Teeth

Another one bites the dust!

7th Birthday

Ian and Emily Celebrate their 7th Birthdays with a joint party! I CANNOT believe they are 7 already!!

Steffen Crew Camping

We had an awesome time camping with Trace and Angie and kids last weekend! The kids played, swam, boated, and got very, very dirty. Keeping 7 kids from tripping and falling into the campfire is also an interesting challenge. Cooper is especially uncoordinated and always chose to walk right next to the fire wherever he went. It was a miracle that he made it through the weekend without any severe burns. :)

Marathon training begins

This week marks the beginning of our marathon training. There are more than 200 people signed up. Crazy. I'm so excited, but so nervous... 26.2 miles is, um, a long way. a really long way. I think I can, I think I can... let's see how I feel in a couple of months!

The kiddos had the force with them as the Star Wars gang for Halloween. Hanna went as "the mean guy," aka Darth Vader. The them was a little lost on the younger two, having not seen the movie(s), but we all got a kick out of it. That's what's important, right? :) They had fun anyway!

This was hilarious. Mike cut himself shaving and had put a piece of toilet paper on his face to stop the bleeding. I looked over and saw something on Cooper's face, too. When I asked him, he told me he had a piece of toilet paper just like Daddy.

Cooper and Hanna really had no idea what they were getting into..

Pre-surgery photos! Sporting the snazzy hats... :)

Halloween with the Oz Kids

I can't believe we could even get these kids to stay in one place long enough to snap a few photos! They went as the Wizard of Oz... hopefully it's at least somewhat evident. My kids were: Ian - Tin Man; Alli - Glenda the Good Witch; Cooper - Munchkin; Hanna - a very unhappy Cowardly Lion. Cousins were: Emily - Dorothy; Paige - Scarecrow; Cade - another Munchkin!!

Hartman Reserve Outing

The youngest kiddos had a great time 'exploring' at Hartman Reserve while Ian and Emily (cousin) were at school. The intent was for us to take a walk and collect leaves, then do leaf rubbings. The walk was pretty tiring for the littlest legs, though, so we decided that was more than enough for the day.

These butterfly nets serve well as hats... This is a typical bedtime after we have all stuffed ourselves full of ice cream. Everyone is wired and silly...

New trikes for both the birthday kids... Now to figure out that pedaling thing. Cooper and Hanna don't understand that you have to exert some effort for the pedals to go around. "Mommy push" seems to be their favorite solution.

Coop and Hanna - 2 Years Old

Coop and Hanna maxin' and relaxin' in their new birthday ride.

Er, mom - could we have the scotcheroos without the 'scotch? We just want the chocolate. To wear, actually. As moustaches and beards, in fact.

Mike and I went to Chicago for our anniversary weekend. We took in a Cubs game, lots of Chicago-style pizza, and some shopping! It flew by, but was great to get away.
We were sitting in the bleachers, and during batting practice some guys sitting right next to us got hit in the chest with a ball. Ouch... glad it wasn't me. :)

D. Lee.

Wanted: Haircut

Cooper's hair in this pic was too great not to post. I couldn't make it do this if I wanted to. :)

Need I say anything?

After the log ride. Pretty much only Mike got wet, but the kids loved it. They immediately wanted to ride it again!

Mike and Alli on the Arnold's Park train... Daddy is a goofball.

Alli took a turn on the tube, too! Here she is with Mike holding on tight!!