Betty & Doug

Last week my Aunt Betty (Dad's sister) came to visit along with her husband Doug. I haven't seen Betty in 12 years and I've never even met Doug. They have never met Brandon and obviously were anxious to meet Connor & Hudson. I knew we were in for it when Betty didn't even make it to the front door without crying! The first night they spent a little while just getting to know the boys. Then on Thursday we just did a little of everything. We went to the park, stopped by the shop and of course they took the boys shopping for new toys!! On Friday they joined us for dinner and play time with the boys. Then on Saturday Doug & Brandon took the boys on a canoe trip. Betty and I went to breakfast and then watched our wedding video and looked at pictures. Then we went to dinner without the kids. We had a great visit and everyone totally clicked! We couldn't get over how alike we all were. The kids fell in love with both of them and have asked about them all week.

Me & my Aunt Betty!The kids just loved them!They gave Uncle Doug a run for his money!!
But he never gave in!So, Betty, I know you read this every day and I just wanted to say one more time how awesome it was to spend time with you and Doug. Reconnecting with family is wonderful. I have missed you and I love you very much...after all...you helped mold me into who I am today...my evil twin!

Monthly Progress Report

Connor get a monthly progress report. Here is what the teacher wrote this month:

"Connor is doing great in our VPK class. He is polite and kind to his friends. He has been progressing nicely with his academic skills. His penmanship is just fantastic and he's got his letters and numbers down pat. He regularly contributes to class discussions. Connor, keep up the good work!"

We are so proud of the little guy! Oh, and for the first time this year he got a Good for his scissor skills. We have been practicing!

update

Quick post.

We are moved into our rental house. Did you just hear me sigh? This has been a LONG journey to sell our house. The rental isn't ideal, but we are making the most of it. Connor loves it because it is green and green is his favorite color. Ryan and Olivia want us to buy it since there is a pool and a fire pit (wood burning stove) inside. Hudson just keeps saying it's "perfect". We love the neighborhood. We are in a cul-de-sac with a bunch of families. We know many people in the area and it only took 3 minutes to get to church on Sunday.

The move went as good as could be expected. Better actually. 15 friends / family showed up to help. Janet & Larry brought coffee and donuts. Some friends brought pick up trucks, some brought trailers and everyone was happy to help. We were done from start to finish in 4 hours! There were so many of them coming out of the truck with boxes & furniture I had to just stand at the end of the truck and tell everyone where everything went. This was OK with me as I had already spent the entire week moving stuff. I had the entire kitchen set up, the master bedroom closet set up and all of the toys moved over by Friday (thanks Brett).

Tonight my Aunt Betty & Uncle Doug are int town from California. So I am sure I will have lots of pics to post this weekend.

Oh I just remembered that last weekend was Connor's first soccer game. His team won 20-4 and he even scored a goal!! Then on Sunday he scored a goal at hockey. Thank goodness he got some of Brandon's jeans!

Too busy to blog!

Moving....Busy......No Time To Blog.......Enjoy!

CLOSED!!!

We closed on our house yesterday. It feels good to finally be done with the process. So, goodbye house that never felt like "our" home and neighborhood that never felt quite right. We are going to rent in the area that we want to move to while we look for the right home for us. Neither of us wants to rush into a home. That means we get to move AGAIN in a few months, but it will be worth it to finally be "home". The new neighborhood is close to church and a bunch of our friends from there. Plus it is in a great school zone. The only bad part is that it is farther away from our closest friends. Oh, by far away I mean 6 more miles down the road. So, really I guess it isn't that far.
We have been looking at homes for a while now and haven't found the one that fits us yet, but I am sure it will find us!

forgotten blog

I forgot to post these 2 weeks ago during monster truck time. The night before the show there was a truck at the local Dairy Queen. The boys had a blast climbing all over (& under) the truck!

Worse than Megatron?

Brandon did a Sunday School lesson on temptation. He, of course had to bring it to a 3/4 year old level. He talked about being tempted to be bad for cookies or toys. The kids were really getting the point. Then he read them the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan. He started saying "he is the worst bad guy in the whole world"....Connor broke in and said "Even worse than Megatron?" We had to hold back our laughter and Brandon answered him with "Even worse than Darth Vader!". The kids all got it then!

The crayons have left the table

We have been stuck in the house for the past week due to the cold. Yes, I know I am now a weather wimp...stop laughing. So, I found something fun for the boys to do indoors. I rolled out a huge piece of paper, traced their bodies....Let them color themselves in... Then we hung them one the wall. (The drawings, not the boys)They had so much fun. All of the kids who have visited have wanted to make one too!

He's not a dentist...he just plays one on TV

Last night we watched Ryan and Olivia so Erin could go to a meeting (Brett was at work too). The kids and I all had dinner together and then a little while after Brandon arrived home i had to leave for a meeting at church. So he took care of all 5 kids for about an hour and a half. Nice guy, right!

So, what you need to know before you watch this video is Brandon has been offering the kids at church $100 to whoever will let him pull out their loose tooth with a set of pliers. He always wanted to try it. Some kids got close. They would let him get the pliers on the tooth and then they would all chicken out. So, when Ryan got his first loose tooth Brandon made him the same offer. Ryan was all over it. He was already spending the $100 in his head. When I got home last night Brandon told me that Ryan let him take out his tooth and was quite brave about it too. Here is the video i found on my camera this morning.

Erin didn't want to let Ryan take the money, but Brandon said he promised so he talked her into letting Ryan have it.

The kids all behaved really well, but 4 kids, even behaving is too many kids. Wow, it was loud!

24 hours

Here, in non-paragraph form is 24 hours of my life:


Connor had soccer

made dinner early

woke Connor from nap

had dinner with Connor

told Connor to eat

got up from table to get something

Told Connor to eat

came back to table to find my entire drink spilled

told Connor to eat

mopped floor

told Connor to eat

got Connor ready for soccer

told Connor to go back to eating

made plate for Brandon

sent them off to soccer

Hudson wakes up

let Hudson eat at counter while I do dishes

tell Hudson to eat

clean up Hudson's spilled juice

tell Hudson to eat

play power rangers with Hudson

watch some cartoons with Hudson

Connor & Brandon get home

showers, snack & stories

read for 1.5 hours OUTLOUD to Brandon

Sleep

Wake up

boys wake up

Make lunches for boys

Make breakfast for boys

call boys to breakfast

clean up kitchen

call boys to breakfast

tell the boys to eat

start laundry

tell the boys to eat

make bed

tell the boys to eat

pack Connor's back pack

tell the boys to eat

do sinus rinses on boys

help them brush their teeth

get boys dressed

drive to school

grocery shop

home

edit video

talk to Erin

blog

fold laundry

back to blog

lunch

shower

pick up boys at school

snack / play /naps

plan dinner

fold more laundry

start dinner

Erin drops off Ryan & Olivia

listen to kids play while i finish dinner

think....wow 4 kids can be LOUD

make plates for 4 kids and 2 adults

think about making appointment for Brandon to have a vasectomy

have a great dinner with 4 awesome kids who all eat their green beans

think...well maybe this isn't so bad

clean up dinner and the noise starts again

look up Dr.'s # to call tomorrow

kiss them all goodbye and go to a meeting at church.

I love you more than

I play this game with the boys where we say "I love you more than.." and then we fill in the blank. Here are some of my recent favorites they have come up with.

I love you more than...

a whole bunch of ice cream sandwiches (Hudson)
pizza with Chinese food on top (Connor)
cookies with sprinkles (Hudson)
new toys (Connor)

Wivia

Today I watched Olivia for a little bit while Erin was at work. I swear it still amazes me how well behaved that little girl is. I am also amazed with the way her and Hudson interact. We started off by playing with cars and making traffic (we line up all the cars, tons of them!) Then I had to go make Hudson's bed and she asked if they could play in Hudson's room and hang out with me. I said yes, of course. She climbed up into the rocking chair and told Hudson to sit next to her so she could read him a book. She "read" him Goodnight Moon. She must know it by heart. Then he "read" a book to her. They were so cute. Then Olivia found Hudson's little bible and she asked what it was I told her it was Hudson's bible, but only the new testament. She said "No miss Ilene, your wrong." She stuck her hand in the middle of the book and said "This is the old testament and this is the new testament"she flipped back and forth from the front half to the back half. "Mr. Brandon told me in Sunday School". Then she said "Come her Hudson I will read you the bible so we don't get into trouble'.

When I made them lunch she said "thank you miss Ilene, this lunch is great"

How cool would it be if she really did marry Hudson ( or Connor, I'm OK with that too). I could tell my daughter-in-law that I loved her since the day she was born.