7 years ago, 7 years, not months........

Hunter turned the big 7 on November 14th, yes I cried. It is just to hard to comprehend at times, just a few years ago you couldn't even take him out in public for fear of him running off, running someone down, or just plain running his mouth about whatever. Now, he is so polite, thoughtful, still crazy, but so much more mature. It is just so amazing the changes that have taken place from kindergarten to 1st grade, AMAZING!! We left parent teaccher conf. last year with me almost in tears. This year we left in a fog, 'did that just really go that well', I thought to myself???!!! But it did and it has been going well ever since, and I pray each day that it continues!!

For Hunter's birthday we had a total of 13 boys. We had to invite both 1st grade classes because with Hunter, its all or none. If I had told him to pick 3 or 4 boys, it would of been the same as if I'd shot his dog in front of him. He is almost like a little politician in the making, shaking hands, hugging babies, that's him, a little democrate in the making, (Mike is turning Dawson into a republican, so all is even again in the home).

The party started off with a scavenger hunt, we then decorated 4 dozen turkey cookies, ate pizza, cookies, cake and opened gifts. The party was from 1 to 4 and it was NOT long enough! The boys had such a great time and there were no fights, how great is that!! My friends Missy, Dawn and Carrie helped me out and the day was just a blast, very memorable.
While we were parting, Mike was off driving his 11 point buck around. It is his Christmas present for the next 3 years as I found out its going on the wall. We now have a deer head for each member of our family.....super:-)

29 again!

Well, it looks like I turned 29 again this year on the 26th. It feels a little different each year, but it usually goes so well that I'm just going to keep it up. Will it end up that my kids will one day be iligitimant children because of my never increasing age? Perhaps, but I always wanted a brother or sister...

Mike and Dawson picked me up a cake at Gerbes after their duck hunt at the duck lease, it was the opening weekend of youth duck season. Well, once again, there wasn't much to choose from on a Sunday evening and Mike wanted to try another store. Well Dawson was set on a Halloween cake with my rival whipped cream icing. Mike tried to talk him out of it, but the tears started rolling and when Dawson cries, Mike gives. So, here is a picture of me loving my boys, the cake, the thought, but secretly hating the person who invented whipped cream icing.....

Happy 36th Birthday Dad!

We helped Mike celebrate his 36th birthday on the 17th of Ocotober. The boys love to pick out a cake for him. However, the night we went the choices were few and far between. Dawson wanted to get him a pack of 12 john deere cup cakes but I talked him into a cake instead. He wasn't happy about it, but he finally gave in. For Mike's gift the boys and I went to MO Valley Mercantile to pick out some new Carhart clothes for winter, they were a hit. Mike loved the cake, the gifts and the thought. I asked him though if it bothered him that each year he was one year closer to be 10 years my senior, he said he wasn't to worried.

Good-bye summer, and my muscle shirts..

This weekend I finally talked Dawson into putting away all his muscle shirts, all 22 of them. This phase started last summer, he wore a muscle shirt everyday but 3. I'm not sure where this infatuation with these type of shirts came from, but apparently it is here to stay. I thought for sure last fall that a year off from them he would forget about the need to wear them and we could wear 'normal' shirts the next summer. Well, apparently a year was not long enough! Already in April we were wearing them and he was fighting it until October to continue to wear him. He is the most hot natured kid. If you let him, he'd go outside in 40 degree weather wearing a muscle shirt, shorts and flip flops and would still be asking if he could take his shirt off. That is another thing we started this summer, we wanted to go shirtless all the time. It is like we are slowly raising a certified redneck here. I don't think I'm going to tell him that muscle shirts are not allowed in kindergarten at St. Joe......he may refuse to go!

5th, (I think), annual Cane Fest!

Mike and his friends got together this year again and made molasses. This, is Dawson's thing, all the way. He was SOOO pumped to get to do this. You know, use his machete to chop down cane. When you think about a 5 year old and his own machete, you this, tad unsafe? But then you set the scene, Koeltztown, cane field, Friday Night, dad is there, it all seems, normal, almost. Dawson got home about 10 pm that night and Mike said he barely made it to bed before he fell asleep, he was beat! The next day though, he was up, bright and early ready, for the cane cook! Him and Mike headed to grandpa Kenny's for the Johnny popper. I had to bring him a snack at 9 am because he had been working hard stripping and pressing cane. Hunter missed all this as he was spending the night with Grandma Jean. He earned 20 green dots for good behavior and this was the reward as Grandma's house, WITHOUT Dawson, is like a trip to Disney World. At 10 am I had to pick Dawson up to go to soccer, he was not happy about this at all! However, his and Hunter's game overlapped, I was able to watch both of them at the same time on two different fields. It entailed me jogging, some cell phones and probably standing up in front of people watching the games, but no one ever said being a mom would be easy!

So, two games down, we headed back to Koelztown from Belle to cook the cane. I sat and talked with my friends Amy and Sara and the boys ran from stirring the cane to running with the other boys. Once the cane was ready to jar, the boys were there to help in no time. Everyone was ready with a jar or a lid and having a hard time remembering that the jars were SUPER hot. However, once it was all jarred, the men ended up with 7 gallons. We then headed out for a hay ride and some corn stalk chopping, yep, the return of the machete. After that the boys were tired, hungry, and DIRTY! We headed home, after a lot of disagreement from the boys. So, what did we do the next night, well we made molasses cookies of course! I find it hard to believe, but the kids LOVE them. Dawson brought some to school to share. I told him to not be hurt if the other kids didn't like them, as I would think, most kids wouldn't like them. Well, much to my amazement, Dawson said, "mom, everyone loved them and wanted seconds and we were out!!"

Mom, get the camera, we graveled a squirrel!

Mike and Dawson went squirrel hunting after supper last night. Dawson was siked, 'they graveled a squirrel!'. Dawson thinks his Dad is IT, the ONE, the CHOSEN, the BEST, the most AWESOME Dad ever! When they got home Dawson came running up the steps and I knew, get the camera as I am the official picture taker of all dead stuff that rolls in here. It doesn't pay well but we all have our jobs in life. So Dawson said, 'mom, get the camera, we graveled a squirrel!'. So, he jumps right up there and holds it up like him and his dad saved the world, and I cheered them on just like any good mom would do........but there is no way I'm eating that little rat. But, the boys like em, so it saves me from cooking one night out of the year at least! However, sometimes Mike forgets to talk to me before he talks to the kids. So, as I put Dawson to bed that night he told me, 'Dad said if I'm good I can get a toy guy, you know a BB gun, so I can start shooting my own squirrels'. Awesome, a 5 year old with a gun, Merry Christmas to all, enter our driveway at your own risk:-)

First Grade, really, already, he just started walking, 6 years ago!!??

First Grade, how did this happen? At times it seems like Hunter has been big forever and the day I brought him home from the hospital, a dream. And now he already has 12 days of school in. He is now studying for test and recycling and feeding his dog on his own. Where did my little, crazy, uncontrollable Hunter go off too. When I look at him now, probably eye to eye in a year, he seems almost old enough to move out! Sure, he still has melt downs, fights with his brother about being first, leaves doors open, forgets his backpack, but all in all, he is slowing preparing to live life without me one day, sad. But, lucky, he is not moving far. He is going to get some friends to help him and will be moving across the road to build a house next to Grandma Cece and Grandpa Kenny, whew! Dawson however is moving to California, the STATE! Hopefully he changes his mind in the next 13 years.

At school Hunter gets green dots for being good, yellow for not so good, and red for 'oh my things are bad and you better start praying'. So far, we have only had one yellow dot, on the 4th day of school!! But, we've learned from it and have been walking the walking since then. Perhaps the promise of spending the night at Grandma Jeans, WITHOUT DAWSON, after each 20 green dots earned is helping. Hopefully it lasts this year..........and until he graduates from say, medical school or law school, its his choice really.

Still working on the swing....

My friend Melissa and I took the boys to go minature golfing the day before Hunter and Carter started 1st grade. The argument at each hole was who was going first, but it was still fun. Dawson at times, as you may be able to tell, hits the ball a little hard. But he'll get it:-)

Dawson and I were working on the Our Father the other day and he said, 'mom, I got it listen.......Our Father, who works in heaven......funny stuff!!!!

One last summer trip.......

Mom and I took the boys to the Magic House and the Zoo at the end of July. One last trip before school started. We took the GPS along and that makes the boys ask, how many minutes now, how about now, and now, how about now? Whoo, but hey, I guess it passes the time. On the way to St. Louis we had to stop at the shoe store in Linn, I love that place. It reminds me of Pohls shoe store in JC, back in the 80's! Anyways, Hunter needed new shoes for school, I think he has uncle Chris's feet, size 2 1/2 in 1st grade, crazy. So you know what happened, Dawson said, "I need new shoes too!". No you don't, I just bought you new shoes in May when we went to St. Louis and you've barely worn them, all you wear is summer shoes. Well, they are too tight and they hurt my feet....oh they do not. I tell you what, we'll have the lady measure your foot and if its bigger, than we'll get some. Long story short, size 11 1/2 in May, 13 in July...what!? Budgeted $30 for shoes, spent $60...I guess its good their getting bigger and not smaller! So, off to St. Louis. About half way there, there is this goat farm of sorts, a sad looking sort of place. Last year when we went to the Zoo Hunter said, 'is that the zoo?!', mom and I about rolled off our seats. So when we passed it again this year, mom and me had a little chuckle, memories. Well, we made it to the Magic House and stayed for about 4 hours, got our money's worth for sure. The construction part was the favorite. The boys climbed these stairs and layed brick for hours. However climbing the stairs to their room to put their clothes away, very far and stressful for them, odd. The boys also worked relentlessly on catching magnet fish and fixing the race car. By the time we left, they still weren't ready to go. But, the place was getting packed and I wanted to go to the zoo. (Note, go to the Magic House when it opens, it gets crowed around 2 pm).

So, we hope in the car and one wants to go to the zoo and one doesn't. I want to go to the zoo, and I'm driving, so we're going. What's funny about that is my dad always wanted to go to the zoo and I didn't, some things just always come back to haunt you. Well, it had rained all day while we were at the magic house so the zoo was pretty cleared out, very nice. The big hit of the day was the hippos, they were swimming everywhere and the boys were running from one side of the tank to the other. And then for the big show ender, the hippo pooped right in front of the glass, big hit with the crowd and the boys!

Once again, when we got in the car Dawson said, 'did we miss nap time? I don't want to take a nap'. 5 minutes later, Dawson is snoozing...lost another battle to the nap gods. We ended the day with a trip to Sonic, mom offered to pay, but I told her, 'mom, I'll get this, I like to take you out to nice placed every once in a while:-)'

So, another great trip for me and the boys and mom. It is so much easier to take trips the older the get. Hard to beleive another summer is coming to a end.....

Happy Birthday Grandpa Rick!

Today would have been my dad's 60th birthday. If he were still here, he would not have wanted to have anything big....only a trip to the river boat! So, off mom and Glenn and Jane went to the boat this morning. They had a great time AND left their money for the next person. Me and boys went to Gerbes to get some balloons for Grandpa to send to heaven. Hunter wrote him a note, 'grandpa, I really miss you. I hope you always remember me. Happy Birthday! Hunter'. Dawson however didn't want to write a note, 'because its a birthday balloon mom', apparently that says it all and there is no need for extra letters and such!. I thought the boys wouldn't care to much but kids are surprising. We took the boys out and they let the balloons go. And you know what, they watched the balloons until they were out of site, they wanted to make sure they made it all the way to heaven. What was also neat is that the balloons stayed right with each other, like they were on the same mission. We thought with Hunter's having the note on it that it would fall behind, but nope, right on up they went. And what was also special, is that there went right towards this big puffy cloud with a hole in it, and right through that hole they went. Now Hunter the worrier was concerned that they wouldn't make it to heaven, I however reassured him that because they had grandpa's name on it, it would go right to his mailbox. The boys thought it was neat he had a mailbox:-) Now Dawson the thinker was concerned that someone with a parachute could jump out of the plane and grab the balloons and take them. I however reassured him that that would not happen since we put grandpa's name on them.

Now tonight before bed Dawson asked if Grandpa Rick slept on the clouds. I said I'm sure he does. He said, 'ya, and I bet he covers up with a little angel blanket, just like baby Mathew'. Yep, I'm sure Heaven is the best place to be if you can't be here with your family. Happy Birthday Dad, we miss you........

Pics of the party, I LOVE having people over!

5 years ago today, I can't belive it.....

It almost makes me cry typing this, my baby is 5, the big 5, 5, 1 year older than 4, 5 years away from being a baby, 1 year away from kindergarten, 13 years away from moving out and going to college, oh too much. Well, today is Dawson's 5th birthday and we partied the night away. We hade out friends over and 12 other kids. Dawson got a water slide for this birthday and the kids just love it. We had the water slide going and the slip and slide. The kids did the water stuff from 6:30 to 8:15 when their teeth started to chatter. We then did cake, a super hero cake, and all the kids sang Happy Birthday, Hunter started. It is so funny to see Dawson though, stuff like that makes him so shy. But, Dawson then hit the presents and they were a hit. Wayne and Melinda brought the best gift, a much needed brush hog. Dawson has really been wanting a hay cutter, but its late in the season for that and they were sold out. So, the next best thing, the brush hog and Dawson and his friend Luke tested it out. He also got some new swim trunks and 2 muscle shirts. Dawson doesn't feel like a man if he isn't wearing a muscle shirt. I thought it was just a last year faze, but its carried over, he owns about 15 now. After that the kids ran off to play the Wii and hit the dress up box. I turned around though and Dawson and his friend Corin were opening the cards. So, I have no idea, but Dawson scored $5 and a $15 gift card to Toys R Us. He fell asleep on the couch at 10:30 pm with the money in hand. The perfect end to a perfect day. Ok, starting to cry again, I need to toughin up.......

I just want butterfly stiches....

Well, my first baby got stitches. Mr. Dawson had to get 4 stitches on Monday. I was at the park walking, and got in the car and Mike calls, very odd, he never calls. You need to get to High Hill, Dawson fell. Ok, on my way, very patiently, because my thought is, if it was horrific, they would have called the ambulance. As I'm driving Mike is saying, 'apparently Heather tried to call you and couldn't get you, want's up with that?'. Well, I don't walk with my phone, it is not a part of me and I sometime take a break from it, uh, men!. So, I go to pick up my baby and he has blood over most of his forehead, so I'm thinking, scrap, stitches aren't going to help, but maybe some butterfly ones will keep the scar down. So, we're off to the Dr's office. Dawson is freaken out the whole way because he doesn't want stitch's and I'm trying to make it not sound so bad and tell him, 'we're probably just getting butterfly stitches and not the big ones that mommy had to get when she was little. Because everything that goes wrong with Dawson, falling, getting sick, not being able to ride a bike, all of those things have to be run past me, 'did you get sick when you were little?'. Everything has to be verified that it happened to me once upon a time and he is not the first to fall. So, we walk right into the room, 'note, if you want to get right in to the office, spear some blood or ketchup, whatever is handing on your kids and the nurses get you right out of the waiting room, possibly a little scary looking for the other patients waiting'. So, we get in there and sit down and Dawson says, 'I just want butterfly stitches, not the big ones'. Well, once the nurse cleaned it off, I knew it, stitches, the big ones! So, the Dr. comes in and says, 3 stitches and Dawson flips out. We were the people in the room next to you that you wondering what the hell is going on in there. So, the nurse is holding his arms and I'm laying on his legs going, 'its fine, your great, we're almost done'. Well Dawson is believing any of that crap, 'stop, it hurts, your choking me!'. So, they let him up after the numbing shot and they we have to talk him in to laying back down for the stitches. Promise # one, we'll go to Target for a toy when we're done. Well, the numbing wasn't enough and we had to hit him a again, 'no, i need a hug, let me up, I just need one more hug!'. Promise # 2, we're going to the ice cream shop. So, we start stitching, 'great job guy, we have 2 done, you are such a big boy, only 2 more. Here is where you think maybe you shouldn't send them to school, 'you said only 3 stitches, not 4!'. Promise #3, special bandaids for the stitches, whatever kind you want. So, we get them taken out tomorrow, how much do you think that visit is going to 'cost'????

This is my brother Dawson.........

Where ever we go, who ever we meet, they all know, that 'Dawson is Hunter's brother, he's 4, almost 5, Hunter is 6". And so once again the scenario plays out. The boys played against each other the other night and here they are on 3rd base, Hunter telling the 3rd base coach, 'this is my brother Dawson, he's 4, almost 5, but I'm 6, I'm older, I'll be 7 soon, he's still in preschool, I'm in 1st grade'. And you can guess what the coach is saying, 'turn around, watch the ball...........you know the one that could hit you in the back of the head at any moment!". You got to love T-ball, almost the same number of men to boys on the field saying, 'watch the ball, stand up, run, stop, throw it to 1st, 1st base, run, stop, stand up, throw it, stop talking, pay attention, get the ball, hold it', funny stuff, very funny.

Another fescue season gone, and we're still married!

Whew, we made it through another fescue season, and all 4 of us still live in the same house! This fescue season wasn't much, so Mike didn't take a week off work. Good for the checkbook, hard on finding the time to sleep. With Mike starting work at 5:30, (this means I get up at 4 am to make breakfast and pack his lunch and get him up at 4:15 am), working on a roof all day in 100 degree temps, then coming home to jump in a combine, rolling in at 9 pm or later, and then off to bed. Usually this is tough on me too, but this year seemed worse. Usually it would just be me and boys at home, me making supper for them at 6 pm, then playing, cleaning, running fescue errands or picking up guys and taking them to a field, then putting the boys to bed and then making another supper for Mike at 9 pm. Well, as the boys get older, you know, the running starts. Dawson played T-ball and Hunter coach pitch. So, our evenings consisted of running home, eating, running to a game, running home, running to the shower, then bed, then fix Mike supper, get to bed hopefully at 10 pm, and then up at 4 am. Seriously, after 2 weeks of that, by that last Thursday at work, I would have paid someone to let me sleep out in the landscaping under a tree, heck I would have paid to sleep under my desk!!! That Thursday I drank at least 6 diet cokes, maybe more, and still could have crashed my head on my key board! But, it's done and we came out on top and Dawson got to dance in the fescue, not all kids can say that!

Happy Father's Day!

We had to do Father's Day the night before Father's day as you know fescue season takes precident over everything in our lives for a good 3 weeks, sometimes longer. Hunter made his dad a paper tie at school and drew pictures of him and his dad on it. Dawson made a picture frame/magnet with his hands and a picture of himself. The frame said, "I love you this much", too cute. And I went out and bought dad a new pair of Oakely's, which he liked! Usually I have to go back to the store 2 or 3 times with returns but this year, I guess I just got lucky, or else Mike just really needed a new pair. Either way, it was good for me as time seems to be of the essence during the summer.

Imaginative or redneck.......

The other days the boys were playing outside. Most of the time Hunter gets bored but if you let him turn the water on he'll stay outside longer. Well, in the country you don't have to check on them every second, so after about 10 minutes I looked out the window to see what was up as noone had screamed or yelled, "I'm telling!", sure enough, the little red neck genious had made their own water slide. Very creative, yet muddy as you can image what the ground at the end of the slide turned into after 20 minutes of water and stomping. Good think Dawson is getting a inflatable water slide for his birthday on the 24th. Shhhh, it's a secret:-)

Dad the fisherman, mom...she just goes to be a good Mom.

I'm just not a fisher-women, the cold water on my feet and wet flip flops (we can never fish from a bank, we always have to cross water and walk down stream to find the fish. they are never biting where we can just stand and catch them easily), the worms and fish and all that, just not me. I love to eat the little guys, but just not fish for them. Dawson loves to go fishing but always quickly gives up and heads right to the rocks and some water to throw them in. Now Hunter will fish and fish as long as he is pulling them out one right after the other. He doesn't even care if they are big or not, as long as its a fish. Each time he catches one he yells to Dawson to come over and check it out. Each time Dawson knows what kind of fish it is and wants to keep it. It is so fun to watch Hunter fish though, his face just lights up and his smile is just wide as can be and he always says and thinks, 'oh, dad, Dawson, oh, its a big one, its a big one!'

Dawson--ism's...

I picked Dawson up from school the other day and asked him who he played with. His best friend is Alec, however Alec was gone. He other friend Scottie was gone that day also. So, Dawson said he played with his 'extra' friend. What, what is a extra friend I ask? You know mom, your extra friend, the one you play with when your other friends are gone. Nice, very nice, extra friend...please don't call him that to his face ok? :-) (I still laugh out loud when I make his say this)

Mom, when is Autumn going to come to one of my birthday parties? Well, probably not for a while, she lives a really long way away and it takes her a long time to get here. No it doesn't mom, they are usually the first ones to our parties........ I don't think beating Aunt Becky to a party makes you a early person...hahahhahhahah

Mom, when is Aunt Becky going to have a baby? I don't know, why? Well, she's married, that means she is going to have a baby. Ok, we'll see what Christmas brings I guess....

My baby is done with kindergarten.

Yes, I'm a little late on this post, but that is what motherhood has done to me, it has made me late. Well, on May 18th Hunter finished Kindergarten. It has been a year of ups and downs but when I look back, it has mostly been ups (this statement brings a tear to my eye...motherhood again). I am simply amazed at what they learn in one little year. Hunter can read, write, count money, tell time, buckle his belt and tuck in his shirt perfectly. He can sit still, almost, in Church and he can actually take the time to color and draw. I can't even imagine how many words he can recognize and write by sounding them out. I remember the first day of school I asked Hunter how it went, 'Great, they don't have time out and there are no naps!', those were the highlights. Needless to say, I was a little worried, but not shocked. I knew from the time Hunter started talking and walking putting him in those 4 walls was going to be hard, and some days, it was, for everyone involved! However, God knew what he was doing and blessed us with the most patient, loving teacher a first time mom and busy kid could ever ask for. Week 2 brought us the call, 'Hunter is having a hard time listening, sitting still and keeping his attention'......shocking, so shocking to us:-) So, needless to say, Mike and I sat down with our little go getter and explained what he needed to do and what he shouldn't do. When we were done I told Hunter, 'you know, if you don't do well this year you won't get to go to 1st grade like the rest of your class don't you?'. 'yes, I know.................who is going to be in kindergarten next year?' Really God, seriously, is this is what we are going to have to deal with for the next 16 years of school, do you have a little to much time on your hands???:-) But, things got better, days got better, letters from school got better and then the snow came, and then 2 weeks of Christmas vacation and then the Wii. Well the combination of all of these sent Hunter into a tailspin and right to the principals office in February. Here it is, 8:05 am, AM, and the school calls, its that principal, the principal, 8:05AM, AM, I had just sat down and turned on my computer at work. Mind you, I had just had a call from the teacher (the 2nd in 2 weeks) and Hunter the previous week! Well Mr. Hunter couldn't keep his hands to himself and the teacher was spent, that day was not the day to mess with her, not again, the last straw was drawn. So yep, you guessed it, I'm crying on the phone, Hunter's crying on the phone, the principal is probably thinking, 'lady, him and a boy were playing around, he is 6, suck it up, things will get way worse than this'. But from that day on, Mr. Hunter was on his way to making #1 alter boy. We prayed each night we could be good and our brain would make the right decisions. We had a football player/coach pep talk each morning that we could be good. And Hunter greeted me each day at after school with the same phrase, "another great day Mom!". And you know what, it was, another great day because in the end as long as we are happy and healthy and together, they are all great days.

Did you bring my tin home dad?

Dawson, he is my builder, my artist, my thinker. If his dad uses that tool, he is going to use that tool. If his dad built something, than he is going to build it too. I picked up Dawson from daycare today. They went on a field trip today to the miniature golf place. I asked him how it was and he said great! He said his teacher Tina said though, "if your ball goes in the water, don't go after it, we'll get a new one". So, no one went in the water today, per Dawson anyway. But on the way home Dawson said, 'I sure hope dad remembered to bring my tin home tonight'. What are you going to do with that tin I ask? "Well, I'm thinking about getting some lumber and building a shop". Hmmm, sounds like hard work I say. So, at supper Dawson asked Mike about his tin. Well, Mike forgot the tin but asked Dawson how much he needed. Dawson said, 'how much you got?'. Apparently Dawson is figuring on building a shop about the size of the cabin that dad built. Great, two cabins at one house and still, no repainted stairwell for mom.........

Our first family stay-cation

The week before Memorial Weekend we headed to St. Louis. It was our first family vacation that Mike attended with us and I was so nervous that it wouldn't go well and it would be Mike's last with us. But thank the Lord, it went well and everyone, all 4 of us, had a great time! On Saturday we packed up and headed to St. Louis for the City Museum. We had never been there before but everyone who had, says it great, but beware there are lots of tunnel. Lot's of tunnel does not even begin to describe it. The place is a huge warehouse that some one took a bunch of scrap metal and rebar and slides and called it a kids heaven. It is really made for kids ages 9 and up I would say because it is a maze. You have to be ready as a parent to crawl, climb and search for your kids. They head up tunnels and if you can't fit with them, then you have to figure out where the heck they are coming out. The boys, all 3 of them, loved the place. I, a mom, was worn out from climbed, but also from wondering where my 'lost boys' were have the time. We spent 5 hours there and the boys were still not ready to leave and wanted to go back the next day. So, needless to say, we'll go back, but probably in a few years when I'm more ready to have them lost for 10 minutes and not be scared about it.

From the city museum we headed back to our hotel, the Drury by the Arch, it was awesome. It was located right downtown, had super friendly people, a pool (Dawson's favorite), and a awesome breakfast (Hunter's favorite). After the museum we decided to eat in the hotel restaurant which was very good, the kid's ate like nobody's business as they had just run a 5k at the city museum. We then ended supper with a trip the the restaurant's sundae bar, big hit. After that, you guessed it, were off to the pool. Finally at 9:15 I promised Dawson a soda so we could get out of the pool! That night the boys fell asleep so fast they didn't know what hit them and slept until 7am, which is very late for them on a weekend, not on a school morning, but on a weekend.

Sunday was a very busy day, we ate breakfast and then headed to the Arch. Mike and I had been 'to' the arch a ton of times but never up. So, we did it, went all the way up. I was leery of the small space and heights, but I sucked it up for the family and it really went well. We got to the top and the boys were plain amazed at what they saw. When we got back down and started to walk the river front I said, "Hunter, can you believe we were just up there and looking through those window!'. Hunter said, 'Mom, we weren't all the way up there. We were looking through a lot bigger windows, those window's are really tiny". On our way to the river front there was a hot dog cart and you know, if they see any food overpriced and ready for consumption, they are starving at that very moment! So, we enjoyed a hot dog, chips and soda and wanted the barges flow by. All I could think was how lucky we were, to just be together and to get to be able to go on a stay cation, very lucky.

From there we headed to the Cardinals' game, the first for all 4 of us at the new stadium. Let me tell you, the recession has not hit the Cardinal's stadium. It was a Sunday afternoon and the placed was packed. We were lucky enough to get free tickets from aunt Becky, thanks Becky! Well, the seats were $70 seats, we spent $35 on food (I'll list that out in a moment) and then you still have parking to pay for. I couldn't believe it, how expensive a game could be. If you had to pay for tickets, food, parking, gas and maybe even a hotel the game could run a family of 4 almost $500, CRAZY!!. Since it was the boys first time I let them pick their favorites for lunch at the ball park. They got nachos, cracker jacks, a soda, and 1 hot dog for $20.75. Mike went back and got a Hardees hamburger, no drink, for $10. And then we went later for 2 ice cream cones for $5.....out of control crazy expensive, but we paid it and so did tons of other people. I just couldn't believe how busy it was during such a down time for so many.

Well, we lasted to the 7th inning and then figured we should head out of town before everyone else. When we got on the road Dawson said, 'did we miss nap time?' He always feels like such a man when he gets out of nap time. I told him he'd missed it. I turned around 1 minute later and he was out like a light, mouth open and all, he was out for the next 1 1/2.

Time just flies.........

I made it back from California weeks ago and am just now getting or finding time to blog, the summer is crazy and it isn't really even summer yet! When I was gone I took pictures of San Francisco to show the boys where I'd been. This shot I took from my window seat on the plane to show the boys how high I was. I thought it would be neat to show then how I was ABOVE the clouds. Well, of course Mr. Dawson put his little brain into thought. I showed Dawson the pic and he thought it was so neat, that I was so high, and off he ran. Well, later that day ol' Hunter was on his death and heaven talk, at the age of 6 he is not ready to die and wants to know how old he will be before he does, crazy man. Well, I always say you never go until you've done everything you need to do on earth and so on. Then of course Hunter always wants to know what heaven is like and what you do there and who you'll see. Here is where Dawson's wheels start spinning. I say, "I'm not sure what it's like in heaven but I know it's the best place to be'. Dawson's turn to speak now, 'my, you were just in heaven'; 'no, I haven't been to heaven'; yes you were mom, when you were on the plane, you were above the clouds, and that's consider heaven you know, and did you see grandpa Rick when you were up there?':-) Cause as you know, heaven is way above the clouds and I said, I was flying above the clouds................

When I returned though, everyone wanted to know how Mike did with the boys for 6 days as he has never wanted the boys for more than a day. Well, I tell everyone, 'if the operation failed that would have meant that the house burned down because I had everything lined up for them! In order for the week to go smooth I cleaned the house, washed all the clothes, laid out all the boys clothes for the week, prepared suppers or lined them up, finished all of Hunter's homework with him for the week and prepared a detailed list by day of what had to be done with the boys from sun up to sun down. Is was a lot of work to prepare it all and pack for myself but as you know, that's just was mom's do. I asked Hunter when I returned how it went and he said, "mom, I really missed you, but it was good to get to spend so much time with dad".

I'm gone and wondering what is going on........

I'm on the west coast and my family is still in the Midwest.....and I'm scared!!?? I had to leave for a week for work and Hunter wanted to know if I would remember him...... I've never been gone more than a few days from the boys and this trip will be 6 days, so this is different. Dawson couldn't care much on Sunday when I left, 'ya, love ya, see ya Friday, I gotta and go'. However Hunter said he loved me, he'd miss me and got a little teary eyed.........which made my tears start flowing! Hunter kept saying, 'mom, stop crying, mommm stop crying'. So, I pulled myself together and hoped in the car. I hadn't been on a plane in about 11 years so rules and procedures have definitely changed on the planes and at the airports. We only saw one women with a 'swine flu' mask on, which was nice. Our plane got delayed 2 hours because of fog but we gained 2 hours flying west so I guess it all evened out. However my 'clock' is really going to be off after a week of living this 'time'. On the plane we also got to watch Marley and Me which was good, but it made me cry!!!!! I rarely cry and then twice in one day I'm hit with the tears, crazy!!! Well, I'll post some pics and finds of my trip when I return..................

Favorite Easter gifts

Here are the boys in their favorite Easter gifts and yes, of course they were from Grandma Jean. The boys know that all they have to do is ask Grandma Jean for it and either they get it right away or very soon after. These Mario jammies were found at Kohls when we were there looking for dress pants. Oddly enough they ended up in their Easter baskets 2 weeks later. The crazy socks came in a package all pre-shrunk as small as they could get them. To 'make them big', they had to be soaked in water. Dawson, who NEVER wants to take a bath said, "mom, I am REALLY dirty tonight, I need to take bath now........and can you get my socks out of my basket, I NEED them".

Easter Sunday

Ohhhh, here are my little boys all dressed in their Sunday best! Hunter is getting used to dressing up as he has to some what for Catholic school. Mr. muscle shirt, cowboy boot wearing, jeans man though is not always so thrilled to wear button shirts and dress shoes. But, Dawson got suited up and off we were to Church. I think his shirt was untucked by the time we pulled in the Church parking lot but maybe he knew we'd be there for an hour and thirty minutes and just wanted to get comfortable.

The nanny goat's gruff

Sunday was Hunter's first play with speaking parts. His kindergarten class of 30 all had a speaking part ranging from goats, to flowers, to bees to trolls to butterflies. Hunter and another friend were the opening and closing speakers. This sort of stuff is right up Hunter's alley, he loves to speak in front of crowds. It doesn't matter if it is 10 or 200, he believes he has something to say that others want to hear. Hunter's costume consisted of a shirt and tie. I didn't think he would wear the tie as when he was younger a tie would of sent him into a panic with thoughts of joking and sweating and possibly death. However, I called it his costume and he put it right on. He of course took it right off once the play was done, but he wore it and that's all that counts! He speaking parts and hand gestures all went well of course since he was so into the part he drowned out/stepped in front of the little guy next too him. Mike and I just gave each other that look as we usually do with Hunter in public situations, 'oops, hope their parents are ok with that'. Mike is getting more used to this feeling as the years go on. Two years ago he would of hung his head in shame, now he realizes, Hunter is a sociable animal who just seems to end up in situations that highlight his best parts.......and not so best parts. But hey, that's life its it?! There were 3 other boys in ties that day. Their spot when they were off to the side was on a riser. It was so cute to look at 4 little 6 year olds up there all sitting like men, legs all spread, look all rung out from wearing ties. Who knew the school play was preparing them for life as men dressed in ties by their wives.........

The big goose hunt.....

Dawson went with Mike goose hunting for Valentines Day. Hunter stayed with me as his statement was, 'mom, I just can't think about leaving you alone' :-). Dawson however left me with no problem, he was soo excited. Dawson is a hunter, he wants to go with Mike all the time. And he loves to be outside and to drive around. So, off Mike and Dawson went Saturday morning about 2 1/2 hours away to the duck lease. At each new town Dawson asked if they were there. He called me from 'upstairs' as you can see. Some would call it a top bunk, others, upstairs, to each his own. Well, as you can see Dawson got a goose and it was considered a successful trip. Him and his dad had a man's night that Saturday evening. Dawson took full advantage of Mom not being there and ate sugary snacks (see the evidence on the 'upstairs' picture) and drank soda. And to top it off, he was talking to me on the phone while he was doing all this 'forbidden' activity. Not really forbidden but I make it a lot harder for him to get that stuff than dad does. One of the things that Dawson had to call and tell me about was that there was a McDonald's all the way up there! He was completely astonished that they would have one too, all the way on the other side of the earth a McDonald's. Makes you think they might be everywhere if there's one in Carrollton, MO!!?? The next morning Mike told Dawson they had to load up and go home.......and then came the tears, Dawson was digging the man's life and was not ready to head by to civilization and rules. Needless to say, Dawson wants some waders for his birthday.

My baby lost his 2nd tooth today!

Hunter lost his 2nd tooth last night while he was sleeping. It seems like I just took his picture of his missing space not to long ago. That may have been though since I 'meant' to take his picture of his 1st missing tooth ASAP! Well, 1 week later Hunter said, 'mom, my lost tooth is growing in'. What! Who knew that teeth grow in in one week! I'm thinking I've got a month before I need to find the camera and take a picture. So, here we are, a morning before school, rushing because we are late as always and I'm instructing Hunter to smile so I can see his missing tooth. Well, if you don't have a 6 year old boy then you won't understand that by the time they start school they can either frown or smile so hard their eyes close. It's either one or the other, there's no happy medium. So here is our pic of the 1st missing tooth. A couple days after the loss of the 1st tooth Hunter came up with a great idea......'mom, I think if I stop brushing my teeth then the rest of the teeth will fall out!' Got to give him points for the thought because he was right, they would all fall out......they may not grow back, but you can't always worry about the minor details.

Dawson, the one who is always right

This is Dawson, my youngest, and my personal GPS, tape recorder, memory and cutie pie all rolled into one. Dawson remembers everything, everything you say, everything you do and if he doesn't want to remember it the way it may have happened because it doesn't favor him, he'll

make it up! Dawson is your man's man, he loves to hunt, fish, go outside, build, eat, road trip and make up stories. He can turn his tear on and off like a faucet and can melt your heart with his 20 teeth all showing at the same time. If things are not going Dawson's way or you have to get after him for not doing something you know he is going to cry and he knows he is going to cry because my friends, it is his strong point. He is a ladies man, a man's man, a be-friend- er. He knows what to do to get his way and if he doesn't than he ain't playing!! I have always said Dawson is the first one to hug and love you but watch out because he might be cutting your pony tail off behind your back, a little devil in disguise he his.

Dawson loves to be with his dad, if his dad is doing it it is the coolest thing in the world. He loves to hunt and he wants to 'gravel' everything. His 2 year old teach once told me, 'Stacey, you may want to talk to Dawson about how he talks about Mike killing everything out of season. I know he is not, but if the wrong person hears that 'my dad killed 2 deer, 1 turkey and 4 ducks last night' they may get the wrong picture! Dawson is also very much in awe of his big brother Hunter. He wants to do everything Hunter does, play soccer, play T Ball, possibly wrestle, he is unsure yet. All this however usually leads to competition which leads to, you guessed it, crying! Dawson wants to beat Hunter so bad but the 20 months of head way Hunter has it hurting Dawson's chances right now. I keep telling him though, you may not always be smaller and slower than Hunter, one day you might be bigger, you just got to keep eating your veggies and getting lots of sleep! We'll see how long he takes my word as far as that's concerned!

I think first I'm going to introduce everyone. Here is my oldest Hunter, he is one of a kind. Hunter is very anal, things have to be the same, always, or else something new could just throw off his day. His thoughts, actions and feeling are WAY easier to deal with now then they were when he was ummmm, 0 to 5 years of age pretty much. Hunter is so in love with video games, meeting new people, playing with 'big' kids and being the best, at whatever. He has a really hard time with not being #1. I'm not sure where he got that from, maybe my dad, but he wasn't a out spoken 'got to win individual' but he didn't want to play if he couldn't compete. I wish Hunter would have been able to get to know my dad because I think they would have really gotten along well. They both are super great with people but also loved to be alone where it was quite. Its a little hard to understand but in public, Hunter is a talker, a meeter, a greater and energized by activity. However at home, if you let him, he'd play video games, watch TV and NEVER go outside. You have to kick him outside, he gets that from me sorry to say. However when it comes to recess and sports, he is all over the outside. For him to want to go outside there has to be other kids and lots of action. This rare picture of him outside in the snow is a precious one as you won't find him in the snow for very long. He is like his dad, he gets cold easily and stays cold for a long time.

Hunter started kindergarten last fall and it has been a rollercoaster of all sorts of ups and downs. The first quarter was very hard, I always said putting him in those 4 walls was going to be tough and oh yes, yes it was. I think the 1st call from the teacher came in after a 1 1/2. Mr. Hunter could not sit in his seat, follow directions and would yell out the answer to every question. So, Mike and I sat him down and told him, 'Hunter, now you know if you don't do well in kindergarten you don't get to go to 1 st grade with all your friends right?' To which Hunter said, 'Yes, I know', pause, 'Who is going to be in kindergarten next year?'

Pray for us Lord, its going to be a long 16 years of school..............

Hello 2009!

I'm doing it and I still can't believe it as I'm doing, I'm blogging! This is very big for me. Already this year I've started to scrapbook, download music onto my computer, download one song onto my MP3 player (that is all I can figure out at this time) and have started to blog! Now that I have more time, or the boys require less hover time, I've realized that the last 5 years of being a mom of 2 boys has just flown by, plain and simple. At times I can't even remember what I was doing all those years, I guess just living and surviving, I guess. I know I wasn't sitting or watching TV, that's for sure as TV show have come and gone and I've never seen a ebisode! However I never had a spotless house, perfect body from nonstop running or tons of money in my account from not being able to shop for myself. So, what was I doing? I guess I was just picking up, cooking, packing, band-aiding and grocery shopping. But would I have had done anything different? Had the boys later in life? Had them farther apart? Sold them for a large amount of money before they learned to talk and their price went down? Nope, none of those! These last 6 1/4 years, the 1/4 is very important, just ask Hunter, have been awesome! Stressful yes, tiring, very much so, but very very rewarding. From here on out I am going to blog the present, past and future. Being a mom has either given me ADD or brought the best of it out in me. So, buckle up and visit often, hopefully I update often, its in my plan anyway!