Christmas Day 2010

What a wonderful Christmas we had! It was the first time in YEARS, but we were blessed with a beautiful White Christmas!

We started our day with a big breakfast, as usual. Then we opened our gifts and watched their delight. It was a Star Wars Christmas for us this year, lol! From what I can tell there is a whole new generation of fans for this classic. We gave them the first trilogy of movies and have since watched them and it has only bolstered their infatuation and gave the light sabers they asked for new meaning. Later on in the day, Daddy and the boys all bundled up to go play in the snow. They got to test out their new sleds (which worked great!) and of course make snowballs while sneaking in a few bites of snow. We had a blessed Christmas and look forward to another new year!

Merry Christmas...

...from our family to yours! Consider this your Christmas card since I did not do them this year, lol. Hope you had a great Christmas!

Jr. Pro Basketball 2010

(December 14, 2010)

Well, basketball has already come and gone for the boys! It is always a quick season and this year they barely got all six of their games in with the early winter weather. This was Grant's first year of basketball and he and Clayton got to be on the same Kindergarten/1st Grade team. The LOVED every minute of this sport. Here they are standing proud with their trophies after their last game.

Christmas Party 2010

(December 11, 2010)

Andy and I got all dressed up and went to the Christmas party sponsored by the union at his workplace. We didn't win any of those great door prizes (iPad, gift cards, etc) but we still enjoyed our evening out. Looking forward to doing it again next year and hoping we WIN something next time, lol!

Thanksgiving 2010

Run For Fun 2010

(November 13, 2010)

Unfortunately, this has been my only race so far this year! But it is definitely one I'm glad I didn't miss. It is sponsored by our local hospital and proceeds go to their diabetes foundation. This is one very organized race with such nice extras. My favorite has to be the Fit Kid Races where kids can run a non competitive race and earn themselves a medal and a couple of other novelty freebies. This is the second year we've signed up and the kids enjoy it so much, too. I hope one day we can all run the 5k together!

Pre-Race



Post-Race





With my step-dad and rival fan, who also ran this race - Great job Jerry!



My Fit Kid Racers



With their hard-earned medals - Way to go guys!

Mommy's 29th Birthday

(November 7, 2010)

I am now hanging on to my 20's by a thread! But with these little guys in my life I know I have so much to look forward to as the years go by.

Halloween 2010

Fall Festivities

(October 2010)

Here are some of the things we did this fall. We went to a couple of different pumpkin patches and Clayton had a field trip to a pumpkin patch and Lincoln's Birthplace with his 1st grade class. Enjoy!

Clayton's 7th Birthday

(October 12th, 2010)

I can't believe my "baby" is 7 years old! He is getting bigger and looking older all the time! I believe he is above average in size and is one of the tallest in his class. At 7, Clayton is eager to please his teachers at school and is doing very well. He enjoys having friends at school, but his favorite pasttime is still his "me" time. He loves to command his brothers during playtime at home and is always the leader of the group. He does get a little power-hungry at times and we have to remind him to play fair. He is a role-model and tends to set a good example in all he does. I am always wondering where his strengths will lead him!

Happy 7th Birthday - We love you!



Spongebob Cupcakes at school on his birthday

Basketball Boy

(September 2010)

For his birthday, Blake received a new Little Tykes basketball goal. All of our kids enjoy sports, but it seems like Evan and Blake were both consumed by any kind of a ball at this age! Blake took right to his new goal and soon began practicing with a NORMAL sized basketball! We have been AMAZED at his ability! I started recording him practicing and put together a video to showcase his talent. Of course, you are just seeing the "hits" among the many misses, but Michael Jordan had to start somewhere, too. Hahahaha!

I love how he exclaims "I score!" early in the video. And whenever you ask him how old he is he always holds up two fingers and says "I Sree." For whatever reason he never will say two, lol.

Unfortunately, the plastic on the goal was not meant to hold up to that heavier ball and it wasn't long before the rim would not stay up properly. I see a REAL goal in our near future!

The Battle of Perryville and Hayride/Bonfire

(October 2, 2010)

This Saturday was particularly busy! Football games that morning, then on to a family activity more than an hour's drive away, then back home to a hayride and bonfire get together at the home of some church friends! Busy, but FUN!

Last year was our first year attending the Battle of Perryville in Perryville, KY. It was apparently a major Civil War battle and the town hosts this reenactment every year. I have to say that I enjoyed it just as much or more than the kids last year so I insisted that we go again this year. Unfortunately, since we could not get there early, we did not get good seats so the view was not as good as last year, but we still enjoyed the battle and the vendors set up with merchandise from that era.




Once we returned home from the battle, Andy and Clayton had their first Cub Scout campout while me and the other 3 attended a hayride and bonfire. Roasted hot dogs and s'mores - doesn't get much better than that! What a great way to end a fun day!

Youth Football Night

(October 1, 2010)

It was youth football night at our local highschool (the same one Andy and I graduated from) and all of the kids from the local youth football league were invited to come out onto the field before the highschool game to be recognized by division and team. Of course, if there is a football game going on, Grant is going to INSIST that we stay and watch, so we came prepared to stay. We hadn't really considered that the two little ones might not like this idea, but we were able to call Grandma who happened to be on her way home and she came and got the two little ones so Andy and the two older boys and I could enjoy the game. That we did - we won!

10 Year Class Reunion

(September 25, 2010)

Andy and I both graduated in 2000 so this year marked 10 years since that milestone! It's hard to believe! Luckily, we didn't have to travel far to attend our reunion and I looked forward to the excuse to get all dressed up and out for a night! We enjoyed our evening and look forward to more reunions to come! :-)

The Dress


The Couple, 10 years younger

The Couple, 10 years older, lol

Story Hour

(September 24, 2010)

Now this is how I LIKE finding them!

More Football

(September 11, 2010)

Here are the little flag players in action. But I must pause and say a few words about Grant and football: The two seem to be inseparable. I have never seen Grant have a passion like this before. He eats, sleeps, and breathes football and is constantly counting down the days until his next game or practice. There are only four teams in the flag division and the kid even has the rotation of which team he plays next memorized in his head! For a kid who appears to struggle with other things that seem of utter simplicity, that's impressive! We are dumbfounded, yet enamored at his new-found love. It's so much fun to watch and hear him talk with excitement about every play of the game. He gets out there and gives it his all and we couldn't be prouder. Way to go Grant!!

Evan is enjoying the sport, too, although he is more of the mindset that as long as his is running around and there is a ball involved, he is having a good time, lol. You can't beat that attitude! :-)

Evan

Grant

Huber's Orchard & Winery 2010

(September 6, 2010)

On Labor Day we visited Huber's Orchard & Winery with some good friends of ours. We loaded up 7 kids and headed up to Indiana for a day of fun. We ate at the restaurant there for the first time ever and that is something we will DEFINITELY have to do again - YUM-EE! Here is our day in pictures:

1st Trip to the Dentist - Evan

(September 1, 2010)

When it comes to anything medical, I have never met a braver kid. Even as a tiny newborn when he was poked and poked at when we were trying to figure out his heart issues, it never seemed to phase him much. Evan was proud to jump up in that dental chair for his first cleaning. He kept his trademark smile the whole time while the hygenist was quite impressed. What a big boy! :-)

First Games

(August 28, 2010)

Here the boys are the morning of one of their first games. Evan and Grant, who are both playing flag this year, are not in uniform yet but I was able to get them in on the photo op, too. :-)


Our lean, mean, defensive machine ;-)

Best Buds

(August 25, 2010)

With the older two boys in school, Evan and Blake have become quite the pair. They have grown very close and enjoy each other's company with surprisingly very little fighting! Here they are just hanging out:

Kentucky State Fair 2010

(August 24, 2010)

We visited the state fair this year and the kids enjoyed seeing all of the livestock and other displays. Mom and Jerry took the kids back home so Andy and I could go to the Charlie Daniels concert. It was a good day! Here it is in pictures:

My Little Chef

(August 24-25, 2010)

Over the summer, Clayton became fascinated with the concept of sales and opened his own "Toy Store" in the playroom which we (mostly I) had to frequent. Well, it wasn't too much time later that he decided to sell food, and he and Grant (whose attention was captured when he heard there was "cooking" going on) began taking our orders and serving us quite an array of choices. Naturally, Evan caught on, and once the older brothers were in school he took to the role and even put to use the children's play apron I had bought some time back at the Dollar Tree. And that's all it took for Blake. He immediately followed suit and as soon as Evan dropped that apron and hat, there he was taking my order...incessantly, lol. This was too good to pass up so I got my little chef in action. Hope you enjoy! :-)