at least SOMEBODY won tonite!

tonight stacey and i got a chance to go to target field
BY OURSELVES!!



we spent a lot of time walking around exploring the stadium
something that is impossible to do with 3 little followers

we checked out the metropolitan club
thanks to the fact that we were using a friend's season tickets -
thanks, mark!

AND
we watched the twins TOTALLY suck
as in they gave up SIX homeruns!

BUT ...
it was a fun night away.
the boys had a fun new babysitter.
AND
BEN'S FOOTBALL TEAM PLAYED AND WON
both teams - still undefeated!
WOO HOO!!

so ... does it really matter that the twins lost
THIRTEEN to TWO?!?!?

unreal.

when it's ok to cheer for 'the other team'

sometimes it's worth making exceptions ...



when you know your teacher is a HUGE bears fan
AND
when you also know that by helping him celebrate HIS team ...
a few extra 'behavior bucks' will probably come your way

still goin strong ...

it may have been our first game under the lights ...



but it didn't slow us down a bit ...



we pulled out another lions win ...
28-0!

still undefeated!

WAY TO GO LIONS!

another shower ... another blender

today was bekah's 2nd bridal shower...

this time, in chicago

and THANKFULLY ...

i wasn't in charge this time.

i got to sit back and just enjoy being there.

i am getting to hang out with bekah and my mom in chicago

while the boys are home having 'man weekend'.

the boys both won their football games again today

go lions! go bulldogs!

AND

apparently tomorrow they have a boys viking party planned.

thanks for letting me have a little fun, stacey ;)

hope you're having JUST A LITTLE as well.

don't miss me too much.

i luv u

xoxo

today's jaunt

today was our first 'run' at the jefferson jaunt.

it's a fundraiser that drew and ben's school does
where the kids walk for 2 miles on nearby paths ...
and today was the day!

it was windy and not SUPER warm ...
BUT that didn't stop us.

we (alex and i) started out with ben's class ...



we walked part of the way ...

took a water break ...

and then walked again
UNTIL
we met up with drew's class ...

and then walked some more with them ...



a few random thoughts after today:

- i LOVE both of my kids teachers -
they are PERFECT fits

- i would be ok if it was a long time before
i was in a tunnel with 2nd or 4th graders again

- i forget what 4th grade girls are like
AND
i have a new appreciation for young male teachers
that have to teach them ;)
i don't think that the girls left drew's teacher's side the ENTIRE 2 miles ;)

- 2nd graders can yell REALLY loud -
especially when in a chanting match against other classes.
i will probably be hearing 'TWO J O' being chanted in my sleep tonight.

- i loved being able to spend the afternoon with their classes -
it's always fun to be able to put faces to names
and to work on building my reputation as 'drew's mom' or 'ben's mom' ;)
it seems like the past TWO schools i have JUST started to feel good about knowing
a lot of the kids and having them recognize me -
and then we switched.
SO we're starting over AGAIN
and i'm SLOWLY getting there

- both boys have fallen quickly into their classes
and have made a lot of friends.
it feels like it's been much longer than a few weeks!

i couldn't be happier.

did you know ...

i LOVE fall premiere week

AND ...
if i just had some fresh apple crisp
tonight would be CLOSE to perfection!!

SO ...
there is no REAL post for tonight
due to the fact that

my DVR is officially holding me hostage.

our afternoon "appointment"

today was an extra fun day for us ... with everyone playing hooky!

we called the boys into school ...
well .. kind of. i actually forgot that part
UNTIL our phones rang while we were at the ballpark!!!
and it was the school wondering where our kids were ...
OOPS!
thank God for email and the fact that i had been honest with their teachers ;)
ben's teacher had my back and my kids are no longer marked as truant troublemakers ...



we pulled alex out of preschool

and went to spend a day at target field.



we got to congratulate
the new 2010 AL central division champs!!!

we got our very own 2010 homerun hankies!!
although they will forever be 'homer hankies' in my mind ...

AND
the best part of the game ...
the boys were all on the jumbotron!!
i just wasn't quick enough to snap a picture of it ;)
they were more than excited
and the fact that the twins won the game was minor in comparison ;)

we ended our afternoon
spending a little time exploring the rest of the stadium.

the boys LOVED all of the statues
and insisted we take a picture with each one ...



so we did ...

many times.

we followed them around ...

as they moved us from statue to statue ...

and came up with the perfect pose.

it was a REALLY fun day together -
even though my stomach was in knots for the first half
because i was beating myself up for forgetting to call school ;)
i obviously need to let loose a little more often ;)

i am so glad we got to spend the day together, boys.
sometimes it's fun to throw everything aside ...
even school ...
and do something fun
TOGETHER.

i can't wait for next time!

skillz

you may remember back in april
drew was doing his 3rd grade testing...

well ...
a little bit ago we got his results in the mail
and
i'm here to tell you today that all that stuff he did to make sure his testing day was perfect ...
it worked!!

drew absolutely rocked!!
and because it's my blog
and this is for ME to remember down the road ...
i'm allowed to say all i want ;)



* in both math and reading he only got ONE wrong!

* he scored in the top 98% in the state for math

*for reading - on a learning scale of 399 he came in at 398 -
meaning he far exceeds the standard

* both his reading progress and math progress were placed on a chart showing achievement -
which they follow through 8th grade
by 8th grade they want the kids to be above a 4000.
drew's achievement was already above 4200 in both areas!

WAY TO GO DREW!!!

not sure if you got your smarts from
the incredible breakfast i made you
OR
the incredible genes i gave you

BUT ...
either way
I AM SO PROUD OF YOU
and i want everyone to know ;)

take note

when riding the bus,
singing a song about scooby doo taking a poo
will NOT win you awards with your new bus driver ...

it will however
provide the first perfect opportunity to talk with the new principal.

just in case you ever wondered.

***

for the record she is very nice and understanding.
MUCH more so than the bus driver ;)

love thy neighborHOOD

yesterday we had our first annual 'neighborhood olympics'

we met at the park and played a bunch of organized games -
for both kids AND ADULTS ;)

thanks to one of our neighbors who is a gym teacher
we had a wide variety of fun ;)

some of our favorite events -

a sack race ...



the balloon pop ...
yes you were supposed to use the chair ...
but this is ben we're talking about.
he thought a better idea was to put the balloon down and then jump off the chair -
it took him a while ;)

the 3 legged race ...
i've had lots of practice in this one -
thank you, awana.
SO ...
rachel and i rocked ...

ben and erica - not so much ...

alex and oliver were the surprise underdogs ...



i NEVER expected them to even make it to the cone
BUT they did go to the cone -
and back -
and just kept going over and over again

AND drew and ben came in as my other favorite team -
because they aren't even close to the same size -

but were patient and insisted on being partners!
which made me smile :)

we did a shoe finding relay ...
a bat spinning relay ...
and we did a sponge and water game -
which the kids loved!

i'm thinking that next summer -
buckets, sponges, and water over at the basketball court
will be a GREAT afternoon time killer ;)

we ended the day with a bonfire -
first with kids
and then because we had worn them out so successfully -
we ended the night with a bonfire with no kids ;)

we decided to grab a picture of the adults that we had there -
it's only a small representation of the people that make our neighborhood so fun
but that's ok ;)

it's days like this that i am SO thankful for the neighborhood that we live in.
we are TRULY blessed.

just another ...

day of football ...



another perfect tight end stance ;) ...

AND another bulldog win!

just another day of watching drew and 'the big guys' ...

another BEAUTIFUL afternoon to watch them rock the field ...



another surprising moment ...
one of the other team's players got injured
and one of our guys quickly led his friends on field to 'take a knee'-
and we watched our players kneel respectfully in a group



another day of amazing plays that are REALLY fun to watch ...

AND ...

another lions win!!!

another day of 2 brothers cheering for the other ...

and me keeping them busy in between ;)

just another weekend passed
AND
both teams remain undefeated!

WAY TO GO, BOYS!

another proud mother moment