Miss Ruth

Ruthie LOVES her cousin Grace!! Last Sunday, Ruth wanted to have hair that looked like Grace. So, we did our best with lots of sponge rollers the night before. She looked adorable for church and wanted to make sure that Grace saw these pictures. We love you Gracie....and the rest of your family too!

Legos

Bodie's cousin, whom Danny lovingly refers to as "Uncle Brad", sent us a surprise package a while back. Lego Star wars X-wing. Dan LOVES it. He has talked Michael into building it "with him" many times. I finally got a picture. Danny loves all things Lego and all things Star Wars, so this was an amazing surprise to him. He is such a fun little dude. So full of personality. We have many laughs with him/because of him....... thanks Brad. We love you too!!

This is definitely post worthy, Mike smiling AND being nice to his brothers.......Teenagers!

When we grow up......

So, at some point Michael will see this and probably kill me, but I had to put this on here. Bodie and I have decided that when we grow up, we want to be like Mike:) He was goofing around with his brothers after a long couple of snow days when these photos were taken. Oh, to be 13 and look like this.......makes a boy proud, I am sure.

Winter Blues

We have had SIX, yes six, snow days in the last couple of weeks. Now, I love my children dearly, but being cooped in on sub zero temperature days for days in a row with nothing planned and cranky kids has about sent me over the edge. I must admit, my house has gone downhill, FAST. On top of the snow days, Josh had a seizure which means that he will be fierce for the next six weeks, Danny dislocated his right elbow, Bodie had to work from home a couple of days after the snow storm (the kids were less than cooperative for that,) and I am on a "diet" for my guts. Not the best of days, not the worst, but they could definitely improve. We still have about 4 inches of snow on the ground and another round with that much or more is set to hit tomorrow and Wednesday. Yikes. The storm last week had three and four foot snow drifts on the driveway. We didn't even venture into the back pasture.

Needless to say, I am ready for Spring. I enjoy winter and the change of seasons, but this one has beat me, I am sorry to say and it is only the beginning of FEBRUARY!!!!

MIKE!!!!! The saga continues.......

So, I am sure that Michael will be appalled to see this post, but the story must be told. So, when he comes to his mom and says, "I have a rash that hurts", and his mom looks at it and thinks, "Gee, that looks like shingles, but he is 13. He can't have shingles at 13."
Well, she is wrong. I took him to the doctor the next day when he couldn't lift his left arm. SHINGLES it is. The doctor thinks that the huge dose of steroid that was given a couple of months ago to battle the poison ivy, left his immune system compromised. Poor kid, I wonder if he knows that he is really an OLD MAN!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!!

This is quite a crew to get ready and have smile all at the same time, so cut us some slack......:) We had a great time at our Ward Harvest Festival. The kids loved the different booths that were set up and all the candy that they "scored". Hope all of you had as much fun as we did.

Can't wait for next year.......

Happy Birthday Little One

We can't believe that this year has flown by so fast. As goes life, we have had ups and downs, but this little one has been such a joy. He is so mild mannered and fun to be around. He loves to play ball with everyone and anyone who will play. Danny is his best little buddy and he adores Ruthie. We are so happy to have him and get to know his fun personality. Love you Aaron.

Poison Ivy........

Mike went on a service project to help clean up an elderly sisters yard. Little did he know, he would remember that yard work for a long time. It took 3 weeks for this to get better and that was with a trip to the doctor, a big SHOT and prednisone to boot. YIKES!!

Labor Day Weekend Part 2

Labor Day Weekend we spend in St. Louis, Mo. We went out to see our newest neice Amy blessed. We had a great time. Sunday after church, we decided to head to the park next to the temple to try to get rid of some energy that was building up in the hotel room. What a beautiful day and so much fun. It is always nice to remember that our family can have fun just hanging out together without any "real" entertainment.

Denver TOO

This was the fabulous day at the Alpine Slide. I didn't get any pictures of that, but the kids loved it. Josh rode it and Bodie said the ride was great, it was the ski lift up to the start that he was worried the entire time that Josh would somehow get out of his white knuckle hold. After the slide, we went for the best pizza in Colorado. Thanks Uncle Joe, you rock.

Denver

We made a quick trip to Denver to see the Saturnino's just days before the kids started back to school. We had a blast. The kids always love seeing cousins and just hanging out.We made it to the reservior and to the Alpine Slide. Bodie, Joe, Melissa and I got to go to the temple there as well. It was a fabulouse weekend and a much needed break from our day to day. Thanks guys for putting up with us. We love you!!!!

Gotcha!!!

A couple of Sundays ago, Benjamin decided to take his prize baseball to church with him to show to his teacher, Bro. Smith. Bro. Smith is an awesome Primary teacher. He is totally involved in his students lives and has been to a couple of Ben's games to show his support. Anyhow, after church, one of the older boys, a 14 year old, decided it would be "funny" to throw the ball down the storm drain. I didn't know it was happening, obviously because said boy is still breathing, but when I got in the car, Ben was uncharacteristically quiet. I asked a couple of times and got no answer, so I was content to leave it as, Ben is in a "mood". Then from the backseat Danny reports, "Carl threw Ben's ball down the big hole". This was a bit confusing to me because first, there is NO CARL at church. Second, I had no idea that Ben had brought a ball to church that day. After a few additional questions, Ben's "dam" broke and it all came out. Mike and I rushed over to see what could be done. Ben reported that he had tried everything and that it was just lost for good. It took me a few minutes, but I got out the crow bar from the jack on my truck/tank:) That allowed us to open the manhole, but it was not long enough to reach the ball. After a few minutes and Dad coming out from his meetings, finally, I decided to bust Dan out of his car seat and see if he was brave enough to make the trip. He was ecstatic to be able to help his big brother. No fear of army crawling the 15 feet into the tunnel to reach the ball....... all we heard was "GOTCHA!!!!!" He then came back out with this grin to all our cheering. When he got back in the truck where Eli was waiting with Aaron and Josh, he said, "Eli, that was so awesome, I got the ball and they were all clapping for ME!"

Needless to say, he was showered with hugs and "hi-fives" for the rest of the day, every time he brought it up. Then he proceeded to explain to me for the next three days, how he deserved to have ice cream because he was so brave for his big brother. What can I say, I obliged.

Mutton Bustin'

Miami County Fair is always a fun experience, but this year it was the best....... Ruthie tried something NEW. It was awesome. She held on for "dear life". She says she loved it and she is definitely doing it again next year. She made it 21 seconds this year. Maybe next year she can beat her record. She is so much fun to have in our family. Love you Sister!!!

Summer Continues

We are home today, although just barely by the majority. We have been at the pool at least 3 times a week for 6 weeks now and finally the majority voted to have a day at home.

I am loving it. Wandering around trying to catch up on all the things that never get done as we rush out of the house to our next thing to do. Brownies, popcorn, french toast, snacks, Lego Rock Band and Movies.

You have to love lazy summer days!!!!!

Family Home Evening FUN

We love FHE when it goes well. Those of you with numerous small children know what I am talking about. Sometimes it feels like it is a roll of the dice as to whether or not you will make it 3 minutes into a gathering, let alone finish the lesson. However, there are those days when everything seems to fall right into place and those days make all the rest seem small in comparison. This was one of those days. We had a great lesson, great participation, everyone was happy, so we ended on a happy note of TWISTER. Ruthie has some serious skills at this game. The girl can fold in half and keep on holding her position. Admittedly, she has a great advantage, but the entire family gets in on the fun.

Fishing Follow Up

This is what you dress like in July in the Kansas heat and humidity.............

BUT this only happens when Dad is the only one that goes on a camping trip with a child and he makes sure that his son is COVERED, unfortunately, he was not........ Thus coming home looking like this......

WARNING: The next image WILL take your breath away.

Fishing

Michael got to go on the traditional 12 year old vacation with Dad. This is a family tradition from Bodie's fam that we have chosen to carry on in ours. Mike chose to go camping/fishing down in Arkansas on the Buffalo River. They had a blast. Apparently, they spent 14 hours on the river the first day. They had tons of fun together, just the two of them and have many memories that will never be taken from them. What a great tradition. This is the only picture I have of the event, but his smile is worth a million words.

Happy Birthday Boys......

Eli and Danny had birthdays in the last two weeks. Eli turned 9 and is loving it. He loved the birthday presents of Wii Lego Star Wars and some FANCY chocolate truffles. True to form, he is the food connoisseur. He requested Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake for his cake, and Uncle Pat's Bowtie Chicken Pasta for dinner. He better have a very good paying job when he gets older so that he can afford to buy the food he likes.

Danny is 3. He has mastered all the naughtiness that goes along with that age and the phrases, "I don't want to, you aren't the boss of me, I can do it, My mom said so, etc....." He is quite the little helper and loves "my little brother." He got swimming stuff for his birthday and a stomp rocket. He spends a lot of time outside counting down to blast off the rocket. GREAT purchase on our part.

Oh, how we love these boys and the fun that they bring to our family. We are so glad to have them and can't wait to see what the next year brings.

Welcome Spring!!!

We had a big spring thunder storm yesterday. I was at the chiropractor trying to get my back and hip fixed (I have pinched the nerve canal going into my left leg.....tons of pain, not much walking and not fun at all.) the kids were at home with Mike in charge. The storm decided to get a little aggressive so the kids tried calling my cell phone a couple of times. I was in the room with the doctor and didn't know, so they called Bodie. He then called the dr office to get me. Apparently, the kids were in the storage room, scared to death because the wind had picked up our trampoline and dropped it 50 feet away. Then it decided to break our wooden play set in two and knock it to the ground. The basketball hoop got relocated to the end of the driveway on its side, and the burn barrels were blown around the house. The kids did a great job of going to the safe place in the house and taking a phone with them. They were full of energy when I got home, and wanted to tell me all about it. What a crazy thing to happen. Today is General Conference and Easter weekend, so I am hoping to get some rest and that maybe Bodie can fix the play set. It has many broken pieces, including the 4 X 4 posts that were anchored into the ground. It does not look promising.......

Tubing In OHIO

We had such a great time with Grandpa and Grandma Minster. They are always so great to us and we love all the fun we have together. This was just one of the outings that we had while there over the New Year. Everyone had a blast AND everyone took a turn. Too bad we don't have a picture of Grandpa in my coat :)