Melanie C.

Christmas Morning - 2009

2009-12-26T17:07:00.005-05:00

Santa was really good to the kids this year...

Pasta Fest...

2009-12-26T16:36:00.003-05:00

So, Alysha's Band does this fundraiser called Pasta Fest Annually... this was her first year... doesn't she look Shnazzy

Bella

2009-12-02T21:03:00.002-05:00

HOMECOMING #1

2009-10-06T00:24:00.003-04:00

Alysha is in High School now, so she attended her first homecoming...

The last picture we were still at the salon, but she was so pretty...

and for the record, it took my dad pointing out the darn trash cans.. .sorry :(

She looked so beautiful...

AND... I am still a den leader

2009-10-06T00:20:00.002-04:00

with 7 scouts...

COuld I lose my mind any more?

Alysha's in the band

2009-10-05T23:58:00.005-04:00

as if my plate weren't full enough,

Alysha is also in the Pep band, the Cadette band, and the Marching band... Sunday, she participated with the band in the walk for diabetes... I am very proud.. and they sound GREAT!!!

Bella looks goofy

2009-10-05T23:49:00.003-04:00

So bella is our puppy, she is now about 10 weeks old, a pure breed shephard, and many people think I am nuts with my zoo (4 cats, 9 fish, and the puppy) but I like it around here... LOL

Check out her ears,

Bella and Bobby are great freinds... Though I am wondering if growing up with kitties is a good idea.. she thinks she can jump where the kitties do... uh oh.. Imagine my surprise when I found her in the window sill...

Bella & Bobby lookin at a squirly...

The other kitties like to tease bella from the cat tree... LOL

Sarah plays soccer too!!

2009-10-05T23:46:00.002-04:00

yep, Sarah wanted to play too... though she doesnt want to play this winter..

She makes a great goalie.. she has blocked many a goal this season.. the team loves her.

Alysha Joined Venturing

2009-10-05T23:43:00.002-04:00

She is loving it... she gets to do so many cool things...

She already got to work at an airshow, and has been invited back (her whole crew) to ride in a refueling jet, WHILE it refules a fighter jet... HOW cool is that.

Thomas played soccer this year

2009-10-05T23:41:00.003-04:00

Thomas joined soccer this year for the fall season, he loved it...

He learned alot from his coaches, and looks forward to winter soccer (its indoors)

We got a new puppy

2009-10-05T23:38:00.002-04:00

SO, on the last weekend before school started, we got a new puppy. WE drove all the way to southern Ohio to get her...

Here is her picture the weekend we took her home... she rides really well in the car.. .LOL

So my kitties are all grow'd up....

2009-10-05T23:32:00.003-04:00

Bob (we call him bubba)

May (we call her May-May)

Here is June (we call her June-bug)

And lets not forget April... yep Just April

Here are my kitties now...

Our new Kitties

2009-05-04T10:37:00.007-04:00

LOL - so, I decided to let the kids get a kittie... but not one kittie, that would be a kittie a peice... So when I went to Ohio, I had the intent of coming home with 3 out of the 5 kittens that Amanda had... I came home with all of them but one (Sorry Bugsy)

Here are the pictures of our kitties.... April, May, June & Bob.... LOL.. yep that are their names...

This kittie is April...

This kittie is May...

This kittie is June...

And this kittie is Bob, our only Boy

Trip to Ohio - Happy BIrthday Libby

2009-05-02T18:22:00.004-04:00

This weekend we celebrated Libby's birthday

Which meant I got to see a few family members... there were 7 cousins there (that is counting my kids) Mom, Dad, John, Amanda & Russ, I had a great time.. as did the kids...

While in Washington

2009-05-01T10:19:00.000-04:00

While In Washington Reagan kept me busy, thats when I wasnt being the crazy aunt chasing Aubrey around...

We made it a point to stop by Starbucks at least once per day for a delicious "Iced Vanilla Chai Tea"... mmm mm good...

My first day there was eventful... First, it was Reagans Birthday: "Happy Birthday"... we headed home for some "relax time" it had been a long day for me already. After Aubrey's nap, we headed into town so Aubrey & Aaron could go to their swimming lesson, well the lesson is for Aubrey, but Daddy gets to thelp :) after the lesson we went out to dinner, it was very good... then Aaron, Aubrey & I headed back to the house while Reagan headed off to her Softball game... I didnt make it too long at the house, passed out by 1030PST.

The next day, I convinced Reagan that a relaxing day sounded great, so we went and did some shopping, and just hung out... was a perfect day for me... lol

Wednesday we made it to Pike Place Market and to the space needle...

At the market we walked all around and checked out the sites. Reagan showed me the gum wall . EWWWW and after lunch we took Aubrey on the Carosel... she didnt like getting off.

The space needle was amazing, I had never been, but we hit it on a perfect day, which suprised us as we couldnt see the top of the needle when we went to Pike Place Market. Aubrey loved walking around, and I was more than willing to chase her ... lol While at the space needle, we walked through the fun center, and Aubrey played with the cars. Then we went and checked out the fountain, Aubrey really wanted to check it out, so I took her down in the fountain, and then we walked at a baby's pace back up the fountain. I was so worried she was going to fall, and she kept watching her feet... lol. Once at the top, she got scared when she rushed up on a puppy (a Multeese) and it barked at her...

On Thursday, we went to Snoquami falls, another first for me, before we trecked down the boardwalk, I took some time to blow some bubbles for Aubrey and pose for a photo-op. We didnt hike down to the water, thought it might get hard with Aubrey, maybe next time. but, we were able to get a nice group shot...

Thursday evening, we headed into town and grabbed Aaron and took off for Discovery Park. it was not what the internet made it sound, but was still fun to walk around, and I got some AWSOME mountain shots...

Friday, Aaron decided to play hookie, and we headed off to the zoo... it was a lot of fun, the animals were all out, and we even got to see the baby gorilla, though it didnt come out so well in my pictures, though if you look closely, you can see Aaron in the picture.. .lol...

Saturday morning, Aubrey made me sad, cause she didnt seem to want me to go... I am very glad she liked me, though, it made me sad to go... I miss you guys, I cant wait to come out and see you again...

My "goin home" photo of Mt Ranier

Trip to Seattle

2009-04-30T08:02:00.002-04:00

This month, I went on a wonderful trip to Washington. The kids all stayed home with Joe.

My trip out there was exciting. I arrived at the airport about an hour and a half early for my flight, mind you I was flying the day after Easter, it took me so long to check in and get through security, that I had only 10 minutes to run to my gate (A68, I was at A13), I literally ran the entire length of the gates. When I got to my gate (thoroughly out of breath) I was told there is a 10 minute rule, if your not in your seat 10 minutes prior to departure, you loose your seat to standby... I lost my seat, as I arrived at exactly 640 (the time of departure). GRRRRR... I was bumped to the 930 flight. This worked to my favor as that flight was to be a direct flight where as my 640 flight had a layover in Minneapolis. So I pulled up a seat, took out a book and settled in to wait 3 hours for my flight. About an hour into my book, we are told there is a delay with our flight, and now we will be leaving at 1020. GRRRR We actually left the airport at 1100 EST. I arrived in Washington at 1215 PST (it was a 4 hour flight), and my legs didn't work... too long on my butt I think... lol...

But I ultimately made it there in one piece and finally got to hang with my niece...

This picture was actually taken the day I left, but I am still working on uploading all the pictures

She is so cute sipping on her juice box... ah heck, she is just plain cute...

SORRY!!!

2009-04-29T09:31:00.004-04:00

So over the next few days I am going to attempt to catchup on my blogging, and thanks to Reagan (thank you Reagan) you will not get pile-driven with them all at once... perhaps one every couple of days....

Hope you enjoy them.... Love to all

Sarah's Bed Room

2009-03-30T21:23:00.003-04:00

So its Friday nite, the girls are gone to a dance... Tom is sick... Joe is out... I am in the mood to paint.... oh no....

Here is Sarah's room, before I got started on my "wild Hair Moment"

Do you notice a theme to her room... hmmmm... PINK... A nice Pepto Bismal Pink....

SO we thought (well I thought) I would lighten things up a bit... bring spring inside... make it a young room, a playful room... and get rid of the darn Pink....

So, what do you think?????

if you look close, you can see a bunny hiding by his front door in the corner by her dresser....

I LIKE IT!!!.. How about you???

2009-03-30T21:18:00.002-04:00

Today we went over to the community park... the kids were excited to climb the Rock walls...

We even got to spend some time with some friends... everyone had a really good time...

And contrary to the sign, the kids were really good...

The girls didnt like it when I asked them to look up at me for a picture... I guess the sun was in thier eyes....

And the boys made sure to get all the way to the top....

We look forward to spending time with our friends again soon...

Alysha - District Festival

2009-03-30T21:14:00.001-04:00

Ok, so all the band people will know how important Festival is... but I have to say.. ALysha's school did great... they scored a 1 (One) over all... pretty good when you look at the other schools rankings... not too many 1's out there... YEAH

Alysha - Coney Nite Concert

2009-03-30T21:09:00.001-04:00

So every year, the band puts on a concert to raise money for the band... they sell hot dogs, with Chili, and have a coney nite... its actually a lot of fun... and I got the best picture I have ever had at the conert too... I could actually SEE Alysha... I usually cant see her at all...

Notice, she is the only Tenor Saxaphone... :) makes a mommy proud...

Tom & Sarah's spring pictures are in!!!

2009-03-27T07:28:00.002-04:00

I think they both look very nice.... and they look so much older than their fall pictures...

Size does matter - In SKATING

2009-03-07T08:45:00.001-05:00

Sarah's ice skating instructor suggested that Sarah might be having a hard time with lessons because perhaps her skates were just too big... the equivalent to Sarah walking around in my shoes... so we went out to the store, wouldnt ya know it - NOTHING ON SALE... and got her a new pair of skates... Her old ones were adjustable size 1 - 4, her new ones SIZE 12... oops... guess that might have been a problem... Now, she skates great...

She even had the skills to play a little hockey.. .LOL

2009-03-07T08:26:00.002-05:00

SO, I decided to do a bathroom.. .but I chose my bathroom instead of the main bathroom.. .the main bathroom is SO intimidating... all that blue tile....

ANY HOW.... I went from this gold glaze ewwww....

To this... nice earth tone brown... yeah, I know.. whats with all the brown... well I have all this left over paint, and I kinda like the color... nice, soothing... I think I am going to bring the color through to my bedroom... notice my bedroom is a nice Green... ALL GREEN... Ceilings too....

We got a FISH TANK

2009-02-23T10:23:00.006-05:00

A big one too... lol... I just love Craigs list... it has helped me out soo much in the past couple of weeks... but this week we aquired ourselves a new fish tank... a 30 gallon tank, with oak stand and ALL the accesories... plus 5 fish...

When we purchased the tank, it came with 5 fish... one scum sucker, two red ones, and two brown ones...

Since then, we have purchased a couple sharks, a couple of blue ones, a white one, a pink one, a bunch of gold fish (that I might add are not all gold) Now we have about 19 fish... the kids love to watch them swimming around....

Hardwood Floors

2009-02-19T08:36:00.006-05:00

So, I have told some of you that I had my hardwood floors redone... and they look incredible... the pictures do not do them justice...

Here are the before pics...

And here are the after pictures

This picture is harder to see... but trust me... the whole floor is the light oak color, and it makes the rooms feel SOOOO clean... I love it... well worth the mula.....

NEXT: off to paint the main bathroom upstairs... LOL

What the kids do while I am away

2009-02-19T08:27:00.004-05:00

Aparently, Alysha plays with my camera while I am at work, I found this picture on the camera when I was reviewing pictures... jeez... I guess she needs a camera of her own...

hint hint, she has a birthday coming.. .LOL

Storage Room turned Game Room

2009-02-19T08:13:00.005-05:00

I find myself in the mood to change some things around my house these days... So, I took on the task of converting my Storage Room (the room below my kitchen) into a game room for the kids... The ultimate plan is to put the TV in there, with the gaming systems, a futon and some game chairs... I figure that way the kids messes might be more contained...

I think the room came out pretty nice, and it was free, as I had all the supplies and paint on hand.. YEAH ME!!!...

I did have a small accident though... oops, guess I cant use an old paint bucket as a step ladder... it was more brittle than I thought, and yes, I fell through.. .Alysha was beside her self laughing at me, so I figured I would pause and let her get a picture... since she was having so much fun.... lol

My New China Cabinet

2009-02-19T08:02:00.002-05:00

I LOVE Craigs list.... I have always wanted a china cabinet... not to use as a junk collector, but to seriously put my nice stuff in... and look what I found on craigs list... I love it, it is so beautiful... and for only $50.... I was very pleased.... and looks beautiful in my dining room...

Alysha & Sarah take Skating lessons

2009-02-19T07:44:00.003-05:00

here they are ... some pics

Sarah spent a lot of time on her butt, but she had a great time... learning about wiggles, and swizzles and stopping and dropping...

Wild Hair

2009-02-19T07:36:00.003-05:00

So, Joe went up north to go snowmobiling with his best friend Kevin, and I got this wild hair up my butt to paint the den... not the whole den... just the bottoms of the walls... NOW, those of you who have been to my house...

The den is what used to be my dining room, right off the living room... here are a couple of pics... if you recall, the whole wall was the same color as what is still on top..

Winter Cold Rush

2009-02-19T07:24:00.003-05:00

Our local Civic center put on a Ice show and opened up our ice... In the summer, the ice is our water fountain, but it made some "slippery ice" according to Sarah...

Here are some cool pictures of some ice sculptures that were done at the ice show....

I particularly like the picture of Micky taking the picture, thought it was neat.. so I had the kids face Mickey's camera by standing next to Minnie...

Then the kids were off to try their skills on ice skates... Tom, well he got tired of it quickly, he doesnt like the pain that comes with falling on the ice... lol... BUT Sarah and Alysha loved it... I see lessons in the future...

I was feeling Nastalgic

2009-01-31T03:11:00.006-05:00

So, I was sitting here trying to think of a nice way to remember 2008 when I heard this incredible song on the radio... its called "your gonna miss this" by Trace Adkins, so, instead of a remembering 2008, its more of a "rembering" video... the family... my family....

2008-12-26T08:59:00.003-05:00

On Christmas Eve (later that night) I let the girls sit and play computer games while Tom & Joe played the X-Box... they all had a great time...

Christmas Morning!!!!

Joe thinks I am hilarious, I was so excited that at 3:30 in the morning, I woke up saying that I am worse than the kids, and I got up to go and make some coffee, at 4:30 I gave up and woke them all up... lol.... darn kids... tryin to sleep in... geez, its christmas for peets sake...

When they finally did get up, this is what they saw, Santahad moved the couch to make room for all the presents...

still half asleep they pause for a photo....

I guess that explains why the plate of cookies started out looking like this

And was like this on Christmas morning... lol

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

2008-12-26T08:50:00.007-05:00

This year, on Christmas eve, we decided to go sledding... NOW.. the weather outside was frightful (it was sprinkling, yep rain), but the ride, was so delightful... lol... I wish I could have included the song on the video Alysha and I created... but give it a watch... you might get a chuckle, or you might just laugh at our insanity... we left when it started to pour...

I am pleased to say with all that rain, we still have snow outside, and will be going sledding again today !!! with a new toboggan...

Our Gingerbread house

2008-12-26T08:46:00.002-05:00

Alysha had a friend come by for a sleep over on Saturday Night (12/20) and we decided to embark on our first Gingerbread house ever....

I think we did an alright job... Now how are we supposed to eat something that looks so nice ?????

Here is Alysha, Sarah S., Thomas, and Sarah C... Smiling by their creation....

SNOW - Lots & lots of SNOW

2008-12-22T11:04:00.004-05:00

So Friday Morning I went to work, and it was just beginning to snow, I mean there was barely an inch on the ground... As I was driving to work, it was coming down fast and furious.... here is some video of my drive...

Here are a couple of pics from my drive home....

Needless to say, we ended up with about 9 - 10 inches, and then it started to drift...

Holiday Cheer

2008-12-21T10:54:00.002-05:00

Good morning everyone... .

Just wanted to share the picture the kids had taken with Santa, wish I had known he would be at Kmart, we would have dressed nicer... :(

Notice that Sarah "Didnt Do it"... check out her shirt... lol

Jazz Band Christmas Concert

2008-12-17T19:51:00.004-05:00

This was Alysha's first concert of the year... Here she is playing with the Jazz band

Tom & Sarah

2008-12-17T19:47:00.001-05:00

Here is Thomas sporting his long hair... looks pretty good...

I think Sarah was singing me a song here... we are waiting for Alysha's concert to start....

Joe's Birthday

2008-12-16T20:00:00.001-05:00

Girl Scout Christmas Party

2008-12-11T21:29:00.003-05:00

The girl scout troop threw the brownies a christmas party, there were crafts, snacks and games... here are some of our memories....

School Pictures

2008-12-11T07:25:00.003-05:00

Sorry these have taken me so long to post, Here are Tom & Sarah's picture

I also included the one of Alysha again....

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T19:46:00.001-05:00

A picture of our Thanksgiving feast...

Halloween Costumes - 2008

2008-11-04T08:43:00.004-05:00

The costumes they wore to Tom's halloween party....

Our Pumpkins

The costumes they chose for Trick or Treating....

Harvest Hay Day

2008-11-04T08:21:00.005-05:00

We went to the local park to participate in our local harvest hay day... it was a lot of fun... the kids rode mechanical bulls, got to play fireman, and lumberjack... here are some pics for your entertainment...

We went as a group with my cub scout den, but my kids had a great time too... Here are some pictures of Sarah feeding and petting the animals.

They got to ride the mechanical bull... they had a blast with this.

they got to play with the fire hose...

And, they got to be a junior lumberjack... lol.. too much fun

Sarah hits Day camp for scouts

2008-10-12T12:50:00.000-04:00

Wouldnt it figure... Sarah's first function as a scout, and my darn camera dies... Here is the only picture I managed to get... .

The day was a lot of fun, there was face painting, tons of crafts... she made picture frames, tie died leaves, bracelets, painted pumkins, tie died a back pack, and tons more... we got to ride a hay ride too....

Alysha also came to camp, but she came up a day early, cause she has joined scouting too... She is a Cadette. She got to work at camp all day Saturday, handing out girlscout cookies to sample... lol

Now, we are offically a family of scouts...

Sarah's Birthday

2008-10-08T12:43:00.001-04:00

Today My baby turned 6! She is getting so big....

I got her this cool Icecrea, cone cake, (my oven isnt working so well right now :( )

It was made out of cupcakes - HOW COOL!!

Happy Fall to you!!

2008-09-29T12:18:00.003-04:00

Happy Fall to you....

No spring, nor summer beauty hath such grace

As I have seen in one autumnal face;

Gas Prices

2008-09-26T11:21:00.002-04:00

Last night, we were driving home from the Chiropractors, and saw this sign for gas ... we were so shocked we took this picture...

Cash price or not... WOW

Sarah loses her first tooth

2008-09-24T19:00:00.000-04:00

Today, when Sarah got home from school she had her tooth with her... but not in her mouth... check out her cheeky grin... lol

Sarah joins Girl Scouts

2008-09-23T19:00:00.000-04:00

this has been a busy week indeed for us... not only has Tom learned to ride his bike, but Sarah joined girl scouts too... she is offically a brownie.....

here she is with the assistant Troop Leader

He did it !!!!

2008-09-22T19:30:00.000-04:00

So, this week Tom is going to be selling popcorn for cubscouts, and he has a really really big goal... With his goal being so high, Tom had a good friend of ours tell us that if he learned to ride his bike, he would buy TWO of the biggest popcorns tins we have.... Look what Tom can do now...

Remodeling

2008-09-22T10:45:00.000-04:00

Look at the transition of our front door, what a long way we have come... I love our new front door... it took ALOT of work, and we still are not 100% done, but we are getting there, just a little more trip and we will have it. What a difference.

School Pictures

2008-09-17T12:04:00.006-04:00

Alysha's school pictures came in, and they sent me a wonderful CD with her pictures on it... I am sure it wont be long before this is how we get our pictures... so here you go...

Alysha's 8th grade fall picture, she is growing up too fast...

Tom & Sarah's School pictures were yesterday, here is their outfits of choice...

I told Sarah to smile pretty for the camera, and she struck this pose. She was pretty excited, I let her wear my favorite necklace to school, and she got to wear dangly earings, which is why she opted for an up doo...

And here is Tom sportin his cub scout sign , he is currently trying to grow out his hair for the new shaggy look... LOL.. we shall see how that goes, now he actually has to brush it in the morning...

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-01T20:10:00.005-04:00

This weekend, me and the girls stayed home while Joe & Tom went on a guys weekend. to surprise Joe, Me and ALysha decided (well more me, but she helped A LOT) to paint the Family Room (which is now the dining room) and the kitchen

We had planned to do the dining room (which is now the den) as well, but ran out of steam while doing the kitchen... LOL... here are our before and after pictures....

Went to See Poison

2008-08-14T10:30:00.003-04:00

So when we got there, as we were standing in line, it started to pour on us.. .Thank God Jay suggested we get pavilion seats...

First up, Sebastian Bach, formerly from Skid Row. He put on a pretty good show,

Next up was Dokken, I didnt really care for their show, no energy in it.. .and I didnt know any of the songs... :(

Finally, Poison took the stage... Brett against doctors orders was doing the show, so there were a couple of times when the band would do solo's so he could rest a little.. .but all in all... .AWSOME SHOW

And I met a new friend, Leslie... She drove all the way from Marquette to see Laura, and to attend the concert.. .It was a pleasure meeting you!!

And I saw a few other friends there... April, Charlene & Stacy... was really nice to see you guys...

Going to Stoney Creek Beach

2008-08-14T10:19:00.001-04:00

So, I promised the kids since we didnt get to do too much swimming while we were camping cause the beach was so far away, that I would take them to a local beach, Alysha had her friend Sarah tag along.... As you can see, we had a bit of bad weather...

But that didnt stop the kids from having a great time...

There was swimming and sandcastles... the makings of a great time on any beach...

We left when we saw the rain coming across the lake... but, I will bring the kids back... was a nice beach, with a lifeguard, and beautiful water.

Slip - n - slide

2008-08-14T10:12:00.001-04:00

When we got home from vacation, our pool was green :( so until it could be treated and vacuumed, the kids wanted to play in water, so I set up my slip-n-slide

They had a great time... and only tore up the yard a little bit...

Camping trip

2008-08-14T09:52:00.005-04:00

This year, me and the kids took a trip up to Bay City State park to go camping.... We didnt do tons of things, as we were only there friday night through Sunday. But I do believe the kids enjoyed themselves, I know I did...

Here is how our site looked... our tent looks a little crooked, but I assure you, it kept out the rain... LOL and it seemed pretty straight while you were inside.

So here are some snapshots of Friday. I have include pictures of our trip up as it shows what we were driving through. Poor Baxter didnt fare too well... Every time we got in the van, with the exception of going home, he got ill... literally. As we were setting up our site, Alysha made 2.5 gallons of lemonade for our weekend. The kids immediately got out the games and started playing catch, I think Baxter was just glad to be out of the van... For dinner that nite, we roasted our hot dogs over the fire, We would have roasted marshmallows on Friday, but it started to rain, so we turned in early for the night... only 9 pm... we had strung christmas lights inside of the tent for a "nite lite' but once Tom and sarah were sleeping, I unplugged that... We had also taken along an extra sleeping bag, which baxter quickly claimed as his own...

On Saturday, Alysha decided to be our smoke magnet. Taking over for uncle dan it would seem... Every time she moved, the smoke moved with her... .After breakfast and some cocoa, we decided to head over to the park to check it out... VERY NICE... there was quite a hike to the beach, (I dont remember it being so long before), in route, we walked past the lagoon, where they were having a water foul demonstration... they kept handing out those damn duck callers, and that is all you would hear through the night. In fact Saturday night, three sites down, the damn kids kept yelling "you say Hillshire, I'll say farm"... "Hillshire".... "Farm"... you get the idea. that inconjunction with the duck callers... .UGH

Once at the beach, Tom and Sarah made friends quick.. .you will notice in the beach pictures, that initially, Tom is being chased by a group of girls, then by the end, he is doing the chasing... Alysha was a great big sister and watched over them all.

Once we were back to our site, the kids had races, blew bubbles, Sarah decided to go swimming in a tote, and we roasted marshmallows for smores of course. We had also hit the local dollar store for some more entertainment... We had a good day on Saturday... and, we all got to shower in the parks newly renovated bathrooms...

These pictures are kind of in order, but the beach and park are grouped at the end of the slideshow... sorry...

Sunday... we moved rather slowly... we got up, had some breakfast, cocoa and coffee, and around 10 or 11 we began to get things ready to go home... all the fun stuff... we decided to hit the park one more time... then we were off for home.. .I treated the kids to McDonalds on the way, and we were home by 330. Where the kids told their dad all about their trip... then hit the slip n slide...

Before leaving to go Camping

2008-08-13T10:49:00.000-04:00

After work on Friday ( I got out early so we could leave earlier) I had to hit the store for our last minute supplies... While in Kroger, somebody hit my van... they left no number, no name, they just left... Here is what I found as I was walking up on my van...

Beleive it or not, I actually looked at the van, and said, oops wrong van... went to walk buy and noticed it was in fact MY VAN... what the hell....

Have you ever done that... look at it.. say it looks like mine, but that wasnt there... must not be mine...

GRRRR.... Was not a great start to my vacation

and I dont think the damage will cost more than my deductible... GRRRRR.... this sucks...

Goin Camping

2008-07-31T15:18:00.003-04:00

This weekend (8/1-8/3) Joe will be attending the races in Mansfield Ohio, so he has graciously paid for the kids and I to go Camping....

So, we have reserved a campsite at Bay City State Park (Port Crescent & Albert E Sleeper had no more sites)

Ought to be a hoot. Pictures should be posted after our return... LOL

Ohio Big Bash

2008-07-22T06:56:00.010-04:00

Proud Members: Club Halifax

There is nothing better in life than spending time with family, and I am blessed to be close to all of mine

Here we are, the original kids... all grown up

(Amanda, John, Dan, Melanie & Aaron)

Here are the men of Club Halifax (less Dad)

(Russ, Joe, John, Dan & Aaron)

Lisa & Curtis, was nice that you could join our world of craziness...

Love you all.... (and I miss you all already!!)

Thanks Mom & Dad, it was a great time

This was by far the most incredible weekend ever, and it will be far to long before we are able to do it again... All of us will miss the great times shared at Ohio's Club Halifax.

Underwater Pictures

2008-07-16T21:43:00.008-04:00

So, we purchased a disposable underwater camera, and got some pics from the depths of the pool....

Here is Alysha swimming at me...

And Thomas

Showing me he can both sit on the bottomw, and swim

Here is some of Alysha's Mad Skill... The bubbles resulted from her jumping in (no really)... and here she is doing a hand stand

And Look , Sarah can swim underwater too... YEAH!!!!

Takin the kids out...

2008-07-15T13:52:00.003-04:00

I took the kids out to Kerby's Koney Island this week as a special treat for them... They loved it... They ate so much they were all saying they were full.. couldnt finish thier lunches, but they all ordered desert... LOL

And really over stuffed themselves... LOL

Alysha's Sleep Over

2008-07-15T13:34:00.002-04:00

While I was off from work, I let Alysha have her friend Sarah sleep over.... Here they are getting ready for a nite time swim... (FINALLY) Notice Alysha has something in her arm... .LOL

Oh good, the attachment is gone.. .LOL

The water was beautiful

The girls showin they have skill....

All of the kids in the pool

Sarah has Style

2008-07-15T13:31:00.001-04:00

Nothing more needs to be said... than... Just LOVE Sarah's sense of style...

Afternoon at Grandpa's

2008-07-15T13:17:00.003-04:00

For the forth, we had a delay'ed celebration at grandma and grandpa's house... the kids played wiffle ball, and yard darts... it was really hot outside

Grandpa BBQ'd some Ribs, and we had home made tater salad, some crab apples and apple sauce...

for desert, a heapin scoop of ice cream on top of fresh baked brownies with whipped cream and marshmallows on top...

Walking to the Park

2008-07-15T12:58:00.005-04:00

So, on the forth we decided to WALK to the park... Make no mistake... the park is a mile and 1/2 away from our house...

On the way there , the kids were very excited.We stopped by ACO and grabbed drinks and snacks.

This worked well for the exercise they did while at the park

They were really tired on the way home... "their feet hurt SOOOO Bad" they didnt want to walk

So, they gained some energy with some left over candy and pop

It lasted long enough for them to get home....

Alysha has Grass Alergies :(

2008-07-15T12:43:00.003-04:00

So we went to the park, it was a lot of fun for the kids, they always enjoy going.

They love rolling down the hills.

However, by the time we got home, Alysha's skin started to burn, and she developed this terrible rash.

A dose of benedryl and a tylenol and she was fine, but I dont think she will be rolling down any hills any time soon. :(

Teaching Baxter New Tricks

2008-07-15T12:35:00.005-04:00

We have been teaching Baxter some new tricks....
He will crawl for a snack now....

And of course there is "Sit Pretty"

and we have taught him to roll over (kinda)

and our favorite: He gives himself in-between baths... LOL... check this out...

Our first Watermelon of the year

2008-07-15T12:31:00.001-04:00

Today we cut our first watermelon of the year...

And did I pick a good one... Sweet, and juicy...

The kids loved it... ate it all up....

And Tom found Texas in his....

Sarah Jumps from the Diving board...

2008-07-01T18:43:00.003-04:00

Sorry this is so late.. but here is the mini video of Alysha convincing Sarah to jump from the diving board... notice the amount of bargaining...

Alysha's Birthday

2008-07-01T18:35:00.005-04:00

So, Alysha has turned 13... OMG!!

Here is her SCRUMPTIOS Cake... LOL... though the heat killed it...

The big Storm

2008-06-26T21:00:00.002-04:00

So I get home from work just in time to witness a huge storm...

The power went out four times, and we had some minor flooding going on... nothing like Amanda's house last year, but it is not normal for us to see a river running down the road.

So, after the storm, me and the kids decided to go swimming... the water was really refreshing as it was really muggy outside

And Sarah learned a new trick... I will post an extended video on her later on Friday... But here is her first jump (kinda) ever off the diving board...

Tom's Birthday

2008-06-24T06:48:00.001-04:00

So Tom just had his birthday. I, as usual, made him a cake...

IT was yellow cake, 3 layers... one layer had chocolate chips, one layer had butter scotch chips, and it had vanilla icing separating the layers.

Tom wanted Mac & Cheese & Hot Dogs for dinner, so I abliged him.

After dinner, He wanted to do some swimming, and being his birthday I couldnt say no...

Then he wanted to play some Wiffle ball... but got his butt stuck in the bucket of balls.

Man in the Clouds?

2008-06-24T06:45:00.000-04:00

Took these pictures the other day... do you see the man in the clouds?

Lighting of the Pool

2008-06-24T00:00:00.000-04:00

So, we finally got our light installed in the pool, and wouldnt you know it, its been too damn cold to swim at night... :(

But thought I would show how she looks all lit up...

Guess I need some liquid courage... perhaps this weekend me and the kids will get some night time swimming in...

Life explained

2008-06-13T11:49:00.003-04:00

On the first day, God created the dog and said:
'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or
walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.'
The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years
and I'll give you back the other ten?'

So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said:
'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you
a twenty-year life span.'
The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long
time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?'

And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said:
'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under
the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For
this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.'
The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty
years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?'

And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said:
'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you
twenty years.'

But man said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty,
the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten
the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'

'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.'

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy
ourselves.

For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our
family.

For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the
grandchildren.

And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and
bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.
There is no need to thank me for this valuable information.

Detroit Tigers Baseball Game

2008-06-13T08:07:00.006-04:00

So I went to my first sporting event ever. Our Cub Scout pack went to see the detroit Tigers play at Comerica Park... and what a game it was. They won!!!

Pay attention, Tigers are gonna score...

Everybody sing.... give us some peanuts and cracker jacks, I dont know ......

Being that it was a family function for the cub scout pack, Alysha got to see her friend Sarah.

More swimming photo's... they do like the pool..

2008-06-13T07:58:00.004-04:00

Thought I would share some more swimming pictures with everyone...

Here are the kids being goofy, notice all of their eyes are closed... had them lookin right at the sun... ooops... sorry guys...

Thought this picture was cool... they are both jumping... and I am not sure why tom is...

Damn delay on my camera, its so hard to catch them in the air.

Baxter likes to hide in the shade during swimming time... He is not a fan of the pool...

Sarah is learning to swim... she does pretty good underwater, but still workin on above the water.

Alysha's final 2008 Band Concert

2008-06-05T00:12:00.004-04:00

For their final concert, Alysha's band played in the High school auditorium.

Her Grandma and Grandpa were able to attend, which was a nice treat for Alysha. Here are a couple pictures... We are sitting lower than the band, so you cant see Alysha till the "bow" at the end...

Alysha's Jazz Concert

2008-06-05T00:08:00.004-04:00

This concert was per the request of their band instructor as he is very proud of both the size and dedication of this years Jazz Band.

Jazz Band is 100% voluntary, the kids show up every Tuesday and Thursday for a special practice.

So this year, the instructor invited some professional Jazz musicians to play with the jazz group. it made for a wonderful concert.

The pool is full !! Guess what the kids have done!!

2008-06-04T23:53:00.007-04:00

The Pool is FINALLY Filled.... We finally finished filling it on Wednesday, May 27.

Yep, those crazy kids have jumped and and have been swimming since day 1... I dont know how they do it, the water cant be more than 50 degrees TOPS... in these video's, the water has come straight from the hose

Shall we see that one more time... (just a clip, not the whole movie)

Alysha got her ears pierced - AGAIN

2008-06-04T23:47:00.002-04:00

So Alysha decided that since I went and got my ears pierced again (the second hole), she wanted hers done...

What do you think?

Memorial Weekend

2008-05-27T20:50:00.010-04:00

My oh my, what a busy weekend we had...

Unfortunately we were unable to make it to my cousins wedding, but we did accomplish quite a few things around our home...

First, Joe tackled the pool

Then we attempted to replace our crappy back door with some beautiful french doors.. .Here is the before and after picture...

And finally, we decided to clean the tent that Dad so graciously loaned to us for Cub Scouts. What a pain that was, first, we were unsure of how to put it up, then it turned us into smurfs... though the kids had no idea what smurfs were...

But alas, Success....

Tom decided it would be worth testing, so he took a three hour long nap... under the canopy... Sarah chose the couch.

And no Memorial weekend would be complete without at least getting in the water. Yep, the same pool we painted... Do you have any idea how cold that is.. .LOL Bet the kids can tell ya.

IN addition to all of this, Joe managed to get in some fishing with his friends on a Charter Boat out on Lake Saint Clair, he didn't catch anything he could keep, but had a blast anyway. They fished on the Canadian side of the lake, and fished from about 8 am till about 7 pm... Great times.

Hope everyone had a pleasant Memorial weekend...

What have I been doing

2008-05-16T23:48:00.005-04:00

I have been really busy lately being the new den leader for Tom's cub scout group... please check out the blog to see what we have been doing...

Spring has sprung... FINALLY

2008-05-05T19:49:00.003-04:00

My tree out front is in full bloom,

my hosta's are up,

I am one happy camper... THANK GOODNESS, its about time... LOL

Trip to Detroit Zoo

2008-05-02T21:34:00.005-04:00

So in kindergarten, the kids always manage to end up at Detroit Zoo...

This year I was unable to bring siblings,

but Sarah and I had a really good time...

Here is a video to show you our adventure.

Thanks to Aunt Amanda for suggesting the song...

Goin to the Park with Manda & Russ

2008-04-29T08:03:00.007-04:00

First we, well they all played a friendly game of "mega soccer" while I took pictures...

Then we adults sat down and let the kids play on the playground... it was a lot of fun... Though this is a really crappy picture of me...

Here are the girls going through the corn maze

Joe & Amanda Play Wii - Boxing

2008-04-29T07:57:00.006-04:00

So Amanda & Russ brought their Wii up for a visit... Joe and Amanda challenged each other to a boxing match, I couldnt help but to laugh... Notice Tom as he pops into the screen on the lower left side... I am not sure who he is helping...

Flower Garden Update

2008-04-29T07:55:00.001-04:00

Here are the most recent pictures of my mild flower garden...

2008-04-29T07:48:00.002-04:00

We gave this whole kite flying another go on a less windy, more pleasant day,

You will notice three kites in the sky... YEAH!!!

Here is some video of my kids flyin thier kites

Lets go Fly a kite

2008-04-02T10:21:00.008-04:00

Yesterday, I decided that it was a nice and windy day, what a great day to fly a kite.... LOL>... so we headed off to Halmich Park, and tried to get the kites off the ground...

Tom's kite was too small for the wind... so he did a lot of crashing... right up till he let go, and it got all tangled up... :( time for a new kite already....

Daddy helped Sarah get her kite in the air... was very nice to have him there...

YEAH!! kites are in the air... all but Toms....

Here is a short video of Sarah flying her first kite ...

My flowers are really taking off :)

2008-04-02T10:18:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to show everyone how nicely my flowers are making thier appearances so far... I am so proud.. .LOL

My Birthday celebrations...

2008-03-31T11:43:00.009-04:00

First I had a couple of good friends over for a BBQ...

Yummy, not so good for ya food...

I settled for a burger and a small amount of tater salad

Then it was off to Hamlin Pub....

First I was introduced to the Juice... and it comes in a bucket... LOL
Wow is that good.

My Cousin Angie was there, and my Hubby Joe

My good friend Laura, her BF Jay, and Jay's friend Chris.. *Jay is on the right

My friends John & Heather

Here is a pic of me and the girls....

after a long night of drinkin buckets of rum.. .LOL

This is Laura, and her mom Sue...

Me & Heather...

Even Kevin (the best man in my wedding) came :)
This is me and Angie...

We have determined there should be a limit to how many buckets of Rum should be consumed in one night, I can proudly say, I did not have that many, but that is a lot of liquer for only $5... and damn is it good...

Thanks to everyone who came out and celebrated with me...

My Neice looks like her daddy... what do you think

2008-03-30T19:53:00.002-04:00

I would like your opinion, I think My neice looks just like her daddy...

Crazy Memory Flashback...

2008-03-28T08:58:00.009-04:00

NOW.. I don't have any pictures, there is no video there is nothing more than the memories in our head, however I like to tell the story. ;) Granted, some of the facts may be slighly exaggerated... but, hey, my memory, my story.... LOL

(if only we had digital cameras during our youth.... oh the comedy we could write).

...Who could forget the painting of the 1974 F150... so mom wouldn't get mad, we parked it in the Barn for the night... Boy was she astounded the next day to come home and find the truck had been painted camouflage.... LOL... she was so shocked...

Here are two pictures of the Ford...

One of my most entertaining memories involves our barn... I would like to share this story now....

Remember the year we were told to tear it down .... who was the county to tell us to take it down cause they thought it was a safety issue.. they said it had to come down cause it would surely be taken down in the next windstorm... Did they not realize that we had tornado after tornado come ripping through our yard, uprooting trees, flipping fifth-wheels at the lake next door... and through it all the barn remained... It was a strong, sturdy barn... .... if they only knew the story that would be told because of that "safety issue"...

it looks safe to me?

Here is how I tell the tale: I remember you trekking inside, and tying this rope around what you thought was the main support post in the barn.... then we all trekked out to the truck and tied the other end of the rope to the hitch... Then not standing more than 10 feet from the barn, you start to drive the truck. We stand there in awe for a moment, the barn creeks, and we yell "RUN AWAY!! and run like hell from the barn to the road, the rope stretches, we hear the 10 inch by 10 inch post bounce off the concrete floor within the barn, then.... there is nothing... what in the world... the barn is still standing.... must have been the wrong post...

SO, you trek into the barn to try it again.... and again we all stand about 10 feet from the barn as you start to pull the rope with the truck, the barn creeks..."RUN AWAY!!!" we run to the road, and we hear the post bounce off the floor, is there movement, is there anything... then..... Nothing :(

AGAIN, you go trekking in the barn, your starting to get frustrated... this is ridiculous, "gonna blow down in the next storm, what the hell do they know, they can come tear it down"... You tie off the rope to a nice load bearing post... this should do it... you come out telling us to be ready, this is the one... your sure of it.... we take a couple of steps back... we are unsure you know what your talking about.... you gun the truck... the tires spin, we hear crackling, "RUN AWAY" mom yells... we run... what do we know, we are kids for crying out loud... we go running full speed to the road, yes, we are laughing the hole way, it seems we have found a new game... who can be fastest to the road, knowing it will be Dan, he is always fastest... .He runs like Tarzan in those old black and white movies... then we look at the barn, mom is breathing pretty heavy now, but.... will it go.... will this be the post..... No :(

We repeat this process several times... we have no clue how the damn thing is still standing, we have taken every support post out of the stupid thing... why is it still standing.... So in an effort at humor, you attach the rope to the post that is completely rotted out on the bottom, barely looks like it is even touching its concrete footing....hell, were not sure if any of the barn is even attached to it... almost looks like it is just standing there, leaning against the barn... This time, when you start to pull away, we just stand there, there is no running, there is not panic... .I mean come on, we have been running for a while now and nothing ever happens, were not killing ourselves this time...

Then it happens, there is... a creek..... a crackle.... then this weird squeaking sound, could it be.... its moving.... "AHHHHH RUN AWAY" mom grabs Amanda, she is dragging her across the yard, I have grabbed John, are his feet touching the ground, damn john run faster... I think Dan may have thrown Aaron over his shoulders.... "RUN AWAY.... RUN AWAY!!! OH MY GOD, its GOING... RUUUUUNNNNNN!.... as we look back over our shoulders, the damn barn does nothing more than.... sit.... I don't know how else to say it... it doesn't collapse, it doesn't crumble, it more or less sat down... now the roof is sitting in tact on the ground... you have to understand... take your arms, hold them straight up and down, then rotate both arms at the elbows to the right keeping your hands pointing up... this is what the barn did... it sat down... for crying out loud...

Oh well, at least it is down.... save cleanup for the next couple of years... we did our part......

by the time the house sold, you would have never know a barn existed...

Happy Early Birthday Dad!!

2008-03-28T06:20:00.018-04:00

This is us, in 2006.. not pictured is Aubrey

First, I would like to take this time to thank you... You are an exceptionally strong influence in my life... I know that you worked your butt off to give us the best that you could... what you gave us was an incredible sense of pride, and knowledge of how to accept our faults, and to correct them... you gave us a strong sense of being and worth. All of us in life will get lost at some point or another, be it financially, emotionally or in our relationships. But the stamp of good parents is how we handle the situations as adults... You raised five strong adults with good strong values... and now, my family is among my closest friends...

I know I don't tell ya nearly enough, and you may feel that I don't appreciate the lessons learned from you... So, I have compiled this video to show you some of the lessons that I have learned from watching my daddy....

What happened to my peeking flowers

2008-03-28T06:17:00.004-04:00

OK, come on now, this is getting rather rediculous.... Just yesterday (Thursday) Alysha took these nice photos... a hint that spring may have finally sprung....

And I wake up to this!!!! Come on now....