my blue eyed boys

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T18:02:00.001-08:00

Wishing your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Reece's Big Decision

2011-09-02T07:42:00.001-07:00

Reece asked Jesus to be his Forever Friend a few weeks ago. He was then baptized last Sunday, August 28th. It was such a great day, he was a little nervous about all the people in the congregation but answered Mr. Tony's questions perfectly. Jake and I baptized him...such an honor. We are so proud of him and the decision that he's made to have Jesus be in his life and his heart.

mommy getting a nice big wet hug from her baby.....

wish these pics weren't blurry but that's okay....my camera is finicky.

Reece 3rd grade Football

2011-08-19T10:32:00.001-07:00

Reece started tackle football yesterday.....all 60lbs of him.

He's only had 1 practice and said that he loved it! Looking at the roster he and only about 3-4 other boys are in the 60-75lb range. Most of the others in the 80-115lb range. Hoping he still likes it when he gets clobbered by one of the bigger boys!

AJ has practice tomorrow, he is in his 4th yr of tackle and he absolutely loves it!

Our Saturdays will be spent watching football all afternoon. That is fine though, I love watching them play!!!!

Basketball Court/New Patio

2011-06-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

We've had quite a project going on in our backyard for about a month now. It started out as a small little concrete slab in the backyard for the boys to play bball on and ended with a new patio, connected to the new bball court, not just a slab of concrete. The bball court was the boys' birthday present from Nana and Papaw. LOVE those kinds of gifts!!

LOVE this picture of Reece w/the jackhammer!

This is Reece at 7:45AM, had to wake him up but Papaw wanted him to see the big pumper truck pumping the concrete in to the back yard. He wasn't too thrilled to be up that early! (neither was I). Actually they got started at 6:30AM but DID NOT wake the boys that early!!

It was pretty neat to watch, the pumper truck was in the front driveway, the concrete trucks waited behind it and hooked up to it somehow, then it pumped up and over!

The boys are checking out the WET concrete!!

Reece is finally able to dribble the ball on the court! No goal yet but he didn't care, he was out dribbling like crazy!
The next week Jake, Jerry, and my dad put the goal up.

Slowly but surely we are getting things back together. We are still waiting for the guy with the backhoe or bobcat or whatever it is to get the junk pile of dirt from the back yard. He will also be bringing us some good dirt to put around the concrete. Our backyard used to have a pool in it and when the people filled it in they filled it in with rocks, bricks, etc. Why in the world they filled in a pool is beyond me!!! I would have loved to have a pool but oh well! The court is pretty fun for the boys!

This is the firepit that Jake built. He had to revise one that he made last fall. This one is much safer and dug in to the ground more.
View of our little fire pit. We've already roasted smores on it. Last Friday night the weather was perfect for roasting marshmallows!
A TJ Maxx find! I love the candles lit up at night, gives such a pretty glow! Although the boys have hit my patio table about 5 times since I put the candles on it, luckily I got it pretty cheap so if it breaks it's okay!
We did a little landscaping between the court and patio, just put boxwood bushes in so they can withstand basketballs and trampling feet!!

Wedding Weekend & Mother's Day

2011-05-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend.....AJ's birthday was on Friday the 6th, we left for Indy at 11 that morning to get the wedding weekend started.....
AJ and Kate at the rehearsal above.
Chris & Chelsea had a birthday cake for AJ at the rehearsal dinner.....very thoughtful of them!
Me and my hubby at the rehearsal dinner
me and my boys on our way to the wedding.....
Jake, AJ, and Reece.....looking quite handsome
The "men"...Alex, AJ, Koen, and Reece
Koen (the photographer) and AJ

my boys eating at the reception
Alyssa and Reece at the receptionAJ & Alex
Little Miss Kate and AJ
Sir Elton Reece....this was hysterical! He got to sit at the piano and do Crocodile Rock

Mothers Day and AJ's Birthday at Mi Peublo!!!!
Birthdays wouldn't be complete without the sombrero at Mi Peublo!!

Lauren, me, Blake, and Tyler (my other set of children!!) lol

We had a very great and exhausting weekend!!!!! Congrats to Chris & Chelsea!

2011-04-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

So, I am just now posting some pictures of AJ's bball season. Around Christmas time we had to buy a new computer, I just now sat down and figured out how to get my pictures off of my camera on to the new computer. Better late than never.

AJ is in black, #52

He is using his butt to guard this big dude above.

And here is his awesome coach, daddy! (i mean, dad) AJ now calls him "dad" :(

he is almost 11 ya know...

This was the only game I took my camera to...I just wasn't with it this year! I think I took my camera to every one of Reece's games. I guess that makes up for the fact that AJ has 3 baby books and Reece has 1 baby book that still isn't completed! I just have to finish Reece's 1st birthday party pages in his baby book and then it is complete.......he just turned 8.

Reece Weekend---B-ball and Parade

2010-12-05T15:37:00.001-08:00

This past weekend, Dec 4th and 5th, Reece had AAU Tourneys in Boonville. This is the first time Reece has played on an "organized" basketball team. He has done YMCA Biddy ball for the past 2 years or so. He has been practicing with these boys for a few weeks now and has 2 great coaches, Logan Graber and Greg Boyd. I was very impressed with Reece, he did a great job. I could tell he was a little nervous but he scored 4pts in one game and 2pts in another! We were very proud of him!

Here he is waiting to sub in....... you can't see his face real well but you can tell he is so nervous!!

THEN, on Sunday, after one of the games.....we hurried home to eat lunch and change clothes and get Reece ready for the parade. His jingle for Fire Prevention Week at school won so he got to ride on the fire truck during the parade. The temp was 22.......brrrr He was loving it though! I haven't seen his picture/jingle yet but he said it was about making S'mores outdoors and making sure you have a fire extinguisher nearby.... cute

Here he is in front of the fire truck. He got a $10 Wal-Mart gift card and a coupon for a free sub and cookie at Subway. Pretty good deal!

AJ and Lauren at the parade....cousins and best buds

AJ, Blake, and Lauren waiting for candy outside of Papaw Jerry's office

Here's the fire truck that Reece was on...... I had no idea where he was sitting and if I would even see him in the truck. There were 10 kids that were on this truck.

YEAH!! I got to see his sweet little face peeking through!!!

He was all smiles!

We had a great and busy weekend!! Reece had 2 games on Saturday and 2 games on Sunday and then the parade. Let's just say it is 7:15 and I know I am ready for bed, I am sure Reece will be ready for bed soon. Ready for another busy week this week.....AJ has a bball game Monday night. I love watching my boys play sports and do things they enjoy! Most of all they have a good time! (that is really all that matters...right?)

AJ's Football Season 2010--5th grade

2010-10-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

Well another football season has come to a close. I really enjoy watching AJ and the other boys play! He has really gotten tougher this past year--he is such a gentle and kind boy but out on the field we've told him to be mean!!!! Actually before I dropped him off at each practice I would tell him to hurt someone. Of course I was only kidding!

Reece has one more flag football game this weekend. I will HAVE to remember my camera so I can get some pictures. AJ has a lot more games than Reece so I had more opportunities to snap some shots!

Last week AJ had football practice and also basketball practice started. We had 2 nights of both, he slept pretty good those 2 nights!! On to basketball now!! His coach is really cute!! (it's his daddy) :)

another tooth lost....

2010-08-23T13:29:00.001-07:00

Reece lost his 4th tooth today at school! He was so excited to lose it at school because he got a little treasure chest box to put the tooth in. It was SO ready to come out over the weekend but he wouldn't let me pull it.. So apparently before recess he had blood dripping from his mouth and the tooth came out. yuck! He was pretty happy. LOVE his toothless smile ;)

Back To School 2010

2010-08-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

Reece--2nd grade

AJ--5th grade

My toothless sweetie!! :)

AJ--very excited for 5th grade

Reece was very goofy this morning. The past 2 years (kindergarten and 1st grade) he would puddle up when I dropped him off in his classroom... This year he just went right in and sat down, looked a little nervous but he did not cry! We did have a long talk yesterday that it was time to be big and not cry about school! So glad he was having a good morning! Just hope he had a great day!

more goofiness

Chocolate Brown Bedspread For Sale

2010-08-02T19:47:00.001-07:00

King Size bedspread w/the 4 decorative pillows and 2 pillow shams. $50 for all

The decorative pillows are 2 brown w/cream squares and then the other 2 are brown/cream/lt blue stripe silk fabric. The pillow shams are the same fabric/color as the bedspread

The bedspread is a polyester material (kinda feels silky)

I got this at Target a couple years ago...I do love the look but was ready for a change! I was at Target last week and found a new bedspread that I love!! (love target!!)

I was going to put it away and save it to put in my next yard sale but I don't want to have to store for a whole year because I won't have another sale until next summer!

by the way, this is a Queen bed but we have a pillow top mattress so i always buy King comforters/bedspreads so it fits the whole mattress on both sides!!

East Coast~~Summer 2010

2010-07-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

The end of June, first part of July we went to Maryland to visit my Uncle Jack and Aunt Kathy. They live in Maryland and have a shore house in Chincoteague, VA. We stayed at their house a few days and then went to the shore house for a few days. The boys had a blast at the beach, tubing behind the boat, & riding on the jet skis.

We buried AJ in the sand.

Reece and Jake building a sand castle.

AJ on the boogie board. love the look on his face :)

The shore house was beautiful with great places for photo ops...

I gave the boys a ride on the jet ski. AJ wanted to drive it but you have to be 16. They were a little scary but fun!!

Taking off on the jet ski...

My cousin Kristan was getting us all set up for the jet ski ride. I think the boys were impressed that momma drove them pretty fast. You felt like you were going to tip on the waves but the faster you go over the waves the smoother it was. I had a lot of fun driving them!!

The boys were patiently waiting in the boat to go out tubing. Unfortunately I have no pictures of them on the tube. I didn't take my camera out on the boat. AJ and Brooklynn were on the tube once by themselves and they flipped in to the water. Jake and Bradley and Mark took a ride together and Jake flipped off. Luckily when I was on it and when Reece was on it the tube didn't flip and we didn't go in the water!!! I don't mind getting in the ocean for a little bit but not too long!!

AJ on the kayak...

The boys out front of the shore house...the weather was beautiful the weekend we were there!!

Reece was chillin in the Margarita chair.

We had a great time on our vacation. To end the vacation we went home the northern route and went to Hershey Park. The kids loved it but it was 102 degrees the day we went. yuck! Reece did a roller coaster that went upside down, he normally doesn't like roller coasters but we made him try it and he LOVED it. I will post pics of Hershey Park later....

LegoLand!!!

2010-05-18T15:55:00.000-07:00

On our recent trip to Chicago we made it to LegoLand.

Of course we went to Chicago mainly to go to the Cubs game but when we found out there was a LegoLand nearby we had to take a trip there! It was quite a trip though! We didn't realize it was 36 miles away from our hotel in downtown Chicago. It is in Schaumberg, IL. We took the L-train for a very long distance and then had to get on a bus to take us to LegoLand. It was quite an experience, one that the boys thought was pretty cool!!

This is them outside the entrance to LegoLand.

These were LEGO replicas of all the HUGE Chicago buildings

AJ and LEGO Hagrid from Harry Potter.

Jake and LEGO Hagrid.

Reece with a LEGO Hippo

More of the LEGO buildings. (for some reason the pics are not in order)

The boys on the small ride inside of LegoLand. It was pretty cool.

AJ with a little LEGO dude

Reece (monkey) with a LEGO monkey in the background.

AJ and Reece with a LEGO Tiger

Me and the boys with the LEGO buildings. Sears Tower is the tallest one. We actually went to Sears Tower on Sunday of our trips. (pics of that later)

Reece with a LEGO Giraffe

Me and the boys with LEGO Indiana Jones

Jake and AJ with LEGO Indiana Jones

Jake and the boys with LEGO Batman

Reece with LEGO R2D2

AJ and Reece with LEGO Darth Vader....notice Reece's shirt :)

This is the ride that we went on. It was basically a sit down ride that took you through a bunch of LEGO creations.

Reece inside of a LEGO Lion's mouth

Reece creating something

This is the boys AFTER shopping, both of them had HUGE LEGO bags! Of course they took their own spending money that they had been saving for a few months. They did get to take a "class" and learn to build a creation and then was able to buy their creation. Of course they got a LEGO of the Sears Tower, among many others!

Waiting on the bus to take us back to the train to take us back to the hotel..... luckily we only had to wait about 20 mins for the bus. When we headed to LegoLand we waited 45 minutes for the bus. I am not a very patient person so having to rely on other transportion besides myself was a little difficult for me. We had a great time but am so glad to be able to hop in my own car and drive anywhere! However, we were NOT going to drive in the Chicago traffic and pay to park everywhere we went!!

Cubs Game

2010-05-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

In the hotel room Thursday night. Not sure what Reece is doing....AJ is reading.
The Cubs game was at 1:20 Friday. This is the view from our hotel room. We have a great view of downtown Chicago.

AJ and Reece waiting on the L-train to take us to the game....

The boys got passes to go down on the field before the game started and watch batting practice. It was very cool....Jake and I had to wait in the 1-2 rows. I think Jake was jealous...he wanted to go on the field too!!

AJ got a new jersey at the game.. Reece got a new hat.

Both the boys caught a ball during batting practice. They had their Sharpie ready to get autographs but no one came over to sign..... oh well, it was still a very neat experience!

We had great seats, great weather, and a great time!!

Jake and I while the boys were on the field.

Happy 10th Birthday AJ!

2010-05-06T05:39:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe it but my first born is 10 years old today! I know everyone says this but boy does time fly! I remember like yesterday when he was a baby. Now he is a very polite, mature, caring, smart, and funny boy!! Love ya AJ!

i love this pic of him! he was trying on his football gear, too cute!

Teeth

2010-04-13T12:56:00.001-07:00

Reece FINALLY lost his first tooth today! It has been loose for a couple weeks but over the past few days it has been very wiggly! After school today he let me pull it! He did just turn 7 so I was wondering when he was going to lose his first tooth.

Meanwhile, AJ is in the process of getting an appliance for his bottom teeth. He has very crooked and crowded bottom teeth. He has had spacers on for a few weeks and then the end of April we go back in and they will place an appliance on the back side of his bottom teeth to hopefully straighten them out.

You can see the metal spacers on the very back molars. The appliance will be attached to the side of the spacers. He will wear this for 1 year with braces to follow.

Happy 7th Birthday Reece

2010-04-08T16:22:00.001-07:00

Happy 7th Birthday to my sweet little Reece.
I really can't believe my baby turns 7 tomorrow. Time goes by so fast. He definitely brings joy and much laughter to our little family!!

Spring '10

2010-03-31T20:27:00.000-07:00

We took the boys to French Lick Waterpark this past Monday and Tuesday for a short spring break trip! They had lots of fun!

We met up with Kim, Trent, and the kids; Kelly, Stephanie, and their kids.

AJ, Reece, Tyler, Lauren, and Blake

This spring break wasn't all fun and games....... when we got home Jake let AJ mow our back yard on the rider for the first time. He did a really good job!Reece wanted in on the "chores" when he found out AJ was going to start getting an allowance for mowing and doing other jobs around the house. So he picked up sticks. They are both saving money for our next trip to a Cubs game in May. We are taking them to a Lego Land, they will love that!!
Happy Spring!!

Reece's 100th Day of School

2010-02-19T11:01:00.000-08:00

At the end of January Reece's class celebrated their 100th day of school. They were told to dress up like a 100-year-old person. I think he looked absolutely adorable, cutest old man I've ever seen!!

He told me he wanted to wear a tie, because old people wear ties to work. He also said he wanted to wear brown dress pants with white shoes because that is what his Papau Joe always wears. hahaha!! Papau Joe is 84 so pretty close to 100!

He said he was yelling at some kids in this picture! He is my little ham!!

EAT MY WORDS

2010-02-17T11:33:00.000-08:00

Okay............. last week I blogged about how we all LOVE snow days.

Well, enough is enough.

I think we are all ready to get back in to our routine and are ready for warmer weather!!

We heart Snow Days!

2010-02-09T17:41:00.000-08:00

Around here we just happen to LOVE snow days because we all LOVE to sleep in! (and love to stay up late)

With me working from home anyway and Jake teaching we do enjoy the occasional snow day!

Although I am sure I am not going to like having to go to school in the spring when the weather is nice but for now we just enjoy....................

After sleeping in until about 9, having breakfast, and then playing some Rock Band, the boys headed outside to play for a little bit. I went out just long enough to snap some pictures!

Reece and his big burley hat. He goes through about 2-3 hats when he plays in the snow. i think he gets face fulls of snow when he sleds.

i made them pose for some quick pictures. i love the big pine tree in the background w/the snow on it.......so pretty

We already got the phone call that school is cancelled again tomorrow. I am sure the boys will venture out again!! Enjoy :)

B-ball Games

2010-01-06T11:47:00.000-08:00

On tuesday night, dec 22nd, the boys went to an IU basketball game. The boys had a good time. I didn't go so no pictures were taken!!! We did DVR the game, we played it back and could see the boys 3 different times on TV. They thought that was pretty neat!

Then on Dec 26th we took the boys to a Pacer game. Here are a few pics from that game.daddy w/his boys...

mommy w/her boys....

we were up pretty high but the boys liked that! actually before the game started we got to go down on the floor and watch them warm up and get autographs. (we didn't get autographs though.....) Anyway, the boys had a really good time!

Oh and while we are talking basketball both of the boys start playing through the YMCA this weekend. AJ has practice Thursday night and a game on Saturday morning. Reece just has a practice on Saturday, his games are in February. They both have fun playing, gives them something to do in the winter for exercise!

Christmas Gatherings Galore

2009-12-29T19:20:00.001-08:00

I have NO pictures from our first Christmas. It was at Grandma Eileen's on Saturday Dec 19th. The kids had a good time playing with their cousins and opening gifts.

The next Christmas gathering was at my parent's house last Wednesday night (the 23rd). The kids went over early and made cookies and the table decorations. As always the kids had a blast! (the adults did too!)Reece and Blake are dancing, looks like Frosty is getting trampled!!

Aunt Kim and Uncle Trent got the boys games. We have been playing lots of games over break!!!!

AJ with his little cousin Blake.

My wonderful parents, aren't they just so cute?!?!?!?

Mom is passing out more presents! Lauren and Reece are checking out their goods.

This is the whole table of kids and food!!! We did have a little mis-hap with the turkey strips and the grill but it all worked out in the end!!! (funny funny story for years to come, my poor dad!)

Then on Christmas Eve day we went to Jake's parents house for Christmas.

AJ and Alex are opening up their stockings.

This is Christmas Eve, we made cookies for Santa. I have a picture of AJ when he was 7 months old with the same little plate and mug for Santa. EVERY year I have taken a picture of the boys next to the plate. They are SO much bigger than the plate and mug now, can barely see it on the fireplace.

Sleepy reece getting ready to open presents. AJ had to wake him up at 845, he was still snoozing. He is my little sleeper!!

This was the year of Jersies for AJ. He had about 10 jersies (sp?) on his Christmas list this year. He ended up getting 3, pretty good I thought.

This is him in his Adrian Petersen Jersey. He also got a Notre Dame #23 and Dallas Clark (colts).

Reece got a dry erase board for his room. He loves to draw and do spelling words on it. (love it!!).

The day after Christmas (the 26th) we headed up to Indy to spend the next couple days at my Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins'. We had our Christmas there at noon that day. My mom's brother and his family from Maryland, my mom's sister and husband from Arkansas, and my cousin Carey from Florida all flew in for Christmas. It was the first time we were all together in 5 years. It was great to visit with everyone. That night me and Jake took the boys to a Pacers game. They really enjoyed that! (will post pics later)

Well, we had a great Christmas. It seemed to fly by. We have another Christmas in Odon on Sunday afternoon and then they are all done.

Happy New Year!!!

making cookies......yummy

2009-12-12T15:08:00.000-08:00

This afternoon me and the boys made homemade sugar cookies. They love to cut them out and then decorate them. Reece is trying his best to get the dough just right, he got it a little too thin so we had to start over! For some reason every year when we do this he is shirtless. I guess the shirt gets in his way! Thankfully these were just cookies to make and keep at home, Reece kept licking the icing.....

AJ only decorated 3 cookies this year. While we were doing our traditional cookie baking the doorbell rang and a friend of his stopped by to play. They rode bikes for a little bit then went to the basement to play XBox. So, I only got half the time with AJ. Oh well, guess I better start getting used to that!! Reece stayed with it the whole time! He and I decorated most of them.

This is the finished product! They look pretty good and taste very good!! Now I've got to clean up the kitchen and figure out what is for supper................maybe cookies?!?!?

Brrrrr

2009-12-03T10:46:00.000-08:00

THIS is what my boys are looking forward to............................ playing in the snow and then coming in for hot chocolate!

Can't Wait!!

Give Thanks

2009-11-15T07:51:00.000-08:00

I am Thankful for...........

my sweet and healthy little boys.

my sweet and caring husband.

my family & friends.

During this busy busy season it is easy to overlook all the important things. We are busy getting ready for holiday parties, christmas shopping, christmas decorating, etc. Sometimes I am too busy with all that stuff and I don't take the time to just relax and enjoy my family. A lot of that is my personality, I want everything to be just perfect, the house clean, the laundry done, perfect, perfect, perfect. I am working on letting things go a bit and just enjoying them while they are young and are at home and want me to play games with them or color with them. I know too soon they will be grown and out with their friends and won't really want mommy around all that much! Until then I need to slow down and enjoy them more!

I am also thankful for my salvation. For a God who loves us, cares for us, forgives us, and sent His son to die for us. This past summer AJ made Jesus his 'Forever Friend'. He was saved and baptized in June. Jake and I were able to baptize him. Jake had been baptized when he was younger so he talked with my dad about things and decided he would like to be baptized in our church. It was so awesome. Me and my dad baptized Jake, then Jake and I baptized AJ. That was definitely the highlight of 2009 for our family :)

I am so thankful that AJ came to the realization that he needs Jesus in his life. We have gone to church, prayed with him, and read the Bible with him his whole life but the day he came to us and said he wanted Jesus to be his Forever Friend and wanted to be saved and baptized was just awesome! I am sure Reece will come to that realization soon...... although after AJ and Jake were baptized he said he wanted to be baptized too so he could swim in the water. SO--until he realizes the meaning of it all we will wait a bit with him!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween

2009-10-30T18:18:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday after church the boys carved their pumpkins. This was the first year I let AJ do a lot of the cutting. I was nervous with him having a knife but he did pretty good. I did the major cuts, he did the rest.

AJ w/his pumpkin (& knife)

I LOVE the look on Reece's face while he is getting the yuck and seeds out of his pumpkin. It is too funny!

We recently got new countertops and new sink, of course Jake had to make a couple Wal-Mart trips to get the plumbing complete. He didn't have the drain things in yet so Reece played a joke on Tyler. Tyler spent the night with us last Friday night and when he got to the house we told him to wash his hands, this is what he saw! He just giggled and said he recognized Reece's hand!

Reece as a pirate before Mamau and Papau's annual Halloween Party!

AJ was dressed as Wolverine (X-Men character). Wolverine has black hair so for trick-or-treating we bought black hair spray paint (i forgot to get it before the party at mamau and papau's)

My little pirate and Wolverine fighting before the party.

This was the Halloween Party and mom at dad's. The kids had SO much fun. Jake and I and Kim and Trent went to Vincennes to eat dinner, when we got back in town to "pick up the kids" we first went to the garage where mom and dad had spooky music and decorations and we dressed up and scared the kids. The big kids liked it, Reece and Tyler were okay with it, Blake didn't care for the masks!

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Reece's Flag Football '09

2009-10-04T13:06:00.000-07:00

Reece had his first flag football "scrimmage" on Saturday morning. He ALMOST got a touchdown but someone grabbed his flag. It is SO cute to watch these kids play. It is K-2nd graders. We just so happen to be playing against Reece's cousin Tyler's team. So they played against each other. Tyler is in blue, #4 below.

Here are Reece and Tyler running. Looks like Reece is giggling about something. Too funny.

Well, he has 3 more games, the next 3 Saturday mornings.

Are You Ready For Some Football?!?!?!

2009-09-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

Doesn't he just look so cute in the little white pants! Last year they wore black pants to games, which was nice.... This year I have to pre-treat and treat again for the stains.
Oh well, that means he played hard!!

The pic below is AJ in a stance (i guess) I really should have Jake write about the football stuff. Not too sure on the correct football terminology!

AJ had his first football game this afternoon. I just love watching this age group play. It is 3rd and 4th graders. He absolutely loves playing! (daddy loves that too!)

AJ is the only one on the team with a black helmet. I like that because it is very easy to find him out on the field! The YMCA provided the equipment but of course Jake got ours through the school, he says it is much better quality. So he has a black helmet.

(again I just love the little white pants!)

oh yeah, we WON our game today! 14-0 Go Steelers! AJ's biggest fan, Reece, had the best seats up on top of the booth at Hatchet Hollow. Reece starts flag football soon. He played last year and really enjoyed it. That age group is very cute to watch. It is K-2nd. He can't wait until he gets to wear all the pads and hit, that part makes me nervous for him. Hopefully he gains some weight and gets some meat on his bones before 3rd grade!!!!

Well for the rest of this month and all of October we are full force in to football! AJ has games every Saturday until the end of October. He usually has practices 2-3 nights a week.

Reece will soon have practices and games every Saturday until the end of October.

And of course Jake is JV Coach for WHS so he is always at football! Also, AJ is one of the ball boys for the high school games on Friday nights. He enjoys that very much! He rides the bus with the team to and from the away games. (i think he likes the snacks they have for the bus rides home!) Plus he likes to be right there with all the action during the games.

Garage Sale this Friday!!!

2009-09-07T16:12:00.000-07:00

Well, over the long weekend me, Jake, and the boys went furniture shopping. We looked at furniture around this time last year and decided to wait another year. I absolutely LOVE what we picked out and it will be delivered tomorrow!!

That being said, we had to clear out the living room. We were filling the garage with furniture, etc and I decided I needed to have a garage sale to try and sell the furniture, along with other stuff!!

This Friday, 11th, 8-??
11 Morningside Dr.

Couch, Loveseat, Recliner, kid recliner, toys, kid/adult clothes, and household items.

We shopped at the furniture store for over 2 hours. The boys were so good, including Jake! After that we took the boys to the movies and watched Ice Age 3 in 3-D, it was very cute. I think that made up for the LONG shopping trip!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Time For School!

2009-08-17T05:51:00.000-07:00

Today was the day........first day back to school. AJ got up on his own at 6am this morning. I think he is really looking forward to the 4th grade! HOWEVER, Reece struggled to get up (like always). He did finally get out of bed at 7am, ate a bowl of cereal and then laid on the couch until it was time to brush teeth and get dressed.

AJ kept telling Reece to hurry up and get dressed, hurry up and put your shoes on, hurry up and get your backpack. So, I was glad for that, he is excited.

We walked in to North, AJ went straight to his classroom, Mrs. Smith, didn't really tell me bye, just went right in. Reece was walking behind me down the hallway, we walked in to Mrs. Lannan's room, he seemed fine, THEN the tears started!!! NO, NOT AGAIN THIS YEAR!! He did this a lot last year but I chalked it up to being in school full day for Kindergarten, a lot of adjustments. Even though last year he had Jessie Davis (our cousin) he still had tears from time to time.

Well, before I left his classroom his tears slowed down a bit. It is SO hard to leave your child when he is crying. But, he is in 1st grade now so really the crying should stop!! I was trying to be stern with him, telling him that he is big now, in the 1st grade and that he really shouldn't be crying. Deep down I just wanted to cry and take him home with me!!! I know I can't do that.

Boy, talk about having 2 different boys! At least they both aren't mommy's boys!!! Now I just can't wait to pick them up at 3 and see how their day was!

I can't believe the boys are in 1st grade and 4th grade! I REALLY want things to slow down so I still have my little boys!!! They are growing up to be such handsome and kind boys! When we went in to school today AJ opened the door for a little girl, I really thought that was sweet. He is a little gentleman (plus she was cute!)

Hope everyone has a great day at school!! Hopefully Reece has no tears tomorrow!

An Overnight Guest

2009-08-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

We recently had a sweet little overnight guest. My nephew Blake spent the night with us!

AJ and Reece got a little taste of what having a little brother would be like. (not gonna happen!)They watched Noggin with him which of course they haven't watched Noggin in quite awhile. They also had to put away Lego creations that they had spent lots of time building because Blake likes to un-do the creations! too funny!

I overhead AJ tell Reece to get Blake side tracked on something else so they could do Legos without him. He is such a good little boy though! We had a lot of fun and of course I pulled out the camera to get some pictures!! having a little bedtime snack and reece being goofy!

Hope everyone had a nice summer......... back to school on Monday! The boys are kind of excited to start a new school year. We had a great, busy, and fun summer. Now football starts for all 3 boys real soon! more busy times ahead!

Horsin' Around

2009-08-07T11:10:00.001-07:00

Last weekend me and the boys headed north to Danville to visit with my grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins.

We first stopped by my aunt and uncles house to visit. My uncle had his horse out so the boys round around on Rio for awhile.

We don't own any cowboy boots, they are wearing crocs and sandals....

Brooklynn, Bradley, AJ, and Reece.

On Sunday afternoon we met up with our cousins and went to the local park which has a spray park/pool/waterslides. The kids had a blast!!

Of course, while staying at my grandparents (which the boys call GG) we had to play Dominoes. They just love playing games with GG and Papau Joe.

Skateboards & Mohawks

2009-07-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

my boys used to be so clean cut and proper, well now they want mohawks and to ride skateboards........ i think we've created monsters. (cute monsters though)

reece worked on this mohawk the other night after his bath and then insisted i take pictures of him......

both of the boys have wanted to have long(er) hair, like all the boys are wearing these days

(oh the peer pressure in kindergarten and 3rd grade)

of course we would never allow them to have very long hair but we have let them keep it a little longer...

enjoy the pictures!!

CrAzY cUtE bOyS

2009-07-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

AJ & Reece

I don't have a whole lot to post this week. I am trying REALLY hard to sit down on Sunday evenings and recap the week. I actually pulled my camera out at 8:30pm Sunday night just to snap a few shots of my crazy cute boys.....

Lets see, AJ had to turn in his 4H projects Saturday morning. We ran up to the 4H building this evening to see what he got on his projects. His electricity project wasn't judged yet but he got 1st on his Sports poster. This is his first year in regular 4H so it was the first time he got judged on his projects.

Besides 4H we have just been enjoying the summer. We've done some swimming, some Holiday World, some bike riding, and a lot of sleeping in!!!!!! I love summer because I love to sleep in and so do my boys! We don't go to bed until around 11-12 so we usually sleep until about 8-9. Very nice!!

Yesterday me and Jake went to Louisville with Stacy and Stephanie McClure to eat at Joe's Crab Shack. I got a burger. Jake and Stacy got some huge nasty looking lobster. They liked them though. We had a really great time!!

AJ is going to Holiday World with a friend tomorrow. So Reece and I will probably find a pool to swim in!! (if it is warm enough!!) Have a great week!!

4th of July

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

The kids had such a great time this year with fireworks. We had our cousins visiting from Avon, my parents, and my sister and her family over for dinner on the 2nd of July.

After dinner my cousin Mark and BIL Trent went and bought fireworks for the kids to do (and the big kids) We had a few fireworks and sparklers.....

AJ doing sparklers . . . .

We had planned a trip to Holiday World for the 4th but since the weather was so rainy we decided to go on the 5th instead. We really wanted to watch the fireworks at Holiday World because they are usually very good. Oh well, we watched the park's from Stacy and Stephanie's so it worked out.

Jumping On the Blog Wagon

2009-07-05T20:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, here goes...... i just started posting pictures and stuff to a shutterfly acct but just wasn't quite happy with it. I love it for making photo books etc but otherwise it was a little confusing for me! So I am jumping on the blog wagon and will do my best to post pictures and document the lives of my boys! My have they grown...... AJ is 9 and Reece is 6. I don't seem to take as many pictures as I used to when they were babies but am REALLY trying to get better at it! I know they are still young but when they were babies they changed every day and did so many "firsts" that I just had to capture on camera. I'm not saying that they are boring now, actually quite the opposite! So this is my attempt at blogging and keeping these precious memories better documented.