What happens when crazy scrappers get together...

My brain is a little fuzzy today. Yesterday I drove to Grand Rapids to meet some girls for an all day scrapbooking extravaganza and let me just tell you...those women know how to kick off their shoes and party:) I had a great time and I feel extremely grateful for their friendship and the laughter they provided. I don't have a fancy camera like the rest of the girls and since I have "camera envy" I kept mine tucked away so I don't have any photos to share (but there were PLENTY taken;)

Roy went to Sandusky with Fletch and Sawyer to visit Grandma and Papa. He also got to spend time with his friend Jessie and his son Jacob (no pictures there either.)

The other day we did snap lots of photos during a busy fun day.

Thursday we:

Practiced cutting and coloring

Fletch seems to have a dark side


We had (another) little dress up session:




And of course, the boys did each other's make-up (boys love to look pretty):

Very nice job boys (encouragement is important)

Don't forget the bottom of your foot:


And Niles stayed up WAY late last night playing video games at my parents, so he is just delightful today:)

Hope you have a great night.

See, they do sleep

And see, I even have pictures to prove it!

These boys made it very clear early on (like at 3 or 4 months) that they did not want to sleep in the same crib, but for some reason last night, Fletch asked if he could sleep in Sawyer's crib. I figured it would last for at least a full 30 seconds, instead, they fell fast asleep and I couldn't resist getting photos to prove they can be similar (see their arms?) and that they like to spend time together.

We had a great time tonight, Roy played a song that said "OLAY, OLAY, OLAY (and so on)" and the fellas (all 3) thought it was the bee's knees, we all had fun singing and laughing, until about the 4th time listening to it, then I'd pretty much had my fill...the boys wanted to keep the party going, but hey, it's better than listening to "Jessie, The Yodeling Cowgirl" until my ears bleed.

Have a great night and day:)

(By the way, my sister Ashley commented that that was not a very flattering picture of her from the last post. I want to state for the record, I'd be fairly hard pressed to find a picture of her where she wasn't making some version of that face)

Umm...we're cool?

I'm not totally sure I'd get too much backing on this fact, but I do know we had fun pretending we were cool last night at the Beastie Boys concert (this lovely picture is not actually from the concert night, but I blessedly forgot my camera, I think my mind must have known in advance what I'd look like by the end of the night) I had a little accident (okay, I ran into a cheeseburger-- ALL DOWN THE FRONT OF MY SHIRT) And I think it could be scientifically proven that I am not a good driver, Ash will gladly attest. Despite the mishaps (that mostly just made us laugh), we had a really good time. The concert was so much fun and I danced the whole time, but I know Ashley's impression of me was COMPLETELY off base. And today when Niles asked why there were flies buzzing around the back of the van, where there was red stuff, I was actually glad we ran over a dead deer, because I didn't want to attract flies any other way. (This was, by the way, a completely sober trip)

Picture day (smile!)

Remember school picture day when you were a kid and it seemed like you always had a huge pimple or a crazy haircut or you got smacked in the eye the night before with a kickball? Well, luckily Niles escaped all these horrors and all we had to focus on was getting a good smile. He kind of has an issue with smiling for pictures . When there is no camera in front of him , he has the most beautiful, radient smile, but when a camera gets pointed in his direction, he turns in to Chandler from Friends...fake smile city. We were laughing practicing this morning. Pretty good result:

Sorry I didn't post this weekend, we have been going a little crazy around here, I thought it would be good to get into the routine of school, but we're still working on getting into it. We had a football game on Saturday, where there were no bathrooms and each little boy had to go (at different time, of course) Luckily, Daddy was there so I could just enjoy the football action. Niles became a free agent;) and joined a different team, he's playing running back (which I think is supposed to be cool) He did look cute out there.

Last night Aunt Ashley spent the night because we're going to a Beastie Boy's concert and the boys thought it would be nice if she would get in Fletch's bed and read a story and as Fletch said "do some funny stuff" They did have very fun time and I think Fletch could almost breathe even with a super-tight tank top on (Aunt Ashley's p.j. choice)

Yay!!!!! It's Friday!!!!

I'm still not feeling too groovy, but I'm on the mend. I even had almost 2 whole hours where I didn't have to get anyone any juice. The little fellas went on a field trip to an apple orchard today and it sounds like it was a lot of fun for them.

The BEST news is my husband has tomorrow off!!!!! I can't believe I get to see him for 2 days in a row, that's got to be a record.

Niles has his first football game tomorrow and he seems pretty excited, he's running back (I think probably the cutest one).



I am a little sad because my obnoxious new brother-in-law has to go back to England and I hate to admit it, but I think I'll miss him a little, I know my kids (especially Niles) will. I'm sad for Kimberly too, because I know she was so happy he was here. I think the only way to ease the pain is to watch her nephews for a couple of long period of time:).

Not the Cheeriest of days

It's just one of those days. The national language around here seems to be whine and the only phrases in the vernacular are "I want some apple juice" and "I want applesauce" (we're single-handedly keeping the apple business brisk). So yes, we're all grouchy and runny nosed. I've used about a case of Zicam and it makes my throat burn...that can't be a good sign.

Niles is off to school without much incidence (thank goodness) and we're just watching a movie, trying to ease in to our day. Can you guess what movie we're watching?:

Trust me though, that smile is VERY deceiving, and in the true spirit of the day they refused to both look at the camera at the same time, even though they asked me to take a picture.

I certainly know things could be much, much worse, so I am thankful for what I have. I'll just drink my coffee and pretend that I don't want to crawl back into bed for the next 12 hours. May your day be filled with smiles and goodwill.

I'm a Model!!!

Well, maybe not a real model, but I don't really know when reality stopped me before. I was chosen on Scrapinstyletv.com to be on their 'catwalk'. That just means somebody liked something scrapbooky I did, and hey, it makes me happy. I could show the layout, but it might embarrass me a little bit too much, besides Niles told me Jody just picked me because she likes me. Whatever the reason, I was excited. So here are more pictures of my kids:

The little ones made veggie critters at pre school on Monday. Fletch was SO proud, and wanted to play with him. Sawyer was not as beaming. He kept taking it apart and saying he didn't like it. It might be because he had the good sense to know kiwi, green olives and grapes don't go together.

I'm so proud of Niles, he got an academic achievement acknowledgment for good behavior in class:) He really is the total package.

BIG PARTY TIME!!!!!

Okay, study these pictures. My sister (the bride person) sent me some photos, notice the ones she sent...missing are key people...her other 4 nephews, her other niece, her mother, her father, her brother, HER HUSBAND (but she did send her cake)! oh, I'm just kidding, she sent me the photos in her camera and will send others later (right, Kay?) I'll be sure to post those when they roll in.
We had such a great time at the "big party". Some highlights (for me) were watching the kids shake it on the dance floor, seeing family and friends that we haven't seen in a while, tasty pudding with strawberries and cake (that Ashley ate most of:), hearing about my dad being called his best friend's dad (longish story I might share later) and getting ready before the party. While we were getting ready I had to tell my new brother-in-law at least a million times how lucky his wife is and how handsome he looked and though we were all rushing around trying to get as pretty as possible, there wasn't any bloodshed:)
There is a lot of love in our family and it was really clear on Saturday night with everyone enjoying each other's company, laughing, dancing and just being us.


I know it's not really my job and Kimberly did it publicly on Saturday, but I want to thank my parents for putting on that party, I know they wanted Kay to have the night of her dreams (and I hope she did, everything was so pretty). My Mom and Dad really do a lot for all of their children and I'm so grateful for them and the love they showed us to give each other. (I love you both)

Oh What a Night!!!!

So, I asked Kimberly (my beautiful sister) to send me some photos of her reception and this is what I got:



Good gravy, Swarovski crystals will make a woman lose her mind!! (just kidding, she sent more, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow to show everyone)


Until then, here is definitive proof that my husband is losing his eyesight:

In his defense, he said that he put this on to make me laugh...well it worked, but that didn't stop it from burning my retinas a little bit. (I love you, Royboy)

The Infinite Wisdom of a Small Child

Conversation between Mommy and Sawyer:

Mommy: Sawyer, you are a genius.

Sawyer (all wide-eyed wonder): I am, Mommy?

M: Yes Sawyer, do you know what a genius is?

S: It's a type of woman.

Finally, one of them is catching on.

First day of school! First day of school!! First day of school!!!!

Wow, they seem really excited about the whole idea of pre school, don't they? We actually had a great day and I think they are going to have a very good time trying to take over the school. Niles' school is going really well too. He is in 7th grade!!!!! 7th grade!!!!! Seriously, that's kinda old if you think about it. Football is starting up and I can't wait to go and freeze in the stands watching him. His English teacher is on a mission to get all of the students to read 25 books this year. That sounds a little like a dream to me, we'll see what Niles says about it as the year rolls on.

Here is another picture that just about turns my heart into a puddle of ooey, gooey love:

No, really, I almost cry when I look at it (and it's because of good feelings, not bad)