Mother's Day Gift

Had to share some of the cute quotes from Drew's mother's day project  So sweet!

These were sentences started by Drew's teacher and he had to fill in the blank...

"I make my mom happy by...giving her things I make."

"My mom takes care of me by...feeding and taking care of me."

"If I could, I would buy my mom...a big jewel - as big as me!"

"The most special times with my mom are...when we go out to lunch together."

"My mom always says...Drewvy, Drewvy, Drewvy." (yes, usually shaking my head as I say it!)

"My mom cooks the best...egg sandwiches."

"My mom really loves...me and Trent."

"My mom and I like to...go to Tokens-n-Tickets."

"My mom's favorite clothes to wear are...pink shirts."

"My mom is beautiful because she...loves me and she loves my brother."

Thankful...

for rainy afternoons to watch Drew "work."  What a sweet little artist!

Family Pizza Night

We drove downtown for the FAME festival a couple weekends ago.  Trent's school participated by singing a few songs.  It was fun to watch him sing and look at lots of artwork!!

We thought we'd just make a night of it and try a new pizza place, Pint 'n Slice.  Mike had heard many friends rave about it.  It was a quaint little space...we got to sit UP in the window.  Just as soon as we sat down and ordered a continuous flood of customers streamed in.  I snuck outside to snap a few pics.  It was good eats and good laughs...a night to remember for sure!!  I love my boys!!

"That's when I knew..."

A "Light Bulb" moment for my 6 year old...

Mike and I were having a conversation with Drew as we were driving in the car.  The boys like when Mike does trivia with them...name that song, riddles, math problems, whatever!  Drew has memorized many a math problem...mostly doubling numbers...i.e. 10+10=20, 20+20=40, 40+40=80 and so on = like up to 3,200 - he's so funny!!

Drew started sharing about an incident that happened on the bus that week.  He said a cocky little 1st grader asked him, the puny little kindergartner, what 80+80 was.  Of course, Drew KNEW it was 160!

The first grader, however, was NOT convinced.

But Drew became even more confident with his answer when the 5th grader sitting nearby piped up and said HE was RIGHT!

And that was it...

"The moment he knew," he told us...

As I looked back at Drew telling his story, he was smiling from ear to ear and nodding his head up and down, only as a satisfied kindergartner could do...

He said with all confidence and sincerity..."and that's when I knew...I was smarter than a FIRST grader!"

Yes folks, in case you didn't know...

...LET IT NOW BE KNOWN...

...we have a Kindergartner that is SMARTER than a 1st grader.

And Mike and I couldn't contain the laughter at our sons enlightening moment!!

Ain't parenting grand!!

Gotta LOVE this kid - nergartner!!

What do you do when...

you have 3 days off from school?

During a BLIZZARD?

Play outside, of course!

A little B-ball action...

Trent and Drew have started playing basketball at the Y.  Mike is having fun coaching both teams, so it makes for a busy day.  Mike, shall we say... repeats himself A LOT...so that's "fun" (ahh the joys of teaching...I just smile as I remember back to my own teaching days.)  It's definately a job to keep 10 kids on track while teaching basic skills and coaching the game, but we are both glad he has the opportunity to get involved.   I'm excited to see how much they'll improve over the 10 weeks or so!  Here are just a few pics I was able to snap of the boys last week.  ENJOY!!
**Be sure to check out what's been  happening since I last posted in October.  I will date my posts about the time they occurred, so make sure you scroll down to see what we've been up too!!**

The Wedding!

My brother Perry and new SIL Julie were married December 10.  Drew and I traveled to Ohio early to help with some last minute details...i.e. about 250 cupcakes and the rehearsal dinner :)  It was a lot of fun!!  We got to see family from out of town and hang out with my grandparents for a few days.

It was a beautiful ceremony and just an all around FUN weekend!!

Wish I had more pictures to share!  But here are a few...

 Yes, we took pics outside in the COLD...can't wait to see the professional ones!

School's OUT for SUMMER & Teacher Gift Tutorial!

Here is a comparison from the first day and the last...think he grew?  Well, he for sure grew 4 new teeth :)

Like the pink bag Trent's got?  Keep reading to see what's inside...

I made Trent's teacher a special end of the year "Thank You" gift the eve of the last day of school.

I found the idea here.  It went together very quickly...cause you all know I'm a major procrastinator!  I think it turned out great though!  Trent said she REALLY liked it...I would have liked something like this...a lot more that the little chachkies I got from the dollar store when I taught 4th grade!  Just sayin!

I found the 8X8 inch shadow box at walmart for about $8.  I printed off his teacher's name on a piece of card stock then trimmed it down to size.  I also printed off a separate piece of paper with an "L" to help me trim the crayons to the right size and shape.

I hot glued them in place.  I put the hot glue right on the paper of the crayon and it worked well.  I wasn't sure if it would melt the wax, but I didn't have a problem at all.

I think I'll be making lots more of these in the coming years!

(I googled these crayon shadowboxes and I found an Etsy shop where you can buy them for 40 dollars, yikes!  Mine cost less than $10 and was super easy and quick to make!)

We also wrote her a note and sealed it to the back with contact paper.

So, what do you think?  It would be cute in a craft or kids room, too!

You want to be a WHAT when you grow up!!

We took the boys to a nearby playground and I saw...

flying...

 jumping...

   swinging...

     twisting...

        kicking...

          punching...

            oh, and I heard a lot of grunting!

So, I told Drew he should calm it down a little!  After all, I didn't want to look like a mom who couldn't control her busy little boy him to get hurt!  I looked down at his sweaty red face and he, looking back up at me, said very seriously, "But mom, I'm going to be a NINJA when I grow up! I need to work on my moves!"

Oh Brother!

"I am smiling because you are my brother. I am laughing because there is nothing you can do about it!"

"First a brother. Then a bother. Now a friend."

- Unknown

And so SUMMER begins...

Let's PLAY BALL!!

Up to MISCHIEF!!

I don't think I even need to tell you who that would be (Drew!).  Last week I discovered some new artwork.  Drew likes to wear shorts, yes, even in the dead of winter!  So, it was hard to hide what he had done.  When I asked him why he decided to draw on himself, he said, "I wanted to look more tough."  Well OKAY then!  I guess he was thinking tatoos.  I didn't break it to him that a tic-tac-toe board probably wasn't doing anything for the "tough guy" persona.

OH BOY! OH BOY!

THEN...

Yesterday morning, as I was helping Drew clean up his toys, I spotted a ball of something white under his bed.  After further inspection I concluded said wad was actually a WHoLE RoLL of toilet paper.  FOR REAL?!? Yep!  I asked him why he did it..."I just wanted to see it, mom" he told me.  So I spent the next 10 minutes carefully rolling it back up...minus the cardboard roll...guess who will be delicately unrolling it YeT AGaIN so it doesn't go to waste...um yeah, no pun intended.

THIS BOY, I tell ya!! . . . AND I WONDER HOW I COULD POSSIBLY HAVE ANY GREY HAIR YET?!?

While Trent's away...

Drew must play!  He loves this game.

I love this kid!

He's got quite the strategy going already!

Mad Ants Clinic

As partners of the Y-Ball league, the Mad Ants (NBA D-League) offered a free clinic for the kids.  Our boys had loads of fun!  The kids were separated by age and then they rotated to different stations lead by one of the Mad Ants players.

Rod Wilmont lead the shooting station.

The coach helped with the ball handling.

Practicing lay-ups.  Trent scored...just in case you were wondering :)

I got a kick out of the pants tucked into the socks showing off these Chuckies!

A spur-of-the-moment shot...to bad the camera woman didn't quite capture the moment.  Drew's lookin' away and Trent's looking out from behind the lovely ant's antena.  Oh well!

It

was

a

day

to

remember!

It will be fun to go to the game this weekend and see the players we met.

SNOW DAY!

No school for 2 days in a row...the boys took advantage and spent some time out in the snow.

Trent built this high wall.

Drew's hadiwork!

A lil' bit o' Christmas

(The new football jerseys!)

Didn't want to pass up on a couple cute pics of my boys from Christmas.  I know it's long overdue!  I've gotten really behind at posting, life just gets too busy somedays.  We had Christmas with my mom and brothers at our house and then headed to Michigan for Christmas day.  My dad also came over to spend a short day with us.  We were actually home for New Years - first time in 5 years!  We even had an extra little guy with us.  We watched our friends son so they could help chaperone our churches jr. high retreat.  Our boys just loved having him follow them around!

(with Grandma!)

(The grandkids + a few significant others = 29)

(Ringin' in the new year...2010...in case you didn't get the hand gestures.)

(Drew playing cars with our guest...they played cars alot!)

(Trent gave great sled rides!)