Raising "D" Boys

January...still no snow:(

2012-02-09T13:35:00.000-08:00

Our Chloe turned 2. We celebrated the best way a doggie could celebrate....with dog-bone shaped meat slices. She shared with T-Bone...but only because he butted his way in and helped himself.

Drake and I joined his preschool class at the library on Ground Hog day for Story Time. He got to be one of the ground hogs who demonstrated what happens when they see sun or clouds.

Dane's 1st grade class did a power point presentation on the solar system. Each child was given something to research and then they read their slide to us other astranauts. The clothing was white...we all looked like a bunch of marshmellows...not astranauts. I was really impressed with the knowledge and the amount of work these 1st graders did. A power point! In 1st grade! Really? My bachelor's degree is probably now equivilant to high school diplomas now.

We went to the Monster Jam again...it's our annual February treat for the boys. They love it and of course the next day we go to the toy store and buy more monster trucks that we either don't have or they now "have to have" because they did a cool stunt at the show.

Basket Ball has started. Here's Drake's first game. He's #11. Look at him go! He's got the dribbling thing down. Making baskets you ask? Well, it's the beginning of the season, he's got time to practice his skills. :)

And here's Dane's first game. He's the clear kid on the left. Somehow my phone captured this picture. It looks neat how it focused on the kids running and the rest is blurry.

Dane made the first basket in this game. He's #6. If you look closely you can see the basket in the net.
GO DANE!

I took a picture of each of them after their first game, but Dane was not so pleased...He was hot, tired and wanted his Gatoraide.

Dane has lost even MORE teeth. Here's his toothless grin. We will watch "Toothless" on How to Train a Dragon in honor of his new look for our Movie Night this Friday.

Christmas

2012-01-09T18:20:00.000-08:00

I warn you now....lots of pictures, but I have a hard enough time narrowing it down to these. I think I did fairly well considering we did so much in December. Enjoy:)

We had our first snow, it was only an inch, but it was exciting....we've had nothing since...bummer because I can't wait to sled down this hill with Dane and Drake again.

Our Christmas family picture, with all 6 six of us.

We rode through Tilles Park to look at the Magical Kingdom in a carriage pulled by "Hercules". We packed a thermos of hot chocolate and 4 to-go cups with marshmellows. So then when we poured the hot chocolate out it would perfect. Actually it was cool enough to drink at the end of the ride...next year I'll have that little detail perfected:)

This is the first time I decorated the formal dining room. Blue lights and blue bulbs that I let Drake put on while Andy and Dane were deer hunting. I don't know how I found the time this December with the MBA coming to an end....did I mention?....it's FINISHED!

Christmas Eve was a beautiful day. We had a bonfire, roasted hot-dogs and saddled up BullsEye for a ride.

Here's the boys (and pups) in the trailer, we're heading to our neighbors to get the hay we ordered for the horses. I hadn't thought ahead that all 4 of them would need to fit in the vehicle for the ride home. Yes, the muddy, wet dogs had to ride in my Durango for the ride home....it was wonderful...blah.

This Christmas break we hosted lots of play dates (almost every day) and two sleep-overs. Here's Dane and Drake with their friends when we got the horses out.

Dane leading Tommy around on BullsEye...

Drake leading Reece around on BullsEye....

All 4 of them on the trampoline....

Trevor and Tommy visiting Dane and Drake.....

Taylor and Trevor having movie night with Dane and Drake....

Joseph over for a sleep-over and them finding our Elf on the Shelf in the morning....

When I work-out I almost always have a work-out partner. This day was no different. Here's Drake doing pull-downs...

And Drake on the treadmill. He was going at quite a fast pace.

Dane on the treadmill. His goal was to run/jog a mile...goal met!

Drake didn't feel well after church and he wanted to rest, but he wouldn't without Chloe. They both slept there for almost 3 hours.

Of course T-Bone will not be on the floor if Chloe is enjoying the good life...

Movie and pajama day, even for me:)

I just thought this was a funny way for a dog to sit, though Andy said he's seen her do it several times.

Dane lost another tooth. And he has 3 more loose ones in his mouth. I hope he doesn't lose them all at once or we'll have to use a food processor in order for him to eat.

Drake and I building a train track while Andy and Dane hunted....

Our train shaped cake for baby Jesus. We made it before church so afterwards we could have our birthday party and cut a piece out for Santa. We also made a dish for the reindeer (oats, carrots and celery).

It was late when we finally set everything out before retiring....check out Drake's excitement; he's a zomby.

We also did our annual trip to the zoo to see the Zoo Lights and eat dinner with Santa.

Me with Dane...

Me with Drake......

Another Santa picture.....

And now with Frosty....

Instead of just making 1 ginger bread house I figured we'd make the whole town...silly me. It was a pain, but none-the-less, here's the very fragile finished product....

And what the heck, why stop with a town, lets make a train to drive through it too...I'm blaming my lack of fore-thought on sleep deprivation.....again here's the final product. This one leaning on toothpicks and glued with Gorilla Glue.

And all together now.....

We had a lot of fun with Harley (our Elf on the Shelf) this year. He was very creative. He kept getting into our pantry and creating fun for himself while we all slept. This particular night he made himself a slide out of a paper towel roll, toothpicks and a paper plate for the ladder and a mac n cheese box. Oh, and did I mention, he doesn't clean up after himself? The boys always laugh when I made a big deal about the mess he leaves :)

Another Santa, Drake doesn't miss a chance to sit and remind him of the gift he wants. He's always quick to pose with him and get the candy cane.

Here's the actual photo we bought and framed from the mall....it's a picture of the picture since I didn't pay the extra $20 to get it on disk.....and yes Drake dressed in his hat and boots for the picture. :)

And here's a shot of Harley hanging out on our lamp by the tree....

Here he's catching a ride on one of the boy's trains....

Zip-lining....I'm sure he had fun doing this, though the yarn and scissors were left out....I told the boys to ask him to be more polite and put the craft things away when he's done...it's so cute to hear them talk to Harley.

Here's Harley hiding in our Snow People....it took them a while to find him on this morning....

Swinging from our formal dining room chandelier...he cleaned up the yarn this time, but not the cardboard pieces....so I only "complained" a little....

Photo-bombing...how dare Harley get in our picture...that was actually an accident, but the boys love it.

That covers us for now. I should be more on top of things now that I'm covering the office every Monday before I go to eat lunch with the 1st graders and help Dane's teacher for an hour.

What's on our plates for 2012 you ask?:

Andy is doing a 1/2 tri-athalon in June to help him prepare for his full IronMan in September.

I'm going to sleep, since the MBA is done and put some of that knowledge to work!
I'm considering doing a 1/2 marathon in April or October (or both). Andy says I could do it now, but frankly, I feel like not planningl anything for this year.

Dane will finish 1st grade and take riding lessons from someone other than me to ride BullsEye by himself.

Drake will begin kindergarten and we're also looking at a pony for him. I think we found one, we just need to close the deal. He's already named this pony Buzz (sticking with the Toy Story theme) and Dane rode it while we were looking at him.

Here's to a great new year! Hugs from all of us-Andy, Renee, Dane, Drake, T-Bone & Chloe :)

Season of Thanks

2011-12-03T19:42:00.000-08:00

This fall we collected leaves as we usually do, but instead of ironing them with wax paper and making garland we made our Thankful collage and decorated with them. I was pretty impressed with some of the things they listed. Dane - The four seasons, church and full bellies. Drake - our home, God and family.

We made a craft a few weeks ago; another fort for the army guys....

And my favorite number is 11...this is the card I found at my desk the morning of 11.11.11! I love the little things Andy does for me:)

It has been 2 years since my Dad died. My neighbor lost his brother 2 years ago (3 days before my Dad died). We had a bon-fire that weekend and set off these lanterns for each of them. It was quite moving and the perfect evening to do it with little wind, clear sky and a full moon.

Here's how Dane hunts for deer....

And when he wakes up, he can squirrel hunt....

We took the boys to see Chris Tomlin. The concert was amazing, but around 9 they were tired. We were disappointed we would miss a lot, but as we were driving out of the parking lot we saw the mob of people coming out...looks like the boys were just looking out for us:)

We had a friend over and she lost her earing. Here the boys are playing detectives with flashlights and magnifying glasses looking for it. She found it later, somewhere else, but we had fun.

Drake reading a book....taking a break from the dinosaurs

Our good little friends (Aspen and Makennah) had a birthday party at the bowling alley.
Drake giving it a try....

And Dane's turn.....

Here's their scores: Drake-78, Dane 94. We've bowled before, they've got this down!

Preparing and waiting patiently for Sunday school performance to start. Drake's in the front with his hands in his pockets and Dane's the tall boy in the second row.

Lazy T-Bone...love the ear:)

And Chloe's favorite spot in the playroom.

This is how I wake up evrery morning! You know the feeling you get when someone stares at you? Yep, that one....

We ran the 5K Turkey Trot (which I kept calling the Chicken Run) the morning of Thanksgiving.
Renee, Andy, Rob (good friend of ours), Drake and Dane. The boys rode their bikes, but at 1/2 mile Dane had a blow-out so he ran until Drake got cold a little after the 1st mile. So I waited until Andy and Rob finished and then Rob watched the boys and Andy ran it with me. Amazingly, I still beat a bunch of people.

Andy getting 1st place medal in his age group (senior citizens...almost 50...hee hee!

Drake cowboy'd up. That's what he wore for his picture with Santa.

Our Ginger Bread town...big pain...next time we're just doing the big one....even my little fingers were too big for this thing...I needed tweezers! And silly me also bought a Ginger Bread train...probably just as small.

Drake and I played trains and ate Dinosaur teeth while Andy and Dane hunted. Personally, I think we have way more fun...and we're warm.

The big tree....grrrrr

After surgery (3, 150 strands)...yep, that did the trick!

Pajama day...here's the activity for the day: I sip hot apple cider and you twist your bodies into unthinkable positions. Look at them waiting patiently for me to take this picture so they can hurry and get into a different position...ooops I dropped the camera....ooops I dropped the spinner...just kidding....right foot yellow...

Guess I wasn't fast enough...

I had my 20th year class reunion...I mean 5th:) There was only 16 that showed up, due to such short notice and it being planned on FaceBook...but I'm on the committee for next time...it'll be a big hit like the 10 and 15. With only 130 in our class we've done pretty good at having a majority of us show up.
I'm in the back row in the jean skirt, black boots and my name tag on my skirt; it wouldn't stick to my shirt.

Our Christmas photo for 2011 in front of our tree. Dane wanted to make sure Harley (our Elf on the Shelf) was in the picture...he's in the tree just to the right of my head. We can't touch him or he'll lose his magic, but we could maneuver ourselves around him to ensure his presence.

I've got 3 more weeks left and I'll have more free time. I think I've said it before, but I'm going to sleep the month of January. Bears call it hibernation...if I don't get some sleep I'll become a bear!
Til next time, Merry Christmas!

Boo!

2011-11-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

As always we've had a busy few weeks...so here's the run down on our October and our "goulish" ways. I'll start you out with a few of our Halloween weekend meals:

worms in jello:

Eyeballs and bloody fingers:

Spider web cake...eek!

And....worms coming out of the dirt/mud:

This isn't just a kid's holiday at our house...we went to the costume dog parade. Though our dogs wouldn't tolerate the hats and glasses so they wore their jackets. Chloe sported her flannel vest with corduroy collar and T-Bone wore his patriotic hoodie. The dogs got to trick-or-treat and so did the boys. All in all a success:)

T-Bone celebrated his 12th Birthday. We had his "party" on the 30th even though his actual b-day is on Halloween; I knew we were going to be a little busy that day.

We always have several trunk or treats to attend and this year was no different.

This one was at our subdivision. This also included our chilli cook-off, bon-fire, jump house and hay ride. We cover everything with our subdivision. It's really a great place to raise our children. Here they are posing on the wagon, waiting for the hay ride to start.

Our subdivision also gives out ribbons for "best" costumes. Drake (red spider man) was cutest and Dane (black "venom" spider man) was best pair. There was another black spider man...everyone goes home a winner!

This is the elementary trunk or treat. This year it was HUGE. Tons of cars and tons of candy.

And our last trunk or treat was at our church. Our clown is actually Uncle Don; he made balloon animals for all the kiddos.

Of course I hit all the school parties as well. This one is at Dane's 1st grade class. Here he's waiting to play a game...the snack table is behind him. Notice the back-pack. It was also the day everyone dressed up as their favorite character from a book. He was Jack from the magical tree house series. His hat and glasses aren't on, but he kept the back-pack with dog peeking out on the whole day.

Dane playing the game...toss the hoop around the pumpkin.

And the craft table...that's his teacher kneeling down by the table. 2nd year in a row of having an awesome teacher. It makes a world of difference in a child's experience:)

And Drake's preschool party...he decided to be a giraffe for the party. Good thing I buy a bunch of costumes on clearance after Halloween. That way they have many options for the next year and for dress-up through-out the year.

I also chaperoned Drake's preschool class to trick or treat at a nursing home. Same day as his party, but he wanted to dress as an army man for this event.

All lined up and ready to go in.

And last but not least...our final begging for the season, we went to Rich and Heather's for actual trick or treating. We always have fun there...so much fun that both boys cry and have a fit when we leave...too many fun and different toys at their house! I made another goulish appetizer dish for this party, but didn't take a picture (deviled eggs that look like eye balls).

I must also include in this post the ceremony in which Dane received his award for getting 1st in the pumpkin run a couple weeks ago.

The Friday before Halloween school was out...I hope next year they plan these teacher meetings for the day after Halloween instead. Anyway, we went to the Science Center and watched "Rescue" on the IMax and then of course visited the dinosaurs. Drake dressed in his giraffe costume...again. In case you can't tell or aren't familiar with this exhibit, it's a T-Rex roaring and an injured Triceratops laying next to it. Both of the dinosaurs move and make noise.

This is most likely it until Christmas...I'm in my last class and it just started Monday...from the looks of it I will have no spare time (or sleep time) until my final on December 26th...so Happy Thanksgiving and I'll see you in a few.
Hugs from St. Louis,
Andy, Renee, Dane, Drake, T-Bone and Chloe.

Rock N Roll Marathon

2011-10-23T17:11:00.000-07:00

Andy left the house at 5am this morning...ok, that being said, it's time for bed now!

After he headed out, I worked out, did the blog below, wrote a paper and then got the boys up and going and headed down town. Andy estimated finishing sometime around the 3.5 hour mark. So we got downtown at the 2.5 hour mark to make sure we wouldn't get caught up in traffic, get lost or not find a parking spot since there were 21,000 runners. (yes 3 zeros!)

We had some time to spare! Here Drake and Dane are posing at the park with the sign we made last week.

Here we are playing connect 4 at around the 3.5 hour mark and anxiously awaiting our *star*
I also brought UNO, but we didn't get to that; karate kicking the tree was more appealing for a while.

There he is.....Yay....GO DAD! (he's in the yellow shirt; he had matching ones made for all of us:)

What? He's limping and has a bandage...and he's still running...you're crazy!

We are so Proud of you....you're awesome! Most people don't even walk 26 miles in a week and you ran it in a day!

And a picture from the boys' view:)

He says he's "watching" the game (Cardinals in the World Series, game 4), but everytime I go in to check on him he's sleeping. Good night baby, you need the rest:)

Amanda & Ryan's wedding

2011-10-23T03:49:00.000-07:00

Amanda and Ryan got married 10/1/11. They asked Dane and Drake to be in the wedding and of course YES! Dane was the ring bearer and Drake carried a sign that said "here comes the bride" before the Amanda came down the isle and "just married" right after they walked out. So cute. Amanda was Beautiful, Ryan was handsome, the dress, flowers, food, everything was spectacular:)

Here's our mafia boys just before we left. It was a slightly rushed morning as we went to the soccer fields to get their team pictures taken, but didn't stay for the games. I can't complain though, I'm sure a couple other people we know were rushing WAY more than we were!

Here's Dane walking down with the pillow. He kept asking why they were on a pillow and why couldn't he just carry them, and why didn't they even use the rings...too many questions little man!

Drake on his way in.....

post wedding pictures; Drake and Ryan....

Dane and Ryan....

Amanda with both boys....

A family shot at the reception....

Amanda made some great picture frames for the boys. It became my mission to get a picture with each of the boys with them to put in their new frames for their bedrooms....

It was a wonderful evening and from our end as a guest everything went smoothly. The father-bride dance was awesome...started out slow and then turned to a choreographed mix they did together and then ended slow again. It made it to YouTube, so you know it had to be great!

Andy just left for his marathon; we'll be heading down in a couple hours to meet him at the finish line. Best of luck to Midwest Endurance Team:)

Fall is upon us:)

2011-10-22T05:56:00.000-07:00

We have (as always) had a very busy ending to our summer and start of our fall. We are in full swing with fall soccer as well as being completely engulfed with school and church activities. I attempted to download the pictures in chronological order, though I can't promise anything...enjoy.

Here they are just before soccer games, and yes I have Dane's shirt on backwards and didn't notice until Andy broke out in a famous Sesame Street song (while he was already playing on the field) "Something is different here, which one doesn't go?" I don't really know the words, but you get the idea.

We've gone on lots of horse back rides. Here we are riding with our neighbor Emma. Our puppy, Chloe, ran along the whole time. That's Dane on BullsEye, Drake stayed home with Andy, though our neighbor does have a co-saddle so he can ride behind one of us if he does decide to go someday.

Drake and I saddled BullsEye and our neighbors miniature horse (Taz) up to pick Dane up from the bus. He loves it when we do that. Sometimes I just grab BullsEye with a lead rope and walk her like a dog to the bus stop and he rides her home bare-back. She's so easy going.

Drake went with me to take care of BullsEye while Dane was at school...one must wear camouflage and be prepared with pistols!

We went to Forest Park to see the hot air balloon races and before we left we made sure to stop by Art Hill and see the flags. There was one for every victim of 9/11 with a name and sometimes a picture on each flag. It was quite a site. Even still, the boys will probably never know how this even affected us. Probably as much as I'll never know how Pearl Harbor affected my parents.

I enjoy eating dinner on the deck and try to every day it's not raining...even if it's cold...we put jackets on. So here we are eating and taking a break from decorating and Drake insisted on having a guest over. He even made our starving friend a plate.

And Dane fed him...no wonder he's thin...who wants to eat a lemon?!

Dane's school has teachers verses students games every semester. This spring semester was a kickball game. Dane was the 1st grader chosen out of his class to be on the sudent team. These teachers are relentless....they won 21-15.

My cousin Maria came out for a week from Conneticut. I haven't seen her since her Dad and my Dad were doing a military agriculture class together...I was around 10, she was 12. When we saw each other it was as if no time had passed. It was awesome!

Grandma Ellen bought the boys matching footed pajamas....if there's ever anything I need or want, she's the one to call...she can find anything....

This day I picked Dane up from the bus stop in the car because I was running late. They both decided they wanted to walk home, but it's too far for me to go ahead and drive home...so I followed them in the car.

Dane and I had a date at the rodeo while Drake and Andy had a date with a movie.

Here's Dane trying to get flags off of scared to death calves to get a prize...if you see him, let me know where he is!

It's that time of year again....October....this is where we do our "Hands of Change". They pick the color they want and which hand to paint and then together they have to choose where in the room to stamp their hands (must be together). This year they chose a corner and wanted to make a butterfly with their hands. Very creative! Drake's trying to pout, but I made him smile:)

And I was able to get the above picture because I agreed to the below picture....it's all about compromise!

Another head injury....Drake...the door jam won...again. We were racing upstairs to get ready for bed. He didn't cry...Dane did, but that scared him so then he started crying because Dane told him he was bleeding. Once I was able to get Dane upstairs to brush his teeth, Drake calmed right down. Of course Andy was at a board meeting...our family doctor is almost always gone when these things happen.

Let me set the stage: it's chilly outside, it's cloudy and I'm wearing a long-sleeved shirt. Drake says, "Can I swim in the baby pool?" I say, "Sure", knowing this won't last, but will be fun to watch. He strips down to his cutie patootie red underwear and starts filling the pool with well water. It lasted longer than I thought!

We went to the Barnum and Bailey circus. There was so much going on and so crazy. Andy said it is a perfect show for an ADD person...yep, I loved it!

Dane's elementary school has a pumpkin run every year. Each grade competes alone. Last year Dane came in 1st of all the kindergartners in the 1/2 mile run. This year he held his title and is the fastest 1st grader in the 3/4 mile run.

On your mark....
Get set.....

GO....

Here he is coming around the last bend....a 4th grader is leading the class on the route (orange shirt). Dane is in the purple shirt behind him.

The finish line.....
The award ceremony is next week.

Enjoying a fall day and collecting wood for our bon-fire. Actually, I was burning a brush pile, but the kids will help me collect wood if it's a "bon-fire" because that means Smore's...I'm not tricking them...I'm being creative with my wording.

I chaperoned Drake's preschool class to a pumpkin patch/corn maze. Here he is making a corn angel.

And here he is in the front sitting with his best friend, Reece, on the cow ride. We went on a hay ride after playing on the zip line and haybale tunnel for a while.

We have our 3rd trunk or treat tonight and then a Halloween at Rich and Heather's next week. I'll post those pics afterwards. And we also enjoyed participating and attending Amanda and Ryan's wedding at the beginning of this month. But that was a special event and deserves its own post.

Also, BIG NEWS....tomorrow is Andy's 1st marathon...it's a stepping stone to prepare for the 1/2 tri-athalon in the spring and the IronMan next summer!

Me? Well, I've got 9 more weeks of this MBA program and I graduate!
What will I do with all my extra time you ask?
Sleep, Read for fun again, sleep, volunteer more, sleep, work-out more regularly, sleep, horse back-ride more, sleep, quilting classes again, sleep. I think I miss the sleeping the most:)

Birthdays!

2011-09-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

We have 4 birthdays all from Aug 11 to Sept 2nd (within 22 days). It's kind of like Christmas right before school starts around here. I'm really glad they are summer birthdays because we all enjoy doing out-door things. However, I say this and Drake chose an in-door party. This is Drake picking up his Army transporter tank cake. He's excited to be 5!

We had his birthday at BouncU...his request, I would have preferred having it outside, but he and his preschool buddies had fun. And Dane got to invite one of his friends as well.

And now....Funny Faces!

Dane was really involved in Drake's party and making sure he sat in front of the cake and that he got the 1st piece.

Dane seems more excited than Drake here! I will say, this wasn't just to get the 2nd piece of cake, Dane offered to do all his chores for him too since it was his special day. He's a sweet brother when they aren't fighting. :)

And then it was Andy's birthday...not quite 50...yet *wink*

But HOLY COW...is it really taking 3 people to light his candles?

Don't worry Andy, I dig older men :)

Finally, we had Dane's 7th birthday. Here he is before school. They each get 1 present on the other's birthday that kind of goes with the "theme" presents. Dane got mostly horse stuff and a big barn and Drake got a couple horses and colts as well so they could play together. For Drake's birthday he wanted all military men and equipment, so Dane got some fighter jets and tanks to play along with Drake.

They each get to pick their cake also, Dane chose horses...he is really throwing himself into the horse stuff. Now that we have our BullsEye at our house he goes to the barn every day with me and waters, brushes and gives her snacks....that's my Dane.

Drake plays on the playground....that's my Drakie :)

We hosted Dane's party at our house and hired a magician. We had 28 (26 other kids) at our house...yes that is more than the teacher-student ratio allowed at schools with a trained professional. And then yes, I gave them cake, icecream and kool aide. Nothing like a sugar high at the end of the night.

But before the presents and cake we had the magician perform for an hour. He asked Dane to pick one friend to serve as his assistant. He chose Drake...again the sweet big brother always thinking of the little guy.

And then Dane was the assistant in helping bake a cake. It's magic!

The next day we put together the final birthday presents. One of the big hits was the barn from Grandma. They both play with it almost daily.

BIG HIT!

And I'd like to say I'm caught up...but I'm already behind again. Last week Dane and I went on our 1st real horse back riding trip with our neighbor. And today we went to Forest Park to see the hot air balloon races and stopped by the memorial of 9/11 set up on Art Hill. There were nearly 3,000 large flags set up to represent each person that lost their life on 9/11. It's really touching. I just wish the boys understood how much that attack has changed things, still even a decade later.

On a slightly lighter note, I'm 2 weeks into my 2nd to last class and then I'm done with this MBA. I'm also volunteering at Dane's class every Monday afternoon and if I can I'll be chaperoning Drake's field trips in preschool again this year. Soccer continues every Saturday though the end of October and then Halloween! Oh, and I'm on that committe at our church for Trunk or Treat; it's going to be fun! Next week Andy and I will be gone from our boys for 4 days at a conference at the Lake...it's a 2 day conference, but since I'm on the board for the Missouri Mental Health Counselor Assoc. and it's their annual conference, I'll be there a day prior and after. It's okay, though the boys love it when Amanda stays with them. Oh, and speaking of Amanda...she's getting married and they are in her and Ryan's wedding...so more pictures for sure to come!

Till then, thanks...again...for checking in with us. We're sending lots of love from St. Louis to our friends and family near and far.

2nd part of summer 2011

2011-09-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

My Uncle Kenneth (my dad's oldest brother) visited and stayed with us for about a week. It was awesome having him with us. He looks so much like my dad; both boys called him grandpa many times. I quit correcting them and he said, "Well, I can be their grandpa too." :)

One day we made a trip to the little town of Morgan, that the Indermuehle family settled...way back when. Here we are visiting the Indermuehle cemetary where his dad and 4 brothers and 2 sisters are buried, as well as some of his cousins. It's neat to see a whole generation of my grandfather and his siblings there. Indermuehle is not a common name, but it is there. When we paid at the hotel, the lady asked which son was his father....that was neat!

Below: Drake, Uncle Kenneth and Dane behind my grandfather's stone.

Here's Dane watching morning cartoons at the hotel with Uncle Kenneth.

And Drake playing with his cars; he's rarely still.

Drake did sit for a minute with Uncle Kenneth in the morning before he got his jolt of energy.

My cousin Karen lives near Morgan and visited us before we headed back to my place.

Here's us three cousins: me, Karen (Aunt Ramona's daughter) and Susie.

Susie came all the way from California with Uncle Kenneth so he wouldn't be traveling alone.

Santa gave us a fish tank for Christmas. Andy finally got the table made the way he wanted it. Here we are getting ready to put our first batch of fish in the tank. They are so excited.

So excited, they had to watch the fish while they ate lunch.

We started a Wednesday evening tradition - since T-Ball practice was in the evening, I would pack a picnic and we would hang out at the park for a couple hours until practice. It was a nice break in the routine.

We continue to enjoy having BullsEye close. Here we are relaxing in our yard watching the horses eat.

There's no occassion to this...I just happened to walk in and see them watching tv like this after I got finished working out.

And another morning they were like this....

Here's a couple of nature pictures. One evening while eating dinner on the deck Andy spotted a doe and 2 fawns grazing; look close and you'll see them. It's the same place we let the horses graze, must be good stuff.

Here the boys are watching the humming birds eat. We have 3 feeders that I fill daily.

Throughout the summer I do fun things that keep them busy doing school work. This day they requested I draw pictures that they can color by number. My creative side is still hidden, but they are happy with it.

Drake has a clown with balloons and Dane has a barn with stables.

We went on a camping/float trip with another family. Here Dane and Drake are enjoying Smore's. I love how they are sharing the chair and chatting.

Drake dressed in the giraffe costume, "See my little tail."

I finally took them to the Arch...it's about time they go up in it, we do live here after all!

And their 1st days of school.

Drake in preschool, Dane in 1st grade (all day school is hard on him).

So bedtime has been adjusted and all is much better.

The next post (I'm hoping will be soon) is going to be all about their birthdays. Then I'll be caught up...hopefully. Just in time for Halloween!
Thanks for checking in :)

Spring & Summer 2011

2011-09-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

Here's 2nd my attempt at catching up with my pictures to atleast get us caught up to August before my next semester starts. I say atleast to August because from Aug 11-Sept 2 we all four have birthdays...that will have to be a separate post:) Til then...enjoy the many pictures and briefings about each.

Here are Dane and Drake during soccer. It's been so long since the spring season that we actually had our first fall season practice a few days ago! Whew, I am WAY behind!

Dane and Drake enjoying an exceptionally warm spring day; notice the trees don't even have leaves yet.

Another family tradition...Breakfast with the Easter Bunny at the Zoo. This day it was really nice and we hung out at the zoo for a few extra hours. Dane wouldn't wear his bunny ears, even for the picture and even when bribed with extra chocolate; he's just too "old" for that silly stuff now:(

But he's not too old for crashing in uncomfortable positions on the way home from the zoo:)

I found an Easter Egg coloring kit in 3-D. It came with glasses and the stickers were in 3-D. It was a lot of fun and different from traditional egg colorings in our house.

We went over to Aspen and Mac's house to go hunting for Eggs, on another great spring afternoon.

A random picture from our "Orange" park; it's one of my favorite pictures.

Easter morning; they usually wake up early to see what was left for them, but this morning I had to wake them up so we could still get to church on time. It's not as if I had to cook breakfast though, it was in the basket and ready to be unwrapped.

We spent a lot of days at Six Flags. Those passes are so convenient and on hot days during the week when tourists are in smaller numbers we head to the water park as if it's our own subdivision pool.

We've also hit Lone Elk every couple of months. It is rare not to so see atleast a few elk or buffalo. This day we saw a new calf (baby elk) walking with and nursing on her mom. It was so precious.

I chapperoned Dane's kindergarden class to Grant's Farm; and lucky me decided to ride the bus. I forgot how 20 windows down and no air conditioning feels.

All the kids wore their kindergarden memory shirts. Another mom and I made them throughout the year. There is a stamp for every month representing what they did and also a special stamp of them and their 3rd grade buddy. It was worth the hard work.

Dane and Drake were in the late Spring production at church. They have officially both told me they are done with Kidz Jam for a while. I'm sad to hear it, but won't push it or they'll hate it and never consider it again. At this time they just want a break.

On movie nights I make up treasure maps which leads them to snacks and clues to where the next map is which evenutally will lead them to the movie we are watching. Here they have their lights on and are ready to search. It's so fun to watch them get excited to walk 10 paces and turn right, etc. and find a treat and another map. I don't draw well, but they figure it out!

This is truly our cowboy/girl picture. We rode BullsEye and our friend's horse and it was super hot! Here we are relaxing in front of the barn, dirty, hot, thirsty and hungry and sitting on whatever we could find. And I wouldn't take that day away from my memory...ever.

At the beginning of the summer we brought BullsEye to our home. It's so nice now to have her close; we can feed her snacks on the way to catch the bus and every night we water and brush her. It really is a dream.

My three loves being lazy.

I don't think one can slouch anymore than they are.

Mother's Day gifts

And this was my chosen Mother's Day activity....loved it.

We made a heart-shaped cake for Father's Day. It craked down the middle, which is just what our hearts would do without him....say it with me....awwwwwe:)

Friends from church gave us this Jeep. They wouldn't get off of it, even when it started raining.

Andy rigged it with an umbrella to keep them dry since it was chilly outside.

Our 1st Family 5K Run (at the Zoo)

Drake graduated preschool.

Here they are singing a song in Spanish with their teacher.

And Dane graduated Kindergarden. Yes, I know the tie is short.

I bought him a new one the next time we went to the mall. A real one, not

a clip on!

At the Science Center (again, membership is well-worth it).

Check-out Drake's shoes....again!

I chapperoned Drake's preschool class to Purina Farms. So many kids are such city kids.

You should have seen them all jump when a cow mooed!

Of course we visited my Dad's site for Memorial Day and decorated it.

I miss him so much.

Our puppy, who at this point is now 1, is a water dog and we have trouble keeping her out of the pool.

Here she's grabbing a boat and running out; Drake is yelling at her,

"Hey you, that's MY BOAT!"

While Dane was in Kindergarden (1/2 day), Drake did his own homework with me

at home. He's so proud when he does it, though sometimes it's like pulling teeth.

That's kind of a joke since he knocked out 3 back teeth and has 2 fake ones.

Dane on his 1st day of T-Ball

Drake on his 1st day of T-Ball

We raised 12 butterflies from caterpillars up and here we are releasing them.

They stuck around for a few days.

Marine week in St. Louis...every little (and Big) boy's dream day!

Andy took a picture of me with the boys and backed way up to get the helicopter in the picture.

We're there....look closely at the nose:)

We went to a Condo at the Lake of the Ozarks for a week.

It was relaxing and we played non-stop.

In addition to swimming every day we played miniature golf....

and raced go-garts!

Dane had a very tight grip on my leg for the 1st lap, then he would tell me how to drive to beat them.

T-Ball has ended. Here they are with their trophies....everyone wins!

Thanks for checking in....I will not promise to do this again soon, but I will try. Atleast to get the birthday posts on here. For school, I've got 16 more weeks (2 more 8-week, 4 credit classes) and then I'm finished with this degree. My last final is on December 25, 2011. So New Years will be surely a day of celebration!

Winter Spring 2011

2011-09-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's been a while, so I warn you now....lots of pictures and some commentary:)

Above Dane & Drake as 2 of the 3 wisemen in our Church Christmas play

and below the boys are in our Easter production.

Dane and Drake with trophies after their last basketball game.

the finished product.....Gingerbread house

King Andy with Chloe...see the snow outside...beautiful!

and the ladder....last year was the first year Andy put up lights on our roof. He's working ahead of schedule...they're already up for next Christmas!

The plate we made for Santa to eat his cake on.....

This year we'll make one for the reindeer to eat their veges on.

And some inside activities....

A train track

Playing Candyland while enjoying chocolate milk in front of the fireplace

Getting ready to leave to see Zoo Lights and have dinner with Santa

Random house picture with snow :)

Elf on the Shelf....one of his hiding places

Baby Jesus's birthday cake....served on the plate above that we made for Santa.

It's a train, of course!

Another craft that we can keep for next year and since they didn't want to pose for this picture I suggested "funny faces"...works every time!

Chloe celebrated her 1st birthday

An afternoon at the mall with mom

Spring gymnastics

Drake

Dane

Friends over for some sledding.

We have the perfect hill; we make it all they way down to the mail box.

So I say to Drake, "Lets go, put your shoes on." After we arrive I notice the shoes he chose.

Black goes with everything...even camouflage:)

The boys watching some morning TV.

Dane that CAN'T be comfortable!

Dane's Valentine Box

Drake's Valentine box

Andy and I at our Sweet Heart dinner with church.

Monster Truck Jam

Ready for our 1st day of skiing on this trip

Dane at the top of a mountain with us

Drake's 1st time on a big lift

More inside activities...

House decorations we made for Christmas

I chapperoned Dane's Kindergarden class to the Magic House

Mother Son Dance...it was SOOO Fun!

I can't wait for next year's

June already?

2011-06-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

Is it really June already? Have I really NOT posted anything in 6 months!

And don't expect many pictures...or any as a matter of fact, because it's been soooo long, I can't remember how to download them from my phone....ughhh.

So here's the briefing in narratiave form since Christmas. We took off from sports in the January and February months and went on a ski trip to Colorado. Dane is a blue/black skier and by the end of the trip Drake did a blue....that was awesome to watch them ski ahead of us...or behind us if it was a big hill (so we could catch them if they went too fast). We started off with Soccer in March; that ended in May and yesterday we had our first T-Ball games. Dane has officially graduated Kindergarten and Drake graduated Preschool. Though Drake won't start kindergaten until August 2012. So he's doing a pre-kindergarten program from his preschool for the 2 kids in his class who didn't make the birthday cut-offs. And that's okay because Drake and Reece are buds. Dane has made a ton of friends and has play dates often. It's a little weird dropping him off at friends' homes, but on the same token they come to our house too. He also had his first sleep-over at our house.

Andy continues to be a single-dad the majority of the time as I'm finishing up this MBA program....have I said that this go-around with graduate school is harder than the first one? It's NOT letting up. I start a 20-hour a week intern soon. So I am learning that sleep is over-rated and I can just do that when I die...which may be soon. On the positive side, I only have 5 1/2 months left! That's right...3 more classes (3 more A's)...12 more credits.......and then I'm done :)

Maybe after finals next week, Andy can re-show me how to download my photos and I'll post some....or alot. Til then, thanks for checking in.

Santa 2010

2010-12-01T19:49:00.000-08:00

Santa pictures this year were different for us. Usually we get to choose one pose and we order that one. Then as a bonus you and can pay extra for a thumb drive of that pose as well.

THIS year, we were able to purchase the thumb drive with ALL the poses. And because we were the ONLY family here at this time, Santa chatted with Dane and Drake for a long time and even helped them do a Santa craft they were giving out.

Thank you God

2010-11-12T08:02:00.000-08:00

We're staying at a hotel this week while our floors on the main level get repaired from our "little" flood in August. While we're at dinner at the restaurant we stop to say thank you to God (Grace) before eating. Dane is saying it. This is how it goes, "Thank you for Mom, Dad, Dane, Drake, T-Bone, Chloe, Goldie (the fish in Dane's room) and Mary had a little lamb." I stop Dane and tell him I don't want him to sing a nursery rhyme. He says, "Mom, that's what Drake named his fish, Mary Had a Little Lamb." So Mary Had a Little Lamb has now become a regular part of grace.

They make me smile:)

End of Summer activities...

2010-10-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

I realize it has been since August since I've written and up-dated everyone on our busy lives. So here's lots of pictures and some short commentary to go along with them.

while playing the boys did a unique balancing act with some of their favorite toys....

My heroes. And just because it's not summer, those goggles and water guns are still useful.

We went camping over Labor Day and not only did we pick out our "Bulls Eye" (the horse the boys got for their birthday), but we learned our puppy, Chloe, really, really, really likes swimming. Bulls Eye is a mare (a female), but the boys still insisted on calling our new Palemino Bulls Eye from Toy Story.

Dane had another birthday party. This one at BounceU with all his new Kindergarten friends. Here's the group picture with silly faces:)

Here's Dane sitting in the throne waiting to open his gifts. He's so excited, look at him clapping his hands. He also joined in and sang happy birthday to himself.

I went downstairs to work-out and came back upstairs afterwards to 2 of my boys asleep holding hands.

Awwwwwwwe, I love it!

Dane and Drake really scored big this summer with their birthdays.

In addition to the horse they also got this little 4-wheeler.

And see the garage...we have 4 vehicles....only 1 inside the garage!

Taking some time out for painting.

Drake painted a monster with the sun setting and rising.

Dane painted Train Tracks and a Challenger with a RxR sign and the sun.

Drake had a scooter accident in which he lost 3 BACK teeth.

That's what happens when you attempt a wheelie on a scooter! He was back on it the next day.

Say "Cheese!" He still has the blood on his shirt.

the tooth fairy "gave me 3 money's" he said the next morning.

The next day we went to Grant's Farm for a birthday party....

and Drakie bought "Clyde" with his "3 money's"

Here they are feeding the goats. Andy laughed at us because the goats kept eating our clothing even though we had bottles of milk for them. They really are ridiculous animals.

Posing, "ughhh, mom, do we have to?" Yes, if you want cake at the party:)

I'll get my pictures, and I'm not above bribery!

The group shot with Cooper, the Clydesdale behind them.

Last week Andy Chaperoned the preschool class to a pumpkin patch.

Dane got to go since he's in half-day kindergarten. It was with his teacher

from preschool last year.

Dane competed in a 1/2 mile Pumpkin run against his and another Kindergarten class. Here he is coming in 1st! His teacher told us he'd told her he'd come in first and when she asked why he thought that he replied, "Because I always do in P.E."

We made a bat house for a scary decoration while Andy was in Vegas...and who says I can't hammer and nail some wood together! We'll hang it up outside (minus the stickers) after Halloween.

Dane giving Drake a lift into a tree he wanted to climb. Maybe I'll dress them up as Thing 1 & Thing 2 again this Halloween:)

We have continued to have bon-fires and "redneck movie night" almost every week. With it getting cooler we've had 3-5 bon-fires a week. This particular night we are watching "How to Train a Dragon" projected onto our garage.

And it's that time of year again. Every October we do our hand stamps in the spare bedroom. I let the boys pick their color and which hand to stamp as well as where they'll stamp their hands (as long as the hands are next to each other.)

I call this the "hands of change"

This weekend Dane and Drake had their last games and got their trophies.

Drake played soccer and Dane played flagfootball.

Basketball starts in 2 weekends!

I can't believe it has been almost a year since I lost my dad. Here's my latest visit; the day was beautiful and the leaves were starting to turn beautiful colors.

So, why the big delay in posting on this blog? School, kids, life in general. But really it's mostly school; I am finishing up my 5th class in my MBA this week. I've got 7 more....almost 1/2 way done. December 2011 is my anticipated finish date. I've learned so much and I have so much more to learn.

August fun

2010-08-17T14:14:00.000-07:00

So much has happened in just a few weeks:

I celebrated my birthday last Wednesday and got a commercial grade spinner bike and tv to do spinning videos:

Drake and Dane got a pony for their birthday Friday. Drake's birthday was Saturday (he turned 4), Dane's is in a few weeks (he'll turn 6) and in between there, Andy will be celebrating his birthday as well. He'll be 50 (not really, but lets see how long until he notices I put that!)

sorry, I don't know how to rotate pics after they've been loaded. Just tilt ya head:)

enjoying the new and improved marble track:)

Last T-Ball game; they both got trophies!

and MOST importantly....TODAY was Dane's 1st day of Kindergarden!

He's in the pm class (1/2 day). Here we are waiting for the bus....

I'm in the middle of my finals week....then off to Florida on Friday with Emily for a week! Can't wait!

In a couple weeks the boys start sports up again. Dane is trying flag football and Drake is doing soccer again. Til then....

Summer Recap

2010-07-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, so said weekend from previous post was three weeks ago....so I warn you now....lots of pics. The boys have since finished soccer and are 3/4 of the way done with T-Ball, we've gone to California for a mini vacation and small family get-to-gether, Dane participated in a 45 minute play at church and sang ANOTHER solo (I'm so proud), I have finished another quarter (MBA) and am on my 3rd week of the next class, Dane and Drake have done 3 classes at the zoo and are starting Vacation Bible School at our church next week. I'm in charge of the preschool age and both boys are participating again.....fun.....busy.....fun! Now take a breath and enjoy the pictures....in no particular order because I can't figure out how to rearrange them quickly!

Famliy picture we took while out of town visiting friends in Jefferson City for the 4th of July.

Hanging with my Dad's side of the Family in California

Heading to the bay in San Francisco & crossing Golden Gate Bride

They couldn't be more thrilled to be in the car, again!

Back home, playing in the pool

T-Ball, 1st time at bat

Team Smola....

Notice Dane's croc's...he forgot his cleats:(

Father's day cake....the blob above "DAD" is a heart, hiding a gaping hole that collapsed shortly after the picture was taken!

Did I mention, we got a new puppy!....48 pounds at 4 months....Chloe is going to be huge! She already runs (and keeps up) with T-Bone and me. She's 1/2 Golden Retriever and 1/2 Yellow Lab. Such a sweetie.

Boys on the train at the zoo after one of their programs.

Next time you hear from us, we will have gone on another little vacation, particpated in Vacation Bible School and I will have finished or be close to finishing another quarter of my MBA.

Oh, and Dane starts kindergarden in August....he gets to have a kindergarden orientation ride on the school bus in a few weeks. He is so excited!

Where have I been?

2010-06-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Blogger friends-

I have a confession to make. I've been having an affair with Facebook....yes....facebook. It's like this, I'm busy with my MBA, the boys are both in T-Ball and it's so easy to take a picture and post it on facebook. I promise I'll make it up to you with pictures from our Sacramento trip, Dane's solo at church and T-Ball pics this weekend.
Til then, please forgive me....or facebook me:)

More First's

2010-05-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

We've had several firsts around here again....

Dane played his first piano solo, but unfortunately I can't get the video to load and wouldn't you know it, I did not take one picture if him playing :(

Drake was in his first play with preschool....

Drake rode his bike WITHOUT training wheels....he's 3!

We also had an employee appreciation BBQ with a live band. The BBQ wasn't a 1st, we do those every quarter, but the band part was new. It was fun. Lots of food and drinks and great company AND one lucky person took home a Net Book and everyone else got 3 boxes of yummy Girl Scout Cookies...so glad those things are gone. I could hear them calling my name at night....around 8:30pm.

I started my 2nd semester of my MBA....2 A's down, 10 more to go!

Catching up to Spring

2010-04-12T15:27:00.000-07:00

Here I am playing catch-up with pictures: Here's the things we've been doing and in absolutely no particular order! Enjoy....

Here's Dane pulling Drake (and T-Bone, why should the kids have all the fun:)

Dane made St. Patrick's Day Rice Krispee Treats

Both boys hitched a ride with Dad back up the hill. Notice Dad is now pulling both the wagon and bike!

eating candy necklaces we made...check out the strain on their little faces...

Easter Morning

Easter Egg hunting with Aspen

We had breakfast with the Easter Bunny at the zoo; and of course we stayed a while

A couple activities Drake and I did while Dane was at preschool

Another Easter Egg hunt, with the bunny this time (above)

Decorating my Christmas trees with Easter Eggs- notice the level of the eggs...funny. Of course I evened them out a little bit:)

Heading out for a stroll to the creek with bikes, scooters and of course T-Bone:)

Drake's 1st spring soccer game

The boys made a bunny hutch

Drake's last day of gymnastics; he's jumping to the high bar!

Andy Teaching Dane to target shoot his pellet gun

Drake's last day of swimming lessons

We made good use of the beautiful Good Friday; we went to Lone Elk park and then went to a model airplane air show...The boys loved it.

Dane's 1st spring soccer game.

Busy

2010-03-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

I started another master's degree Monday (MBA-Entrepreneurship emphasis), so until I get the swing of things it may be a while....we are still busy:

Monday - swimming lessons for both
Tuesday/Thursday- preschool & spanish class for both
Wednesday- preschool for Dane & gymnastics for Drake
Saturday- Basketball for Dane

In three weeks soccer starts for both of them:)

Right now Andy is enrolling Dane in kindergarden.....wasn't he just born!

4 skiers this trip!

2010-02-21T18:49:00.000-08:00

This was by the elevator on a luggage rack. Of course Andy took a picture of it: He said, "Nothing good can come of a beer can and a rubber glove."

Here are all 3 of my boys in their matching snow suits, ready to go skiing:)
Notice the marble run in front of the fireplace...Drake got that for Christmas; he plays with it for hours by himself, literally, hours! I make a new design for him every day, because that's my fun in it. Much like the wooden Thomas/Brio track system; it's an addiction. They lay down for a nap and wake to a new set-up.

Here's Drake patiently waiting for his ski instructor. Right outside that window is a tunnel coming out of the mountain that trains came through several times a day. Very exciting for all of us to ski and see the train at the bottom of the hill.

And here's Dane getting ready to meet up with his instructor.

The 2nd day Dane skied with Andy and I. When he got tired he would just sit down, so I sat down with him. I'm waving at Daddy who is waiting for us. One thing about Dane is he's got my energy and attention span, so we never sat more than a minute.

Here we are at a restaurant 1/2 way down the mountain having some soup and hot chocolate.
Please, no comments on the no make-up and hat head!

And lastly, we left on Valentines day for our trip. Here's a card the boys made for me (with Andy's help). Andy made one for me also, but that's for MY eyes only *wink*

Colorado

2010-02-15T20:02:00.000-08:00

We have arrived....in Winterpark, Colorado. We're staying at our usual home away from home - Zypher Lodge; ski in, ski out. Drake changed his mind and said he wants to ski. So both boys are taking lessons tomorrow and then Dane will ski with us and we'll see if Drake wants to continue or hang back at the condo for the remainder of our trip.
I'll post pics when we get home.

It's snowing!

All about Dane...

2010-02-08T11:08:00.000-08:00

Dane had a pretty good weekend...Saturday morning was his B-Ball game, the Monster Jam Saturday night (see previous entry) and Sunday morning he performed during 2 services at our church. At the whopping age of 5 we're going to have to get him a calendar to keep all his appointments straight.
That's Dane in the black jersey on the far right going after the ball...
He's the one in the #1 jersey...He's #1 in my book too!

For those who haven't seen Dane in a while, he's in the front row in the striped, collared shirt.

In addition to B-Ball and Kidz Jam (choir for kids), Dane takes piano lessons on Wednesdays and both boys are also in Spanish on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Drake has gymnastics on Wednesdays and in March Soccer starts up for both of them. It sounds kind of crazy, but I always make sure there's only one sport going on at a time for each of them and piano and spanish are always on-going.

whew, can't wait for our ski trip...in 5 days!!!!! Dane will be taking lessons the first day again and Drake's going to hang out...next year he can hit the slopes with us. *smile*

Monster Jam!

2010-02-08T10:55:00.000-08:00

We went to the Monster Jam last night. I expected loud engines, expensive hotdogs, terrible traffic and boys intersted for 1/2 of it.
What I got: all of the above, plus the boys enjoyed it the whole time and I have to admit...it was kind of exciting seeing the trucks go airborne and crash the cars.
Ya, we'll go again next year *smile*

Basketball season

2010-02-01T14:23:00.000-08:00

Basketball season has started for Dane. He had his 1st practice and game last Saturday. Dribbling is hard, but he can score without a hitch! And watch out other players because he's NOT watching out for you! Here's some high-lights of the game: practicing... Running/dribbling down the court... Scoring! Running back to defend hoop after score:) And last, but not least, here's a video of another one of his scores with a little victory dance to end it with...but no time to celebrate...get back down to the other side of the court!

*forget the video...after 2 hours of it "uploading", I've given up*

Most importantly Dane had fun and can't wait to play again. It was hilarious watching the kids. Much like in soccer, it was a swarm of kids following a ball around and upon catching up to it, most would fall on it or run with it in their arms. So funny!

Sacramento & Welcome Home

2010-02-01T09:48:00.000-08:00

I purchased books for each of the grandparents to fill out for Dane and Drake. It asks about their lives: 1st pet, family traditions, best childhood friend, what's it like to be a grandparent, advice for Dane & Drake...etc. It was my intention to give it to each grandparent for Christmas for them to fill out and give to "D" boys at a later time. My dad died right before Thanksgiving, so I did the next best thing to fill it out for him.....I went to Sacramento, CA last weekend and had my uncles (Dad's brothers) help me fill it out. Uncle Kenneth is older and Uncle Dale is younger than dad. It was an amazing trip. A trip with lots of tears, but so good to connect with family, I played cards with my cousins on Saturday night and all of us girls went out to eat Sushi Sunday. It meant so much to me that everyone took me in under their wings and shared such good memories with me.

Uncle Dale, Renee, Uncle Kenneth

My plane arrived in St. Louis at 11:15pm and I got home a little after 1am...This is what I found on the kitchen table. *smile*

The Christmas run-down

2010-01-16T16:56:00.000-08:00

We've been busy, along with the rest of our friends and family. We're just now coming down from the blur of 4 birthdays leading to Halloween, Thanksgiving and then Christmas. In the middle of that we finished our basement and I applied and reviewed different graduate schools. In saying that, I've got all of our decorations down, except our tree. It's been ornament-free for a week, but it's still standing proud. Maybe this weekend I'll get to it. Naaa *smirk*

We moved our business office out of our study and into our basement which is finshed except for doors and trim-work. So that's the excuse I'm using for not posting pics since before Christmas. And since I start a 2nd master's degree program in March things may slow down til I get in the groove of that life again too. Graduate school was easy when I was 21 and husband, kid and business free...oh, and lots of beer too.

And on to what you're all waiting for...

Our annual dinner with Santa and Zoo-Lights:

My boys can't be growing that fast! That must be a dwarf santa!

Christmas Eve:
1st thing Christmas Eve morning Dane says, "Mom, do we get to open a gift now? You said we could on Christmas Eve!" I explained we would after church and before bed and blah, blah, blah. To which he replies, "But if we open them at night we can't play with them all day." He made a good point...here they are opening gifts on Christmas Eve morning :)
Say "cheese!"

Aaaand....Go.....

And here they are setting a piece of Jesus' birthday cake out for Santa.

Christmas day:
Our pictures are numerous, though they are mostly of the back of little heads or a proud little boy holding up a gift received and smiling really big...with the gift in front of their face! So here's a good one with their puppy shoes. Sorry 'bout needing to do the sideways head tilt.

And even T-Bone scored some snacks from Santa!

4 more days!

2009-12-20T11:08:00.001-08:00

Uncle Danny and the boys making a gingerbread house:

We had our 1st "snow" yesterday...a mere 1 1/2 inches, but Dane and Drake insisted on sledding. So after playing outside for a while we headed in for hot chocolate and a Christmas special...Dane pulled an "Andy" and fell alseep half way through.

Dane performed this morning at church. He did great and belted out the song at the 9:15am service. Dane cried during the 10:30 service performance because the kids waited on stage in front of everyone to perform for a long time. He said he "got freaked out." He watched his friends perform with us and clapped for them when they were done. He's singing again at the Christmas eve service.

Our traditional family Christmas photo in front of the tree at our church.

Have a very Merry Christmas and happy Birthday Jesus.

Getting ready for Christmas

2009-12-16T18:18:00.000-08:00

Andy had a boys' night out...they (Dane, Drake and Andy ) dressed up, went out to eat, went to a movie and then got this picture...a great night had by all! Andy wants to make it a weekly event...Again, fine by all. Our 2009 Santa Picture:

Though both boys dress up with the costumes I find every year on clearance, Drake still usually chooses superman (his Halloween costume) Here they are after helping me decorate our tree.

We also made an attempt to make a Gingerbread Christmas tree...in the past our ginger breadhouse was lopsided so I thought I'd try something new. Maybe we should try the gingerbread house again! Every once in a while I catch Dane sneaking candy off of it...yuck.

Here is life with "D" Boys....Dane threw a beanie baby kitty from our balcony and it landed on our ceiling fan in our great room. He comes in and tells me what he did and Drake is noticably upset (this just happens to be the kitty he carries around and sleeps with, well not anymore!) The cat is stuck in the fan. Here's the close up from the balcony about 12 feet away.

and here's the one from below...I don't know how Dane got it up there, I think he was aiming to, well really I don't know what he was aiming to do.

Andy's response...turn the fan on high and make it fling off...that didn't work. We all watched from below as it spun faster and faster. Andy's 2nd response..."well, we needed to buy scaffolding anyway to change that lightbulb." Hmmm, I like his way of thinking; I want some new clothes, guess I'll buy that mall I've been dreaming about heading to lately! Just kidding, Andy *smile*

By the way, the kitty is still up there (2 weeks and holding) and Drake is now carrying around a new kitty he got the night of Boys Night Out.

Til we meet again "Fishing Grandpa"

2009-11-28T09:47:00.000-08:00

On November 14th the boys and I headed to my Dad's house for a visit and lunch. When I called to tell him we were on our way, my neice answered crying. I then heard a loud noise in the background. She informed me my Dad had a heart attack and the noise was the helicopter air-lifting him out.

My route was redirected to the hospital. That is where I learned the shocking news: my dad didn't have a heart attack, but the cancer in his lungs made him quit breathing and without air his heart stopped. WHAT!?! Cancer? The doctor proceded to inform us about his stage 4 cancer throughout everything in his body (blood, bones, lunges, brain, liver, kidney, tibia, you name it, he listed it). Dad had been informed of this 3 months ago, but didn't tell anyone.

By this time Andy had made it to the hospital. It was opening day of deer season, but I was able to get ahold of him. Emily had my boys at her house. I could focus on my dad. I sat and held his hand. Since we didnt' know the extent of damage from the lack of oxygen the hospital was going to run some tests. Andy went back to St. Louis to get suitcases for all 4 of us. My brother drove Janice back home to Dad's and I stayed at the hospital with Dad. While they did the tests I went and had dinner with Dane and Drake.

Upon arrival back at the hospital I was informed Dad had extensive damage and won't recover. By this time he was having seizures from the brain stem having damage and medicine wasn't controlling them. I knew what to do...I called my brother and sister. At this time my sister had left Virginia and was in the mountains of West Virginia heading our way. Dad was only surviving because of the oxygen tube. I explained to dad we were going to ful-fill his wishes in his living will and I played Kenny Rogers on my I-Phone. I prayed with him and I laid my head on his chest and held his hand.

It was very calm and they way I knew he'd want to go; with his country music and a loved one holding him. Dad, I'll forever miss you and Dane and Drake will always have their wagons, fishing poles, tackle boxes, but most of we'll have their memories.

We love you Dad & Grandpa
pictures from our last camping/fishing trip at the farm...

Mopping the Floor

2009-10-29T13:31:00.000-07:00

Boo at the Zoo, "Dry" Party & Gymnastics

2009-10-29T12:56:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was Boo at the Zoo. Let me explain what that really means in Andy's terms "Hundreds of other kids willing to sacrifice my boys for a piece of candy!" But guess what? We have done it every year since Dane could walk. So here they are getting in their first line to get candy.
From the front...

From behind...Drake puts his whole head in there.

We met up with Aspen and her parents (Bill and Mary)
Ring a Round the Rosie...

And we all rode the train together

Family picture before saying goodbye

Must have been a good day!

I made a deal with Dane: "Have a dry pull-up for 10 days, not in a row, and we'll have a party" So it took a few weeks, but with putting stickers on his calendar we finally got 10 stickers. And because it's close to Halloween that was the theme of our party.

Drake started gymnastics last night. He's been trying to do gymnastics with Dane since Dane started, but you have to be 3 years old.

And you can't have the fall without Caramel Apples. Plus what am I going to do with all of the ones we got at the orchard?

Fall Activities

2009-10-13T12:30:00.001-07:00

We've been staying busy with Andy gone; since I have alot of energy and ideas it's fairly easy.
Here's a fun kit I found. It's like a gingerbread house but haunted and made of foam material:

Drake tired and not in the mood to smile

But, now he will....it's a new day:)

My superheros

I shouldn't be surprised that they stood and took a picture and that was 20 seconds too long...time to wrestle...

Hot chocolate in front of the fire

Yesterday we went to an orchard and here they are going through the corn maze. I thought it was huge until I went on Dane's field trip with his preschool this morning... THAT is a HUGE cornfield maze (7 acres huge). We are for sure taking Andy there this weekend.

Hands of Change...in the spare bedroom. They insisted on putting this years' hand prints next to last years. I like things to be symmetrical so I was hoping they'd chose a different wall. But it's like the Christmas tree; if I say they can help decorate I have to leave the ornaments where they place them all...at my knee level!

Vegas Baby, Vegas

2009-10-12T20:17:00.000-07:00

Andy's in Vegas with the guys. He left early Saturday and will return home in 2 more days. We've kept ourselves busy, but it's not the same as when Dad's with us. Sure, we did our regulars: went to Six Flags and the pumpkin patch and church, did some crafts, had movie night and visted with friends, but without Dad with us, there's a small void.

Dane sang in church this past Sunday and wore his first tie; I had to buy a clip-on because I don't know how to tie one. I can guarantee there wouldn't have been a clip-on if Dad was home. But did anyone care or even notice? No! And Dane was proud to dress like Daddy.

2 more 1sts

2009-10-03T13:20:00.001-07:00

Our first 1st: Dane has started playing soccer and had his 1st soccer game last Saturday.

Here's Dane getting his pre-game single and team pictures (another way for us parents to spend our money on photos of our little ones:)

Now practicing...

The pre-game pledge, "I promise to play nicely, and fair, ....."

Dane as the goalie...

"high five, good game, high five, good game,...

Feeling proud after his 1st game...

The above pictures are all of last week. Here's a picture before today's game...And Dane scored 3 of the 5 goals today! (I only saw two of them)

And now for our Second 1st: We visited the Emergency Room last weekend. Drake was chasing a Nerf football and tripped and fell, hitting his head on the concrete step on our front porch. That probably wouldn't have warranted the visit, but the small rock (shaped like an arrowhead) that made a puncture wound into his forehead did make the ER visit a requirement. Good news-no stitches, just some glue and a grape Popsicle and a new bathtub toy they let him bring home (large serenge they cleaned wound with). So here he is sporting his spider man band aide over the hospital tape and glue.

Disney Cruise

2009-09-26T13:56:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing time on our 7 day Disney cruise. It was the first time we have traveled pager and cell phone free. NO WORK, not even if we wanted to because we had NO service. And another bonus - because we booked through the military we got a coupon for a 5 day vacation condo in the US, Mexico or Canada. We just have to pay for airfare; we're thinking we'll return to Mexico in January so we'll be tan for our February ski trip:)

We had a few glitches: Both boys started the trip out with ear aches (discovered Dane's because his hurt on the flight down and Drake developed a fever our 1st night.) Both were seen at urgent care (yes, the ship has this...for a special cost of ridiculous). After the first day of antibiotics all was good. Then upon arriving home we discovered our luggage didn't; they delivered it the next night to our home. Again all was good. AND when we got to our Durango at the airport parking lot the tire was very low; luckily there was a gas station close by and we aired up. Andy purchased a warranty with the tires and it was fixed the next day. So once again, all good!

Warning-I had ALOT of pictures to choose from (not including the professional shots we just HAD to buy!) and I did my best to narrow it down to these...enjoy

On the plane watching a movie

A visit with the Captain during a brief lay-over

Our 1st night; we came back from dinner and our host had turned down our beds and had this elephant creature waiting for us.

our 3rd day we stopped at Tortola (British Virgin Island)

Drakie's done, spell it with me: D O N E, done!

Monkey!

Us in St. Thomas; one of the islands Andy and I spent a week at for our honeymoon. We drove by our resort and went to the same beach with the boys. Still beautiful as ever.

Breakfast with the characters (Dane and Drake stayed in their superman pj's) They fit in nicely.

There's Mickey; he'll be over here soon!

While waiting our waiter made character hats for all of us. Drake had a Goofy hat and Dane had Peter Pan's. We are unsure what ours were.

Hi Mickey Mouse!

The Mickey Mouse pool

Dane coming down the Mickey Mouse slide

now Drake's turn

Our sunset dinner; we opted not to eat in the formal dining room and eat pizza and burgers on the top deck. Lots of reasons this was my favorite dinner: the sunset, the boys could get up and play and not have to sit through appetizers, salads, dinner and dessert and immmediately after we ate, we jumped in the Mickey Mouse pool that we had to ourselves.

A lobster creature; coincidently I ate lobster for dinner and it was mmm mmm good

This was the first time they experienced bunk beds; they would rush in the room to watch cartoons from the top. By the way, the TV had only Disney shows, cartoons, movies...

Our 3rd island stop, Disney's island, Castaway Cay. This was Dane's first time snorkling; he caught on pretty quick. They had all kinds of things to view down there (Mickey and Minnie with a buried treasure and sunken ships) Disney goes all out and thinks of everything.

Drake fell asleep again. This time as we were heading back to get on the ship.

Bunny!

At the airport heading home. Notice a pattern of Drake "resting"? We kept them busy!

Drake didn't make it; he fell asleep before take-off and didn't wake up until we landed!

Dane and I playing games on my phone.

Finally a picture of Dane asleep, in the car on the way home from the airport.

Sweet moments

2009-09-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

We rarely have down time at our house. And it's not completely because of the boys; sometimes THEY have trouble keeping up with ME. And Andy, well forget it, he'll never keep up with the boys (specifically Dane) and me.
My point here, it was a cool evening and Dane had a swollen lymph node (see the heating pad cord on the right). He was resting and watching a movie and Drake wanted to cuddle and watch with him.
They actually stayed in this position long enough for me to catch pictures. TV does that to kids...it zombifies them. I don't even know if they knew I took the pictures.
Look at Drake's hands behind his head like a little man*smile*

All set...

2009-09-06T12:29:00.001-07:00

With fall just around the corner, Andy set up one of his birthday presents (the tree stand)

Now all we have to do is spread a little corn....
Here Andy is helping the boys fill their beach buckets up with corn so they can spread it around...

No, not like THAT Drake!

You can almost hear Andy's sigh (and my giggle) when you see this. Sometimes they do such silly things and as frustrating as it is you just have to smile.
Here, watch Dane.

see one of my salt licks on the left; Andy had them put corn next to it

Happy 5th Birthday Dane

2009-09-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

Dane had 3 birthday parties.

One last Friday featuring Reddy Freddy our clown...by the way, that's a frog on his head

With a Monster Truck Cake and Theme

One at home on his actual birthday in which he helped make and decorate his cupcakes

We also got Drake a gift to open when Dane opened his last one (Dane had the same privilege on Drake's birthday)

Ready, Set...

GO!

And one at school today with his friends. Whew, we've had enough sugar to last us until next August when we all have our birthdays again!

I think between the boys' birthday parties we have most of what Thomas the Train has to offer...here's part of the set-up we did after their last party. I couldn't fit the whole track in one picture from one angle. I must admit it's addicting coming up with the endless possible ways to set them up. I used to wait until they'd go to sleep for a nap and have a new design ready when they'd wake up.

Andy's birthday

2009-09-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

Here's the cake the boys decorated for Dad...there's sprinkles and the circle things are balloons.

Smile, it's going to be as yummy as it looks. We love you!

Dane's a big helper

2009-08-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

We are finishing our basement to move our business downstairs instead of it occupying our study upstairs. Dane asked if he could help me paint..."Sure," I said, "just don't paint above the line I've drawn." A little bit later he says, "Look mom, it's my name!"

Yes it is! That's my boy, using every opportunity to learn and practice. And yes, he helped paint the weight room and the bathroom too. He's very eager to help and he does a great job. He stays slightly ahead of me and I paint right behind him. It works nicely. Next weekend we'll aim for the foyer and extra play room, if the contractors have the doors and trim-work sprayed.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Drake

2009-08-23T18:04:00.000-07:00

Dane woke up slightly earlier and climbed into bed with us. We rehearsed Dane saying "1, 2, 3" and us singing happy birthday when Drake came in to join us. What Drake did was not expected: he got embarrassed and got low to the ground and crawled (military style) to our bed and hid under there. We coached him out with presents.

We then spent the day at the Water Park at Six Flags, came home home had a small party. He enjoyed us singing to him this time. Maybe the cake had him preoccupied.

The following day was his party at the train station where Dane had his 3rd birthday as well. Lots of Drake's friends from school and church joined us as well as grandparents and our good friends.

This time he joined us in singing.

We were even fortunate enough to have a spot next to Dane's hand print (after 2 years) to put Drake's hand print. A fun time for all.

See you next week to show off pics of Dane's birthday.

Washington DC

2009-08-15T06:40:00.000-07:00

We just got back a couple weeks ago from Washington DC for 10 days. But before that look at this adorable project Daddy, Dane and Drake did on Father's day.

This was the 1st time Drake flew in an airplane (outside the womb). Dane's a pro and did 4 flights in his 1st year and a half of life. And frankly it was uneventful...they had more fun in the airport watching them take off. Though we did have an hour delay on the runway in DC due to weather and both boys did AMAZING! Andy and I have to take some credit for doing puzzles and reading the same few books we had with us numerous times, but really for 2 and 4 year olds sitting in a hot plane being buckled without incident was a great task for them and they did it well.

While in DC we stayed with my sister and brother-in-law (Sharon and Lyle). We hit DC as tourists 3 solid days and took the metro (Bullet train as Dane calls it) 2 of the days. We did the whole tourist thing: hit all the museums, rode the double decker tour bus, went to the memorials and landmarks. It was nice to hang out at Sharon's pool a couple days. The real purpose of the trip was for Andy and I to attend the American Mental Health Counselor Assoc. annual conference, so for the 2 days we did that we stayed at the hotel and the Boys stayed with Lyle's daughter and husband (Michelle and BJ). The boys had lots of fun with them too: Chuckie cheese, making cookies, the Smithsonian zoo and another Dinosaur museum. Maybe that's why sitting in the plane for an extra hour on the way home wasn't too bad, we were all TIRED!

And please excuse the pics that require you tilting your head to view; I've yet to master rotating the pictures on the blog.

Last week the boys were outside riding bikes and eating a snack while I got my swimsuit on to go swimming with them. When I got outside I found them like this:

Eating their snack in the wheelbarrel together. Also note, my new 4-door jeep right behind them! Now we've got his and her jeeps. His has the 4 inch lift and big 35" tires and extra stuff on front and back for pulling jeeps out of precarious places (I don't know about that stuff*smirk*). Mine on the other hand has 4 doors, 2 car seats and nothing jacked up. His is fun, mine is....well it's more my style:)

View next week for Drake's 3rd birthday pics:)

Summer so far

2009-07-13T16:53:00.000-07:00

I realize it's been a while; I'll make no excuses, we've been busy having fun! Since my last entry, we've had Easter (3 egg hunts), Mother's and Father's Day, Swimming lessons, Dane's 1st school performance, Thomas the Train came to town and so did the Circus, Dane's preschool gradutaion (during their performance they sang their ABC's and a number song in Spanish and rehearsed the Pledge of Allegiance, so cute!), went on a 2 week vacation to St. Pete Beach, Florida (we drove and hit all kinds of places down and on the way back. It helps that we are Zoo members and have Six Flags season passes which means we get in free to all the others around the US. FYI, the Atlanta Six Flags is HUGE), our trips to the St. Louis zoo and Six Flags, our long Lake Weekend when we rented the 24 foot pontoon boat for the weekend, Uncle Danny visited and in 4 short days we leave for Washington DC. Here's a few (ha ha, a few, ya right) pictures of us enjoying our summer so far:

Dane's preschool graduation, I can barely hold him*smile*

Drake sleeping with some of his cars

"It's safe, mommy." Dane assures me...so I let them ride a couple more rounds so I could get some pics and a short video, then they had to get down!

The infamous "take it yourself" picture on the Train at the STL zoo

I'm a butterfly!

During Intermission at the Thomas the Train show

Easter Candy before church, bet their teachers had a grand morning with all the sugar high kids hunting for even more easter egss filled with candy

Sharing Raspberry Oatmeal

Drake potty training, he likes to wear my winter snow boots

Napping on the boat

cuddle time with Dane

indepth talk with Drake

Uncle Danny riding with Drake

Uncle Danny riding with Dane

Short break on way home from Florida at Chatanooga Choo Choo

Aquarium at Tampa

Riding scooters at the beach front

Ready to go in their Monster Truck shirts

Pirates on the Pirate cruise...well worth the money: 2 hours of water gun fights, treasure hunts, pirates telling stories, shooting off canyons and getting tattoos before walking the plank!

Happy Easter

2009-05-04T07:51:00.001-07:00

No tears this time....BIG accomplishment

Two 1sts

2009-03-31T19:08:00.000-07:00

The first 1st:
Last Sunday after church, we loaded up our bikes and took the boys on a bike ride at a park...not just in our neighborhood for a mile to the creek and back, but a ride where we stopped and had a picnic and then road back to the car. They did great. Granted it was only 2 miles, but they have little legs and bikes without gears. And Drake has also graduated from a tricycle to a big boy bike with training wheels; pretty good for a 2 1/2 year old. And of course Dane now has an even bigger boy bike and since he told us he didn't need his training wheels last summer, he's learning to do small tricks on his bike...skid marks are his favorite.

The Second 1st
We took the boys to the circus a couple nights ago. Lots of fun. Neither of them liked cotton candy, they each got a toy, and now T-Bone isn't as spectacular because, "T-Bone doesn't do THAT!" And Dane's right, T-Bone doesn't jump hurdles and ride a bike.

Both boys started to cry when we went to get their face painted; thankfully they refunded our money, we learned clowns ARE scary looking and oh, no elephant rides because Andy's afraid of them as much as I'm afraid of coyotes!

Monster Truck

2009-03-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

And just when I thought my little boy was growing up....
I can breath a small sigh, until next time he tells me "Don't help me mom, I can do it myself!"

O'Boys

2009-03-18T11:46:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I did the horrible thing of not sending either of my boys to "work" (that's what they call the learning center) without wearing green! And I also went to work not wearing green! What the heck was I thinking!

It's not that I forgot it was St. Patrick's Day; we made green cake the night before. The color didn't deter them, unlike the green catsup a few years ago deterred Andy and I. Remember that? Heinz even came out with purple catsup. I bought both colors and ended up throwing it away; Andy and I couldn't enjoy it, even with our eyes closed!

Anyway, here's the green cake pics:

And after our walk today, we planted some flower seeds in a pot. Dane's been asking about planting flowers for a while and it's a little too soon for me to start our garden. We can bring the pot in if it gets cold. Then I drew an extensive highway system on our driveway. It had passing lanes, stoplights, our church, Wal-Mart and a carwash...who knew you could be so creative with sidewalk chalk. Most of it was their ideas and I just following out their requests. Kids have such a good imagination. That kept them occupied for 3 hours. It's supposed to rain tonight; we'll make a new creation tomorrow!

I'm not tired

2009-03-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

Here's our "I'm a big boy now" Dane. He informed us he's not tired and doesn't need a nap; not even "rest time, really mom, I'm not tired". We were making a bon-fire and preparing for red-neck movie night with our projector and garage door (Bolt was the featured film). Andy told Dane to go sit by the fire and wait there while he went to get him marshmellows to roast...upon arrival back at the bon-fire, this is what we found:

2008 in summary

2009-03-12T18:29:00.000-07:00

here's a link to see our 2008 in a summarized form...and believe me, I had trouble narrowing it down to these pictures. I like to think it's because my boys are so photogenic!

Enjoy....
and Grandma, order away!

http://photos.walmart.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=43625715/a=3321707/t_=3321707

Ski trip

2009-02-23T13:03:00.000-08:00

Winter Park, Colorado
This ski trip is the start of a great family tradition. Besides my guilty feelings of Drake hanging back at the condo with Heidi while we skied and Dane being in full-day lessons for 2 days I think over-all the trip was a hit with everyone. The 3rd day Dane was given the go-ahead to ski with us. We purchased one of those little harness things to keep him from "getting away" from us on the mountains and he skied with us. At one point Dane told me to quit holding him back because he wanted to go faster...not yet little boy!

Making due with condo kitchen supplies in the tub...I didn't think of packing tub toys.

Dane on the Magic Carpet...adorable ...little kids ride the escalator up the little slope and snowplow down..so cute, I'll try to attach a video of it.

Me getting a little cuddle time between my skiing with my boys. Heidi brought Drake down to watch Dane do his lessons between them playing on the playground. There was plenty for them to do around the resort.

Andy and I at the top of Mary Jane...we were above the tree line and you can see the clouds right behind us. Beautiful view and very fun skiing down to the bottom. Atleast 20 minutes of skiing without needing to get on another lift.

Family photo taken right outside our condo. We could put our skis on and ski to the lift and at the end of the day, ski right to our door. The retaining wall to the left is where the hot-tubs are...need I say more!

Drake looking out condo windo. We had a great 2 bedrooom condo with full kitchen. The most amazing part was the access to the mountain and our views.

1st time out with mom and dad...Dane barely slept the night before and didn't want to nap, though the meltdown on the mountain reminded us he's 4 and needs his sleep.

Taken right before Dane got on his 1st lift!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-22T14:31:00.000-08:00

We were in Colorado during Valentine's day, but here's some fun quickie things we did to celebrate prior to our departure and right after we came home:

Our "heart" cake:

Our card we made for daddy...I traced our hands and made in the sign-language sign that means "I Love You."

when I got out of the shower Andy had "tattooed" a heart with mom on a ribbon as a tribute to me...3 days later the marker is still there. Dane is very proud of it:)

Sharing candy from their school parties at the condo:

Colorado pictures to come soon.

Christmas...late or early?

2009-02-09T16:34:00.000-08:00

Didn't I promise pictures from Christmas last month? Well now that we're approaching Valentine's day I'll just consider myself early for next year. In the mean time here are some pictures of our winter time days:) We got just under a foot of snow last week, but those pictures haven't been down-loaded yet. Oh, and exciting news before we scroll down through the photos...we're leaving for Colorado in 3 days. We're doing ski-in-ski-out at Winter Park; it's become our favorite ski resort. Dane's going to take lessons and Drake will hang back at the condo with Heidi.

Reindeer made out of little hands and feet; check-out Dane's hat!

Zoo lights and dinner with Santa and his crew...more characters than I can name visited us during dinner.

Drakie cleaning; notice the goggles, they're from his garagae tool kit!

enjoying hot cocoa and admiring our gingerbread house and marshmellow family. And now Dane is wearing his goggles from his tool kit. There for a while Dane wore them EVERYWHERE, including church, but God doesn't care, so we don't either *smile*

Grooming T-Bone. He's such a good dog; look how thrilled he is NOT.

chowing down on candy necklaces they made. 1st time I ever saw that kit before. It was loads of fun and they still ask to make them (mostly so they can eat the candy)

Bike riding; it's not just for warm, sunny days anymore!

Baby Jesus' birthday cake. I bought special icing so we could out-line the cake and make the train features stand-out...bad idea, it tasted horrible. After the picture, I iced the whole thing over with chocolate icing, just the way my 3 boys like it. Santa enjoyed it too.

Appendectomy, AGAIN!

2008-12-30T18:35:00.004-08:00

No, not Andy; his appendectomy was in August. This was my sister's. Her appendix burst and had an appendectomy on Christmas. I'm currently in Virginia taking care of her. The doctor released her from the hospital today with drainage tubes and 5 prescriptions to keep track of. Sharon is well and healing here on the east coast.

The other part of the story here is that my amazing and selfless husband cancelled his trip to Florida (a guys trip over New Years to ride Harley's on the beach) so he could stay home and manage our business and be with our boys so I could help my sister. AND he did it without even telling me first. He just came home and told me I needed to fly out there and that he'd already called and cancelled. Words will never be able to explain how much he gave up (he loves Harleys and one of our fondest memories is riding along the beach in Maui).

For those of you awaiting Christmas pictures: when I get home next weekend:)

happy Thanksgiving

2008-12-11T11:53:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are still around; I'll keep the excuses for not blogging short....we're busy...business is booming (hiring 2 more employees hopefully this week), Aunt Sharon visited for a week,
Thanksgiving, AND Dane had the flu (on Thanksgiving Day...thanks cousin Genie for helping with clean up!) Drake got it next day:(

Side note: I got this grand idea from a friend who did it with her children to make a Thanksgiving Turkey using fruit and cheese as the "feathers"...and THIS is the reason we were 2 hours late to our family's for dinner.

Christmas decorating, and of course relaxing in front of the fire place drinking hot chocolate after playing in the snow.

Oh, and visiting Santa...no tears this time, so it didn't have to be a family pic.

The animals are loose!

2008-11-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

Dane was a giraffe and Drake was a monkey...he's too young to object to wearing hand-me-down outfits (Dane was a monkey when he was 2)...and I broke my rule of not paying a rediculous price for a halloween coustume because it's only worn once and the next one may not want to wear it, blah, blah, blah....Dane insisted on being a giraffe...we tried everything, whatever we could find at the many stores we searched. I finally found a lion and suggested that since he's the KING of the jungle he should consider being a big, strong lion..."No, lions are mean, I want to be a giraffe." Argue with THAT logic! So I went on-line and paid an outrageous price and when he asked if he could wear it every day for 2 weeks before Halloween, I said YES! And on Thanksgiving if he wants to be a giraffe, I'll let him!

Over-all Dane went trick-or-treating 5 times and Drake 4 times...I'm going to start selling our candy stash in bulk on e-bay. And it's the good candy, not just little dum dums or candy corns...in case you're interested in bidding *wink wink*

I didn't take pictures of the Halloween party at our church for the choir kiddos and Dane went on a field trip with his school to a local nursing home and trick-or-treated. I think there's enough below...

Here's a "few" pics of Boo at the Zoo. Our friends Bill and Mary and their daugther, Aspen, (the kangaroo with a little joey in her pouch) joined us.

Hey, give us that bag so everyone will look at the camera...

Dane, turn around...

numerous shots later, say cheeeeese!

WAY past nap time...

We also did Trunk or Treat at our subdivision. Because each house in our subdivision sits on a minimum of 3 acres it's nearly impossible to hit each house on Halloween. Se we decorate our trunks and trunk or treat the Saturday prior to Halloween.
The straw maze

All the kiddos

Our trunk

And because we didn't have enough candy from that weekend, on Halloween we went to our old subdivision with our previous neighbors/friends and did the hayride around that subdivision.

Peep Peep, here comes Thomas!

2008-11-07T14:30:00.000-08:00

A couple weekends ago Thomas the Train visited St. Louis....and we welcomed him...along with the other 10 million families with young children. *Smile*
Of course we road Thomas the Train, but there was loads of other activities for kids to do: meet Sir Topham Hatt, get train tattoes, buy souvenirs (of course, they each got a new train and book), little tractor/train rides, story time and a maze made of straw. We ate lunch and with the kiddie lunch each one got a train whistle....weeee, guess what we heard for 30 seconds in the car until they both crashed from exhaustion.

You know it's a good day when both are asleep in the car holding toys:)

Hands of Change

2008-10-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

Last year we started a tradition in the guest bedroom.

This year the boys continued it. They got to pick out the color they wanted, which hand to use and where they were going to place the hand prints. So since they chose hand-stamping the "yellow bedroom" tonight, I guess tomorrow we're going to make noodle necklaces out of all the different pasta shapes I bought.

Sharing chores

2008-10-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

Sharing is hard at our house, even for me sometimes...that's why when we built our house I insisted on a double vanity. Where was I going with this entry?...oh, yes...sharing chores.

One of Dane's important jobs is to feed T-Bone. He is now doing the brotherly thing and showing Drake how to do it. Drake is getting a kick out of it. T-Bone waits patiently and picks up the scraps while it takes an eternity (Times 7 in dog years) to fill his dish.

All done, say, "CHEESE"!

Doing the fall thing...

2008-10-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to an apple orchard in Illinois (Eckert's). There was loads of stuff to do. Complete with pig races...and yes, I cheered with Dane as the little squeekers ran by. Drake just stood there with his mouth open. The night ended with a bonfire and (not-so) haunted hay ride. At one point a tracter started following our wagon and Dane said, "That's Frank". That's directly from the Disney movie Cars.

This weekend was beautiful also; we spent it outside until bedtime every day. Friday we made a whole town with chalk on our concrete and went for a walk and collected colorful leaves and more walnuts. Saturday we went to a BBQ and bonfire with all of our neighbors from our previous subdivision. After church today we went with our friends to another pumpkin patch and this time got our pumpkin for the year. Notice Dane and Drake eating the apples from last weekend.
Aspen is the little girl with us; Dane and Drake both dote on her every time we are with her...so cute

Dane's 1st time hunting

2008-10-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

Andy got a new bow for his birthday and in turn Dane wanted one too...He stores it where Andy stores his and practices when Andy practices. He's also been bugging Andy about taking him hunting. Andy agreed to take him early one morning. It was like Christmas at our house that next morning. Dane woke up super early and said he was ready to go. They got dressed up and headed out.

They were out for atleast an hour. Dane came back excitedly telling me how they saw a mommy dear and told me where she ran.

I'm surprised they even saw one. Actually Andy has gone out alot since the season opened and THAT is the only time he's seen one. Well, that's not exactly accurate. We've seen many deer from our house...never when we're hunting, always during breakfast or as we're leaving to go somewhere!

With fall here, we picked our last batch of wild flowers on a walk last week. Now we're picking wal-nuts and very soon the many colored leaves.

a ZOOper Birthday Party!

2008-09-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

4 years old! How is that possible? Recalculate that figure! Ok, it's true, my little Dane is 4. sigh Since his birthday fell on a Tuesday and party wasn't til Saturday, I bought ice cream cone shaped cup-cake pans (say that 3 times fast) and made the cup-cakes...with Dane and Drake's help...see previous blog. Then the day of his birthday we ate them. The idea is that the cake looks like the icecream cone and the icing looks like the icecream. NOT REALLY! I am not a cake decorator so it looked like a cupcake with a stem...which by the way broke off in the boys hands and they had to race T-Bone to the cup-cake on the floor. My solution: I eat the stem, since I don't like icing and the boys eat the cupcake with the icing and sprinkles....happy happy joy joy *smile* Who remembers where THAT quote is from? Dane took more cup-cakes to day-care to share with his friends and then we came home and opened gifts. He's seen here holding a couple favorites and his new Lightening McQueen chair. The rest are on the table: puzzles, cars, remote control helicopter... But wait, a few days later we had a birthday party at the St. Louis zoo!
MORE SUGAR!

The whole package included: lunch, cake and icecream, games, goodie bags and a dressed up character of our choice. We chose Elmo since Dane is afraid of Penquins (one of the choices) the others were Kangaroo, bear and a few others I can't remember. I figured Elmo would get the best reaction from all the kids there. 1st he tore through his gifts:

Drake had a couple gifts of his own:

Then all the kids colored a big card for him:

Eating:

ELMO!

and then last, but not least, singing, cake and icecream! He got shy with the full attention on him. Funny, I feel the same way, even with 35 birthdays behind me. After us big kids took a breath and got all the stuff together, we toured the zoo on the train (A "Must Do" everytime we go) and then went to the children's zoo...to get the little one's last bit of energy out and to ensure a sound nap on the way home.

Over-all, a great day!

Rainy Day (Not-So-Blues)

2008-09-05T14:25:00.001-07:00

Peek-a-Boo

So it's pouring outside (thank you Hurricane Gustav) and I get as restless as the boys. We read lots of books, watched more cat and mouse (Tom & Jerry) than I normally allow and during lunch I decided it's craft time. I made trees using their feet as the trunk and hands as the branches/leaves. Don't ask me where I come up with this stuff, I was just sitting at the table eating my grilled cheese and tomato soup and told the boys what we would do after lunch!

Of course sitting in our house for 1/2 an hour requires 2 hours of serious play with all the reserved energy we just saved up. I'm talking about me, not them; those who know me well, know I'm not joking. wink wink
I built a tent using Dane's bed...that was fun....for 5 minutes...it took me longer to make it than they actually played in it. But I didn't dare take it down at bedtime!

And then we played Hide and Seek till daddy came home...how come I always have to seek? And how come they pick the same hiding place each time? And how come I have to act surprised each time I find them?...part of the mommy job I guess *smile*

Labor Day weekend

2008-09-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

As usual, we have to pack everything in because it's FUN that way! And it WAS fun! We went camping and fishing on Saturday, came home early Sunday for our dear friend's wedding at 11am and then on Monday Christine and I painted the columns in our dining room. I couldn't narrow down the pictures so here's the slide show:

Happy 40th Birthday, Andy

2008-09-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

Andy got his Bow and he is pumped about using it this fall. He's been up target shooting every morning when the sun comes up and in the evening before it gets dark if he's home in time.

Check out this spread...and look closely..one of the arrows shot down the "spine" of another one splitting it...great shot, Andy!

And here are the boys watching Daddy practice as well as their 1st attempt at finger-painting. However neither of them enjoyed their fingers being "icky" so we used paintbrushes, q-tips and popsicle sticks.

Later that evening we did another bon-fire...kool-aide, beer (mommy and daddy's kool-aide) and smores...not the healthiest, but summer necessities at our home!

Tune in next time for our Labor Day weekend pictures: camping, a wedding and the 4th and final birthday.