Zoo!!

Wilson's class went to the zoo in May and our family tagged along! We had such a GREAT day. All of the animals were out and about. The only exhibit not open was the penguins because they are renovating. We watched a sea lion & seal demo (some of my favorite animals at the zoo), watched them feed the bears, and toured around the whole zoo. The boys had a great time. Wilson rode up with the 2nd graders on the charter bus. We had one of his friends travel around the zoo with us. We met up with all of the classes for lunch and the rest of the day we were on our own. We stayed after the school group left to finish and then met up with some friends for dinner.We had a great day! Enjoy the pics!

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I love Spring Break!

Wow we are off to a WONDERFUL spring break! It is SO nice to have time off. Being how it is only Tuesday I feel like we've already done a lot so far!
* naps :)- yes plural!
* frozen yogurt
* playing outside - riding bikes, scooters etc
* watching basketball- GO Cats! It's a gr8 day to be a Wildcat!!
* grilling out
* hanging out with my mom & grandparents for lunch
* cleaning
* shopping (easter basket goodies)
* Girls Night IN with friends
* healthy check-ups for the boys at the dentist

Looking forward to lots more fun this week with the family!

Memorial Day Picnic

We went to a picnic at my grandparents house on Memorial Day. Often, when we get together my maw-maw, my aunt, or my mom makes Cucumber dip. It is delicious. Ty is eating it below. I think this was his first time to try it. I eventually had to put the lid on so he would go play with his cousins and stop eating!

 But mom, this dip is soo good!

Wilson playing wiffle ball. He looks rather into it. :)

Luke getting sprayed by the sprinkler! Madelyn, Silas, and Wilson are in the background.

24 hours from HELL

Well...the stomach virus didn't stop with Wilson. Oh, no...Luke threw up at 6:15 Sunday night. Andy threw up around 9:30, and Tyler threw up sometime in the middle of the night. I thought he might and I thought he would cry for me if he did but...I didn't know until I went in the next morning. Andy, Luke and I didn't get much sleep Sunday night. I just slept in Luke's room so I could help him. I think I was spared just enough to not be puking but I had body aches like the flu. I didn't eat anything until 1 or 2 because I was afraid that if I ate, I would start throwing up. I felt horrible but was better off than Andy so I met the basic needs for our children! They were fed and they were bathed*. Sheets were changed. Other than that the house looked like a tornado hit. It was ROUGH. Andy definitely took it the hardest. It's taken him 2 days and counting. He's still not back to his regular self but he is eating today. He has slept a lot and has consumed a lot of gatorade. I stayed home today to take care of Luke and Tyler so Andy could try and recuperate. I did LOTS of laundry, cleaned up the kitchen, and put away toys. Thankfully all of the rest of us felt normal today. Really hoping Andy is well tomorrow!

*One bath resulted in me fishing poop out of the tub with a disposable cup. NASTY. I think that is the 2nd time ever in my parenting years that someone has pooped in the tub. So then I got to clean the tub before finishing bath time...!!

This will make you laugh!

More mustache and lip pictures...because it was THAT funny!!!

Wilson

Lily

Meghan


Luke!


Uncle Mac

Poppy & Wilson

*If you read through a reader, click into the blog for new sidebar pictures!

Happy 7th Birthday Wilson!

Happy Birthday! His 7 candles were in the shape of a 7!

Wilson turned 7 last Friday (January 7th)! He had a great day. He woke up to a brand new bike which he is very excited about! He'd outgrown his other bike. He got to have poptarts for breakfast and bring cupcakes to school. Friday night Poppy came over for dinner. Wilson chose pancakes, sausage, and eggs for dinner. His dessert was Mountain Mama Mudslide. Uncle Bill, Danny, Steph, and the kids came over for dessert. He got to open 3 presents from them and then we played Creationary while the kids built a fort. He had a great birthday! Uncle Bill brought over wax lips and wax mustaches he bought at Cracker*Barrel. The boy cousins got the mustaches on and the girls got the lips on. Then the adults got in on the fun. We were all cracking up and laughing so hard. It was too funny!

Saturday afternoon was the friend birthday party - super fun and then Saturday night my family came over to celebrate Wilson, Caroline, and Luke's birthdays. Wilson's is January 7th, Caroline's is on the 10th, and Luke's is on the 13th. They'll be 7, 6, and 5 this year! We ordered pizza, had salad, and dessert. The kids all had a good time together. It was a birthday weekend extravaganza.

P.S. I CAN'T believe I have a 7 year old!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2011!!

Last night we rang in the new year with Danny, Steph, Lily, Trey, Uncle Bill, and Poppy. We had an appetizer dinner which was yummy. The kids had fun playing the Wii and the adults had fun playing Buzz Word. Everyone left around 10pm because the kids all needed to get to bed! On our last day of doing whatever we want from this glorious holiday break I slept in until 10:30!! I didn't even stay up until midnight! I was tired I guess. Tyler slept in until then too! The rest of the day has been lazy. Haven't done much of anything really. Back to the real world starting tomorrow so we can have a smooth week back to work and school (laundry, menu planning, school work, etc) . It will hit us hard too! We've got two birthdays right around the corner, 2 birthday parties, report cards for me to finish, and karate starting back up this week. Unfortunately, winter break is offically over.

Nanny's House

(Picture from Thanksgiving 2008 - aka pre-Tyler!)

Andy's Nanny has lived in West Virginia most of her life. She has spent the past 65+ years in Richwood, WV. Andy has travelled to Richwood every year for holidays and visits in the summer as a boy. As the boys got older the winter months often included snow skiing at Snowshoe. Andy loves WV, skiing, and he loved going to his Nanny's house. When they would go stay at Nanny's she would wake them up to go snow skiing in the morning playing "Country Roads." The house didn't really change much over the years - some new paint colors or decorations, nothing major. But it was his Nanny's house. A house they all loved and cherished going back to visit and stay overnight.

Right after Thanksgiving 2010 Nanny moved from WV to Florida to live in an apartment near her daughters (Andy's mom and aunt). She is so happy in her new home. She has 3 meals provided for her each day and someone comes in weekly to clean. It is really the right move for her and she is happy to be closer to her daughters. But it was hard on the family to lose their tie to WV. Andy went with his parents, Danny, and Katie to help pack the moving truck. He came home with a few treasures from Nanny's house. Things that will always help us to remember that home and all the great memories we have there. I remember going with him and his family for Thanksgiving before we were married. So I'd been going to that house for a long time too. We are happy for Nanny B. and glad she is getting the assistance she needs to make life a little easier! She is 90 years old and going strong! Here are the treasures Andy found when they were packing Nanny up this past November.

This was the thing I asked for - Nanny's candy dish. It was always out in her living room and always had candy in it. This dish for some reason, really reminds me of Nanny's house!

This stool was something Andy grabbed as they were leaving. He came home and said "there's one more thing I brought home...don't be mad." Prefacing it like that I was a little worried. Then he pulled out the stool and I was so excited! I am so glad he thought of this. The boys love it and it is now in our kitchen just like it had been in Nanny's kitchen for years!

Here is the coal bucket, mentioned in a previous post. From when Nanny's house used coal to heat it up. Still has coal inside!

Christmas Break!!

The week leading up to Christmas was wonderful. I got lots of sleep- I am no longer sleep deprived! I know this because I've been able to read without falling asleep in 10-15 minutes! I finished the book I was reading (South of Broad) and started a new book (Hunger Games). I've finished Season 1 of Friends which Andy and I are watching again, seasons 1-10. We started Season 2 yesterday! Love, love, love that show!! The first two seasons are so dated though!

We wrapped gifts, finished Christmas shopping, set up a fish tank (Christmas gift for my grandparents), and made chocolate chip cookies for Santa. We took the boys to see Santa Claus and Tyler wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. He wouldn't sit on his lap or stand in front of him. Maybe next year!

We've also gotten to hang out with family and friends a lot! I hung out with school friends one night while Andy was at a Christmas party. We had my teammates and their families over another night. We all had such a great time! There were 10 adults and 5 kids and we had a nice time talking and hanging out together. My parents came over for dinner one night and we had fun playing the Wii and the card game Spoons.

It's just been such a wonderful break so far. I hope this next week goes slowly!

Thanksgiving #2

On Thursday Andy and I hosted the Mc. family Thanksgiving at our house. I spent all day Wednesday cleaning and that evening I prepped my food. Andy cleaned the bathroom, mopped, and worked hard on our downstairs bathroom. Thursday morning I finished cleaning and decorated the table with some fall decorations I borrowed from Cara. The boys had made a sign for the front door, place cards for the kids table, and handprint turkeys to hang in the dining room. They were so excited to have everyone over to our house! My parents showed up for dinner and I was so glad for them to come.

Everyone came over around 2ish. We had some appetizers since no one ate lunch. I made Jalapeno Popper dip and served it with toasted bread. Erin brought fresh fruit and spinach dip. Everything was yummy! I also made Pomegranate Punch which Wilson thought was lemonade and poured half of the juice mixture down the drain... :(

We had dinner around 5ish. I made sweet potato casserole, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. (Next time for the cranberry sauce I would reduce the pomegranate juice to 1 cup and the sugar to 1/2 cup.) I enjoyed trying new recipes for the holiday. With both thanksgiving celebrations combined I tried 5 new recipes!

The food was delicious. We also had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, corn pudding, green bean casserole, and broccoli casserole. Everyone had a great time hanging out. The kids put on their own Thanksgiving Day parade in our basement which was adorable. It was too hot for a fire but overall it was a wonderful day of hanging out, food, and fun! With 9 cousins we have started putting all of their names in a hat. Each cousin pulls out 1 name and that is who they buy a christmas gift for. So the kids all traded gifts since we don't all see each other at Christmas. They were excited to get to open a present!

Thanksgiving Dinner #1

Tonight we had Thanksgiving with my side of the family at Cara and Jason's house. It was nice to all be together and the food was delicious! The kids had a great time together. I made a pumpkin pie and Sweet Potatoes with sage butter crumb topping, both new recipes. The pie was delicious. Probably the best pumpkin pie I've eaten before. The recipe was time consuming and I didn't know how it was going to turn out but it was good! Homemade pie crust and homemade whipped cream to boot! The sweet potatoes were not the brown sugar super sweet ones that we are used to. These were good, just not the same. It was just a recipe I'd been wanting to try for a while so I'm glad I did. I'll be making the usual brown sugar sweet potato casserole for Thursday.

Andy's side of the family is coming to our house for Thanksgiving this year! We're excited. Everyone is bringing different parts of the dinner. Looking forward to Thanksgiving Dinner #2!

Happy Fall!

This weekend we went to the pumpkin patch to get pumpkins, ride on a hayride, and buy apple donuts! It was a lot of fun. The boys fed the goats - even Tyler! I also bought mums to plant for the porch. Andy drilled holes in my planters so the water could drain out and not oversoak the flowers. It looks so nice out there now! I bought a new door mat and a sign that is fallish to hang on the door. I tried two new recipes, buttered rosemary rolls and pumpkin pie squares. I didn't use rosemary on the rolls because that is one of the few herbs I don't have...I just used dried italian seasoning. The pumpkin pie squares are pretty good, but not exceptional! I have many more pumpkin recipes I'm wanting to make this fall. Yum!

Fall Break!

We've really enjoyed our fall break. It's sad to see it come to an end! I'm always a little down on my last day from a break before returning to school - even though I really like my job. It's just hard to get myself back into the swing after a few days at home with my family. Anyway- here's what we've been up to!

Day 1 - my mom and I took my boys and Cara's girls downtown to look at a bunch of horse statues. We ended up seeing 15! It was fun to see all of the different artwork and read the names of the horses. It was like a scavenger hunt. We packed a lunch and ate a picnic in one of the parks. That afternoon I met up with a friend for a walk in a different park. I got a lot of walking in on Wednesday! That evening we hung out at home and made pizza. This horse is name Bluegrass.

This horse is named Teacup.

Day 2 - I had lunch at The Glitz with my mom, sister, and a friend of my mom's named Cathy. She gave this lunch to my mom with Cara and I for Christmas. It was fun! We've known Cathy a long time so it was nice to catch up with her.
Day 3 - we left for Great Wolf Lodge with my side of the family! My parents, grandparents, 2 family friends, my family and Cara's family all went. We stopped at the outlet malls nearby for about an hour and then went to the water park for a couple hours before dinner. We had a great time that night doing GWL's trick or treat scavenger hunt, playing in the arcade, and listening to story time.
Day 4 - we spent from 10:30-3:00 at the water park! It is so much fun. Andy and I took turns riding some of the bigger slides with Wilson or Luke. If you haven't been you should definitely plan to go! Last night we finally ate at our new Cracker Barrel for dinner as we came back into town.
Day 5 - church, cleaning, laundry, grocery list, etc.

Fun Family Day!

On Wednesday we took a day trip to Cincinnati. We left after lunch hoping Tyler would nap on the way there...fat chance! We went to the Fire Museum, Lego Store, Build-a Bear, and to eat at The Old Spaghetti Factory.

A visit to the Lego store was Wilson's top priority! We went for a Lego Mini Figure building contest. The store had a contest to see who could build the most mini figures in 30 seconds. Wilson came in 2nd place. He got to keep 1 mini figure for free. We surprised him and let him pick a lego out at the store (within a set price range :)). He chose the farm! It was his first visit to an actual Lego store and he LOVED it!

Luke needed something special as well so we took him to Build-a Bear. None of our kids have ever made a stuffed animal there so it was really special for him. He chose this dog, Brown Sugar, and dressed him in a fire outfit! We bought boots and a little dog bed for him. Luke was so happy with his new doggie!

Our first stop was to the Cincinnati Fire Museum (sorry, having trouble getting the pics in order). The big boys have been a couple years ago but seemed to have forgotten the visit!

They really enjoyed playing in the old fire truck cab. You can turn the lights on and pretend to drive!

Here is Luke sliding down the fireman pole! Love this picture! We did this with all 3 of them several times.

We ended up eating at the Old Spaghetti Factory which was fun. It was a great family day!

A Fun Fourth! (Post # 600!!)

So this weekend we had a lot of family fun! We went downtown for the morning on Saturday. We met up with my parents and my sister's kids. They all had fun but it was hot! Sunday evening we had a cookout at Danny & Steph's with part of the Mc. Clan. Then we went to watch fireworks. It was a fun evening. I dug myself out of my cooking rut to try a new pie - Mississippi Mud Pie. It was pretty good! Oreo crust, chocolate ganache, toffee, coffee icecream etc. Yum! We had fun coming up with other ice cream pie variations. Follow the link to Annie's Eats for a picture and recipe! I did not make my own coffee icecream. I bought blue bell coffee icecream! I'm making another dessert from her blog tomorrow for a birthday celebration. Based on my luck with this food blog I'm sure it will be delicious! Annie's recipes are always good. So here is a link to the Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake as well. Enjoy!

Happy Father's Day!

A day late but I still wanted to post about two very important men in my life! My dad and the wonderful daddy Andy is to our children!

To my dad: You are a wonderful dad and I always know that you love and care about me. Thank you for always being there to help me or Andy out when we need you! I also know I can tell you anything and you will love me just the same. I think you are hip, supportive, and very talented. I'm so proud of you- an extrememely talented musician and instrument repairman, a wonderful grandfather, father, and husband, and a great teacher. I'm glad I followed in your footsteps as a teacher even though you and mom tried to talk me out of the teaching profession! I love you! Happy Father's Day!

To my Andy: You are the best dad our boys could have. I don't tell you enough! You have stayed home with our boys and taken such good care of each one of them. I love that you are so involved with our children. You know them so well and love them immeasurably. They are so blessed to have you as a daddy. I am so glad that our jobs allow us to raise our boys together. I love how you spend time talking and explaining things to them, building legos, and making them pancakes! You are a GREAT dad and I am so glad we are in this together. I couldn't do it without you. I love you! Happy Father's Day!

Poppy's Birthday Pictures (a little late)

Poppy turned 59 last Sunday! We had a nice lunch for him after church. We grilled out hamburgers, hot dogs, and steak for Poppy. We had hashbrown casserole, fruit, and chocolate mousse pie. It was lots of fun! We gave him a picture of Wilson and Luke in a magnetic frame for his fridge and an invite to dinner every Thursday while he is in his temporary bachelor state. Mimi is in Florida teaching, Katie is in Florida at college, and Poppy is here finishing up his state job to retire. He also just retired from the Marines.

Lucy

My family's dog, Lucy, who lived at my parents house was put to sleep on Thursday. I've not been able to write about it until today. Lucy was sick and old and wasn't eating much. She'd gotten down to 20 lbs and looked awful. It's never an easy decision to put your dog to sleep but my family knew it was time. I know it has been very hard on my mom because she's still been with her the last several years while Cara and I have been gone. Mom took her to the vet by herself on Thursday, that's how she wanted it to be. Thankfully, I did not know the exact time she went. I don't even have a picture at the moment to post. Yesterday I was really sad and cried several times. I vividly remember going to the Humane Society with Cara and Ma-maw to pick a new puppy out. That was after our beagle, Mickey died. We were so upset and shocked with Mickey's death (she suffocated herself in a black drain pipe while chasing a chipmunk) that the only thing Cara and I could do next was get a new puppy to love. At the pound Cara and I liked Lucy. She was a terrier mix, a small black puppy. She was feisty and cute as could be. We went home and told our parents about Lucy and either that same day or the next we went back and adopted Lucy. She was a good dog. We'll miss her. I don't remember how we picked out her name but it was perfect for her. Ok, that's all I can say.

Cobin Lag (aka Log Cabin)

So, our family traveled to Gatlinburg for Fall break! We stayed in a Log Cabin. Wilson called it a Cobin Lag for about 2 weeks before we went and the whole time we were there (even though we always refered to it as the Cabin or the Log Cabin!). It was so much fun. We drove a caravan there with Erin, Stephanie, and Danny. Of course all 7 kids were with us too! We met up with Andy's parents and sister in Gatlinburg. We had an awesome cabin that had 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a hot tub, pool table, 7 TVs, a game table and many other nice amenities. A lot of fun was had by all! The caravan left early on Thursday and arrived in Gatlinburg around 2pm. We stopped to shop at the outlet malls and then checked in for our cabin around 5pm. When we got there I made a big pot of chili and we hung out and had fun. On Friday we just enjoyed seeing Mimi, Poppy and Aunt Katie. We went out to dinner and to ride Go-Carts! Wilson rode the go-carts twice with his daddy. Boy, did he love that! The kids rode some other rides as well. Luke really did not want to ride anything. He kept saying "no" in the cutest voice. I did get him on the Merry Go Round and after crying for a couple minutes, he had fun.
On Saturday the girls went shopping some more and out for pizza while the guys and big kids went hiking. We met back up at the cabin for the UK game and more hanging out! Each family carved a pumpkin with the kids (Wilson's idea was a Pirate!) and then got the kids in their halloween costumes so they could trick or treat with Mimi. We lit the pumpkins and roasted the pumpkin seeds. Fun! That night we played Texas Hold 'Em which was lots of fun. It was a perfect hot tub night too! The next morning Dan and Carol had to leave pretty early so we all got up and went for a pancake breakfast before the rest of us packed up the cabin to head home. It was a great time. :) A slide show is coming soon!

Girls Night!

Steph and I met at Starbucks Saturday night after the kids were in bed. Between the two of us that is 5 kids, so that's pretty good! We left our husbands at home with the sleeping children watching the UK football game (though Meg might have still been awake!). We had great conversation and a much needed chance to just talk, without chidren interrupting! We had lots to talk about because the time flew and suddenly over an hour and a half had passed and we knew it was time to head home. We both made it home to see the last 30 min. or so of the UK game which was a great ending! Go CATS! (I'm not a big football fan, but, was interested in a game such as that!) Anyway, while we were hanging out we made a plan to baby-sit each other's kids once a month (they are cousins and all!) so we can each have a monthly date with our hubby. Sounds like a great plan. Andy and Danny were both glad to hear that plan!
Do you like Starbucks? I'm one of the few in my family that does. But you gotta love Starbucks coffee. No, I am NOT one of those that don't drink Starbucks just because they are taking over every corner in our country. Order yourself a Tall-Nonfat-No Whip-White Chocolate Mocha. Go to Starbucks. Now. Get yourself one and see if you don't like it! (BTW, I'm also a fan of locally owned coffee shops too! (mmm...Mocha Josie, anyone?!)