first snow.

We woke up on Sunday December 9 to find the first snow!  The boys were THRILLED.  We played for a few minutes in the snow before it was time to head to church.  Unfortunately it was all melted by the time we got home... 

The boys (Mark included) couldn't wait to throw snow balls at each other again! 

Panther Game!

We stopped by my parents house on December 4 to tell grandpa happy birthday.  They just so happened to have dinner plans and couldn't use their tickets to the Panther's basketball game that night and offered them to us.  So on a whim we got our Panther's gear on and headed to the game.  The boys were SOOOO excited!

It had been quite awhile since we had been to a game and the excitement of the stadium just radiated off of their little bodies.  They couldn't have been more pumped up!

We found a seat in the front row and watched all that was going on around us.  Levi couldn't wait to find TC!

It didn't take long for us to change seats to sit up high.  Isaiah just sat and watched taking it all in.

Levi danced and danced to all of the upbeat music that was blasting all around us.  He is always the entertainment to those around us.  I think he had all eyes on him for most of the pre-game time!

Mark was happy to say hi to his good "TC" friends.  

And then finally he came out...TC.  Levi was soooooo happy.  He kept talking to him and telling him jokes - he wouldn't let him leave.  TC was a good sport and entertained Levi.  Levi kept telling him different versions of the "What did one snowman say to the other snowman joke" that Grandma taught the boys a couple years ago (the joke is- it sure smells like carrots around here, but Levi was making up all kinds of silly words instead of carrots). 

Isaiah was excited to see TC too, and actually stood for a picture for me :)

And Titus just wasn't so sure.  He did end up touching TC's nose, but that was about as close as it came.  

Before halftime Mark took Isaiah and Levi over to say hi to a friend that was in the Pep band.  They were playing the Interlude and other crazy songs which got Levi moving.  He ended up putting on a dance for the entire stadium.  I'm pretty sure everyone was watching and laughing at how cute he was.  Levi has some pretty crazy break dancing moves.  It was great!  

What a fun spur of the moment night.  Thanks mom and dad for the tickets!

Up goes the tree.

I like to get the Christmas tree out the weekend after Thanksgiving so we can enjoy it for a full month -- and I like to get it taken down right after Christmas.  We bought a pre-lit artificial tree a few years ago and have had nothing but trouble with the lights - lesson learned, don't buy pre-lit!  But we keep adding more light strings to it each year and make it work!  We put the tree up one night and then a few days later actually got the ornaments on after we bought another string of lites.  The boys were super excited to put the tree up and loved looking at all of the ornaments.  They also loved wearing the Christmas hats and playing with the stockings.  Including the super HUMONGOUS stocking that Isaiah got this year.  (He had an assignment to bring 1 thing every day of the first week of December for the 5 senses and Christmas - we went to the dollar store and he picked out a huge stocking as something you see at Christmas -- along with a door handle decoration with a bell for hear, a Christmas scented candle for smell, a nutcracker with a fuzzy beard for tough and a huge candy cane for taste).  

 My mom created the tradition of getting a Hallmark ornament each year - I remember picking ornaments out as a kid and looking at them each year.  I decided to continue the tradition and each of my boys have picked out (or I've picked for them) an ornament.  (Mark and I have each also picked out an ornament every year since we've been married).  We usually stop at Hallmark whenever we are at the mall starting in July to look at them and think about which one we might pick out.  It's always such a tough decision -- both this year and last year it took Isaiah numerous stops and then about 45 minutes at the store making a final decision :)  This year he tried to talk me into buying him more than one -- nope, not gonna happen!  As expensive as this tradition can be, I was lucky enough to get $5 off facebook coupons for all 5 of us this year which made me super excited about the price (making most of them just about $7).  

Here are pictures of the 5 that came home with us....Can you guess who picked which one???

Obviously the "Look Who's One!" went to Titus.  I figured it was appropriate for him since he turned 1 just 2 weeks before Christmas.  Also probably pretty obvious is the "Our Family" is mine :) but I did put our picture in it, just didn't take a picture before it's been boxed up.  Mark picked the radio one which is a countdown to Christmas with a silly radio clip with jokes for each day of December up to Christmas day.  Levi picked out the Prep and Landing guys which are his all time favorite Christmas cartoon and may just be his all time favorite show.  We still have it on the DVR and he requests to watch it often :)  And Isaiah finally picked out the Back to the Future car - he has never seen the movies and has no clue what the car is all about, but he loved that it was a fancy looking car.  He had actually picked out the Green Bay Packer football player after about 30 minutes of looking only to find that they were sold out of it so the car was technically second choice, but he loved it all Christmas time long anyway.  

What a fun start to the Christmas season!

Family Thanksgiving.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving my sister and her family, Aunt Sharon, Aunt Sandy and Grandma Irene came to celebrate Thanksgiving at my parents' house.  As always it was chaotic to have 6 kids 6 and under together, but it's always fun to watch them play and of course everyone wanted to hold the sweet little baby Kiara.  It's already clear that Titus and Elise are going to be good buddies - they were having fun playing with each other and fighting over turns in the walker. :)

We have so much to be thankful for.  We are blessed!

Holiday Hoopla Kickoff

Friday night after Thanksgiving our city kicked off the Christmas events downtown.  It was going to be a freezing night, but I knew the kids would love it -- so we dropped Titus off with Grandma and Grandpa and off the big boys, Mark and I went to celebrate.  We waited for quite awhile in line to see inside Santa's workshop and meet Mrs. Claus.  Luckily they had some really upbeat music going including the Interlude that kept the kids dancing.  There were also several different characters walking around including some elves, a snowman and a penguin.  We finally got in for our 30 seconds with Mrs. Claus and then down the slide -- the moment they had both been waiting for :)

They had a band playing too and the boys were thrilled when Alvin and the Chipmunks came out to sing for us.  I will admit the wait got a bit long... 

 and everyone in the crowd was getting really anxious... 

 but finally Santa came driving down the street...it was pretty neat!

We then walked down Main Street to see the lighting of the tree and the fireworks.  I love fireworks and I think this may have been the first time that both boys really enjoyed them too.  They were very pretty.  We then had quite the walk back to our car...Both boys were super whiny because they were freezing and it was late.  Mark was such a great dad that he gave up his coat to Isaiah and ran with Levi on his shoulders all the way back to the car. 

We quickly got Titus and headed home to bed...although the end was rough, it was a pretty exciting and fun night for everyone! I wish there were more fun things like this that we could do together as a family!  

Thanks Mom and Dad for having the baby!

**the big pictures that are by themselves were copied off the website for Holiday Hoopla -- not sure if they wanted me to do that, if they didn't -- sorry!, but they definitely captured the moment better than I could! :) **

Thanksgiving Day.

 Who would have thought that we would have spent Thanksgiving day playing bat and ball with Grandma, being pushed on the homemade swing by Grandpa and playing basketball with Great Aunt Sharon!?!  It was such a warm day and it was great being outside!  My Aunt Sharon got a big kick out of Levi when she was playing basketball with him and she missed a few shots in a row and Levi told her that she needed to aim for the basket (thinking she didn't know how to play :) ).  

Although we didn't have a big Thanksgiving feast on Thanksgiving day, we did make some fun memories -- the feast would come the next day :)

Small Group Bowling Night

Our small group was to meet the week of Thanksgiving and decided to do a family celebration night at the bowling alley.  We were excited that the Huenink's were going to be in town and could join us too.  There was a large group special for 2 hours of bowling that we took advantage of.  The kids had a lot of fun bowling (for some reason I only took 3 pictures of the actual bowling), but after about an hour and a half were ready to move on.  Caleb loves to draw and convinced the other boys to sit at the counter and draw together.  It was so sweet to watch 5 little boys sitting in a row drawing.  

 We attempted for a group picture of all the kids -- didn't really get a great one, but these pictures all put a smile on my face -- love these kids.  Aaron (5 - in green shirt), Weston (4.5 in orange shirt), Isaiah (6), Elise (3 in white shirt), Lillian (8), Levi (4), Caleb (5.5 in black shirt) and Will (6 in Wisconsin shirt).  Quite the crowd!

We sure missed Knut, Molly, Hallie, and Maia -- I guess we'll just have to do it again soon!

crazy boy.

Titus seems to be just like our other boys - crazy - strong - determined - and fearless.  This baby boy started pushing the little chairs around and climbing on them to reach things at 9 months old.   He hates to be restricted from getting what he wants (who doesn't?) so he's figured out a way to get it.  The unfortunate thing for him is that he hasn't figured out how to get down.  It is a common thing to hear a big shrieking scream only to find that Titus has managed to get himself stuck somewhere that he can't get out of - on top of a chair, on top of his big brother's bunk bed steps, on top of the toilet and so on.  

I'm not sure that there will be a dull moment in our home for the next 18+ years with these boys around. :)

Grandpa's Tractor

In November my dad came over with his tractor to see if we could get the last of the leaves taken care of before the snow came (and the free yard waste days were over!).  The boys love to ride on the tractor so they were happy to keep him company as he went over our yard.

 Titus didn't seem to mind spending more time in the swing...it's a good spot for him to watch the action, stay out of trouble, and let me get a few things done!  It wasn't the first time he ended up taking his nap outside.  :)

Thanks dad for your help!  What a releif to have most of the leaves gone so the spring clean up won't be quite so much work!

Thanksgiving Party!

Levi's class had a Thanksgiving party to celebrate the fall season and I was lucky enough to go!  The class had lots of little activities planned -  I got to help the boys and girls make Native American Hats with feathers .  It was a lot of fun to see Levi in his classroom and watch how he is with his friends.  He does a good job but does easily get distracted - I know he will settle down with time! :)

 Toward the end of the party the boys and girls sang a few songs and made turkeys for snack out of a bagel, oranges, grapes and carrot sticks-very cute.

What a fun morning in the preschool room! 

Another Monkey.

By mid-November Titus was easily crawling up the stairs.  He had no fear in it which came as no surprise to us.  It only makes things a little more challenging for me because there were times that I'd have him playing downstairs with the big boys and I'd have a chance to get laundry switched over and folded or a quick break to unload the dishwasher without him crawling in it -- but now when I sneak away he comes to find me :)  

But I wouldn't want it any other way, I love that my baby misses me when I'm gone :) 

Liahna's Four!

Liahna turned 4 in November so of course we had to go celebrate her birthday!  The boys always love to go to Aunt Nikki and Uncle Jay's.  The cousin's always play together so nicely and seem to figure out a way to make a complete disaster of the place too :)  As hard as it can be to fit in a day to celebrate a family member's birthday with everyone's schedules, I'm sure glad we do! 

Happy Birthday Sweet Liahna Marie!

Kindergarten Basketball Take 2

Isaiah participated in the Rec Center's kindergarten basketball (again this year -- I enrolled him last year when he was technically old enough but not in kindergarten yet!)  He loved it once again and had a blast on the orange team.  We haven't been orange yet so this was fun!  Just about each practice (6 Saturday mornings from 9-9:55) the whole family made it to cheer Isaiah on. Titus couldn't keep his hands off the basketballs and we did have to go chasing them quick so they didn't mess up the basketball players.  Levi talked someone into taking him up to the track to run around almost each practice - which was okay since we could see the court from there too.  Grandpa came to watch one day and so did Great Grandma Jo and Uncle Pat.  I love it when family come to support my little athletes!  I also got to catch up with my friend Erin as her little Liam was on the purple team and Levi got to spend some extra time with his friend Jagger who's older brother was playing too.  Isaiah definitely improved on his basketball skills and can dribble down the court very well.  The basket is still pretty high for them, but he made several baskets this season too.  He was so proud -- and we were all proud of him.  It's crazy to watch how much more coordinated he is these days!

What a great way to start Saturdays in October and early November!  

I voted!

The boys heard lots and lots of election talk this year.  It was the first year that Mark and I really took our votes seriously and did some research, watched the debates and talked about it quite a bit.  So on election day Isaiah came home from school so excited and so proud that he got to vote too at his school election.  

Levi and Titus did get to go with Mark to vote and we all got to go on a wild good chase to make my vote count -- one day this guy came by pushing and pushing me to sign up for an absentee ballet.  I could tell he wasn't going to stop until I agreed so I did.  It came in the mail and I never filled it out and then of course I had to work until 530pm that night and we had small group 6pm so I quickly looked at the envelope that said I had to take it downtown to the courthouse.  (but if I had done more research I could have gone to my voting spot as long as I hadn't filled out the ballet, which I hadn't)  I quickly filled it out and we drove downtown went to the wrong building and then I had to go up to the top floor of another building just to drop off the silly thing.  But we got it turned in and then headed to our voting party.  whew!

Halloween.

After school on Halloween we quickly got dressed in costume and took some pictures of the GI Joe Ninja, Batman and his sidekick Robin.   You may notice that between the different Halloween activities that we did this year, the boys were several different characters!  They had a hard time deciding just what they wanted to be.

We had a bit of a dilemma as to what to do on Halloween night because not only was it trick-or-treating, but it was also the boys' Awana party.  Trick-or-Treating started at 6 and the party was at 6:45.  We told them that they could trick-or-treat for a little while and then go to the party or just do trick-or-treating.  I was a bit surprised but they both DEFINITELY wanted to go to the Awana party.  So to give us a little more time Trick-or-Treating we went to Hy Vee to do their Halloween trick-or-treating first at 4.  The boys had lots of fun and even got to make a pumpkin cookie and pose by a bunch of pumpkins.  We had a quick supper and then headed to Great Grandma's house.  Of course she spoiled the boys with handfuls of candy, cups of cookies and a few oranges to add something healthy :).  

Then we headed to my parent's house to say Happy Halloween to Grandma.  And then it was time to go trick-or-treating!  We started at the "spooky" house that is close to our house that goes all out in decorating. We wanted to be sure we got to it - we walked up and down the houses near this one and then it was time for the party.  Once again we asked the boys if they wanted to keep going and get more candy, but the answer was NO!!  

So off to the party we went and the boys had a BLAST.  They had tons of games set up and lots of candy to be won.  Of course we stayed until the end of the party - and left with bags full of candy and treats - and like 6 cupcakes from the cupcake walk. 

What a fun Halloween!!

Halloween Parade

Isaiah's school had a Halloween Parade at the very end of the school day on Halloween.  The kids Preschool-2nd grade (maybe 3rd??) all got to dress up at school and march around the gym for the bigger kids and families that came to watch.  Isaiah was so excited to take his costume to school, but was also very concerned that it met Mrs. Fegley's guidelines - he must be able to put it on himself, it cannot be scary and you cannot have weapons.  He had finally decided on being a GI Joe Ninja.  It was super cute to watch his class walk around so proud - Mrs. Fegley is the teacher dressed as a pink M&M.  Levi was a bit upset that he didn't get to dress up and be in the parade, but was quickly distracted when he found his classmate Austin  who had come to watch his big brother.  Grandma came to watch too.  

It was so much fun to watch Isaiah and I was so proud - it made me realize just how quickly he would be growing - those 1st and 2nd graders looked so big! :)

pumpkin carving

Because we got our pumpkins so late we (which really means Mark) got to carve them the very next day.  Once again the boys were super excited, but the excitement quickly faded when they realized how much work goes into carving a pumpkin :)  Isaiah did clean his pumpkin out pretty much all by himself this year and  Levi, Titus and I did a good job watching, haha.  

When looking at the pumpkins at the farm the boys were really interested in the white pumpkin but neither of them wanted it to be "their" pumpkin so the white one is Titus' :)  

Thanks for your hard work daddy!

corn maze

In early October a man came into Mark's store and was telling him about the corn maze that he and his family create each year on their farm.  It sounded really neat and Mark always likes to support those who support him so we made sure to go out to the corn maze the very end of October.  We really weren't sure what to expect, but when we got there they gave us a map and instructed us to go through the maze trying to find the 15 (??) spots in the maze which were all marked with a stuffed animal on a stick.  It was a lot of fun running around in the corn with the kids and we did get turned around several times.  We eventually found all of the markers and our way out!

We then picked out our pumpkins for the year (finally!  I was beginning to think we weren't going to get to it...) There wasn't much left to pick from so that made the choice much easier!  The boys spent quite awhile playing with the corn box and looking and touching all the crazy shaped gourds and pumpkins.  The people there were so friendly and were happy to talk to the boys all about them.

 We also got to check out some animals - Isaiah has never been one to be very impressed with animals or interested in them, but Levi always has been.  He was thrilled when they told him he could hold a little kitten and couldn't take his eyes off the goats.  Just as we were leaving they even let the boys feed the cow.  

 I'm so glad that farmer stopped into our store and that we made the time to visit his farm!  Can't wait for next year!

Trunk or Treat x2

The boys were so excited about Halloween this year.  They LOVE to dress up and playing costumes has always been a big hit around here (but is now slowly fading).  My sister came to town the Saturday before Halloween so we went to one church's Trunk or Treat.  The boys were thrilled, but mainly because of the big jumpy house that was set up :)  We made the rounds and ate lunch before spending a long time in the jumpy house.  They can never get enough.   Good thing the entire Trunk or Treat event was pretty much chaos because my sister and I and our 6 children added our own share to it! :)

The next day we went to another church's Trick or Treating event - and wow - we were not expecting what we found - an entire gym made into a Western Town all out of cardboard boxes.  It was amazing!  I think Mark and I were more impressed than the kids! Another fun Halloween activity with really huge yummy cookies at the end!  

I know there are a lot of negative, spooky, and naughty roots when it comes to Halloween, but I love the innocent events that come with Halloween and young kids - all those bad things don't mean a thing!  What a fun way to spend the weekend!  

Halloween treat and standing!

 The boys love to make goodies - but we really don't make them very often - probably because it usually turns out that I eat the majority of them :)  The boys quickly forget about them, but not me. haha.  We made pretzels with Hersey's Hugs melted on top with a candy corn.  They turned out really cute and were yummy! It was a super simple project that the boys could pretty much do themselves (minus putting the pan in and out of the oven).  Titus was happy to help too and ate his share of pretzels.

It was late October that Titus started to stand up all over the place.  He loved to show off that he could stand on his own.  He was a bit wobbly at first, but became stable quickly!

field trip to the farm

Levi's preschool class took a field trip to his classmate Caelor's farm.  Both Mark and I got to go along and had a fun time with Levi and the rest of his class.  The kids were all excited to see the horses, cows and chickens and paint pumpkins and have story time sitting on hay in the barn, but I'm pretty sure the biggest thrill of the field trip for Levi was that he FINALLY got to ride on a school bus :)  

I'm so glad that Mark and I can make our schedules work to be a part of their school events - I know that it means the world to the boys that we are there! 

10 month Titus

Titus had a really rough few days pushing his first teeth through, but the bottom 2 came and then the top 2 not long after.  What a big difference can a couple teeth make in his sweet look.  In a hurry to get out the door one day to get Isaiah from school he ended up in just his overalls, doesn't he look cute! :)