Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Go Wildcats?

We're on the move.....

To Northwestern University!!  We'll be pioneering Chi Alpha there.  We're super excited!  I won't go into much detail cause the details are here.

Buuuut...

I do want to say, that you know you must really be called by God when you're willing to wear purple and cheer for the Wildcats!





Sweet Lord.


I did tell God I would do anything for him.



 #rockchalkjayhawk



P.S. I realize that possibly only my family or people from Kansas will understand this post. :-)






Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Planes, Trains and Tractors. Oh My!!

Caleb and Luke (and their parents!) have had some fun memory-making moments in the last few months.

The boys got to experience their first train ride in Chicago (technically, just the metro, but when you're 3, it's a train. :) )

We also visited the fairgrounds here in southern Illinois and the boys got to hop on all the tractors. Pure joy!

And, finally, we got a visit from Uncle Rob.  He flew in to see us.  Flew,
 as in he was the pilot. How cool is that?!!  Pretty stinkin' cool if you ask us.
Enjoy the pictures!!

Caleb riding the Metro from Evanston to downtown Chicago



"This is sooo cool!"

Yep, that Giordano's...don't covet. :)   And a sleeping Caleb. 

Luke standing inside one of the tractor tires at the fair.

They had so much fun!

Caleb at the fair





There's Uncle Rob!!!

Landed!

Squeals of excitement happening at this point....

Luke is headed out to meet Uncle Rob!

VERY windy day, but here we all are!








Caleb is really into taking pictures on is own now....

Nice shot, Andrew!

Paparazzi....they never leave you alone, do they??

Getting ready to take off...

Just thought I'd throw this one in....This is Luke before his tonsillectomy riding in Lightning McQueen.  He loooves Lightning McQueen. 

And here's Caleb who created his own "Cleaning Machine".  Mommy was pleased. ;)



Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Because I'm Four Now

I can't tell you how many times we've heard the words, "Because I'm four now" since last Wednesday.
The boys turned four years old last Wednesday and boy oh boy, Caleb must feel like a new man! :))


Here are a few samples...

"I can fold that for you, Mom, because I'm four now."

"NO! Let me do it. Because I'm four now!"

"I'm not afraid of the dark because I'm four now." (yeah, right!)

"I don't say 'renember'...I say 'reMEMber'...because I'm four now."

"I can eat all of this cookie because I'm four now."


I'm sure you get the gist. It's endless. He's SO proud of being 4!

It's pretty adorable, if you ask me.  I'm loving him being 4, by the way.  I know, I know.....but what about my baby?? Isn't it sad to see my baby grow up?

It is.

It's just I positively LOVE 4 and 5 yr. olds. It's my favorite age!!  And, truthfully, 3 was just hard.  The "terrible twos" were nothing compared to the threes.   So, mostly, I'm sorta glad to be coming out of that stage!

If kids could go from like 15 months to 4 yrs. old overnight, I might be willing to have 12 more. ;)
It's the 2's and 3's that are killer, I think.

 Well, we had a great time celebrating our big boys!!  Here are the pics. Enjoy!!  (WARNING:  You will be scrolling for a while.  You're welcome, grandparents.)


Caleb opening presents...

Look what I got!

What could it be?!


A playdough factory!  Thank Papi and Nama!

Luke's going for the cinnamon rolls...

Just look at this bite I'm about to take!

Mmmmmh.....this is SO good!

Pioneer Women recipe. They are as good as she claims they are.  They are NOT low-calorie. :)

Luke remains totally disinterested in opening gifts.  Just not there developmentally, I don't think....

Buut at least he's not crying...we've made some progress ....

Once they're opened, he loves seeing what's inside!  Cool puzzle!  Thanks Nama and Papi. 

Luke loves letters and words!

Enjoying their birthday morning together...

Caleb LOVES this rescue center

He skipped the cinnamon rolls and asked for an apple. Whose child is this???!!!   

I think Aunt Kari is responsible for his healthy eating habits!

While tearing wrapping paper isn't his thing, Luke LOVES "reading" his cards..

He carefully inspects each one.

He's so cute as he opens them and says, "Happy Birthday!"


Figuring out the playdough factory

The Curious George cake. Yes, I made it! :)
The decorated table....before the storm!

I just had to post another pic of the cake because it survived the torrential downpour!  :)

All of the place settings almost blew away, but we saved them with water bottles to weigh them down. Nonna and PawPaw Hoggard got the boys the Curious George stuffed animals. They love them! 

The crew!

Happy Birthday to you!!


international student friends

Luke loves balloons!

Wow! Look at that!

I think Caleb kind of likes that he gets to open all of the gifts!

A train from Miss Joann!

 Trying to calm Luke down and tell him he doesn't have to open the gift. Ha!

Poor kid. I have to find a way to make unwrapping less traumatic for him!

Love our friends!



Seven guests....4 nations! 



Testing-Testing-1-2-3

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