When I Grow Up

The kids are busy with school and we are finally falling into a routine for this year. Things have been crazy at this house, but I think we are on the right track! ;)

Okay, now please mind the mess on Joshua's shirt. He made pancakes for everyone that morning and so he had a little bit of a mess going. He has had this idea that when he moves out and is on his own, he won't know what to do. So, he has insisted on learning every single recipe and day-to-day task until that day! Lol. I love it! 

The kids are getting ready for this big event at school called the Hat Day Parade! Every student makes a hat and they parade them in front of the whole school and parents. This year's theme is When I Grow Up. 

Michael has decided to go with HERO! - I think by this he means military man.

Joshua is going with either scientist or football player. LOL

Alexandra has settled on Author/Illustrator and has since written 5 little books. ;)
Now if I can just figure out what I want to be... 

Best Santa EVER!

This is our first year to go see Santa... and when the kids found out that Santa was their Papa, they were ecstatic! ;) Miss Sass was a little unsure at first. After all, the last time she saw Papa he was clean-shaven. ;)

She warmed up to him though... however she hid her smile from me, of course. ;)

So, these are all straight out of the camera so they are far from perfect! But I wanted to share, so here they are. ;) This next one was fun... sort of a behind the scenes shot.

Drama Boy was so fun. He just loves the Santa story and he loves Papa even more! ;)

I really need to get a new lens... one with auto focus!!!

Then it was Mr. Cool's turn. He thought the whole thing was a blast and just told Santa everything! Lol

I think my Daddy makes a pretty good Santa. ;)

How was your trip to see Santa?

What Is Virtual School?

Okay, I wanted to do an update on this sooner, but life got so busy! ;) We will not be attending public schools this year after all... After advice from a few reliable sources and another assessment for Mr. Cool, we have decided that our kids will attend a virtual school this year. We have enjoyed the example lessons...

Our official 1st day will be August 30th, giving us more time to prepare. I'm excited about it and I think it will be a nice change from the homeschooling we were doing the last couple years. So, what exactly is virtual school? Our lessons are prepared and ready each day for each subject. We follow an over all lesson plan that helps us stay in line with the course material that they are supposed to learn over the year. We will have enough time left over each day to do some extra activities or additional lessons if we decide to. This will give us the opportunity to spend time on areas that need extra attention or to study things that are not covered in the state curriculum. This should be fun and I look forward to sharing some of our experiences! ;)

Zoo Day

We met up with cousins for the last Wet 'n Wild Days for the year. After water play, we had to check out some animals. The first stop was in the Jungle to see the River Rays.

This is a horrible shot, but there is the memory of how much these kids loved the rays. ;)

This shot was when we had first arrived and my little niece was so stinkin' cute!

She was really stealing the cuteness today! These birds were really interested in us today. I mentioned that maybe it was dinner time and the little one replied:

"Don't eat me!" So cute. ;)

Here's another one that didn't come out that great, but she was so excited about the waterfall and she was giggling the whole way over there!

The kids earned t-shirts today with the Kid's Club by attending enough events. The boys love them!

Zoo Day ... Pictures Galore!

The kids had a great day at Wet 'n Wild Days yesterday! We started off our adventure with two little guides leading the way...

We had an extra munchkin along for the ride. This is my squeezable nephew, Little Man. I promise he is not squished under all that stuff!

Little Man was the first to test the waters...

The other three kids quickly made their way into the largest puddle in the state, waving at the firefighters as they are drenched by the firehose! You can just pick out Mr. Cool standing right in the middle, blocking the spray with his arms.

Next we found a misting tent where Mr. Cool just couldn't resist splashing like he did when he was two! He loved this picture, so I just had to share! ;)

The kids got pretty worn out, so we headed for the door, but we found an awesome photo spot and stopped for a few more shots. I was thrilled because I finally got Drama Boy to hold still for a few clicks! heh

I really loved this one! Notice the bare feet, though? Yeah, we lost her shoes somewhere along the way! (sheesh, pay attention mama!) Thankfully a wonderful zoo employee found them and brought them all the way to the front for us. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers!

And finally there are these two shots! I love my creative kiddos!

They were so fun... if only I could get all four kids to look at the same time. yeah right ;)

Tinkerbell likes to Tickle People

Mr. Cool was playing with his little sister, who is obsessed with Tinkerbell;) He climbed under a sheet and starting rolling around and giggling. He told her that Tinkerbell was tickling him. Lol, so cute. She thought it was the greatest thing ever! ;)

4th of July applique for the boys;)

Okay, so I took about 40 pictures of my boys and this is about the best I got of the two together! They just don't care so much about the camera, especially when there are firecrackers to set off;)

Really, though, I guess I should have done a separate photo shoot with them... Okay to make these shirts... I bought the red t-shirts for 8 bucks at, I think it was Sears or Penny's. Then I took the material and used a fabric marker to draw the basic shape of what I wanted. Then I cut it out just inside the marker line.

It doesn't have to be precise at all! Next I pinned it to the front of the shirt along with some stitch'n'tear on the inside of the shirt. Then I just used a thick stitch and sewed the outline of the shape, but about 1/4" from the edge. After a few washes the edges got frayed and it looks really cute! Anyway, I really liked these last two with my niece and Drama Boy; they were SO cute together! ;)

Yesterday, I headed to Target to see what they might have for Alex's upcoming birthday... they have tons, btw! I am always happy when I go to Target rather than that other store;) Anyway, we are looking through the "1 Spot" and Mr. Cool says:



After this, do you suppose we might see what sort of toy collection they have?



He was sweet as sugar and with a hint of a british accent... how bad did I feel telling him we didnt' really have time?........... Awful!!!

It was a Mamarazzi sort of day:)

We had a little impromptu backyard photo shoot this evening:) The kids were so sweet!

I can't really decide between the pics of Alex, but I will print copies of one or two to hand out this summer. Feel free to leave your opinion:)

Alex chose the background today, saying the rock she sat on was "just the right perfect" and the flowers were "pretty pieces of purple". Sounds good to me... almost enough for a Beatles song:)

I think I might crop this one in a little closer on her... I am trying to get better at manual (dramatic music plays...) Alex moved just as I snapped this one, but still cute! Okay, so the boys weren't exactly portrait ready, Mr. Cool wearing just swim trunks:) I was a little sad after I looked at them too... I mean, look! A REAL SMILE!!! Lol, I love this picture of him! We'll have to try this again... apparently "ice cream and potato chips" is the phrase I need to use:)

And here's my precious little angel! He has the sweetest smile:)

Pirates and Princesses... My favorite kind of party!

The boys birthday party was several weeks ago... I was going through pictures looking for something for the iHeartFaces photo contest when I came across these and thought I would post some:)

We had a couple of pirate-type activities for the kids including a cannon ball fight. We had this canoe and a cardboard pirate ship which I somehow didn't get a clear shot of... The kids were in the canoe and the dads were in the ship. Lol, it was so fun! And the girls were so much help during the battle:)

Speaking of girls... Alex was supposed to be searching for a gold nugget(painted rock) to trade in for a treat bag, but she wouldn't touch the "dutty" sand. She did eventually find one with brother's help.

This guy was so stinkin' adorable!

Here are the boys and Miss Priss hunting for burried treasure... this was a favorite for the boys. Lol, anything messy!
Okay, this one makes me laugh:) Drama Boy is trying to open his big gift from Mommy and Alex doesn't feel like moving, so he just set it on her head. Lol, they are so cute!

And this one is my very favorite! For one thing, it shows just how much bigger Mr. Cool is than little brother. Then there's the adorable Webkinz Parrots that my sister got them. And their cute little poses/faces while they try to keep them on their shoulders! They were so adorable and had so much fun!

1 Week(felt like 1 Month) in review...

Okay, I'll just do a quick recap, in case you're wondering why I haven't posted:)

My mom graduated from Friend's University. Now she is not only qualified to completely develop and create a classroom's curriculum, assignments, tests, and computer programs that run all of it... she is officially a teacher with a music degree! She's the original Jane of All Trades:)

Then there was Mother's Day.... and well, you already know how that started:)

My nephew turned 1, had a super-cute, very blue birthday party!

My big sis moved to California with her fiance; they arrived at their new home yesterday.

"Aunt" Amy(the kids' Godmother) went into the hospital. She had a lump removed from her chest, under her ribcage on Wednesday and we are waiting for results from the biopsy. (Please pray for her recovery!)

The idler pulley wheel, something-or-other busted off of our Jeep causing it to freak out and overheat on Wednesday... yep, while I was driving it. We get it back Monday.

Alex and Mr. Cool got very sick, very quickly with suspected cases of meningitis. (Antibiotics cleared up whatever bacterial thing it was, so they are "all better now". Thank Goodness!

Mr. Cool turned 7! On to 2nd grade next year. (WOW!)

The new Tiger exhibit opened at our Zoo, so we just HAD to see it:)

And to top it all off, the season finale of Bones was terribly unsatisfying:) At least he's still alive, I guess...

Twirl Baby Twirl!

Alex was running around, dancing, and singing today... her usual:) She came over and started spinning in front of me. Then she stopped suddenly with a serious look:

"Mommy! Do that thing to my dress!"

"What thing baby?" (We've never played this game, so I wasn't sure what she meant.)

"Do this!" As she pulled up on different parts of the hem as she turned.

Then I realized that she wanted me to flip up her skirt while she was spinning! Lol, I have no idea where she saw that! Honestly, I haven't even watched this season of Dancing with the Stars!

Anyway, here is a picture I came across tonight and wish I remembered for the Laughter photo contest... Man! It is just perfect:) Oh well, still so fun to look at; I can't help but smile:)

I didn't hear it, I didn't see it, so it's NOT true!

We finally restocked our shelves/fridge/cabinets... everything was empty. Cooking was unbelievably difficult, but cleaning the fridge was incredibly easy:) The next day, the whole family is out and about. After a few errands and a good workout at the YMCA, we are headed home.
2 miles to go, and there it is... the sign! (the golden arches, you know!)
Three voices pipe up at once: "Oooh! Daddy, can we go to McDonald's?"
"I don't know, I'll think about it. We have one more stop before I decide."
Mr. Cool and Drama Boy in a low chant: "McDonald's, McDonald's, McDonald's..."
"Stop that."
"McDonald's, McDonald's, McDonald's..."
"I said stop!"
"McDonald's, McDonald's, McDonald's..."
"If you don't stop right now, we will most definitely NOT go!"

(silence)

Drama Boy: "Daddy, I can still hear that word... but I'm not talking about it!"
"Stop talking about the word at all!"
Mr. Cool: "Okay, I'm not saying it either, but I can still hear it."
"That's enough, no more!"

(silence)

"Can you still hear it? I still hear it. Daddy doesn't hear it, but we can!"

"Alright! That's it! We're not going. We asked you two to stop!"
"Aww, Daddy, that's mean! ... Man!"

(silence)

"McDonald's, McDonald's, McDonald's..."

I turn around, impatient frustration exploding in my head which quickly melted into laughter as I notice Alex with her eyes shut tight and her hands over her ears. Barely above a whisper...
"McDonald's, McDonald's, McDonald's..."
She just might be able to wish it true!
"McDonald's, McDonald's, McDonald's..."

We didn't go... but she sure tried:)

Look Ma, no hands!

We went for a walk/bike ride this evening and the boys had such a blast! Usually I only let them ride in our drive... It fits about 5 cars, so I'm completely a mean mommy:) Either way, this is probably the reason they both still use training wheels. So we get going down the street and I am snapping shots of the kids, when Michael yells
"Mommy look!"
Sure enough, he isn't using his hands.
Lol, it was just too cute. He was too scared to do it for long, even though his kiddie wheels were holding him just fine:) But, I didn't get a picture, darn. Still, this one was cute anyway.

It takes less time if you fly!

Tonight after tumbling and jazz, the boys had about 15 minutes of light left. So they headed out to the backyard. 30 seconds later, Little Man (who is quickly becoming rather big!) runs back inside so excited he can hardly speak:) I love those moments! He explains that he tried to jump from the swing... he does that a lot... and his shirt got caught... a new one he just got from Papa last week, dang... He said this made him fly farther and he had to turn in the air. When he finally landed, he was in Jericho. Yep, that's what he said! Lol, the boys love playing historical city sinking in the sand. Yes, that is a game at our house:) Yesterday it was China, they built the great wall, which after quite a bit of rain, they decided was the great river of China. Lol, so creative. Well, apparently today, it was Jericho and that is right where Mr. Cool found himself after a "crazy thing happened on that swing!"

Rain, Rainbows, and Jesus!

A few days ago, Alex told me she is going to go on the rainbow. And she is going to ride the Good Ship Lollipop and go see Jesus. Lollipop is the song they are doing for their dance recital in her tap/ballet class, so she has a lot of stories about that right now...
Easter was great, aside from the buckets of rain. Lol, that's Kansas... We had the egg hunt at church yesterday and it was perfect weather, so I guess it all works out:) Pics are going to be a week late though. We didn't really get any great ones... but the kids were all so cute! Okay, so I don't have any pics right now, but I will add them soon!
Dan was explaining once again to the kids that the Easter Bunny is not real... Michael says, "Don't say that Daddy." So he tries to explain... Michael stops him and says, "I know he isn't real, but someone who thinks he is might hear you, so don't say so much, Daddy!" Lol, they are just so darn cute!

Have to start somewhere...

I considered starting our family blog by going back and talking about how we got here. That seemed like a lot of work and I am far more interested in talking about now:) So, I am going to start with where we are and what we are all up to and whatever else pops into my head that I feel like sharing. And since I am currently on percocet and Ibuprofen, antibiotics, etc., it could be anything. (Some sort of virus is attacking me!)

For those who don't see us regularly, I suppose I will give a short update. We have three kids, yes I am still married to Daniel, though he is hard to spend time with. Not because I don't like him, he's just busy:)

Dan is taking several college courses, is doing field internships/clinicals, works full time, and still finds time to spend with us and fix up the house. He's one-of-a-kind.

Michael, 6, is in first grade and is starting to think girls are cute, mostly older girls. He is taking piano lessons and tumbling, loves math, and wants us to do all of the reading for him.

Joshua, 4, thinks the world is his stage. He dances everywhere he goes and is more dramatic than most teenage girls. He takes jazz and likes to change clothes 5 times a day (he always matches too:).

Alexandra, 2, is my little girly girl. If you tell her she is a girl, she argues and says she's Princess Alexandra. She thinks the world is just hers and that she should have everyone's attention just because! But she gets shy with all eyes on her:) She collects shoes, sings all day, and loves to paint.

And if you haven't figured it out yet, and are wondering what I do, this is it! I write about what the rest of my family is doing:) I also take lots of pictures of them and tell them all what to do! Honestly, I love it!


I guess a short update on 5 people is actually kind of long, so I'll just tell a story or two.


We have had issues lately with Alexandra's choice in clothing. Mainly because she doesn't want to wear any. Getting ready to leave the house a few days ago, Dan told her to get dressed(she was wearing only panties.) She replied "Oh, I need socks and shoes!" -"No, you need to put on pants and a shirt and then your socks and shoes." says Daddy -"OK!" she said with a big smile, excited to make her daddy happy. This is how she came back out. And yes, that is snow outside!

And then there is Joshua who seems to be in a continuous cartwheel. I'm not sure how he does it, but practically everytime I look at him, he is upside down. In the grocery store, at Michael's school, at church... I thought tumbling would be good for the boy; he could learn balance and coordination. Now, I don't know, it's like I really do have a monkey for a son!

Well, I told one about the other two... Today we made cupcakes to take to Michael's class movie day. I made a few extra ones, because I figured the kids would want to try them when the were done. But Michael said he wanted to save them so that if there was someone in his class who didn't have money for anything like that at home, they could take his extra one. So sweet!