, and rocky road ice cream. The Camp theme this year is "Camp Rock." I wouldn't have finished everything it if it hadn't been for Kim and Allen's Mom helping me out, and of course Allen who made Savannah's sit upon for her.

My Girls

2009-05-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

The girls and I.

They are the best of friends most of the time!

Here is Addy on her first trip to the neighborhood pool.

and here is Savannah.

The girls had a blast at the pool, the boys were both home sleeping.

New Drum Set for Thomas

2009-05-23T15:16:00.000-07:00

Allen's sister Kim and her family had a drum set they were no longer using, and knew that Thomas loved the drums, so when they came to visit this weekend, guess what they brought with them.

Thomas and the rest of the kids were all very, very excited.

Allen is going to have to figure out someway to decrease the noise level, but for now, it is going to be very loud.

He is so thrilled. Can't wait for Bri's fiance Steve to come play the drums with him.

Walking with Grandpa

2009-05-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

Thomas LOVES his Grandpa's. He thinks that his Grandpa's are the best! Here are two cute pics I have taken this week of Thomas with each of his Grandpa's, and a sweet poem I found.
Grandpa Bray and Thomas having a cup of coffee together one morning.

Grandpa Irwin and Thomas after the game.

Walking With Grandpa

I like to walk with Grandpa,His steps are short like mine.

He doesn't say "Now hurry up!"He always takes his time.

Most people have to hurry,They do not stop and see

I'm glad that God made Grandpa"Unrushed" and young like me.

(by: Rodney O. Hurd)

Thomas' soccer game

2009-05-21T21:02:00.001-07:00

Thomas is #5, running...kind of...after the ball.

There he is... at least he is near the ball.

Those of us at the game cheering him on, are still unsure of these little hop, skip and jump moves you can see him doing. At least he is having fun...

One of the Dad's giving a pep talk. Basically explaining, to kick the ball, and keep it away from the red team.

There is Thomas off to the side again. I was proud of him, he kicked the ball a few times, and ran with the group most of the time. He was funny, because he told me " I can't kick the ball all the time, my friends keep doing it" and "see I tried, but I couldn't get it." He only has one more game next week. I think he has had some fun with it, but still just doesn't understand the whole concept of the game. We will have to just keep playing in the backyard this summer.

Savannah's softball game

2009-05-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

Savannah and Coach Daddy. She loves having Allen as one of her assistant coaches. This picture taken before heading to her second game of the week.

Look at that form.

She got a hit!

Running after the ball.

Ready for the next ball to come her way.

I am so proud of Savannah. She really seems to be enjoying softball and playing with her friends. I think this is something she is really enjoying. I can't believe we have become one of those families. We have been gone every night this week at either softball or soccer games. The Grandparents have been great coming to watch and support the kids too. We really appreciate it, and the kids love showing off.

The Celebration

2009-05-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

The boy's right before I took their shirts off in preparation for eating chocolate cake.

The girls!

All the kids enjoying cake.

Crazy older kids

Joseph ate a little cake, but

mostly he just smeared it all over his face and high chair.

Thanks to both Grandparents and my sister for helping celebrate the Baptism and Joseph 1st Birthday.

Special Event

2009-05-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

Event: Thomas and Joseph's Baptism
Date: Sunday June 17th
Location: Church of The Resurrection
Who Came: Both sets of Grandparents, and my sister Bri.

Allen, the kids and Allen's parents in the background waiting for the ceremony to start.

Thomas did such a great job.

Joseph was not to sure about it at first.

He eventually relaxed though.

Here we are at the church getting ready to head home and Celebrate the boys Baptism and Joseph's first Birthday.

Sports

2009-05-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

SAVANNAH AND SOFTBALL

Here is Allen helping coach at Savannah's softball game last Saturday.

Savannah in the dugout, waiting to bat.

It was so cold last Saturday morning, and so Savannah had to wear her coat. I hope to go to Wednesday nights game next week, and take some better pictures of her. They should have their Team shirts in by then.

I think I already posted this picture before, but here it is again. I only was able to snap a few pics that day, because I was trying to keep the other 3 kids out of trouble. Thankfully Grandpa was there to help that day too.

THOMAS AND SOCCER

Thomas had another practice tonight. It's very funny watching these little guys run around and kick the ball. They are all so little. As you can see it's hard to make them understand that you are not supposed to use your hands in soccer.

Thomas was so excited that Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Bri came to watch him tonight. We thought it was going to be a game, but it ended up being practice only due to Tuesday nights practice being rained out.

Allen is so good with all of our kids. Currently he is an assistant coach with Savannah in softball, and Also helps Thomas stay focused during soccer practice. Next week, and the following week, I will have to step in and help Thomas out, because Savannah has softball games on the same night, at the same time.

Tonight was picture night.

I was taking pics from an odd angle, so hopefully they will turn out better for the photographer.

2009-05-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

Joseph's new Turbo Turtle, also notice his hair prior to haircut.

Today after haircut. See Mom, the little curls are still there.

Thomas in the sandbox, prior to haircut.

Thomas today after haircut. See Mom, he's all trimmed up, but not too short.

The boys playing with "their guys"

Exploring everything

2009-05-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

Joseph loves Balls

Joseph loves Sand

Joseph loves Dirt

Joseph loves Midnight

Joseph loves his new slide

Joseph loves to keep Mom busy.

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T20:44:00.000-07:00

Today was Mother's Day. The kid's have all given me nice gifts they made at school in the past week. Thomas and Allen went and bought me a new table for the patio ( I have been wanting this for awhile). Joseph has been letting me know how much he loves me, by crying every time I walk in to the next room. You gotta love that separation anxiety! Addy and Savannah started running fevers yesterday, and complaining of sore throats and spent the majority of the day in bed. I took them to the Walgreens clinic (which was great by the way) and they are being treated for Strep throat. It seems like it has been weeks and weeks of sickness at our house. I am exhausted, I am worn out, I am not as patient as I should be. I am crabby. I am eating terribly. I am feeling unlucky and I am feeling sad. Yet, as I start to look through pictures that I have taken over the past week, I realize there have been some good moments mixed in with the bad moments. Joseph who just turned one on Thursday (but was sick on his Bday with a fever) has been so fun to watch. He loves playing with balls, he loves hats, he loves to play with Midnight. He is walking almost everywhere now.

This is Addy watching Savannah play in her first softball game. Addy is really growing up. She loves all of her friends, she loves making things, she loves learning new facts. She is becoming a very talented artist. We have enrolled her in an art summer camp that starts in July.

Here is Savannah in her first softball game. Their team is called the Lady Bugs. I was able to go to Savannah's "Author's Tea" on Friday and see all of her writing projects that she has done over the year. She has really come a long way in her reading and writing. I am so proud of her.

Here is Thomas kicking the ball at Soccer practice. His team is called the Dragons. Thomas is such a funny kid. Tonight while lying down next to him at bedtime, I was tickling him. He said to me " Stop playing with me like that Mom, I'm not your Toy." He was so serious it was very funny.

So, as I sit here and look through pictures and think back to funny things the kids have said, or nice things they have done for me this week, I realize that Mother's Day was just what it should be. It was all about being a Mom.

When you are a Mom (or a Dad) you always will have toys to pick up, kids to feed, dishes to wash, diapers to change, laundry to be done etc. Thankfully I have a great husband who helps me every day with these things. Thanks Allen, I know I don't say it enough. I appreciate everything you do. I love you.