Watch Out ~ We've Got An Orange Belt In Our Family!

Krue has successfully worked his way up to an orange belt in Taekwondo. What a man! He and his friend, Ian Heath, were presented their orange belts last Tuesday in class. I forgot my camera :( I'll have to get a picture of the two of them together because they look so darn cute. When they put Krue's belt on he exclaimed, "I have an ORANGE belt!" He was so excited and had to take his belt to school for show and tell the next day.

New Swing Set

We are so excited to finally have a swing set! We have been talking about it since last summer and decided to put one up. The boys and I play on it every day if the weather permits. It is great fun! Our neighbors, Neal and Melanie, are putting up a swing set right now... I'm sure Krue and Lauren will have a blast running back and forth to play on both sets. Kiefer and Graham will be next summer :)

First Weekend At Our Lake Cottage

We just love our new lake cottage! Last weekend was GORGEOUS...75/80 degree weather...so we decided to spend our first weekend at the cottage. We spent Saturday cleaning and organizing. Lee's parents, Sam and Beth (who live right on the lake), came over to help us and so did Lee's brother, Dan, and his girlfriend, Abby. Saturday evening our good friends, Jeremy and Amy Ferris, drove up to enjoy the lake with us. Later that evening, Doc and Fritzi Nodine stopped over to visit (they have a house on the lake also) and gave us a cottage warming gift. On Sunday, we woke up to an amazing sunrise...what a way to start you day! We went to lunch right on the lake at a restaurant called Pier 32 with Jeremy and Amy. Later in the day our friends, Jeff and Rachelle Lindblom, came up to see the cottage with their daughter Livia.

It was a fabulous weekend and we can't wait to go back! Come up and stay with us sometime.

Looking out off of our deck at sunrise.

"The Boys" enjoying the morning in our cozy little cottage.

Our newly finished deck and stone. Lee took this out on the lake. (If you look close you can see Krue and I waving from the pier and Ferris and Sam talking from the deck above.)

Grandma Beth having fun with the kids on the deck.

Abby and Dan...they were such a BIG help! A good looking couple, I must say :)

Kiefer had so much fun! He handled the heat and sun well.

Check out our pretty pink paddle boat :) It came with the cottage!

It works well so that's what counts. Ferris was threatening Lee by saying he was going to get him a "Go Pink" flag for the cottage. He thought we would do well marketing cottage rental to sororities :)

Lunch with Amy and Jeremy Ferris at Pier 32.

Kiefer looking out our front door.

"Hoppy" Spring From...

Springtime Fun

Last week I took the boys down to visit my parents. It was a beautiful spring day so we spent the majority of the time outdoors enjoying the weather. Papa Joe surprised Krue with his very own left-handed golf clubs. Wow! They had to try them out as soon as Krue woke up from his nap.

In the meantime...Kiefer and Baba enjoyed themselves on the porch swing.

Proud Sister

I just had to share this proud moment. My youngest sister, Amy, was awarded "Most Outstanding Music Student" this past weekend at Butler College. This is really impressive because Butler is known for their prestigious music program. Amy is graduating this May with a degree in music education. Whoever hires her to teach for them will have such a gift. She is an inspiration, and so talented!

Love you, Amos.

A Good Babysitter is Hard to Find!

I really feel like Lee and I have been blessed in the "babysitter department". We have had three responsible & caring girls babysit for our boys. I have posted pictures of Courtney & Erin, but have never had the opportunity to post a picture of Megan. Last night I was able to get a cute shot of her with Kiefer. Megan has been babysitting for us since Krue was 6 months old! She is great and we appreciate her taking time out of her busy high school life to watch our boys. Thanks Megan!

60's Theme Party

Last night was so much fun! Lee and I went to a Habanera party here in town (community people getting together for dinner and dancing.) This was a theme party and everyone had to dress from the 60's. It was really cool because some people dressed like the beginning of the 60's...short skirts, go-go boots, plastic jewelry, black & white, etc...and some people dressed like the end of the 60's...Hippie, tie die, grungy, etc. Lee and I chose to go as "late 60's" people.

The dress I wore is authentic. My mom wore it in college! How cool is that? When Krue saw me in it he said, "Wow, Mom, nice shirt! It has lots and lots of colors on it!"

The Beatles showed up at our party and played for us! Can you believe it? (Our good friend & neighbor, Neal Blythe, is the second from the right...he was Ringo.)

Having fun playing the part...

My good friend, Melanie Blythe, and I...Peace.

Neal and Lee (dressed completely opposite!)

Our friend, Ashley Petcoff, attended this Habanera party. We were excited to see her there!

Neal had to borrow Krue & Kiefer's toy drumsticks to play the part of Ringo. Here they are in this picture...bright yellow!


We had a great time and made great memories.

I think the next party is going to be disco themed...stay tuned.

Easter 2007

Easter day was fun this year (and busy as always!) First, the boys woke up and found what the Easter Bunny had left for them...

Next, we went to church and then to an Easter egg hunt at the church (didn't bring the camera). We drove down to my Mamaw's house for wonderful lunch with my family...

And then drove up to Lee's parent's house for a wonderful dinner with his family...



Here are some cute pictures of Kiefer and Parker (6 months apart...but you can't even tell!)

Kiefer had a sippy cup spill on his shirt :) Check out Parker's cute rolls on his arms. Love it!

Here is a good picture of brothers Ben, Lee, & Nick. Heath was there also...but not in the picture.

We were all pooped by the end of the day! It was a good Easter.

Easter Fun

We have been doing some fun things this week in preparation for Easter. On Wednesday, Krue had an Easter party at school and learned what Easter is all about. Krue and Kiefer's babysitter, Erin, brought them these cool Easter baskets filled with toys, books, and candy. So nice!

On Friday, Krue and I decorated Easter eggs. Krue's favorite part was putting the color pellets into the vinegar...it made lots of cool bubbling noises!

Today we took the boys to an Easter egg hunt at a park downtown. Lee is a member of the Kiwanis club and this is an annual event they have for the kids each year. It was a quick hunt because it was only 24 degrees with snow on the ground camouflaging the candy and eggs! There were lots of kids, but I think they were all thinking the same thing Krue was after finding a couple of pieces of candy...."Dad, let's go home." Oh well. Kiefer had a blast watching all of the kids, and the cold didn't seem to phase him a bit. They both waved at the Easter Bunny and he waved back! Very cool.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter and that we all remember what it is truly about!

Catching Up...

My camera broke about two weeks ago, so I haven't been able to take pictures. My mom graciously gave me one of her cameras this past week so I could keep up with my blogging. I am still figuring out how her camera works. It is very tricky...lots of flashes before it actually takes a picture, pausing before you can take another pictures, etc. I can't seem to snap the best shots, but I am able to document the special moments. That is all that counts.

Some of the things that have happened over the past couple of weeks:

In the midst of Kiefer learning how to walk, he has developed many many bruises on his face. This child falls probably 2 or 3 times a day, no joke! He just stands right back up and tries again. Krue didn't help the matter by accidentally opening up a door into the side of Kiefer's face last week. It is quite the topic of conversation whenever we go out in public. Most of the time people guess that he is learning how to walk. But occasionally I get a weird look, like "what are you doing to that poor child!" Hopefully this phase won't last very long. The other day Krue told me, "Mom, I don't like bruce." I asked, "Who's Bruce?" He answered, "The "bruce" on Kiefer's face." Hee Hee. He cracks me up!

Another thing that happened this past week was Krue went to the dentist for the first time! This was a very exciting event. We were actually taking Krue in to watch Lee get his teeth cleaned at Dr. Nodine's office, but while we were there they asked Krue if he wanted to get his teeth cleaned, too. Krue said, "Yes!" He was very excited to ride up in the big chair like his daddy did. They scraped the "sugar bugs" off of his teeth and used a "tooth tickler" to polish his teeth. Krue liked the bubble gum flavoring they used and giggled when his teeth where "tickled". He wasn't a big fan of "Mr. Slurpee" :) They finished up his appointment with a good flossing. Krue loves to floss on his own (thanks to Baba!) so this was a breeze for him. He did such a great job! Doc came in and talked with him and checked out his teeth... no problems. (We just have to work on keeping that thumb out of his mouth.) They gave Krue a bag filled with fun dental care items and they let him pick a toy out of the treasure chest. We were so proud of Krue braving his first dentist appointment. What a guy!