Blue eyed friends...

Wow!! I think the Reeves win the prize for most posts in a day. I've actually kind of enjoyed it... it makes Dan not seem so far away. And really... you have to appreciate the fact that he was posting from his phone while he was on a boat in the OCEAN!!

Anyway... I thought I'd give you a break from all the fish and post a few pics from this morning. My new editing program that I have been waiting for since Christmas FINALLY arrived a few days ago... and with Dan gone I've had a little more time on my hands. When I took photography classes in college I would always try to take pictures of kids for my projects... so it was really fun to do a little experimenting with these two.

Bryce:

Eden (JL - I cleaned the chocolate off her face for you :)):

What is it?

-Dan

What is it?

-Dan

What is it?

-Dan

What is it?

-Dan

Squid

-Dan

What is it?

-Dan

What type of flat fish is this?

-Dan

What are they?

-Dan

Watch out for the Poop

Seagulls overhead

-Dan

Dolphin

-Dan

Anchoives in a bag

-Dan

On a 3 hour cruise

-Dan

Waiting for the boat

About ready to head into Mobile Bay

-Dan

Little legs...

While Dan is exploring the ocean with 60 8th graders this week... I will be at home with this little dude (and our other guys) trying to teach him that the sink is for washing... not for drinking.

On a Causeway over the Pascagoula River

-Dan

On the way to Dauphin Island, Alabama

So far the bus ride has been mellow.  I'm on the girls bus so we have watched Twilight and Edward Scissorhands.  Though I need to finish a paper before we arrive, fortunatly we have about six more hours.

-Dan

Baseball has begun!!

You would think after being in our 3rd Spring at Joe's Place that we would have learned that you never ask a high schooler where his game is. In years past we've ended up in wrong towns for this very reason. Thankfully we re-learned this lesson in the heart of STL instead of out in the farm land of this great state. I will say... aside from our frustration... it was nice to have some family time in the car.

So... because of all the driving to find the exact location of the game... we never actually saw Steven up to bat. Thankfully we did at least get to see him holding a bat.

There are two sweet things about this picture. One... Dan and Carter sitting side by side at a baseball game. And two... Steven asked Dan if he would wear last season's hat to today's game. I need to get a picture of them together with the hats on.

I always love watching the team shake hands at the end of games (Steven is at the front of the blue/gray line).

We'll be at Fred's track meet tomorrow. So fun!! I love this time of year!

Congratulatons Fred!!!

I really can't believe our 3 guys are graduating so soon. We've ended two (almost three) school years with them (Fred and Steven) and started two school years with them. We are going to miss them so much. I know I keep saying that... but it's true. Anyway, the Saturday before we left for Spring Break, Fred signed his letter of intent!! He's been offered a full scholarship to a school in Illinois with an AWESOME track program (and HOUSING)! The team is actually sponsored by Adidas... so he's going to come back all decked out with some great gear! We are soooo excited for him!

Here he is just after he signed his letter...

We of course needed a night to celebrate Fred (we'll celebrate the other two guys as soon as we know what they are doing as well)... and we were in need of a family night... so last night we headed out for a little salad and pizza. It always kind of surprises me how much the guys love nights like this. We had such a great time!

Way to go, Fred!!!

Carter's buddy, Bryce, was over playing this morning and was wearing his dinosaur pajamas. They reminded me so much of a pair Carter used to have that I just couldn't resist finding a photo. There's nothing like little boys in their footie jammies.

Carter @ 6 months

Bryce @ 13 months

Some pics from the weekend...

I wanted to put up this picture of Carter because his eyes look like they've changed from blue to green. It could be the green shirt and walls...

Wearing one of his new shirts from Nana.

This pic is for my mom... because she says there are never pics of me on the blog. Here ya go mom... not the best... but we are all smiling.

We're Back!

I'll do a lot of updating over the next week... but tonight I just wanted to put up this picture of Dan's folks. They were here all of last week from Seattle giving us a MUCH needed break. It is sooo hard to live so far from both sets of grandparents. Right now we have my parents and Dan's parents scheduled to come every other Spring Break so Dan and I can get away for a bit. It was such a great week that flew by much too quickly. Thanks Carter and Paula!! We miss you already!

Skipped out to the Ozarks

Be back soon.

-Dan

The end of a season...

Today was our last Sunbeams class... and I'm feeling a little sad about it. Probably because it really means Carter is growing up. I've always heard that kids grow up so fast... I just didn't realize it would be quite this fast. The creator of the class decided not to do Sunbeams anymore... and there wasn't anyone to take it over for her. I've tried to explain to Carter that we won't be going back... but really... how do you explain that to a 2 year old. We made some great friends and great memories there... and are so thankful for the experience!

Joe's Place Documentary (7 minute preview)

The board of Joe's Place commissioned our friend Matt Seilback to film a documentary about the work being done at Joe's Place. He started filming this fall and will film through graduation. He hopes to have the film released this August. Below is a seven minute short he produced from his filming thus far:

VISIT THE DOCUMENTARY WEBSITE:
http://www.joesplacedoc.com/


Christmas at Joe's Place from Matthew Seilback on Vimeo.

Family Night

...ends with ice cream.

-Dan

Night time training session...

As I was uploading the pictures below from tonight I was reminded of this. He's even wearing the same jammies... from October 2007!! He is so little... although I do have to say the no diaper thing has given him a little more room in his pants.

Sunday Night

Tonight everyone made it home in time for dinner (that's really rare for a Sunday). It's great to have some time off on the weekends... but Dan, Carter and myself are always ready for the guys to check back in by the time Sunday rolls around. It's a little hard for Carter to understand where they go on Fridays... so he is always super excited to see them when they get home. Here are a few pics from after dinner tonight.

Playing a little b-ball in the hall.

This is Carter saying... "Steven, Steven, Steven... you wanna play basketball?"

The guys before they headed out with Dan to run some errands (Spring sports start tomorrow). They are all smiling!! Fred doesn't like this picture... but it's my new favorite!