Merry Christmas!

This year for Christmas, Reed was with his dad.  So on Christmas morning it was only the four of us.  

We thought for sure that Drew would wake up extremely early, because he was really 'understanding' Santa this year.  He had a count down until Christmas Eve so he knew when to expect him.  He would ask us everyday how more days until Santa?  

We took the kids to see Santa earlier in the month and Drew asked him for a red train for his GeoTrax and a Rocket Ship.  

Every time we  would go to the store he would see the items that he had asked for and he would tell anyone in ear shot that he was getting those from Santa.

It was Christmas Eve and we talked all day about who was coming that night and he couldn't wait! We left our cookies, carrots and milk for Santa and then read him The Night Before Christmas before he went to bed and then off to dream land for him.

One of our family traditions that my sister and I used to do growing up was to ring the Christmas bell Christmas morning once we realized Santa had been here.

I reminded Drew when he went to bed that he needed to look to see if Santa had been here and then ring the bell to wake us up. Drew knew where the bell was, since he was on his own he had to let us all know that Santa had been here. Of course Drew actually slept in Christmas morning.  He came into our room and started to climb into bed like he does every morning.  I asked him if Santa had been here and he said no.  I asked him how he knew that, and he said that he hadn't heard him on the roof.  We told him to go and check downstairs to see. He started to tip-toe out of our room and then stopped in the hallway and said again nope he isn't here, because I don't hear him. He then looked out our bedroom window to see if he could see him.  He still said, no there aren't even tracks to he must have not come.  It took some convincing to get him to actually go downstairs to check. But when he did, he yelled up he was here!  He then started to ring the bell. I was at the top of the stairs and I could already here the paper crumbling. I quickly told him he needed to wait just a minute until we all got downstairs.  He was so cute!  I wish we would've video taped it.  He was a little upset that Santa hadn't finished his milk. So we explained to him that Santa gets cookies and milk at every house so he was probably very full.

The rest of the day we spent at home and played with his new red train and rocket ship.  He had so much fun. We talked to our families several times throughout the day and sent pictures over email to make everyone feel like they were here.

On Sunday, Reed came back to La Crosse with Jack and Sue and we finished our Christmas then.

It was a great time, but I can't wait until we can all spend Christmas together as one big family....someday!

Happy 8th Birthday Reed!

I still can't believe that my baby boy is 8 years old already. It is amazing how fast time goes by and how fast they grow up.  To think that 8 years ago, I was sitting behind the service desk on Christmas Eve at Target in labor and only a couple hours later he was the best Christmas gift that I have ever received. Reed has grown so much in the last year. Not only has he gotten a lot taller, but he amazes me each day with his knowledge.  He is excelling in school and is always wanting to learn more.  He also has become a little athlete.  He loves playing sports and will try any sport. If you ask him what his favorite sport is, I think he would say football and baseball.  But it also depends on what sport he is currently in.

He is such a great big brother to both Drew and Brett.  He is always wanting to help with them and love them.  We sometimes have to remind him that he is a brother and not a parent.

I can't wait to see you grow and mature even more over the next year.

Happy Birthday Speedo!

Reed's birthday party

Reed had his first birthday party over the weekend.  He has always wanted one, but we were never really sure when to have it since his birthday is Christmas Eve.  

We started planning his party a couple of weeks ago and he really wanted to have a sledding party.  Since we live across the street from the sledding hill we agreed that would be easy and a lot of fun.  I had all the invitations made out and ready to go.  Then we had that wonderful weekend of 40-50 degree weather and all the snow melted again.  Ok, so now what? Do I still send out the invites and hope that we have snow? I didn't want to take any chances so we changed what we were doing.  Reed now wanted to go up to the Y and play basketball in the gym.  Perfect! Jay will love playing bball with all the boys and they can run around then come back to our house for pizza, ice cream and cake.  I kept calling the Y to double check that the gym would be open, and we were still set.  Well we started to get a ton of snow again, so we decided that we would do both sledding and basketball.

Reed was pumped his two favorite things to do in the winter.  So Saturday morning we went to Reed's basketball game and after the game I double checked the schedule to make sure that the gym would still be open when we came later that afternoon.  I am glad that I did!  Apparently some traveling team was coming into town and needed the gym so it was no longer open.  OK so now what?  I called all of the parents and just had them bring the kids to our house and we would just wing it.  The boys played Wii for about an hour and had a blast!  

We then did pizza, cake and ice cream.  They were then off to the hill. When their parents arrived to pick the boys up they had to practically drag them off the hill.  The weather was perfect, it was in the 20's and snowing. I am hoping that they all had a really good time even though we couldn't do all of what we planned.  I think next time I am just going to go with my original plans and just hope that it works!

We are also very proud of Reed, because he chose to not have the kids bring presents, but instead bring hats and mittens to donate.  We took all the hats and mittens that we got to the Salvation Army this afternoon and is just warmed my heart to know that Reed was willing to do that!  Great job buddy!

Brett even went outside for a little bit, and he loved it!

Why use just one?

Brett loves his Nuk!  Or should I say anything that he can suck on these days.  The other day he got a hold of two of his Nuks and tried to put both of them in his mouth.  He got really close to getting them both in, but Jay helped him with finishing the task.

Isn't he just adorable!

Some of my favorite moments

I just love it when the boys will sit down together, no fighting, no hitting, just enjoying each others company. Drew loves it when Reed reads to him.  Reed always makes sure on library day at school he gets a book that he knows Drew will like. They are usually about cars, trucks, boats, planes etc. But they love to look at them together.  

Our Christmas tree....UGH!

Since Jay and I have been together we have had a artificial tree since we have always lived in rentals and haven't been able to get a real one. Jay's mom was kind enough to give us one of her old ones, which was beautiful, but HUGE! It was 7 1/2 ft tall and very round. Normally when I put it I never put the back half of the tree on because it wouldn't fit in our place. Well as the years have gone by it was slowly starting to fall apart.  I think it lost more needles then a real tree on a daily basis, at one point we had to put phone books under the tree stand to keep it level.  Well we bought a new tree stand and fixed that problem or at least I thought. When I pulled the tree out this year, I noticed the tree was broken in another part. Of course thought he could fix it so he nailed a nail in the side to keep up the branches...I know this is getting a little ridiculous right?  So I told Jay last week while I was at swim he could just put the tree together and then I would put the lights on it in the morning while the boys were at school.  I am very anal when it comes to putting the lights on and it drives Jay crazy. I have to wrap the lights around each branch and make sure there are no empty spots. Anyways, when I went to move the tree the next morning to put the lights on, it fell over on top of me. I then noticed that Jay had also put some duct tape on the bottom to help keep it straight. That was the last straw for me so I called him and told him that I was going to get a new tree.  Drew and I went to Walmart and picked out a 40 pre-lit tree. It is not the prettiest tree, but it will work until we can get a new one.  I can also trust that it will not fall over on any of the kids.  It also only took me from box to lit 10 minutes! If they only made real trees with lights on them already.

Drew was so excited to help decorate the tree this year. It took a couple minutes for each ornament because he wanted to make sure he got it in the right spot.

One big snow plow

Last week we got a ton of snow.  I am not sure how much we ended up getting, but it was enough to have a snow for the boys. Of course they were excited since they would be able to go out and shovel. Our neighbors just love it that they are constantly shoveling their sidewalks.  For those of you that have seen our place before know that our parking lot is not very big and even having a truck with a plow on it is a bit tricky.  But I am guessing they wanted to get a lot done fast. I am just glad that we were all home so we could move our cars out of the way otherwise it would have been a mess!  As much as Drew loves bulldozers and big trucks he waited inside until he was done plowing. 

Generation to generation

Jay's mom has had a sweater that her Aunt made for Jay when he was an infant hanging in the kids room ever since Drew was born. It never fit Drew during the right season so it kept hanging in the room. When I was at their house the other day I decided I would grab it hoping it would fit Brett.  Well it did and looked great! What a great thing to be able to pass along.

The first snow of the year

Once it got cold outside the kids have been begging for snow.  They have had their sleds and snowboards waiting on the front porch in anticipation for the first big snow fall.  They were even playing outside on their sleds and snowboards in the grass. Pretty desperate huh?  When Aunt Heather called Thanksgiving day to tell us that they were getting snow in Arizona, the boys were so jealous.  Luckily we got a good snow fall on Sunday.  Jay took the boys out and played outside for about 2 hours.  They had such a great time. Jay was having just as much fun having snow ball fights with the boys.

Not only do the boys love playing in the snow, they love shoveling the snow.  If there is just a slight dusting on the ground they are both begging to shovel.  They were numerous times last year that they shoveled the whole parking lot before our plow got here.  Reed gets mad when one of us does it before him. If he was only this passionate about things in the house as well.

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad!

I wish we could have been with you guys to celebrate! I still love it that mom thinks your anniversary is on the 29th and not the 30th.  You two are great role models to Heather and I.  You have shown us what it takes to make a marriage work. You are there to offer advice when needed and sometimes when not.  But we always know that we can count on you for showing us true love and commitment. 

Happy Anniversary we love you both!

Happy Thanksgiving

Our "Little Turkey"

This year we had Thanksgiving at our house with just the five of us.  Which meant I had to make everything on my own.  Jay of course had his requests of items that his mom usually makes, so I had to make them.  

 Drew and I made the pies on Wednesday.  As most of you know I am not a baker, so making pies is not what I call fun or relaxing.  I think I stressed more about them then I did the rest of the meal.  Sue always make pumpkin pie, but I don't like pumpkin pie. So I made what my mom always makes, chocolate pecan pie.  They both turned out great and I think I have found my staple pies for future Thanksgiving meals.  Everything turned out great, and we had a nice relaxing meal with just us.

I know, who takes a picture of their turkey?  This was the first big turkey I ever made so Jay wanted me to take a picture since it turned out so good. You can laugh it is alright!

We had started asking the boys on Sunday what they were thankful for and then continued to ask them each night, and here are some of the things they mentioned,

Reed.....toys, Brett and Drew, family, our home, food and being together.

Drew.....trains, family, friends

It was so great to hear how they went from materialistic things to the things that we take for granted each day. Like being together with our family and friends.  There are so many things that Jay and I our thankful for, that we could go on and on. But I want to make sure that we say thank you to our families especially for all the support they have given us over the years. They are by our side when ever we need them.  I know that we can always count on them for being there.  Even though we are miles apart, you are only a phone call away and sometimes that is all it takes. So thank you for just listening. We love you guys! 

A night out with Daddy!

I love the excitement on both of their faces!

Drew has been missing Jay a lot lately and is always wanting to know where daddy is, when is he going to be home, does he have to stay the night again, will he be tired when he gets home. It just breaks my heart to see how much the boys miss Jay when he is gone all the time. 

Reed had a sleep-over birthday party last weekend and Jay had the night off, so he took the opportunity to do something with just Drew.  Drew was so excited that he was going to get daddy all to himself.  They went out to eat at Wendy's, then went to Shopko and picked out some new cars and then went to see Madagascar 2.  Every time we drive by the movie theater or we see an advertisement for the movie, Drew quickly says, "I went to that with Daddy all by myself." I think Jay might have enjoyed the night more then Drew. He wishes he would be able to do those special things with them all the time. I just keep reminding him that he will in a couple of years.

A trip of many first's

Drew's first time miniature golfing.....and he got a hole in one on the hardest hole!

We went miniature golfing instead of trick-or-treating. If we only had that option every year.

Brett hanging out at the pool and enjoying the warm weather.

Drew loved golfing and getting the ball out of the cup for me. He lost his ball at the first course we golfed at, so the second course he was a little more cautious about how hard he hit it.

Brett in the pool for the first time. You can tell by Reed's tan that he didn't get out of the pool all week.

Our first family photo since the hospital when Brett was born.

Nick and Becky realizing they aren't quite ready for kids yet!

2 bedroom apartment, 4 adults, 3 kids, 2 dogs and 4 puppies...YIKES! The best form of birth control anyone can get.

Drew enjoying the view while we were eating dinner along the ocean. It was gorgeous, other then it was karaoke night.

The 4 puppies....they were adorable!  It is a good thing we aren't able to have pets at our place, because otherwise I think we would have ended up with one in our suitcase.

I could have taken thousands of pictures of all the gorgeous views and sights.  

The boys in front of the fountain at FGCU where Uncle Nick coaches. Five minutes after this photo was taken Drew fell into the fountain.

Reed and Drew watching Uncle Nick's team practice. It was Halloween day and Drew wore his costume all day.  It was so cute!

Brett's first time in the Gulf of Mexico.

Love it!

Can he get any cuter?

Reed and Aunt Becky enjoying the pool. 

Reed played catch for hours in the pool. It was always just one more....

Drew just lounging around

The boys loved the geckos that were everywhere. This one was in the pool so the boys wanted to save it so the had him jump on Reed's sandal to get him out.

Drew exhausted at the beach and laying in the sand and playing with a sandal.

Brett taking a nap at the beach. Will take a nap at the beach on a lounge chair, but not in his bed. I don't understand.

The boys playing so nicely together at the beach.

Drew chasing the seagulls around. He did this for about 15 minutes.

Drew was trying to kick the waves back into the ocean.

Enjoying the weather. It was a beautiful day.

Reed playing catch again, but this time in the ocean with some kid he met.

Reed taking pictures along the walking trail. He has really started to enjoy photography as well. I am hoping he will keep it up.

Drew just loving the pool.

The boys were able to sit in the cockpit of the plane on the way home, but of course the one time I put my camera in my luggage I actually needed it.  I had to take the pictures on our phone, they aren't the best quality but they will do.

We had such a great time down in Florida and were so glad that we were finally able to make it down to see Uncle Nick and Aunt Becky. The kids are still talking about all the fun things we did down there and ask when we can go back and visit. 

Thank you Nick and Becky and we can't wait to see you all again.