45rpm vinyl birthday

Okay okay, "I am late I am late for a very important date!" The holidays have been speeding by on a roller coaster and both William and I have been deficient on blogging. I wanted to start the rectification process today by backing up a few days to December 21st. This is the day that we celebrated William's 45th birthday.

William you are wonderful to all of us. You are always so generous with your love, time. and yourself to keep all of us going. You are as cool as a vinyl 45 record and I hope that you enjoyed your 45th birthday. (I had to tie in the title somehow!)

Thanks for all that you do for us! We love you very much! Happy Birthday!


PS- Christmas blog/ Cricket's birthday blog/ New year's blog all coming soon!

Cricket's birthday is today! Happy Birthday Cricket!!

Gobble Gobble

I hope all of you have as much to be thankful for as I do. Each and everyday is a gift, and I am thankful for all of the truly wonderful people in my life.

Now........go get that extra piece of pie......it's OK......it's a holiday. Eat, drink, and be merry.

William

"Give me Candy"

Well, our dentist's favorite holiday came and went last night, and our two monsters milked it for all it was worth. Christopher and Aidan are to Halloween as Butch and Sundance were to banks. "If it's there for the taking, why not take it all" is there motto. Let me tell you, they are boys of conviction and live by their creed.

I knew that we were in trouble as soon as I asked Christopher if he knew what to say when he went to the door. "Give me candy" was his answer, and he was not going to take no for an answer. After explaining the whole "trick or treat" thing, and the "thank you" that followed, I hoped (and prayed) we were ready.

Dressed in their disguises, the two bandits pilfered the neighborhood with reckless abandonment (and politeness). At the end of the night , they could only smile (and stuff their faces with candy) as the carnage lay before them. Ahhhhhh.......the sweet taste of victory!





William

Like The Wind

Today my wonderful wife started the Chicago Marathon at 8:22am. Run like the wind honey and make those dreams come true.

You are an inspiration to us all.

William

Endless Smiles

Well, the time has finally come for a proper update. These last few one paragraphs blogs just won't do. Nope, this one will be chock full of my endless verbiage. So, if you can stomach it, read on.

A couple of birthdays have come and gone, and nary a picture on the blog to show for it. Blasphemy it is, a down right scandal. I wish I could claim some glorious or sanctimonious reason for such a blatant disregard for blogging punctuality, but I can't. I am ashamed. I hope a can begin the healing process and make amends by going back in time about one month, and showing you what was missed.

Our youngest primate turned 3 on August 22nd. It's really hard to believe that a boy could become this mean fantastic in only 3 years time. Even though he works every last nerve in our bodies on a daily basis, we wouldn't trade him for anything. Having him around keeps us permanently flustered perpetually young.

Christopher decided this year, that he wanted pink cupcakes for his birthday. Pink happens to currently be his favorite color (and coincidentally the bane of dad's existence). Since pink is his favorite color, Betty Crocker (AKA Lori) decided to delve into her bag of tricks, and create her version of funcakes. I would say the result was outstanding.


Christopher of course loved them, and was ready to blow out the candles and devour some piggies!


I hope I get my wish!



Christopher got everything he wanted and then some. Spoiled rotten that boy is. His main present was his very first bike, and he took to it like a duck to water. On with the robot helmet, over with the leg, and zoom.......keep up if you can.......


Aidan even got into the birthday action by bouncing on Christopher's new pink (uhhhhhhhh.....just shoot me now) bounce pony.


Here are Lori and Cricket looking beautiful, sweet, and innocent.


Please do not let this look fool you. Once they are on the silly string battle field, these two crack shots are as lethal as they come.


What exactly are they both looking at you ask? Well,


take a guess. Yep, deceptive guerrilla warfare at it's finest. Oh, there will be payback....don't you worry about that. Payback.....with a capital P! One can only wonder where such training was learned and subsequently honed to perfection. Hmmmmmm.....any ideas Nana?

The passing of Christopher's birthday could only mean one thing around here........three more weeks until we all partake in Aidan's mirthful birthday festivities. It, like everything else these day, arrived in a flash.

Aidan turned 8 years old on September 13th. 8 years........wow.......it feels like 20! How can he only be 8 years old? Surely that must be wrong. How is it even possible to be that hard headed with only 8 years to perfect his craft? A master I tell you. A virtuoso.

Aidan has been reading the Guardians of Ga'Hoole book series. The books are great, and he is learning quite a bit about owls. Keeping with that theme, Mrs Crocker(Lori) decided to once again display her creative baking skills, and produced these gems.


Aidan of course loved them, and made an insightful wish as he blew out the candles.


(Thank God he didn't choose pink)

We had a small family get together for his birthday, and he had a great time sharing his birthday with his cousins.


Nana and PawPaw sent a great cookie bouquet for the occasion,


and I be you can guess who was first in line.


Aidan got lots of great gifts, and he was really excited about his RAZOR RIP RIDER. Here he is explaining the finer nuances of spin control to his cousin Wyatt.


Aidan is very lucky that his 3 wheeling machine has a weight limit, or he might not ever pry it away from daddy. Lori loves playing on it, and it looks like fun. I have yet to find an adult one, but when I do, look out.

Three weeks, 2 birthdays, endless smiles. Life is good.

William

Inspired

I am hoping to find time over the next few days to post a massive update to the blog. Sorry for the delays. We have had a couple of birthdays and various other picture taking opportunities, and the results are waiting to be posted. I will not fail.

William

The Big Snowman!

Happy 8th birthday Monkeyboy Aidan! I can't believe it has already been 8 years! You are such a special and wonderful boy and we are so proud to have you as our son. The last 8 years have been spectacular and we have loved every minute that you have been in our lives. Welcome to the big snowman (8) Aidan!

Pictures and full blog to come as we are overdue to blog on Christopher's birthday.

Lori

Lollygagging

Nope, I don't really have a good excuse for being late with the blog. I wish I could blame writers block, or some other viable excuse, but that would be a lie. No, It's simply a case of me being too lazy to sit at the computer and type up a blog. Well, as of this morning that has change. I am here, and my finger are pulsing with energy, just waiting to be unleashed on the keyboard.

A few weeks ago, the family unit got the opportunity to take one more summer vacation before the new school year started. Once again, our wonderful friends Kenny and Hailey invited us down to their Galveston beach house for a long weekend. We of course accepted immediately.

As I have said in the past, I like to drive at night. The kids sleep (Lori too...most of the time), and there is a whole lot less traffic. No bathroom breaks, no food breaks, just straight driving. It's exactly 331 miles from our driveway to Ken and Hailey's beach house. Setting the cruise on 71ish mph, gets us there in 4 1/2 hours. We left on Wednesday night at 10pm, and arrived (very sleepily) at 2:30. After unpacking and de-stressing, we went to bed around 3:15am. Some people think it's crazy to drive so late, but doing this actually gives us a whole extra day to enjoy the beach. Who can turn down an extra day at the beach?

We actually got to sleep in a little on Thursday morning. I believe the kids made it to 7:00am instead of their usual 6:00am. Hey, it's a start at least...baby steps...baby steps. Before you know it, we will be living like kings and queens and sleeping until.......wait for it..........8:00am on the weekends. Oh to dream......

After getting up and playing around the house for a while (Lori of course went running on the beach), we loaded up and headed out to our sandy and salty paradise. We all love the beach, even Mystic. I do not think I ever see Mystic happier than I do when I tell her it's OK to go swimming. She is truly a water dog. I guess you could say we are an entire "water family". We all light up like a Christmas tree when we dip our toes in the big blue.

After spending a few hours at the beach (and forgetting to take any pictures), we went back to the beach house and waited eagerly for our hosts to arrive. Unfortunately for Ken, he ended up having to work late, so after calling me to inform me that they would not be arriving until almost 11:00pm, I fired up the grill, and cooked some chicken fajitas, and carne asada. Yummy.

We were all pretty tired after dinner, and went out on the deck to relax. As the sun started to set, a magnificent sky emerged, and the beauty was something to behold. Here is a picture of Aidan and Christopher with as gorgeous a backdrop as you will ever see.


Here is one more with all three of my angels.


The boys were really tired, and they went into their bedroom so Aidan could read him a book. Christopher was all smiles.


He really loves his big brother.


Christopher got into his bed shortly after, and they both were asleep in minutes. Lori and I waited down stairs for our host to arrive while enjoying some cold margaritas, and good music. Kenny, Hailey, Carley and Aubrey arrived about 10:30pm, and after helping them unload their things, we all were dog tired, and went to bed.

Friday started out with a good breakfast of bacon, pancakes and eggs. We played around the house in the early part of the day, and then we headed to the beach. The waves we quite small this trip so we did not get to use our boogie boards very much. We still frolicked in the water and played in the sand. Here is Christopher burying his mom.


While the great cover-up was going on behind us, Ken and I were enjoying the serenity, and contemplating life in general.


We left the beach around 5:00pm, and headed back to the beach house to start preparing dinner. I had picked up some tenderloin steaks before we left home, and tonight they were scheduled to be sacrificed. We fired up the grill, shucked some corn, and opened a couple of JW Dundees Honey Brown Ales. Life is good. After feasting, we got to kids to bed, and stayed up for the next few hours visiting. It always seems that conversation is effortless with great friends. We are very lucky.

Saturday morning came early. Aubrey was bright eyed and all smiles.


As you can see, her smile was contagious.


Once again, we played around the house most of the morning, and then our good friend Kirk came by. It was great to see him, and after he got there, we headed once again to our aquatic retreat. Once there, Kirk decided to join Ken and me in contemplating life's mysteries.


Mystic was frolicking as usual, and Aidan was nice enough to help her with her thirst.


We headed back to the beach house after a few hours, and started prepping the evening's meal. While we were getting the grill ready, Aubrey and Hailey enjoyed some mother daughter time.

Since it was our last night, Shrimp was on the menu. Mmmmmmmm Shrimp.............. We cooked about 8 pounds worth, and ate until we couldn't move. It was grand.

After a pretty late night, Sunday morning came entirely too early. The kids were their usual crazy selves, except for Aubrey, who was perfectly content in her daddy's lap.


Christopher meanwhile was ready to fight crime as BOPPIEBOY!


After breakfast, we all went downstairs and boy and girls big and small enjoyed playing on the Vortex Super Slide.


While Ken and I played Kirk and his brother Keith in horseshoes, Lori recaptured a bit of her youth. Of course, I had to get it all on film.



Unfortunately, it was our last day in paradise, and after spending the entire day playing and joking with our friends, we packed up the CX-9, and left for our home about 9:30pm. It was a long and difficult drive home. I guess I was a bit more tired than usual, and I relied on Lori to help me stay alert for the last hour. We got home at 3:00am on Monday, and slept like babies until 7:00am. Grrrrrrrrr.................

It was good to be home, and the 8 months until our next adventure to Galveston seems like an eternity from now. Hopefully, we can convince Kenny and Hailey to load up and come see us some time in the near future. 8 months away it too long away for good friends.

William

Feliz Cumpleanos Christopher

It's hard to believe that our youngest monkey is turning three today. Time has once again been set to fast forward on life's remote.

Although he is too young to read this, I would like to thank him for the joy he has brought into our lives. Sure, there are lots and lots of times where our patience is at it's wit's end, but those times keep us young and fresh.

Thanks for keeping us on our toes and adding love to our hearts buddy.

Happy Birthday!

William

PS. I've got a bunch of pictures from the trip to Galveston we took two weeks ago to post. It's been pretty hectic around here lately...sorry for the delay. I should have them up in the next couple of days.

Without Further Ado

A few weeks ago we got to go to Nana and Pawpaw's farm for a mini vacation. Aidan left a week before us for "Cuzn's Camp" and spent that week exploring Nana and Pawpaw's farm with his cousin's Wyatt and Jackson. Aunt Cricket helped keep the peace for the first week of camp, and we flew in a week later for the second shift.

Needless to say, everyone had a wonderful time. It's always so peaceful and relaxing going to the mountains. Even with 4 boys screaming most of the time, you can still find solace in the surroundings. We took full advantage of all of the "fun" avenues at our disposal. I took a bunch of pictures, and wanted to share some of them with you.


Above is the sunset on our first night there. It was taken from the deck of the beautiful new pool that Steve and Dianne just put in. The view is inspiring.

We traveled to Hot Springs, North Carolina for a 4th of July fireworks celebration. (It was actually July 3rd.....go figure?) This is a picture of Lori and Christopher at the Iron Horse restaurant, where we stopped to have dinner.


Here is one of Daddy and Christopher at the same restaurant. The little one was having a blast.


After dinner, we hit the ice cream parlor running. Here is Aidan and Christopher showing you how much they enjoyed the decision.




Christopher took time out of his busy licking schedule to have his photo snapped with Pawpaw.


Soon it started getting dark and the boys were ready for some fireworks.


The pyrotechnical extravaganza began soon after, as oohs and aahs filled the night. I was able to captured a few smile inducing burst with my camera.








The next morning all of the boys went to help feed the animals. Christopher is simply a natural. I think he was born to be a farmer. He simply has no fear, and likes to get his hands dirty. Here he is filling up the feed bucket.


"These are some really big cows mom, let me in".


Like I said, no fear. "Eat up cows, and don't give me no lip".


I took a ride on the gator, and had to snap a picture of Nana's new barn "quilt".


Scenes like this set you back in time.


Sunday was the actual 4th of July, and we were ready for later that night.


We celebrated Pawpaw's birthday while we were there. Here he is with all of the boys.


Believe it or not, we were able to get the boys to sit still long enough to get a picture of all of them with Nana and Pawpaw.


Right before we left, we got one of the family unit. Such a handsome group if I do say so myself!


We all had a great time. The flight home was even good considering all of the little monkeys that we had to bring home with us. We all can't wait for our next visit.

William

PS. We made a trip down to see Grandma and Uncle Jim a couple of weeks ago, and it was also a fantastic trip. We always have so much fun while we are there. I only took a couple of pictures while we were there (shame on me), but I thought this one was great.


That is what Christopher likes to call his "Chicken Feet". How great is that?!!!!!!!!!!!!