Merry Sickmas To All!

Well, our Christmas visit up to my sister's started out with us leaving Ricki behind because she caught the flu. Noah had been sick a couple of days before and we thought we were out of the woods but no such luck. Our luck got even worse when we, about ten minutes from Shana's, we were blessed with a 5 year old puking in the car. We got to my sister's, cleaned up the boy and the car and quarantined Oliver to the basement in hopes of keeping the germs to ourselves. My dad came up on the 24th and picked up Ricki, who was feeling much better, on the way. Again, we were lulled into believing that we had spared the Rollins' the miseries of flu until Christmas Eve when it became apparent that Trevor and Ron were infected. I can not tell you how incredibly guilty I felt once I realized those 2 were down for the count. Yes, flu happens, and yes, I didn't mean to bring it up with us, but still, I felt horrible. Trevor, an absolute trooper, hung out on the couch and opened presents with everyone. As soon as the presents were open my mom decided to get out of the flu battle field and headed home late that night and we retreated to the basement to give Ron and Trevor some time to recover. As far as flues go, this one seemed to be a pretty fast, 24 hour sort of flu, so by the next day/afternoon, everyone was perking up and starting to feel better. Even though we canceled Christmas dinner (more guilt!) I went ahead and cooked up the meal. Luckily, we ALL got to enjoy it. The boys lazily found and opened their stocking on Christmas day and played with all of their new games and toys. I love my sister very much and had a great time even if it wasn't the most ideal situation and circumstances. One of my favorite times of the weekend is when Ron, Shana, Joel and I kicked the kids downstairs and the 4 of us played MarioKart on Christmas night! Nice not having a bunch of kids yelling at you telling you that you are doing it all wrong. Anyway, not the ideal Christmas that all of us hope for but one spent with family and that's all that matters. Merry Sickmas!!

Ironman!!

I keep laughing when I look at my Christmas photos. I have taught Noah to pose quite nicely. He stops what he is doing, holds the gift up, gives me about a 3 second smile/time frame to snap the picture and then he's onto something else.

Yeah! Underwear!

More books for my voracious reader.

My hero for the weekend! Love you Trevor.

My awesome brother-in-law and his beautiful wife.

Hanging in there.

What are you smiling about Ron????

My sister's kid is tough on flashlights, she bought him multiples.

There's a smile!!

Christmas morning, feeling much better!

A boy and his dog.

Beggars!

New games, we ceased to exist for a while.

Oliver finally found his stocking.

Stories Behind the Pictures

Sometimes I wonder, when 20 or 30 years from now, when the boys are looking through pictures from the past what they will think about some of the pictures I have. Will they know the stories behind the pictures? Will they make up their stories? Will they remember them the same way I do? Will they think that I had totally gone nuts taking, literally, thousands of pictures?

Take this first picture for example, Oliver can be a complete pain in the rear at times and that's putting it nicely. He is a strong willed, in-your-face kind of kid. He will argue, question, manipulate and continually poke at that open wound until you snap. Then when you do snap, he gives you that, what is wrong with you, kind of look. Don't get me wrong he is also a blast! An incredible sense of humor for a 5 year old, funny, smiley, lover of life that can suck you into whatever fun he is having. Anyway, I went in on Monday morning to wake him up and found my big boy peaceful, sleeping, surely recharged and ready for the day. I stood there wondering if this was going to be a day filled with fun and laughter or day filled with battles royale?!? I went and quickly and quietly grabbed my camera. The second click of shutter woke him up, he rubbed his eyes, gave me a look and said, "Sheesh lady do you wake everyone up like this?" I laughed.
Then there is this picture, we were waiting to pick Oliver up from his classroom after the Christmas program and this little angel grabbed my attention. She doesn't look happy to me. Does she look happy to you? It looks like her and her little angel boyfriend just had a major fight. Her hair is messy from running her fingers through it in a show of frustration, one wing sags in defeat and her mascara is running because of all the crying. Poor little angel girl.

Our TV broke, we got a new one, this is Oliver telling me that I can't throw his new home away.

We bought the boys new mattresses too. They both wanted the memory foam type like Joel and I have. They came vacuumed sealed and rolled in these boxes. I'm not sure if the boys were more excited about their new mattress or their new robot armor! I made sure to take pictures of this because my eldest is starting to show signs of not wanting to play like this anymore. He is like a teeter totter, one day he is up reaching for young adulthood pushing toys aside, asking for a cell phone, asking for a facebook page, wanting me to let him drive around the neighborhood (not on my lap), and getting very frustrated at me holding him back. The next day he is down, wanting to cuddle, color, play with his toys, play with his brother and, on days like this, make robot armor out of a cardboard box. Yep, going to take pictures of that!

Or course to boys suited up in robot armor results in wrestling...

I don't get the chance to take many pictures like this anymore. He actually wanted to wear the hat and he had a moment of weakness when he let me brush the hair out of the way of his beautiful blue eyes. I somehow managed to get a smile too and it made my day.

This picture is one of many I took while Oliver was playing "Jumping Santa." The old mattress got tossed on the floor for the boys to play one for a couple of days. Oliver was jumping up and down on the mattress saying, "Jumping Santa, HO HO HO!" followed by giggles. Repeat over and over while mom takes pictures and giggles herself.

Pics From Our LAST Preschool Christmas

Today was Oliver's preschool Christmas program and unless I get invited back to watch a friend's child, it was my last one. As always, it did not disappoint. There was one major breakdown in the 3 year old class, after we all clapped loudly for their first song, the poor kid burst into tears. My favorite is always the two songs sung by the entire preschool at the end, "Apple Red Happiness" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." The room is tough to get good pictures in but I managed to capture a few...

This is little E and I am smitten with him. I went over to say hello to him before the program started and he gave me this look! Killed me!

Singing about the "Friendly Beasts"

It may not be very Christmas-like but I am digging the Mohawk on my boy! Snapped this shot while they were singing, "Go Tell it on the Mountain."

Flowers for Mrs. Marshall & Miss Peterson!

Yikes! Double Digits!

Noah has had a busy week! He earned a belt promotion, attended a karate demonstration, went to 3 birthday parties, had a birthday himself and is now playing laser tag with his best friend! Noah turned 10 today and that is hard for me to believe. He is turning into a fine young man with qualities that I love and adore. He is kind, loyal, enthusiastic, hungry for knowledge and a believer in finding the good in people (unless it's his brother then it's a whole new game!). He is brave and willing to try new things and put himself out there. His sense of humor is really starting to develop and he can make me laugh out loud. I love him and am proud to be his mom-mom.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOAH WAYNE!!

Noah earned his solid purple belt on Thursday. The boy has worked hard for it and we are very proud of him. A couple of days before he got his promotion, he was excitedly telling me that blue, brown and black are the three colors left. If he keeps at it and doesn't mess up he is certain that he will earn his junior and solid belts to work his way up to black belt by the time he is 15 or 16. I have no doubt that he will accomplish this.

Group photo after the promotions.

After his belt promotion, we came home and let him open up his gifts.
This is a Lego Harry Potter game from Aunt Nana, Uncle Ron and Cousin Trevor!

A huge Bionicle Lego set from Grandma Ricki that was put together, in it's entirety by bed time. That really should come as no surprise to those who know my Lego building machine.

And yes, we finally broke down and got him his own Nintendo DSi XL. He's been asking for one for quite sometime but we resisted since he already had a PSP. Now that Noah, Oliver and I all have one we can share the games.

And not to be forgotten, Lambey turned 10 today too. He's a bit rough around the edges and worn down a bit but he never misses the excitement around here.
Love you too, Lambey.

My Brain

It's that time of year again, I'm supposed to be in the holiday spirit, joyful, thankful, blah, blah, blah. I don't know what it is exactly about this year but I am not and can not get into the mood or spirit of it all. I want it done. I'm claiming dibs on being Grinch for the season. With that being said, I was emailing back and forth with a friend and she too is having a hard time jump starting that festive feeling. So my totally corny brain decided that I should really try to have fun with something holiday-ish. That is when the paragraph below happened. I apologize, I know it should have been edited/tweaked a bit more but that is how it came out of my brain so I'm leaving it alone. Janet told me I should share it, I think she's crazy but after reading this, you may think that I'm a bit nuts myself. Enjoy!

Let's hope that it'll all kick in here soon and the spirit will overtake us so we can Jingle our Bells as we Deck the Halls, breaking the Silent Night. Which will awaken Little Drummer Boy who will watch his distracted Mommy Kiss Santa Claus burning the Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire. This event may lead you to believe that a Blue Christmas is at hand, but do not worry for a Ruldoph the Red Nosed Reindeer led Sleigh Ride means that the REAL Santa Claus is coming to Town. His Holly Jolly Christmas spirit will Rock Around the Christmas Tree causing the Carol of the Bells to ring throughout the land. Frosty the Snowman will exclaim, "Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! For It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas!" So please Have Yourself a Very Merry Christmas because it is, as many have said, the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Feliz Navidad!

I'm In the Minority

Well, when you talk to adults anyway, I am in the minority, I like this time of year. I also enjoy the snowy, wintry weather that has arrived here in Vantucky. Most grown ups dread the weather and what comes along with it. All the kids like it though, unless of course Evergreen School District decides to make the appropriate call and send the kids to school instead of freaking out and making them stay home, then they just get upset. The snow accumulation was little to none but we did get to see it fall and put a sparse blanket on the ground. The temperatures are dipping down into the teens and topping out in the mid 30's. It's not too bad until the wind picks up then the wind chill factor kicks in and brrrrr! My eldest is currently dumping water on the deck in hopes of creating his own miniature ice rink. Which reminds me, I better let the other people in the house know what he is doing so they don't go unexpectedly sliding right off the deck onto the yard. If the predictions of a cold, white and stormy winter prove true then I should have lots to post over the next few months.

I love to watch the snow fall.

Noah refusing to smile, but he's happy it's snowing.

This boy never fails to give me a smile.

Trying to catch one or a thousand.

The little winter flowers had better luck.

Oliver is 5!

Oliver turned 5 on Tuesday. Yikes! It's hard to believe he is 5 already!! Due to our crazy work schedules, we had Oliver wait until Wednesday to open his presents. Both Joel and I wanted to be here when he opened up his gifts. I let my boys pick what they want for their birthday dinner and Oliver decided on white rice from Panda Express. Simple, plain white rice? Really? Yep, that's what he wanted. I took some pictures of him opening up his gifts but also wanted to say thanks to GrandBob for the Toy Story 3 DVD and thanks to Gammy for the spending money and contribution to his college fund! Love and hugs to all of you for making his day great!!

I know how hard it can be for a kid(okay fine, it's me) to wait on opening presents so when he woke up on Tuesday he had a huge Spongebob balloon and Spongebob Snuggie waiting for him. He LOVES that Snuggie! It also came with these fuzzy yellow socks that have these grip-dots on the bottom. Well, I mentioned to Oliver that he could turn them upside down and skate all over our floors. Joel looked at me like I was crazy. Then he said something like, "Are you nuts woman?!? Glad I'm going to work. You don't give our boys ideas like that."

Keeping it simple and in the Spongebob theme, cupcakes with yellow sprinkles were made.

Concentrating hard on that candle.
He made a wish and blew out the candle.

The pile o'presents awaiting my cute boy.

Thank you GrandPop Bruce and Grandma Heidi!!!
He also got two Matchbox racing motorcycles and a college fund contribution from them.

Monster Truck with flag from Auntie Soup, Uncle Brian and Cousins Bre and Brandon!
Woohoo!

It's a soccer shirt AND it has the number 5 on it!
Thank you Grandma Ricki, it goes perfect with the big air monster truck!!

Grandpa Jerry and Grandma Lavelle gave Oliver a gift card for his birthday. He took it to Fred Meyers, bought this game, then wrapped it and added it to the pile of gifts.

A cool carrying/travel case and this awesome game from Aunt Nana, Uncle Ron and Cousin Trevor - thank you!

Oliver has been begging for a Nintendo DS. I finally agreed to get him one but because they are a bit expensive he had to choose big gift and no party or party and small gift(s). He decided to get the big present and no party. So here it is, his brand new Nintendo DSi XL from Mom, Dad and Brother.

Don't worry, I am still taking him and a couple of his friends to play at Kids Club tomorrow but that's all it is, a couple of hours of pure play. And if I can somehow keep up with the action, I might have a couple of pictures to post. Thanks again to all of you for making his day great!

No Title

I have no title for this post, it's just a mash-up of the past couple of weeks. Pictures I'm drawn to or that make me smile. Isn't that what it's really all about...

Dewy spiderwebs...enchanting.

Fall colors are the best!

I like this picture for 2 reasons. First, I think it's kind of cool and second, it makes me laugh because I took the picture then my dog immediately sat on the dandelion.

Lloyd came to visit us this weekend, it's his bunny butt that made me fall in love with Corgis and a big reason why we have one of our own now.

These two were hilarious. A lot of silly Corgi jealousy going on. If you talked to or touched one of them then the other one was RIGHT there demanding his share.

Cousins and their dogs.

"AUNT TT, take a picture of me!!"

Can you guess who ended up with BOTH dogs?

Eastside Choral Festival

Like I mentioned before, Noah decided to participate in the Eastside Choral Festival. He agreed to get up early and meet with other fourth and fifth graders to learn a few songs. After a month of practice, the students from Illahee Elementary gathered with the students from Union High, Frontier Middle, Shahala Middle, Burnt Bridge Creek Elementary and Pioneer Elementary to perform for their community. It was amazing. The enthusiasm that the music directors have in our school district really shows in their students. We took a few videos that night, the first one is of ALL the students singing the finale, We Shall Be Free by Stephanie Davis and Garth Brooks. Actually, it's just the last couple minutes of the song. Professional musicians from the community took time out of their lives to learn, practice and then perform this song with the kids, how cool is that? The other video is of the Union High School Select Men's Ensemble singing, Amo, Amas, I Love a Lass, arranged by Marshall Bartholomew. This particular ensemble are 3 time state champions...wow!! The best part about the whole thing is that Noah really enjoyed himself. He even said that he wouldn't mind participating in more choir/music related activities and that makes me a happy mom-mom.

Needed a wide angle to get the gym...don't have that yet!

There's my shaggy boy!

Note: Having some upload issues with the second video...will post as soon as I strong-arm it into submission!! HA!!! I win. Of course I had to use Youtube to conquer but here it is...