LOVE FOR CALI

The boys and Cali have a very good relationship.  I'd say that Brady and Cali love to play and fight more and Tyler and Cali like to cuddle together more.  So, Cali has it made!  Cali is such a sweetie and princess in this house.  A real princess...She hates going outside when it's raining and the one time that it's snowed, she wasn't too thrilled to be walking in something that cold and wet!  I am so glad that Tyler and Brady get to grow up with a dog like Cali!

 Brady and Cali cuddling on the couch first thing in the morning.

Tyler wanted to be included on showing love for his dog.  A special picture of our three little ones!

MEET CHIPPEY

Chippey, the elf, has joined our family this Christmas season.  He has been such a great addition to our home!  It's really like Christmas morning each morning when the kids awake.  They are so excited to wake up and find where Chippey has flown in and landed after his night spent at the North Pole with Santa.  The boys have shared with Chippey what it is that they would like Santa to bring them.  Arguments that the boys have started have grown shorter, thanks to Chippey.  And yes, Tyler chose the name Chippey.  There was actually an Elf on the Shelf show on one night and the Elf's name was Chippey.  I guess it stuck with Tyler and Chippey is the name of our new seasonal family member.  I love how both boys jump up and down each morning, yelling, "Chippey, " when they have first seen him and his new spot for the day.  They really treat Chippey as one of Santa's little elves.  It's so sweet!

LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!

We have officially started the countdown to Christmas! 

 I just bought this countdown this year.  You are actually supposed to move the magnetic mitten and count up to the 25th day of December, but for the boys, it makes much more sense to countdown to 1.  So, Brady was able to move it for the first time tonight to 24!  Now that today is over, there are only 24 more days and then it will be Christmas!

 I had broughten home materials from school for each of the boys to make a Christmas link countdown.  I ended up only having to make one tonight for Brady, because Tyler came home from preschool today with one of his very own!  Here he is after bath, taking off the first link.

 He is so excited!

Brady's a couple years too young to understand this concept, but he was still willing to take a picture with his Christmas countdown bell!

24 more days!

WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING BREAK!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had and so many things to be thankful for!

We drove to my mom's on Wednesday afternoon after work.  Her and I worked on preparing a few things for Turkey day and the boys played with all of their toys at Grandma's house and kept busy.

We had a total of 13 people at my mom's for dinner on Thursday.  It was great!  It ended up being a really nice day.  The boys were able to play soccer outside and then play on the back deck after lunch.  We stayed at my mom's until Friday afternoon.  Josh and Lee went Black Friday shopping at 12:00 midnight and got back to my mom's about 2:30.  They each got a few things, but I think they enjoyed people watching more!  We all headed out to the mall Friday morning around 9:30 to get some things.  It really wasn't that busy.  The boys played at the playground in the mall, had ice cream, rode a couple rides and the carousel, and had a great time!  I got a little shopping done and was also able to see a few of my cousins and Aunt that had also come into town to do some shopping.

This past Saturday and Sunday have been spent at home relaxing and putting up the christmas tree and all the christmas decorations.  It has been such a wonderful 4 day break spent with family.  It was much needed!

The boys, Lee, and Cali playing soccer at Grandma's on Thanksgiving.

Relaxing on the back deck, soaking in some rays on Thanksgiving.

After playing outside and eating turkey, Lee joined the boys during their nap.

Check this off our list this year!  While we were Black Friday shopping, Santa was in the mall and there was NO LINE!  This Santa was awesome!  He sat and talked to the kids for a really long time and was super nice.  I guess it pays to visit him early in the season!  And that is a smile on Brady's face.  He still does "the squint."

Riding the carousel in the mall.

 I had to hop on a horse so that I didn't get sick!

JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!

I took the boys to a new indoor inflatable playground this past weekend.  Lee was gone in Chicago for the weekend, to go to a Bears game, so this was a perfect outing for us to keep busy and entertained.  They really enjoyed their time there and didn't stop jumping until we put our shoes back on to leave.  It was great!

 This was the best picture that I could get of the two of them together.

 Both of them sliding down from a bounce house.

 Brady in the "obstacle course."

 Tyler finishing up with the "obstacle course."

 And Brady finishing up the "obstacle course."

 Tyler going down the BIG slide.

 The wall to climb to go down the BIG slide.  Brady went down the slide multiple times as well, but he needed me to get him to the top of this wall.  Quite the workout for myself as well!

So much fun!

TYLER'S 4TH BIRTHDAY FESTIVITIES!

We had quite the weekend of birthday events to celebrate Tyler's 4th birthday! And he was one very excited little boy!

{This collage was forgotten and is supposed to be shown later in the post, but I thought it was too cute to not show. This was the fun we had on Sunday doing Tyler's treasure hunt. Walk the Plank was pretty fun!}

This all started with him wanting a pirate themed party. We also decided that we would add a party this year and we invited 3 of his friends over to help him celebrate. So, out went the pirate invitations and my mind has been pretty much pirate focused for the past few weeks.

Saturday evening was his 'friend party.' The boys arrived at 4:30 and we began our treasure hunt. I had clues rolled into clear bottles (thanks to Lee for drinking some Smirnoff!) that the boys had to find around the house. At each bottle and with each clue there was an obstacle that the boys had to complete. The first obstacle was to get the boys looking like pirates, so we added tattoos, mustache, beard, eye patch, and bandana to their attire. We also had them talking 'pirate.' They then had to head to the basement to jump the islands, as a crew, to get to Tyler's Neverland Beach for the next clue. The next obstacle was in Tyler's bedroom, where they had to throw gold into a treasure chest, and then into the living room to walk the plank blindfolded without falling into the "water." The last clue sent them underneath the kitchen table, where they found 'X' marks the spot and a chest full of gold and gold candy! After the treasure hunt, they played for awhile and then ate some pizza, cake, and ice cream. After dinner, Tyler opened up his presents from his friends. We then took them down to the basement to dance, wear off some 3 and 4 year old energy, and to just kill time! :) After that got a bit out of hand, we headed back upstairs for a story, How I Became a Pirate, to calm them down a bit before being picked up by their mom's. Overall, I would have to say that Tyler's first 'friend party' was a HUGE success! Tyler (and Brady), and Tyler's friends had so much fun! And Lee and I were exhausted!
Sunday morning started yet another party! Grandma Mary had actually arrived during the party Saturday evening and Grandpa Freese, Uncle Josh and Liz arrived Sunday morning. We played and did the treasure hunt again. I would have to say that the hunt might have been a bit more fun when it was done with adults! Especially walking the plank blindfolded! We ate some lunch, cake, and ice cream, and then opened presents. Tyler got some pretty cool things! We also went outside and played with his new soccer ball and goal. He loved running around and kicking that soccer ball into the goal!
Monday, November 14th, 2011--Tyler's actual 4th Birthday! I had kind of forgotten about 'b-day cupcakes' this time around, until Tyler asked me Saturday night in bed. "What about my birthday cupcakes, Mom?" I replied with, "I didn't really think about those. What would you like." Tyler said, "What we always have for birthday cupcakes, Mom. The one's with the oreo's on the inside." Of course, I have made these cupcakes for all birthdays since they have turned one, so don't know why I was surprised when he asked about them! So, Sunday night, I made cupcakes for his birthday on Monday. He took some to daycare and then had them again Monday night for his birthday. The only thing that Tyler wanted for his birthday was a REAL fire truck. Well, as we all know, that is impossible, so Lee and I surprised Tyler (and Brady) with a trip to the Fire Station after work on Monday. He knew there was a surprise for him and he was so excited the entire day! When we walked into the station we were greeted by the Fire Marshall who gave both boys a plastic Fire Helmet, stickers, and tattoos. He then gave us a tour of the Fire Trucks, Fire House, and the Ambulances. Tyler got to sit in the BIGGEST fire truck, blew the horn, and had turned on the sirens and lights! Both Tyler and Brady got to go up onto another fire truck to see all the buttons and where they would use a fire hose on top of the truck. Tyler got to hold another fire hose and put a fireman's jacket on. This was a great afternoon at the fire station and Tyler was very surprised and felt very lucky that he was able to do all that he did!

Happy 4th Birthday, Tyler! We love you very much! Saturday evening. Tyler and his friends. Tyler, Brady, Ian, Caden, and Micah. Monday afternoon at the fire station.Saturday afternoon. Tyler and I went to pick up his cake. We got back home an hour before his party. He sat at the counter and stared at his cake until his friends arrived. When I asked Tyler the favorite part of his day on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, he always answered with, "Blowing out my candles and eating my cake." He absolutely loves the attention when getting sung 'happy birthday' to. He also really loved his pirate cake and his birthday cupcakes.

The boys doing their treasure hunt. "Jumping the Islands."

Walking the plank and then finding the treasure under the table.

Enjoying pizza, cake, and ice cream.

Opening presents, dancing, and listening to a story.

Sunday's Party. The end of the treasure hunt and opening presents.

Tyler and his pirate cake.

Tyler got new Nerf guns for his birthday. Everyone enjoyed using them! Grandpa spent lots of time in the playroom with Brady and Tyler.

Soccer time!

Monday's Fire Station visit.

New remote control car and birthday cupcakes.

Now, all we have left is to make some cookies Tuesday night for him to take to Preschool on Wednesday so that he can celebrate his birthday at school!

FAMILY FUN--BOWLING

This past Saturday morning we took the kids to the bowling alley for their first experience with bowling. (Besides our little plastic bowling set at home.) It was great! They really had fun with it and it was so great to see their faces react to this new game that they were being introduced to. Lee and I bowled as well, and well, you'll have to see the last picture on this post to see who dominated the game! They have something for the kids to use that we did not have as kids. It's called "the dinosaur" and it's pretty much like a little slide for them to push their bowling ball down so that it keeps up momemtum to actually reach the pins each time. Great invention!

Tyler's first turn. He would take turns using "the dinosaur" and just rolling it down himself.
Brady just finishing up his first turn.

Tyler-70, Me-145, Brady-100 (Lee played a couple turns while Brady ate chips.), and Lee-136.

Notice how I started my game...with 3 strikes!

Maybe next time, honey!