fourth grade perfection

according to drew
today could not get any more perfect.

for starters,
he paid his teacher some of his 'behavior bucks'
and got to sit at his teachers desk for the entire day
AND ...
because the teacher's chair is so comfy
he got ALL of his homework done at school
which apparently was a lot
so he has NONE for the long weekend!

THEN ...
they announced who had gotten through round 2 of the geography bee
AND DREW MADE IT!
this means that out of all of the fourth and fifth graders at his school
he tested in the top 10 for geography!
SO
he is very excited to be able to move on.
he is also excited that 2 other boys from his class made it too -
apparently this is just what they needed to show that fourth graders are the best!

to top it all off ...
a friend from school gave him a greg jennings football card

he had a great lunch and a great dinner

AND
he and alex got to watch a movie he has been very excited to see ;)

from start to finish
it was a perfect fourth grade day

shootin hoops

tonight was ben's VERY first basketball game



and it seems like the perfect sport
for someone like him
who never stops moving ;)

although there were many more calls than shots
and fouls than points
for both teams ;)

you have to start somewhere, right ;)

AND ... besides.
if you're going to decide to call yourselves the timberwolves ...
you can't REALLY expect a high scoring, drama free game ...
can you?! ;)

pj day

this morning started out like any other day.

you know ...
alex waking up WAY too early
the kids standing right outside our bedroom doors
to figure out who is going to play what game first
AND
alex spilling his cup of orange juice into the ENTIRE bucket of legos

a typical morning.

or at least
until we got to preschool.

at that point i noticed that today WASN'T just your typical day.

TODAY WAS PAJAMA DAY!!
oops

thankfully we weren't alone
and
thankfully we live close enough that i zipped home and was back
with pj's and pillow pet in hand before the fun really even started



the kids had fun making eggs and ham
and
hanging out in their pj's ALL DAY LONG!

they loved it.

it was a fun, perfect, typical atypical day!!

flying the friendly skies ??

only in a house of boys
do we spend hours building a passenger jet

only to have it taken over by
a group of sharks



and a modified clone.

creativity at it's finest ...

perhaps ??

how to be resourceful

there are many reasons why i keep 2 big bins of costumes
in our basement.

they keep the kids very entertained ...



AND ...
you just never know when
a certain piece
might come in handy ;)



now if only we had a barrel

happy birthday ... kind of

alex is the first of my 3 with a summer birthday

SO ...
that means
today was the first of what i'm sure will be many
1/2 birthday celebrations at school

we started his day out with a sprinkle donut
you're welcome for the sugar overload, mrs. guenther ;)

then headed to school



we got to start the morning out together with chapel



and then the 'party' moved in to the classroom
where he was 'the special birthday guy'
and got to sit in the special birthday chair!!

he got a special lunch
he choose a sandwich lunchable

got happy birthday sung to him

got to share pictures from the day he was born

AND most importantly
got to share his cupcakes with his friends



HAPPY 1/2 BIRTHDAY, ALEX!!!

webkinz reflectionz

so ...
we're starting to notice a trend.

as soon as alex gets any kinzcash on webkinz
drew and ben start getting postcards ...



he gets money.
he takes a trip.
he gets more money.
he takes another trip.

i was going to make some snarky comment about priorities and his lack of furnished rooms for his webkinz.
BUT THEN ...
i looked around and realized ...
our front room is still empty.
yet in that time -
we've been to hawaii, disney, and san francisco

so ...
perhaps it's just
that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree?!

it's baaaaack

although it was a lot of work ...
as soon as i got my 2009 project 365 book back from being printed -
i knew i wanted to do it again.
it is so fun to look through the book and see little snip-its
of our day to day life that i otherwise may not use anywhere else.

SO ...
i have convinced some friends to join me
and we are back at it



i'm using the same blog i did in 2009
and because it will be SO exciting
and i know you'll be dying to check in often -
you can always get to it from this main blog site
using the link on the side

ENJOY
and if you decide to join me ...
make sure to let me know!

butter*ball

today had 2 themes ...

food and football

each year stacey's work gives out turkeys at the holidays.

because we go back to WI for Christmas -
and taking a turkey on a 3 hour adventure just seems like a lot of work -
we end up making a turkey just to have a little fun ...
and to put our cooking to the test.

for whatever reason
stacey decided this weekend was the PERFECT opportunity to make the turkey.
so he planned it out and we put together a fantabulous meal ;)

AND ...
after seeing the turkey thawing in our refrigerator on new years ...
our friends just couldn't pass up the opportunity
for some down home barnett cooking ;)
HA!
so they came over to join in on the fun as well



the food was very tasty -
nice job stacey - you're becoming a pro

the entertainment was plentiful -
as you can imagine with 4 boys and emma together at a table



and THEN ...
to top it off
we got a packers win -
THE PACKERS ARE HEADED TO THE PLAYOFFS!!!
and oddly enough ...
my boys have decided they are packer fans again ;)
so ...
GO PACK GO!

hello, goodbye ... again

last night we brought in 2011 with our friends that 2010 brought to us ;)



there was LOTS of dance central
which i LOVED!
and
LOTS of rockband



although thankfully most pictures are of the younger band ;)

we played headbanz -

and brought in 2011 with a lot of laughs!

the boys made it until 1:45am
and were still up at bright and early at 7:30 this morning!
amazingly enough ... they didn't nap and we made it through the day
without any major meltdowns!!
looks like a great start to 2011!

BUT ...
before i shove 2010 out the door ...
just as with last year,
2010 brought us a lot of memories

we were able to take another trip to maui -
along with MANY trips to chicago

we said goodbye to a lot of empty lots around us -
and hello to new neighbors and friends -
AND to a new neighborhood beach!

we said goodbye to the metrodome
and hello to target field

we said goodbye to our old school and friends :(
and
hello to a new school -
where we have had the chance to make many new friends

alex started t-ball
drew allowed us to enter the world of kid pitch baseball
and
ben got the chance to FINALLY play full tackle football

the summer brought us sending TWO boys away to camp :(

and the fall brought us a new brother-in-law and uncle
when bekah said 'i do'!!

i said goodbye to 4 VERY annoying wisdom teeth
while drew said hello to a mouth full of braces!

in the past 2 months we welcomed in our craziest winter weather yet
and based on the rain that sent us into 2011 ...
i'm guessing that's not over.

SO ...
goodbye 2010,
thanks for the memories!
and ...
welcome 2011!

here's to a GREAT new year!!

:: HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE ::