humptastic

somehow ...
i told you ALL about our weekend
but left out how exciting it was for chewy ;)



all i'll say is ...
5 dogs in one house -
3 of those females



and
chewy was VERY busy ;)

i'm not sure how we ended up with such a charged up dog -
but if he sleeps straight through the week
i wouldn't be the least bit surprised

tree hunting

today was our day
and a BEAUTIFUL day at that
to go cut down our christmas tree -



the boys were still running on overdrive
from their long weekend of fun
SO...
there was not a lot of tree hunting going on ;)

pretty sure 98% of their time was spent wrestling ...

with the other 2% spent laughing and being goofy...

BUT ...
eventually we - as in stacey and i - still found our 'perfect' tree



and we wrapped up our adventure.

tomorrow is officially decorating day
and for the tree's sake
i'm hoping things aren't QUITE so much fun ;)

thanksgiving recap

our thanksgiving day was perfect

with the exception of the 30 minutes spent
looking for our lost car's keycard
it was a very relaxed day of
eating
a TON
hanging out together
and
laughing about the many things we were thankful for
as seen on our thankful turkey



we ended the day with our annual bowling adventure



where once again i seriously sucked
and decided that the 2 quarters of bowling for PE class in high school
were of NO help whatsoever
and
i was born to bowl with bumpers.



on friday morning i woke up waaay too early
to hit the stores
with my mom, bekah, and ryan

the lines at target were ridiculous
we decided that wausau's target REALLY needs a starbucks
and
i decided that people take black friday
WAY TOO SERIOUS

just as i was not meant to be a bowler
i was not meant to be a black friday shopper.

BUT i braved the crowds ...
and
stacey and the boys made good use of their time
by taking a little roadtrip
to spend the day with his mom



i got a good chunk of our shopping done
and
they got to spend some good time catching up.
it worked out perfectly.

our stomachs, trunks, and hearts are full
christmas is a month away
crazy
and we are all thankful for the fun weekend
and more importantly that we found our car's keycard
so that we can actually go home ;)

thankful 2010

it seems as though every year

i sit down to think about what i am thankful for

and the themes are consistent.

i have a husband

that is patient with me

and

loves me

even when i'm not always loveable ;)

i have 3 boys

that keep me on my toes

but

fill my life with more fun, love, hugs & kisses than i could ever wish for.

i have an amazing family
that i know will always have my back
and
that give me a lot to smile about.

i have friends

that fill my days with laughter

and

fun adventures.

and most importantly

i have a God

who makes sure that i have all that i need

and

who gets me through each day.

i am beyond blessed

and for that

i am thankful.

new traditions

last night's thanksgiving eve started out normal ...
well almost ...
bekah & ryan came up from chicago -
we drove over from minneapolis -
we both hit some nice rain/snow -
and our trips ended up being extended by over an hour
BUT ...
we both rolled in about the same time last night.

we left the grandkids with my mom,
grabbed a bite to eat,
and then made a quick stop at the store.

a stop which altered the rest of our night.

someone came up with the idea to buy a bunch of 40s and play cards.
as in 40 oz for each participant ;)
i'm sure the supermarket attendant was quite jealous
of the fun we were going to have ;)

we got home -



surprised a sleeping larry -
who quickly woke up to join the party

and let the fun begin ;)



even mr. movember got in on it -

i'm sure you are quite impressed with this porn star look he has going
BUT please do do NOT encourage him;)

hannah and bobby taught everyone
how to play president



and there were a TON of rules -
some rounds had more than others
but noone seemed to mind

it was a thanksgiving eve night
unlike any we have had before ...



but one that i'm sure we'll repeat

a little odd

so ben came home with this homework ...



and the first thing drew noticed
was that the girl turkey was the 'odd' one :)

go figure.

making his list ... checking it twice

alex sat down last night to work on his christmas list.

it took a little while



because there is NOTHING quick about
'how do you spell perry the platypus'



but he came up with a list.
it may not be super easy to read
or translate ;)

but ... that's why santa has elves,
right?!

slick fun

this morning we woke up to find
a giant ice rink outside.

EVERYTHING was glare ice.

the boys wanted to play outside
but QUICKLY learned how slippery it was -
and decided helmets were their best bet ;)

they started out just attempting to get up and down the driveway
on feet and stomachs ;)

but soon realized sleds were MUCH faster!



they also realized that the basketball court
had become the perfect hockey rink

and did their best to stay on their feet long enough
to get a few shots off ;)

all this weather we've been getting has been seriously crazy ...
BUT
it has given the boys SO many fun things to do ...
as in OUTSIDE fun things ;)
and we haven't really had any places we've had to be ...
so there's no complaints from me!

service with a smile

this morning we got up and ready
a bit quicker than usual
so we could make it to the school's pancake breakfast.
you know,
the breakfast that wasn't actually at the school!
but was at green mill!
they do fundraisers like this where it was only open to our school
and some of the teachers
like ben's ...



were our servers.
they got us all the pancakes, sausage, orange juice, milk and coffee we could handle.
and the best part ...
the majority of the money goes right back to the teachers
to use for their book room.

a really fun idea
BUT ...
with all they do for my kids on a daily basis
it seemed really wrong that they should be serving me breakfast.
i felt like i should be serving them!

thanks for the great service, mrs johnson ...
today AND everyday.
glad we could do our part to give back today.

always learning

today was drew's field trip to the "big zoo"
and i got to chaperone!!

i had 6 fourth graders in my group
and
had the opportunity to learn MANY things ...

i learned that having a sub the day of a field trip
can lead to quite a bit of confusion
when it comes time to count kids ...
but is really a pretty sweet deal if you are the sub ;)

i learned that baby dolphins
nurse off of their moms
AND their grandmas -
seriously, how convenient would THAT be!



i learned that the animals are
SO much more active now that the weather is cool.
i NEVER see the beavers out of their den
and today they were BOTH out and very active!
drew LOVED this beaver
because he thought it looked like it was praying

i learned there is someone out there
that really does talk more than drew -
and MUCH more.
trust me.
he was in my group too.



i learned more about the social habits of dolphins -
the mommy and daddy dolphin are still separated 5 months later
because if they were to allow them to be together
the boy would be too busy trying to get the mom to 'play'
and she would not learn how to care for her baby.
those trouble maker boys!!

i learned that drew's favorite coral
is 'brain coral'



i learned that all statues
that kids come upon
must be climbed on
oh wait ... i already knew that one

i learned that a coral reef
with a spot for resting
would be SO peaceful to have somewhere in my house -
but it'd also have to come with a built in cleaner, feeder, and maintener
because God knows i don't need one more thing to care for ;)

i learned that sea otters will follow minnesota zoo employees
and go where they are told ...

they will even pose for pictures!



and finally ...

i learned that it is possible to sit 3 to a seat
have the middle kid get sick
and have the one sitting next to him not even realize it.
i won't tell you how i know that.
but i will tell you he's feeling much better tonight ;)
and that i am thankful it was on the way home ;)
yuck.

a little karma ... maybe?

back in february i flew down to chicago
to help choose a bridesmaid dress for bekah's wedding.

we went to a few different shops
in hopes of finding 'the perfect dress'.

after a few definite "no's"
we ended up at eva*s bridal and decided on
this dress -
keep in mind i am chip clipped into this and this was not the 'final look' ;)



BUT ...
you may have noticed
that this is NOT the dress we ended up wearing.
we ended up with something similar -
but SO much better ;)



you see ...
in august bekah picked up our dresses.
we tried them on and they were HORRIBLY wrong.
on top of not looking 'right' -
mine was a good 3 inches from zipping
and yes i about had a heart attack
thinking i had eaten one too many cupcakes ;)

i tried on the dress of another bridesmaids that was 4 sizes larger
and it barely fit me
AND
it looked horrible.
it laid funny.
it bunched in certain places
and seemed mis-sewn in others.

we immediately called the bridal shop
and they were NO help.
the list of names i have for them could go on and on
and probably doesn't belong on a family friendly blog ;)
we ended up sending my dress back to the designer in NY
and they still did nothing.

we made the decision as a group of bridesmaids
to consider it a bump in the road that we needed to move past.
a costly bump -
but something we needed to do for bekah.
we quickly ordered our new dresses from ann taylor,
and in the end, we were MUCH happier than we ever had been.
well, except for the extra $200 we were out from the first dress.

we tried our best to fight the bridal shop
and even to go through the credit card company.
such a headache
and still nothing.
i thought this would just be the end of the story-
where i walk away and just let it go.
bekah's wedding was beautiful.
we were beautiful.
and when it was all said and done -
it didn't matter how much extra we had spent.
i had let it go - and reminded myself of what was really important.

BUT...
then this morning i got a message.
eva*s bridal had caught on fire yesterday afternoon
and the place was completely gutted.

NOW ...
i do feel HORRIBLE for any brides who have weddings very soon.
i know how frustrated we were with not having dresses and we still had 2 months
to figure things out.
i feel bad that so many people are affected.

BUT ...
based on how uncooperative the bridal shop was
AND ...
based on how horrible they treated us
i have to admit that when i first heard
there was a little part of me that smiled.

typically, i'd say i don't believe in karma.
but just for today ...
i might just a little ;)

rent a sister

over the past 2 weeks
alex has developed a new love.

emma moved here a few months ago.
she is in 3rd grade
and
alex absolutely adores her



she is SO good to him.
she'll come over and just play with him
for hours!

AND ...
he LOVES it.

on school days ...
as soon as afternoon hits -
he starts asking
when emma will be home
so they can play.

this weekend ...
when he wasn't with her
he was asking if he could be ;)

she is the perfect 'big sister'
that alex is definitely lacking ;)

although apparently lacking is a good thing ...
because alex told me today - out of the blue -
that it's a good thing he doesn't have a sister
because sisters are SO messy ;)

typical

just another night at our house ...



and what you don't see is that i'm on the computer in the office ;)

O*P*E*N

it is now official...



the barnett's sledding hill

has OPENED!!

the groomers are quite busy ...

and there is plenty of fun to be had.



i can't guarantee you'll ALWAYS
get a ride back up the hill



but the boys around here

don't really seem to mind ;)