A Celebration of Life!

Some people may think this is a weird entry, but let me explain.....last weekend, my grandmother passed away. She was 94 years old and lived a wonderful life. So, all the cousins traveled to small town Kansas to remember her. She had expressed that her time had come and she was not scared, but ready to go. I love that. She had peace within her and she knew that she was going to Heaven.
So, all the grandkids spoke at her service and we all shared some memories that we had of her. It was really a feeling of celebration that she is with God now and is no longer in pain.
Although the boys did not attend the service, Jackson wanted to go to the burial ceremony with us. We felt that he was mature enough and he was. He sat solemnly and clasped his hands together to pray. It was very sweet and it opened up some good conversation and I expect more questions to come.
I love my family and I love my cousins. We have all become friends as adults and we all have young kids (4 of the little kids weren't there)so it makes get togethers crazy and loud, but so much fun. My grandma would be happy :)

Boys Will Be Boys

I'm finally at the point where the boys can go in the backyard and play by themselves for a while. I can be in the kitchen and see them out the window. I can also hear them, which is good. So, when I looked out the window the other day and didn't see them, I walked outside and I found Jackson high in this tree and Drew was desperately holding onto the trunk trying to climb up as well. He was like 2inches off the ground, poor guy.
So, I told Jackson to come down a couple of branches and lifted Drew up into the tree. He held on for dear life, but was proud that he was up there like his brother. (Oh, if you noticed that he's wearing his Scooby pajamas--that's because he got to wear them to school that day for a pj party)
If there is such thing as a natural climber, Jackson seems to have that skill. He can climb that tree so quickly and he looks surprisingly agile doing it. He also loves to scale the brick wall between our house and our neighbors and then look into other people's yards and reports what he sees. I hope this doesn't turn into a bad habit---either that or he'll make a great spy.

Love is in the air!

We have had a fun and busy Valentine week! We went to see Drew make his debut at his Valentine performance. He did awesome! His class sang 2 songs and did sign language to one of them.
We had been hearing bits and pieces of the songs for a few weeks now, so it was finally good to see it all come together. We were very proud of him and he was so excited that after he was done, he ran off the stage and gave me and Jason a big hug. He was a happy kid!
Today, when we got home, we saw some balloons and a big bag on our front porch. The boys wer so excited and fought over who would get to retrieve the bag...mom won. Anyways, they got a cookie and balloon gram from their Grandma and Grandpa! Those cookies are the best and we all had to have a sample before dinner.
Last weekend, we took the boys to one of our favorite "adult" restaurants..The Melting Pot. It's one of those fondue places where you cook your food at your table. We thought the boys were old enough to go try it out.
They not only did great, but the loved the food! We literally did not have one morsel left on our plates after they cleaned up after us. They thought it was the coolest and are already asking when we can go back!

Great Wolf Lodge!

Before you start reading this.....I realize that this post is kind of mixed up. My words don't match some of the pics. I don't have time to correct it, so you'll have to try to figure it out. I'll do better next time!

We had such a fun time celebrating my mom's birthday at the Great Wolf Lodge!! This is the only picture that I took inside the water park. After Drew went down this little slide, the camera went into the locker and we headed off to bigger and better slides!
How great is this.....my parents come into town and get a room, so the boys get to stay with them and Jason and I get to go home and sleep in the next morning!! We were in heaven!
If anyone has seen Jackson eat lately, I think I'm in big trouble when the teenage years roll around. He can almost eat as much as Jason. His appetite is huge. Plus, he will eat almost anything, which is great because he's not really a picky eater. Check out his plate--I think that was trip #3 to the buffet line :)
We had a great time and of course, the kids are asking when we can go back. Definitely a fun way to celebrate a birthday--Happy Birthday Mom!

Tennis Anyone??

The boys have been taking tennis lessons and Drew was thrilled because he is 4 and he could finally take them with his brother. Check out their skills!!

trying this out.......

Ok--I'm just trying this video Flip camera out that my parents gave me for Valentine's day. If this works, this will be the coolest and easiest piece of technology that I have ever used! Keep your fingers crossed.......

The exciting life of a stay-at-home mom!!

This is what I do all day when my kids are at school. I just meet people for lunch, lay around and watch t.v., and get manicures.....TOTALLY KIDDING and if you believed me, then you've never had kids!! Now that all of us have at least one child that goes to school, we like to get together and celebrate! We usually meet for brunch and then it extends into the minutes right before we have to return to our real lives and pick our kids up from school. This group of girls has been so special to me and I cherish the times that we have together!
Two of those moms and I got together last week to "deceive" our families...we had a puree' day where we puree'd vegetables all day long in my friend Susan's beautiful kitchen. Now, we will all sneak them into the dishes that we serve to our families. So far, I've made hot chocolate with sweet potatoes, meatloaf with squash in it, and spaghetti with broccoli. I can already see them transforming into pictures of health!!
Check out the concentration on those peas...it's very serious.

Weekend in Wichita

The boys and I drove to Wichita for the long weekend. My cousin and his family have moved to Wichita from Minneapolis, so we are only 5 hours away from each other! We went up to visit them for the weekend and help them get settled into their new house.
They have an outside fire pit, so we made s'mores one night. It was soooo cold, but delicious!
Another highlight was "Taco in a Bag." Basically, you get those little bags of chips and put all your taco fixings in the bag and shake it. Well, all the kids loved it and they keep asking when we can have it at home.
Here are the boys checking out their cousin Alyssa's room. It is VERY pink! I think they were in awe of it and carefully examined all her toys while they jammed to Hannah Montana.
We had such a fun weekend and can't wait to do it again!

Big Man on a Little Bike.........

What is wrong with this picture?? A lot! Last week, when the grandparents were here, we all walked up to Jackson's school to pick him up. Drew rode his bike, so we had to bring Jackson's bike so he could ride it home. This seemed like the only logical way to get it to school?!?
I'm just thankful that the tires didn't blow....
When we got home, my parents had a surprise for Jackson. It was a pool, air hockey, ping pong, and a lot of other things....table! With help from the grandpa's, Jackson took to pool like a pro and has spent a lot of time practicing his shots.
This is a great gift for the boys and just their size....I know it will get a lot of use.

Fun, Fun, Birthday Fun!!

Jackson turned 6 years old last week and we had a Mad Science birthday party for him this weekend. "Professor Proton" came out and dazzled the kids with his science experiments. The kids made slime and ended with a "bang" with a jet engine.
We decided to invite all the boys from his class as well as some boys from his baseball team and a few other friends. We had relay races which are a MUST with that many boys. We had to get all their energy out before they sat for an hour to watch Professor Proton.
Check out Jackson's face when he saw the jet rocket...I love it!
My mom made the giant rocket cake which turned out so cute and tasted great! My dad and Jason's dad came as well. It was a fun weekend for all and I can't believe that Jackson is 6!! Where did the time go?

Christmas and New Years....Part 2

We spent New Years Eve at the Rainforest Cafe' with all my cousins and their kids. The kids had a little buffet and then at 8:00, tons of balloons dropped for them and they got sparkling grape juice in fancy glasses and we all toasted to the New Year. It is a great idea and we had loads of fun!!!

At my parents house, the lake had frozen over, so the boys spent hours throwing rocks, sticks, wood, whatever they could find to try to crack the ice. We did lots of sledding and exploring around the lake.
One night, my dad set up a fire pit by the lake and we roasted marshmallows and had smore's. Amanda and Ben stayed inside because it was "too cold" and asked us to make them one and deliver it to the house. Such wimps, but we did it anyways....

A White Christmas!

Our first stop was in Leavenworth, which is where Jason's parents live. They had just had a couple of feet of snow the day before we got there, so it was perfect!! Jason's brother Josh, was home from Japan and his wife Alicia. Jason't grandparents were there from Idaho, so it was a full house and lots of fun!! We spent lots of time playing cards, playing with new toys, and sledding. The Maupins have a great hill that is perfect for the boys right in their front yard, so it was their playground.




For some reason, I can't figure our how to post more pictures and it will only let me post 5 at a time.......well, stay tuned for Christmas, part 2......