Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Week 47

I had a great week at home with my family and now I'm back to work.  At least there are only a few more weeks until another nice long break.  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and I've been busy getting ready for all the fun and excitement.  Let's kick this season off right!

Here are last week's pictures:


Day 323- Saturday, 11/19/11
John took the boys to a ski expo today and came home with a new pair of skis. Now we just need some good snow in the mountains so he can take them for a spin.




Day 324- Sunday, 11/20/11
This is my favorite time of day when I can snuggle with my youngest and introduce him to a good classic.  It's hard to believe he's never heard of Charlotte's Web.  He thought Charlotte was the girl on the cover and was amazed to discover she's a spider helping a pig.  Brandon is my animal lover so this book is perfect for him and I'm excited to reread the story by his side.




Day 325- Monday, 11/21/11
It's that time of year again--the dreaded family pictures.  Here the boys sit outside the studio waiting on me to view our session.  Thank goodness I reminded them to bring their games along because it was quite a wait.







Day 326- Tuesday, 11/22/11
Today was Brandon's first ever karate testing and he was proud to earn his first stripe.  Justin also tested and is now just one test away from going into a year long review for his black belt.




Day 327- Wednesday, 11/23/11
Mmmm . . . it smells good in here.  I started the baking for our Thanksgiving feast.  These are apple and pumpkin tarts.  The family couldn't decide on either apple or pumpkin pie so I made a few tarts of each which worked perfectly.




Day 328- Thursday, 11/24/11
Happy Thanksgiving!  Hope every had a wonderful holiday.  We were able to have John's brother David and his girlfriend Megan join us for our bountiful meal.  It was nice to have some family in town for a change.




Day 329- Friday, 11/25/11
What a beautiful sunny day!  These are my biking buddies, and we decided to take advantage of the sun while it lasts by going on a nice long ride.  I'm so proud of Brandon who has only been riding a 2-wheeler for a couple weeks now.  We were out riding for a good 40 min and he did great! 


Wait!  Just one more. . .


November's Family Photo

These were the shots taken for our annual family portrait.  We've been doing this every November since Tyler was a baby (and look at him now!).  It's a huge hassle and not something I look forward to, but I'm glad we have them all so I can look back and see how our family has grown and changed from year to year.  This is also the only thing my mother asks for during Christmas and her Dec. birthday so now I can cross one more present off my list ;0) 


OK, that's it!
See you next Tuesday.


 

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Week 46

It's nice to be home with my boys this week, for the most part anyway.  I went into work briefly this morning to care for those darn bugs, but I'm back home and won't have to go in again until Friday morning.  I plan to do some baking and maybe watch a movie or two with my boys or try out a new board game.  Anything but work!

Now for last week's pictures:


Day 316- Saturday, 11/12/11
Justin and Brandon are taking a break and resting in the fall leaves while on a bike ride this beautiful autumn day.  They love going on long bike rides which is great motivation for me to get out there and join them.




Day 317- Sunday, 11/13/11
We made a family favorite for dinner tonight--homemade pizza.  The boys have helped make this meal ever since each one was two and there is nothing like it.  I love that they all want to be involved and enjoy the process just as much as the result.





Day 318- Monday, 11/14/11
Walk sits--he thinks they are fun, I think they are torture.  Every time my exercise app on the phone says, "Next up, wall sit." Brandon comes running to join me.  I may hate them but they work.  I've now lost 10 lbs after 8 weeks of counting and burning calories.




Day 319- Tuesday, 11/15/11
I took Bella for an early afternoon walk today since John has karate with the boys tonight, and I have a parent meeting for a new group Justin is joining.  It was kind of nice not to walk her in the dark.  We're enjoying the warm sun and fall color while we can.  It was a very pleasant and peaceful walk. I wish I could take her this early everyday but our usual time is more like 6:30pm after homework, dinner and the sun is done. 




Day 320- Wednesday, 11/16/11
It's cold out and nothing warms the house better than turning on the oven and cooking a nice hot meal.  Oven fried chicken is what's for dinner tonight.





Day 321- Thursday, 11/17/11
Tyler is waiting patiently for his friends to come pick him up for youth group.  I'm glad he enjoys it so much and that he and his friends have a safe place to hang out together.




Day 322- Friday, 11/18/11
It's Friday! and as I loaded up my car to head home I turned around and saw this beautiful rainbow.  What a wonderful way to start to my much needed vacation.  I'll gladly follow this rainbow all the way home.

That's all for this week
Have a happy Thanksgiving and see you next Tuesday!


Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Week 45

I need to make this quick.  It's a really busy week with a lot of exciting things happening at work on top of a huge meeting that I'm organizing Thursday so lots of stress and little time.  Ack!  Thank goodness Thanksgiving break is next week so I can recharge and regroup.

Now for last week's pictures:



























Day 309- Saturday, 11/5/11
Today was the school's harvest festival and I had to include 3 pictures to capture my 3 boys enjoying the event.  Tyler was actually working at the hot dog booth with his friends to help earn money for their 8th grade trip this spring while Justin and Brandon played "minute to win it" games for prizes.



Day 310- Sunday, 11/6/11
Here's my Lego builder letting his creativity shine through.  Today he made Mario and Luigi characters.  I'm not sure where he gets his ideas from, but I love that he runs with them and makes whatever is in his little head come to life through random Lego pieces his brothers have discarded.



Day 311- Monday, 11/7/11
Seems like I'm always taking a picture of Justin doing homework but that's because this is his life right now!  The 5th grade workload is brutal--not hard just a lot.  He always has way more to do than his brothers and ends up with very little free time :0(



Day 312- Tuesday, 11/8/11
Finally!  It's here.  Tyler has been saving his birthday money since Sept. just to buy this new game that was released today.  I made him do his homework first and then took him to the store to pick up a copy.  He had a fun afternoon since many of his friends had the same idea, and they all got to play the new game together.



Day 313- Wednesday, 11/9/11
Hooray! It's boot season again, and the weather has been just right for it lately.  I got these on clearance last year and am looking for a lighter tan pair to add to my collection this year.



Day 314- Thursday, 11/10/11
It's been pretty chilly in the house these days, and we don't get a lot of natural light so Bella finds what little patch of sun she can to nap in.  We rarely see her nap here otherwise.  Maybe I should turn the heater on--nah, not just yet!



Day 315- Friday, 11/11/11
The kids and I are home for Veteran's day and lucky me gets to clean the office and put away Halloween decorations for my day off.  Oh well, at least I got it done and can enjoy the rest of my weekend.


That's it for this week.  Hope I make to next.
Thanks for stopping by.



Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Week 44

Welcome back!  I'm loving the fall weather.  Boy did it ever cool down once November hit.  I was not prepared for myself and had to do some quick cold-weather clothes shopping--lots of sweaters and layers ;0)  Thank you to my friend Sharon for helping me out.  Now I'm good to go!

Here are last week's pictures-


Day 302- Saturday, 10/29/11
John is helping Tyler add fake blood to his jacket for Halloween--the bloodier, the better!  Gross, but that's what Halloween is all about these days.  The cute costumes are out and the gore is in.




Day 303- Sunday, 10/30/11
We're carving pumpkins this afternoon.  My kids love Pumpkin Master's carving kits and can now pretty much do all their pumpkins on their own.  Justin is concentrating hard and put a great deal of time into his creation.




Day 304- Monday, 10/31/11
My trick-or-treaters all dressed up and ready to go.  This year we have Bumblebee, a Zombie Hunter and a Pharaoh.  It was a beautiful night out and the boys had a blast making two rounds with their dad while I passed out treats to the others creatures of the night.




Day 305- Tuesday 11/1/11
Happy November!  Brandon took this picture for me ;0)  I think someone flipped a switch last night because it went from being a really pleasant fall to down right cold.  The wind was unreal today and the temps really dropped.  We are also expecting rain!  I'm good with fall but not ready for winter just yet.  Brrr!  Time to get me some long sleeve shirts.




Day 306- Wednesday, 11/2/11
It's amazing the trees still have leaves after the wind yesterday, but I'm glad they do because the fall colors are amazing to look at.  Our trees are just now turning, and they look so pretty.




Day 307- Thursday, 11/3/11
Finally the last day of water polo and in the rain no less.  At least this pool is heated well so the boys don't mind as long as they are in the water.  It's the getting out that is torture.  Tyler joined this team with his friend Quinn which was nice because we could carpool, and they had a lot of fun together.



Day 308- Friday, 11/4/11
Yep, it's Friday and that means no homework so Brandon gets creative about how he spends his afternoons.  Today he was teasing the dog by repeatedly crawling down the stairs.  She wasn't sure what to think of him, and he thought that was really funny.


That's it for this week.
Stay warm and see you next Tuesday!



Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Week 43

Happy November! What?!  It's November already?  I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween yesterday.  It was a beautiful, warm, fall night and my boys had a blast trick-or-treating.  Today it's crazy windy out.  I welcome the cooler temps but could do without the wind.  Now it's time to start planning for turkey day and kick off Christmas shopping.  Why do I feel like I'm already behind?

Let's forget about that and move on to last week's pictures:


Day 295- Saturday, 10/22/11
We had a very nice wine party at Sharon and Richie's house complete with a great assortment of wine, cheese, bread, and chocolate, but the guys preferred to drink this skull head vodka.  It was perfect looking for the season and they had a good time but it wasn't wine.  Oh well--more for us girls ;0)




Day 296- Sunday, 10/23/11
Good, old-fashioned, paper airplanes were the toy of choice today.  The boys spent hours creating and flying their planes.  Love it when they unplug and get back to basics.




Day 297- Monday, 10/24/11
I'm not sure why, but Brandon put his pj's on right after school and then decided to go outside and blow bubbles.  LOL!  Totally random.  Good thing we had no other plans.




Day 298- Tuesday, 10/25/11
Tyler's drooling over the new Toys-R-Us big toy book for Christmas while relaxing after a long day at school and Bella is keeping him company.  This is her favorite time of day--when we all come home just to be with her ;0)




Day 299- Wednesday, 10/26/11
Justin says this is his favorite pumpkin decoration, and he loves the way the candle smells because it's like pumpkin pie.




Day 300- Thursday, 10/27/11
There was an amazing sunset today as I was dropping Tyler off at water polo so since I had time to kill I drove out past Davis towards Woodland to get a shot in the country.  I was supposed to be taking a picture of the last day of water polo but the coaches decided to add one more week.  *sigh*




Day 301 Friday, 10/28/11
It's chow time and the boys are all lined up eager to eat as they watch a little TV.  Can you tell it's getting dark earlier and earlier?  I usually never have to turn on the lights during dinner but that's not the case anymore.

Wait! One more-

October's Family Photo

The lighting is a little off on this shot because the sun was setting, but I still love it because it's fun!  The boys had a great time carving pumpkins today, and I supervised while John napped so we didn't quite get to ours.

OK, that's it.
Thanks for stopping by.