it seems like we have gotten a lot of snow this month, but it has been too warm for it to accumulate. finally we got about 4 inches this past week--enough to squeek a couple hours of outdoor play in!
after church and a Christmas eve dinner out, the boys rushed in the door to run upstairs and look under their pillows to find their "matching jammies." they can never seem to figure out how they get there, but know that they are from mom and dad and love getting them! funny. we had a great evening at home, opened santa gifts the next morning and then headed to grandpa and grandma's house for the day {a favorite gift was the snuggie that each boy got!}! of course we had fabulous food and were content to do lots of relaxing!
terry's mom & dad headed to indy the weekend before to celebrate Christmas--we loved having them stay with us, were treated to a yummy Christmas dinner, a lot of relaxing, present opening, and breakfast out before they went back to IL. as always, the cousins can't get enough of being together! i loved watching their faces as they opened their presents!! the 3 little guys all got DS's from grammie and papa, soph got a wii fit, gracie was thrilled with lots of gift certificates and luke received a combo b-day/christmas gift of an ipod touch. seems shopping is starting to get simplified as the kids get older--they want more expensive gifts {which also means it is less to buy}
the kids are always so anxious for the last day of school before Christmas break. today was no exception! All the excitement, of course, is for the class party. a bit different than when I was a kid--now no outside food is allowed into school--so they each got a slush cup and a bag of snack mix {i guess the kids don't know any different, but it makes me sad to think about what they are missing!} cole's class played a very exciting game of musical chairs! 
cole has made LOTS of friends this year, but he has found one best buddy who is just sooo sweet!
luke's class was a bit more tame!!--they had two craft stations that kept them very busy--the hard one was the origami Christmas tree that was amazing when it was finished!
it's hard to believe that luke is half-way finished with childhood. 9 more years and he heads off to college--sure hope that the next nine years don't go as fast as the first nine. something tells me that time is not going to slow down--so for now we just have to enjoy each day we have. luke's birthday was a simple celebration--after church we had lunch with grandpa, grandma and uncle brett. we had subway! funny. that is what luke requested--that sure made it easy on mom! 
after opening presents the boys enjoyed unlimited wii play with luke's new games. then, off to his friend's birthday party for the evening.
So thankful that the rain stopped in time for Halloween. . . .it was a bit blustery, but I don't think the kids even noticed!! Grant insisted on being a pumpkin! hmm. nothing easier than using a leaf bag. Thanks to hand-me-downs from cousins, and Terry's Chicago Bears helmet from when he was a kid, Luke got to be Brian Urlacher. And Cole, well, he was the last of the 3 to wear the spider costume {I think we got our money's worth!}. Of course we enjoyed a brief stint with the cousins, an annual thing that i think we are realizing is getting harder to do as the kids get older. And so this ends our fall break! The kids are ready to go back to school--so thankful that they all enjoy it so much. I think I am ready for them to go back to school :)! 
our kids love, love, LOVE their cousins. cole says his best friend is joey. . . 6 months apart, they get along great. luke jumps at every chance to be with his cousins and grant has a special place in his heart for Grace...it's a connection of some sort.
so, of course the kids have been thrilled that the cousins are getting a tree house. a very cool tree house. grammie and papa have come 3 of the last 6 weekends to help build it. this means that on those weekends they have had cousin days and are more than over-joyed! this weekend the cousins and grammie hung out at our house and one of the highlights was making, decorating AND eating Halloween cookies. mmmm.
Since August Grant and Luke have both been playing fall baseball. . .wow we've watched 3 games every Sunday--it's been great to watch them both grow. This past weekend was the tournament. Luke's team lost in the first round, the end to a well played season.
Grant's team, on the other hand ended their season tonight, after winning all 4 tournament games! They did such a great job and won tonight's game 4-3.
It was exciting for Grant to play against our neighbor and a super-duper friend, Owen! Both boys had some super hits tonight!
So thrilled with the ginormous trophy!! That might take me hours to dust! :)
Uncle Brett brought this giant cookie to Grant after the game. Grant thought he would get to eat the whole thing himself. . .hmmmm...
Congratulations Grant! We are so proud of Y-O-U!!
Last weekend we headed to Tuttle's for our annual apple picking! The kids are AlWAYS anxious for this outing. . .it never seems to get old! What started off as a cloudy, crummy day turned out to be absolutely perfect!
I realized that when the kids were little it used to take us a few hours to pick the apples, corral the kids, help them pick the apples etc. Wow, have things changed! We kind of stood back, let the kids do the picking before we even knew it the bags were full!
mmmm. . . i think the best part of picking apples is eating the carmel apples after we are all done. . .this seems to be the best part for someone else too!
So many of you know that I use a lot of coupons. My kids know that we don't buy something at the grocery store unless we have a coupon. Typically, we only eat at restaurants that we have coupons for etc. Over the year, I can only imagine how much money it has saved us.
The other day, one of my college roommates said she was going to be in Indy and was going to go to KMart to do their super double coupons. WHAT??!!?? We don't have a KMart!! Sure enough we do--only about 15-20 min. away--worth the trip! She here's a little picture of the things I picked up for just a little over $2:
Pretty amazing. isn't it?? I did spent about another $15 on other items that we use a lot and with the double coupons were still much cheaper than I could normally get.
This past year when Terry was completely self-employed, getting things for free or almost free was a huge blessing. And, even now as we are half self-employed and half employed at the firm our budget is super tight. So again, we are thankful for bargain shopping trips like the one I took to Target this week (and spent $1.86!!!):
It's here already. . .back to school 2009! They have been anxious all week! Mommy was ready, until they all drove away on the bus-how is it possible that they are old enough, I feel like I should still have a house full of toddlers running around! Enough of the sappy stuff {i could go on and on!} Here are the handsome boys. . . the new official grades: grant in first grade, Cole in Kindergarten and Luke in third grade!
Anxiously awaiting the arrival of the neighborhood kids for our back-to-school breakfast celebration!
Kids and parents starting to gather AND enjoying muffins, granola bars, fruit, coffee cake and of course Starbucks for the moms and dads (thanks, Lori!)!
What a crew--hope the bus driver is ready for this! So thankful for wonderful neighborhood kids!
The bus has pulled away. . .do we cry or rejoice??? hmmmmm. . .i think there was a little of both.
It is birthday time at our house. Terry turned 39 on the 7th and Grant turned 7 on the 8th! Actually, it would almost be easier if they were both on the same day (at least for mom, that is!). This year because of a business conference that Terry needed to go to, we celebrated both guys birthdays on the 7th! Of course, each gets their own cake-Terry gets a lead cake and Grant gets and ice cream cake.
Grant and Terry enjoyed a little fishing in the morning, we all went to the Golden Corral for lunch (grant's choice--he likes the ice cream bar!!) with grandpa, grandpa and uncle B.) and then the two went off to a movie in the afternoon. Such a great perfect day.
Hard to believe that Grant is 7. Seven. That seems old to me, only Luke gets older, but in reality they all do. It has been fun to watch him this week express how EXCITED he is for first grade. Such a thrill to have his OWN desk and supplies that he does not have to share. G got lots of legos for his b-day. . .he will sit at the table for hours building his masterpieces all while singing at the top of his lungs--it's quite entertaining!
So the boys each picked out a present for Terry and Cole picked out this fly swatter in yellow (cole's favorite color!!). funny. don't you love the flower??!!
On Grant's birthday DAY Terry had to be gone so we went off to spend the afternoon at a local water park. I am amazed how the kids spent 4 1/2 hours going down 2 water slides over and over again. Fun fun.
two weekends ago we enjoyed a SUPER great day in Archbold, OH with my mom's (5 sisters and their families) side of the family for a little reunion. the boys can't wait to go back. . .who wouldn't want to go back after a day filled with food, waterslides, high dives {proving my almost 39 year old husband can still do back flips off the diving board} , tractors, farms, cows and a brand new play area to explore!
the kids decided they would rather swim in the pool where the water was MUCH warmer!
then it was off to uncle j and aunt l's house for a camp out. . . mmmm hot dogs, s'mores and dough-boys all topped off with an outdoor movie [Pink Panther 2]. the kids seemed to like it more than the adults--check out how glued they are! We had intermission to go watch Conner Parairie Fireworks--great show--and of course there were sparklers {what would the 4th be without them?}.
thankful for a really warm heated pool this week since it has been as low as 67 for a high one day and the kids are taking swim lessons in the morning. luke is taking a swim team prep class with his cousins {these kids absolutely LOVE being together}. . .their speed and stroke development are coming along!
grant has started working in breast stroke, wow! can i see a lot of terry in him:)
a bit of diving practice for cole--they have all worked really hard and are coming along! and a huge thanks to miss stephanie who keeps cranking up the heater!
