The Fowler Five

and more...Halloween!

2012-01-10T12:28:00.000-06:00

Still catching up....PUMPKINS!

2012-01-10T12:21:00.000-06:00

I know......

2011-12-14T22:46:00.000-06:00

It's been FOREVER since I've posted a blog!!! AAAAHHHH!! Life has been a little crazy around here. Josh graduates in 2 days, though, so surely life will slow down a little....right?

HA. HA.

Well....I'm going to let these pics speak for themselves. We went camping with some great friends down in Lawton and hiked at Mt. Scott. SO fun!

BUCKS!

2011-11-05T21:24:00.000-06:00

What a season!! Dustin was PUMPED to play football...I found out I'm not a football mom, but am becoming better at it....HA! He loved every minute of every practice, scrimmage, game...he had a blast! Well....let me rephrase...he loved everything but the broken arm at his first scrimmage. Could've done without that! Thankfully it was minor...only 2 1/2 weeks in the cast, and a few weeks of strengthening, and he was ready to play! He is a great football player!

No words needed for these pics...they all speak for themselves. I just have to say I'm so glad their last game was so awesome...they needed a good win like that!

Dylan

2011-10-13T09:22:00.000-05:00

The previous 2 posts were all Jo and Dustin...so here's Dylan!

His baseball team got a trophy for the spring season!! Way to go, Arsenal! Don't pay attention to his shirt in the pic....we didn't get the trophy til late in the summer....and he just happened to be wearing an old baseball shirt!

At the zoo....he loves the birds!

Waiting on Jodee at gymnastics...wearing his Iron Man costume. I'm so glad he still does this. I don't want him to grow up yet.

We went to the cub scouts info meeting and he made a juice box boat:

All kinds of fun!

We decided not to do cub scouts...weekly meetings didn't work with our crazy schedule...and we do most of the fun activities as a family anyways. In fact...we are preparing to do our own box car derby. Ha..that should be interesting!

Go JO!

2011-10-13T09:14:00.000-05:00

Jodee qualified to go to the All-State banquet for gymnastics this year! This is for the girls that score a 37.00 all around or more, or place 1, 2, or 3 at State meet. She did it! Even after a broken foot!! WOOHOO! We are so proud!

Way to go, Jodee!

Once again

2011-10-13T09:07:00.000-05:00

I'm lagging behind on my blog!! Between baseball, football, gymnastics, and work...I don't know why I can't keep up!! HA!

This post is all Dustin. He broke his elbow at a football scrimmage back on the first day of school. Poor guy....thankfully his cast was only on for 2 1/2 weeks, and all is well now!

This is how he slept the first few nights (before the cast). Not very comfortable!

Getting his bright green cast:

He's pretty happy now!

The next week at school they had a drawing of anyone that did a summer reading project. He did ONE because I made him. He won the ipod nano. Of course!

Here he is in his cool football jersey (Go Bucks!) after his cast came off. It took a good 3 weeks for him to be able to mostly straighten it out.

Tough guy. Had to miss a few games, but he's back, and is a really good football player! I'm not such a good 'football mom'. Yikes! But he's loving it....guess I gotta love it with him!

Floatin' down the river

2011-09-15T08:48:00.000-05:00

The kids and I were able to meet Josh and the youth group from Kansas for their annual float trip in August. It was so much fun!

Here is the group:

Hangin' on

Our captain?

Cute little frog:

Raft wars!!! SO FUNNY!

Just a swingin'

Our family...

What a fun time. So glad we got to do it!

NKOTBSB, baby!

2011-09-12T14:50:00.001-05:00

This lucky girl got to go to TWO NKOTBSB concerts this summer! It was awesome! New Kids on the Block plus Backstreet Boys....throw in some Jordin Sparks, Midnight Red, and Matt Morrison....WOW!

The original tickets were my christmas present last year....and then Josh wasn't able to get away from his work in Kansas to go to the concert...I tried to find a friend to go...but it just didn't work out. So....Jodee got to go with me! She absolutely loved it! She saw Jordin Sparks..and we are now fans! The second concert was a surprise from Josh...they had added a stop on their tour in Tulsa, so he made the 5 hour drive down from Kansas to take me to Tulsa. Pretty sweet husband, right? It was a blast!!!

These pictures are not in order....and they are refusing to go in order, so we'll just go with it.

Matthew Morrison, the teacher from Glee:

Our new bracelets:

Jordin:

My fave...has been since I was 11...Donnie Wahlberg:

Osteology, anyone?

2011-09-05T21:38:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, we were invited to go along with my aunt and cousin to the Museum of Osteology, in Norman. Anyone who knows me, knows I was all for it! It was great!

The first thing you see when you walk in is an aquarium of beetles cleaning off bones. YUCK, but COOL at the same time! The kids were enthralled! They had every kind of skeleton you could imagine.

Anyone needing a good science lesson for their kiddos....head to Norman! It was so worth it!

Fun in the sun

2011-09-03T22:29:00.001-05:00

Some friends of ours own Bouncin' Craze here in Edmond...and we were invited to go enjoy some playtime in celebration of their company's anniversary! The kids were pumped....SO fun!

This summer we also got to meet two new cousins! This is sweet Jacelyn, down in Austin. She is PRECIOUS! We really enjoyed our time with her! It was well worth the 6 hour drive!

I was there...I promise! I just haven't gotten all of the pics off my phone yet.....

The other cousin we met this summer is Adam! He lives here in Oklahoma....he is adorable!

Summertime!

2011-08-22T13:06:00.000-05:00

What a summer! Missing Josh, babysitting A LOT of kiddos, and trying to stay cool (and a visit to Disney World)....that is summer 2011.

Dustin went to Camp J.A.M. (Jesus and Me) this year with his best bud...SO fun!

This is my car coming home from camp!

Staying cool....LOVE having a pool!

Our family minus 1 on the 4th of July:

To be continued...

My baby is 7

2011-07-31T21:19:00.000-05:00

Yes...Dylan turned 7 on July 1st! Yes, it's been a month...and I'm just now blogging about it!

I can't believe our 'baby' is 7. Going into 2nd grade. Has lost 4 teeth. I could go on and on!

We had a great party! He LOVES Pirates of the Caribbean, so that was his theme. He got 2 lego pirate games to go along with the theme! Woohoo! He was super excited! We went to see Cars 2 with his friends...that was fun! They had a great time...but they probably would have loved just hanging out at the house too...note to self for next year!

I noticed a huge difference this year as compared to last...this year he took time with every present, every card....read everything, just took his time! It was precious...he's definitely growing up!

Happy Birthday, sweet Dylan!

Dylan and his red light saber

2011-07-20T22:12:00.000-05:00

Dylan has wanted a red light saber for a VERY long time! He received one for Christmas last year, but it got lost on Christmas day in Austin, so we never got to bring it home! Well....lucky for him, Disney World came to the rescue! At Hollywood Studios, you can MAKE YOUR OWN LIGHT SABER! How cool is that? Of course, we had to get the double one, and it lights up, and I think it makes noise. Not really sure....but he's SO happy with it, so that's what counts!

Here he is...getting started:

The finished product!

Imagine walking through an amusement park with one of these:

Fun...lemme tell ya!

That evening in our hotel room....our little boy who is not modest in the least was twirling his light saber around in the buff...so what's a mom to do? Take a picture! I politely covered the naked area that I'm sure you don't want to see. He is so funny!

I'm just happy that he's so happy.

Extra extra!

2011-07-15T09:42:00.001-05:00

I kept finding more pics that I hadn't used on the blog yet, so I am going to just add these into a few posts to add onto my Disney World trip.....just couldn't pass these up!

Love this...they can have so much fun together when they want to!

Sweet daddy with a precious girly...

Dylan wanted to be in this pic...he makes me laugh! These are the 'creations' in our window:

The day she bought Minnie....

Just pure cuteness: a budding photographer like his daddy?? Probably!

Waiting for yet another parade, enjoying their drumsticks:

Couldn't pass this pic-opportunity!

Ready for "Star Tours"....it was awesome! (Oh and Stitch is ready too!!)

5

2011-07-11T15:43:00.000-05:00

Ahhh...day 5 at the beautiful Magic Kingdom. We just had to go back...there was so much to do! First, we had to do pics with the princesses...of course!

Two of my kiddos with Sleeping Beauty:

Jodee and Belle

Belle asked my dad to dance with her! He was SO happy!

And Jodee and Cinderella. So neat. They played their parts so well....

Dustin wanted nothing to do with the princesses...he was a little embarrassed to admit he thought they were pretty....so on to the sword in the stone:

And Tom Sawyer's Island...yes, the men were enthralled with the bell....HA! Too funny!

Hula hooping in the streets of Magic Kingdom!

Of course..another castle pic! Had to get at least one more!

And...for those of you still interested (A.M.you know who you are! haha)...I found some more pics that hadn't made it onto my computer, so I will add another post soon of the things I missed.

#4

2011-07-02T12:23:00.000-05:00

Hollywood Studios!!

This was one COOL amusement park! We loved every bit....rode the Rockin' Roller Coaster first...and again after the Tower of Terror. SO FUN!

The awesome Tower of Terror:

By this day, Josh was getting in on the planning....YAY!

Mickey:

This place was so cool..where are we?? Doesn't look like Florida in this pic!

They had more amazing shows at this park...we all liked this one, Lights, Motors, Action. Cool stunts with cars, people, motorcycles, etc.

Beauty and the Beast...I have always loved this musical, and disney put on a wonderful show! It was so good!

We also saw the Indiana Jones show (or 'Indian Jones' as Dylan says). It was great!

Of course we saw the Pixar parade...per my request. I won't bore you with all the pictures we have of the parade...just a couple.

That night we came back to get in line 1 1/2 hours early for the show 'Fantasmic'. It was worth it! Crazy how many people were there....but the show was SO cool! Here we are waiting in line:

This is before Dyl fell asleep and lost a flip flop....

Wow...what a great day that was! We had so much fun! We also enjoyed Star Tours and The Great Movie Ride. We could have spent another day here easily. Maybe next time, right Josh?

WDW #3

2011-06-29T21:44:00.000-05:00

ANIMAL KINGDOM!

We loved this park!! Mostly because we love the zoo, and this was amusement park and zoo combined! Made everyone happy!

Very cool 'Tree of Life' in the center of the park, amazing carvings and designs....here is just one example:

We saw a 4-D show of 'A Bug's Life' under the tree...very fun!

We did the safari ride....SO close to real animals! One of our favorites.

Loved this tree:

Saw the "Lion King" show...one word: awesome.

As was the Nemo show. DisneyWorld does a great job of putting on a show! They don't cut corners...I absolutely loved all of their shows!

Our other favorite ride here was Expedition Everest....so fun!
One thing I will always remember...this was the first place I ever had a gluten free hamburger bun. Delicious. Thank you, Disney!

WDW #2

2011-06-24T08:59:00.002-05:00

Alrighty...day 2 was Magic Kingdom! LOVE this place. I think Josh took about 25 pics of the castle...it's just so...so....well, magical!

Of course we have the obligatory pic in front of the castle. We have a few of these. This was our first one with everyone looking and smiling!

The kids...captured! This is after the Toy Story ride. It was great! Arcade game and ride all in one.

Dylan's new favorite character....Stitch!

This one cracks me up...we waited in a long line to get a pic with this rabbit from Alice in Wonderland...Dylan was the lucky last one to get a pic! And the sweet worker in this costume who had to be dying of heat stroke, played with Dylan and made it so much fun for him! The workers at Disney are incredible...they are always dressed in their 'part', and most of them are very good at making everyone enjoy their time at Disney. It was so cool!

This picture just makes me laugh. Yep...Winnie the Pooh ride. I made everyone endure it. Wasn't worth it. Oh well...

Johnny Depp, anyone? This guy was GOOD! My kids are now obsessed with Pirates of the Caribbean.

I L.O.V.E. parades!

By her expression, I think she does too!

Mickey ears!

Cool view at our resort

Ahhhh....beautiful.

Picture with Mickey and Minnie!

Just a silly pic...me and Dyl.

Dustin with Stitch hands!!

My handsome pirate.

Almost forgot....our favorites were....no, wait. We enjoyed WAY too many here for me to list! I think the coolest part of the day was riding the Astro Orbiter while the fireworks show was going on. Couldn't have planned that one!

Day 1, Day 1

2011-06-23T19:56:00.000-05:00

I know....you all are singing the creation song, right? Well, I'm not talking creation here, I'm talking Walt Disney World!! Woohoo!
We have been planning this trip for FOREVER!! Seriously, I've had it planned in my mind since before we had kids. Then we waited till the youngest was 5. Then we had to wait some more because of weird circumstances. But, FINALLY, last summer I went ahead and talked to a friend about planning our trip! My dad went with us, which was so nice! Having another adult with us was so helpful, not to mention the financial help! :) It was so much fun....I am just glad Josh enjoyed it enough to want to go back! Yippee!
I have a million pictures...so I will post day by day. We were there Monday through Saturday. You're in for a lot of pics. Just warnin' ya.

Of course we started with the flight....very exciting for my kiddos that flew for their first time last summer!

The Magical Express! The bus picked us up at the airport and took us straight to our resort. We didn't have to get our own luggage from baggage claim or anything! SO NICE!

We're here!

One view of our 'resort'. We stayed at the Pop Century resort....it was great!

Cute washcloth animal in our window:

Day one was Epcot!

I didn't take a lot of pics here...we enjoyed it though! It was a great place to go for our first day, since it was a shortened day. Some of our favorites were the Crush show (from Nemo), Soarin', Spaceship Earth, and Test Track.

14th Anniversary

2011-06-21T06:57:00.000-05:00

Me and You

by Kenny Chesney

Ordinary, no

Really don't think so

Not a love this true

Common destiny

We were meant to be

Me and you

Like a perfect scene

From a movie screen

We're a dream come true

Suited perfectly for eternity

Me and you

Everyday, I need you even more

And the nighttime too

There's no way I could ever let you go

Even if I wanted to

Everyday I live

Try my best to give

All I have to you

Thank the stars above

That we share this love

Me and you

Everyday, I need you even more

And the nighttime too

There's no way I could ever let you go

Even if I wanted to

Ordinary, no

Really don't think so

Just a precious few

Ever make it last

Get as lucky as

Me and you

Today is number 14 for us! I am so blessed to be married to my best friend. We've come a long way! This is the first anniversary we will spend apart. I miss you!!! I can't wait to spend many more years together.

Lotsa graduations!

2011-06-20T21:44:00.000-05:00

A college graduation, high school graduation, and 5th grade graduation. These boys are all growing up WAY too fast!

Say What?

2011-05-27T17:27:00.001-05:00

Just a quick post to say we now have a 6th grader, 3rd, grader, and 2nd grader.

WHAT IN THE WORLD???

So glad it's summer break!!! We are gonna have some FUN!

**Have to add my proud parent comment: All had straight A's, and Dustin made a high enough score on his math test to do pre-AP math in 6th grade!!! Wow! Way to go, kids!

Transition night

2011-05-20T13:56:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday night, Orvis Risner had their 'transition night' for the lower grades, and the 1st graders had a little surprise for everyone! I didn't know what it was going to be like, or we would have invited our family(sorry to my family!!). We do have it on video!

They sang 4 songs...they were adorable! It was short and sweet....perfect for 1st graders!

He's such a little performer!

Jodee's field trip

2011-05-19T14:44:00.000-05:00

2nd grade always does a zoo field trip, and following with tradition, Josh volunteers to help out! I was able to meet up with their group (with my babysitting kiddos), so I got to enjoy it also! So fun!

Jo on the bus!!!

Our group!! It did get smaller, as some of the kids found their parents, but this is the group we started with! They were wonderful!!!

The sweet baby elephant....thankfully it was outside, and we didn't have to wait in line to see it!

The bears were up close and personal that day!! So cool!

So happy we were able to go on this trip with her!

Winning!

2011-05-18T23:01:00.000-05:00

Had to use the now famous word (thanks to a crazy actor)...to describe the boys' baseball season! They are both doing SO well! It's so much fun to see them have fun, learn the game, and win a few ballgames.

Go Arsenal!
Go Rangers!
Go Express!

State Gymnastics Meet

2011-05-10T13:24:00.000-05:00

April 30th was Jodee's BIG state gymnastics meet! She competed against the best level 4's in her age group. Guess what? Even after the broken foot fiasco, and even after missing HOURS of practice because of the longer school days (because of the lovely snow), she came in 4th in the state! Woohoo!!! Way to go, JO! I am so happy for her! She also 'all-stated', which means she goes to a big, fancy banquet in August, and gets a yummy dinner, and recognition for being an amazing gymnast. What a great accomplishment at age 8! WOW!

Funny thing happened the day before her meet....one of her coaches was not current on all of her membership/background check stuff, so I was called in to help coach! Yikes! I didn't want to make her more nervous, but she was calm, cool, and collected. At the end, she even told me she liked that I was there with her!! Awww.....love that girl!

Here we are getting ready to warm up on bars...

And here we are after the meet. So proud. So happy.

For the video, check out my facebook, or Josh's. I will try to figure out how to put it on here someday.

OKC Memorial Marathon '11

2011-05-06T22:41:00.000-05:00

So...this year was a little different. It was the first year I didn't do the half marathon. It was also the first year Josh and I got to run with the kids in the kid's marathon! Good year to do that....rain, thunder, lightning, 40 degrees....1.2 miles?? Okay!

We were pretty glad we didn't sign up and pay and train for the 1/2. It was pretty miserable out there! But, we are so happy we spent the morning together....running in the rain, and freezing our fingers off! It is one marathon we will never forget!

Here we are on our way. Still thinking the rain is going to stop at any moment. We are all smiling!

On our way to the starting line! Still smiling!

Oooooo....decided to find a spot to stay dry for about 30 minutes. They delayed the start time due to lightning. Yay. But....we are all still happy!

Finally!! Waiting to start....aaahhh....1.2, here we come!

Got our snacks, medals, and we were DONE! We were all SO cold...Dylan is bawling in this picture because he 'can't feel his hands'! Neither could I. Brrrrrr!

Space heater, hot chocolate, and hot showers came next. We were glad to be home!

Outtakes...Easter edition

2011-04-27T13:57:00.000-05:00

He wanted a pic by himself...being goofy:

Can we sit in a more awkward position? Still pretty cute, though!

Where's Dylan?

Emmy was nibbling fingers and shirts!

Happy belated Easter!

Easter continued....

2011-04-26T13:10:00.000-05:00

Way too many Easter photos!

2011-04-25T21:34:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Easter weekend with friends and family. Leading up to the weekend, we had bible study each night with the kids. They were all so interested in the true meaning behind Easter, and what it all is really about. LOVED our studies! Their questions were pretty amazing. I'm just happy they are understanding the story of Jesus to it's full extent. I'm one proud momma!

This first pic just makes me smile. Pure joy!

And yes, they are in their swimsuits! They actually got in the pool that day--nice day, but the pool was freezing!

Giving each other bunny ears:

Some of my favorites of the eggs

Classic bed-head on Easter morning! Loving the Star Wars Mighty Beanz:

A new cd....and another case of bed-head!

Fake fingernails! She was SO excited!

yum

These make her look way too old...

Finding the eggs!

Yes, we went to church with only 1 egg still hiding. Thankfully I found it before it started stinking!

Life

2011-04-21T13:17:00.000-05:00

Lately, much of our spare time is spent at the ballfield watching Dustin and Dylan play some awesome baseball! They have both played SO well this season so far! Just this week, Dustin made a double play to win the game, and Dylan also made a double play---almost unheard of in t-ball! Way to go boys!!!

We also had the 2nd grade program at their school....so proud of our girl! Here she is with a lion hat:

And the entire 2nd grade:

She has come such a long way this school year....she even agreed to a *solo in this performance! She is an amazing singer, but no one would ever know (except for us, her family) because she is too shy to sing in front of an audience. Her music teacher even asked if she had ever had singing lessons. Nope! What a gift!
*her solo was sung with another girl and 2 boys. She was fine with that!!

So proud....love my kiddos!

Oscar and Emmy

2011-04-04T21:48:00.001-05:00

Well, thanks to some great friends, we acquired two little bunnies to add to our crazy house! They are super cute, and the kids (mostly Jo) have been BEGGING for a bunny for a long time. Well, free bunnies, cage, food, etc....how could we pass that up? They are pretty fun......

Oscar is the black and white, and Emmy is the brown. We don't know if they are boys or girls...we just hope they aren't one of each! No baby bunnies for us, please!

A conversation

2011-03-28T20:51:00.000-06:00

Dylan and I were in the car today alone...that doesn't happen very often, so he started talking away. Here is our sweet, funny conversation:
D: I have a crush on two girls.
M: Who are they?
D: A and J.
M: Oooohhh...cool. (Sounding very interested)
D: I used to have a girlfriend, but she broke up with me.
M: Why?
D: I don't know!
M: Next time, you should find out why!
D: Well, I didn't break up with her, so I still like her. Do you know what a frenemy is?
M: (containing my laughter)....no, what is a FRENEMY?
D: (in a 'duh' voice) ...a friend and an enemy!!!!

This goes on for a while, but my thoughts stayed on the term 'frenemy'. SO stinkin' funny! What in the world?
That's okay. I found out last week that he told a boy on his baseball team that he was 'a brotha from anotha motha' because they had the same mitt. Where does he hear these things? I am constantly laughing at him..he is our little comedian for sure. Well...he does have some good competition from his brotha from the same motha!!!

Busy much?

2011-03-28T12:43:00.000-06:00

Yeah, so, busy is the word of the month around here. Between gymnastics meets, baseball season starting, a beautiful wedding to attend, and our typical everyday life, we have been super busy this past month! Here is a short catch up to our life....

Dustin was chosen to represent his school with 3 other kids and present a check to Edmond Memorial High School for their annual fundraiser called Swine Week. It was AWESOME! I was so excited to go....to see him present in front of a million (okay, not exactly a million, but it was a lot!) people, and he even got to talk in the microphone! Way to go! He's much braver than I am! I also got to visit with my good friends that I used to work with....I miss them SO much!

Here he is with the check....like his 'smiley' friends? I thought that would be better than posting kids on here w/o asking their parents....I think it's kind of cute!

We also went to Josh's cousin, Cara's wedding. Here are the kiddos with the beautiful bride!

Every other week, the kids and I go to Oakcrest Church of Christ with Josh on Sunday evening. Our Sundays are busy with him preaching at Tealridge and Oakcrest, so one Sunday evening after worship, I decided we needed some time away from the normal rush of Sunday night....and what could be better than a bike ride at Lake Hefner? So that's what we did....it was just the break we all needed...it was so fun!

The water levels were down, so we found some sand to play in....yep, I'm doing a cartwheel. Still fun!

Jodee joined in on my fun:

Broken foot and all!

Dustin couldn't resist:

Dylan was having fun too...he was busy looking for dead fish and shells. Typical 6 year old boy!

Well.....I think that just about catches us up to now. We are now in the midst of baseball season, Jodee is out of her walking boot and getting ready for State meet! Let the chaos continue!!!!

The elephants are back!

2011-03-08T22:09:00.001-06:00

So....our girl elephants from the OKC zoo had a little 'date' in Tulsa. Yes, there will be a baby elephant born in OKC soon! Try explaining that to my curious little 8 year old. That was fun. HA!

Being Zoo-Friends has it's perks...we got to go to the zoo after hours tonight to see the new Asian exhibit....elephants and all! It's VERY nice....and very big, and I cannot wait till summer! It will be so fun. I am glad we went tonight....free tram rides, free carousel rides, free donuts, ....the kids were pumped! We had such a good time.

Happy Birthday, Josh!

2011-03-03T13:41:00.001-06:00

The kids and I had fun making Josh's birthday a great day for him. We also had some help from the Edmond Rangers...they brought cupcakes to practice that night! Thanks, guys!

I had some wonderful help in the kitchen getting the cookie cake iced just right.

Broken foot and all:

Determination:

I love these little hands! Look at that technique!

The finished product:

They love their daddy!

And he loves them....enough to do a silly face picture!

And I love you too!

We went out to eat to his favorite restaurant, saw some friends from church, chatted and went on our way. Little did we know....they told the waitress it was Josh's birthday, which caused him to have to sit on a saddle while we all said "Yee-haw" to him! So funny...I told him I wouldn't tell, so the look on his face was hilarious when they came around the corner with the saddle! Our sweet friends also paid for our dinner....we had no idea until we were ready to go. What a nice surprise! Thanks so much (you know who you are!)!!

Josh--hope you had a great day. Here's to the next year.....it just gets better and better! Love you!

The Foot

2011-03-01T12:53:00.000-06:00

The pic below is Jodee's broken foot. It's not terribly gross or anything, just looks bruised and swollen. Poor girl. I did give her a nice little pedicure....with blue polish.

I do have to say, it's nice to be able to take her brace off...but a cast would have been tons of fun for her. At least for a couple of days.

2011-02-25T13:25:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to throw some random pics on here....

Jodee and my gymnastics hero...Nadia Comaneci

Dustin at a bball game....watching, waiting for his turn! They finished the season with an awesome game...they won and everyone on his team scored! Woohoo!

Dylan sporting his 100th day of school hat:

Jodee's amazingly sweet card she made for her brothers:

Here is what it says exactly as she wrote it:
Dylan you are:
Deffinatly awesome
Young
Loveable
Amazing
Nothinig but good.

I hope you feel better!

Dustin you are
Deffinatly awesome
Unique
Sparkling with Love
the awesome one
involve everybody
nothing but good

congratulations on your (orange) belt!

On the back cover:
You are the best brothers in the world!

I was amazed. How incredibly precious is that? Aaaaahhhhhh....maybe we are doing something right. With God's help and direction, that is!

In case you were wondering...the orange belt refers to his playing the recorder at school in music class. They do 'recorder karate' and move up according to the colors of belts in karate. He is a pretty good recorder player! He has passed every test so far.

Wow. These kids are awesome....Jodee put it just right.

It was bound to happen.

2011-02-23T13:07:00.000-06:00

There's a first time for everything...even broken bones. Jodee is the victim this time around....fractured two little bones in her foot falling off of the balance beam at gymnastics. BUMMER! We will be seeing an orthopedic dr soon to see if we need to take any further action, or just let it heal. Not sure what this means for the rest of her meet season; she might get to compete at State, but we just don't know yet.

Here she is checking out the x-rays:

This looks way worse in person, but you can kind of see the swollen area and bruise:

And, as Josh puts it, her new fashion accessory!

I think she's enjoying the attention for now....I'm sure it will wear off soon enough! Poor girl. Here's to hoping there's no surgery in our future!

Stuff

2011-02-17T14:58:00.000-06:00

Jodee had one of her best friends stay the night and we made chocolate milk dippin' dots for the next morning...YUM!

That same night Dylan was invited by one of his good buddies to go to a rodeo! He absolutely loved it!

I surprised the kids (and Josh) with valentine donuts from Krispy Kreme. They were all very happy! I just liked the fact that they were heart shaped donuts.

Here is a sweet note from my girl. She came up with it all on her own. I will be uploading the card she gave to her brothers soon...you will definitely want to see that one!

This one makes me smile...I'm mature, open hearted, most nice and loveable. Gotta love it!

This child is growing up WAY too fast. He lost this tooth....a molar....and on Valentine's day he lost another tooth. He is also only a couple inches shorter than me, wears a bigger shoe than I do...and he's loving every minute of it!

Our kids are SO funny sometimes! Here they are showing off their muscles:

Dylan and his "gills". Yep...he thinks he has gills. I won't correct him for a while. I think it's cute.

Memories

2011-02-14T14:42:00.001-06:00

Well, thanks to good ol' Oklahoma weather, we are back to 'nice' weather this week...and loving it! It seems like our snow days are just memories now. It's weird to think that it was just last week! Here are some more pics to remember last week.

Playing with baby Rudy. So glad he puts up with this! And, no, Jodee had not brushed her hair yet when this pic was taken. Yikes!

Getting icicles any way we can:

Playing in our snow fort

Self portraits...not easy trying to get 4 people in a shot!

I forgot

2011-02-08T17:35:00.001-06:00

The kids have their school book fair going on right now....but with all of the snow days, I forgot to send money. So Dustin calls me this morning asking for money, and I nicely delivered it to school....an envelope for each kid. But..since I wasn't expecting them to buy anything today, they didn't get my "book fairs are for buying books, nothing else" speech. So...this is what the 6 year old came home with:

Some favorites

2011-02-08T09:06:00.000-06:00

Making snow ice cream

Yum!

Dustin

Dylan

Jodee

Got snow?

2011-02-04T09:53:00.000-06:00

I love snow! Maybe it's from years of living in Iowa, where we had no choice but to learn to like it....but if it's going to be cold, it might as well snow! Oklahoma definitely got it this week...the kids made it to school on Monday...that's it! I think the grand total was 10 to 12 inches...something like that, at least where we live. We have really enjoyed it! Sledding every day, hot chocolate, movies, snow ice cream, building a 'fort'...no snow man though...it wouldn't stick together! As I'm typing this, it's snowing again! Loving it..although, I do have to get out and go judge a gymnastics meet today and tomorrow! I know I can drive on these roads, (thanks to driver's ed in winter in Iowa)....I'm just not sure about the other people on the road!

The dogs love it:

The kids love it:

The parents love it:

The front door of the house wasn't too sure about the 50 mph winds blowing the snow inside. I was a little shocked to see that I had to sweep snow OUT of my house Tuesday morning!

A little taste of what we've been doing

2011-02-03T10:52:00.001-06:00

The first 2 sledders are Dustin and Jodee....we all had a blast even though it was FREEZING!!!

SCU Force!

2011-01-31T13:15:00.000-06:00

Dustin LOVES basketball! We got him on a great team at Sports City U this year, and he is having a blast!

Check out this action shot...love that his feet are off the floor! Look at that form!

Prayer before every game...

Having a good time!

I'm throwing this pic in here at the end...just because I love it! This is Miley, Dustin's dog...she is precious. So sweet and good natured with all the kids (even my babysitting kiddos that like to lay on top of her!). I think she is so cute all curled up in this picture!

A little of everything

2011-01-27T09:28:00.001-06:00

I realized I have left a LOT out of the blog....the craziness of life has taken over all of my time! From being a supportive wife of an adult college student, the mom of 3 awesome kiddos, a child care provider for 6 kids, coaching and judging gymnastics, learning to live gluten-free (and learning from the consequences of NOT being gluten free), learning to really use coupons.....needless to say, the blog has taken the backseat! I feel like we are living in fast forward, but we are trying so hard to enjoy and savor every moment we have as a family. Here are just a few pictures to remind me of this time:

The eclipse....we all woke up, with the exception of Dylan, to see this amazing sight. It was beautiful!

We spent some good, quality time at Science Museum Oklahoma learning to ride on a segway,

catching shadow rocks in our mouths,

and learning about crime scene investigations (and autopsies!).

Christmas morning was so fun! I love the excitement on their faces!

Especially the excitement of a 6 year old:

So sweet...

And my own excitement....getting NKOTB tickets for next summer!

Yeah...I have some tough boys:

Fun times with cousins in Texas

LOTS of cousins!

We are so very blessed.

Uncle Jordan and Aunt Jen

2011-01-17T21:18:00.001-06:00

What a fun weekend! Josh's brother Jordan and his wife Jen came up for a visit--we love those cheap airline tickets! We had a a wonderful time just hanging out relaxing, watching movies, playing games...and also throw in a trip to the science museum and the zoo...and that was our weekend! Couldn't have been any better. I didn't take a whole lot of pictures....but here is one:

We love you Jordan and Jen!

11

2011-01-03T13:27:00.000-06:00

Not sure how this is even possible..but I have an 11 year old. Just C.R.A.Z.Y. Time has flown by...Dustin is in 5th grade--top of the food chain in elementary school, soon to be in middle school, soon to be a TEENAGER!!!! Where did the time go? He is such a fun kiddo...always making us laugh at something..he is very quick with jokes and knows how to be sarcastic to make it funny. I love it! Sometimes he seems so old, and other times it's very evident he's only a child. Love you Dusty!

We had a 'friend' party the first day of winter break...and of course, it was football time! Too bad we couldn't invite all of his friends...he would have loved that! They had a blast, and thanks to my cousin Taylor, and to Josh, they had refs and quarterbacks.

Here is part of the group:

Here is Dustin and his best buddy checking out a new game:

Had a basketball game the same day as his party: he is loving this basketball team!

And, his family party....his basketball number is 25:

We now have 3 pillow pets in our house!

Dylan really likes the empty box:

Dustin's newest prized possession....and the only present he wanted from us:

Personalized with his nickname his daddy has called him since he was born:

The kiddos and their awesome big brother!

Happy Birthday, Dustin!!!

Cool Christmas present

2011-01-02T13:04:00.000-06:00

One of the coolest presents we got for the kids this Christmas was a family pass to the Science Museum. We usually buy one every other year, but they had no idea they were getting one right now! With Josh in school, and me 'bringing home the bacon', we had already told them we just don't have a lot of money, so be happy with what you get! I got a great deal on groupon.com back in September for a 1/2 off year membership....it was SO hard to keep it a secret! We gave them this present a couple days early so we could use it before we went to Texas....it was SO worth it!

Check out this illusion:

And, my favorite new exhibit...a crime scene investigation....here is the autopsy room:

We love Science Museum Oklahoma!

Here Comes Santa Claus!

2010-12-24T09:14:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas!

All things Christmas (part 1)

2010-12-21T15:26:00.000-06:00

Christmas caroling at the Gateway apartments with Memorial Road church of Christ:

Dylan looking cool with his buddy:

Dustin--always getting a laugh!

Jodee and me trying to stay warm!

Josh and me...

Santa pictures at the mall (I will upload the actual pic later!)

Finally, decorating the tree....each kiddo has their own new ornament that they pick out. They love it! We always decorate the weekend of Thanksgiving..my blog is just a little behind.

Dustin's honors choir caroling in downtown Edmond:

We love this time of year! It's busy, but oh so much fun!

Zoo meet

2010-12-08T22:42:00.000-06:00

The first gymnastics meet of the year is called the Zoo Meet..always has been. It's a crazy mess of people! But oh, so much fun! Jodee had a great meet--already qualified to sectionals! Way to go, Jo! I am not quite talented enough to put a video on my blog, so if you want to see the meet, look at my facebook page!

These are some of my favorite unedited pics from that day:

Beautiful gymnast

Look at those straight legs and pointed toes!!

B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L

Woohoo!!! On the awards stand!

A judge and a gymnast....

And a random funny picture of Dylan sound asleep:

More Halloween fun!

2010-12-06T21:18:00.000-06:00

Okay, here is my sad attempt to look like Hannah Montana....and I have my 'dad' here, Billy Ray. Yes...you might have heard that we performed that evening, the Hoedown Throwdown. Yes, my 'dad' upstaged me and really went all out while I laughed. I'm definitely no Hannah Montana! But, it was fun...and the dance is stuck in my head now.

Fun at my mom's:

Did you know you can carve mini pumpkins? We had no idea till Jodee brought some home from school...and we just went for it. It turned out pretty cute!

Halloween and Vocabulary Parade

2010-12-06T21:10:00.000-06:00

Taylor Swift, anyone?

Taylor Swift, Jason, and Darth Vader

Darth:

We got to meet "Otto" from Science Museum Oklahoma at Haunt the Zoo.....so much fun!

The kids (well, 2 of my kids) participated in the vocabulary parade at school...very neat idea. Find a word you didn't know already, and dress up like that word! We have wingding and confection:

More updates to follow!

Thankful

2010-12-01T13:20:00.004-06:00

I know I have skipped a lot lately....but I promise to catch up! Everything will be a little out of order, but oh well!

I just have to say how tremendously thankful I am for my family, my friends, and my God. This week has really opened my eyes...and the need to appreciate everyone and everything God has put into our lives. We are all so blessed with the hope of eternity with Him.

Phillipians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Jal, NM

2010-11-12T13:16:00.000-06:00

There's nothing like visiting great grandparents...we love it! It's so nice that all of Josh's grandparents live in the same little town in New Mexico. We always have a wonderful time there...enjoying the slow pace of life. Edmond doesn't seem to offer us a slow pace very often!

Love this pic taken right outside of Jal:

I'm sure I'll play around with it a little to add to it..but it's just adorable!

Here is the infamous 'Jal Sculpture'...remember it....

Pop Pop and KK with the kiddos:

Nana and Dandy Don with the kiddos:

Feeding the ducks at Jal lake:

Remember the sculpture? Here is one part of it with the kids:

And, although I'm sad that the kids are growing up WAY too fast, it makes me happy that they like each other enough to spend 9 hours in the car together without fighting. They were GREAT!

Love you Pop pop and KK, and Nana and Dandy! We had such a fun time visiting!

Winner!

2010-11-07T21:20:00.000-06:00

Estimation station has a winner: Dustin Fowler!!

He won a 29 pound pumpkin, with a 40" circumference...HUGE PUMPKIN!!!

Rock n Roll Forever

2010-11-06T21:39:00.000-06:00

The Orvis Risner Elementary 5th graders had their program a couple of weeks ago....Rock and Roll!!! It was so cute....their music teacher is wonderful! She did a great job!

Dustin doin' his thing:

His speaking part: "Thank you. Thank you very much," in the deepest voice I've ever heard him use! So cute...my little Elvis.

He's also in the Honors Choir....he got a solo! He sings the boy part of "Don't Stop Believing". SO COOL!! I will try to get a video uploaded soon.

Our baby girl is 8!

2010-11-02T17:09:00.000-06:00

Where have the past 8 years gone? So many things happened eight years ago. We moved into our house 8 years ago. Spent a few nights in the hospital sick, thinking she was going to come 2 months early. Made it to the due date! We doubled the amount of children we had 8 years ago. We added a sweet, loving, funny, talented little girl to our family!!! Jodee is amazing! She is a great singer, loves to play her guitar, piano, and any other instrument she can find. She is a talented gymnast, competing at level 4. She is loving and sweet and motherly to her 2 brothers. I'm sure they don't always appreciate it, but she is watching out for them! She has some incredible questions about God and Jesus and the bible. Love this girl!

So excited!

Had 'show and tell' with grandma's snake at her party!

What a fun time. She had 2 great parties thanks to our family and friends! Happy Birthday Jodee!

Jodee

2010-10-10T11:12:00.000-05:00

First of all, today my baby girl is 8. What a cool day to have a birthday: 10-10-10! Too bad she's not turning 10! I will save her birthday post for later...after I have some fun pictures!

What this post was really going to be about, is the fact that my daughter is going to be completely toothless soon. She lost ANOTHER one! And, only has one adult tooth in place of the 6 baby teeth that she's lost.

Check it out:

Oh, to be 8 again!

Sea lions....SO cute!

2010-09-27T17:57:00.000-05:00

We splurged a little at the fair this year, and got the kids' picture with the sea lions. Aren't they cute?

Summer birthdays

2010-09-25T19:55:00.000-05:00

There are a lot of adults in my family with birthdays in the summer (or close to summer). 7 to be exact. So, we have been celebrating with one BIG party all together...much easier than 7 different get-togethers with everyone so busy or out of town! Here is a peek of our 2010 party:

Our sand castle cake:

The birthday girls...all 7. See the picture next to the cake?

We had so much fun! We missed you, Heidi!

Had to throw this picture in...someone gave Rudy a mohawk.

I found more pictures....from Kansas!

2010-09-19T21:03:00.001-05:00

I totally forgot I had these pictures....they hadn't made it onto my computer yet, so I had nothing to work with until yesterday. I really am surprised when I see these....we crammed so many activities into our last week in Kansas. Wow. I must have been tired after all of this!

One thing we HAD to do was go back to visit the Crown Center in Kansas City. We had been there once with Josh, but we needed to go back and play a little more before we moved back home. One of our favorite places in the Crown Center is Chips...the chocolate factory. YUM. We each got a little something, and took some cookies n' cream fudge back home to Josh.

Right outside the Crown Center is a sprayground of sorts....water fountains that spray to music. We were not prepared the first time we went, so this time we had swimsuits, towels, sunscreen, etc. We were set!

Here are the kiddos at a Clifford exhibit in the mall...they had fun, but they would have liked it better if they were a little younger. Oh well...we do what we can!

One of my favorite things about Olathe was the fact that every Sunday and Wednesday night after church, we didn't rush home, but instead we stayed outside and a lot of the kids from the congregation would play ball, ride bikes, scooters, whatever. It was a great time of fellowship with other parents and kids.

This pic is of Dylan and his spark scooter. Yes, it's blurry, but you get the idea. Very cool present from Santa last year!

We also fit one more trip to the KC zoo in our week. It was worth it!

And of course, the freebies....Deanna Rose Farm! We fished:

Fed goats:

And panned for 'gems':

We loved our time in Kansas....and miss our friends there!

Having fun!

2010-09-15T21:37:00.000-05:00

We have enjoyed being back home, and back into a routine. The kids are loving school--their teachers are the BEST! We are so blessed this year with caring, understanding, wonderful teachers! I am so relieved about that!

We have been having fun in 'our' back field. We call it ours, but unfortunately, it's owned by Edmond Public Schools. That doesn't change the fact that we absolutely love living by a huge field!

This is what we've been using it for lately:

All 3 kiddos have so much fun riding our little dirt bike!

This next picture was a funny one that I just ran across....thought it might give someone a laugh.

Fritz's

2010-08-28T21:52:00.000-05:00

This is a REALLY cool restaurant in Kansas....I think it's only in Kansas, but I could be totally wrong. We had fun there, it's all about the trains! You call in your order from your booth/table, and a train brings your food to you! Dylan was the most excited by far, but we all had fun!

We also enjoyed the complimentary engineer hats:

This next pic is a little disturbing..he was being silly, but look at his neck!!!

Ahh....much better:

Here's a train:

And, our basket of food being lowered to us:

Pretty neat, huh? The food was good, too! Almost reminded us of Freddy's, here in Edmond. YUM!

School time!

2010-08-21T11:42:00.000-05:00

We have started this school year wonderfully! I really am having a difficult time realizing I have a 5th grader, though. WOW! Thankfully, he loves his teacher, loves his friends, and was excited to head back to school....last year in elementary school.

Our sweet little 2nd grader was SO ready for school to start! She loves everything about school. She got a new teacher this year (meaning new to the school, and we didn't know her yet), and we are both so happy with her! I already received a nice phone call from her about how helpful Jodee was, and how pleased she was to have Jo in the class.

And, our fun little first grader. He got a teacher that Dustin had in 1st grade, so that is a huge blessing! She is great with boys, so I know Dylan will do just fine! He was all smiles when we went to meet her on Tuesday. So cute!

Ah, yes, our annual pic in front of the sign. They don't fight me on it, so I just keep doing it! We love Orvis Risner....such a diverse group of kids, so good for them to all learn how to get along with everyone!

Dylan did have a birthday this summer!

2010-08-18T23:06:00.000-05:00

We drove the 5 hours to spend Dylan's 6th birthday with friends and family in Oklahoma. It was wonderful! We had just a small party at Chuck E. Cheese--one of our favorite places!

Here are some of the boys on our way to CEC:

The group:

Having fun:

We celebrated with family that night....love this reaction!

And, his beloved pillow pet:

This was after opening and enjoying his other gifts....DS and pillow pet...what more could a 6 year old boy want?

Dylan with Tasha Grandma:

Dylan (being cheesy!) with Grandma:

Happy Birthday to my sweet 6 year old. He's starting first grade tomorrow. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone!

Summer Miscellany

2010-08-12T23:37:00.000-05:00

These pictures are so out of order it's not even funny. But, I felt the need to get them on here so I don't forget certain things about our crazy summer!

First, Josh and I had the wonderful opportunity to go on a date before we moved to Olathe. We went downtown, rode the boat on the canal (he had never done that!!), ate dinner and bowled at Red Pin. It was a great date!

Had to show that I beat him at bowling....this never happens! I loved it!

I took the kids on one last excursion to the OKC Zoo before we left for Kansas...look at my little hoodlums!

This pic cracks me up!

Also, one last trip to Martin Park:

These next few are some faves from Olathe...they have amazing city swimming pools there! Dustin and Jodee jumped off the high dive! They absolutely loved it!

They also had a basketball goal....here is Dylan about to make a basket:

Fun times had by all....

McCracken's Gymnastics

2010-08-12T23:31:00.000-05:00

The kids had a blast this summer taking classes at McCracken's in Olathe. We also were able to go to open gym our last 'free' Saturday in Kansas--it was so much fun!

American Girl....Chicago style!!!

2010-08-04T00:13:00.001-05:00

While at the pier, we saw so many people with American Girl shopping bags, so we figured it must be close by. We got directions, and Jodee and I were on our way!

First stop--the mac-n-cheese statue.....if you know Jodee, you know this statue is ALL Jodee!!! This girl would eat macaroni and cheese for every meal if I let her!

Our walk, I mean hike, I mean marathon to the American Girl store took us right by Lake Michigan.

She had to stop to play in the sand:

After walking for what felt like forever...and realizing we missed our tunnel that we were supposed to take so we ended up walking farther than we should have, we finally found it!

This one is incredible. We found Jodee's doll, Julie....

And another setup of Julie.....this one was cool because it was all stuff from the 70's. They have a bike you can purchase for the doll....only $80!!! I told Jo that was more than her own bike was worth, so Julie could just ride along with her on her big bike. Craziness!!

We spent a good 1 1/2 hours walking around in there. Only spent a little bit...bought 1 birthday present, and Jo spent some of her own money. It was so fun though!! We were glad we went.

We were wiped out and starving after the long walk and missing out on dinner with the boys, so we stopped at Jamba Juice...YUM!

This was our view walking back to the pier....

And a random, neat looking building...

This just about does it for Chicago, I think. Once again, thanks to NAWGJ for sending me to Chicago for the symposium! Our vacation would have been Kansas City had it not been for my judging!!

Navy Pier

2010-08-03T13:56:00.000-05:00

One of the coolest places we visited in Chicago:

It was hard for the kids to believe this was a lake, not the ocean!

Anyone recognize this car???

One of the free shows inside (nice and air conditioned!) the Navy Pier mall:

Of course, our least outgoing child gets picked to be part of the magic show--but she did it! I was so proud of her!!

Dylan was WORN OUT! We took a boat tour around the pier, but he was asleep before we left the dock!

My sweet family:

The enormous ferris wheel! It was amazing. It was continuous---didn't even stop to let people on or off--you have to be quick! And it took 7 minutes to go around once. SO TALL!! It was fun!

Miniature golf while Jodee and I went on a forever long hike to the American Girl store:

Beautiful.

We rode again at night...Dylan suffered through this ride. Can you see him holding himself? He had to use the restroom SO bad! I felt terrible for my little guy!

fireworks..love 'em.

They had a great, exhausting day!

Souvenirs and Oprah!

2010-08-01T22:14:00.000-05:00

We gave the kids $20 a few weeks ago and said they could spend it on souvenirs in Chicago or Kansas City, or both! Here is what we ended up with, so far:

A White Sox ball and Chicago Cubs bat:

A noisy (but cute) monkey that says "hugs from Chicago", and a princess bracelet with crown box for Jo:

And a ball signed by the White Sox for Dustin:

They were and still are pleased with their selections!! So glad!!

The one place I wanted to make it by while in Chicago was Harpo studios....and we found it!!

We also went into the Oprah store--wow--want an O on a shirt? They have 'em! It was fun to see all of the things they had. I didn't spend a dime...but so happy that I got to see where she filmed her show!

(Don't mind the random people in the above pic....those tourists!! haha!)

Family

2010-07-31T22:29:00.000-05:00

Some of my family happened to be travelling through Chicago the same weekend we were there, and it was so nice to be able to visit!! We went out to eat with them.....'them' being my dad, aunt Sandy, aunt LaVaun, and my Grandma K. Sandy and LaVaun had never met the kids, so it was wonderful for the kids to meet them! (My brother was there too, but was sick!!! We missed him!!)

Had to throw in a funny one of Dylan eating a lemon:

My family with Grandma K:

All of us (minus Josh, the photographer!)

Had so much fun seeing everyone!!

Transformers 3 anyone?

2010-07-31T22:22:00.000-05:00

While in Chicago on July 16th, Transformers 3 happened to be filming!! We got to see some cars on fire, a car hanging on a bridge, some huge piles of concrete (well, styrofoam that looked like concrete!). No actors, unfortunately. They showed on the news that Patrick Dempsey had been there that day filming, but we missed him!

Can you see the car hanging over the edge?

Pretty cool...Dustin is eagerly anticipating the new movie!!!

And there's more.....

2010-07-31T22:15:00.000-05:00

There were some amazing buildings in Chicago:

Some great street performers:

Some famous places, like Billy Goat Tavern on SNL:

Some more famous, amazing buildings, like the Trump Tower:

Fun times with family (like my aunt Sandy):

Up close and personal with the Trump tower, thanks to my dad!! It was incredible. We walked through the lobby, the restaurant, and I checked out the bathrooms....just to look! It was crazy....

This was walking through the lobby:

After walking VERY far to meet up with my dad and Sandy, we took the water taxi back to Union Station....aaaaahhhhh.

Two happy boys:

Riding the rails....and the Sears Tower

2010-07-28T23:33:00.001-05:00

Thursday, July 15th, we decided to try the train to get into Chicago.....definitely the way to go!! Kids are free in the summer, we didn't have to worry about crazy taxi drivers, and we didn't have to pay to park! That's my kind of travelling!

Yes, they are LOUD!

Enjoying our ride!

My favorite part is that they have a conductor (actually wearing a 'conductor's hat') come through and punch your tickets.....just like in The Polar Express!! I had no idea...we were totally reenacting the scene from Polar Express.....it was SO much fun!

We decided to go have a look at the Sears Tower....aka the Willis Tower, it's new name. I don't think anyone will ever call it anything other than the Sears Tower!

Awesome pic from my personal photographer, Josh:

Yep...that's how many stairs there are to the top! Nope...we did not walk up them!

We did, however, ride in the elevator!

Amazing.......

Here are the kids standing on the glass floor out over the edge of the building: YIKES!

Wow...they are brave!!! Or crazy?

So much fun....so worth every penny....

Continuing Chicago...

2010-07-26T09:40:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's going to take me a few posts to get all of our Chicago trip on here!!

After our walk through Millenium Park, we were starving, and we found Pizanos. Perfect (if you know my children) !! It was a typical Chicago pizza restaurant....DELICIOUS!

We then headed on a 'short' walk to Buckingham Fountain...key word is short. Someone told us it wasn't very far...hahaha....joke was on us! We made it though, and it was worth it. Beautiful, huge, famous, fountain.

I believe that was the end of Wednesday. After making it back to our car we drove to our hotel in Itasca, where my symposium was being held, and found our room, relaxed, and swam in the pool. We were all a little exhausted!

The next day I had classes all day, so Josh took the kids on a trip to Lincoln Park. It sounded like they loved it! Did you know it doesn't cost a thing to go to the zoo there? What??? Free, in Chicago? Never would have known. So glad they went!

Here they are in the car being goofy....I love this pic!

Lincoln Park Zoo

They got to see polar bears!!!

The kids with the skyline...lovin' it!

This one just makes me laugh!!!

Well, that's all for now....

Chicago!!!!

2010-07-24T00:07:00.000-05:00

We took our family vacation to Chicago this summer....thanks to NAWGJ (National Association of Women's Gymnastics Judges). We had our national symposium there this July, so instead of going by myself, we decided to all go! It was awesome! The kids had never been on a plane...so that in itself was exciting to them! Here are the boys: ( I didn't get one of Josh, but I promise he was there!)

Me and Jo:

All in all, the plane ride was decent. A pretty rough landing, but it didn't bother the kids. Only me! We were fine though, and the kids were so happy!

Our 'red hot chili pepper' rental car: Jodee calls it this because of her Mimi's own little red hot chili pepper car! We had fun..and it got GREAT gas mileage! The kids were not used to being so close to each other, but it was perfect for the 5 days we were there.

Our first pic of the Chicago skyline:

First stop: Millenium Park! It was incredible. Here is the stage--they had a live orchestra playing here...beautiful.

Ahhh....the 'bean'. I think it has a real name, but most people know it as The Bean. A huge bean shaped mirror, basically. We had fun with it!

Our family reflection:

A nice lady offered to take our pic for us....then nicely asked for a donation.

This was pretty cool too (haha..pun intended!) They had a huge water area, where it looked like the picture was spitting water out....it was nice to get cooled off!

Too bad they didn't have their swimsuits!

That is not even all of day one....it's going to take me a while to get to all 5 days! We had fun...I learned a lot, and we got to have a nice vacation! Who could ask for more?

KC Riverfest

2010-07-12T09:54:00.000-05:00

For the 4th of July, we decided to invite the youth group to go to the Kansas City Riverfest with us. I was excited to be in a new place for the 4th, and I just knew the fireworks were going to be beautiful right on the river! The Radio Disney roadcrew was there, so the kids were ecstatic! We love Radio Disney, so this was just perfect. They also had moonbounces and other play things, but you couldn't do just one, so I didn't want to waste our money on wristbands for the kids (since we're going to Chicago this week!). Dustin decided to spend his own money, and was glad he did. He had a blast! And, surprisingly enough, the other kids didn't mind.

A group of teens that rode together left early, so we just had 2 with us....I felt bad at first, thinking they were 'stuck' with our family, but at the end of the night they said they had the best time and that the others had missed out. Made me feel better!

We had dinner there...nothing like fried pickle chips, nachos, and a gyro! Whew....my body wondered what I was doing to it! But man, I love fried pickles!

About 9:00 that evening, it started POURING!!! We were already by the stage with the Radio Disney people, so I was happy to stay where I was. Another artist came on stage to sing after the roadcrew was done, and he was good, but not someone I would have sat and listened to for an hour! It was the best audience I think the guy had ever had...but he knew why we were all there! He was very appreciative for the rain! Dustin and the two teens we had with us decided to go play on the moonbounces in the rain---they had a BLAST!!! It was great! Dylan, Jodee, Josh,and I just chilled under the tent, listening to music.

The fireworks still went off as planned....it did stop raining for a bit so we could enjoy the show. But, as we walked to the car, it started pouring again! So funny...by this time I knew my car was going to be nasty, and there was nothing we could do about it! Might as well make the best of it all, right?

Here is Dustin dancing with the Radio Disney roadcrew:

He did an air guitar contest and WON!!

Dylan dancing:

Our kids with the cool road crew:

I have to give some credit to Jodee too....she did get up and dance the Macarena....and then she wouldn't do anything else. When we got her home that night, she was running a fever! Poor girl..no wonder she didn't feel like dancin'!

Here is Dustin jousting with Sam:

Love this pic:

Sweet Jodee...not feeling very good:

Beautiful:

Hope everyone had a great 4th!