Halloween 2009!

Fun at the Park!

After school today the boys & I headed to the park...it was just gorgeous outside and we had no soccer, no baseball...no nothing! I told the boys if I could just get a couple of fall photos that then we would play some football, soccer or whatever. They took me up on it! We had a great time...too bad Rob had to work in Patton until 5:30. :( Anyway...more days like this would be just fine with me!

Happy Belated Birthday to our nephew/cousin, Joshua...and Happy Early Birthday to my sister, Elizabeth! God's Blessings to you both!

Soccer, Soccer...and MORE SOCCER!

Not sure where to begin...my last post was right after Jacob's birthday in Sept! Since then, we've spent a weekend at Paul & Kristi's for a soccer tournament...and 1/2 of us spent a weekend in Columbia for ANOTHER soccer tournament! It's been fun...but crazy at times! Here are a couple of photos!

My sister, Elizabeth, and Levi watching a very early Sunday morning match (7:30 am)
Matthew throwing it in...

Noah & Ira having fun watching the game on a very cold Saturday afternoon!
Jacob has a blast playing (and socializing!)...he especially loves playing goalie!



Matthew playing a little bit of fall baseball...we couldn't get him to take a baseball break!


At a tournament in St. Charles...


Paul & Kristi in New Town

Jacob on his 6th Birthday!

A Funny...

tonight on the way home from soccer training Matthew asked me if he would have to wear a cup when he played soccer...before I had a chance to answer Jacob was like..."what do you mean, Matthew...like a drinking cup???" !!!!!

Happy 6th Birthday, Jacob!

We celebrated Jacob's 6th birthday this weekend! It is so hard to believe that he is 6 years old already! We love you, Jacob!

(I will post pics as soon as I can...lots of camera issues, Walgreens photo-processing issues, etc. etc. etc....will be getting new camera on Friday!)

Montauk - August 2009

Trout Fishing

As soon as Rob gets home we are headed to Montauk for trout fishing this weekend! Rob's parents have been there for a couple of days so we are meeting them there. The boys are ecstatic...as is Rob...I'm trying to get in the mood! I've got me a good book, a bike to ride, and maybe I'll try a little fishing with the boys! I'll post pictures next week.

Have a GREAT weekend!

1st Day of Kindergarten & 3rd Grade

What an exciting day for Jacob today! He started kindergarten and he just loved it. Couple of things he shared with us (he's definitely going to be my "talker" after school!): At lunch he had eaten all of his lettuce and his friend, Layton, didn't want his...so when the teacher wasn't looking, Layton gave him his lettuce! LOL!!! Then, during center time there were 2 girls (there are only 4 girls in his class, with 15 boys) up in the loft reading. Jacob and two of his friends wanted to be in the loft but only 4 at a time could be there. FINALLY, as Jacob said, his teacher made the girls come out so the boys could go in! Another LOL!!! P.E. today was WAY to short! And...NO HOMEWORK! Those were the things that Jacob shared today!

Matthew said he "had a good day and thinks he will like 3rd grade"! That's all I got out of him...oh, and that he got a burnt pizza at lunch!

Here's a couple of pics:

Fearless!

First off, just wanted to share that Jacob is now TOTALLY ready for kindergarten...he got a new pair of sneakers today!

Secondly, as I shared on FB, I am thankful this evening that my heart is still beating. Tonight at a pool birthday party, Matthew decided he wanted to go off the diving boards. Fine with me...we were at the pool yesterday afternoon for a playdate and I encouraged him to go off but he wanted nothing to do with them. Well, tonight, he went off the low board first...a dive...not a jump. He did great...I knew he could do it. Then, as I sat lounging in my chair, he walked right over to the high dive, walked up the steps, took a jogging leap, and did a front flip off the dive. I just couldn't believe it!!! He told me on the way home that it was like shooting his first deer...he was nervous at first but he knew he could do it...and he just did it!

OMG!!!!!

Great Weekend!

We started out the weekend by going swimming Friday at the McCoys. Always some great conversation with Shelly while the boys play/swim. :)

Saturday was my 38th birthday! Somedays it just seems like I can't possibly be in my 30's already! Time really does pass by quickly...we should be thankful for each and every day that we have. We stayed home on Saturday and I was so content with that...even Rob was home which is unusual for a Saturday! We just hung out and watched a couple of movies/tv...then after supper we headed to the park and played some baseball. The boys have been loving doing this so we're trying to go at least once a week.

This morning we headed to church and then we went out for lunch at Ruby Tuesday. Came home and watched one of the Rocky movies that was on tv, napped, and then headed to the park. Matthew was asked to play on a traveling baseball team for next summer...first base (!!!) which is his favorite position. The games will mostly be during the week, in nearby towns. We've only had one practice so far since we didn't start until the rec season was over. Tonight the team played a scrimmage against the other traveling team in Jackson. Matthew's team, the Jackson Tomahawks, won by 1 run! Matthew played excellent at 1st base...he needs to work a bit on hitting, although he did hit 2 out of 3. Awesome night...the weather was perfect!

The boys are going to VBS again this week, just for 3 nights, at Rob's parents church. They should have fun. Jacob chose to do this instead of basketball camp this week...that's great with us...VBS doesn't cost (except for our offering) and the camp did!!!

Have a great week!

Branson - July 2009

We went to Branson a couple of weeks ago for about 4 days. That's pretty much our only vacation this summer...we had such a great time! We spent a lot of time in the hotel pool (indoor and out...the kiddos especially LOVED the hot tub!), riding go-karts, riding the bumper boats, etc. We went down to the Landing and ate supper and spent some time at Bass Pro. One night we went to a show to see "Noah: The Musical"...it was awesome! Our favorite part of the trip was the day we decided to rent a boat and spent the day out on Table Rock Lake. It was so much fun...words just cannot describe the fun the boys had...including Rob! He grew up going to the lake with his family...I think he would love to eventually buy a boat and do the same thing with the boys! Anyway, it was a ton of fun and we didn't have to go very far! Here's a slide show!

Happy 9th Birthday, Matthew!

I've just got to jump right in here and start blogging again...and there's no better time to start again than today...Matthew's 9th birthday!

Since Rob had to farm all day Saturday, I decided to take the boys up to the Magic House for some much needed FUN time! The addition that was built on is just incredible and we had the very best time...even though the boys missed their daddy! We took our time and saw and did things that we had never done before there. And the new addition was completely new to us so we enjoyed every bit of it. Matthew & Jacob both said that their favorite part was the gigantic beanstalk that they climbed in. It was so cool. We ate lunch there at the Picnic Basket cafe and then played some outside in the water area. We just had the best time. If you get a chance to take your kids this summer...you should! There's a coupon in the Drury summer flyer for "buy one adult get one child free". The day was a perfect start to our summer vacation...even though Matthew has a couple of days left of school!

Baseball Game Recap

I must warn you...you're probably going to get bored with some of my posts on the baseball games...but it's my way of keeping track! Most of the time it will just be a little comment in addition to another post.

Tonight's game went well. Matthew went 1 for 3, with a double. 2 RBI's one run. He played 1st & outfield...he got several runners out at 1st! The great thing tonight was that several of his best friends were on the opposing team...and one of them caught one of Matthew's pop flies! They had fun...Matthew's team ended up with a win, 14-13.

Jacob's last day of Pre-K is tomorrow...it's kind of sad. But, I know that he is so looking forward to kindergarten so that makes it a little bit easier.

One more thing, yesterday, as part of a reading milestone, Matthew got to walk down to Pizza Pro to have lunch with his teacher. His teacher told me that he carried on a great conversation with her...something that she has seen rarely this year from him! He had a cheese pizza with a Sprite. And, the best part, according to Matthew, was that he got to drink his Sprite at his desk the rest of the afternoon!

Move OVER soccer...here comes baseball!!!

For a little while any way!!!! We saw the end of the 3-weekend soccer tournaments this past weekend. After winning 2 games and having a tie in one game, we were tied point-wise in our division with a Perryville team...the same team we had beaten last weekend in Perryville for 1st place! They ended up having a kickoff...which I absolutely HATE (hate is a very strong word...but I think it's appropriate here!!)...and lost. Ughhhhhhh. Matthew's team finished in 3rd place. The highlight of the weekend though was on Sunday when Matthew scored a goal...he'd been wanting to do that for the past three weekends but because he is normally a fullback he doesn't have much opportunity to score. We were just thrilled for him!

Right after the tournament Sunday afternoon Rob headed to mow some hay down and I took the boys to Matthew's baseball practice. Not so good. I bet Matthew tried to hit at least 25 pitches with the pitching machine and just couldn't connect. I could tell he was getting very frustrated. Things changed a bit last night when they had their first game. His team won 12-6...Matthew went 2 out of 2, both hits down the 3rd base line. He scored 2 runs himself and had 1 RBI. WOW...things had changed a bunch since Sunday at practice! Sorry for the details but I think Matthew's Uncle Sam might like to hear the play-by-play!



The school year is quickly coming to a close. Jacob's last day of Pre-K is Friday, and Matthew goes thru next Thursday, half a day. Lots of stuff going on...I'll try to post when I can!

Graduation!

Congratulations to our nephew, Zachary, who graduated valedictorian of is 8th grade class at Trinity Friday night! Way to go, Zachary...that is quite an accomplishment.

Saturday, Jacob graduated from Pre-Kindergarten at St. Paul. He was very proud of himself with his white cap on! They first sang some songs, did fingerplays and a pantomime (sp?)...Jacob did do the motions to everything but he didn't do much singing! Then, they put on their graduation caps and received their diplomas. So cute! Here's a few pics!