My Life With 4

Pre-K Fun!

2012-01-30T23:06:00.001-05:00

They made a scarecrow!

They made a snowman!

They put bears in a cave to hibernate for the winter.

And this was just the first half of the school year!
Can't wait to see what they do the second half of the year :0)

He's Average!!

2012-01-30T10:59:00.001-05:00

Had my first Parent/Teacher conference for Caden this morning.

I was a little nervous to hear what the teacher had to say.

Turns out Caden is pretty average!!

He can write his name legibly most of the time (at school anyways, home is another story!)

He knows his colors and shapes.

He can count to 16.

He can do simple patterns.

We just need to work on letter and number recognition.

He should be starting speech in a few weeks for articulation.

Well, it's about time!!

2012-01-26T10:06:00.000-05:00

We've been patiently waiting for them to get to our house to widen our driveway.

Halfway through the renovations of the houses they decided they would do this. Being that our house was one of the first ones to be renovated we had to wait for them to get to our driveway. Well, after living in this house for almost 4 years now, we finally are getting our driveway done!! It will be nice to have a wider driveway as it gets awfully muddy when parking the trucks on the right side.

This is what it looked like when I left for class.

This was what it was like when I got home from class! :)

Now we get to wait for them to come back and fill it in with asphalt.

Who knows how long that will take!! :-/

Things that make you go hmm

2012-01-17T21:07:00.002-05:00

So I went to change out the empty toilet paper roll in my bathroom this afternoon and what did I find in the toilet paper holder???

A roll of paper towel!

Is Caden trying to say something???

Caden's many personalities...

2012-01-17T12:15:00.002-05:00

The Super Hero

The Turkey

The Santa

The Adventurer!

My one weakness....

2012-01-15T00:33:00.002-05:00

I hate when my kids are sick...I don't sleep! :0(

Caden's made three trips to the bathroom so far tonight.

This is his second tummy bug this season and he's the only one that had the flu mist!

Just made myself some coffee and have my computer and tv to keep me company.

This is the only part of being a mom I don't like, I just want him to feel better!!

Memories

2012-01-06T23:21:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite memories is of Jeani taking me out into the country to watch the northern lights.

To sit in the car and watch the lights dance across the sky was amazing!

Today has been one of those days....I've wanted to pick up the phone to call and wish her a happy birthday. Instead I've sat and thought of all the things we did together. I know she's up there in heaven having a wondeful celebration and with that I can be happy for her!

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T23:41:00.003-05:00

With 2012 less than 30 minutes away...

I pray 2012 to be the year where good things happen.

2011 was a hard year for our family. So here's to new and better things!

Last minute photos

2011-12-27T22:40:00.002-05:00

Forgot I hadn't taken any pictures of the kids for Christmas so befre I took the tree down I snapped a few. I didn't even get a picture of the kids with their stockings this year :o(

3 out 4 isn't bad for smiles

A picture wouldn't be complete without Lola!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T11:36:00.001-05:00

....from our house to yours!

Christmas Makeover

2011-12-23T23:00:00.001-05:00

I love decorating for Christmas!!

Normally I don't go all out as most years we go home to celebrate with family.

This year because the kids and I are staying here, I decided it was time to get everything out. This way I can go through everything and get rid of stuff I will never use or don't need! I didn't get everything out either....I decided not to do the big lighted swags about the windows and big doorway.

Of course this means everything gets a good cleaning before hand!

The entertainment center looks so bare!

Toys have been moved around in the toy room.
Lola's cat 'mansion' has been temporarily moved to Cory's room!

I decided to put up the big 7 1/2 foot tree this year!

The entertainment center is no longer bare!

The toy room looking festive

I didn't like that I couldn't see the tree in the toy room so I put up another tree in the living room for me to look at

I couldn't stop at just 2 trees! This is our very first tree that we bought after we moved to California.

I do LOVE my big tree though! It's so pretty at night!!

1st Quarter Awards

2011-12-22T12:39:00.000-05:00

The first quarter of school has come and gone.

I was glad to have my mom here to see Hanna receive recognition for her outstanding achievement in math! Hanna was asked to join the Math Club at the middle school. She will be competing in tournaments with other schools in the area. Hanna is also being tested for the Gifted Program! I hope she continues to enjoy math!

Hanna receiving her A/B Honors Award

Receiving her Math Achievement Award

Being recognized as 1 of 14 students to be in the 99 Club.
These students are striving for a 99 or better on the Terra Nova test in March

She had a 99% in Math for 1st quarter

A/B Honor Roll

I can't leave Cole out either!! He made A/B Honor Roll too!
Unfortunately, I was not told about his awards ceremony and missed it :(

He also had perfect attendance!! :)

I wish for my kids to continue doing well in school. So far I'm lucky these two have been doing well without me having to constantly be on their backs about getting work done. I still have a few days here and there where Cole doesn't want to do his work but he's always working ahead so he doesn't have to spend every day doing homework. Sometimes I think he's bored with what he's learning. As long as they do their best, that's all I ask of them!! Now to work on Cory and his schoolwork...that's a full-time job with him!! :/

Just for Julia.....

2011-12-22T12:19:00.000-05:00

Yes, I now I'm behind! Blogger was not letting me post for a few months so I've been slacking. Will try to get back into the swing of things. Anyways, this is a short video from Caden's Christmas program. Watching him up there on the stage, he reminded me so much of Cole!

Where did summer go??

2011-10-15T10:08:00.000-04:00

So I've slacked in blogging this summer. We had such a good visit up in Wisconsin with our friends and family. Now we are back to reality. I'm back to school on Monday already and the kids return on the 25th. Hoping this year will be a good year for the kids.

After last years incident with Cory, I'm praying this is an easier year now that he's past the freshman stage.

Hanna is starting middle school this year!! She's not a little kid any more :0( She will no longer be riding the bus to school so I took her to the store and let her pick out a new bike! She's really nervous about the new school but I know she'll be ok!

I'm still working on getting Caden ready for school. I was/am hoping to get him into pre-K but there's a small issue we are still dealing with.....he is still wearing pullups!! He does really good using the potty if you take him ever hour, but for him to do it on his own isn't working. I guess it won't be the end of the world if he doesn't start school this year. I'll just have to work with him more and get him ready for Kindergarten!

This should be my last year for my Associates degree! I will be so happy when I have that completed. Then I can focus on my nursing degree. This is also our last year here in North Carolina. I cannot wait to leave this place!!

Beach Visit

2011-06-11T21:16:00.005-04:00

The kids have been bugging me to take them to the beach. So I decided this morning we would make a quick trip out there. I like to go early enough that the sun won't be at it's hottest. Cory chose not to go with so he stayed home and slept!

He loves the waves!
Cole trying to avoid getting his bandage wet.

Hanna was looking at something but I don't know what!

Digging for sharks teeth

My toes in the sand

I never last long at the beach. It's windy and the sun is too hot. I hate bringing half the beach home in the truck! I do love to sit and watch the waves though. Give me a pool and some shade and I'm happy!! :0)

Road Trip!

2011-06-01T10:58:00.002-04:00

In just a few day, 16 to be exact, I will be heading home to Wisconsin!! Yay!!

Me, 4 kids, 2 dogs and a cat. Should be interesting!

When I made this trip 2 years ago, it went as smooth as I could hope for!

I'm praying it goes just as easy again this year.

This only gives me a few days to get stuff done around the house. I noticed Richard's front tire on the truck was looking low yesterday. So I got the pressure gauge out and sure enough, it read 15psi (should be 30psi)!!! So off I went to the gas station to put some air in the tire. That's when I noticed the screw in the tire!! Great! Now I'll have to take that in and have it repaired. I also need to get my truck in for an oil change and to have it looked over to make sure it's ready for the long haul north.

I'm finishing up the last of doctor's appointments this week. I was able to get Hanna and Cory in for an eye appointment today. It's been 2 years for Cory as his eyes hadn't changed the last time he was seen. Poor Hanna though, her glasses are barely hanging on! Decided I wasn't going to take her back to the eye center in the mall....expensive!! I'll stick with Walmart's optical center. The kids and I all had dentist last week. The boys have all had their annual physicals. Hanna's will have to wait until we return in August, as her birthday isn't until July.

May try to get the dogs in for a bath at the vet. If I can't, guess I'll be washing them! All I know is they need a good scrubbing before I stick them in MY truck!! :0) And then of course there is the packing that needs to be done!! Good thing it's summer time and I won't have to pack a lot of jeans and sweaters. Everything I need for six weeks must fit in the cartop carrier....the back end of the truck will only be for the dogs.

We still have 2 weeks left of school to get through too. It seems like everyone else is already down for the school year or they will be done this week.

I'm so ready to spend some time with my family!! :0)

Cartwheels!!

2011-05-13T21:05:00.002-04:00

My Middle Man

2011-05-06T21:07:00.002-04:00

' I love you mom'

Cole has always been my funny child. I can be having the worst day and he will come along and do something that makes me smile or laugh.

Lately though, we've been having a lot of behavioral problems. There are days when I can tell him to stop doing something not once or twice but up to 4 or 5 times before he'll listen! And that's after I've started yelling! He complains every day of having to do his homework. It can be simple stuff such as putting his spelling words in alphabetical order. His teacher says he loves to volunteer to help all the time but rushes through is in-classroom work or won't focus on what he needs to be doing. Things are never his fault, like when he gets in trouble for talking in class. He blames it on his friends and says he was being quiet. Last year during school, he kept telling me that his music teacher hated him. When I asked him why he thought this, he tells me because he is always getting into trouble. Well, maybe you are doing something to get into trouble? I've also noticed he has a hard time sitting still. I can't count how many times he will fall out of the chair while playing on the computer. He can't just walk, he has to run or jump over things and then wonders why he's always getting hurt! There are days where I think maybe he needs some ADHD meds but we've been down that road with Cory. While it did great things for Cory (it allowed for him to make great improvements with his speech), I would like to try to avoid it with Cole. His teachers have never brought it up so we'll deal with it for now.

So for now, it's one day at a time.

4 on the 4th!!

2011-05-04T22:05:00.003-04:00

Today we celebrated Caden's Golden Birthday!

For the most part he had a great day with only a minor meltdown after the party.

Caden with his baggie of treats for his friends at daycare.

The Birthday Boy!

The yummy cake

Love his expression!!

Now he's ready to go hunting for geckos!

I'm sure you can figure out the theme of his party...

SPONGEBOB!!

He loves to watch Spongebob. If I need to get something done around the house and keep him occupied, I just turn on Spongebob! Yeah, yeah! I know they say not to let the television be a babysitter but if I didn't, I wouldn't get anything done with him home!! Will be interesting to see what he chooses next year for his party.

We only had one meltdown and it occured after the party.

Caden had lost one of his balloons outside :( He was quickly comforted by his sister. An hour later though, he was bawling!! He crawled up into my lap and cried and kept saying that his balloon went up into the sky. His sister once again was able to calm him....she pulled out some of his party gifts!! They colored giant Spongebob coloring pages, they played his new Spongebob Memory game and she opened up his new cars and airplane! He was good after that :) He is now sleeping in his new Thomas jammies after watching his new Spongebob DVD. I think for a four year old, that's a pretty good deal!!

Like father, Like son

2011-05-02T21:30:00.002-04:00

So today Cory had to wear his Charlies to school.

He will no longer be wearing his cammies for the remainder of the school year.
I hope this is a glimpse into his future!
I know how much he really wants to join the military.
We just have to get him through school first!!
Have a doctor's appointment for him tomorrow. I plan on bringing up some ideas that may help him with his depression (Boys/Girls Club, Big Brother) Really hope to avoid increasing his medicine dosage! Hate that this was their first and only decision!!
For now I'm happy to see that he enjoys his JROTC class!! :0)

4 years ago today.....

2011-04-22T12:40:00.006-04:00

It's hard to believe it's been that long, but I still remember it like it was yesterday!

We were living back in Wisconsin while Richard was doing his first deployment in Iraq.
My mom and I had spent most of the day painting the front porch. I sat down to watch the news while my mom jumped on the computer to check her email. She had just taken a cup of coffee out of the microwave and set it on a pretty high end table behind some pictures. She thought it was out of reach from Caden. I remember hearing the spill and then the screams!! I turned to see Caden covered in coffee. He was only wearing a onsie at the time. I scooped him up and headed to the kitchen were I stuck him in the sink and proceeded to take the onsie off and running cold water over him. As I'm doing this, his skin began to peel! My heart sank. Oh no!!

My mind starts racing with things I should do. Should I have my mom rush me to the ER or should I call 911?? I wanted my mom to stay home with the kids, so I called a friend who is an EMT/fireman with the Milton Fire Department. He drove me and Caden to the ER, he even had the forsight to call ahead to let them know were were coming!

Upon arrival in the ER they took us straight back. They did their assessment and gave Caden a Morphine drip to help with the pain. It was determined that Mercy did not have the speicalists needed to treat Caden. It was deemed neccesary to transport us up to the burn unit in Madison. I remember sitting there on the stretcher in ER holding Caden as he slept waiting for the ambulance to arrive. He was no long crying but I knew how badly he was hurting. It broke my heart. The ambulance arrived and they realized they could not transport us due to the Morphine drip Caden was on. They didn't have the capability of treating him should something go wrong on the ride up to the hospital. So we patiently waited for the second ambulance to arrive. I watched as they strapped Caden into the stretch as best as they could without putting the straps over his wounds. I followed the paramedics as they wheeled Caden out to the ambulance. The ride seemed like it would never end. Turns out the paramedic that road in the back with me, knows my brother-in-law Faron. The burn unit nurses were waiting for us when we arrived. The doctor came in and did his assessment. I was told that Caden had first and second degree burns. The doctor explained what they were going do and that once they were done, Caden's pain would easy greatly. They proceeded to pull off the peeling skin and covered the open wound with a sheet of biobrane.

Biobrane is a biosynthetic wound dressing that adheres to the wound until new skin can grow and then it gradually falls off. It allows for a quicker healing process and reduces the pain during this time.

After Caden was bandaged up, we finally headed up to the burn unit for the night. I believe it was 1:30 am before we were finally in our room. They had set-up a crib for Caden and there was a bed for me to use. In the crib was a few TY beanie babies that were donated to the hospital. I remember finally being able to fall asleep about 3:30 that night. I was exhausted but still very worried about my baby. When Caden finally woke in the morning, he was up and trying to move around. He was still hooked up to his IV and was not liking the arm brace. About 9:30ish my mother-in-law showed up with a bag of clothes for me and Caden and his stoller. We were soon discharged from the hospital after our morning bandage change, but we weren't going home yet!!

The hospital arranged for us to stay at the Ronald McDonald House just a few short blocks away. Caden's injuries would need daily bandage changes for a few days so this made it easier than having to make the drive up to Madison every day. It was really hard to say goodbye to my mother-in-law after we were settled in our room at the House. There were no tv's in our rooms, but they did have a computer room, a library and toy room. I remember crying myself to sleep that night. It was pretty quiet there during the day as most of the families were at the hospital having their doctor's appointments and visiting their kids. We were responsible for our own food for breakfast and lunch but dinners were prepared by volunteers who would come in and prepare a meal for us. Our second night at the House, my dad as step-mom brought the other three kids up so visit with us. We had dinner together before they returned back home, after all it was a school night for the kids. Our third day up there, Richard arrived! He had just returned to North Carolina from Iraq the day of Caden's accident. As soon as he heard of the accident, he was given leave time and rented a car to head North. It was nice to have some company that night to talk to and he was able to come with me to Caden's last daily bandage check. We were given instructions to cut away the biobrane as it would loosen from his skin and to rub the newly formed skin with lotion. We were allowed to head home to Milton 4 days after the accident. We had a first birthday to prepare for!!

Caden showing off his biobrane!

After the biobrane had fallen off. He had just a little scabbing left.

The scabs are gone and new skin has formed!

I know for a long time my mom felt very quilty about this. I never blamed her for this, it was an accident and accidents happen. She took great care of my kids while I was away and I thank her for that!!
Now four years later, Caden is about to celebrate his fourth birthday and has no remaining scars from this! He looks (and acts!) like any other four year old! :0)
We now donate to the Ronald McDonald House when we see their dontaion boxes. I know my Dad also took up collecting soda can tabs at his work which the RMH takes as a way to help support their great cause!

Friday Night Favorites

2011-04-10T20:37:00.001-04:00

Who needs a tire swing, when you can use a branch!

Cole is my favorite to photograph! He makes it so easy. Hanna taking a break from cartwheels to look at the clouds.

VIP Princess

2011-04-10T20:31:00.003-04:00

Hanna's week to be VIP

Hanna and Principal Osgood Ice cream treat!

This is Hanna's last time being VIP. Next year she'll be at the middle school.

A whole new world!!

It's tooo early!!

2011-04-03T21:58:00.005-04:00

So Saturday morning I was awoken by Caden walking into my room at 7:40am.

He tells me it's time to get up! He walks over to the window and says "see the sun is out!"

Who can argue with that explanation?? :0)

(Some day soon, the kids will realize Saturdays are meant for sleeping in late...right?!)

Snapped this photo Friday morning before I woke him up.

Who knew bunnies could be used as pillows!!

My Sillies!

2011-03-28T20:26:00.002-04:00

Caden had his hands full so his bunny got a ride in the hood!

I think he would spend his upside down if he could!

It's been almost 2 weeks....

2011-03-24T15:12:00.002-04:00

...since we said good bye!

Caden was old enough this time to understand what was going on.

It was really hard to see him cry because Dad was leaving :0(
And of course Miss Hanna is such a Daddy's girl!

Cory wasn't going to come at first, said he would stay in school.

He changed his mind that morning.

He was crying too (as seen in the next picture below).

And then there is Mr. Cole.

I am happy to say that the first 2 weeks have been good.

Not much has changed. The kids still fight.

They still give me attitude about doing homework and picking up after themselves.

We'll see what the next 50 weeks brings!

Another season comes to an end

2011-03-10T22:06:00.003-05:00

Tonight was the team party for Hanna's cheerleading.

It wasn't our best season but it was still good.

We started with 8 girls on the squad.

1 never showed up the entier season.

1 moved away during the season and never told us.

1 got in some trouble with her teacher and wasn't allowed to cheer any more.
I still think our squad did great for only have 5 girls.

THE BLUEJAYS

Krissy, Mia, Hanna, Kara (Jessica didn't make it to the party)

Me giving Hanna her certificate

Me reading my coaching certificate

Hanna's award and trophy

My certificate

It was an experience being the coach (and I was only the coach for a week!)

This was our coaches last year as she will be leaving the military in September.

She had to leave the season early to deal with some family issues up in Virginia.

I stepped up and helped the girls finish their season (3 games). Thankfully the girls already knew their cheers and dance so I wasn't required to teach them new ones!

We will miss Coach Katherine!

Stow Away(s)

2011-03-06T20:57:00.003-05:00

The time has come for the packing to begin!

I have lost the garage floor to all the foot lockers Richard has accumulated over the years.

Tonight it was the living room floor's turn!

Caden thought it was fun to lay in the foot locker

Then he wanted to get in the bag!

He didn't know what Dad had in store for him...

Weeeee!!

When Richard first hoisted him up, I couldn't tell if Caden was freaking out or actually just laughing really hard! He thought this was pretty fun!

And of course Hanna and Cole don't want to be left behind either!

He was all ready to leave with Dad!

The look on his face when he was told he couldn't go was a look of disappointment!

Friday Night Fun

2011-03-06T10:58:00.002-05:00

Friday night the kids were laying claim to the living room tv so the three adults moved to the toy room to play some Wii. Well, that didn't last long either as the kids soon joined us!

Mr. Mike and Caden bowling

Peanut golfing

Love his bowling form!

My V.I.P

2011-03-01T20:35:00.002-05:00

This last year has been really hard on Cole.

We're still dealing with a lot of issues with him but I'm hoping it will settle down soon. He's had a big adjustment switching schools, long term substitute while his teacher was on maternity leave, and having his friends move away. His best friend, Garrett, will be leaving in April so I know we'll be dealing with that soon. He likes to test his limits. He knows his word choices are not ok with me, yet he continues to use them. He's got the middle child syndrome so I need to work on that. He has enjoyed having his Dad be his assistant coach for basketball and his coach for the last few games of soccer. We are working on his behavior in school. He really enjoys helping his teacher but has a hard time completeing work when it's asked of him.

I miss my sweet, funny child and hope to have him back soon!!

C-H-E-E-R!

2011-03-01T20:20:00.004-05:00

We have two games left in the season, Wednesday and Saturday.

It's sad to know it will be our last year with our coach. Hanna's had the same coach now for three years. I hope Hanna likes her next coach just as much as she likes Katherine.

I had a glimpse into my future Monday night as I was driving Hanna and two of her teammates to the game. Windows were down, radio turned up. They were laughing and singing along with the iPod. To listen to 10 and 11 year olds talk, I can only imagine what it will be like when they are teenagers! :0)

Love Scentsy!

2011-02-13T10:33:00.003-05:00

My daycare lady sells Scentsy and I have come to love it!!

I love that there is no flame involved and the wax is not hot enough to burn you.

Both great things when you have 4 kids and 3 animals running the house!

They just came out with their new spring/summer catalog and these were a few of my favorites.

I haven't had the chance to smell the new scents that have come out but I plan to!

This first one is "Dotty"

I love it for Easter time!!

This one is "Fizz"

If I had a large counter in the kids' bathroom, I'd get it!This last one is "Shasta Daisy"

What can I say? It's a daisy!! (Jean's favortie!)

It's a small plug-in that I may get for my bathroom.There are several others I really want to add to my collection.

I really want the one they have for the 4th of July called "Liberty"

And of course there are the ones for the kids' rooms....

a golf one for Cory

a soccer ball one for Cole

a pink/brown one for Hanna

And of course they have a fishing one I could get for Dad.

And the teacher one for the kids' teachers.

And there is one for Rhonda but I'll keep that one a secret just in case!

(Rhonda, thought you would like the "Dotty" one with it's yellow but not the one I think you would absolutely love!)

Oh the list goes on!!

What can I say, I love Scentsy!! :0)

The Tree

2010-11-23T18:01:00.003-05:00

My newest tradition is to put up the little Christmas tree before Thanksgiving.
I've been doing this now for three years.

The rest of the Christmas stuff waits until after Thanksgiving Day.

Music Note
French Horn

Tricycle

Sled

Santa Tree Topper

Spooooky!!

2010-10-03T19:01:00.002-04:00

Switched over to Halloween decorations this weekend!

Will go back to the fall stuff after Halloween is over.

The window sill in the kitchen:

The smoking skull and cauldron:
My favorite....the skull candy dish!!

The living room window:

The entertainment center:

Entertainment center without the flash on:

The view into the toy room with the flash off:

Notice the big pumpkin head guy in the above picture....that is where Caden put him so that is where he will stay this year :0)

A lot of out door stuff doesn't get put out until the night of Halloween.

I have a small graveyard that gets setup. I have a motorized spider that gets to crawl across the yard.

Fall Means....

2010-09-21T13:15:00.005-04:00

It's time to pull out the decorations!!

The front door

The hall entryway table

The kitchen

The window sill above the kitchen sink

The toy room with window cling leaves

The living room window The entertainment center

Our family scarecrows, one for each of us!

One of the scarecrows by the mailbox

I love decorating for the holidays!

October 1st the halloween stuff will be brought out.
Unfortunately, Christmas gets a little neglected!

Being that we usually go home to Wisconsin, not much gets put out.

The Cakes

2010-08-05T15:52:00.001-04:00

May 4

May 21

June 15

July 26

They really like it!!!

2010-08-05T15:46:00.003-04:00

This was the back flower bed after I first planted it!

This is the flower bed now!!!

I really think my ferns like their new home!! :0)
I think next week I will take out the far right side of the flower bed and move it to the far left! The flowers back there aren't getting enough sun light.
Will see if moving it to the other side of the porch will help!

2010-08-05T15:23:00.002-04:00

And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God."
Mark 11:22

Military Milestone

2010-08-02T20:24:00.003-04:00

Every military child looks forward to the day when they can finally get their own military ID.

Well, Hanna has finally reached that age!!

When a child turns 10, they are required to start carrying their own ID card.

From here on out, she will be responsible for showing her ID at doctor appointments, optical appointments, and at the bank!

*Sorry I haven't been keeping up! Will try to get some posts up in the next few days now that I have a few days off from school!*

My flower gardens

2010-05-19T20:56:00.002-04:00

With the addition of the swingset to the backyard, I wanted the make the backyard a place that I would enjoy hanging out while watching the kids play.

This is the before shots.
I had the ferns hanging in the front yard but they sun was killing them. This side of the house gets only the early morning sun.

The after!

I missed having a swing, so we bought another one.

The one we had in South Carolina, my mom now has and she loves it!

Don't want to take it away from her :0)

We moved the fire pit off that back patio.

I added some Vincas inbetween the plants to add some color.

The ferns are loving their new home!!
I also bought a few of the cheap solar lights from Walmart.

They do the trick!

This is my front yard that I worked on last year!!

I'm so happy that my flowers came back this year.

This is where I had my ferns hanging but this side of the house gets the most sun.

Gets really hot!!

FORE!

2010-05-16T19:37:00.002-04:00

Future Golfers!

Now they all have golf clubs, thanks to Dad!!

This is how Dad golfs when he's on duty!

He's really not suppose to be home during duty but because we live on base his response time wouldn't be bad. The other agents all stay at the office during their 24 hour duties.

Caden posing for a picture.
Cole wearing his Happy Gilmore shorts! :0)

Cory returning the golf balls back to the little kids.

Is the birthday boy there?

2010-05-02T20:43:00.002-04:00

Caden loves to talk on the phone.

He was excited when tonite's phone call was for him!!

Grandpa called to wish him a happy birthday :0)

Birthday Season Again!

2010-05-01T20:37:00.005-04:00

It's that time of year again where we start celebrating birthdays in our home.

Today was Caden's day.

I found some really neat train decorations.
It's just too bad that everything has to be Thomas the Train!!

Had a hard time finding a cake I liked.
I'm just glad he's still young enough to now know what he's missing out on....pinata, games, etc.

Circus!

2010-04-22T10:41:00.005-04:00

That time of year again...The circus was in town!!

The kids watching the elephants give rides.

Hanna riding a pony
Caden on his first pony ride!!

5 of the 8 kids...

Gunnar and Cole

Corey, Cory and Gabe

The girls...

Jordyn and Hanna

*Jordyn is our god-daughter*

The cool tigers they had this year!

They had a lot of new acts this year.

Gunnar and Cole watching the tigers.

The clowns!

Caden loved watching the clowns!!

The elephants were back!!

The Sphere!

This was a big hit again!!

I have to give credit to Julia for taking her boys!!

Julia had a bad experience with circuses growing up. She enjoyed herself and her boys wound up having a fun time too! Sorry the clowns still freaked you out Julia!! :0)

Glad Ty and Ryan enjoyed their first circus!!

One of those days

2010-04-18T21:12:00.003-04:00

Maybe tomorrow I'll get around to uploading the pictures from this weekend. The kids are all in bed and soon I hope to follow. With three weeks left of school, I should have some free time soon. I can hope right??? I still have a few classes to take this summer. I can't belive I only have 13 classes left to take in order to get my Associates Degree!! WOW! May have to find a school that offers my Bachelor's Degree :0)

Fort Macon

2010-04-12T08:00:00.003-04:00

Saturday was Grandma Joa's last day with us.

So I wanted to find something fun to do!!

Love this sign! ;)

Walking down into the fort.

Looking out to the ocean from the top of the fort.

Cory standing on the very top of the fort, looking down into the moat.

A 'soldier' talking to Cole.
It was kind of neat that we happened to visit on a day where they

were all dressed up and doing demonstrations.

"FIRE!!"

Looking out into the courtyard

The bakery

The original oven was demolished so the soldiers could use the room for storage.

Cole wearing his Confederate kepi

Cory wearing his Union kepi

How could I forget!!!

2010-04-09T12:31:00.003-04:00

We also hatched baby turtles!!

Our Spring Break!!

2010-04-08T20:19:00.004-04:00

We helped our little brother...

We tied our shoes constantly...

We picked up our first fish...

We golfed...

We blew bubbles...

We walked the beach...

We made sand angels...

We loved on our cousin Jonathon...

We visited the aquarium...

We cherished precious moments...

We've been very busy!!

Another puzzler!

2010-04-01T09:32:00.001-04:00

"Cheese!"

He loves his Dora puzzle!

He can even put it together upside down!

Our visitors

2010-03-27T10:33:00.001-04:00

They seem to really like the neighbors back yard!

There were 8 of them out there. They don't seem to mind the dogs barking.

Baby chicks....again!!

2010-03-27T10:22:00.002-04:00

Once again Cole's class hatched baby chicks!!

That 4-H dontates the incubators and the eggs to the classes so that the kids can watch them hatch. After the eggs hatch, the babies are returned to the 4-H farm.

Caden really wanting to pick one up!!

Cole has a hard time keeping them in his hand!

This is Robin!
There were others named Batman, Spongebob, Patrick, Fanboy and Chum Chum!

Leave it to boys to name chicks!

Caden getting up close and personal!

My babies!!

2010-03-27T10:14:00.001-04:00

This was taken Tuesday nite at the bowling alley.

I was actually quite surprised that they were doing this!! It's not often you see them this close together! :0)

Tigers Cheerleading

2010-03-26T21:50:00.002-04:00

Our fabulous coaches!!

The girls

The yummy cake!

Coach Katherine and a few of the girls

Coach Katherine and Coach Brittany awarding Hanna her certificate and trophy

The coaches loving their memory books that I made for them!

Best Team Player!!

Basketball Season

2010-02-25T08:25:00.002-05:00

We have one game left!! :0(

What will I do with my Saturdays???

Cole receiving his funny award for "the most hits to the head"

His other award "Most Dependable"
He never missed a practice or game!

Cole and I presenting the coaches with their memory books.

Because I am always taking hundreds of pictures, I put together photo books for the coaches.

They loved them!!

We will miss our coaches! Coach Melisaa will be deploying next year so she will not be here for soccer season (she was our assistant coach for soccer too!) and may not be back in time for basketball. Coach Donna's husband is scheduled to deploy soon and may not be back to be our coach again for soccer. With any luck tho, we will have Coach Donna again next year for basketball!! :0)

Hey Mickey!

2010-02-23T07:57:00.002-05:00

Still Cold!

2010-01-04T08:09:00.002-05:00

Well, we are back in North Carolina and it feels like we haven't left Wisconsin!! It's a bit chilly out this morning with only a high of 19 at the moment. Now I know this isn't as cold as Wisconsin is right now, they are even colder!! But for being in the south you wouldn't think it got this cold down here. I have lots of pictures from our trip home that I have to upload to my computer and then I'lll get some of the good ones posted. Kids are already back to school this morning. Caden is still sleeping. Have a busy day ahead of me so I guess I better get it started!!

Christmas is coming early!

2009-12-18T13:39:00.002-05:00

The pressents are wrapped and under the tree waiting for the kids to get home from school.
Tomorrow morning we start our trip home to Wisconsin.

Hoping the weather cooperates and lets us stay on schedule!!

Wanted!

2009-12-13T21:54:00.001-05:00

I had to laugh when the kids brought this picture home from the bowling alley!

Those rare moments

2009-12-11T09:05:00.001-05:00

Usually these two are busy slapping each other!

And yes, Cole's pajama shirt is on backwards! :0)

Our Thanksgiving Visitors!

2009-12-11T08:57:00.003-05:00

Wow! It's been a while since I've posted any pictures! Sorry!

Showing Gramma Joa where they fish!

Brrr! The water is cold!
Showing Gramma how we shrimp

Watching "Rudolph" with Papa and Gramma

We loved having Gramma and Papa visit us!

We're just sorry it was such a short visit!

End of Season Cheer Party

2009-11-26T22:31:00.002-05:00

Football cheerleading ended at the end of October.

We had pizza, cupcakes and music!

The girls sitting with their coaches
The other end of the table

Hanna receiving her certificate and award

Coach Katherine, Hanna and Coach Brittany

Coach Katherine showing off her gift, a picture of the squad

The coaches opening up their clocks

Hanna's award and certificate...

"Most Improved"

The Pom-Pom cupcakes!

Winter Sports

2009-11-26T22:20:00.002-05:00

Round 2 of sports has started.

Cole is playing basketball and Hanna is doing cheerleading again.

Cole trying not to let the ball get away
Waiting for instructions

Practicing defense

Working on their passes

(the lady to the right is Coach Donna)

Getting some help on shooting hoops

(This just happens to be his soccer coach!)

Shrimping!!

2009-11-26T22:03:00.004-05:00

The kids have been so excited to go shrimping now that dad is back.

We went down to the pier but had no luck in finding any shrimp.

No luck netting any shrimp but we sure caught a lot of fish!

Cole helping to get the fish out of the net
Getting ready to cast again
Caden checking out the water

Love this picture of the boys!

Dumping out the fish

Trying out another dock and still no luck!

Hanna keeping Caden away from the edge of the pier

Caden giving me the stink eye for making him sit!

Was trying to get a decent picture of Cory and I

One of the little fish we kept catching

Calling it quits and heading back to the truck

The fearless fish releaser!

Thanksgiving Football

2009-11-26T21:42:00.002-05:00

Caden running from Mr Kyle

Dru being thrown into the leaf pile

Cory catching the ball

Ryan chasing after Caden

Tackle!

Caden wanting the ball from Mr Kyle

Caden posing for a picture

Count down and a trim

2009-11-04T20:22:00.003-05:00

Just a few hours left before I go pick up Richard!

Caden's hair was a little shaggy so I got the clippers out!

Licking the chocolate off his face from his treat for being such a good boy while I cut his hair
I think it turned out ok for my first attempt!

Dancing on the shingles!

Can't wait for them to start work on the roof next week!

Can't keep the neighborhood kids off them so might as well let the baby at em!

Award Night

2009-11-03T20:50:00.006-05:00

Tonight we had Cole's end of season soccer party.

They held it at Golden Corral which is a favorite of my kids.

I'm kind of sad that soccer is almost over. Saturday is his last game.

Assistant Coach Charles presenting Cole his award

Cole checking out his award

Coach Patrick showing off the trophies
Cole receiving his trophy

Coach Patrick giving Assistant Coach Grant his award

Assistant Coach Melissa receiving her award

Assistant Coach Charles with his award

The Assistant Coaches all received a coffee mug with the team picture on one side and the team roster on the other side

Coach Patrick showing off his plaque

Cole showing off his trophy and award

Neat trophy

Had to laugh when they said what Cole's award was for.

I don't think there was a game that he didn't cheer on his team mates and help coach them to make sure they were where they needed to be on the field!

I was surprised after some games that he could still talk with all the yelling and cheering he did!

I am so glad Cole had a fun time with soccer.

We will definately request Coach Patrick again next season if he is coaching.

I love getting good coaches!!!

VIP Breakfast

2009-11-01T12:10:00.002-05:00

Hanna was VIP this past week.

Friday morning Caden and I joined her for breakfast at school.

She was awarded with a certificate, a pencil, free popcorn pass and a free ice cream from Golden Coral. I got up ealier than usual and made cinnamon buns for us to eat.

Principal Osgood

Trick Or Treat!

2009-11-01T11:58:00.002-05:00

There was almost no treating for my kids!

Caden was not liking his costume! So he went with no costume.

Hanna and Cory fought over the black cape. Hanna decided at the last minute she wanted to be a witch instead of Alex Russo from Wizards of Waverly Place. She had found my witches hat in the garage and wanted to wear it. Finally told her that I had told Cory he could wear the cape for his costume this year but that next year she gets to wear it and be a witch. Besides, I had already bought her her costume and she was going to wear it or not go at all! Cole didn't want to wear his glow sticks cause that's not part of Darth Vader's costume! Too bad buddy!

No Thomas this year :0(

It came off as soon as the photo was snapped

Alex Russo-Minus her wand!
Bad mom for not realizing the costume didn't come with one

Darth Vader with his lightsaber and big shoes! :0)

The hat that started the whole costume fight!

Mike's Farm

2009-10-29T21:27:00.007-04:00

Today after the kids were done with school, we stopped and picked up dinner at Taco Bell and headed out to Mike's Farm for the Haunted Hay Ride. We met some friends there and had a fun time. I think Hanna spent most of the ride sitting at my feet, my toes are now squished! My friend Julia and her daughter Vicki were the big screamers! I'm hoping my hearing comes back before class tomorrow! It was a fun time!! :0)

Caden loved the little chair!

Playing in the gazebo

He wouldn't sit when I wanted him to and I finally caught him!

Another favorite of Caden's!

The enterance to the haunted hay ride!

Cory found a football game to join!

Ty, Ryan and Cole on the hay ride

Me, Caden and Hanna heading into the woods

Treat time at DQ!

Fun with leaves!

2009-10-26T18:54:00.001-04:00

Caden had a lot of fun playing in the leaves until the big kids took his leaf pile away!

Pumpkin Faces

2009-10-26T18:43:00.000-04:00

Hanna's creation

Cole's second attempt at a face
Caden's Face

Sports Pictures

2009-10-24T20:15:00.001-04:00

We're #1

2009-10-22T21:31:00.003-04:00

This is the stunt Hanna's squad will be doing Saturday. I won't be there as I'll be with Cole at his soccer game. I video taped them practicing it tonite.

Hanna is doin so much better this year. She's a lot more confident in herself and knows she can do these cheers. Now we just need to work on her cartwheels! :0)

Fall Festival 2009

2009-10-16T20:30:00.004-04:00

Once again we went to the Fall Festival at Cole's school.

Waiting in line for the duck game.

Caden picking his duckie! Lollipop Tree

Caden picking his sucker

His stick had a blue end so he won another prize!

Hanna climbing up to go down the slide

Weeeeee...down goes Cole!

Caden's turn at a slide!

Cole checking out the fire truck!

Hanna lauging...silly girl!

Caden not so sure about being in it

Hanna and Cole doing the cake walk!

Cole won and picked out some yummy cupcakes!

Hanna with her bat

Decorating their pumpkins

Cole scooping up peanuts

Waiting to go in the smoke house

A Day In Raleigh

2009-10-09T18:41:00.005-04:00

5 AM came early this morning!!

Hanna had to be at school by 5:30 so they could board the busses and leave by 6 AM.

She was excited though. She had a great time and took these pictures (most of them)

She thought it was funny that the bus had a GPS!

The state capital

I like this one :0)

I think she only told me about the butterflies about a dozen times in the hour that she's been home!

"A dead turtle" according to Hanna!

She had a lot of pictures of these!!

Kind of pretty! :0)

Hanna's group for the day

Can you see the turtles??

I love this shot!

Standing in front of the charter bus

Happy Anniversary!

2009-09-16T12:12:00.003-04:00

Richard has hit his 12 year mark in the Marine Corps!

We are all very proud of him and look forward to his return home in a few months.

This also means that our pay gets a little increase!

Who wouldn't like that? :0)

Game Night!!!

2009-09-13T20:15:00.002-04:00

Woohoo!!!

I get to watch the opening game!! Love it!! :0)

The kids are all excited too.
They asked if they could stay up til 9 to watch some of it.
Although, Cole informed me tonite that his favorite team is now the Oakland Raiders, just like dad.

Go Fireballs!

2009-09-13T17:21:00.003-04:00

Cole's game was great!

He did well and even came close to making a goal a few times.

I was very happy to see his team do so well.

Practices haven't been that great but come game time they did awesome!!

Waiting to go in

Going after the ball!

Kick off

Good game team!

Fall Sports Begin

2009-09-13T17:10:00.003-04:00

Saturday started our fall sports.

Cole had his first game at 9 and then Hanna's was to start at 10:30.
I hope next weeks football games go a lot smoother than they did this weekend!

I don't think Hanna started cheering until almost noon!

We were home by 2:10 and sunburnt!

Next week we'll be packing all our jumbo umbrellas and the sunscreen!
"Go Panthers"

Shaking her hips to "How loose is your goose"

The Panthers had a player down.

I was surprised that they didn't have the EMS sitting there on standby!

The girls watched them load the player into the ambulance.

My Two (or 3!) Favorites!

2009-09-07T19:30:00.003-04:00

I absolutely love my washer and dryer!!

We've had them almost a year now and still love to use them!

Makes the chore of doing laundry much more fun :0)

I guess this next one would make 3 machines! Oops!

When we moved into this house, we had a not so good dishwasher. We had to call maintenance and have them come fix the control panel as it didn't work at all! Then it just didn't want to clean the dishes. So for the last year I have been washing them by hand. At least once a week I would still have to run the dishwasher as it would never drain all the water and would start to stink. So before I went home to Wisconsin this summer I called again and found out I would be getting a new dishwasher! YAY!! I didn't plan on using it much but I have to say now that I'm in school, it's become a good friend! :0)

The poor thing is on it's third load today!

We love trains!

2009-09-06T11:05:00.002-04:00

This is my living room every night! I don't mind. He loves his trains! I'm glad I never got rid of them after Cole lost interest. Hanna and Cole even get in on it and help him build the huge tracks.

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging as much since school started. We're still trying to get our daily routines down and by the end of most days I'm so ready for bed. It seems these last few weekends I've wound up with migraines for a day.

It doesn't help that Caden broke my good Fuji camera....again!! He broke my first one too! I'm back to using my little Kodak thing that doesn't take the greatest pictures :0(

The Rug!

2009-08-29T15:21:00.003-04:00

I just got done moving furniture again in Cole's room. I was wanting to put the bunk beds back up but I didn't have THAT much energy.

Here is the rug Cole chose for his room.

This is the after shot of my quick burst of energy.

I moved Caden's toddler bed in there for now to see how he does sleeping away from me.

If that goes well, then I either look for a trundle bed or put the bunks back together.

Just have to share!

2009-08-28T17:08:00.003-04:00

I found this website through another one that I visit. I was so touched by their story that I read the entire blog in one nite and continued to read their new website. I was so happy today when I checked it and saw their happy news! What a blessing for them!

BabyValor

This is their first blog..... BabyJames

Rug Testers

2009-08-28T15:21:00.002-04:00

A couple weeks ago I took Cole out shopping for a new rug for his room.

The second store we stopped at had area rugs stacked in piles on the floor.

This is how Cole and Caden tested the rugs :0)

Sorry the pictures aren't the best, they were taken with my phone!

Practice makes perfect!

2009-08-26T12:13:00.002-04:00

Tuesdays and Thursdays are practice nights for Hanna and Cole!

Cole has signed up for soccer and Hanna for cheerleading, only this time for flag football!

Here's Cole running laps

You can only see that back half of him stretching (far left!)

Hanna is so excited to be cheering again!
Here she is in the front row with two other girls that were on her basketball squad.

Shaking those hips!

To A Special Woman

2009-08-24T12:12:00.004-04:00

Happy Birthday To You!

Happy Birthday Dear Joa

Happy Birthday To You!!

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday!

I hope you have a great day and enjoy the gift we all helped make possible!

I want to hear all about it!! And to see pictures :0)

We love you and miss you!

And the school year starts!

2009-08-20T09:53:00.003-04:00

The 3 big kids started school today!

They were up and ready early!

If only that lasted all year long :0)

"Mom! I'm too big for a first day of school picture!"

Miss Hanna rocking her new outfit!
Does he look a little excited to you???

What a way to start off the day! The bus showed up at 7:45!!

Last year she was here at 8 (maybe she was a little excited like the kids!). Hanna and Cole had to run down to the other pick up point. Good thing they didn't have their supplies or they wouldn't have made it :0)

First Day Of Day Care

2009-08-17T21:06:00.004-04:00

Caden survived his first day of day care!!!

He was such a big boy. No tears were shed (on his part anyways!)

We'll see how tomorrow goes.

I've gone and done it now!!

2009-08-13T14:53:00.003-04:00

I am now registered for college and start Monday!!!

YAY!!!

I can't believe how excited I am.

I am signed up for 4 classes. While that may seem like a lot it really isn't when you look at my schedule. Two of my courses are online... Intro to Computers and College Student Success. Should be easy classes and CSS doesn't even start til October! My english class should be pretty easy, that only lasts still October! And then there is my Anatomy and Physiology class and lab. This one might take some work on my part :0) I was going to add a math class but figured this was a good start for me to get back into the swing of things.

Going to build me an ark!

2009-08-04T12:31:00.002-04:00

It has done nothing but rain since I've been home.

Yesterday it rained too fast for the drains to keep up! It flooded us in!!

This area was the worst! This is the road I travel the most.

Glad it's not my front yard!!!

And then to top this off, my kitchen ceiling is leaking!!

Oh it's good to be home! :0)

The Rock County Fair

2009-08-03T16:45:00.003-04:00

Took the kids to the county fair again this year.

We got to see Cousin Eugene again and a few of his cows.

We ran in to Cousin Callie. She threatened to kidnap Caden!

The kids wanted to ride every ride they had! If only it wasn't so expensive!!

Happy Birthday Hanna!!

2009-07-26T17:55:00.004-04:00

Today my girl turns 9!

Aunt Rhonda threw a party for Hanna at her house!

The kids got a chance to play in the hot tub.

Fun was had by all!

Thank you Aunt Rhonda!!! We love you!!

Pool Time!

2009-07-23T21:52:00.002-04:00

I rented 2 rooms at the Best Western. It hasn't been real warm here to go swimming so I figured this would give the kids a chance to swim this summer! We stayed Tuesday and Wednesday night. Wednesday we had family come join in on the fun!!

Thank you for being such an awesome cousin Callie!!

You can visit us any time! We love you!!

We Love Madison!!

2009-07-23T21:37:00.002-04:00

Last year we watched her play volleyball, this year softball.

Sunday we made a trip to Racine to see my niece play.

Madison talking with her mom, Elaina and Cory
Roz, Aunt Elaina, Hanna and Cole

Hanna getting ready for a hug from Madison

Madison pitching

I wish we could have stayed to watch both games!

She does very well at all the sports she plays.

We love our cousin (Niece) Madison!!

Nerf Time

2009-07-20T11:37:00.003-04:00

Every summer that we are home, the Nerf football comes out!

Cory is now able to out throw Gramma!

She was sore for a few days after.

The Great Toad Hunter

2009-07-20T11:25:00.003-04:00

A few of the toads found

Caden joined in with the hunt
Any around the fire pit?

After the rain stopped the kids went back out and hunted again.

At one point they had 7 toads!

Dinner At Dad's!

2009-07-17T16:06:00.002-04:00

We had dinner at my dad's house last night.

Was nice to spend some time with all the family!

Sorry you couldn't make it Amy!! Hope you're feeling better soon!

My favorite picture! Caden eating dinner with Grampa!

Most of the "boys"
Playing on the swingset

Justin and Christian....Ouch!

Justing, Cory, Christian and Joel

Computer time with Callie

What cute pair! Kristen and Jared :0)

I love all the laughs we have. It's always a fun time with the family :0)

Rock Aqua Jays

2009-07-17T15:49:00.002-04:00

Sunday July 12th I took the kids down to Traxler Park to watch the Rock Aqua Jays put on their weekly show. The kids had a great time!!

Lake Delavan

2009-07-10T11:39:00.004-04:00

Aunt Rebecca rented a house on Lake Delavan.

Tuesday we spent the day with her and the kids.

Gramma Joa and Papa Mike were there.

Along with Uncle Gordon and his family and Uncle Spencer and his crew!

All the kids had fun fishing with Uncle Richard!!

Jean-Marie had the catch of the day :0)

And of course we all love riding on Uncle Gordon's boat!!

The Smith Farm

2009-07-08T22:02:00.003-04:00

Well, after spending the day at the zoo we wanted to take the kids to see some animals up close. Of course that meant visiting Richard's cousin! It's nice to have family that has a farm! Monday morning we made a trip out to the Smith Farm. The kids had a blast playing with all the cats. Hanna and I both got attached to one of the kittens. Cole kept asking to pet a chicken so Cousin Eugene did chase one down for Cole. Hanna's moment though was seeing the horses up close! She would have had to chance for a quick ride if Eugene's wife was home but her and the kids had gone up north for a few days. Maybe if we come home next summer she'll get the chance to do it.