Breathing a Sigh of Relief!

I thought having a slumber party with 14 little boys would be a disaster, BUT... amazingly, it went quite well! Cobe has some very nice friends, and they all got along and played very well together. There was a little bit of drama (boys who were sad, a few minor injuries received in the rough-housing, etc), but it was short-lived. Boy drama was new to me; girl drama I expect, not so much from boys though. We played lots of organized games which helped keep them entertained and from destroying my house and tackling each other too much. But of course, there was still plenty of time for them to fit that in too! :-) 8-9-10 year olds are competitive! They were ALL about playing games so they could win prizes. It cracked me up! They kept begging for more games because they could tell my prize bag wasn't empty yet. I told them I was fresh out of ideas, so they kept making up games. Here are a few pictures from the night. I didn't get many because as you can see in these, they were NOT very cooperative. As soon as one of them saw me with my camera, he would shout, "She's got the camera- hide!!!" So I didn't get many. I totally meant to get a group shot this morning before they all left, and it never happened.


A few brave souls didn't hide in their sleeping bags (bless you Landon!), but the rest did!

Gathered around for cake!

More kids at the table waiting for cake.

Making silly faces at the camera. The first round of kids eating their pizza waiting for the soccer boys to arrive.

Make a wish!

Everyone was picked up by 10:45 or so, and we left to go meet the Boeve girls at Russ for a birthday lunch for Cobe. Cobe could barely make it through lunch without falling asleep, so we came right home afterwards and all hit the bed. Sadie slept until 6:30 tonight!!!!! She got to sleepover with Maya last night so she didn't have to be the only girl at the party. I slept until around 5:30; Cobe slept for a few hours, and Brooks claimed he never went to sleep. I felt worse when I woke up than when I went to bed. We all stayed in the bed watching HGTV home shows until about 8:30 tonight and the kids went back to bed. They were exhausted! We were supposed to go to a friend's house tonight for some Rock Band, but none of us were up to it, and Ryan got called back to work! UGH! His job has been SOOO super busy lately. He is making some great overtime though- for that, I can't complain!!!!!! But we do miss him! So, it was a good thing we didn't drive out to their house, just to have to leave when he got called into work.

Tomorrow is another soccer game. Cobe is looking forward to it- he got a new soccer ball from one of his friends at his party, and my mom sent him a new soccer bag with his name on it, so he has it packed ready to go! After the game, we have no plans until evening- we are going out to dinner with Ryan's whole family for Cobe and Selah's birthday, then over to Amanda's for cake.

Well....even though I slept until 5:30, my pillow is calling my name! Have a great weekend!!!!!

Praise the Lord!

Quick post--
My uncle Bobby (link to his blog at the right of my blog) was on the airplane that landed in the Hudson. I am shocked! But praise God for his safety as well as the other 154 people who were on the flight!!!! I love you Bobby and am so thankful that this is a day to celebrate your life!!!! You are in my prayers!!!!

Fun with the Cousins!

My nieces came over tonight and the kids all had so much fun! There is never enough time to get together just to play, and tonight was one of those nights where they just got to play for several hours. It reminded me of the times I spent with my cousins- they made up games and shows and had a blast! Here are a few pictures:

Braelyn and Brooks playing air hockey.

Selah and Brooks playing air hockey. Brooks LOVES the game, so he is thrilled when someone will play with him. He beats me every time we play!

One of the many faces of Gracyn Kay. I took a series of shots of her, and I only posted a few. She loved putting on and taking off the glasses, and would give me a huge grin every time she did it like each time it was a new trick! Easy to entertain at that age!

Me oh my! Such hard work getting those glasses on! :-)

Look at that smile! Such a beauty!

And the movie star made her appearance for a photo op with Gracyn. haha

Brooks took this picture of the girls rehearsing for the show they put on for everyone.

And here they are- the hottest new girl band around!!!!!!!

Look at them shucking and a jiving!

This a pic from earlier today. I caught these two in a rare brotherly/sisterly loving moment. Brooks was trying to kiss Sadie through the helmet. I am assuming he only did it b/c he knew his lips were safe behind the glass!

Nothing New

I don't feel like I've had too much to post that is blog-worthy this week. Let's see- the highlights of the week have been that Wed. night church started back. We hit Brann's before-hand for their outstanding Wed. night meal deals- all 3 kids and me ate great food for $10- yep- $10 total! Can't beat that! Lisa and I have started going to Brann's before church on the off weeks when we don't have pizza supper. We can eat just as cheap as we do for the pizza supper! And it is so yummy! Church was good- it is nice getting back into the swing of things. With the icy roads and snow falling on Wed. night, I thought maybe snow day on Thursday. Of course, no luck. Brooks had a friend over Thursday afternoon. They had fun playing. Oh and Wednesday, I had playgroup here (mostly Sadie's friends, but Brooks was well-entertained.). I feel like even though we have had a fun week, we mostly spent it at home- which is good! Last night Cobe had an indoor soccer game- they played a TOUGH team and they lost. But only after putting up an amazing fight! They really worked their tails off, but couldn't pull off the win. They have another tough game this Saturday. And that brings me to today. My internet has been out since Wednesday, so the charter guy came today, so I am back in service. Thank goodness!

Tonight the Boeve girls are coming over for a stint while Chad and Lisa have small group. Tomorrow a.m. is Cobe's game then he is going to a friend on his soccer team's house for a sleepover. The boy goes to our church as well, so we'll collect Cobe again at church on Sunday. And that is the extent of our exciting life! haha Not a lot going on this weekend. We are in need of some down time, and for this weekend, it looks like we will get it! The boys are getting ready to get home, so adios and happy weekend to all!

Random Pictures from the last few days

Sadie and her new My Generation Doll- her name is Sunnie, but Sadie renamed her Annika.

Sadie acting extremely crazy the other night.

Brooks acting crazy.

The fellas Friday night eating their pizza.

The girls eating cupcakes.

Bisky-loo and her cute self.

Messy face!

Messy face #2

Cool dude Cobe- stylin in the 70's get-up!

It's a wrap!

Vacation is over. It now feels like any other Sunday evening- need to pack backpacks, lay out clothes to be worn tomorrow, help Cobe finish (okay begin) a book report, gettting that feeling of "Am I missing anything?" I love vacation, but I also don't mind the work-weeks either. I love my job. I love having a schedule as well. I think if I worked full days, it would bother me, but since I am done so early in the morning, I don't mind it at all. I have great students this year too, so I have actually missed seeing them over break.

We had a really nice weekend. Friday night, some friends came over so the kids could all play, and we had pizza and hung out. Aliyah and Maya spent the night too b/c Chad and Lisa were going out. Saturday, the boys both got invited to a friend's house, and Sadie napped ALL day (she was in desparate need of some sleep!!!!!!), so I ran errands all day. Last night, Ryan and I watched the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall that he had gotten for Christmas- great comedy if you haven't seen it yet. Tonight I think we are going to watch Burn after Reading. He already watched that one and said it is also funny- he was BUSTING a gut (which isn't unusual if you know Ryan), so I think we'll get the kids in bed and watch that one.

Back to the routine tomorrow- Cobe has school and the younger two have Motor Movement. The Bachelor starts again tomorrow night- 2 hour season premiere so I'll be checking that out I'm sure. The previews make it look like it is all staged though. More and more of these "reality" shows are becoming less and less realistic. We'll have our normal Wed. night programming at church starting back up and Cobe has 2 soccer games this week- Thurs. night and Saturday.

I need to get Cobe's birthday party underway- his birthday always sneaks up on me. He had a party at age 3, 4, 5 and 6 and then we took years 7 and 8 off from parties, so I told him he could have another one this year. He has chosen a slumber party with 14 boys!!!!! I think we may be crazy for trying to attempt it, but I've been called crazy before! He had some guys over the other night, and they were so well-behaved, that I think it will go okay. Or I am telling myself that even if it doesn't, it will only last about 15-16 hours and I can endure anything for that long, right???? :-)

Then there is little Brooksie. He is turning 6 in February, and he has never had a party. We have not been very fair in that department. So he is also having one this year- but he has chosen Chuck E Cheese's so that one doesn't scare me as much as Cobe's. My house won't be trashed! Plus I feel like I have more time to plan his after the busy holidays settle down.

Off to start that Sunday evening To Do List. The book report and fixing dinner are on top of the list!

New Year's Eve

Lots of fun and lots of pictures from last night. You can click HERE to see the pictures I took. Happy New Year and may each of you have a very blessed 2009!!!!!!