Noah's 5th Birthday 2009

On Monday, Noah celebrated his 5th birthday! Noah and Kari helped filled the treat bags for the party. We went to lunch with Daddy then came home and made cupcakes with Grammie. Then we decorated them. Neither Noah and Kari wanted to eat dinner, as they were excited about the pool party. They counted down the hours all day..."only 7 more hours....". The next day when Noah was praying over lunch he said, "And thank you God for yesterday. I had a good birthday. It was a really good day. Thank you". I think that says it all.

Here are some pictures from the day.....

A special lunch for a special 5 year old




Can you guess where we are??


That's right...Ci Ci's. Nothing like free buffet and drink coupons on your birthday!


Grammie and Poppy got Noah skates. Once we got them on the right feet, he was ready to roll!


Grammie and Noah made the cupcakes. Noah, Kari and I decorated them.


Baby Addy is ready to party!


Swim Time!


















Ready for cupcakes and icecream




Blowing out the candles


Opening presents




He loved his Hoops and YoYo card!

The 4th of July 2009

The Schindlers came over around noon to swim, grill, eat and celebrate the 4th. After that, we all headed to Jason and Jolene's for more food and fellowship. It was a very full, relaxing day which ended with the kiddos collasping into bed.

Here are some pictures of the day.....



Swimming in the pool keeps you cool on the 4th








Heather and Livi


Getting some grub


Sharing laughs on Independence Day





My future's so bright.....


The only way to travel on the 4th


Noah swinging on the tree swing


There are big smiles in baseball


Food and Beverages




Chillaxin'


Taking a break from wagon riding and having a drink


A red cooler makes a perfect barn for the horses


Mason enjoying some trifle and maybe...is that ketchup on his face??


Sergio enjoys the BBQ ribs


Skylar


Some of the kiddos changed into some dress-up clothes....

Caleb the Knight


Riley aka Lightening McQueen


See if you can find the Hulk and Mr Incredible in the sparkler pictures below.....

Faith enjoys her peanut butter pie


SPARKLERS!!!!






Wonder Twins....Activate!








None of us were sure if we wanted to venture out and see fireworks, so Rick, Joe and Jason went and got a few of their own.....






Caleb and Astera watching the fireworks


We ended up trying to catch the fireworks at Ft. Meade. We watched from a parking lot near by since it was an hour wait to get into the base.

Not Me Monday Noah's Birthday Edition

After you are done reading through what I didn't do last week, check out MckMama's blog and my friend, Carlton's , too. MckMama started it all and Carlton's are just funny...when he writes them, that is.

I did not shave some blond hair off of my face. I am not now sure that I will have to have the area I shaved waxed on a regular basis.

I did not basically pee my pants at a friend's house the other day. This did not happen after I had just reprimanded N for having an accident. Fortunately for him, he had a change of clothes. I was not so lucky.

I did not pout when Rick said we could not get the ice cream bars that I had been looking for for over a month and had just found. I did not skip back to the aisle when he finally said that we could get them. I did not eat one on the way home.

I did not drop my kiddos off at a birthday party this week and then go to Starbuck's with my best friend from VA and get a smoothie.

I did not have two smoothies from Starbuck's within 3 days of each other.

I did not try a piece of Scrapple even though it was left out overnight and was not warmed it. It was not disgusting.

I did not have to sweep my 14 year old's bedroom rug before vacuuming it.

I did not have a milkshake at midnight the other day. I am doing stellar with my weight loss efforts and never snack late at night anymore.

I did not wake up early Sunday morning, thinking I was sweating, to realize that N had crawled into bed with us and I was actually wet from him having an accident.

I did not give birth to a beautiful baby boy 5 years ago today. Oh wait....yes, I did.

Happy Birthday, N! I love you up to the moon and I love you as big as the sky.

Not Me Monday 32nd Edition

I can not think of one thing I did not do this past week worthy of posting for a Not Me Monday post.

Oh wait...I did not wait until today to prepare and clean for my friend's visit. She is coming tomorrow and I am so not ready!!

Yup. That's all I've got. Lame, I know, but I just can not seem to function right now, beyond the usual wake-up, take care of the kiddos etc.

I need to start writing down my Not Me Monday items throughout the week, so I can have something to post next time.

But, I am sure MckMama, the creator of all things Not Me Monday and Carlton will not disappoint with their posts. Check them out!

Kari's 7th Birthday @ CEC June 2009

Kari wanted to have a few friends over to swim for her birthday, but the weather had other plans on Saturday. So, we headed to CEC for games and pizza. It was very crowded and we had to wait over 20 minutes for a table. Once we got inside it was constant chaos the whole time. Kari really enjoyed herself, though.

For some reason the camera was giving me a hard time, so the pictures are pretty grainy and the coloring is off. But, here there are nonetheless.....

Waiting for a table at CEC. They need to start taking reservations.


Eating some pizza


Leftovers


Ready to play some games










Singing "Happy Birthday"


Blowing out the candles


Best Friends (I do not know why this picture is so yellow?!?)


Noah had been waiting all night to be able to get on the stage and dance with Chuck E. Can you find him?? He is in a yellow t-shirt.

It's Summertime

This is a scene that plays out all summer long when we are not being drenched by the rain......

Snake Handler

Before we went on vacation (and when Cody still had long hair =) we found a snake in the front bushes. Kari, Noah and John found it first. Mom and I tried to see it and only when it was slinking towards us did we get a good look at it. Dad finally captured it and put it in a plastic container until Cody took it to the woods to set it free. We think it was after the mice that had been living in Mom and Dad's drop ceiling. LOL After looking it up on the internet we identified it as a baby black rat snake. Very popular here in MD.

Here are a few pictures of Cody with the snake. Kari would not even touch it. Noah finally decided to hold it right before Cody took it to the woods, but we didn't get any pictures.

Not Me Monday Vacation Edition

*Disclaimer - You may not want to read my Not Me Monday posts. I may talk about things that you (Hi, Father-in-Law) would rather not read about (like my sex life), so you have been warned. Proceed with caution =)

I did not get frustrated with the 7 year old when she had to stop every hour to go to the bathroom and then find myself having to go when I took her.

I did not enjoy eating licorice in the van during our 27 hours of travel even though the smell of it makes my husband sick.

I did not enjoy watching my best friend from TX throw pillows at Rick each time he feel asleep and started snoring during the movie we were watching.

I did not try to get the 7 year old to eat a buck eye from Cracker Barrel with a Benadryl shoved in the bottom of it. She did not flip the candy over and find the medicine and refuse to eat it or talk to me.

I did not do the Snoopy dance when we finally found Dramamine at a gas station.

I did not laugh hysterically when my best friend from TX texted me after we left to let me know that she found a pair of my husband's underwear balled up in the bottom of the sheets on the bed we slept in at her house during our stay. I did not almost pee my pants while laughing when I read that her husband picked them up with needle nose pliers and threw them away.

I did not hope that they did not find any other evidence that we had been intimate in their guest room during our visit.

I did not get frustrated when I saw what the new owners of our old house did to the custom pavers we had put in before we moved. I also did not criticise their paint choice for the trim or the way the lawn looked. I do not care that much about our old place.

I did not let the kiddos stay up an hour past bedtime the night we arrived home because I was still on CST. I have not used that as an excuse this week when they stayed up past bedtime several nights in a row.

What didn't you do??

Check out MckMama's blog and my friend Carlton's blog for more Not Me Monday entries.

Pomp and Circumstance - June 8, 2009

Devin graduated from Marcus High School in TX on June 8. In a class of 731, it was easy to find her with her red hair and purple shoes =) We are extremely proud of Devin and her perseverance that allowed her to achieve such an incredible milestone.

Amy took the following photos....

Filing into the coliseum


Finding her seat among 731 other graduates


In line for her diploma


Receiving her diploma




Officially a HS Grad!

Kari's 7th Birthday June 2009

We celebrated Kari's 7th birthday while on vacation in TX. Aunt Krista and Uncle Lonnie graciously allowed us to have a pool party at their house. Nana and Aunt Krista prepared all the food (Uncle Lonnie grilled, too!) and Nana bought the fantastic dragonfly cake at T0m Thumb. Aunt Krista even took Kari and Noah to the D0llar Tree to pick out some balloons and gift bag items (the gift bags were buckets!). Kari said that it was the best day of her entire life =)

Here are some pictures.....


The Birthday Girl


Opening Gifts






Tink Backpack


Ecstatic about getting money


Her "7 Year Old" doll from Nana and Papa


Singing "Happy Birthday!"




Blowing out her candles (I love how Noah is helping her!)


The birthday day girl and her birthday hat


Loving her Tink backpack