Family Portraits

We had our family pictures taken this week. Our friend, Dana, has a business and she does such a good job. She was even patient with Cody...and I am not joking. She really was. Here is a link to her blog if you want to see other awesome stuff she does. Dana Peterson Photography. But, of course, the best stuff is right here:









We got home the other day and there was a firetruck and an ambulance in front of our house. Luckily it wasn't for our house and everyone is fine. But the boys disappeared. I finally found them sitting in their window, just watching the firetruck like it was the coolest thing ever. But let's face it, it kind of is.
Kathleen is playing soccer and is actually pretty good. Something must have changed between age 8 and age 9 and she suddenly gets it. She is so cute.
Brandon hustling in football:
Lately Kathleen is totally into taking pictures. Sometimes I let her, and sometimes she just sneaks up on me.
This is a very, very important picture. And not just because the handsome man in it is super awesome. But because what that man is eating is important. That's right, homemade salsa from crops in our garden and homemade ice cream with peaches from our peach tree. I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen the picture. We can actually grow some stuff!
I love finding my boys like this. I don't care what they are doing, as long as they are loving each other, all is well.

Oh, and I cut my hair and dyed it brown. And yeah, Ryan didn't even notice. I am done trying to get him to see my hair!

Rest 4 Labor Day!

Ryan decided that we needed to rest for Labor Day. But by rest, he means play with no work, which is so unlike him. So we went on a tour of "daddy's work". The kids had never been there and LOVED it. We thought they would be bored, but as it turned out, they didn't want to leave.

They had such a good time that they actually loved each other in the car for a change.
So we took them to lunch at my new favorite restaurant: Flatbread Community Oven. Mmm.
The kids got to make their own pizzas.
Then we went to a candy store. Can anyone say, "Spoiled!?"
We have had a massive bee infestation this summer. Sorry for anyone who ran into me the week I was attacked by a swarm. I wasn't pleasant for a few days after that.
We went to a fun park on Monday for a picnic and wiffle ball. I had to get this picture to remember the moment when Ryan said to me, "How many kids do you think I can peg with this ball before parents start asking me to leave?" Don't worry, I took the ball away before he could get any kids with it.
This park has super fun walking paths with fish and other fun wildlife. The kids especially loved the 7 1/2 foot sturgeon.

And Cody:

Present Day!!!

Yesterday was our annual family PRESENT DAY!!! We LOVE present day. If you don't know us very well, then you don't know about our annual tradition. So I will explain it to you. I decided back in the year 2000 that there weren't enough days in the year when one got presents. (Of course, that was before I had children and had to spend millions of dollars a year on presents for them.) But back before the kids, it just seemed like there weren't enough days. And I wanted presents!!!! So I invented a new holiday to sucker my husband into buying me gifts. Magically, he consented. Probably we were still too newly married for him to learn to say, "No! Woman!" But no matter the reason, he agreed and it started a new, and fun tradition at our house.Every year, the Wednesday before Labor Day is Present Day. Everyone in the family gets one gift (with a predetermined budget each year). We love our silly little gifts and have fun keeping the secret from each other of what all the other gifts are.





If you know what is good for you, you very well may start celebrating present day too. :)

First Day of School

What picture would you take for your first day of school?
The kids waiting at the bus stop with their friends:


Cody got a little lost trying to go where he was supposed to go after the bell rang. Good thing mom was there to help.
Don't ask how this little guy got to be the line leader on the way in. Any wagers as to what classroom he led the kids to? Because my bet is that it wasn't the right one.
Cody rode his bike to the bus stop to pick Kathleen and Brandon up.

Kathleen thinks she looks like a "high school kid" if she carries her binder in her arms instead of putting it in her backpack.
So what did my cute kids with closets full of cute new clothes decide to wear on day 2? Well, take a look:
Yeah, we pick our battles. Brandon has worn that jersey every day since his first football game and agreed to not wear it on the first day of school. But I guess day 2 had no such promise.

Flackle Football

What is "Flackle" Football you ask? Well, I will tell you. It is when your kid is playing offense, but just for one play of the game gets to play defense too and is so much faster than the guy with the ball, he accidentally tackles him while removing the flags. Yes, that is right. Brandon has started playing football...and is in some kind of football heaven.

The huddle:

In fact, I think Saturday was the best day of Brandon's life. We had a rare occurrence at our house. Cody was at a birthday party, Kathleen was swimming with a friend, and Brandon had mom and dad to himself. So what would he do, if he could do anything his heart desired? Well, take one guess. Not only did he get to play in his first ever football game, but he also got to run plays with mom and dad at home later that same day. He was really cute teaching us the plays by drawing on his hand.
Brandon and I had a cannonball contest the other day. He got this picture in the process.
We took the kids to a Hawks game and they got autographs.
Brandon had fun talking positions with one of their players.
Since Ryan and I decided to go to the fair WITHOUT our kids this year...that's right, I said WITHOUT our KIDS...we decided to make them elephant ears at home.
Oh, and I got a little domestic bug this weekend. Don't worry, it didn't last long and it is gone now. That is homemade bread you see and home something corn. I had to take a picture in case you never see the likes again.