Danger & Adventure Around Every Corner!

Happy Valentine's Day - 2012

2012-02-14T09:40:00.006-07:00

I love, LoVe, LOVE to make sugar cookies. I've perfected my all-butter recipe over the years and now I've found the perfect frosting that makes them delightful! So, any excuse to make them and I'm all about it. This year, Lucas wanted to make green hearts for his class. Green is his favorite color and this is how they turned out...

We used good old fashioned ziplock bags to protect each one.

They wouldn't be complete without actual Valetines card stapled to each. Lucas wrote out each name and signed every card. I was very proud and happy I didn't have to do it. :)

Valetine's Treats were set out the night before.

The Valentine's Day Loot consisted of a chocolate rose, Cars mug, pencils with BIG erasers, chocolate/yogart covered pretzels with sprinkles, math flash cards, hot chocolate on a stick, marshmallows, Cars chocolate hearts and a few other little treats. That all mixed in with cards from our Grandparents made for a smile filled morning!

Mr. Lucas Danger...

Mr. Axel Adventure...

Happy Valentine's Day!

We love you! Have a wonderful day!

The Big Birthday

2012-02-10T15:24:00.016-07:00

Birthdays around here are a pretty big deal and they like to start early and linger on. There's no one day and it's over for us, we milk it for all it's worth. :)

So, the day before Axel's real birthday, we made plans with his friends at the library park. (All our parks have various names like the Light House Park....the Farm Park...the Butterfly Park...etc. It helps keep things straight and everyone on the same page.) Anyways, I decided ice-cream cone cupcakes were in order but this year, with a little different topping. Meringue Puffs...I love them but they are not the greatest for little kids. They are super sweet so by the time the kids got down to the actual cupcake, they were about over it. However, that wasn't so bad for those of us moms willing to finish the uneaten leftovers. :) They are super cute and I think I would make them smaller next time and have them on the side as little treats. The day turned out beautiful. It was sunny and warm; Axel was besides himself. He loves the library park especially when his friends are there. His BFF got to spend the morning at his house. While Axel and Riley played, Mommy decorated the cupcakes and baked some tasty muffins to get ready for the big outing. Riley even got to ride with us to the park. This was going to be a good day.

We had lots of tasty snacks and tons of playground equipment to go around.

Playground equipment and WATER FOUNTAINS. It never fails that the non-toy items become the biggest hit. Once told to leave the water alone...

McCabe listened. The other two, in their usual fashion, kept testing the water to see if Mom was serious or not. Check out Axel, he just pretends he doesn't hear a thing! These two really are trouble but very, very cute trouble!

This was a happy birthday boy! I'm not sure what he is doing here but it's all happiness.

Then it was time for cupcakes!

McCabe.

Riley.

Anna.

Langley.

The crew jumped in to help with present opening. Don't worry, everyone got to open and everyone got to take home something special.

There was still more playing and hanging out with his BFF.

Second round.

We have some great neighborhood kids so we had planned to take extra special cupcakes to the bus stop after school. The only problem? Axel was so tired he slept through the arrival of the bus. He was all tired out from his party. So, these cute little ones had to wait until bike/scooter time which is usually 4:30pm around here.

We delivered cupcakes around the neighborhood to all our friends and played along the way. Axel was the hit of the neighborhood.

Axel LOVES sunrises and sunsets. He knows just how special they are and always points them out. This one he called his "Special Birthday Sunset" and I think he's right.

It was beautiful and made him feel so very special.

After dinner we had one more cupcake to deliver. It was dark so he got his flashlight and we walked a few houses down to visit Braden. He loved this little dark adventure. It got even better when his friend surprised him with a birthday gift...a Lego Space Shuttle! Back at home, it didn't take two seconds to get Daddy excited to help put it together. Daddy is no sucker, he put Axel right to work and made him pull his weight. :)

Lucas dug out his Legos from his uncles so everyone had a Lego night.

We had to bust out the birthday decorations after the boys went to bed.

The next morning, Axel cried and cried when he saw his decorations. He sat on the floor and sobbed, "I just want to get out." Poor boy thought he was trapped in the hallway forever. I quickly explained that it was his REAL birthday and these were his very special birthday decorations! "Oh," he said as he busted through the wall.

He found three big balloons and a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY AXEL poster so he was able to give us this cute little, sleepy, teary-eyed smile.

It took about two minutes to realize that this was his day! He had Mickey Mouse pancakes with Lucas for breakfast and a special birthday lunch with Daddy & Mommy at the Boat House.

Mommy & Daddy celebrated with Grouper Tacos and Axel stuck to his traditional pizza. We were all happy to celebrate!

After school and Taekwondo, we headed to Fat Daddy's Arcade. We found out about Fat Daddy's when we first moved to Florida and were invited to our neighbors birthday party. From that day forward, Axel made up his mind that this is where birthday are celebrated!

We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of pizza and the lack of people but it wasn't about the food or the other people. It was about Axel and his birthday shirt hittin' the games. The back of his shirt says, "Today is My Birthday!"

Daddy helped out a little. :)

Lucas hit the 1000 tickets jackpot on his second game! He was ecstatic and could hardly contain himself. I sat by the machine for 15 minutes catching 1000 little yellow tickets!

It didn't take long before Axel his a jackpot of his own to win 250 tickets. We need to take these guys to Vegas!

Air hockey was a favorite. Axel giggled and giggled!

At the end of the evening, the pizza cook handed us a huge bag of ticket on top of the 1500 we won. He likes to play the games and gives way the tickets to random kiddos. Well, we ended up with 3000 tickets to cash in for prizes! Lucas picked out an Angry Birds stuffed animal and a Magic 8 Ball. Axel ended up with a gun launched glider and a pull string Zoom Helicopter. Everyone was all smiles!

We headed back home to eat cake and open gifts.

Check out those candles! I couldn't find the birthday candles so we went with some nice, sturdy, train appropriate, last minute, wonderful find candles. Phew! :)

Here he is...MR. AXEL ADVENTURE who is now 3 YEARS OLD! Really?! I still can't believe it.

Mmmm...cake! It turned out delicious! I had to make a dense cake so it would stand up. To do so, I used a box of Duncan Hines Devil Food Cake, 1 lg box Chocolate Instant Pudding, 4 eggs, 1/2 C. oil, 1 container of Greek yogurt, 1/2 C. chocolate chips and a little bit of water to make it so I could actually stir it. IT WAS THICK! I made a little cupcake to make sure it would work and it did! It took one hour to cook at 350 degrees but that sucker cooked...came out of the pan...stood up and tasted good! Damn, I'm good! :)

Lucas loves birthdays too (of course) and Axel's special day marks the half way point to Lucas next one.

We quickly moved on to the presents. Axel loves Legos and Cars and don't forget trains.

This cool light ball with 3D glasses turned out to be a hit too.

Lucas even ended up with a few Big brother birthday gifts. He was a great sport and such a great big brother to Lucas. Both boys have really started to grow close and enjoy spending time playing togther. It's so fun to see them grow up together.

What a night! What a day! What a week!

What a perfect birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AXEL!!! Love, Mommy, Daddy & Lucas

Happy 3rd Birthday Axel!

2012-02-09T13:48:00.003-07:00

The cake! :)

Happy Birthday Axel!

We hope you have a wonderful day. We love you so much and can't believe you are already 3 years old. You are so big and bring so much happiness to all of us. Mommy loves her snuggles and all the time we get to spend together riding bikes, going on walks and playing at the park. Daddy loves playing football with you, building puzzles, creating cool lego spaceships and going on adventures with you. Lucas loves watching morning shows with you, sharing his legos and riding scooters with you. He thinks you say the funniest things sometimes and you make him smile and laugh. You are an amazing son and a great brother! You make our family complete and we are so excited to celebrate with you today. All our love! Love, Mommy, Daddy & Lucas

Ten on Tuesday

2012-02-07T16:40:00.013-07:00

We are busy! It's funny how things are, one week you feel like you have all the time in the world and the next, Friday sneaks up on you with no warning. This is one of those fast weeks! It's a birthday week so our schedule is packed. Yes, our little baby is going to be 3 years old this Thursday. I can't believe it! Happy Birthday Axel!

In the midst of all the chaos, realized that I am a few photos behind when it comes to posting on my blog. So, we are going to get all caught up with a Ten on Tuesday post.

Enjoy!

*************************************************************************

1. Back at it! Axel took a gymnastics class in Dayton and LOVED it. We recently found U.S. Gold Gymnastics here in Destin, FL. They have regular classes and a kids day out every Friday morning (for younger kids) and Friday evening (for older kids). It's been a hit! Both boys love going and running around for a few hours. Axel goes in the morning with his BFF, Riley, and Lucas goes at night with Cameron (Riley's big sister). It works out great and everyone gets worn out having a wonderful time!

2. Last weekend we headed to Pensacola to check out something new. We drove down the coast from Fort Walton Beach and ended up at Gulf Islands National Seashores. A stop at Fort Pickens was in order so we could get our National Park stamp! The cannons were a huge hit!

There is a light at the end of the tunnel! How cool is this photo?!

I was having fun with my new camera. :)

3. You can't go to Pensacola without a stop at the Naval Museum. It was awesome and a nice change from the many times we went to the Air Force Museum. Both are very impressive and worth a visit or two or three...

Mr. Danger!

4. Pensacola Lighthouse. They wanted $5 bucks a person to go to the top. We decided we would LOOK at the top, for FREE.

5. The Birthday Countdown began almost one month ago. This is a hard concept to understand when you are two years old. There were many days when Axel thought it was his birthday. After a few mornings of near tears, we made a ring chain so he can cut off one everyday. I think that has helped and he is very excited that there are only a few more to cut. If you look close to the note on the top you can see that this is from Lucas.

It says...

"Hi Axel. I am going to give you a present on your birthday - The present will be great. From Lucas."

So sweet!

6. Blue is Axel's favorite color so we made blue smiley face cookies to give to his friends tomorrow. He insisted that they have nosies too.

7. When asked what he wants for his birthday, all Axel will say is, "A TRAIN CAKE!" Her she is, the photo he drools over everyday! We still have no idea what he really wants for his birthday!?!?

8. The party bags are all stuffed and ready for the park tomorrow. We are having a little birthday celebration tomorrow at the local park for Axel & his friends. It's cupcake day...ice cream cone cupcake day! We will celebrate as a family on the big day Thursday!

9. A new twist to an old favorite! Meringue toppers for ice cream cone cupcakes. These are SOOO EASY to make and so much fun. Did I mention they are delicious too? :) I can't wait to assemble tomorrow.

10. Lucas started Taekwondo this week. He did great! We hear from Lucas' teachers and substitute teachers that Lucas is just a wonderful student and is the kind of kid every teacher loves...he listens, pays attention and follows directions. Hmmm...how come he doesn't do all those things at home?! :)

Well, today we got to witness his great behavior in a class setting. It's true. He's an Angel! It made my heart smile. It also brought back many memories of the years I spent working towards a black belt. (Only made it to black stripe...maybe one of these days I'll finish it up!) He loves it and said, "I can't believe Taekwondo could be that fun, I never knew it could be that fun!" He got his first black stripe today and was elated!

The Dentist

2012-02-02T11:07:00.004-07:00

Our friend recommened a Dentist just down the street from where we live. It turned out to be great and both boys did awesome. This was the first time Axel let anyone look in his mouth. We talked all about it that morning so he was ready to go have his teeth counted. To his surprise they had a TV and a treasure box! He had no problem and got a full cleaning and floride treatment. What a big boy!

Lucas loved the TV and treasure box too!

Thanks Kelly! Great recommendation!

100th Day of Kindergarten

2012-02-01T08:34:00.005-07:00

"100 Places I Have Been in North America" - Lucas Anderson, 6 years old
Today marks Lucas' 100th day of school. Ironically, he's probably only at 94 days of school for all the times we missed last fall to go on adventures. We won't tell if you don't. :)

Anyways, I HAD A BLAST doing this project. It gave me an opportunity to dig through my photos and bring the memories back to life. So often, our photos stay stuck on the computer as if in a vault. This is motivation for getting to those photos and get some on our wall to share.

It was very hard to only pick 100 places. I had to delete some and I'm pretty sure I could have easily found 1000. This poster shows places from 25 different states (he's been to even more) and two countries. I love it and it makes me smile!

Here is our list:

1. Animal Kingdom, Disney World, Orlando, FL

2. Boonshoft Children Museum, Dayton, OH

3. Rock Climbing, Flatirons, Boulder, CO

4. Family Cabin, Beattyville, KY

5. Grandparents House, Longmont, CO

6. Medical Center, Wright-Patt AFB, OH

7. Hocking Hills State Park, OH

8. Bridge, New River Gorge National Park, WV

9. Sussex County, NJ (High Point)

10. Overlook, Yellowstone National Park, WY

11. Playground, Peterson Air Force Base, CO

12. Empire State Building, New York City, NY

13. Jenny Lake, Grand Teton National Park, WY

14. Gateway Arch, St. Louis, MO

15. Cascade Canyon, Grand Tetons, WY

16. Garden of Gods, Colorado Springs, CO

17. Mt. Bachelor, Bend, OR

18. Hiking, Natural Bridges, KY

19. Snack Time, Lake Louse, WY

20. Inside Ruins, Mesa Verde National Park, CO

21. Bouldering, Bishop, CA

22. North End, Lander, WY

23. Rock Climbing, Penitente, CO

24. Fossil Beds, Florissant, CO

25. Blogdett Peak, Colorado Springs, CO

26. Horsetooth Resevoir, Ft Collins, CO

27. Fisher Towers, Moab, UT

28. Ice Cream Shop, Gatlinburg, TN

29. Millennium Park, Chicago, IL

30. Paddle Boats, Evergreen, CO

31. 17 Mile Hike, Wind River Mt Range, WY

32. Friends Home, Hays, KS

33. Visitor Center, Chickamauga Battlefield, TN

34. Snowman Building, Wild Iris, WY

35. Mt. Mansfield Summit, VT (High Point)

36. Lake Michigan, Chicago, IL

37. Soldier Field, Chicago, IL

38. Beach Fun, Santa Rosa Beach, FL

39. Vernal Falls Top, Yosemite National Park, CA

40. High Meadow, San Juan Mountains, CO

41. Underground, Mammoth Cave Nat'l Park, KY

42. Arches National Park, Moab, UT

43. Toronto Island Park, Toronto, ON Canada

44. Overlook, Cumberland Gap, KY

45. Mountain View, Mt. Evans, CO

46. Skiing, Mad River Ski Resort, OH

47. Fireworks, Lake Chetak, WI

48. Rose Garden, Portland, OR

49. Pumpkin Patch, Troy, OH

50. Smith Rocks State Park, Terrebonne, OR

51. Overlook, Independence National Monument, CO

52. Beartooths, Cooke, MT

53. Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CA

54. Escalante Canyon, Lake Powell, UT

55. Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, GA

56. The Mall, Washington, D.C.

57. Lion's Park, Montrose, CO

58. Rock Climbing, Looking Glass, NC

59. Balloon Affair, Albuquerque, NM

60. Piedmont Triad, High Point, NC

61. Shelf Road, Canon City, CO

62. Hiking, Maroon Bells, CO

63. Rock Climbing, Mt. Rushmore, SD

64. Hiking, Zion National Park, UT

65. Airliner Cockpit, Seattle, WA

66. Zoo, Colorado Springs, CO

67. Ocmulgee National Monument, GA

68. Football Game, Air Force Academy, CO

69. Urban Krag Climbing Gym, Dayton,OH

70. Hot Springs, Ouray, CO

71. Summit, Louisburg, WV

72. Timpanogos National Park, UT

73. Inside Washington Monument, Washington, D.C.

74. Downtown, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

75. Maine State Line, Fryeburg, ME

76. Pre-School, Huber Heights, OH

77. Apline Slide, Mt. Hood, OR

78. Rocky Mt National Park, Estes Park, CO

79. Niagra Falls, Ontario, Canada

80. Newport Aquarium, Cincinnati, OH

81. Fossil Butte National Monument, WY

82. Mt. Sunflower Summit, KS (High Point)

83. Rock Climbing, Little Rock City, TN

84. King Swing, Sinks Canyon, WY

85. Blueberry Picking, Corvallis, OR

86. Mt. Washington Summit, NH (High Point)

87. Beach Time, Newport, OR

88. Bouldering, Tuolumne Meadows, CA

89. Rock Climbing, The Gunks, NY

90. Ice Skating, Bend, OR

91. Gondola Ride, Snowbird, UT

92. Dirt Digging, Red River Gorge, KY

93. Hoosier High Point, Richmond, IN

94. COSI Museum, Columbus, OH

95. Wright Field, Riverside, OH

96. Tennessee Wall, Chattanooga, TN

97. Roller-coaster, Kings Island, OH

98. First Flight, Dayton, OH

99. Ridgway Resevoir, Ridgway, CO

100. El Cap Meadow, Yosemite Valley, CA

Here are some close-ups to give you a better idea of the photos we used.

Weekend Warriors

2012-01-25T09:17:00.008-07:00

The nice weather down here in the South definitely changes the dynamics of our climbing seasons. Being able to climb all winter is pretty cool but lends to a harder time finding much needed downtime. I guess our true downtime will be in the summer when it's too hot and humid to go outside. After our Fall/Winter season, we did slow down and only make runs up to Alabama and Tennessee here and there like New Years and MLK Day weekends. It breaks up being at home and goes perfect with training.

We've been to Horse Pens 40, Rock Town, Little Rock City (Stone Fort) and experienced some real winter temps! One day the boys stayed huddled together for hours to keep warm and happy. That was a short climbing day! :)

Our climber photog friend, Dan Brayack, took these four photos of Mike and I. He also convinced me to pose for this shot now used here...http://www.elementclimbing.com/Default.asp. Thanks Dan!

I rarely have climbing photos of the two of us. Usually my camera is focuse on two cute little boys. :) This is bouldering!

Playing with my new camera..

Our friend Paul joined us for his usually abuse from those ages 6 and under!

Axel is sure getting big these days...and tall!!

Lucas learning about heal-hooks...

And, showing Daddy that he already knows everything there is to know about climbing.

Keeping warm!

While Daddy, Shawn, Anthony & Mommy climb in the cold temps.

So sweet!

Florida's Winter

2012-01-24T07:53:00.007-07:00

After spending my entire life in areas that experience a snowy Winter season, it's really weird to be in Florida. Our weather this week has been in the low to mid 70's, humid, cloudy and rainy. As we enjoy the wonderful weather down here, the NW gets pounded by snow storms, friends report amazing snow conditions in Utah and I watch video of cars sliding of the icy roads in the North.

Winter is passing us by and if it weren't for the missing leaves on the trees and the few cold nights we've had, we would assume that it was a never-ending Spring or Fall.

I'm not complaining. I promise. Just noting that it is weird to send the boys outside in January armed with their rain boots and smiles for some awesome puddle jumping with the neighbors.

They laughed. They splashed. They had good old fashioned fun. And GOT super wet!
Too be a kid again! :)

Axel's Girl

2012-01-23T08:11:00.005-07:00

Meet Riley! She's the girl Axel has fallen in love with. She is two years old and lives right across the street. There is not a day that goes by where her name in not mentioned in our house.

Words from Axel...

"Riley is my best friend!"

"I'm saving one for Riley too."

"I want bubbledum and I have a piece for Riley too."

"I want to go to Riley's house."

"Maybe Riley could come to my house and see my track?"

"Riiilllleee!"

He yells out the front door in hopes of her answering back.

I hear these cute little bits and pieces throughout the day. These two are buds and play so well together.

This girl has a sassy streak! :)

Axel is a follower...he picked a cute one to follow this time around.

He's in love! So much that he even shared his favorite outfit!

She finally gave in for the snuggle photo but only for a second.

Axel noticed the zipper was not totally zipped up so he was eager to help.

Perfect!

Yesterday morning Axel built a Lincoln Log house with Daddy in the morning. It was a perfect start to what was going to be a great day...Riley was coming back over after lunch!

This time, he was all ready to share his trains. And look, they even match!

It's so fun to have wonderful neighbors and ones with cute 2 year olds!

Christmas Day 2011

2012-01-18T06:46:00.010-07:00

On Christmas morning we usually wait for the boys to wake up and jump in our bed to "wake" us up. When everyone is awake, we all go out to the living room together. Lucas confessed that he always takes a sneak peak just to be sure Santa really came and then heads to our bedroom. I love this. He's done this for as long as I can remember and I remember doing the same thing as a child...oh the magic of Christmas!

He had come! Santa was here and he delievered SCOOTERS!

Stockings are my favorite part of Christmas presents. I've always loved the small treasures you find deep in your stocking...things you've dreamed of and others you've never even thought of.

They boys made out like fat rats in the stocking department!

Axel could not believe Santa left him his very own Coke in the coolest bottle ever!

Daddy got some climbing gear...we always need more climbing gear! :)

Such a happy morning!

Lucas wanted Wuggle Pets for months. It's like a build-a-bear but it's a kit to do at home on a smaller scale. We get this funny kids show at our cabin and this was one of the commercials that he just couldn't shake! Santa came through!!!

Daddy found a very special suprise in his stocking this year. Lucas really wanted to do something special and different. After asking Aunt Kate, Mommy and a few others, he determined that a treasure hunt would be perfect. While in Orlando, Lucas spied on Daddy to see what things he liked in various stores. Daddy showed big interest in the Ghiridelli store...chocolate is always good for Daddy but it was going to require a little work on his part. DADDY'S CHRISTMAS PRESENT TREASURE HUNT! I think we have a new tradition boys!

#1. "You now have your map, let your journy begin. For your next clue, look near the top by a star that shines bright." - Christmas Tree

#2. "A place where Lucas & Axel sleep. Look high & low, don't forget under the pillow!" - Boys Room

#3. "For your first gift, look in a place you find stuff to eat." - Kitchen

#4. "Helmets, bikes and gloves. Head to the garage by the things that you love." - Garage

#5. "When the sun goes down & your eyes get tired...it's a place of rest, go look in the blue chest." - Master bedroom

#6. "PBSkids.org, a place where you're never bored. Look at the seat but stay on your feet." - Computer Desk

#7."Look for a treat. It might be sweet. I'm not a liar, go look in the DRYER!" - Laundry Room

#8."Take all 3 gifts back to the tree. Open them up so you can see. Love, Lucas & Axel"

Daddy was thrilled to receive a Ghiridelli Cookbook, baking chocolate and a carmel chocolate bar so we could bring some of those tasty treats too life while enjoying some now.

Hugs all around and one very happy Daddy!

Cap guns...and let me tell you, these suckers are loud!

Daddy was so HAPPY to get more climbing holds for our treadwall!Axel even took time to play with each gift...super cute!

Socks and bra enhancements! :) Just what I NEED!! HA!

LOVE.IT!

Lucas thought he was top dog when he found out the biggest box was for him.

He quickly learned that size does not matter when it comes to gifts. His big box held a Wii game along with some weights and a big sleeping bag used to make the box heavy! Sneaky Daddy!!

Axel DID.NOT.CARE about the size of his gifts!

New ear phones!

Axel loved tearing into those gifts and squealed with delight each time the present was revealed.

Shrinky-dinks! Do you remember these? I forgot just how cool they are to watch as they curl into a ball, flatten out and get tiny.

Rain coats! We are ready for spring climbing season.

Remote controlled vehicles.

Whoot! New pans for the fam!

We made a wonderful mess in between a delicious breakfast of real yeast Belgian Waffles...another new tradition! :) What a wonderful morning! I love seeing the magic of Christmas through our two amazing boys! We love you Axel & Lucas. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2011

2012-01-17T08:11:00.010-07:00

The long awaited Christmas Eve had arrived! We had two very excited boys who just spent a full week at Disney...what a Christmas!

It's really important for Mike and I to develop some traditions during the holidays that are little bits and pieces from our own childhood all tied up into some new, special ones just for us. We've decided that Christmas Eve is a perfect time for decorating gingerbread houses. I'm sure over the years, they will evolve and get more and more creative. This year, we stuck to simple ones seeing that our day was cut short driving home 6 hours from Orlando. None-the-less, we had a blast!

Big decisions!

Big sweet tooth!

It didn't take long for Axel to remember how to use the frosting bag. :)

Lucas discovered a new use for pixi stixs...blue snow!

We had two adorable gingerbread houses sit on our counter for a week or so and I didn't manage to take a finished photo. O'well, I too need to get better at documenting our new traditions. Each day the houses got smaller and smaller. Two little theifs...sugar theifs, as sneaky as could be enjoyed them to the fullest.

We had special drinks with our special dinner. Looking back now, I need to get out some placemats!

Poppers or Crackers...a tradition we adopted from Mike's family. They make a big bang when pulled apart and come with fun little prizes...crowns, jokes, small knick-knacks, etc. Everyone has to wear their crown during dinner too.

Go Dad!Axel was pretty impressed!

Lucas was so excited! He had been waiting soooo long for Christmas Eve and if finally arrived!

Mommy's turn.

That evening, we let the boys open gifts from each other. Lucas received a Dinosaur Atlas from Axel. Axel received a Disney remote controlled train from Lucas. Each boy made special secret shopping trips to pick out a perfect gift for each other.

Big smiles all around.

Daddy surprised Mommy when he brought out a gift for me. I instantly had a few helpers to bust into the package.

I was so excited to discover it was a new camera! I lost my camera earlier in the year so I had to befriend my old one. Now, it's time to learn the in's and out's of my new Canon 100S...and S is for Sweet!

Thank you to all of my family who contributed to this awesome gift. It made my Christmas and I was so excited to be able to use it Christmas morning!

The boys also opened up PJ gifts from Grandma & Grandpa! So cute, so cozy and so perfect for Christmas Eve.

Christmas was really here!

Mommy and her old camera messing around! The new one was charging!

Before heading to bed, we sprinkled reindeer food on the front lawn, left out cookies & milk for Santa and read "The Night Before Christmas" with Daddy.

Sweet dreams!

Last Day in Orlando

2012-01-13T12:15:00.006-07:00

Since we maximised our time at the parks, we decided to stay at the hotel and relax a little on our last vacation day. It was beautiful and we had a wonderful time. It was a perfect way to end a great trip.

Back to the Activity Center for some Christmas cookie decorating. So many sprinkles, so little time!

We also made it back to Downtown Disney. The Lego shop upgraded all their outdoor Lego statues. They were very impressive and the boys loved them...especially the Dragon!

What a great trip! It was finally time to head home to celebrate Christmas!

Our First Epcot Visit

2012-01-12T12:13:00.012-07:00

We arrived to Epcot before the gates opened. This was our first trip and we wanted to be sure to have plenty of time to get it all in.

We hit all the rides early on before things got crowded. Some favs were the Test Race Track, Soaring, Mission to Mars and I'm sure others I'm missing. At one point, all the adults decided to go to the Soaring Ride. Mike & I had already been so we ended up with all the kids.

Instead of sitting down at a table trying to keep everyone occupied, we opted for a more adventurous approach. We took them on a boat ride! We were very proud of ourselves and all the kids were perfect angles...thank goodness! It was fun for us all and made us pretty happy we have two kids. Gets a little tricky when you are out numbered. It was like having two sets of twins and a 6 year old all at once. :)

Sorry for the red eyes...we have a new editing program I have yet to figure out!

At one point, Mike looked at me and said, "This is what my parents had to deal with!" Too funny! Good job Grandma & Grandpa for surving all those kids in one house!

One of our plans was to taste delicious baked goods from some of the countries. Our first stop was France and we got a little over excited. Luckily, we had 6 adults and 5 kids with us to help share. I'm sure Logan and Dominic ate just as much as the rest of us...right?! Everything was awesome and it made my year!

Cuteness in France!

Even cuterness in France! I'm sure "cuterness" is a word especially when describing Dominic.

To get the boys excited about seeing all the countires, we took time to make a little craft...teddy bear on a stick. They were able to get a stamp at every country and have their name written in that countries lauguage. It was pretty cool and the Arabic hand writting was gorgeous.

These Japanese drummers caugh everyone's attention.

Axel quickly discoverd the model train area. He was enamored! He studied the route, and raced back and forth waiting for it to hit it's next destination. I think he was there for at least 30 minutes and would have stayed all night if we would have let him.

Axel taking a little rest after train chasing while tapping his foot to the beat of the music!

Lucas really wanted to go to China so we made our journey around to all the countries and finally arrived. He loves the buildings!

Daddy going back to his roots and eating a Norweign snack of smoked salmon, multigrain bread, hard boiled eggs, red onion and goat cheese. It was tasty!

We really enjoyed watching the street shows in the countries we passed through.

At the end of the afternoon, we took a break to have a snack. Axel and Marcus are best buds and they loved teasing the birds with fake food...leaves, sticks, rocks. They were busy for 30 minutes and laughed the entire time.

Towards dinner time, Lucas was giving us "his face" that usually says in a not so nice way, "I'M HUNGRY!!" Sweet isn't it?!

We hit the boat ride with Donald Duck in Mexico.

Had to stop by the model train one more time to show Marcus on our way to Moroco for dinner.

Axel & Marcus kissing?! Yep, cousin love. They follow each other in all they do from eating, to screaming, to playing and laughing. It's pretty cute to watch them.

Lucas was over Epcot and on to Angry Birds.

After dinner we caught the huge Christmas Choir. They were amazing and really put everyone in the Christmas spirit.

Grandma and the boys.

I was even there with Daddy too!

Aunt Christina got a rare moment of these two sitting down. Believe me, it was just a moment.

The evening ended in one of the biggest firework shows I have ever seen. If I took one of the shows from my home town on one 4th of July and multipled it by 20 that would give you an idea of how big this was. There were three "grand finalies" and the booms were AMAZING!

We loved Epcot and will definitely have to go back!

More Gifts!

2012-01-12T08:13:00.010-07:00

Logan missed out on the present exchange the night before but we saved his gifts and he brought some to share with his cousins. It made everyones evening!

Aunt Kate & Uncle Mark bought a truck load of dart guns. They were a huge hit but watch out!!! These little guns had some kick!

Watch out Uncle Eric!

Logan was more interested in his cool new toys than the flying darts.

Uncle Bill armed and dangerous!

Enjoying our stocking stuffer gifts.

Mini Donut Maker...looks like a new tradition brewing in our home! Any good half way healthy donut recipes out there?

Some of us decided to put more emphasis on "White Elephant" aspect of their gifts than others. Grandma discovers one of these gifts. To her surprise there was a hidden gift card to Ghirideli to make up for the cheesey gift. The half eaten box of chocolates was also a surprise to Aunt Kate but she quickly figured out that there was more than meets the eye! The highlight from Grandma was a flip video recorder.

Grandma losing her favorite gift!

Special time with Aunt Kate & Uncle mark assembling new lego kit.

Kid Present Swap

2012-01-11T14:31:00.005-07:00

After coming back to find half of the crew under the weather, we still pressed on with the kid present exchange for those awake and feeling up to it. The half sick crew opted for porch seating.

The next day we spent time at the pool, painted in the activity center, watched some movies and walked to 7-Eleven for a slurpee. It was cool out with the wind but that didn't stop us from having fun. :) Grandma felt better so she was able to join us too.

Very cool activity center. The boys painted their own wooden animal and one day we made sand art necklaces.

Off to Disney Hollywood Studios

2012-01-11T08:47:00.005-07:00

We as a family, had to break the schedule of going to parks Mon & Tues, resting on Wed and back to parks Thurs & Fri. Daddy had to drive home Wed evening so he could be at work the next morning so we broke away from the group and headed to Disney Studios on our own. The rest of the crew planned to take a nice relaxing rest day back at the hotel.

My feet were jealous!

However, we had been planning on signing up Lucas for the Jedi Training for months. Daddy was so excited and we woke up early to be sure to secure one of the limited spots. Well, to our surprise, Lucas wanted nothing to do with it. We did convince him to at least sign up for it so if he changed his mind so he would still have an opportunity to do it. He was adament and DID.NOT.WANT.TO.DO.THIS! Daddy was half devistated. Come to find out, Lucas was scared of getting up in front of all the people. This shocked us coming from a boy who on numerous occassions sang songs in front of 100's of people at Rocktober Fest! Times have changed and I'm sure it won't be the last time we get surprised by our children moving in and out of different life phases.

Daddy's heart was a little broken but I reassured him that there would be other chances...maybe when Axel is 4 years old, they both could do it together?! Seemed like a great solution to me. :) We moved on to other cool rides and shows and left Star Wars for another year. Sorry Daddy.

We made sure to watch Beauty and the Beast. It's another must see show at Disney Studios. That and the Aerosmith Roller-coaster AND the Tower of Terror! Speaking of Tower of Terror...Lucas LOVED IT! I have to admit, watching his face as we dropped numerous times unexpectedly sure said a different story. He looked scared out of his mind but when it was over he loved it!

We didn't wait in line for an hour but we did get to see Phineaus & Ferb so Lucas was excited.

Had to stop by the Honey I Shunk the Kids Park. Lucas was pretty much over it but Axel could have stayed all day.

I think he did this slide about 20 times.

We love watching the stunt cars!

Lightning McQueen even made an appearance which was pretty cool. It got the boys attention real quick!

Axel was telling Daddy all about those cool cars.

3-D glasses...gotta love them!

This was typical for Axel while waiting in line. Our little climber would climb anything climbable...rails, stairs, fences, etc.

We watched some street performers after getting free Micky Cookies for being "too cute!"

We had not stayed for the big Fanastmic Light Show so we decided to commit to the long wait and see what it was all about. It took 30 minutes in the crowd to get to our seats and another 60 minutes to wait for the show. Luckily, Axel befriended everyone around and before long he was having a ball. He played games, sang songs and shared his treats with anyone in reach. Lucas opted to play on Dad's phone for most of the time.

The show was very scary and really draws out the nightmare aspect of the story which I thought was not necessary. You can get the point after a few minutes but after 15 minutes of scary images and creatures it got old. Our kids did fine but there were many crying and hiding their faces. The last five minutes was the best but it was not worth the wait in my opinion. A better option would have been to go to Main Street and watch the Christmas Light Show which Uncle Mark said was AMAZING!

Pretty lights and boats during the nice part of the story.

We headed back to the hotel and Daddy headed down the road back home for the night. Thursday was going to be our rest day at the hotel.

Little did we know that a few people back at the hotel had come down with the stomach bug! Great day to miss at the hotel!

Animal? Kingdom

2012-01-10T07:43:00.007-07:00

The only animal (besides the kids) I managed to take a photo of was a bat! Did I mention that bats are some of my favorite animals in this world? I have no idea why they intrigue me so much but they do and I could watch them for hours. I love their wings, hooks for hands and feet, cute little fuzzy faces and how they can spend their days upside down. I also love that they love fruit and veggies. Call me weird...

All the adults decided to hit Mt. Everest in the morning before the lines got crazy. I volunteered to baby sit ALL the boys. It was tough work, a true sacrafic by me right?! HA! Look at these sleepers!

These were the non-sleepers.

Eventually Logan woke up and just watched us for about 5 minutes not sure what to think.

We hit all the good rides and shows like the Nemo Musical. Dinoland was also a huge hit but the favorite was the parade. We watched this one right before heading to the Lion King Show another must see.

Wave, wave, wave!

And more waving!

They are cute parades!

The Lion King Show is very impressive and short enough to keep everyone happy.

Here we go again with annoying photo flip issue. Anyways, this is Grandpa babysitting while everyone hits Mt. Everest one last time. Great job Grandpa!

We asked Lucas in the morning if he wanted to ride the Mt. Everest ride and he wasn't sold. It's very intimidating when you watch people being hurled up and down the mountain screaming.

At the end of the day, he decided he wanted to try Mt. Everest after contemplating ALL DAY long. Guess what?! He did it and...

HE.LOVED.IT!

I was so happy he was brave enough to give it a try and even happier that he loved it and didn't hate us for suggesting it. :) Way to go Lucas!!

We are ready for Hollywood Studios!

On the way home we accidently stopped at Downtown Disney with a little sweet treat in mind.

We had to follow the tradition of stopping at Ghiridelli for some brownie sundaes. They were a little disappointing this time around. Too little ice cream and way too much hot fudge. The result was melted ice cream, soggy brownie and a huge drippy mess. With that said, it was not so horrible that we couldn't finish them. :) They were still very tasty, just not as dreamy as we have had in the past.

Exactly one year ago...

Magic Kingdom with the Crew

2012-01-09T09:03:00.006-07:00

I had a little different approach to taking photos this time around at Disney World. I decided I wanted to document here and there but not come home with 100's of photos to have to go through and post. So, we have a slimmed down version and lots left to our memories...probably not the best appoach but nothing I can do now except share what I do have.

Once everyone arrived to the hotel, we headed to the closest restaurant to have dinner. It was an outside-by-the-pool kind of place so it was perfect for the kiddos to run around. We had a 7 month old (Dominic), 11 month old (Logan), 2 year old (Marcus), almost 3 year old (Axel) and a 6 year old (Lucas)...all cousins, ALL BOYS!

Here's Logan and Aunt Kate.

The next morning we headed to Magic Kingdom to hit Buzz Light Year, Space Mt and a few other favorites like the Speedway. Here Axel takes the wheel and gives his mom a look into the not-so-far-off future.

It was crowded being the week before Christmas but we mastered the Fast Past routine and spent time together in line for rides we felt the wait were worth it. Here is Aunt Christina, Marcus & Grandpa A waiting for the Orbit Ride.

Grandma A, Logan and Kate too.

Daddy & Grandpa go to snuggle on this ride! It gave us all a good laugh. I'm sure Uncle Bill loved snuggling with his awesome sister-in-law... me! :)

We had to do the Carosel.

Grandma A treated all the grand kids with Disney Mickey Mouse lollipops. It was a first for Dominc and boy did he love every last drop of it.

Logan was delighted.

Axel the old pro knew just what to do.

Marcus gave me the usual "who are you anyway? " look.

Lucas ran away with Grandpa A to go do Splash Mt again. He is tall enough for all the fun rides and he loves the big ones. Thunder Mt and Splash Mt still his favorites at this park.

Dominic was A MESS! However, he was a cute mess and stopped people everywhere we went with his sticky face...shirt...arms and Aunt Janelle. It was adorable and he was just so happy. I'm sure about 80% of the lollipop rolled down to his elbow and ended up on me and his shirt. Too cute!

I think he is wondering if really is okay to be eating such a delicious treat?!

Another trip with Grandma A.

We maximized the day running all over the park from ride to ride and taking a little rest during the parades or when someone needed a snack.

Lucas got his own special treat at the Main Street Bakery (A MUST IF YOU GO THERE). Of course, he picked out the big huge cupcake with a tower of frosting! We were happy to find out that the tower was actually an upside down ice cream cone. Axel missed out catching some Z's in the stroller. Sorry Axel!

We stayed for the Electric Parade and everyone loved it except Dominic. He caught a bug we later found out but at the time we thought he was having a huge bellyache from the lolly.

They waved and waved. Parades became one of the highlights and something not to be missed with these boys.

Main Street was CRAZY but so beautiful with all the lights. We even enjoyed some Hollywood snowfall and Lucas was so happy to see the stuff fall from the sky. It was foam but it sure looked real.

Before the firework show, they did a cool light show on the castle. The end result was this which I love!

It was time to head home and get rested for Animal Kingdom!

SeaWorld

2012-01-09T08:03:00.009-07:00

Our first stop was the Dolphin Nursery where the morning feeding was taking place. I think I could have stayed here all day and watched these amazing creatures. They love to perform and just seem so happy especially when the crowd cheers. The boys were pretty impressed too.

I loved SeaWorld growing up and have vivid memories of getting drenched by Shamu and falling in love with all the sea animails & creatures. Dolphins are my favorite for sure but it's also very impressive to watch a huge killer whale jump completely out of the water and splash the crowd.

We warned the boys that depending on where you are sitting, YOU WILL GET WET! Lucas was willing to test our our claim and Axel, well, he just blindly follows Lucas. It didn't take long to figure out that sitting up front gives you a great view but people in the stadium were getting wet! Axel quickly retreated back to higher ground with Mommy & Daddy.

Lucas decided to be brave and stick it out to see if we were telling the truth or not.

Lucas got his moneys worth and was in complete shock. I don't think he truly believed that he would get wet especially after staying dry for almost the entire show! He also learned about the effects of salt water in your eyes. He was not impressed but we reasurred him that he was very brave and we were proud!

After some drying off, we headed to the kid area. Axel spotted a cool train so he went all by himself. SO BIG!

The next show was the Dolpin Show. This was our favorite for sure. They included dolphins, whales, divers, acrobatics and dancers. I didn't take a lot of photos but I got some of the highlights captured.

We even had time for a few rides before going to the hotel to meet up with the family.

Daddy gets to do the spinny rides with the boys so Mommy doesn't get sick. :)

We were all warmed up and ready for Magic Kingdom the next day!

Christmas Travels

2012-01-06T10:54:00.004-07:00

We had big plans on heading to Orlando to celebrate the Holiday Season with Mike's side of the family for the week leading up to Christmas. A trip to Disney World would not be complete without squeezing in one more day of climbing! So, we headed north to Little River Canyon near Fort Payne, AL to spend at day at the crag.

It was a cold morning so we did a little sight seeing to let things warm up a bit.
While climbing with a friend a few days earlier, Daddy found another 5.13d that showed potential for giving away to an end-of-the-season-send. This would be the cherry on top of an already very successful season. The weather prediction was cold and perfect for Daddy to give it a few more tries.

It's very horizontal climbing and while I belayed him I looked straight out not having to bend my neck back to look up.

Here it is, the camera really gives it no justice! Crazy formation...
You can barely see Mike in this photo but it helps to shows the scale and how far back the cave goes compared to the top of the nose.Looking up at the nose.
He tried once. He rested. He tried again. He rested. So close but not quite to the top. So, he rested some more.

On his third attempt, he climbed past his previous high point and found a rest. It didn't look restful to me but he made it work. A few more moves...shaking legs, up and back down and up again all mixed in with desperate little shakes trying to find a millisecond of rest. I was certain he would pop off at any moment.

Don't get me wrong, I have full confidence in his strength, mental and physical abilities but they flew out the window as I watched him flail, frantically try to slow his heart rate, find the next move all the while holding on for dear life.

What happened next?! His body calmed down, he took in deep breaths and let me know he was moving up and going for the anchors. By this point, I could not see him but then I heard the celebration cheer as he clipped the anchors! WHOOT! He did it! It wasn't pretty but it was the hardest I've ever seen him try and he succeeded!

He was so happy and SOOOOO PUMPED!!!
The boys were ecstatic, for they new chocolate cake and Sea World were in their near future!
It was now time to head to Orlando!!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-06T08:40:00.005-07:00

We are back!
I can't believe it's been almost one month since my last blog post. Sorry to all of you daily and weekly followers. We have been traveling, celebrating the holidays and working on our computers to include cleaning out files and organizing. What a task! All that put together meant little to no computer time. It was a good break but now I'm facing the task of documenting all our highlights.

I will start back with getting our Christmas tree and work my way through. Enjoy!

It was a little different getting a Christmas tree here in Florida. No snow, no hot chocolate, no sledding and no snowball fights. We drove down the road to the local tree tent in our short sleeve shirts, threw some sand, picked out the perfect tree and headed home to decorate it. After a little fight about not getting the biggest tree (and most expensive) we settled on a cute little one. We decided to save some money for Disney World! :)
We did watch the movie Elf while we got into the Christmas spirit. Lucas was not amused by all the steps required before putting on ornaments. You know, the tree stand, the trimming and then the lights! Eventually, it was his turn to decorate. The boys sang and were happy as clams making our tree special for Christmas time.Mommy having fun with the camera.It was time for the presents, I had a little helper!

Home.

2011-12-10T20:04:00.007-07:00

This is the first Saturday we have been home for in months. It was super fun to spend the day with the boys. On Friday night, we picked up the movie Smurfs and had a popcorn and movie night. I even remembered to make cookie dough so it could sit in the fridge all night chilling.

When everyone woke up, we had pancakes and then the cookie making began.
Gingerbread! I used Bakerella's recipe and it turned out perfect. This was serious business for Axel.
Lucas is an old pro be he too takes it pretty serious.

We finally got to the really fun part of decorating.
And eating! Once Axel discovered how tasty the frosting was, that was the end to decorating.
As you can see, sprinkles are awesome!Lucas had a little gingerbread making factory, each one made with love.
We had to show off our final products.
Mommy's too! I've decided making gingerbread heads is WAY MORE FUN!
Cookies were not enough so we busted out the foam crafts from Michaels.
After a busy morning, we ate lunch and headed to the beach. It's cold by Florida standards (high 50's/low 60's) so the beach was ours!

The white stuff! We finally found our Florida snow and it's going to be a white Christmas.The ocean was so calm. It was my most favorite day at the beach so far.Yep, wet shoes and so much fun.Mini sand castles.Not bad for little jumpers!
Here is what the shore looks like, cute buildings.
After the beach we headed to the horse stables to enjoy some fun Christmas activities.
Feeding horses carrots.Horse rides for Lucas. Axel wanted nothing to do with the horses.
Bouncing!
Axel visiting with Santa. Lucas wanted nothing to do with Santa and is pretty sure his letter will suffice.
We ended the evening with smores.
Last week, we even got our tree decorated. We got a small one because we will be in Disney World for a week during Christmas. He's cute but the room could use a 12 ft tree easily. :)
Tree decorating will be the next blog post!What a wonderful day!

Another 5.14...Whoot!

2011-12-08T21:19:00.004-07:00

We took another extended weekend trip to the cabin and had a wonderful time. It was our last trip to Kentucky, for the season, so we shut down the cabin and got her ready for a long, cold winter.

Mike had his best climbing weekend in history. He climbed another 5.14 called Transworld Depravity at the Motherlode crag. The same day he onsighted a 5.13a after reclimbing another 5.13a by mistake. They all kind of blend together. :) The next day climbing, he did a 5.13c and onsighted 2-5.13a's. Yes, I know this is Greek to many but to summarize, HE ROCKED IT!

Here's what the boys do while we climb...diggin' in the dirt, makin' snow flakes, drawin' and makin faces.
This is Axel's drawing of Thomas the Train. I LOVE THIS!!
This is pretty standard of Axel...always checking to see what Lucas is doing.

Cute?!?Here is my view of Daddy at the top of his climb.
Daddy is lowering off his route after he climbed it.
Happy Daddy! In shock Daddy?
There's a REAL smile! His accomplishment is starting to set in!!! Chocolate cake celebration is in order!
Daddy showing the boys the route and the reason for the chocolate cake celebration.
After moving to Florida, we had no idea how our season would go. Our training was different but proved effective for both of us. I'm just so happy for him and love to see him succeed at such a high level with something he is so passionate about.

Last time he climbed a 5.14, we did not get any photos of him actually climbing. This time, we were prepared. I climbed up a rope about 60 ft in the air and took a million shots of him climbing. The light was perfect and somehow I remembered how to use the "fancy" camera! I was so nervous to see the photos but I got some great ones that will be added to our collection.

Here are some unedited photos so you can have a little sneak peek.

CONGRATULATIONS MIKE! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! The boys have been troopers and have adjusted to the LONG drive. I love these kids. They truly are amazing and I'm just so happy they are part of our family. I'm also so happy they put up with all our shenanigans! THANK YOU LUCAS & AXEL!

I think this is the first week we will be home more that 5 days in a row. The drive has taken it's toll on me and I'm just happy to be home. I've been super busy playing catch up around the house getting things cleaned, Christmas decorations up, doing a little shopping and doing all those little things that fall behind during climbing season. It's been a great season but it's coming to a close and I'm ready.

I'm ready for Christmas!

Thanksgiving!

2011-11-30T07:34:00.009-07:00

We headed back to our cabin for an extended stay. It cut out one round trip drive and Lucas only had to miss two days of school. Daddy was not so lucky, he had to make the trip back to work but it was a rainy week at The Red so he didn't miss anything. I'm sure he enjoyed the family-free quiet drive home too. :)

The first weekend was spent climbing and visiting friends. Some dear friends from Knoxville will be moving to Portland this December. We are not sad to see them go, only excited for them and us. Now we have more friends in Oregon to climb and visit with! We will miss seeing them at The Red but know we will catch them across the country.

Mike's sister, Christina and her family made the long journey to our cabin from Georgia. It was so fun to spend time with them. They have two little boys, Marcus (2) and Dominic (-1) so the cousins had a great time playing, fighting, screaming, laughing and getting DIRTY.

We climbed, hiked and eat a delicious turkey dinner. Our cabin is just so cozy and we love being there. We have moved the Wii to the upstairs for the boys so the rest of us can watch movies.

Dinner time. It was so good Shawn had to lick his plate!
Jason & Axel.Karissa & Axel.Karissa & Lucas. We will miss you guys!
The rain set in for three full days. There was so much moisture, you could see it in the air.Axel has a new look! He slipped at the park on a ladder...oops!
Fun with Cousin Marcus.
Wii Nook.
Rainy day designs!
Getting dirty.
Daddy & Uncle Eric getting ready to climb.Aunt Christina & Dominic.
Uncle Eric climbing.
Lucas climbing.
Found a ladybug.
Anther climb for Eric.
Shawn & Axel.
Waiting for Aunt Christina to climb.
Go Aunt Christina!
Turkey dinner!
Check out those eyes!
Daddy carving the turkey.
The boys even enjoyed our special dinner.
Oops, I got distracted and forgot to take photos of everyone at dinner. Sorry.

Daddy getting ready to climb. He is very close to getting another 5.14!
Mommy working on a 5.13...working is the key word. :)
Lucas is King!HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We love and miss you!

Fun Run

2011-11-17T11:51:00.009-07:00

Today Lucas ran over 2 miles during his school fun run to raise money for a mobile iPad lab. I was so proud of him. He was determined to run the maximum laps of 35 (each 1/16th of a mile) and he didn't stop until all his numbers were checked off on the back of his shirt. He made sure to wave to Mom each time he came around too. :)

We caught Lucas in the hallway before heading outside for the big event.
This was quite the production...tunnel, flags, speaker, music and a VERY enthusiastic crew.We spotted Bradon, one of Lucas' neighborhood buddies, while waiting for Lucas' team to run through the tunnel.
Exciting times!
Here comes Lucas! (far left)
He was pumped!
Axel was amused with all the excitement.
After the National Anthem, a safety briefing and quick stretches; they were off!
It was a little chaotic after the first lap trying to get his number marked off but the group quickly spread out.
Lucas waved each lap to make sure we were paying attention!
This was serious business.
Before we new it, he was on his last lap.Axel enjoyed the loud music and all the people. However, he discovered the cones and had way more fun than any of the runners were having.
Victory lap!
Axel and his cones.
Lucas was so proud of himself as he should be. He did AWESOME!
That's my boy! GREAT JOB LUCAS!!!!
Here's the proof!
A big THANK YOU too all you who supported Lucas run. I promise, we won't be asking for donations every time a fun raiser pops up. :) However, we do really appreciate your support this time around....and around....and around....35 times!

Back to Kentucky!

2011-11-10T07:44:00.008-07:00

Last weekend, we made our inaugural trip to our cabin in Kentucky all they way from Florida. Yep, it's a 10 1/2 hour drive with dinner & gas stops. However, on the way out it took me two days!

Mike had flown to Dayton for work so I drove the boys up to meet him at the cabin for a weekend of climbing. Halfway through our drive, we got a flat tire at the very same time Axel yacked all over the car. Simple enough to fix right?! Change a kid. Change a tire.

Part one was easy. Part two, turned out to be a 2 1/2 epic on the side of the road. Our special wheels require a special tool to remove the tire which was nowhere to be found. The spare requires different lug nuts assuming I could even get the flat tire off. Not so simple.

After wrong directions from roadside assistance to the mechanic, a crazy just-out-of-prison-wanted-by-the-police-for-killing-some-guy "Bama" gal, two round trips from the mechanic to find the right tool, we were on our way to spend the night with friends. The next day after a trip to the chiropractor to fix mommy's pinched nerve and four brand new sneakers on the car, we headed to the cabin.

Phew!

Back at the Gold Coast. Daddy checking out another 5.14...such, a beautiful wall.

For whatever reason, the blog does not want this photo to be horizontal.
Everyone who thinks Lucas is just full of sweetness...here is a face from his not-so-sweet side. It's a wonderful indication that food is needed! :)
Axel's photos and another anti-horizontal photo.
They may make you dizzy but a pretty cool photos Lucas took.

Self portrait.

Daddy onsighting a 5.13b called Elephant Man.
Dirty and tired.
Back at the cozy cabin, we love it!Daddy scoping out his new 5.14 project.
Leapster time.
Halloween candy!
Despite the horrible trip to the cabin, we had a WONDERFUL weekend climbing and seeing old friends. It was so fun to climb on real routes and real rock! The boys got dirty, we got sore and all in all, we had a great time! It was even nicer to have Daddy with us on the way home!

Horse Pens 40

2011-11-01T14:08:00.006-06:00

Last weekend we decided to go venture out to discover new climbing in Alabama. We have heard for years that Horse Pens 40 was THEE place to boulder. However, we were never that into bouldering so it was no rush to get out there until now. Boy, I'll tell you, this is one of the coolest climbing places I've been. It's gorgeous. The climbing is super fun and now I know why everyone told us we should check this place out. It's cool even if you are not a climber. To top it off, the weather was awesome and the Fall colors spectacular!

I have no idea what these are but they looked like plastic, fake berries and were gorgeous.
I love the colors.
Exploring.
Cool corridors.
More amazing colors.
Playing nice together...for about 30 seconds. HA!
Saturday night was Boulderween. We had no idea until that day so we were not prepared in the costume department. However, we brought some cuteness to the party.A
Axel made best buddies with Frankenstein after discovering what Frankenstein had to offer.He was so proud of his goodie bag and even prouder that he figured out how to stuff it.
We had to show Daddy too.Lucas hid from the camera so I had to sneak in this one.
And this one! Check out his earrings he made all by himself.
We climbed again on Sunday and my camera battery started to flash. One of these days, I'll buy a back up to have with me at all times.
Daddy sent some V8 or V9 hard man boulder so he was thrilled.We will definitely be headed back to Horse Pens. It's only about a 4 1/2 hour drive which seems so short these days. :)

NOTE: My photos do not give this place justice. After our camera died, we did some more exploring. The boulders are endless and so unique and so fun to see. I think I could be a boulderer but don't tell Daddy. :)

HALLOWEEN 2011

2011-10-31T21:14:00.005-06:00

We kicked off Halloween with a quick trip to the local Orange Festival in Niceville. There were plenty of games and candy to make two SCARY characters very pleased.
There was goodies galore at every table, car & truck.
Even fun games to test out our skills and maybe to find out our weaknesses too. Golf is not necessarily our strong point but hey, we do live in Florida. Maybe the tides will change? Maybe not.
We were very good at the ring toss once we figured out that it's like Frisbee.
In all the excitement of the big festival, Axel ended up with no trick or treat bucket and no shoes. Luckily, we have all the beach gear in our trunk so he was a swim shoe wearing dinosaur with a tiny ziplock back for all his treats.
After a few games, we spotted the Trunk-or-treat cars.
It didn't take long to figure out this was a good deal and look, he even scored a nice big bag!Lucas was like a machine and his bucket was proof to his technique and speed.
We headed home with trick-or-treating on the brain. After a quick snack, Daddy and the boys were off! Mommy stayed home to take care of the doorbell and the big bowl of candy that needed to be handed out.
The thing Lucas is holding is his force lightening tazer just like the real Emperor Palpatine.So much candy, so little time.
Daddy wore out the boys and we had more than enough candy to make us happy.
Watch out for this gobblin aka candy theif!!!

"Hey kids, what's that over there?"
Not a clue, that they had been had. :)It was a little tough to break away from dinner but we had three hungry boys in this house. After dinner we headed over to our neighbors to visit and drink a little wine. A wonderful ending to a great Halloween!HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2011!

We Can't Wait!

2011-10-30T20:56:00.004-06:00

Today is Grandma J's birthday which is very exciting for two reasons...
1. Birthdays are always awesome, Happy Birthday Grandma!
2. The day after Grandma's birthday is HALLOWEEN!!!!
Alls I can say is...
"WE.ARE.EXCITED!"

We Have Internets!

2011-10-26T11:51:00.013-06:00

Television and Internet access have not been high on our priority lists these past few weeks. However, getting organized after our move to Florida was on the top of our list. We are about 95% done...it's that last little bit that lingers on but we can live with that. We are just so happy to get settled and in a new routine. Lucas loves school, Axel loves our neighborhood (we all do), Daddy is getting used to a real job and Mommy loves having no TV but is very excited about the Internet.

We have been out exploring, looking for good beaches, restaurants, shops and of course, rocks to climb. We've been successful in all areas, although, there are zero rocks (real rocks) to climb in Florida.

We live across the bridge from Destin so there are tons of restaurants, harbor walks and outdoor shopping along the strip. We found some fancy boats that we thought Grandpa J would love.
We found our Halloween costume and live in it.
We even found rock climbing about 3 1/2 hours away near Birmingham, AL. Despite the unsightly graffiti, the rock was good quality and fun to climb on. The boys got to test out their new puffy coats. It's hard to imagine that it's snowy and cold in states north of us. It will be a shock when we head to cold temps at out cabin next month.
Daddy studying the guide book.
The boys had a great time climbing too.We were Boo'd by the neighbors and the boys were going crazy guessing who the ghost might have been. If you've never been boo'd, you should start the tradition in your neighborhood. It sure is fun especially for young kids.
Went to the Mullet Festival...mullet the fish not mullet the hair-do. I know, we were a little disappointed too. :) But, the festival was fun and we discovered some new foods.
And new desserts...
Folks recommended the Deep Fried Oreos! It's like a donut hole and an oreo mated and melted together. Not too bad!
Slushies were a hit too.
After a quick trip to the festival, it was off to a birthday party. Check out Axel, he was so excited to included with the big kids.
Lucas had last Monday off from school so we headed to Santa Rosa Beach. We had a blast digging in the sand and watching Axel chase girls.
Here's the view of the gulf.
Not bad, huh?!
Learning about the waves.
Drip sand castles are a fav.
Axel looking cute...
for the little THE LADIES!And then he decided to shoot them with the water gun. Not a bad technique, they kept coming back for more. :)
Lucas continued to work on his master piece. I was impressed.
Oh, and yes, we found a little climbing in Florida! We got the treadwall up and running.
Florida ain't too bad! :)

Niceville, FL

2011-10-13T20:51:00.002-06:00

We made it! We officially live in Florida about 5 miles north of Destin and the beautiful Emerald Coast. I have to admit, it is beautiful down here and if feels like we are on vacation. :) The weather is beautiful, we have a great house surrounded by huge pine trees, Lucas loves school, Axel thinks this is our new cabin, we are trying to get organized and settled along with discover what the area has to offer. Needless-to-say, we are a little busy these days with limited computer time. So, the blog with be a little quiet until things mellow out. So sorry.

We are doing great!

Love to you all!

San Francisco and beyond.

2011-09-28T11:00:00.010-06:00

Back in June, Daddy received a Low Fare notice from Travelocity to numerous cities around the country. San Francisco jumped out at us because it's a fun town and a halfway close to Yosemite Nat'l Park. What better than a trip out West before heading to Florida?! It seemed like a perfect idea until two weeks ago when we realized we were leaving for California in one week, the week before the movers were scheduled to be at our house to pack us up for Florida. WHAT WERE WE THINKING?!?!?!?

Once we grasped the idea that we could run away from all the craziness associated with finishing a PhD and moving, we were excited. We packed up last minute and hopped on the plan to San Francisco!
After two airplane rides and a full day of flying, we headed for downtown San Francisco. The 3 hour time change made our day extra long. We hit Lombard Street (Crookedest Street in the World?)...

Lombard Street

Often billed as the "crookedest street," San Francisco's Lombard Street is, in fact, neither the crookedest nor the steepest street in the city, let alone the world. Oddly, that fact doesn't deter the hordes of tourists who come every year to see this famous street, built with eight switchbacks on a 40-degree slope.

The main attraction of Lombard Street is watching people drive down the crooked, one-block section, or driving down it yourself. On a busy day, a seemingly-endless stream of automobiles and scooters buzz down, their passengers squealing in mock fear at every turn. If you're on foot, you can walk down (or up) the sidewalks and watch the show.

We were super excited!
The boys...they just thought we were weird.
The trolleys made Axel's day.
This was a view I have a vivid childhood memory of. I remember these hills and thinking I was going straight in the water. Axel was not impressed when I asked if Daddy should take us swimming in the car. I have to be careful with my sarcasm these days, poor Axel takes me very seriously.
Fisherman's Wharf! Oh the crab...the fresh crab and fish and bread!
This is my boy, eating a hotdog of all things right there at the Crab Station. I know this makes Grandpa J's heart hurt. Sorry Dad! We tried to get him to try crab and he wanted nothing of it. On the flip side, hotdogs are cheap compared to the delicious, freshly caught crab.
Here is a wonderful example of what my life is like every time I try to get one of the "perfectly cute brothers" photo! I usually take a bunch to get one halfway decent one. This time, I decided to keep them all to show you what I go through and of course, to remember these little things about our life with small boys. :)
I think Lucas is trying to be the Emperor character from Star Wars.

I was just about to give up...
Then, they surprised me with this shot. I'll take it! :)
The pigeons were huge highlight for some reason. Daddy & Mommy thought they were annoying buy the boys LOVED THEM.
Alcatraz was also a big hit.Here's Lucas' best Bad Guy face!
A big cruise ship with a seagull in the view.
Yummy bakery, check out this loaf of bread.
Boudin Bakery has the most delicious sour dough bread ever.
After the big city, we headed to Yosemite National Park but those photos will have to wait! We are moving TOMORROW to Florida!!! Yahooo!!!

Gymnastics

2011-09-13T06:00:00.008-06:00

Everywhere we go people comment on Axel's athleticism. He can throw a ball better than the rest of us, catch a Frisbee using this alligator technique, climb in our gym to the top and his balance is very impressive. So, I tend to agree with peoples observations. Athletic activities come very easy for him and we thought gymnastics would be perfect. He goes to Twigs Kids, once a week with Daddy, for 30 minutes and HE.LOVES.IT! They start out with a few minutes of stretching and examples of fun things to do and then they are off to choose for themselves.

Twigs Kids, also offers swimming lessons which Lucas has been taking the past few months. They have a great viewing room of the pool and the gymnastics room. For weeks, Axel spied the foam blocks through the window of the waiting room and every time asked when he could jump in. His wish finally came true. He was ready! See that dark blue mat in the back of the photo?!This became Axel's launch pad!
Mr. No Fear jumps like a rock star with no hesitation and asks to do it over, and over, and over again! He's in love for sure.After each session, everyone gets stamps.
Way to go AXEL!!!
It's an action pack 30 minutes and I would highly recommend Twigs Kids to anyone living in the Dayton area!

The Tour de Donut

2011-09-12T06:01:00.010-06:00

This past weekend, Daddy rode in his first official bike race:
The Tour de Donut in Arcanum, OH.

It's a 30 mile race with two donut stops. Every donut you eat, you subtract 5 minutes off your finish time.

So, it's a tricky balance...
Do you go slow and eat as many donuts as you can?
or
Go moderate and eat moderately?
or
Go all out eating no donuts?
or
Any other combination that people try????
Note: the fastest rider is not the winner...the most donuts eaten (25) is not the winner. Somewhere in between is the sweet donut spot.

Daddy's plan: Ride as fast as possible to first stop and eat a few donuts. Ride as fast as possible to the next stop and eat a ton of donuts. Race to the finish line.

Due to a dead battery in our car, Daddy's cheering crew was a little late and missed the start and the first donut stop. We did however track him down in the middle of the ride. He was moving fast!!! Here's the lead group aka The Serious Guys.
We raced down the road to stop and cheer. Daddy is in the yellow jersey.
Even time to wave! GO DADDY!!
We raced to the last donut stop with some time to spare. The donuts were HUGE, DENSE and DELICIOUS! I ate about 2/3rds and my belly was already full.
The boys had no problem putting them down.
We waited for Daddy and were surprised he didn't stop at the last donut stop. Hmmm...his plan was not panning out as planned. Maybe he ate a bunch at the first stop? Two other riders of the 6 Serious Guys did not stop either...the race was on!
We took a few minutes to watch the other riders suffer. Check out these donuts and that guys face in the red jersey!
With only a half of minute to spare, we barely caught Daddy finishing. He finished 3rd overall but beat the other guys because out of the top three, he was the only one to stop and grab 2 donuts to-go!
Way to go Daddy! After talking to him about the race, he decided that he would rather be the fast guy than the sick donut eating guy! Great job Daddy!
While waiting for the other riders to finish, we went and explored the farm located at the end of the race. As you can tell, fall is almost here and the pumpkins are beginning to emerge. The boys were super excited about them.
This apple tree was loaded.
Happy boy!

Story book forest.
Zip-line which was perfectly tailored to smaller kids. You can see the big one in the back which was a huge hit too.
Cracked corn "sand box" house.
Hamster wheel.
Awards ceremony...champagne and all.
My little monsters! Getting them to do this at the same time was impossible of course. :)
What a day!!!

Here's what Daddy had to say about the race:

I finished with the fasted time, but technically in 3^rd place (there was no measurable time gap IMO). I finished with the lead group, which was 3 of us. They had a kooky timing system that required us to walk our bikes over the finish line, and the finishing chute was pretty dangerous, so we all agreed not to sprint into the finish.

I only ate two donuts which is a medium-length story: My original plan was just to eat a few donuts at the first stop, then a lot at the last stop which is only 3 miles from the finish, so that if I were wrecked by the donuts, it wouldn’t effect my overall time too much. In addition to that, they had award categories for fastest finishing time and for fastest aggregate time (which includes the donut-eating bonuses). At the first donut stop I was able to stop and grab two donuts and still catch up to the lead group (the rest of which did not stop for donuts). This required me to eat the donuts while I rode (some of the other riders thought this might be a foul…they thought you had to finish all your donuts before getting back on the bike…it turns out that it was not a foul). When we reached the second and last donut stop there were only 5 of us left in the lead group, and three of them were stopping for donuts, so I realized that I had a good shot at the title of “fastest finishing time” if I skipped the donuts and kept riding. When I did that, a third guy decided to keep riding as well. So the three of us finished together. It turns out I beat those two guys because I had eaten two donuts and they hadn’t eaten any, but my time was aggregate time didn’t hold up to the people finishing much later that ate almost 20 donuts.

The donuts were pretty ridiculous, by the way. They look like pretty standard glazed donuts, but I think they have yeast in them which makes them really dense, and a ridiculous amount of frosting. It was very difficult to eat a donut while riding at about 26 mph and trying to breath. Controlling the bike with frosting on my fingers was another issue. The racing itself was really fun. I was in a pack of really fast riders…one guy had recently won the Indiana state track championships for his age group, and another guy was 59 years old, and a former national time trial champion. Earlier in the summer he had missed the world record in his age group by 5 seconds (I don’t remember the distance). The race was not a “closed course”, so we had to stop at stop signs, and there were a lot. Even with that, we still finished with an average speed of 23.4 mph over 31 miles. My max speed was 32 mph on a flat road! I think that was recorded while I was drafting behind a guy on a Cervelo time trial bike. I would say that the first half of the race we were sustaining 25-26 mph when we were moving, at that was with about 8-10 riders working together in a pace line. The last half we only had 5 of us and a slight headwind, and we were doing about 24 mph. That’s by far the fastest I’ve ever ridden, but it was nerve-wracking being in the “peloton”. You couldn’t day-dream for a second or you would get dropped, or crash.

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-08T07:39:00.009-06:00

Okay, so my slow computer killed my motivation for posting our Oregon trip. I promise that I will get to it. We did so many wonderful things in the 3 weeks out there it would be a shame not to post them. However, it will have to wait.
***************************************

Last weekend we headed to Rockford, TN (just outside Knoxville) to spend some time with good friends at Lake Douglas for Labor Day. Jess' parents have the most adorable lake house which was perfect for relaxing and enjoying company. The boys did great on the drive the extra two hours it took to get down there because of a huge car accident. It was a blast, we all has tons of fun.

I've been fighting with my camera, my old camera. It's so unpredictable or maybe very predictable...low light = fuzzy photos. I was so spoiled with the new camera that I lost earlier this summer. So sad. Not all photos are bad thank goodness.

Here is the cute summer home and this photo DOES NOT give it justice. Jess' mom is a total green thumb and the flower beds are amazing.
The lake was down for various reasons but that didn't stop the fun.
Here we are practicing!
We decided going solo was a way better option for both boys.
Axel wanted a little more practice before the real thing.
Then he was off! What a big boy! Although he did not cry, he was not too excited to go again. Tubing in the big lake all by himself was a little scary. So brave!
Jess standing on a sand bar in the middle of the lake.
Bentley enjoying the weekends last moments of sun.
A whole family photo on the sand bar. Think Mommy needs to work on her tan?! I guess living in Florida will fix that problem. :)
Daddy, Bentley and Lucas...notice the dark clouds?
It got darker and darker so we packed it up and headed back to the house.Bentley...a perfect combination of class and sexiness!
We had wonderful meals too, so tasty!
There was even duck hunting.
And beverage drinking.
Can't go to Tennessee without a good sip of moonshine! This one was pumpkin flavored and one tiny sip was perfect for me.
Jess, Axel, Bentley & Lucas.Yummy pancakes in the morning and a wonderful discover of Bruce's Sweet Potato Pancakes. For an extra tasty treat, we tossed in some fresh blueberries. DELICIOUS!!!
Back on the boat but this time the focus was on jumping, back flips and race swimming to go along after tubing.
I think Axel was trying to figure out how Jess did that back flip?!
Getting ready for more jumps.

Vicki took the time to give Lucas a lesson in chess. I secretly listened in so I could learn too. I had no idea it was so fun!I'm sure you noticed the hat. This was a project which started at home the week before. "Mom, I want to make a fun hat." And that's exactly what he did. It totally evolved over the weekend with accessories and decorations.
Bentley was a HUGE help in the hat development.
It even has a color wheel propeller.
Here's a little peek at the house which is similar to our cabin but much bigger. Thank you Jess, Bentley, Vicki and Jim! WE HAD A WONDERFUL TIME AND REALLY APPRECIATE THE HOSPITALITY!
Daddy was only able to join us for a day before driving the Jetta to Niceville, Florida. Yes, this is the same '97 Jetta I purchased back in Utah which now has over 300,000 miles on it. It has made it from Utah to Colorado to Ohio and now Florida. She made her journey with Daddy this past weekend to go house hunting. I was sure she would give up but she's a trooper.

Daddy flew home yesterday and he did find us a perfect house. We are so excited about the big trees and huge back yard. We expected palm trees and instead we ended up with big, gorgeous pine trees! I have a feeling Florida is going to be better than we ever thought. :) Daddy is excited about the move after spending a good 3 days down there getting to know the area. If all goes well with our application and lease signing, this will be our new home in Bluewater Bay...
We are so proud of Daddy for taking the lead on the house hunting. We decided last minute not to drag the whole family down so he had the big job of viewing all sorts of houses and making the big decision. He did awesome!!

A Baby, A Rocket and A Ride

2011-08-29T07:04:00.009-06:00

I want to introduce you to Daddy's new baby. She's a big girl (we like to call her big boned) and a little challenging, finicky and hard to manage but we still love her.
We adopted her from a youth group family in Kenosha, Wisconsin. She wasn't going to let go easily, it took a whole day to convince her that living in Florida is a good thing. Hmmm...I wish it only took a day to convince us that living in Florida is a good thing but we have all agreed that Florida will be wonderful and an opportunity we will take full advantage of. :)

As you can see, SHE IS A BIG GIRL! She's a rock climbing treadwall about 10'x 8'...it will be interesting finding her a bedroom.
If you look closely, you can see that there are only a few holds and a few holes for other potential holds so Daddy came up with a plan. Two days, 369 drilled holes, 369 nuts, 2 sore backs and 2 annoyed kids, we have a BIG GIRL with lots of potential. She will not be fully tested until we get settled in Florida but she is definitely part of the family now.

Needless-to-say, we had lot of "at home" time which is very rare in this family. In between all the drilling, Daddy and Lucas worked on a very important project.

One of Lucas' birthday presents was a rocket. Daddy and Lucas (with Axel close by) assembled the rocked one evening with a launch scheduled a day later. This is a long time to wait for two excited boys but they were patient and their patience paid off.
Axel was SOOOO patient...so sweet!It was a great opportunity to catch up on park, play and bike time.
For those of you who have ever talked to Lucas on the phone, this might be what you are dealing with...
My little nail biter.
FINALLY! After waiting and waiting and waiting it was launch time. We were a little nervous because Hurricane Irene had sent some wind but we were willing to give it a try. We made sure Lucas knew the risks and the potential loss of a rocket with the wind, the trees and the roof of the high school. He was in despite the risks!This is Axel imagining what the launch was going to be like. He was half excited and half nervous.
Don't worry, Daddy has the safety key which is needed for the launcher to activate. We have a very smart Daddy...a PhD Daddy! :)
The first launch.
The parachute...this is a good sign.
And the winds were nice to us, a perfect launch and recovery.
Two happy boys!
We had to set up for a few more launches.
Lucas was even kind enough to let Axel launch the last one. We had three great launches, three recoveries and three more engines to launch another day! SUCCESS!
Sunday morning we participated in the 40th Annual Wright Wride. They had different distances to chose from 26, 50, 75, 100...so we opted for the "Anderson Modified 50 Miler." All in all, we did 35 miles with one snack shack break and a lunch in the park. It's a perfect way to do a family bike ride, the upcoming stops kept everyone motivated. We were tired afterwards but had a blast.
Yes, we had matching jerseys...soooo cute! They are the jerseys Mike, his brother's and father wore (and designed) this summer to ride the coast of Oregon. I will be blogging about this soon too. I love them and love peoples reaction too them.
What a great weekend!

Let's Get This Party Started!!

2011-08-25T10:59:00.002-06:00

Here I am faced with over 1500+ photos (unorganized photos) lingering on my computer from this summer and beyond. I think I've only posted a couple times this summer so it's time to do a little back tracking and get my blog UP-TO-DATE! I will do my best to post in the midst of trying to sell a house, trying to rent a house, taking care of a family, training for the Fall climbing season, and oh yeah....MOVING TO FLORIDA!!! Wish me luck! ...thanks for your patience! -Janelle

Grandma & Grandpa Anderson came for their traditional June visit. We maximized fun while they were here as well as got our house on the market. Busy times! We sure appreciated all the extra help!

We have always wanted to check out Ohio's most famous amusement park: Cedar Point. It did not disappoint. There are some big rides and a bunch of more size/age appropriate ones for the kiddos. WE HAD A BLAST!Treats!
Annual tradition of going to Cracker Barrel for breakfast with Grandma A.
Just a little grumpy before getting his pancakes.
Bubbles made everyone happy!
Trip to The Greene Shopping Center for some fun in the fountains.
And of course, neighborhood fishing.
Axel even caught a few fish.
Grandpa is the expert!
Practice makes perfect.We had an aggressive turtle stealing our worms. He was a brat! Cute, but a brat...just like Axel?! :)Story time...cuddle time...nose picking time?! :) heehee
At trip to the Cincinnatti museum before heading to the airport.Lucas loves crystals and this was a big hit!

To distract from the fact that G&G had to leave, we took the kids to the climbing gym.
We sure had a great time and miss G&G a ton! Thanks for spending so much time with us. We love you!

Happy Birthday Lucas!

2011-08-16T19:42:00.014-06:00

Lucas turned 6 today!
We started celebrating two weeks ago in Oregon (near Newport) with all his cousins (7 boys total) at a beach house. Here are a few photos. The party did include a Pinata, a cool game of Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey and of course, cupcakes!
Sand fun.
Cupcake decorating with Grandma A.
Party time! Lucas and Henry?! :)
The crew.
Baby Logan...baby Dominic was snoozing and missed part of the party.Daddy, Lucas & Mommy.
Games.
Marcus 1, Axel 2, Duncan 3 sandwich!
The pinata. Marcus.Axel.Duncan.
Lucas
Henry.Getting the goodies!
Yesterday started out with a trip to Bounce U, an indoor bouncy gym with all sorts of inflatables. Our friends were able to join in on the fun!
After awhile, Axel & Will decided the water fountain provided more entertainment than the equipment.
Lucas' big request for the day was to stay home. After traveling ALL summer, I think this was a perfect choice for the whole family. It also gave me plenty of time to work on the cake.
And decorate...and wrap...and all those fun birthday things.
I love how the cake turned out. I based my idea on one I found online. I wish I could give credit to whomever posted the photo but she did not leave a name. Thank you Miss StarWars Cake Lady!
Dinner was steak (hummus for Axel), artichokes, corn-on-the-cob, strawberries, crescent rolls and root beer. Lucas opened one during the day that kept him very busy. He's really into crafts so it was a Fab Effex kit (flexible fabric with a workable wax backing) which was fun but challenging to work with. Then to the rest of the presents! Mini light saber kit.Axel didn't miss out but did have a little trouble with the fact that it was not his birthday. We explained that he would be turning 3 on his next birthday and would get lots of presents too. Today, he told me he was 3 years old! Smart boy!
Sparkly diamonds and jewels.
Leapster games...THANK YOU GRANDMA & GRANDPA J.
Rocket Kit from Daddy.Lots of parts! Good luck Daddy! :)
Soaring into Flight Science Kit...THANK YOU GRANDMA & GRANDPA A.
Snorkel gear for Florida!
I love this!
Then on to the cake.
Can you believe this boy is SIX!?!?!?!?!
He must have made a great wish!So did this one. :)
Showing of his new "6" status.
Down to business.
Guess what?! Mommy was there too!
What a great time and what a great boy! Happy Birthday Lucas. We love you so much!!! Love, Mom, Dad & Axel

First Day of Kindergarten!

2011-08-15T09:11:00.003-06:00

It's true, Lucas is in school! We returned from a 2 1/2 week trip to Oregon on Saturday and today, he headed to Kindergarten! He did very well waking up early (3:30am Oregon time) and was in a great mood. Lucas' breakfast request was homemade pumpkin pie and he ate two slices. I think he was mostly excited but a little nervous too as to be expected.

As for Mom, it's WAY HARDER for me. I'm glad to have Axel home and be able to spend more time with him. However, I was not quite ready for Lucas to go to all day school. I hope he is having fun and misses me just a little. :)

Lucas, we are SOOOOO VERY PROUD OF YOU! Congratulations on your First Day of School.

Tomorrow, we will celebrate Lucas' 6th birthday and because of staggered starting, he gets the day off from school. Not a bad deal if you ask me!

I will be getting to all our photos and posting them on the blog. WE ARE WAY BEHIND but have so many adventures to share with you all. Thanks for your patience this summer while we traveled around the U.S. having a wonderful time.

Love, Janelle
That's my BIG boy!!!!