Oh Christmas Tree

My men in my life endulged me and helped me decorate our tree. They were just as excited as I was. Last year I got all stressed about everything being perfect. Perfect time, perfect place, perfect atmosphere, blah, blah, blah. This year I took a step back and decided being with my family and doing it together was perfect. Don't get me wrong, I still had a few cringes when the ornaments that I thought needed to be "safe" (from the footballs, basketballs, volleyballs, the like)were low down for tiny hands to touch. But, it's their tree too. They are making their memories. I always loved listening to my mom tell stories about the ornaments. I try to do the same with the boys. I need to remember they are BOYS and things that I think are way fun, they think...hmmm... how can I turn that into a ball?

They stayed interested for the entire time this year! I will consider that a success.

I think the tree turned out beautifully.

I had to throw one of the mantel in as well. I am getting 8 x 10s of the boys in their Santa hats for next year. Melia had to "twist my arm" to get me to do that.

Black Friday + Hockey

We spent the Friday after Thanksgiving in "the big city." I know. I can't believe it either. My mom said she'd never go there and do that. Hmm... proves my sister and I can be convincing. We took Kate, Gav & Leo with us up to "the big city." We ran around for awhile and then met up with the rest of the family at BWW. The kids were excited for... not wings... mac & cheese. Oh well, more of the 100, yes 100, wings for me. My brother is being deployed in early December, so we all wanted to get together before he left. He picked the venue. BWW & Hockey. Not a surprise. After we ate, we headed over to watch a local team play. The kids were having a blast. Well, almost all the kids. Leo had gotten a fever over the afternoon and spent most of his time on Justin's lap. The crew at BWW.

Poor Buddy

I have a feeling that these 2 will give us a run for our $$ when they are older...

Our team won, and a good time was had by all. Tomorrow Jus and I are heading up north to watch Nate's team play in a playoff game. Go Cats, Go!

Great Minds

Think alike. Jus and I didn't pack at the same time. We didn't use the same bag. We didn't get dressed at the same time. But it sure looks like we did! Happy Thanksgiving!

Bobby {Bearcat}

Justin and I again headed south to watch Nate play. It was so much fun! Eli said before we left, "Mom, you need to get a picture of Bobby, and Nate has to kick a field goal." Well, Eli, is one out of 2 ok?

A Blast From the Past

Many, many moons ago, all of my neighbors on Leland Street would spend hours playing Super Mario Brothers. Snowdays, hot days, any day was a SMB day. Melia and I were a bit more addicted than anyone else. Many memories of playing it in our "adult" days as well. So, when Leo started liking Mario Kart. I was all over that! I bought him shirts, games and stickers. I loved listening to the songs, reminding me of my childhood. It was only the next logical step to have the boys be Mario and Luigi for Halloween. I had the main two covered; I needed a Princess Peach and Toad. I looked to my niece and nephew. I figure we only have about 1 more year left of being able to talk Jaina into dressing with the boys... We have to milk it while we can! Jaina had other ideas. She wanted to be a witch. Thank goodness for Auntie Mindy... She casually said, "Witches are gross." And Jaina was convinced to go along with our plan. Leo was on board right away. However, I thought he'd want to be Mario. I was wrong. "Mom, Luigi is taller than Mario. I am taller than Eli. I have to be Luigi." Well... ok, duh, Mom! I got the kids from school and daycare and brought them home to get them ready. They were ready for the candy, but not super excited about the costumes. I did manage to get a few pictures of the 4 of them together. We went through the Halloween Parade, and Jus and Mike took the boys to a few houses in our neighborhood. I couldn't believe all the trick-or-treaters that came to our house! I had to "borrow" some candy from the boys' bags! (They didn't need it all anyway!) The boys had a great time and looked so good.

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Carving Party

If you are an avid 3 Boys reader, you know we always carve pumpkins for Halloween with my mom and Melia. Last year, Jus was a stick in the mud. I had to do all the carving. I told him that was not how it was going to be this year! He helped find patterns that went with the boys' costumes. (Those pictures will be in an upcoming post! Stay tuned!) Mom, Dad, & Melia came for chili and brownies. Also a tradition. As we were carving, the boys played with G'pa Randy. He showed them a video about funny football names. Oh boy, I haven't heard belly laughs like that in a long time! When we finally finished the pumpkins, we had to take the pictures. Justin did the Yoshi, on the left. I did the Mario.

Mom & Melia's pumpkins

A shot of all 4.

Carving pumpkins is one of my favorite fall activities. My mom got Melia and I signs that say "Carving out some fun". So thankful for them and the fun we have together!

Eli's New 'Stach

We've been big into moustaches this fall. I found this shirt at ... where else... target. It was perfect for E's sassy personality! He looks so big with his hair all spiked up and gelled.

His favorite line is, "I moustache you a question!"

Christmas Card Pics {2012}

Miss Melia once again took our Christmas card pictures for us this year. She also went with me when I was shopping for our outfits. I have never gotten so many positive comments about my outfits. I may have to make her my own personal shopper! We went to a few places that we hadn't gone to before. The pictures turned out great! But you'll just have to go with this preview and wait for your card!

No Bones About It...

These two are so cute it's scary.

PS. Check out the cool piece my dad made for my dining room.

B-E-A-R-C-A-T-S!

My 3 boys and I headed south to visit Sabrina & Nate. We were excited to watch Nate's football game. He is in his last year of football. The boys were so excited to go. Ten minutes into the ride they were asking "are we there yet?" The trip is a little longer than that. At the game, the kids were so excited to play on the inflated slides. E was a little nervous, but once Leo did it E was in.

One of the boys favorite parts of the trip was giving Sabrina a ride on the hotel luggage rack.

The Bearcats had a great game. And we had an awesome weekend. It was fun to be down there with everyone having a good time and celebrating Nate's success. Can't wait to see more games!

Football {First Game 2012}

Tonight was our first home game of the season. My boys have been stalking the boys at practice for a month. Every day we drive by the field so they can watch. It's kind of cute how much they love it. We had to get all geared up in our purple and gold for the game.

Mom & her football lovin' boys

After the game the boys had to get their picture with their favorite cheerleader. They love Corynie. Eli says she is his girlfriend. Her boyfriend may have things to say about that...

Corn Show {2012}

Corn Show 2012 was filled with rides, food, family, rain & fun. Food: Have I ever talked about how I love food at Corn Show? You walk into the LR City Hall and smell the yummy food. As we walked in, Eli, holding his nose, yelled, "What's that stink?!" Oh, Eli! But the best food is mini doughnuts. Oh heaven in your mouth. Or in this case, my dad's mouth.

It was Eli's turn to do the Tilt-a-Whirl. I was nervous about him doing it, but I need not be. He was super excited and laughed the entire time! I guess there is one more thing the boys can do together.

Soccer Star & His Soccer Mom

It's offical, I have become a soccer mom. I'm not gonna lie and say I'm loving every second of it. Keeping the younger brother occupied while the Soccer Star is playing is not my idea of fun. But, it is lots of fun to watch Leo play with his friends.

He was a little timid the begining of the season, but now he is running after the ball and averages a few goals a game. He called Sabrina after the first game and said, "Well, we won. Buuuut, my mom says we don't keep score, so maybe don't tell her." Gotta love that competitive spirit. Leo is so excited to have Quintin on his team. They are buds, and it works well for me becuase his mom and I are buds. :)

It's been fun watching them play and gain new skills. I will admit I'd rather sit at a soccer game instead of t-ball. (Maybe don't tell Leo!)

Leo thinks he's gonna score "10" goals this season. :) Big dreams!

First Day of School {TK~2012-13}

It's just a blink and my first baby is starting full days of school. Luckily, he doesn't go full days full time yet, or I might lose it! I was NOT going to be "one of those moms" who cried when their child went to school. Crap. That backfired. It was interesting as he left my room to go to his classroom. I got a little choked up. Ahh, well. Gotta go with the emotions. I'm sure it won't be the last time I cry at school!

He picked out his own outfit. I had one of my friends, Lisa, write on the chalkboard that I bought from her. She did an awesome job! She is such a gifted person! Eli had to get in on the action, too! He can't be left out.

Mommy & Leo ready for their first full day together at CL.

My big boy is looking all grown up!

After a little mix-up about after school plans, he made it to my room. When I asked him about his day he summed it up in one word, "Awesome!" I just hope he keeps thinking school is awesome!

Welcome to TK

Today Leo had his TK visit day. He was so excited to see his classroom and meet his teacher. Eli was excited to visit, too! Here is the standard locker picture. He's getting pretty tall - we'll see how long he lets me take this picture.

Leo with his teacher.

And the Lion out in front of the school.

I'm excited to see how the year turns out for him and all the new things he'll learn.

Movie Night

After our day at the Children's Museum, I decided it would be fun to go to the movie. What was I thinking? I was brave...I decided to take Eli! Well, it was E's first movie. He was excited on the way, excited for the popcorn, excited for the BIG screen. Not so excited for the lights to be off or to be quiet. Needless to say, we spent a lot of the movie in the lobby.

Oh well, the kids had fun, and I am a "cool aunt slash mom".

Children's Museum {Take 2}

After sweet talking my parents, and having Karen and Melia help out, I finally got them talked into going to the Children's Museum in the area. My boys were there this winter when we went to visit Brenda & Rob. They loved it and were excited to head back. They found new things that they hadn't done before and shared them with Gav and Katelynn. I think they liked it too.

Sometimes I feel bad when they come to visit because there isn't a lot to do compared to their big city, but we were able to show them some fun!

Water Fight {3 Generations}

My parents have some friends that are actually more like family. We celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas together every year. I see them more than I see my aunts and uncles and cousins. We are really lucky to have them. Greg & Faye's grandson, Lane, stays with them during the summer. Lane is 15 years old and is awesome with our kids. We went to my parents for dinner the other night, and Lane wanted to have a water fight with the kids.

Lane thinks "kids" included G'pa Randy and G'pa Greg. It was so much fun! The kids had a blast, and I think the G'pas did too!

Bathroom Re-Do

Melia put a wild hair in me that I could redo furniture. Granted, I can't do what she does. But I did want to give it a try. This is the before picture. I found this in our store room when we moved into this house. I decided to paint the bathroom to go with my shower curtain, and thought this should be painted as well.

Here's the first little helper I had.

Next came his big brother. They were tons of help...

This is after Eli got varnish all over his face. Note to any parents of sassy boys out there...Goo B Gone gets varnish off of skin.

The finished project in the freshly painted bathroom.

I love how it turned out. I think Jus did too...he asked me to repaint our bathroom!

Fair Days

We have just been hitting the fairs lately. Jus came home from work with the idea that we should drive to a fair that is over an hour away. Well, we did because I knew that I'd be getting my favorite ice cream from "The Ice Cream Capitol of the World". Ahhh, it was heaven. The boys loved the tractors.

This mom loved the cookies and cream.