MOvember-

This year we started a team for Movember — the STL MOs — in honor of my dad (and uncle and grandpa)! Our little team raised nearly $1,000 to support men's health, including prostate cancer. We had a lot of fun and good laughs along the way … thanks to all of you that supported our team!

November

 Just because she's cute ...

 We celebrated Bubba's birthday (and the birth of their new cousin Zander!)

Ben helped to honor veterans at an all-school assembly by presenting color guard. "Yours truly" organized a coffee before the assembly for the Veteran's and their families (gotta love the PTO - haha). I must admit I was a little grumpy about the job (I had to buy coffee, treats and load 5,000 balloons into my car) not to mention that my co-chair bailed on me … BUT … it turned out to be a fantastic afternoon. The Veteran's were so sweet, gracious and proud — some of them were even in their uniforms. Most of them were grandparents (or great-grandparents) of the students. It really made me wish that our grandparents could have been there! They would have loved it!

 Nora's dream came true and she got to bake cookies with her new BFF Liz.

Ben built an awesome model of his school in the workshop with Grandad. They did such a good job that I decided to email the principal to let her know about his work. The model is now on display in a case at school, he got to talk about his work on the school announcements (on TV) and he felt pretty proud of his accomplishment. …Pinewood Derby Race here we come!!!

Halloween 2013

Wonder Woman, Rapunzel, Super Girl & Ninja

Nora's Halloween performance at school
(the younger kids watch the older kids)

A Big Weekend-

We spent a family morning at the boy scout camp grounds. The kids had a blast making leather bracelets, shooting darts ... but what they REALLY wanted to do (especially Nora) was ride the horses.  They loved it!

We also had Lacey — Nora's school guinea pig — stay at our house. They were soooooo excited for our house guest! However, I don't think a full-time guinea pig is in our future ... they are a little too smelly for me!

Ben Reading-

He's doing soooo well with his reading this year! We're so proud of Ben.

Cub Scouts-

Ben joined Cub Scouts this year. The first event was a Raingutter Regatta. Joe and Ben built this "sweet" (Ben's words) sailboat. He had a lot of fun and the boys had fun building their masterpiece.

Nora's First Day of School-

 

There were (and are still are) a few tears ... but Nora started school on Mon. / Wed. mornings. It's a cute little school down the street from our house and she loves having her own school bag.

#36

Hello #36, how's it going? Here's the youngest member of my fan club sporting her awesome shirt ... I like to brainwash all of my nieces/nephews from a very young age. Bwaaa Haaa Haaa! This birthday photo cracks me up:

1. Molly's head was no where near the roaring candles on my b-day cake. No babies were harmed at my princess birthday party. 
2. My mother-in-law is not actually cooking in the microwave. She's looking over my shoulder and judging my every move. JUST KIDDING. I'm lucky that I actually LIKE my mother-in-law, but there are so many great captions that could go along with this ...
3. Do you like my necklace? My sweet Ben made it for me for my birthday – what a guy! 

First Day, Second Grade!!!

Here's our big second grader!! He was excited for his first day and Nora was excited to carry her backpack to school with Ben. I drove him to school instead of riding the bus. He looked around and whispered in my ear ... "mom, I'm a little bit nervous." I told him to look around and that everyone there felt a little nervous, the moms, dads, teachers and kids! Here's to a great school year!

Ben's Special Afternoon-

This summer we got to surprise Ben with a special afternoon (without his sister). This is a big deal since after lunch is usually reserved for Nora's naps and we have to hang around the house when he's not at camp or doing something fun. The two of us went to the local pottery store and he got to choose anything he wanted to paint. He selected an Angry Bird  pencil holder. He loved painting it and wanted to keep going ... so I told him he could paint a small tile as long as it was a gift for someone else (and he could choose who to make it for). He made something for Nora's room with her favorite princess painted on it. How sweet is that? Then we picked up Joe from work and had a pizza lunch. We branched out and tried a reuben pizza -- it was the BEST. It had all items that Ben loves -- pickles, pulled pork, ham, cheese and with a mustard sauce. Sounds crazy, but it was really good! What a nice day we had! It's definitely fun to have one-on-one time with each kid.

Our Summer in a Nutshell-

 Time at Innsbrook with Bebe & Grandad.

 Cousin time with Bebe.

 Ben got to hold his new cousin, Molly.

 She looooved doing dishes!

 They got along for 5 minutes ...

 Nora tried the trike.

 Nora's first canoe ride.

 Sand castle time!

 Pink milkshakes ... YUM!

Balsa wood airplanes ... fun!

Summer Hair-

We shaved Ben's hair this summer! We always kind of wanted to but he would never let us. He was hesitant (to say the least) but now he LOVES it. He looks a lot older and we've been told girls at camp want to rub his head - uh oh! I guess that's why Uncle Tim has had a buzz for so long ...

Muny-

Bebe took us to see Shrek the Musical at the Muny. We had great seats and had a blast. Ben LOVED the show (especially the fart and burp song ... right up his alley). It was a great night, thanks Bebe!

Park Morning, Take 2-

So we were more prepared for the park today ... swimsuit, towels, water toys ... and met Bebe and Grandad for some extra fun.

Park Morning!

We had a fun morning at the park with cousin Maggie!

... Then the sprinkler came on and the girls wanted to play. So I said SURE as long as you don't get too soaked ... You can see how well that worked out ;) We had no towels, change of clothes, but we had FUN! Who cares, it's SUMMER!!

Nora's ABCs

Funny Morning-

 "Mamma my teeth are kind of yucky. They have dirt on them."

- Nora on day #3 of a fever, before brushing her teeth

"Coooooollllll!! I'm just like in New York!! I see traffic and homeless guys."

- Ben on discovering Google Earth