First basketball game

J and S had their first game of the season this past weekend.  They both did really well and decided that their is a lot more running in basketball than in soccer.

S played point guard a lot.  He primarily dribbles with his left hand.  He has always been somewhat ambidextrous since birth; however, once he started writing for school he writes with his right.  But he definitely kicks, dribbles, and shoots with his left.

He always had a smile on his face and had a great time.

J had a great first game too.  His team ran their practiced plays.  He even was able to shoot once and was close to making it.  

We massacred the other team.  We have 2 incredible point guards, especially given their respective ages.  They are just playing on a whole different level than everyone else.  The team as a whole is very talented, and I imagine will only improve as the season progresses.

I have to admit it that it is hard for me to watch and not be involved.  I found myself yelling (good things) a lot.  I still get excited by a good game of basketball.  Maybe someday I will coach one of them.  Until then, we look forward to next weekend's games.

Happy Birthday S!

Look at those sweet baby blues!

His eyes are a more grey blue now, but he still has strawberry blonde hair.  You are a very active boy.  You love to give hugs and kisses.  You love to giggle and be silly.  This a good thing and a bad thing.  You love your sister, maybe a little too much.  You love your brothers and always want to play with them, but sometimes you like to push their buttons, too.  

You would be a terrible only child as you love to play board games, play team sports, and have lots of people around.  You are probably the only extrovert in our family.  You love animals and have close to 50 stuffed animals on your bed.  

Happy Birthday sweet boy!

Happy 6th Birthday S!

We had a busy weekend.  We celebrated S's 6th birthday on top of starting basketball season!  I am ready for a nap.

Nana and Grandave came down to help celebrate.

Granny Jean also joined in on the festivities as well.  

S still loves all animals and wants to be a zoo keeper when he grows up.  Therefore, we had a wild animal party.  Here's the cupcakes that I made.

 I found a company that actually brings animals to your home.  S was able to pick five animals for them to bring to the party.  We had an alpaca in the backyard.  Baby girl tried to ride on him.

The owner/animal trainer did some education with the kids as well.  Here is the kingkajou.  He was a hit at the party.  It was great hearing the kids giggle watching him climb around.  The kids were able to pet or hold the animals.

  

The kids loved watching the bunny hop around the backyard.

S's favorite animal is a ring tailed lemur.  Sure enough, the company had one to bring.  The only problem was that apparently he had been grabbed by some 8 year old boys too much so he is a little skittish around kids.  The trainer only let the adults handle him.  So here is mommy with a lemur on her shoulder.  I was so not prepared for this.  (S and W were pretty disappointed that they didn't get to hold the lemur.)

We were so thankful to have wonderful weather and to be able to celebrate with his friends.

Ruckus

The boys' received the card game "Ruckus" for Christmas.  This has turned into a new family favorite.

It's a game that all ages can play, although the older ones are a bit more strategic.  It doesn't require any reading.  Some times, we play with teams to balance the deficit.  They love this game.  

S particularly loves playing games, so this is perfect for him.  It also doesn't take too long, so we can complete a game pretty quick, when he is feeling the need for some game time.

We have been keep track of the all time high score.  I had it until tonight.  

Even Miss K likes to think she is playing and steal the cards.  That always adds a new element.  

I would highly recommend this game.  Thanks Grammie!

Basketball fever

It is basketball season around our home.  

J and S are both playing basketball.  

It's a little insane trying to get them to practices, but we manage.  This coming weekend are their first games.

J is not the tallest on his team, which is amazing.  It's his first year playing.  There are two guys on his team that are really good, so we have some good guys to learn from.  

S is on a team made up of kids from his school.  That is really nice to know everyone.  In fact, both boys ended up with Christians as coaches, which is a blessing.

I have to admit that it brings back lots of good memories for me.  I played for over 10 years, and coached for a year.  It is fun to be able to share this with them.  I even thought about coaching one of them in the future.  (It's the mommy chauffeur that doesn't enjoy this so much.  It sure does make me appreciate my mother even more.  My mom was a saint!)

The bad part is that J is now in men's size shoes.  He wears a 7.5 in men's shoes.  Sigh.  Men's shoes are almost double the cost of little boys' shoes.  Let's just say that we spent a few pennies on his new high tops.  At least he found a solid blue pair like these, which is his favorite color.  

We will let you know how the games turn out.

Master bath redo

We are now working on our master bathroom remodel.  This was one of the few rooms that didn't get any work done on it when we moved in.  Now is the time.

Here's our current vanity.  The new one is on order and should arrive in a month.  It will be dark brown and several inches taller.  I will be so glad to stop stooping.

The bathroom needed some serious updating, but it also had some problems.  Long before we moved in, the toilet had been leaking and left unattended.  It did a lot of damage to the floor.  The linoleum has split at this seam and caused some permanent staining around the toilet.  I will be so glad to see that gone.

All the walls have this white paneling on them.  The previous owner was a smoker.  Every few months more orange nicotine residue seeps through these walls.  It's just gross.  I have cleaned and cleaned and it keeps coming back.  It is just nasty.  I will really be glad to see that gone.

We started to remove the paneling and this is the gorgeous wallpaper we found.  Stripes and dots!  Awesome!

So we have a great crew of wallpaper removers.  S and K actually love the job.  Go figure!

I didn't get any pictures of S, but he is quite the good demolition guy.  He stayed with dad the whole process.  

We still have more wallpaper removal and then floor removal.  Then we will wait while all the supplies come in.  Look forward to showing the "after" pictures.

Christmas 2013 at home

For the first time in our family's history, we stayed at our home for Christmas.  We had a wonderful time, but had to learn to make some new traditions.  

We learned to make a tripod from some boxes to take a family portrait.

What a good looking bunch!

The kids always smile better when one of us is behind the camera acting like a crazy person.  That is sure to get some good smiles.

Here's the sweet girl in her Christmas outfit from Nana.

It was the year of the baby doll for her.  She received a Bitty Baby, which she absolutely loves!

 The rest of the family got her baby clothes and accessories so she is all set.  She is such a good mama.  She takes her baby everywhere she goes.

There were lots of great expressions like this one from the boys.  They are so thrilled by Legos, Minecraft, and the Hobbit.

I cooked my first solo holiday meal and it turned out pretty well.  We ate a little later than planned, but that was minor.  We even ate on our wedding china.  The boys didn't really understand the significance, but it was nice just the same.

We had a good time just being together.  We watched a lot of Star Wars, built a lot of Legos, and ate a lot of good food.  Merry Christmas!