Be back soon...

We have a crazy couple of days ahead of us... so I've decided to take a little break from the blog. Fred, Jeff and Steven will graduate tomorrow night. We are so proud of them... and so far I've been able to hold it all together. That probably has a lot to do with the fact that my mom was able to fly in from California last minute to give us some MUCH needed help.

Lots of pictures to come...

Strike!!

How may 2-year olds can say they have bowled a strike at the oldest bowling lanes West of the Mississippi? Carter can... although he may have had a little bit of help :)!! I just love that he's 2 and he has already bowled.

The Rebuild

We are learning that we are at the stage with Carter now where we have to be careful what we say around him. Not that what we say can't be repeated (um... well, maybe just a few things :))... it's just that he repeats everything over and over and over. Or I'll forget he's listening when we are talking about a bedtime and he'll chime in that he's actually not planning to go to bed. He hears everything!

Well, last night he asked us to leave his train tracks in the living room EXACTLY like they were after we put him to bed. We said ok just to get him to go to bed. About an hour after we put him down I couldn't handle the mess anymore... so Dan started to pick it up. Not long after that we could hear Carter crying from upstairs. I went up to see what was wrong. It was the train tracks!! He could hear the wooden pieces going back into the storage box. We said we were sorry and promised an awesome track for him the next morning. Dan spent the next half hour rebuilding a very cool track.... complete with trains and passengers...

The birthday boy admiring his work. Yep... today is Dan's birthday!!

The Richard Scarry characters waiting at the train station for their ride.

This was mine from when I was a kid. My sisters and I called it BART because it reminded us of the heavy rail system in the SF Bay Area. I love that Carter plays with it now.

All the trains on their way down the track...

Carter loved it when he came downstairs this morning... and it's actually still spread out across the living room floor...

Lane 4

A couple nights ago, Fred asked if I would mind taking some pictures of him down at the school track with his uniform on. He specifically wanted some pictures in lane 4... which I've learned in the last couple years is the lane assigned to the fastest runner. Fred has spent a lot of time in lane 4 this year... and today he wrapped up the year with 4 individual State Championships and a team State Championship (check out Dan's blog for video of all 4 first place finishes). He was walking on air this afternoon as he ended his high school track career... 4 years that have included some of his lowest lows and highest highs. We could not be prouder.

Is it possible to freeze time?

I think I've decided that I'm not ever going to let this one leave...

I didn't cry...

as I waved goodbye to Jeff and Steven (Fred is out of town getting ready to compete at State) as they headed out for their last day of high school this morning. I'm proud of myself... although I did tear up just a tiny bit when the guys started to clean out their rooms last night.

Since I had a first day of school picture... I of course needed the last day...

And can I just say (when comparing the 2 pictures) what a huge difference a good lens makes!!!

A Tree with a View...

Wiffleball is a serious sport in our house. No joke... I saw Steven and Dan out back with a tape measure the other day. They are actually at the end of a real series. It's going to be strange not hearing the yelling out in the backyard after next week (at least for a few months). I'm sure Tyre will carry the sport on next year. Anyway, tonight Steven and Tyre went out back to play a little game while Matt was here filming. I figured I would go snap a few pics while they were playing since tonight is one of Steven's last nights here for a while.

Check out where Matt is... I was glad I took my camera out when I did.

It's going to be awesome to have all these memories on film. I still can't believe they are graduating next week...

Just one of those days...

Last night Steven made another batch of these for an end of the year party. I didn't take any pictures because our kitchen looked exactly the same as it did in that post. It was fun... but boy do those things make a mess. Anyway, the pretzels were still laying out when Carter came down this morning. Like any 2 year old would... he went nuts. I promised he could have one after lunch while we were at the Botanical Gardens this morning... not thinking about the fact that the weather is a lot warmer now. Well... I couldn't go back on my word when he found it in the bottom of the stroller later in the morning. He did pretty good with all the melted M&M's and chocolate dripping down the pretzel... and thankfully I still had a pack of wipes in the car from our diaper days.

This came in the mail yesterday...

and it reminded me that I have not done one single thing to recognize my husband's HUGE accomplishment. I haven't gotten him a card... a cake... nothing. I thought about all the excuses I could list... but I'm just going to say... I'm sorry, Dan!! Thank you for all you have done for this family. We are so proud of you!! I promise we'll do something really soon to celebrate!! :)

The End of a Season... and a Hidden Talent

I think I'm just going to use that title for every post for the next two weeks. Maybe I'll get creative and think of something else in a few days... but that's the phrase that has been ringing in my ears lately.

Yesterday really was the end of a season for Steven. It was the last baseball game of his high school career.

Steven will actually be trying out for one of the catching positions with his college team next month and also hopes to play with a summer league like he did last year. It's going to be really strange not seeing him behind home plate on the MRH field next year.

After the game was over and we were waiting for the team to leave the field... Tyre started to get a little bored. He asked me to move from where I was sitting on the bleachers so he would have a little more room to do this...

I was super impressed! So impressed that I asked him to do it 4 times in a row so I could get a picture of him upside down in the air. :) I wish I could do that!

Letting it shine...

I'm trying to mentally prepare myself so I will not be an emotional wreck this last week of school (our seniors are done this week even though graduation isn't for 2 weeks). As I updated our (much hated :)) chore chart last night I realized that it was the last time I would be changing the rotation with those 4 names on it (I had to stop myself from taking a picture). I know they aren't sad about that... but I am. These last 2 and 1/2 years we have worked so hard to get through the "now" that I just didn't realize how quickly the end would be coming. Anyway... you'll be hearing a lot more about our 3 seniors (and how sad and proud I am) over the next two weeks.

Today I wanted to put up a picture of Tyre. Last night he was walking around the house with two pieces of artwork he did this year singing... "This little art of mine, I'm going to let it shine." This guy has been through some tough stuff... but I thought he sang it so perfectly... thanks to our school district and so many people in our community... he really is getting a chance to shine!! Way to go, Tyre!!

Spring!!

Sometimes in St. Louis it feels like we skip over Spring and head straight into summer. This year has been so different. We have really had some beautiful days. Today it's not supposed to even reach 70 degrees. We decided to delay Carter's nap today and ended up having an awesome afternoon. Great friends, food, drink and one of the cutest almost 3 year old's in the world. What more could we ask for?!

Afternoon Shadows

A lazy afternoon...

Dan

Check out Dan's new (yes... yet another) blog here. He did a little write up on an interview we did here at Joe's Place tonight. You can click on a bunch of different posts or pictures. This is by far my favorite post of the night.

More from Monday...

I wanted to get some more pictures of the guys in their Letterman jackets while we were at the park... but the sun set just after we arrived. I was able to get a few good ones before we lost all the decent lighting.

The rest of the pictures are a bit blurry... but it kind of goes with the night. Everyone had so much fun that the night really did pass in a blur...

An almost perfect picnic...

I hate being so far behind on my blogging... the last few months have flown by at a speed I've never seen. I feel like it should still be March. I wish I could just hit pause for a little bit to catch my breath. It seems like yesterday that I took this picture on the first day of their senior year. I can't believe that yesterday already marked the beginning of their last normal week of high school. They are so excited... and so are we (although my excitement is mixed with a little more sadness than anyone else). Anyway, I just wanted to post one picture from last night (more will be coming soon) before I have to get going this morning.

Last year we started a tradition of picking up a bite to eat and heading to the Forest Park visitor center and playground for dinner. Last night we continued the tradition. It's amazing how long it takes to schedule a night when everyone is home. Steven got to pick the meal (burgers and shakes) since we were actually celebrating his acceptance (and huge scholarship!!) to a great 4 year University here in St. Louis. We are so proud of these guys!! They said the night was perfect... except for having to sit on a blanket to eat dinner!! :)

We had so much fun! The guys (including Dan) ended up playing tag in the dark on the playground. It was so fun to hear everyone laughing so hard. I don't think anyone was ready to go home by the time we finally left.

this is when I know I am doing something I shouldn't

A Kiss for Mommy, Mother's Day Brunch 09

-from my G1

Eclipse for Alyssa and Kipper for Carter