Day 2 of Vacation

We are having a blast! We had nice weather again today. Ryan went golfing and played 18 holes and my mom watched the kids, so of course I had a great day! The kids are loving being in the water, riding bikes, going for walks, playing baseball, visiting Billy and Suzanne, etc. I ended up staying awake yesterday and getting some sun on the dock with Ryan. We went for a boat ride and fed the fish at the marina. Then we ordered in dinner and were in bed by 8 o'clock since we hadn't slept in two days. Today we were both much better off with some sleep. I went for a walk this morning with Michele and Sadie, then mom pretty much took over with the kids, so I hung out on the dock again reading and sunning. Dad grilled out burgers and hot dogs for dinner and now the guys are all watching NCAA tournament games and the boys are watching the movie Flushed Away that my mom gave them. I am once again enjoying some peace and quiet! That is the absolute best part of being here... NO RESPONSIBILITIES at all. (And seeing family of course!)

We had two realtors show our house yesterday and I guess they both went pretty well. One family is coming back a second time next Monday- they have narrowed their choices to 3 with one of the three being ours. They are from out of town so they can't come back until a week from Monday. The other showing went well too. They like our house and a house in Bluff Lakes, but have a house to sell themselves, so that one wouldn't move as quickly. Hopefully one of the two will pan out. :-)

Em and Spot- I watched Survivor this afternoon that my brother had recorded for me. I was so okay with them voting out Rocky! Way too much attitude. I think they will regret keeping him around long enough to be on the jury though. Em- Hope you are having a blast in Cali!!!!!

Lisa -Thanks for the message. My mom has free long distance and Cobe was dying to call Chase. Sorry we missed you guys. I am sure he'll want to call again tomorrow so hopefully he'll get you guys. I can't post pics yet because my mom left the computer hook up we need in Raleigh so I'll have Brent grab it Monday when he goes to Raleigh. Hopefully I can get some pics on after then. :-) If not here, definitely when I get home. Did you start a blog???? If so, make sure to leave me the address in a message.

I am sure the blogs from this vacation will be boring. We do the same stuff everyday- lay out, play outside, go for walks, etc. That is about it. But I'll still leave updates since I have so much free time. Who knows, maybe we'll even be wild one day and make it to Roanoke Rapids to the Wal-Mart!!!!!! Haha

We made it!

We made it to the lake. The kids did great in the car. We drove until about 5:30 and stopped at Wendy's for dinner and ate it in the car. The boys watched a movie then shut her on down around 9:00. Sis had a bit of a time getting comfortable, but she was alseep by 6:30. They woke up when we stopped for gas, but went right back to sleep. We left our driveway yesterday at 4:20 and pulled up here at 5:05, so exactly 12 hours and 45 minutes door-to-door. Ryan drove the entire way! We usually split it up, but I was so tired for some reason and my neck and shoulders hurt, so he downed a Red Bull and was good for the whole drive. Thank goodness! We crawled into bed and slept all morning. I am about to go back to bed because I am still tired, but Ryan already has his suit on ready to hit the sunny deck. Sadie is back in the sack as well, but the boys have been going strong playing outside and opening all of their prizes from Nana. :-) Brent is coming in later today- he is already in Raleigh and is driving to the lake later on. Jeff, Michele and Miles are coming tomorrow, so pretty soon, we'll have a house full!

PROCRASTINATION!!!!!

Cobe with his crazy hair for spirit week at school. Of course we didn't remember it was Crazy Hair Day until he went out to the bus stop and the other kids had crazy hair. So he had to miss the bus so he could come back in for us to whip up something. A few ponytails later.... he thought he had crazy hair. He may even look a little like Sanjaya! HAHA
Ryan took this picture of Sis while I was at work. She has on her pajamas, her puffer vest and Brooks' shoes. Go figure!

Well, it is 10:21 the night before we are leaving for vacation. There are a lot of things I SHOULD be doing, but instead I am on the computer. Don't know how many posts I'll do from the lake. I'd like to think I will post pics, but I'm afraid that I won't. Maybe I'll do a quick update now and again about how we are spending our time, but the pics may have to come when we get back. We leave tomorrow around 4:30 as long as we are packed and ready. At this point, I have packed the kids, Ryan has packed, but I still have to pack myself, food, the cooler, DVD's, etc. I am not motivated to do anything b/c I know we usually don't need nearly everything I pack, so for some reason, I don't want to pack anything!!!! At least the house is clean. I am doing the last load of laundry now. Ryan vacuumed and cleaned the bathrooms last night, and I dusted so if there happens to be a house showing while we are gone, the house will be presentable.

Tonight we went to Russ' with Ryan's parents. The boys went to their house for awhile after dinner, Ryan brought Sadie home to put her to bed, and I went and got my hair highlighted for the trip. Mary Jo gave the kids bags of goodies for the trip which was so nice and there are things in there to keep them busy. Thanks!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Spring Break, safe travel and warm weather!
Keep us in your prayers for safe, uneventful travel.

Boys in the Hood

Cobe, Jake Onstott, Logan Dewitt and Jace Dewitt having a million races around the house.
Brooksie playing one of his many favorite sports: golf! He is darn good at it too!
Sis on her scooter scooting down the driveway.
Sis got sick and tired of waiting for someone to push her in her car, so she decided to do something about it!

Once again, we had gorgeous weather today. The kids had a blast playing outside. We went for a 3 mile walk this morning before I went to work and then played outside all afternoon. Cobe went to Dewitts after playing here for awhile for a game of football and to jump ramps with their bikes. We are supposed to keep this nice weather all week which works out good for us- we'll be heading to warmth when it turns cold again here. I just hope it warms up again when we return. :-) Off to watch The Hills!

Gorgeous Day!

Wow! What a gorgeous day we had today! At around 4:00 when I was out, it was around 76 degrees! Ryan and Cobe are feeling much better now that the antibiotic has kicked in. I went to church by myself and taught Sunday School then headed home. Ryan detailed my van; I mean professional job detail!!!! It looks brand new. He washed, waxed, scrubbed, shined the outside, then took out the seats, and vacuumed, scrubbed, washed and shined the inside. It looks like a brand new ride. It's all ready for our 12-13 hour car ride on Thursday just to get dirtied up again! :-) I hope it stays clean with all the work he put into it. We have to get the oil changed and air in the tires, etc. before leaving, so I guess he'll do that Wednesday morning. He washed his car later on as well. The kids played outside off and on in the beautiful weather. Sadie is going to be hard to keep inside this summer. She sleeps long and hard and immediately upon waking, goes straight to the garage door begging to go out. She gets worn out by playing outside so much. She slept 3 hours this morning, and at least another 2 this afternoon. I gave her a bath and she was in bed by 7:00. She does love her sleep!!! And I am NOT complaining.

I ran to Shoe Carnival this afternoon because Cobe was in desperate need of new tennis shoes. I got a pair and then came home and they were too big. So I made him go right back with me so he could try some on. He ended up with some sweet Nike shox, but they cost an arm and a leg. Poor thing wanted to wear them outside to play and both Ryan and I read him the riot act about not getting them dirty since they were his brand new shoes. Pretty silly since that is what shoes are for, but I do hate to see them get trashed since they cost so much. I hope he'll be okay wearing something else to school at least until the mud goes away. I made a couple of returns while I was out as well.

Lisa came over tonight and we went for a long walk. We are still on our "system" of sharing meals and it is still working like a dream. Last week she made Texas Roll-ups and a chicken pasta dish- both were scrumptious!!!! I made Golden Creamy Chowder and spaghetti pizza. Tonight I made a Cheeseburger Roll from the new Kraft magazine I got in the mail last week. Love that recipe magazine!!!!! (I know you do too Amanda from your blog!) They have the best recipes that are yummy and simple. I will making some more from this issue for our "system" of meal swapping. We'll have the Cheeseburger Roll tomorrow night.

I have bible study tomorrow night, packing/cleaning Tuesday night, and out to dinner with Ryan's parents Wednesday night before leaving at 3:30/4:00 on Thursday for vacation. So I am sure the time will fly until time to go-- 4 more sleeps!!!

More Cottage Pics

Me and my sweetie pie!
Daddy and his dolly!
Sis went down the slide and climbed back up it over and over!
Dolly in the driveway happy to be outside in the warm weather!

**See next post for more pics and detes of the weekend.**

Cottage Life

Sis had a hayday at the cottage! She was actually old enough/mobile enough to enjoy it. She ran around like she had never been outside before. We went to the park and she loved the swings and the playground equipment. We made a fire early enough that she even got to sit with us and roast marshmallows before heading to bed.
The kids pretending to fish on the dock. The dock isn't even in the water- they just climbed all over it on shore.
Cobe the fisherman.
Brooksie the crazy man!

As you can see, our plans totally changed for last night. Ryan and I were supposed to have date night, but Cobe being sick threw off our plans. He woke up Friday morning with a fever and sore throat. So he obviously couldn't go to school or to the Boeves to spend the night. As the day went on, he seemed to feel better, so we took the kids with us to the cottage. They had a blast! We ate dinner and played outside for a long time. We built a fire and had smores. They will be sad to sell it I know. But at least we can enjoy it until it does sell.

Well.... then Cobe took a huge turn for the worse at about 2:30am. He woke up with a high fever and a very sore throat. So he and I sat up all night. I gave him Tylenol, but he couldn't sleep. So this morning when Brooks and Sadie woke up, we cleaned up really quickly and headed home so he could go to the doctor. Ryan just called and said that he AND Cobe both have strep throat. They both got an antibiotic so hopefully they'll be on their way to getting well soon. Ryan just thought he had a cold all week, but since he was taking Cobe in, thought he'd get checked as well.

The rest of our weekend plans are now shot! We had a babysitter for tonight and were going to the F.O.P. for dinner and a band with Ryan's work friends, but we had to cancel on that. Tomorrow I still have to teach Sunday School, so I guess Ryan will just stay home with the kids. We were supposed to go to Mary Jo's for lunch for Amanda's birthday, but we won't be making that either. Bummer! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMANDA!!!! Today, my young, young sister-in-law turns 27! I never lose track of how old she is because she is 10 years younger than me.

So, I hope to escape in a little while to go to the mall when Ryan gets home. My mom's birthday is approaching so I need to pick up a gift for her. :-)

5 more sleeps until we are out of here! Hopefully with WELL kids! :-) Happy Saturday!

Rain, rain, go away

It has been storming and raining since last night so there is so much standing water around. Even though the snow is all gone, Cobe still had to wear his boots to school because of so many puddles. Brooks and Sadie thought they needed umbrellas this morning since Cobe was getting geared up to go in the rain.

Survivor was good last night- they switched up the tribes for an interesting twist!

It has been a busy week keeping up with the social life of my 7 year old. Monday night I had bible study, and then it became all about Cobe for the rest of the week. Tuesday night he had a skating party for his school at the roller rink. All of his little buddies went and they had a blast. He is begging to go back again b/c it was his first time using his roller blades inside since he got them Christmas and he loved it! Last night he had his derby car races at church. He did not place. His Jr. car was a little slow on the draw. :-) Of course the competitive side in him has kicked in and he is already asking me, how much longer before I am in 2nd grade? I finally asked him why he was asking so many times, and he said, " Because I need to build a better derby car next year so I can win. Papa knows how and he can help me." Tonight he has his 2nd to last indoor soccer game at 5:00 so we'll be heading to that. Whew! His last game is Saturday morning. I have enjoyed the season, but I have to admit I like to watch his outdoor games more. He starts baseball soon- let's hope that is more exciting to watch than t-ball was last year!

Ryan and I are going to the cottage to check on it for our "date" Friday night. Lisa is going to have the kids overnight, and we are going to head up there. We'll just check on the cottage, go out to a restaurant we have been wanting to go to in Lakeview and then head home. Cobe has a game at 10 Sat. a.m. so we'll spend the night at home, not the cottage so we can go get him in the morning for his game.

Only 7 more sleeps until we head south! Yippee!

We're in BIG trouble!

Sissy already has a shoe fetish AND a dress fetish. I got her crocs over the weekend, and she has to have them on at all times. She claps once and then points to her shoes for you to look at them. She is obsessed. As you can see, she also has on a dress overtop of her clothes. She goes to her closet and whines for a dress to put on. Of course it doesn't matter which one you give her, she is thrilled to have on a dress. She wouldn't let me take her other clothes off though- she wanted it on top of those.
Sis proud as punch of her new crocs!
She posed in this crazy giddy-up because she had picked out some random shoes to go with her dress that she wanted on. She climbed up on the stool and said, "Cheeeeeezzzz" for me to take her picture. She is definitely a girl who knows what she wants!
Brooksie crashed hard this afternoon. He was curled up on the floor pouting at Cobe for something, and the next thing I knew, he was fast asleep. He finally stretched right out on the floor and slept for hours. He must have been exhausted. He had played outside while Ryan cleaned out the garage. It was much needed and the garage is spotless now- now we just have to tackle our vehicles.

I'm off to bed- I have a workshop tomorrow from 8-3. NOT my regular work hours, so I need my beauty sleep. I'll have to be up by 6:00 probably to fit in my morning walk and then to shower. I am not looking forward to a long day.

11 more sleeps!!!!!

Just 11 more sleeps until we leave for NC. Brooks asks everyday so I have to keep the countdown going. I just looked at the weather for the lake and it is showing high 70's until the 27th of March. So I am hoping when we arrive on the 30th, it will be that warm or warmer!
Brooks ended up being fine yesterday. I don't know why he ran a fever for about 3 hours then was done with it- weird! I am just glad he wasn't sick yesterday. We ended up skipping the parade b/c Sadie went down for a late nap, and instead just went swimming at Mimi's and then to Pizza Hut for a early dinner/late lunch/afternoon snack. The kids had so much fun swimming. Lisa and I ran out later to run some quick errands. This morning the boys and I went to church. Ryan stayed home with Sadie b/c she slept until 9:30 or so and was ready for her morning nap right around 11. I had to be in the nursery anyway, so Cobe stayed to help me in there and Amanda took Brooks to Children in Worship with her. Then we fed the kids lunch and took long walk. We ended up going to the Hains' to visit and then walked home. The kids always have fun playing there and they always give them cookies and candy, so they love it. Ryan is now hunkered down on the couch watching the race, Sadie is snuggled in for her afternoon nap, and the boys are in the driveway on their scooters. I am going to sign off so I can have some "me" time. :-) Have a great week!

My precious nieces

Selah and Sadie striking their favorite poses! They both have the same habit of always grabbing their hair. So cute!
Cobe and Braelyn had a blast playing together all night. They are in the tent in this picture playing police. Braelyn was hip to whatever Cobe wanted to play so he was loving it.
Ryan with his three dollies. He played with Selah all night. As you can see in the next picture, he combed and brushed her hair. He played police with her; they played with Elmo and knives. She was hip to whatever Ryan wanted to play so he had a blast with her! :-)
The infamous "butt part". Ryan got a kick out of combing Selah's hair into all different styles. He did the butt part and the great uncle (huge combover.) I think he missed his calling in life as a hairdresser. :-)

We did have fun last night with the girls. I have 4 adorable nephews (Justin, Jake, Josh and Miles), but only two adorable nieces (Braelyn and Selah.) Soon (October) I will have one more of something... just don't know yet what Amanda will have for a third. She thinks it is a girl b/c this pregnancy is just like her other two. But I tried to convince her that my pregnancies with Brooks and Cobe were drastically different, and they obviously still turned out to be both boys. We'll see!

Mary Jo just picked up Cobe to take him to McD's before his soccer game. The other two kids are still sleeping. Brooks has been asleep since 5:45 last night. He had a cough yesterday and started with a fever last night, so I hope it is short-lived. I already checked on him twice this morning and he doesn't feel warm, so I hope he is better today so we can go to the parade and swimming. Have a good one!

2 more random pics from today

We are well protected at our house!
Giggle boy trying to avoid a picture.

New Hair Pics of Brooks

Brooks and his sissy- check out his new do!
Sissy giving her big brother a big kiss (looks like she is singing into his mike!)
Crazy girl!
My three little angels!

Gotta run- Cobe and Jake Onstott just came in scavenging for food! :-)

Back to Normal

The boys got to experience their wild side for two days, and now their hair is back to normal. Ryan shaved Brooksie's head today on the back deck before he went to school. He has a super short do, but it actually looks cute. I'll post a picture soon. Cobe looks fine if he doesn't gel his up- he just looks like he has a normal cut. They both had well-child checkups today with Dr. Green. They both are doing great which is such a blessing. Cobe is a little pipsqueak for his age- he fell under the 25% range for his age, but the doctor thinks he may be a late bloomer. Brooks was just under the 50% for his age.

The Boeve girls are actually here tonight spending the night. Lisa had the opportunity to sub in the morning, so instead of waking them up at 6:30 to bring them over here, they just are spending the night. They are so used to being together that they go right to sleep when I put them to bed so even though it is a school night, they did great.

No huge weekend plans. Braelyn and Selah are coming over tomorrow night; Saturday morning soccer game; St. Patrick's Day parade at noon in Holland and then swimming at Mimi's after the parade. I do not have to teach Sunday School this Sunday, but do have nursery during the church hour. That is our weekend in a nutshell!

"The System" that Lisa and I have put in place for meals has worked like a charm this week as well. She made us two scrumptous ones- individual meatloafs Tuesday night and then a hashbrown/sausage/cheese/crescent roll casserole tonight. They were both YUMMY!!!!! I made foil packs with chicken, stuffing, peas, ham, and mushrooms for Monday night. I liked them okay- Ryan did not. I made Penne Pasta casserole for Wednesday night (sort of like baked Ziti/pizza casserole). We haven't actually eaten that one- we'll have it tomorrow night. I am enjoying the nights off in the kitchen and saving money.

Off to do the crosswords, Sudokos and cryptoquotes that have accumulated this week from the paper! :-) Hope everyone has a spectacular weekend! ;-)

Punk Rockers

Ryan left home with my two sweet little boys tonight to get hair cuts and.... he returned with hard core punk rockers! They love it. I am sure it will only last for a few days, and we'll return to Aunt Amanda for a re-do- hopefully free of charge!!!!! Haha J/K

I guess Cobe went with the modified mohawk, and Brooks went for the full-fledged one! That actually represents their personalities- Mr. Conservative and Mr. Wide Open. They at least think they are cool.

Two Peas in a Pod

Sadie and Brooks have gotten to be so close and play so well together. Since it is just the two of them all day, they pretty much have to. Brooks is thrilled when Cobe is around because they obviously have more in common and love to play together, but it has been neat to watch Sadie get older and be able to do some things that Brooks wants her to. This pic was taken last night. They were playing "SWAT team" and eating corn dogs in the laundry basket.

I realize I titled the last post ...and the week ahead, and I cut it off short after the weekend. Oops! Last night I had bible study, tonight the three boys are getting mop chops at Amanda's. Ryan and Brooks will get a high and tight, but I don't know if we can convince Cobe to get his cut off. We'll see. He loves his long hair. Wednesday night we have our 2nd to last night of FW Friends at church. Next week is the derby race and the 1st grade boys race at 5:30- Cobe is stoked and of course thinks his car will win. :-) Thursday night Cobe and Ryan may go to a drawing workshop by a published illustrator. Cobe really wants to go and Ryan likes to draw, so I thought he'd better take him rather than me. Ryan works all weekend, so I am sure mine will be pretty low key. Kyle and Amanda are bringing the girls over here Friday night for us to watch which will be fun for the kids. I already promised Amanda that I'd keep Sadie from demolishing Selah. :-) Cobe has a soccer game at 9:00 Saturday morning.
The boys have their well-child checkups on Thursday afternoon and Ryan has a dentist appt. that morning. Whew! I feel like we have a busy week ahead.

Em, I MISSED the Hills last night so I'll have to catch a rerun. It totally slipped my mind that it was even on. Agh!

I have to go stop Sadie from pulling a LARGE mirror off of the dining room wall.

The Weekend Recap and the week ahead

We ended up having a busier weekend than I originally thought. Cobe's friend Chase and his sister Regan and their mom Lisa came over Friday night (see Friday's post) and hung out. Saturday morning we met Mary Jo at McDonald's for breakfast then went to Cobe's soccer game. They won 6-1 which was nice because this team had beaten them before. We then came home to rest. Brooks and Sadie slept most of the day. Lisa (Boeve) came over and she and I walked. Then I showered and went to Target. I bought my new favorite movie for Cobe because I knew he'd love it (High School Musical). Cobe played with Jake Onstott for awhile and then came in to watch the movie. Mary Jo came over to watch the kids about 6 and Ryan and I went to Grandville to Kobe's Japanese Steak House. It was very good. We met 4 other couples to celebrate Todd Holstege and Darcey Bekins' birthdays. The food was delicious and it was a fun place to go to dinner. The 10 of us then went to The BOB in GR and went to the upstairs bar for awhile. We headed downstairs to The Crush later on and danced. It was a blast. We had not been dancing (other than last month's wedding) for a long time, so it was a great change of doing the usual stuff. Everyone had babysitters and since we were losing an hour with the time change, we got home around 12:30. We were out of money anyway. :-) Thank goodness the kids slept in until around 8:30 this morning, so we still got some good sleep. I taught Sunday School this morning and took the boys, then Ryan and Sadie met us for church. Lisa, Aliyah and Maya came over to go walking again and some of the neighborhood kids came over too to play since the weather was so warm, so we had a fun afternoon as well. I am now listening to Sadie whine so I think she is probably hungry. Mark Elgersma is still over playing with Cobe so I guess I better go fix dinner for the troops. :-)

The kitty

Sadie with the 2 week old kitty- she absolutely loved the thing! She wanted to hold it all night and pet it. She really did know how to be gentle with it too, which surprised me because usually gentle and Sadie are not uttered in the same sentence!
Cobe and Chase with the kitty- Cobe IS my child. He would not hold the kitty because it might/did have claws. When I was about his age, I begged my parents to get a kitten and they let me. I was scared to death of the thing and would not even come into the same room with it. Cobe tried to hold it once and just screamed because it was "hurting" him. So he would only hold it in Sadie's doll basket. The kitten just opened his eyes yesterday for the first time and was incapable of hurting a flea. Sadie held it no problem. :-)
Regan and her kitty. She toted the kitten around all night like it was her doll- so cute!
Brooks nervously shoving his face with pizza so he wouldn't have to look at me for his picture to be taken with Regan.

Chase was coming over to spend the night with Cobe, and Lisa (Chase's mom) and Regan came to bring him. They brought their 2 week old kitten for us to see and ended up staying and hanging out. The kids had so much fun playing with each other and the kitten, and Lisa and I had fun gabbing so they stayed for the evening. It is always fun when what you think is going to be a quiet night at home turns into a fun night with friends. Thanks for stopping over Lisa! :-)

Cobe has a soccer game in the morning at 11, so we are going to go out for breakfast at McD's before his game. Wish him luck!

The System

Lisa and I have put together a new system that is working like a charm. We both cook 2 meals a week and give each other half. So this week Monday, I cooked chicken enchiladas for us and them, and Wednesday made Shrimp Corn Chowder. On Tuesday, she gave us a pork loin and tonight, she made us Spinach Stuffed Manicotti. It is pretty easy b/c we still only have to make 1 recipe and split it in half. So we figure we are saving tons of money and time. It really works out to be enough food for the whole week and I only have to cook twice!!! You can't beat that!!! Her food has been delicious! We loved the manicotti tonight. We have enough for leftovers for tomorrow night then Ryan and I are going out Saturday night, so it really has been great. And we get a variety of meals. We resorted to this plan because Main Dish closed down in February, and we frequented that place to make 12 meals a month usually. We were distraught and didn't know what to do, but I think I'm going to like our new plan even better. It is much cheaper than Main Dish that is for sure!!!!!!
The other part of our system is watching each other's kids over night once a month so we can have date night. We watched their girls last weekend and they went out to dinner and a movie. They are watching our kids March 23rd so we can go out. The kids have a blast together and it is nice to know that once a month, we will have uninterrupted time to spend with our spouses- including getting to sleep in!
I guess we have really had another system going most of the year for our jobs; we take care of each other's kids so we don't have to pay childcare. It looks like it will work out again next year because we will both keep the same schedule. (She really has taken care of my kids for 3 years, so I am finally getting to help her out some now.)
So, I highly recommend adopting our "system" if you have someone to exchange meals, kids, and childcare with- it makes for a huge money-saver, fun for the kids, delicious food, bonding with your spouse and strengthening your relationship with your friend as well. We have come to depend on each other as well as enjoying each other's company.

I am signing off to go watch another episode of SURVIVOR!!!! YAY!!! I guess I"ll have to flip the channel every once in awhile to check out American Idol and see who gets voted off! Have a good weekend everyone.

Before and After

Sadie yesterday as her daddy babied her all day while she was sick. He said she felt so much better with a wet washcloth on her head. She has him wrapped very tightly around her little finger.
Sadie today shoving her face- back to her old self. She felt fine yesterday after her daddy "made her fever go away with the wet washcloth." yeah- right! :-) I have to admit she has us BOTH wrapped very tightly around her little finger. (and her brothers too!)

Ordinary Tuesday

Nothing much new going on here. Sadie came down with a fever on Sunday afternoon and slept all day. She pretty much slept all day yesterday as well and then when she woke up yesterday evening, she was fine. Weird. She doesn't even have cold symptoms. She has been fine today, so I hope that was it. Cobe is participating in his school fund raiser selling World's Finest candy bars, and the competitive side is kicking in. He sold his first box to relatives mainly and then Mary Jo took that last 15 to work yesterday and those went pretty quick. He wants to be the top seller so he can win $100 to buy some remote control Apache helicopter that he and Ryan want off of TV. I am going to take the next box to school with me to sell to my students and Mary Jo thought she could sell more at work b/c people were asking for more after they were gone today. We could actually get a snow day tomorrow- we are supposed to get 2-6 inches tonight. It has been coming down since about 2:15- just the real light stuff now, so I don't know if it will amount to anything. There is no wind with it so I am sure we'll be at school no matter if we get 6 inches or not. Hopefully it will be the last snow and then Spring will kick in!!!! The forecast 5 days out looked warmer.

We are all excited about Spring Break. The kids talk about it everyday- can't wait!!!!! Ryan and I are so looking forward to it as well. Lazy days with no responsibility- what a vacation!!! Going to the lake house is like going to an all-inclusive resort!!!! (Without other tourists around!) We still need to go to the travel agency and pick a place to go in December. It is weird that it seems so far away, but March snuck up on me pretty fast.

Well, I am off to put Sadie to bed. She is whining to go as I finish this up. It is nice having 3 kids who enjoy their beds as much as I do!!!!!!

Prissy Sissy and the boys

No, it isn't Halloween, but the boys love being in costumes. They had fun this morning being a pirate and a bullrider. They conquered the bad guys before heading off to Sunday School and church.
Sis thinks she is somethin' else. She loves being in dresses and she actually kept a bow in her hair for the first time. She pulled it out a few times as she twirled her hair, but left it in for the most part. She looked so sweet in the dress Nana bought her. She plopped right down in front of the couch when I asked her if I could take a picture of her to show Nana how pretty she looked in her new dress. She was dancing in the aisles of church during the music and the men on the aisle across from us got such a kick out of her. She was jammin!

I am excited about some new news I got today from Kyle and Amanda.... their family will be expanding by one in early October! Another niece or nephew to love!

Well, off to play Connect Four with Cobe. He doesn't have school tomorrow but I do. The elementary kids are off for parent-teacher conferences. For some reason, middle and high school kids still have school then our conferences are tomorrow from 3-7. So, I will work my normal hours, then stay for awhile for conferences (I only have to stay until 4:30 since I am part-time.) I met with my principal Wednesday after school, and he said my schedule will be the same for next year which is such a blessing. It is so nice being home with the kids and making a good salary. Brooks will be in preschool M-W-F while I work and Sadie naps then, so I don't really miss any time with them. It has been such a nice set-up. Have a good week!

Fun with Friends

Lisa and Boeve at O'Charley's for Lisa's birthday... yummy food! great company! good toddies! lots of laughter!
Lisa and me embarrassing the guys making them take pictures as we were leaving the restaurant. We don't have many pictures together so we made them suffer. They ended up leaving us so we had the hostess take more!
Ryan and I before stuffing our faces with way too much food. Calamari, chicken tenders, shrimp, ribs, salad, soup and a caramel pie that they gave Lisa for her birthday that was so good! Oh- and Boeve put away quite a few rolls! :-)
Sis's first and only true love. I decided that if Sadie were my first child, it would bother me tremendously that she is totally obsessed with Lisa. But since she is my third child, I am totally fine with her wanting Lisa WAY MORE than me. There is NO place that Sadie would rather be than in Lisa's arms. I am soooooo fortunate to have Lisa in our lives for so many reasons- one being how much she loves my kids and how much they love her. There are many, many more, but I'll just sum it up by saying she is the sister I never had and I am so glad I now have one.

Happy Birthday Lisa!

Today is Lisa Boeve's 31st birthday! Happy Birthday! We are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate (along with our men). Her girls spent the night here last night so she and Boeve could go out. We had/are having a fun time. We are about to add 3 more to the 5 that are already here- she is bringing pizza for lunch and the Grotenhuis kids with her b/c their mom couldn't get home from Florida due to the weather (flight was canceled), and their dad had to plow last night at 2 am so he hasn't gotten to sleep. So, I am sure the kids will have a blast all afternoon. We are stuck home anyway due to the blizzard like conditions, so it will give the kids something to do until the babysitter comes tonight and we go out! I am sure Ryan is having a miserable day in this snow. He said he almost got hit 7 times yesterday in this mess, and today seems worse. Please pray for his safety.

Good morning from the kids!

Sis and her new Pooh bear from Disney from Nana and Papa- she loves it!

Cobe heading off to school in his pjs with sleeping bag and pillow. They get to have a pajama party today at school for a reward for getting their compliment jar filled.

Good morning! Hope everyone has a great Friday and weekend!