Here's to a wonderful man!

Today is Josh's birthday, and I don't do a lot of posts about my husband so this is overdue. Here's to the man that makes me soo very happy, after 6 1/2 years of marraige I still watch the clock and get excited for him to come home. It seems like each year just gets better then the last. I love listening to him talk to me, when he touches me I still get goosebumps, when he looks at me I see love, I love it when he cuddles with me and holds my hand-which he does often. He loves to play with the kids and make them laugh, he is such a good daddy! The kids love it when dad comes home, Lucie always hides under the table and daddy finds her. My husband is such a wonderful person so today for his birthday the kids and I went shopping for him, we came home and the kids wrapped their presents and hid them. They also put candles on the cake.
Daddy-we love you so much and thank you so much for all you do to make us a happy family!!

The kids hid their presents to dad in Grants closet!

How Pathetic!!

Yesterday I was at my nieces birthday party and I was made fun of for all the pictures I take, and I didn't think I took that many BUT, I just realized that this is the 21st day of September and I have posted 15 blog entries so far this month, most all with pictures!! Yesterday I went on a hunt for a bigger purse because I thought I was forgetting my camera at home to much, umm maybe not! I just can't help it, I have the cutest and best family in the world, how can I not take pictures of them EVERYWHERE!!!

Good things come in small packages!!

I was cleaning the house this afternoon when I walked into the living room and this is what I saw.



She is so crazy. I am very excited because I found some halloween fabric for a little dress for Lucie and her baby lulu, and a tie for Josh and Grant so they can all match!! Now all I have to do is ask my mom to sew it for me. So mom if you are reading this before I ask, it's coming next time I talk to you!

Sporties for Shorties

Grant finally had his first Sporties for Shorties class, the first week was canceled and last week we were camping so this past Saturday was the first class for him. He loved it, they did an obstacle course, played basketball and his favorite is the BIG parachute!! Of course I took pics so here they are!!
Some of the pics turned out a little dark, but the others are cute.

Old versus New!!

Today I had a half day so I decided to take Grant to my Gigi and Grandpa's house. My mom got out some blocks for Grant to play with and it wasn't long before Grant and Great Grandpa were playing Jenga. It was so sweet, Grant kept asking Great Grandpa to hepl him wiggle the block and get it started!! It is great to have them up here, Lucie loves his harmonica skills(he can play "you are my sunshine") and Grant and Great Grandpa had a killer game of Jenga!! It is great to see Gigi and Grandpa enjoying the kids. Unfortunatly I didn't have my camera so my mom took a pic on her camera phone!! Better then nothing!

Our First Camping Trip!!

All summer we have wanted to go camping, and tried two times, we even started packing the car the one time, but the forecast was RAIN-so we didn't go. We finally decided that this weekend we would go Friday through Sunday. You have to understand I don't really like bugs, or going days without a shower, or going potty in a PIT Toilet(which is just as great as it sounds.) I do however remember having so much fun camping as a kid so I got over my adult issues and we got the kids excited(again), then we got stuff ready and heard the forecast-RAIN. we were not going to dissapoint the kids again so we went anyway. We heard rain was forecasted for all weekend. We got up there Friday morning and set the tent up. It was beautiful! No rain most of Friday.
We just picked out our campsite, got out of the car and Lucie runs over to the biggest tree and says "Mommy take a picture of me"(Thank you again Aunt Alana)

Josh caught a huge frog for Grant.

Grant put it in his bug box which was too small for him.

Grant was looking in the water for more frogs.

What little kids don't love chasing geese!

Grant was collecting logs for firewood.


The day was so beautiful that we called my sister and had her girls Havi and Talitha come out and camp with us. Here they are all watching Josh make popcorn by the fire.

The kids all had soo much fun. They picked out awesome walking sticks.

They all made S'mores.

And of course they ate them and loved them.

I helped Grant toast his marshmallows.

This is just a really cute picture I got of Grant laying on the pier.


At 7:40 we went into the tent, got pj's on and layed down to hear the pitter patter of raindrops on the tent. The rain got a little heavier, and a little heavier and then decided to downpour for 8 of the next 9 hours and then the rain let up a little but still kept raining. In the morning we all woke up and the kids had to watch TV for a little to see if the rain would let up. Of course it didn't so we decided to pack up a day early and go home.

The kids had no where to eat so I had them eat donuts under a big tree so they didn't get wet.

This is our family camping picture right before we left to go home-note how wet we all are.

When we got home it was still raining so Lucie got a washcloth and while we unloaded the van Lucie cleaned her bike and the van.


Overall it was soo much fun, even though we left early and left soaked I would do it again anytime.

My poor lost optimistic son!

As if I am not emotional enough, I wrote the last blog while Grant was in school. I then waited for his bus, and waited and waited. He got out at 3:20 and I called at 4:00 to see where he was. I was told he was put on the wrong bus, oh- my poor baby is driving around West Bend by himself in a BIG school bus, he NEEDS his mom right now to cuddle with and tell him everything is going to be okay and he is alone. He finally got home at 4:45, I went out to get him off the bus and tried not to cry, I look at him and say "Hi honey", he goes "Mom I got to ride on a big school bus"with a huge smile on his face, of course he had no clue he was on the wrong bus. Wow, I am going to be a basketcase when they grow up.

Here's to my kids, and Grant's first Day at School!

I feel I need to do a blog just for my kids, they are great. They always make me laugh-sometimes make me cry, they make me want to be a good person and a better example! They make me want to get up in the morning-to see them smile and go to bed at night so we can cuddle and sing. They always have a way of stopping me in my tracks with something amazing, funny or unbelievable!! They make my good days better and can make my bad days innocently worse. All in all, they are perfect, to them I am perfect. They don't see my flaws, and always tell me that they love me sooo much. I am so blessed to have such wonderful children!!

Anyway I am a little emotional because Grant started speech again and got to ride on a REAL bus. My baby is growing up and it makes me sad!! The first two pictures are from this morning when he was ready for school and then he has two from when he was on the bus!!! Adorable!! I love my kids!

Family Fun Fest!!

Today at the park they had a family fun fest that I took the kids to. For the second year in a row we missed the home depot build-it workshop, the kids had lots of fun though. Here are tons of cute pics!

Gymnastics and Sporties for Shorties!

Today was the first day that Grant had sporties for shorties and Lucie had tiny tot gymnastics, so CRAZY mom got all ready, charged her batteries for her camera, got the kids all excited and headed off in the van, with Josh all ready to play sporties for shorties with Grant!! We pull up and there are only four cars in the parking lot, we walk to the door and there is a big sign saying that class is changed and starts next week. WHAT! How do you tell a four year old that, well we did and he cried-lots. Then we took Lucie to gymanstics, that was great and she had lots of fun doing it!!

A Wii Family!

So I caved and let my husband buy a Wii. I faught him on it for quite a while, but finally let him do it!! I have to admit it has been fun. Grant and Josh especially love it, Grant has this freakish ability to play really well at video games with little to no practice. The other night we played Wii bowling and he got a couple Strikes in a row and a couple of Spares, while I got a whole lot of Gutter balls.

In Grant's Opinion!!

So lately I have been slacking a little bit at the housework thing. Josh always thinks the house is clean and my kids never complained so I let it go a little. My normal day is to wake up at 4:15ish, get the kids up at 5:00, leave the house by 5:30, I then work from 6-2, sometimes 4 and sometimes 5(11 hour days kill me.) Every once in a while I will get done at 12:00, and on those days I always take the kids somewhere fun. I almost always have dinner on the table at 5:30 when Josh gets home. We then spend time together as a family, then we get ready for bed and the kids are in bed at 7:30/8:00. At that time I Love spending time with Josh, it is our little bit of alone time that I dearly cherish. So anyway I was planning on coming home today to clean my house because I am watching my sisters kids this weekend. The first thing I do is clean our downstairs bathroom. About five minutes after I finished the bathroom Grant comes running into the bathroom, he then comes running out and goes "WOW, mom I get to go poop in a clean bathroom, why is the bathroom sooo clean?" Ummm apparently I am really slacking. I didn't think it was that bad but I guess I never asked my four year old son his opinion!!

Way to Go Maylinn

This is Josh, and this is my first and maybe last post. This post is for my little sister(who has only child syndrom.) She is a junior in High School, and has great basketball skills. On Sept. 1st she started receiving letters from colleges, and I am so proud of her so I wanted to share a few of those letters with everyone!


Number One
Hey Maylinn,
Hey! I hope you enjoyed a great Labor Day weekend! I'm sure you are being bombarded with questionnaires, emails, etc. these days. It's a very exciting time for you and I hope the recruiting process does not get too overwhelming. Make sure you sit back and enjoy it once in a while! We look forward to getting to know you better over the next couple of months. We believe Harvard can offer you the best of the best-a top notch education along with a very successful Division I experience. It's a wonderful place, and we plan on showing you how a Harvard degree would be able to open doors for you for the rest of your life. I just wanted to send you a quick note to introduce myself! Looking forward to watching you play and getting to know you! Have a great week!
Sincerely, Stacey Noel
Assistant Coach Harvard University

Number Two
Hey Maylinn,
> I am an assistant at UC Santa Barbara and wanted to touch base with you
> and let you know how excited we are about getting the chance to know you
> and introduce you to UCSB. We have a ton to offer and feel like we have
> the best of everything...Education, Location and Women's Basketball!!
> Let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to talking to
> you soon! Feel free to contact me with any questions!!
>
> Go Gauchos!
>
> Coach Unrau


Number Three
Hi Maylinn,
September 1st is finally here, and the opportunity to begin sharing with you what it means to be a Torero! In the next few days, you will receive a letter from me which will introduce you to the University of San Diego and our women's basketball program. However, it will really be over the course of the next year that you will see what our University has to offer academically, athletically, and socially. You can begin by checking out our school web site at www.sandiego.edu or our athletic web site at www.usdToreros.com. Check out our home page to meet the team, read about our NCAA appearance, see us cutting down the nets, or throwing out the first pitch at the Padres game!

I hope you like what you see!
Go Toreros!

Number Four
Hi Maylinn;

My name is Kip Drown and I am the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Today (September 1) is the first day that we can write to Juniors so I want to be, hopefully, the first to make contact with you. My assistant coach, Leslie Haywood and I have had the opportunity to see you play several times this past summer and we have been very impressed with your game.

I would encourage you to go to our web site at www.gothunderwolves.com to find out more about our program and our university. While you are there, if you wouldn’t mind, we would appreciate you filling out the on-line questionnaire so we might get some additional information on you.

Let me make you aware of some NCAA rules that we must operate under.

1. We are not allowed to call you until this coming June 15th

2. You can call us anytime if you would like to find out anything further about our program.

3. You can E-Mail or write us anytime. You can text us but we are not allowed to reply to your text.

4. You are allowed to visit our campus on an unofficial visit anytime (with the exception of a few days called “Dead Periods”)

We have you ranked as the number one two guard on our Junior list and I look forward to recruiting you during the upcoming year. Best wishes on a great Junior season!

Team First;

Number Five
Hey Maylinn,
This is Coach Sanford from the University of Idaho women's basketball program. Hope this e-mail finds you doing well and enjoying the beginning of your Junior year! We had a great summer watching you play and will be keeping in touch with you throughout the next year. After having success at Idaho State University, we are excited to have been hired at the University of Idaho in April and are looking forward to getting this program going in the right direction. Our goal is to be at the top of the WAC and we believe that you have the needed skills and abilities to be successful in our program. Please do not hesitate to contact us, but due to NCAA regulations we are only allowed to contact you through e-mail and snail mail at this point. We are looking forward to getting to know you better and GO VANDALS,





We love you May! Way to go!

Josh, Shana, Grant and Lucie

Do you ever wonder?

Do you ever see something and wonder Hmmm, What?? Ahhh?? Well, I walked into the kitchen and found this...

I found a post-it note on the kitchen wall, when I removed that I found...


A blob of playdough with a band aid on it, under the post-it note on the kitchen wall, under that I found...


A purple piece of chalk which was under the playdough which was covered with the band-aid, which was covered with the post-it note on the kitchen wall. So....


This makes me wonder, what goes on inside the head of a three year old little girl?? She is only three and I am already befuddled, that is a bad sign of things to come!!!