Boys Will Be Boys

Brady and Bennett battling it out in the backyard. Note: nobody got hurt, no tears were shed...just boys being boys!

Weekend of Fun Minus One

While Scott spent the weekend golfing at the Lake of the Ozarks with his dude friends, me 'n the kids enjoyed three soccer games, swimming at the Y, plenty of outside playing, and the boys went on a hayride last night. This coming week will be filled with preparations for Brady's birthday..he's requested a birthday dinner (Thursday) at Hooters (where else, right?!) and his family party is Saturday. Fun!

Carter scored the prettiest goal I've ever missed! I was taking pictures at the time and couldn't see his shot through the viewfinder...they won both games today....GO SLSG!!

Kids Picture Proofs

"What Marker?"

I haven't seen a marker. I don't know what you're talking about....

Random Pictures

Nothing exciting going on, so I'll just share some recent pictures...

Cate is freakishly strong. She hung on this thing at the park for the longest time...sliding back and forth...it was crazy. And FYI, she doesn't normally wear white dresses to play in the park...we were on our way back from getting family pictures taken :)

They spend so much time on the trampoline...naked of course!



Brady is too funny!

Boo-Boo # 392,746,545

Cate's newest "ouchie"

Her right brow is a bit swollen and red. This is the only outward evidence of the dresser incident yesterday. I'm hoping she doesn't have any bruised or broken ribs, but she's been running around wild all day so we think she's fine. Ignore the food all over her face. I often wonder if she's going to question our parenting when she looks back on her baby pictures and in most of them her face is covered in food or dirt!!

Miz Cate

Cate had her 18 month Dr. appt yesterday. She was supposed to get a shot, but I wasn't in the mood, so I postponed it til next time. It just needs to be done before kindergarten and I'm not in any hurry. Cate weighed in at a whopping 23.1 pounds...2 pounds more than her last appt three months ago.

Dr. W thinks she is ready to start potty training. For the last 8+ weeks, she has stayed dry overnight and now when she is wet, she runs to her room, grabs a diaper, brings it to me, and lays down to be changed. When we were in Old Na.vy last week, she took the changing pad out of her bag and laid down in the middle of the store...apparently she doesn't like sitting in her own urine..go figure. So, we bought a potty chair and we're going to gradually "train" her. The boys are making a huge deal over it...I figure that's either going to make or break the deal...guess we'll see.

When I went to get Cate dressed in the Dr's office, I couldn't find her clothes..anywhere. I looked for a bit, then opened the door and asked Dr. W if he could help me look. We were literally on our hands and knees searching this tiny room for Cate's shirt and pants...finally he found them in the very bottom of the trash can. She is too much for me!!

Today, I was looking through her closet when she pulled her dresser on top of her. It was the worst 3 seconds of my life. Adriane can attest to my fear...we were talking on the phone when I screamed and hung up! Luckily, even a dresser can't beat Cate Smallie and she walked away with only a slight black eye (perfect for our family pictures tomorrow).

Of Course I'm Crazy....

How could I not be with these kids??!!

"We Spent a Week There One Day"

That best sums up our time in Lake Placid, NY. We did and saw as much as we possibly could in the 31 hours we were there....sleep only accounting for 8 of those hours! My parents also survived...very important. They, along with the help of Duane, Vineta, Bill, and Kenny, kept the kids very busy and very happy. The wedding was amazing, the views spectacular, and I'm so very glad that we made the trip. Something I will remember forever!

Our first leg of the trip. Ready to have some fun!

View from my window on the connecting flight to Albany. I really hate flying..makes me very nervous.
This is the view from our room balcony at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. It overlooks Mirror Lake in downtown Lake Placid. Couldn't have been more beautiful.
This is the street below our hotel. Lots of shops and restaurants all within walking distance of our hotel.

"Do you believe in miracles?!" Scott standing in front of the entry doors to the ice rink...home of the 1980 Olympic hockey games. (US won gold!) Also, the rink where the movie Miracle (starring Kurt Russell) was filmed.

The rink where US beat USSR in the semi-final game. We actually got lost in the building trying to find the tour and ended up taking our own tour...for free!

Josh breaking the rules in the Olympic museum

Scott playing goalie in front of the official goal used during the 1980 Olympics

This is the US ski jumping training facility. They literally land in the water with their skis on...the one sport I hope my kids never want to try!!

This ski jump is used during the summer as training and during the winter they host different championships. We rode the ski lift to the top and then a glass elevator to the very top of the ski jump.
Josh on the lift behind us. Very scary without snow under us!
Naturally, I won gold :)

My history teacher husband insisted on visiting John Brown's grave site. He was famous for leading the raid on Harper's Ferry. "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" was written about John Brown.
This is a view from our table at a pub on Mirror Lake. The lake was pretty big and freezes solid during the winter.

Catherine's wedding was at 4:00 in the afternoon on Saturday. It was outside overlooking a golf course and the mountains. The most amazing background ever! Every detail of the wedding was perfect....I'm so glad we were able to make it!

This is the ski jump we rode to the top of earlier in the day...yikes!

Uncle Mike walking Cat down the aisle.

Mike, Jenny, Elaine, Bau Bau, Fran, me, Scott, and Josh during cocktail party before reception.

We had a great time at the reception.

Joe and Cat are very "out-doorsy"....the cake topper adirondack chairs were very appropriate!!

No wedding is ever complete without one of these!!

Our Sunday morning flight was delayed by 90 minutes, causing us to miss our connecting flight (by 2 minutes). We were able to catch a different flight but had to spend 3.5 hours in the airport. This is how Scott spent those hours! We were both exhausted!!

Happy Birthday & Anniversary!!

Today is my mom's birthday and my parents 43rd wedding anniversary. That's right 4-3 years. That's a long time...and for my mom...a rrreeeaaallllyyyyy long time. Ha! Just kidding dad. They celebrated with dinner and a trip to the casino, but didn't come home zillionaires. Bummer..I was counting on NY shopping money, oh well. We're not really celebrating for a few weeks, but Scott and I thought we'd give her a present early...so, we're leaving town and letting her watch our children for the weekend. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! The gift that keeps on giving...........SEE YA SUNDAY :)

Leavin' On A Jet Plane.....

Scott and I are headin' out to Lake Placid NY for the weekend. WOOHOO! Can't believe it's here..our big trip. Well, not really big trip...less than 48 hours. However, it is the very first time we've left our kids overnight. We will be attending his cousins wedding on Saturday at the Crowne Plaza Resort. Fancy, I know. Destination weddings rock!! And even though I was hoping for Hawaii or Paris....I've heard nothing but great things about Lake Placid and can't wait to spend every minute on Saturday sightseeing before the wedding. We land in Albany tomorrow evening and then will rent a car for the 2 hr. trip to the hotel. Scott's family left today and his brother has already called to meet him at a pub for dinner when we get in...fun!! Tonight when the boys were in our bed whining about how much they'll miss us (load of crap I tell you)...I told them I can't wait to lay in a huge bed that I don't have to make in the morning, with my very own remote control, watch tv shows where all of the actors are over the age of 14, read a book with no pictures, and I finally won't have to take my morning shower while Ben is sitting on the vanity practicing his spelling words....let's hope this isn't too good to be true :) I only ask for one mostly perfect weekend. And even though Scott and I will miss the kids terribly, and mention (a few thousand times) that we wish they were with us to see all of the fun things, I am really looking forward to spending some quality time with Mr. Smallie...of course he's got his IPOD- touch all ready and I have my stack of books and magazines, but at least we'll be together!

Good luck mom and dad with these crazy kids...