January 2011

 {Miss M jamming on my Ipod before her gymnastics meet}

 {super blurry picture of Abby and Uncle Jerry}

 Some of the fun things we have been up to this month include:

*building forts in my closet with the laundry hampers, some old large picture frames and plenty of blankets

*lazy mornings~ seriously not getting out of bed before 8am, which is heaven :)

*Robby getting a seriously bad haircut by my other half....Jesse was trimming up the hair right by R's ear and ended up practically shaving that portion of his hair, which resulted in having to attempt to even up the rest of the hair..

*Miss M hitting her brother and telling me it was an accident.  As I enquired further she proceeded to say that she "accidentally" hit him on the head when he wouldn't stop taking her make-up.  We then had to sit down and have a discussion on doing something "accidentally on purpose"

*Second half of the school year started.....yeahh!

*I started my new schedule one month ago and am LOVING the fact I can sleep in my own bed every night....even if it isn't until 2:30am

*Robby got a pretty fun "Cars Water Station" that we have been loving playing with.  This has also resulted in plenty of time cleaning up the water all over the kitchen floor as well

*celebrated Aunt Abby's birthday at my inlaws; so crazy to think that Jesse's youngest sibling is now NINETEEN years old.  My kids loved the pinata and all especially all the candy. My fave was Abby's adorable new couch she bought for her room :)

*still sharing one vehicle, but hopefully this will change in the next month

*whirlwind of MBA applications for the Mr and a trip to cold Chicago for an interview....hopefully some great news will come our way in this department over the next few months! 

*most disappointing anniversary thus far in our marriage {not the Mr's fault....I had to work that afternoon/evening and he was busy busy busy turning in an application due the next day}.  We basically didn't see each other at all that day.  We are hoping to go somewhere without kids over the next three or four months to make up for this :)

*Several fun birthday parties for my kids: a fave was our next door neighbor Tyler's that he had at Chuck E Cheese.  My kids LOVED all the fun games to play.

*Running "London's Run" this past Saturday.  I did the 10K in 59 minutes and Jesse ran the half-marathon in 2:09 minutes.  We are pretty sore afterwards but it felt good to get out there and run! My parents were nice enough to come to Schnepf Farms and watch the kids for a few hours.  Robby loved the police helicopter on scene and was even able to climb inside and learn all about the helicopter from one of the nice pilots.  Maddie loved the alligator and iguana that they had for the kids to pet.  We had to practically drag her out of there so other kids could have a turn.  Eli sure loved the balloons they got and is still playing with them around the house. {My next goal is to run a little faster.  I was proud of myself for running the entire time though, and not feeling like I was going to die at any point in the race.  I took it slow from the get go and then actually had enough energy to run faster the last mile and a half}

*"Monster Truck Rally" at US Airways: the Mr took Maddie and Robby to this last Saturday while I was at work.  They had so much fun climbing on big trucks and ATV's and stuffing their faces with lots of junk food.  Robby was so excited that the next morning he climbed in bed with me at 6am to tell me all about it.  He now wants a big ATV of his own....

*Yogi Bear in 3D.  I took all the kids to see Yogi Bear in the theater one night when Jesse was busy with MBA stuff.  We had so much fun on a "kid date night" as Maddie called it.  They were all very well behaved and so afterwards we stopped in at the food court and had some dinner as well. {this is one of the things I am loving about my kids getting a little older: it seems like I can take them more places to do fun things}

*Uncle Jerry came into town (Jesse's uncle), and we were privileged to host a dinner at our house for the family.  It was fun to get all the family together and have some yummy dinner followed by smores cooked over the firepit outside. 

 {Maddie had a big scrape on her face at Chuck E Cheese from a certain accident in the bike trailer a few days before.  Jesse was taking the kids the next street over to a friends house, didn't buckle the kids in and hit a curb, flipping the bike trailer on it's side.  Unfortunately Maddie was on the side that flipped and ended up with some pretty bad road rash.}

....and hopefully this will be followed closely with some more fabulous posts:)

Gymnastics Meet

It's so much fun to watch your child develop a passion for something. Particularly fulfilling when it happens to be a passion that you yourself share.  I have secretly hoped that she would NOT like it and that she would quickly move onto something else. It seems Maddie is mesmerized by this sport though and literally practices it day and night at our house, the grocery store, school, and in the street on our cul-de-sac.  This passion she shares with me is called "gymnastics". A little over a year ago, she begged me to put her in gymnastics class over and over until finally we found a cute little gymnastic club and started her in lessons last March.  Her excitement has not diminished since then, even though she now takes twice a week.  She has been having so much fun learning new "tricks" and I have especially enjoyed going to LA Fitness during her lessons to work out.  In fact I think I do this so frequently that I am constantly surprised when she shows me new tricks she has learned.  Perhaps it is time to stay and watch one of these days!  Just the other day she was so proud to tell me that she can do her "pullover" on bars and loves to practice her handstand, bridge, kickovers landing on "two feet". 

Yesterday she had her second "gymnastics meet" at the gym.  In actuality it isn't an official gymnastics meet because they are not competing against any other team, but it is a fun way for them to learn what a meet is all about and how to perform in front of an audience.  It is hilarious to watch her get out there and do her routines.  She was not shy in the least bit and could care less that the whole crowd was watching with a judge critiquing her.  Instead she marched right up without a care in the world, flashed her salute, would do her routine, and march right off the floor with a big grin on her face.  She especially loved sitting on the "Maddie's lap" one of the "big" team girls during the meet.

One of greatest parts about her having a little gymnastics meet for me, was the fact we got a babysitter for the boys!  It was so nice to be able to sit down and watch my little Maddie without having to constantly worry about what the boys were getting into.  Then after the meet, we stopped and had a wonderful time at Neilson's frozen custard together.  Maddie kept telling us how much fun she was having and would constantly remind us that she was on a "Mommy, Daddy, daughter date night" :)  Not to mention that the concrete was pretty yummy as well!

Once we got home Jesse put in Lord of the Rings and we all curled up on the couch and watched part of the movie together.....the perfect ending to our fun night!!  (although I have to admit that after about 30 minutes of this, we scooted Miss M off to bed so we could cuddle without any kiddos around)

I found these pictures from a year ago on my computer; I am amazed at how much Miss M has grown since then and also how much she has improved.  Her favorite "tricks" to do right now include:
*handstands*
*cartwheels*
*press handstands on the wall*
*round-offs*
*handstand, bridge, kickovers*
*pullovers on bars*

It seriously makes me start to tear up to see what a big girl she is turning into:

She was so excited to get "first place" at the meet :)

At Neilson's Maddie had some fun snapping pictures back and forth with me.  She would take a picture of me and then hand back the camera and say "okay Mom, now it's my turn."  Sure love that girl of mine!

(she loves her new medal and wore it the entire night)

Garbage Day

Mondays are always a great day at our house. 
It's the beginning of another wonderful week.

The little Miss once again goes back to school.

It's a day of re-organization after the weekend.

But best of all, it's garbage day.

The boys look forward to it every week.

They stand by the front window with a gleam in their eyes,
 waiting for those "cool" trucks to come driving by.

As soon as they hear the trucks coming down our street,
they are out on the driveway with Eli yelling "wow".

They always LOVE the big claws that snatch the garbage cans high into the sky
 and dump the trash in their trucks. Robby always asks me where they are taking the trash

Once they have finished our street my boys are already standing on the family room window
waiting for the trucks to come rolling by on the street behind us.

This is quickly turning into a weekly tradition at our house and oh how I love it!

I never knew boys could be so much fun :)

 (Robby was even nice enough to hold Eli's hand so he wouldn't fall)

Eight Years Ago Today.....

I married my best friend for time and all eternity.

We have had our ups and downs, but have always stuck by each other's side through good and bad.

I never thought marriage would be so hard, but also never knew it would be so wonderful.

We are sooo looking forward to a year of change, of growth, and of many more laughs.

Love you honey....and thanks so much for the beautiful roses this morning :)