shower time!

this weekend we got together to celebrate bekah ...


(doesn't she look like miss america at a jcpenney studio?!)

and her upcoming WEDDING!!!!

her friends/bridesmaids drove up from chicago to join us ...



we got some family and friends together ...



gave everyone a new 'fun, yet pretty' name for the day ...

and had some fun at the everest inn!
a cute bed & breakfast

we played some games ...

tested how much bekah REALLY knows about ryan ...
all i'll say is that she had a lot of gum to blow this SWEET bubble with ;)
we did our best to stump her because we knew it'd be a more fun outcome ;)

opened presents ...
everyone picked out GREAT things for her
and i'm now thinking i'd like to have a shower again
because all new kitchen stuff would be REALLY fun;)

and enjoyed the SWEETEST part of the shower ...
sweet mandy b cupcakes ....
MMMMMmmmmm

thanks for all of the help, ladies ...
i couldn't have done it without you!



and thanks for getting married, bekah
it's always fun to have a reason to have a party!!
i can't believe YOUR WEDDING is only 2 months away!!!
i am SO excited!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!!

NEWS FLASH

according to drew ...

you officially become a REAL man once you lose all of your baby teeth

AND

as of yesterday he is one tooth closer!

fall fun

our season of fall fun ...



has officially begun!

it's ben's first year of tackle



and we have 2 really fun teams to cheer on!!



SO ...
as of right now ...
and for the next 3 months ...
you know where to find me.

cramming

i am beginning to realize that summer is slipping away ...

ours days of going random places
at random times
are numbered
and
i am actually not liking it.

of course there are times
when i am MORE than ready to have the boys in school
and back in a routine
like yesterday with all 3 and a friend at the dentist together
but for the most part i love days like these
and hate to see them end

SO ...
i have now decided that the next few weeks
will consist of cramming in all of the last minute fun we can!

yesterday we decided to bring our cars of fun to stillwater ;)

we went to the teddy bear park



where they all had a lot of fun playing

even alex and his many moods ...

we had lunch at grand pizza
and successfully cleared the place out!
funny what 6 boys can do ;)

then today we decided to try como zoo for the first time this summer
because of the new polar bear exhibit the place has been nuts!
so we held off as long as we can and FINALLY decided to brave it out today.
it was still SO much busier than it ever used to be -
but we got to see all of the important things ...

my favorite ...
the orangutans!!
if i had all day with no kids ready to move on -
this is where i'd sit

how can you not love an orangutan in happy baby pose!

we also spent a lot of time in the butterfly tent

i told the boys that the butterflies might land on them if they stood still
and WOW ...
thinking i need a butterfly tent in my backyard
i have never seen them so still and quiet!

ben got my favorite butterfly to land on him ...

and drew had a butterfly that would not leave his foot/flip flop ...
something about the dirt that attracted it perhaps?!

we ended our afternoon in the japanese garden
where we practiced a little zen -
barnett style

a good way to lead into a busy weekend ...
AND for sure into 2 more weeks of cramming ;)

if you want to be happy for the rest of your life ...

SO ...
i am not sure how it started
i am guessing i was getting peppered with questions and looking for an easy answer.

WHATEVER THE REASON ...
about a month ago
i answered one of alex's MANY questions
and the answer that i gave has REALLY stuck with him ...
so much so that it has become a VERY common response to almost anything i say.

it starts with me saying something

then alex says 'how do you know?'

i say 'well, i just do'

and then he says -
'OH THAT'S RIGHT!! girls know everything!'
and simply drops the subject.

for now he buys into the fact that i know almost everything ;)
HA HA - feel free to insert eye roll here
and it makes answering 4 yr old questions that don't make sense a lot easier ...
someday he'll catch on -
but until then ....

------------------------
little alex ...
someday, you are going to make a girl very happy ...
more than likely, she will know everything
or almost everything like i do ... wink wink
but ... even if she doesn't
i'm telling you now that it's ok to make her think she does ;)

i'm baaaaaack

i know ...
you missed me.

i apologize.

well ...
kind of.

the kids were off playing with my mom and aiden for the weekend.

and stacey and i were left alone ...



riding a tour bus and helping out go fish
if you haven't already - GO GET THEIR NEW CD -- NOW!!
on saturday

riding metro transit trains for a lot of sunday
AND
ending the day with 'dinner for schmucks'

AND

riding around in my car
zoom zoom
running errands today.
not very exciting ... but it's worth noting how quick they go WHEN I AM ALONE!

life is not incredibly bloggable when i'm without my crazies ;)
but that doesn't mean for one second that it wasn't a great weekend.

THANKS MOM!!

a ravey recap

for the past 2 days we've been hanging out with our cheesehead friends
the raveys - and honorary ravey, josh ;)



we ...

played just dance

ate a lot of pretzel m&m's

went walking downtown

ate at old spaghetti factory

brought our rockband band back together

jumped on the trampoline
wet & dry
LOTS

learned that if you tell alex not to blink for a picture
he will take you VERY serious



suffered through/enjoyed the high temperatures
and along with that -
watched a LOT of storms

went to latin hip hop

ate at red robin

walked on the stone arch bridge
for a short time
have i mentioned that my kids ALWAYS have to go to the bathroom
at the most inconvenient times!

and ...
we spent a lot of time
simply watching the boys wear themselves out.

it was a fun few days, raveys.
come back again soon -
i promise i'll have treats waiting
and i'll probably have the nerf guns hidden too ;)

they're baaaack

today was the day!

WE GOT TO PICK UP DREW AND BEN!!!

REALLY ...
it goes without saying
that they had SO much fun
and
that the time that they were there simply wasn't enough.

BUT ...
i'll say it anyway.

they LOVED it.

the highlights according to them:

* gaga ball

*dodgeball
with the black balls
i guess ask the boys if you want to know why?!

*their cabin buddies -
the staff that come tuck them in at night and bring them treats ;)

eric

katelyn

*singing songs

including my personal favorite ...

:: the hippopotomus song ::

*canoeing on the hidden river

*drew's cabin winning cabin of the day one day

and MY favorite ...

when i asked ben what he liked most about camp he immediately said ...
* 'that drew came to see me every morning and every night and that i got to be with him'

-------------------
they both wish they could've stayed longer
they are now VERY tired
AND
they both even admitted that they missed me - just not enough to be sad ;)

perfect.

when your brothers are away ...

it's always good to head to the mall ...
again



and find some other friends who want to play!

it also apparently helps you forget about the shot you just had to get
at your 4 yr check up ;)

thank you nick jr.
in case you didn't know it ...
you hold a VERY special place in our lives ;)

a little more TLC

today officially marked the beginning of week 2 at trout lake

it also marked the beginning of a very quiet week at our house

drew AND ben are together at camp!!


ben is in the 'northern' cabin ...

with his friend garrett ...

and drew is in the 'rock bass' cabin ...

with his friend jack ...

they are both SO excited about being there
and couldn't wait for us to leave so they could get on with their activities!!

ben is our sensitive one BUT he did REALLY well!
he started to get a bit quiet right before we left
but i think it was his way of telling us we needed to leave
so that he didn't lose it ...

he was SO excited to be there and to be with garrett ...



that i know he'll be just fine ;)

they are going to have an INCREDIBLE time ...
they are going to get to do a TON of fun things that they can't do here
AND
they are going to be learning about God in the process.

i'm pretty sure the next 3 days are going to go faster than any of us can imagine ...
and that alex and i are going to be the ones that need to be convinced of that ;)

the house is just TOO quiet ;)

i miss them both already
and
to be honest ...
i hope they are missing me JUST A LITTLE bit too ;)