Heading off to Pre-School..

It just seems like yesterday when this tiny bundle of joy was born...The first picture was taken the day before I went back to work, she was 6 weeks old. Her big brother Alex was holding her and they are still as close as ever. In just 1 week, Taryn will be off to pre-school! It's really hard to believe. I am (as is she) a little aprehensive about her going. She hasn't been to daycare since she was 6 months old, when Dave decided to stay at home with the kids. Now, that Dave is back to work, she is still in her own house with her brothers at home to entertain her! So we will be working with her about how "fun" school is! She is so smart, and talks so well I am anxious to see how well she does. We chose a pre-school that is pretty structured with a lot of variety during the day, which I think will work well for her since she gets bored easily with one activity! Apparently there is way too much going on for her to be expected to sit for more than 10 minutes at a time! :) I think she is ready, I just hope her Dad and I are too!!

A rare date night out..

On Saturday all the kids were gone. The boys had headed out to Gibbon, NE for the weekend and Taryn went over to spend the night at my mom's. Dave and I are trying to spend some "us time" together lately. With our conflicting work schedules, four kids, and schoolwork, it's tough even to have a conversation. We started our night off at dinner at one of our favorite restaurants "Firebirds". They have the best bread! We then went to meet some of our friends down at the bar. They weren't there yet when we got there so we decided to pass the time by playing a couple games of Keno. Dave won his very first game and ended up with $111.00! So he pretty much paid for our date night! We stayed there until about 10:30 and then went out to our friends Doug and Jen's, where we sat outside, drank some beer, and relaxed around their firepit. All of a sudden it was 1:30am! I couldn't tell you the last time I managed to stay up that late! We had such a good time and it is a constant reminder to all of our married friends. Your kids are important, but don't forget to take the time for yourselves! That is a lesson that Dave and I are always learning! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I know I did! :)

A Reminder...

Last night, as I was coming in from outside, I stood and watched as all four of my kids were clustered around the computer, playing a game and laughing with each other. It was just another reminder of even in the midst of all the fighting and yelling and "he touched my stuff" at some point they really do love each other. Just another reason why I feel so blessed.

On a side note: Ethan and Alex went to "High School Musical" Dance class this weekend. As most of you know, I love to dance and was thrilled when they said they wanted to take this class. I did feel a little bad for them, being the only two boys in all 3 sessions and then watching them having to do a dance to a song called "Fabulous" which is a female song in the show. But, more power to them, they had a great time, and I am thrilled to introduce them to dance.

Alex has also surprised me lately, he has a little toy keyboard that we got him for Christmas a couple of years ago and has really been after me to teach him some songs. So I taught him the song "Heart and Soul" (if you have ever played the piano you know this song) I taught him the bottom part and the melody. After practicing for a day or so, he now has mastered both, which just amazes me! He of course now wants me to teach him another song, and "Heart and Soul" is pretty much the end of my piano capablilites.

We are hoping that Dave will get this new position that he is applying for and we will be able to enroll him in piano lessons!
More later!

Home Improvements

I hate painting. My back hurts, my legs hurt, my shoulders hurt and I pulled a couple muscles. We spent the holiday weekend painting two rooms of our house and moving furniture around and trying to keep my patience with my children. We created a new room for our twins and another room for our oldest son. Once we finished Andrew's room last night at about 9 pm I looked around it thinking, Oh my, his room really looks like a pre-teen's room. He has his bed, and his computer desk and his bookshelf, and of course his pirate flag hanging across his wall. It amazes me on how fast he has grown up. It seems like just yesterday that we painted a room blue to match his Finding Nemo bedspread, and now we are painting so he can be in a "grown-up" room. I can't belive how time flies. According to him now all he needs is a TV (yea, right) and it would be perfect.

Back to School.....

It's that time of year again...Back to School!!!!!
It is my favorite time of year since, my house tends to stay a little cleaner without the boys home all day to terrorize it. :) Andrew is off to 5th grade this year, which for us means Outdoor Education and what I'm sure will be a long couple of months while he learns to play the recorder. Ethan and Alex started 3rd grade and as always are my little social butterflies. I love taking the first day of school picture, it reminds me so much of my mom taking my picture every year when I was a kid. Of course, I do not cry every year. Talk to me next year when the first day of school picture will include all my kids! It's hard for me to imagine that Taryn will be in Kindergarten next fall. What will I do with all my free time?? Hopefully learn to relax a little! :)

Do you all remember school supply shopping? Picking out the cool folders and pencils and a new backpack for the year? Now I understand why my parents didn't want to take me. It is apparerntly a 5 hour process to pick out 8 things.

I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Back from Adventures....

We had the best weekend!!! We returned yesterday from spending the weekend at AdventureLand in Des Moines. The boys thought it was awesome and we couldn't have asked for better weather! We got to Laura and Adam's on Saturday and the boys played football with Adam, and we grilled out. On Sunday we were off to AdventureLand and had a great time! Alex did ride a roller coaster, which he thought was pretty cool.

Taryn also had a good time in Edgar with Aunt Rachael and Abbi. They played and went to the Hasting Museum, where Taryn thought the Kool-Aid exhibit was the best! Hope you all had a great weekend!

A weekend of Adventures...

This weekend everyone in our family is off on another weekend of traveling. Taryn left this morning to go spend the weekend with Aunt Rachael, (future) Uncle Mick, and Abbi in Edgar, NE. If you know where that is at you are a true Nebraskan...

Dave and I and the boys are off to AdventureLand in Des Moines. We are staying with my best friend Laura and her boyfriend Adam. I am so excited to see her! I'll post pictures when we come back!