Tay Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

I know I have mentioned how much I love my house. It makes me happy to drive down the road and see it, wrapped in it's white picket fence. I love the big trees in the front yard that shade the kids playing in the summer. But, those trees, like a big dog, shed... alot. Today, my dad decided to rake up all the leaves in the front yard for the kids to jump in.

Nate went first, head first, into the pile.
Jacob, more cautious, got in on the action.

I love seing them play together.

And what fun is a pile of leaves if you don't throw them up and let them rain back down on you (and everyone else in the area)?

Then you have to rake them back into a pile...

Thanks for the help Joshua!

And because we know that Nate does not do anything the simple way. Here is how Nate "jumps" into a pile of leaves.

I still have a pile of leaves in my front yard. I wonder who is going to put it in the yard waste bin... What a fun fall afternoon.

Today, I took the little boys to the eye doctor. I knew Jacob would need new glasses. He had has glasses for two years now for reading and watching TV (which he has not been wearing when he should). That being said, Jacob was told today that he now needs to wear his glasses every day. He is nearsighted and has astigmatism, which he must have inherited from me. But, I must say he looks so cute and studious:

Nate on the other hand was quite disappointed to find out that he does NOT need glasses. I think he feels left out since everyone else in our family wears glasses. He is a bit farsighted, but not enough to need glasses, yet. The doctor agreed, it's only a matter of time...

Happy birthday to my favorite nephew SHAWN! We had a great time hanging out with him and his friends yesterday. I think he had fun too, if this photo is any indication. "I only missed it by this much."
Unfortunately, I did not realize that my camera battery was nearly dead. This was the last photo I got, and it didn't even flash. But, I did get one (very bad) picture of the object of Shawn's affection. That would be Hilda; she the only girl in the picture. She is such a tiny thing, which is particularly funny considering Shawn is at least 6 feet tall.

This is Shawn's friend Matt. I wonder what the result of this ball was. He's not giving any indication in this picture. I think he's holding his breath.

Here's Joshua. Doesn't look excited here. Can you get a good picture of someone bowling, because everyone seems to look like this, lol.

Hey, Shawn gets to bowl too. And I think he did too shabby either.

This is Aunt Sheri's princess. Also known as Shawn's little sister Faith. She is such a cutie!

This is Shawn's dad, Jeb. I'm so glad he came and brought Faith. Shawn was happy to have them both there too. Oh, and Jeb kicked our collective behinds at bowling.

Jacob got into it too. I didn't get a picture of Nate due to the dead battery. But, I think we have to do thing again soon. The kids loved it.

And what's a birthday without a birthday cake, even when you're 15! Somehow Shawn acquired the nickname Pacman. My understanding is that it had something to do with playing badminton in PE last year. Anyway, he was very happy with his Pacman cake. He is so easy to please.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAWN! I LOVE YOU!

I love being a soccer mom. Even when it means getting up early on a Saturday morning, lugging the lawn chairs, water bottles, snacks, sweaters and my coffee, from one field to another to catch both boys' games. Even when we have two practices at two different schools at the same time. Actually, that doesn't bother me so much, because I am in class at the time and Brian is juggling practice. I don't even mind slopping across the muddy practice field in my work shoes, because I go straight from work to meet them there.

Ok, so soccer is a bit inconvenient. Actually, it's a bit ol' pain. But, I seriously love it! And the kids love it! And they are so cute in their uniforms...

Here's Nate playing goalie.

Way to block that kick, NATE!
Could they be any cuter? This is the under 6 team.

Here is Jacob's team warming up.

Practicing some dribbling.

Teamwork! Pass that ball.

This one says it all!

If you have children, I'm sure you will relate to these photos. My utmost respect to the outrageously expensive professional photographers who can take an unruly group of children and create a lovely portrait to hang over Grandma's fireplace. They deserve every penny. And if they can capture the "real" family behind the picture, even better. I shared some of the photos my friends Melissa took of our family recently. She sent me these yesterday, and I just had to share them too. They make me smile, because they are so US! These are the pictures behind the photos on Grandma's wall.

Jacob was not in the most cooperative mood that day.

This one just makes me smile. Is it too much to ask everyone to look at the camera?

Melissa and I and the little boys were waiting for Brian and the older boys to move the car when this guy came flopping down the beach. He looked like a penguin. This one makes me smile too, because it reminds how much fun I had with my friend and my family that day on the beach.

Happy Veteran's Day to those who serve our country.

In honor of some of my favorite Veterans:

First my hubby Brian. He was in the Navy. He earned his GI bill to go to school and now he is teaching math to at-rick high school students. I am so proud of him.

My Daddy was in the Marines and spent two tours in Vietnam. Regardless of your views on the war, he was in a dangerous place, doing what he felt was right.

My father-in-law, who I didn't get to know, because he passed away soon after Brian and I met was in the the Army. Now, there is the opportunity for some good humored rivalry.

My Brother-in-law Paul was also in the Navy.

My uncle Ken was in the Army, as was his wife Mona.

My uncle Rick was in the Marines.

My friends Aimee's Daddy was also in the Navy. He is just one of those amazingly thoughtful men. I hope I get to meet him on of these days.

My hat's off to all of you and those who served before you, along side you, and after you to keep us safe. My thoughts are also with those who are missing a loved one today who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

Hmmm. What to share today. Well I was going to post soccer pictures. But, I'm just not ready to bump the family photos down yet. I love looking at them. Besides, the kids are at the grandparents' and Brian is taking me out to dinner, so this will have to be short. It was nice not to have any little feet in back last night. I love my kids more than anything. But every now and then, it's nice to spend some time alone with their daddy!

Two weeks ago, we had the opportunity to be photographed by my dear and talented friend Melissa of Priceless Reflections. She lives in Ohio, but was going on a cruise out of California and agreed to photograph our family and do Joshua's senior pictures while she was out here. I have always wanted family pictures one the beach. And while she had never done beach photos, she was such a sport to do this for us. Here is a sneak peek at the bazillion pictures she took that day. We had so much fun and these capture that. Melissa, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Here are my boys!

Brian and I with the little boys.
I love this one! The picture and the man!

So much fun trying to this one. I think there is a better one.

This is my gang!

Sniff, my baby is getting so big! Jacob was seven before he lost his first tooth. Nate lost his tonight, and was very proud to show it off. Time to dust off the fairy wings...


Just what does the tooth fairy do with all those teeth? Let me hear your theories. Come on people, I haven't had a comment in almost a week...

So today, it's random pictures of the kids being themselves. You can really see their personalities in these pictures. Enjoy!

Here is Jacob being studious.

Here is Joshua being silly.
Here is Nate being... well Nate.

And Shawn being... well Shawn.

I wish I had time to gloat about the election. Needless to say I am thrilled with the presidential election results. Some of the local propositions, not so much.

But, today has been a marathon busy day. So, you will have to wait til tomorrow to hear what I have to say about the election...

So, I thought I would wait until later today to post. But, then I thought I could post now and stretch this election business into two posts. So this is how NaBloPoMo works, lol.

WE VOTED! I am so excited about this election. I am so excited about being part of history that this election represents. I am so excited that my kids are old enough to care and have opinions of their own. The oldest two will be old enough to vote in the next presidential election. WOW!

Brian got time off to vote today. So we went together after the little boys got out of school. We have taken the kid to the polls with us every time. Jacob was with me and I showed him my ballot. We talked about how you fill in the bubbles just like a test at school. He even read over some of the propositions, before I told him I needed to actually vote (fortunately, there was not a line, so we weren't holding anyone up). Then he watched me vote. Maybe not the best idea. He did not agree with my vote on one of the propositions and made it know. I told him we would talk about it when I was finished. And we did. He still doesn't agree with me, and that's ok. I'm glad he cares enough to challenge even me. And for what it's worth, Brian voted the other way on that proposition, so we cancelled each other out.

I am looking forward to hanging out tonight and watching it all unfold. Regardless how you vote. Letyour voice be heard. This year, it might just matter!

Day 3 ~ I'm on a role!

Mondays are crazy days in my life; this semester anyway. I have class at 8 in the morning. Have I ever mentioned that I am SO NOT a morning person? Well, I am SO NOT a morning person. And to make mornings even crazier, neither are my two youngest children. So, this is what today looked like.
6:30ish Get up. It's a good thing I am low maintenance.
7:30 Take the kids to school.
8:00-10:00In class
10:00-12:30 Work as GA (grading midterm exams)
12:30-1:00 Errands
1:00-2:00 Printing PTA flyers
2:00 Parent teacher conference
2:30 finish PTA flyers.
3:00-4:30ish Check email, blog (because I have too), Check older kids grades, help with homework, do laundry, plan dinner, anything I can cram in there...
This evening looks like this (I have to bring out my clone):
5:00-7:00 Jacob has soccer practice at location A
5:30-6:30 Nate has soccer practice at location B
6:00-9:00 I have class

I hate Mondays!

So, I signed up for National Blog Posting Month. NaBloPoMo The challenge is to blog every day for the month of November. The funny thing is, November has 30 days in it. From January through the end of October, I blogged exactly 31 times. Because, we all know I have time every day to sit and blog.

The challenge to myself is this. I really enjoy blogging. So, I'm going to try to devote a little time each day doing something I enjoy. What a concept. So, now I need some ideas. Throw some questions at me.

Challenge yourself, and let me know if you are participating, so I can be sure to check in often (and I can borrow ideas from your blog).

HAPPY HALLOWEEN (a day late)

We are not largely into Halloween at our house. But the boys do like to dress up. (Two years ago Grandma found a bunch of Halloween costumes on clearance at Target and the boys have played in them for two years now.) We trick or Treated one block of our neighborhood and now our house is stocked with enough candy to last til Christmas, I think. And, I think grandma has candy for them too, since she was working last night.

Now, for you Halloween pleasure: Our Family Halloween Parade.

Here is Nate. The adorable red-headed "skelakin."

Star Wars has long been a popular them in our house.

Here are Jacob and Joshua as Clone Troopers (I think).

Shawn was more into the costume. I had fun painting his face.

Two years ago, I bought this costume to wear at the hospital.

Yesterday, I got to where it again. It is fun to dress up when you work with kids.

And this is my handsome husband. Doesn't he look classy.

I hope you all had a safe and Happy Halloween and are now well stocked with candy for the rest of the season. Hopefully, our stash will get me through finals...