Mikey's 5th Birthday!!

Mikey is such a big kid!! For his 5th birthday, he wanted to have "a knight birthday party, with an obstacle course, water balloons, and cake". And that's just what we did!! We invited his guests to make their own shields, gave them their own swords (foam ones, thankfully), and sent them out back for some real knight training! Here's some of the highlights:

Mikey's cake turned out awesome...of course that's cause I didn't make it!!

Knights-to-be making their shields (personalizing the "crest" on the shield):

Time to head out back to train on the "sweet" obstacle course Jaron made for the kids:

They had to "joust" the balloons (w/a water noodle) and slay the dragon (toy) to rescue Buzz Lightyear!! (in his laundry basket dungeon!!)

The water balloons came in handy when that dragon wouldn't die and we had to splash him off the fence!! (Don't be deceived by his size, he was vicious!)

The Knights all did a fantastic job of saving the Kingdom!!

Back inside for some Knight food:

We love you Mikey!!!

Springtime Catch-up

Right after school got out, the kids and I went to Indy for a week to visit Nana and Opa. Deanna and her girls came out from Cinci to join the party, and we had SO much fun with them!! We went swimming, did a LOT of jumping on the tramp with the sprinkler underneath, went bike riding on a beautiful trail, ate delicious food, and played at the Children's Museum. I love this pic of Nana reading to the kids, because they love the time they get to be close with her, and be spoiled by her reading LOTS of books with them. The cousins (including Chief the dog!) got to sleep all together in the living room--they loved that!!

I love this pic of Kate (Dee's baby) because 1)she's adorable! 2)gotta love those thighs!! 3)I've never known a baby to do the splits!! It was fun cuddling her and squinching her thunder thighs!

Bike riding on the Monon Trail.

Fun at the Children's Museum.

Gotta love a clown!

One day this spring, I couldn't find Trev anywhere, and after looking frantically for a while, I finally found him bouncing up and down on his bottom on our front door-step. He must've snuck out the garage and walked around to the front door. I thought he looked so cute there, so I ran inside for the camera.

Spence Played "Pitching Machine" baseball (his 1st year), for the "Cleveland Indians". He was one of the youngest on his team, and he did an awesome job! It was exciting to see his progress with hitting and fielding over the season. He got so good that whenever we play baseball in our yard, it's no fun playing with Spence anymore 'cause he's always hitting home-runs!

Mikey played soccer in a "3-4 year-old" league (even though he turns 5 in August). As you may imagine, there is a HUGE difference between a young 3-year-old and an old 4-year-old when it comes to playing sports. Needless to say, Mikey had his time in the limelight for a full season. I kind-of felt bad for the younger kids who didn't get much ball-time, but half the time half the team was getting snacks from their parents or oblivious to the game going on...so I'm sure they didn't care too much.

Here's Mikey (black shirt #9), going for a goal!

Have I mentioned that we really love to bike ride?? :-) Here's a trail close to our house, and the kids found a frog one day in the creek. I made them let it go before they got any ideas about bringing it home for a pet.

A Few of Our Favorite Things

There's so many things I love about my children and being their mom, so I wanted to highlight a few in this post.

1) Mikey's kisses.

Every day when I dropped Mikey off for school last year, he would step out of the car and then turn around and blow me a kiss, then wait for me to blow him one and catch it on his cheek. Then he'd walk a few paces, turn around again, and blow and catch one more time. Two kisses. Each morning, without fail. It melted my heart each time, and I'll really miss that when he starts riding the bus to Kindergarten in a couple weeks!

2) Spencer the Robot.

Spencer played a Robot in his class play last year. He gave a stunning performance--not a line spoken, but his movements were so convincing!

3) Bike riding with my boys.

During the summer, I love to take the boys on bike rides (translation: I get my exercise by running, while they ride furiously ahead of me). We've explored lots of trails and routes this summer. One of our favorite "running" routes is to a fun park and back (with some bonus exercise playing at the park).

4) Popsicles.

Since we live on a hill (a "Monster Hill", if you ask my kids!), we usually have a big surge at the end of each bike ride, so the boys have learned that if they make it to the top of the hill (by any means--riding, walking, limping--it doesn't have to be pretty), they'll get a popsicle. It's their reward for exercising with Mom. (Trevor's just a free-loader in the jogging stroller, but he gets a popsicle anyway since he's so darn cute.)

5) Trevor's Ice Cream Face.

Did I mention that he loves ice cream? And we sure love his messy ice cream face, so it's a win-win situation for all of us! (Notice how he eats from the top AND bottom of the cone...that's the secret to a truly messy ice-cream face!)

6) Camping with Trevor.

Actually, this is the exact opposite of my "favorite thing", as any parent of a one-and-a-half-year-old could guess. But I guess he was still pretty fun, even if it was at the expense of getting a good night's sleep. Here he is, having a hey day in the tent at bedtime:

(p.s. We did have a fun trip, other wise--Jaron tried his hand at fly fishing, we cooked s'mores, and we even did a little midwest rock climbing!)

Nana and Opa Visit!

About a month ago, Nana and Opa came for a visit. Since they live 6 hrs away, we get to see them fairly often (once every 2-3 months), and we love it!! We kept the boys out of school one day so they could play with their grandparents, and these are some of the fun things we did:

We walked to a nearby park, had a picnic and played on the playground.

After the park, we walked over to the Children's Museum, and had tons of fun there. The kids especially love the "airplane" exhibit.

Here's Trevor flying an airplane:

Back at home, Nana and the boys spent a lot of time out in the yard. Trevor especially loved swinging with Nana.

The boys LOVE having Nana and Opa tuck them in at night--they get a MUCH longer storytime than Mom usually gives them! (Maybe that's because Opa tells 'whoppers' instead of reading stories, and those can get quite elaborate!)

Time with Opa wouldn't be complete without a game of "TickleBee" (notice Trevor running away in the background? :)

Before leaving, Opa paid Mikey's preschool class a visit and gave them a harmonica show! He also gave each of the kids their own harmonica, and then let them have at it. The kids went nuts when they heard Opa playing; I couldn't resist taking a quick video with my camera. You can barely hear the harmonica over their laughter! (p.s. The "woof" sounds are coming from the harmonica player!)

We sure had fun with you, Opa and Nana! Come back soon!!

Life is Beautiful

We just wrapped up a wonderful week: Jaron had the week off, and we got to spend lots of time with him!!! We stayed home most of the week, mostly because I needed to study and take a Personal Trainer Certification exam (which I did, and passed! phew!), but we managed to squeeze in a fun camping trip this weekend (fishing, rock climbing, hiking). Jaron also made some serious headway on stripping and staining our deck, and rode his bike a bunch. It was really fun having Jaron be a part of our daily routine--helping the boys get ready for school, walking Mikey to preschool, eating lunch with Spencer at school, and being there to play with when they get home. Jaron commented that he really enjoyed being with the boys at different times of the day, since he usually only sees them when they're tired and ready for bed. I know that they loved having Daddy around too, and we'll really miss him this week when he goes back to work!

Now that my months of studying-every-spare-minute are through, I feel light as a feather, and in honor of my recent light-ening, I vow to post like a mad-woman to get "caught up" on some of our family's highlights from the past several months. Beginning with this gem, which I entitle:

"What Happens When You Turn Your Back For A Second!"

I had just given Trevor his bath and put on his PJ's when I had to run downstairs to take muffins out of the oven. Suddenly, I heard the boys squealing and laughing upstairs, then yell, "Mom! Trevor is playing in the water!" I felt annoyed because I had asked the older boys to close the bathroom door when they went in to take a bath so Trevor wouldn't get in (because he LOVES to splash in the bathwater!). I ran upstairs, ready to reprimand the kids, took one look at this scene, then turned right around to get the camera, laughing to myself the whole way. When I came back in to take pictures of Trevor, he giggled and splashed--so pleased with himself and his cleverness! He's definitely entered the "mischievous" stage, where we have to know where he is and what he's up to at all times! But his cute-ness makes up for the headaches he gives us!

Texas in February...

Still trying to catch up here...Waaaaay back in February, we took a trip to Texas to visit our family and friends we've been missing dearly! (By "we", I mean myself driving 17 hrs straight-through-the-night with our three angels, staying for almost a week, before Jaron flew down to meet us and drive home with us.)

We started out visiting Aaron and Jaimie, whom we've missed SO much! Our boys had so much fun playing with their cousins, soaking up outside weather (since it was Feb, we hadn't been outside without full snow regalia for months!), and getting loved on by their Aunt Jaimie. Jaimie really has a big heart, and a talent for making even little events so special. We were there during Valentine's Day, and Jaimie and Aaron made a scavenger hunt for the kids to find Valentine's goodies. They were sent all around the house, yard and neighborhood before they found their sweet baskets! Thanks so much, Jaim and Aaron, for making that such a special experience! Another highlight was going on a "date" with Jaimie (Aaron was SOOO nice to watch all the kids AND put them to bed!). We spend literally hours at Jason's Deli, eating and mostly chatting--catching up on the lost couple years since we left TX. Growing up, I was always sad that I never had any sisters, but I feel SO blessed now to not only have incredible sisters-in-law, but to have skipped all the cat-fights and skipped right to the friendship and bonding. I love you Jaim!

Jaimie and I before our "date":

Aunt Jaimie making homemade suckers with Mikey:

Dallon, Dawson, Spencer, Mikey, Easton and Trevor at a putt-putt/go-kart place:

(ps--I totally smoked Jaimie in the go-karts, don't let her tell you otherwise!)

Dallon, Dawson, Spencer and Mikey playing at a park:

Our next stop was to visit our dear friends from Med school, the Allred's. Spencer and Carson have known each other since they were 1, and they're such good buddies! This is a waterfall along a beautiful trail that we rode bikes on:

I didn't get many pictures at the Allred's, but I had so much fun staying up way past my bedtime, chatting with Janene. She's an amazing friend and mother, and I'm always inspired to be a better person when I'm around her!

The final stop on our Texas tour took us to Mammy and Pappy's home and Rodeo Arena, where we got to cheer on my hottie husband as he showed a bunch of cowboys what this city-slicker can do! He won his division in a Team Roping competition, bringing home a sweet belt-buckle; an 1847 (I think?) replica black-powder pistol; and enough earnings to pay for his plane ticket! I told him he may want to consider switching professions! He was really awesome! Here's Jaron and me with his team ropin' partner, and their buckles.

The Allred's came to cheer Jaron on (thats Pappy in the background, with Mikey, Tanner, Janene, Jared and Brinley on the bleacher):

Watching Jaron rope was pretty exciting...However, we absolutely LOVED spending time with Mammy and Pappy. They have a way of making us feel loved and having fun with us, regardless of how busy they are (which is usually on the 'extremely-crazy-busy' end of the spectrum). We never leave their place feeling under-loved! And our kids rarely get a chance to be under-spoiled either! They gave Spencer and Dawson be-lated birthday gifts: real "Lil Banshee" bow-and-arrow sets! They were a hit with the BIG "lil-banshees" as well as with Spencer and Dawson!

Thanks for the great memories everyone!!

Celebration of Trevor (be-lated)!

Still trying to catch up...

On January 14, Trevor turned ONE!! He is such a special boy, and has brought so much joy and laughter to our home. His big brothers just adore him. They've loved having him get older and be more interactive. One of the cute things Spencer and Mikey do with Trevor is play "Team Goo" ('Goo' is Trev's nickname), which is basically a "Let's copy Trevor" game, so they'll go crawling around after Trevor from room to room, flop around and giggle like him, making Trevor laugh and laugh from all the attention.

Some of the things we love about our little Trevor are: how he loves to laugh and to get people around him to laugh with him; how expressive he is (a blessing and a curse, depending on which emotion he's choosing to express at the time!); how he cuddles up to us; his affection for his brothers.

Some of Trevor's favorite things are:

1) Balls. "Ball" was his first word. Trev has a 6th-sense (like Mikey did) of knowing where any ball is in the house at all times (we looked all over the house for Jaron's missing juggling ball one night, with no luck. The next morning as I was fixing breakfast, Trevor crawled into the kitchen with the missing ball in his hand--happy as a clam!). And he'll be the first to spot any spherical object in the store, out the car window, or on a walk ("Ball! Ball!")

2) Cars. Trevor loves to "drive" his toy cars all over the floors and furniture.

3) Bath time. I've given up worrying about getting water on the bathroom floor. I just let him splash his heart out (which he does most vigorously!) until there's more water on the floor than in the tub, and then I know it's time for him to get out. Pretty much from the moment I put him in until I take him out, it's an all-out splash fest (which makes washing him quite interesting!).

4) Mama. (and Dada!) But I have to say, this little guy is a Mama's boy. He's recently been giving any one besides Mom or Dad the "stinkeye" if they reach out to hold him. Sometimes Mom and Dad get the stinkeye too if we try to suggest it's bedtime before he's ready (along with a vigorous head-shake "NO"--I told you he was expressive!)

5) Outside. Trevor got a taste of the world that exists beyond the front door when we went to Texas (more on that later) a few weeks ago, and was actually able to play in the grass. Ever since, if he hears the garage or front door open, he makes a B-line from wherever he is in the house (I've never seen a kid sprint-crawl so fast!), and tries to squeeze past our legs just to dash outside. Can't wait till it's actually warm enough for him to play outdoors here in "North Texas"!

We love Trevor so much! Happy Late Birthday!!