The Lenk Family Antics

Alena's Graduation

2010-06-15T19:59:00.004-04:00

My baby girl has officially graduated from preschool. I can't believe in just two short months she will be a kindergartner! She is growing up so fast and she can stop now. This is her formal graduation picture and one taken the day of the ceremony. Her shirt has hand prints of all her classmates on it. It was all really cute!

Family Pics 2010

2010-05-12T20:21:00.007-04:00

Here are a few of the family pics we had taken last weekend. Our friend/aunt Kathy Ragsdale Sparks with Providential Photography took them for us and did a great job! Thanks Kathy!

Brady is Student of the Month!

2010-05-12T20:11:00.004-04:00

I am one proud momma! Not only was Alex selected to be the 6th grade's Student of the Month in January, but now Brady was selected as May's Student of the Month for the 6th grade! His teachers had some great things to say about him and we had a great lunch with him and the principals. Way to go Brady and Alex on a great first year of Middle School! Keep up the great work!!

Boys' 2010 Baseball Schedule

2010-04-25T13:19:00.003-04:00

Here is the boys' baseball schedule for this season...

Thursday 4/22/10 @ 8:00 at Lake St Louis- Field 3
Monday 4/26/10 @ 8:00 at Progress Park- Wentz
Thursday 4/29/10 @ 8:00 at Progress Park- Wentz
Monday 5/3/10 @ 8:00 at Progress Park- Wentz
Tuesday 5/11/10 @ 8:00 at New Melle- Field 1 (if anyone want to come to our house for dinner before the game, let me know)
Thursday 5/13/10 @ 6:00 at Lake St Louis- Field 1
Thursday 5/27/10 @ 6:00 at Fireman's Park- Wentz
Tuesday 6/1/10 @ 8:00 at New Melle- Field 1

Thursday 6/3/10 @ 8:00 at Progress Park- Wentz
Thursday 6/10/10 @ 8:00 at Progress Park- Wentz
Thursday 6/24/10 @ 8 at Progress (We will be on vacation & not be playing in this game)
Thursday 7/8/10 @ 8:00 at Progress Park- Wentz

Alena's 5th Birthday Pics

2010-03-13T15:14:00.003-05:00

It's not a New Year's resolution, but...

2010-01-07T17:08:00.005-05:00

I'm not going to say it's a New Year's resolution, because those never seem to work out, but as of 1/4/10 I am officially following the Weight Watchers Points Program online. So far so good, after the first week I have lost 7 pounds and really haven't felt deprived. I'm off to a great start and my hope is that by posting this on the blog where anyone in the world could follow my progress, it will make it harder to give up. I have gained 50 pounds since I started my job just over two years ago and enough is enough! The picture I have posted is of Brian and I this past New Years Eve (12/31/09). Hopefully next year at this time I will write a similiar post with a much more flattering picture and will be bragging about my tremendous success. I guess only time will tell, but I've done it before and I can do it again! Wish me Luck! On second thought, wish me WILL POWER!

Alex is Student of the Month!!!

2010-01-07T16:55:00.005-05:00

Congratulations to Alex for being selected as one of Wentzville South Middle School students of the month for January 2010! Each month one student is selected from each team to be student of the month and Alex was selected to represent team 6A for January 2010. Each team has over 150 students so it is quite an honor and he gets to celebrate his achievement with a pizza party on Monday 1/11. Brian and I also get to attend, so thanks bud for the free pizza and for being such a great kid! Congratulations, Alex!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!

2010-01-07T16:05:00.010-05:00

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2009. We all did had a lot of fun, although I am personally glad its all over. Alena was very excited about her big dollhouse Santa brought her and the boys will be playing the 10 new Wii games they got for many months to come. We are all completely addicted to the new Super Mario Brother Wii game and its brought many hours of family bonding time. We also got new furniture right before Christmas, which was desperately needed, although it is still in the process of being broke in. Brian finally got a GPS unit which will help us tremendously on our trip to Toronto and Niagara Falls in June! We got a lot of nice stuff, but most importantly got to share some quality time with all our family and friends. Christmas was a little crazy, but it always is and its well worth it in the end. We had 6 different Christmas functions within 2 1/2 days, so things got a little hectic but it all worked out fine.

New Years Eve was also fun. We had our usual group of friends over, minus a few who have gone through some serious transitions over the past year or so, but everyone in attendance seemed to have a good time. We ate well and drank well and were definitely merry! All the children stayed up until midnight and Brady even helped clean up after the party at 3 am! Unfortunately Brian had to work 14 hours the next day, but the rest of us enjoyed sleeping in and being lazy the rest of the day. The boys went back to school on Monday (1/4) after their long winter break and seem to be back into the swing of things. They both have had a great first semester of 6th grade, with Alex having straight A's and Brady having all A's with one B. After only three days back they already had a snow day on 1/7. Alena was upset that day that she still had to go to school and didn't get to have a "stay home day" too.

Happy Halloween 2009!

2010-01-07T15:55:00.004-05:00

Okay so I'm a little late, but I've gotten several requests to post this pic on the blog, so here it is...the Fast Food Trio from Halloween 2009.

2009-11-20T12:31:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

We won a PS3!

2009-09-18T23:20:00.005-04:00

To fully appreciate this blog you may want to review a blog I wrote last year about this time. Click here to see post. After last year's amazing experience at the Wentzville "Hill of Thrills" soap box derby, we again decided to enter both of the boys in the race. Alex won his race this year after his opponent crashed, but Brady lost by a hair. Since last year we won the grand door prize of a Nintendo Wii, we lingered around after the boys were done racing to see if luck would strike again. After awhile and several delays, we finally got sick of waiting and decided to go home. About an hour later the phone rang and race officials informed us that Alex's name had again been drawn for a door prize and this time he won a Playstaion 3! I screamed so loud as I hung up the phone, Brian thought someone was injured. We were all very excited and raced back down to the park to pick up the prize. Alex told me in the car that he had been "wishing really hard" for them to pick his name. I told him to start wishing really hard that we win the lottery and I can buy him all the video games he wants! I feel a little guilty that we won two years in a row, but I think I may have the luckiest kid on Earth. He is also the same kid that won the "guess how many candy canes are in the jar" contest at the library last year. To see that post click here. So in the past year, my son Alex has won a Nintendo Wii, a Playstation 3, and 183 candy canes! I wonder if he can make a living with this some day.

Fall Ball Update

2009-09-18T17:37:00.002-04:00

Fall Ball has not be going as well as we may have hoped. Its a much harder league with much bigger boys, but the team has gotten better as the season progresses. Scores so far are as follows...

8/24/09: Lost 24-3

8/25/09: Lost 23-1

8/31/09: Lost 18-4

9/2/09: Lost 15-0

9/8/09: Lost 12-5

9/10/09: Lost 11-3

9/15/09: Lost 11-0

9/17/09: Tied 4-4

The team is very proud of that tie! Out of the 20 total runs our team has scored so far this season, Alex and Brady have either scored or drove home the majority of those runs. They are playing well and it has been good experience for them to hit against tougher, faster pitching. Wish the outcomes would have been better, but at least they are learning something. Next week maybe we will squeak out a win!

FYI: The picture in this post is an example of the size of these boys, they are all 12 and under, but some are bigger than the coaches. Also I know my boys are on the small side, but most of the kids on their team aren't much bigger than Alex and Brady. We are definitely out of our league.

Fall Ball Schedule

2009-08-19T19:48:00.006-04:00

The boys decided to play Fall Ball afterall and we just got their schedule this week and there is already two games set for next week. There will be two games per week for six weeks and I think each game is only suppose to last 90 minutes. All their games will be played at Ozzie Smith Fields near TR Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon. Here's their schedule...

Monday, August 24 at 8:00 pm- Field C

Tuesday, August 25 at 6:00pm- Field C

Monday, August 31 at 6:00 pm- Field E

Wednesday, Sept 2 at 6:00 pm- Field C

Tuesday, Sept 8 at 6:00 pm- Field C

Thursday, Sept 10 at 6:00 pm-Field C

Tuesday, Sept 15 at 8:00 pm- Field C

Thursday, Sept 17 at 6:00 pm- Field C

Monday, Sept 21 at 8:00 pm- Field E

Thursday, Sept 24 at 6:00 pm- Field C

Monday, Sept 28 at 6:00 pm- Field E

Wednesday, Sept 30 at 8:00 pm- Field C

First Day of Middle School

2009-08-19T19:12:00.011-04:00

Alex and Brady are officially Middle Schoolers and three days in, they seem to like it. They have their own lockers, have to switch classes hourly, and they can eat pizza for lunch everyday if they want (so far Alex has). I can believe how old they are getting (or I'm getting for that matter). I really hope they continue to like school and don't turn in to horrible creatures once their hormones start kicking in. To see other first day of school pics check out this blog from 2007.
FYI: This year's first day of school pic is so dark, because their bus picks them up at 6:38 am, plus it rained that morning.

Meet Alley Cat

2009-07-22T20:59:00.010-04:00

Alena has been wanting a cat for awhile now. Unfortunately, some friends of ours are going through a divorce and somehow we ending up with one of their cats...Alley. Our friends found her in an alley in St Louis while they were working, hence the name. She is 8 years old (approx) and had no idea what she was getting into when she moved from their childless home into our chaos. She has been with us for almost two months now and is adjusting well. Alena loves her and drags her around everywhere, which you can tell the cat is not thrilled about, but tolerates. Alena puts her in her baby strollers and cribs, wraps her up in blankets, and stuffs her in cabinets and closets, but the alternate was for Alley to go to the pound, so she puts up with Alena and the dogs, but genuinely seems to like the rest of us. Welcome to the family, Alley!

Cleveland Rocks!

2009-07-22T20:42:00.016-04:00

It's been well over a month since we went on our summer baseball trip to Cleveland, but as always I'm a procrastinator at getting me pictures downloaded. It was a great trip, everyone in Cleveland had great Midwestern hospitality and was very helpful and friendly. Unfortunately, we again traveled hundreds of miles to see the Cardinals lose, but at least there was a great fireworks show afterwards. We also toured the Indians stadium, went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and ate and drank well all weekend. Here are some of the highlights....

The Comeback Kids

2009-07-16T14:12:00.008-04:00

Baseball is officially over for this season and it is safe to say that the Wentzville Cardinals are "the comeback kids." It was the last game of the season and we were behind the entire game, but we were at least keeping it close. Going in to the bottom of the last inning, the team was down 9-6. True to form we came back from behind and scored 4 runs to win the game 10-9. Brady even scored the winning run from third when he advanced on a wild pitch. The Wentzville Cardinals finished the season with a record of 6 wins, 4 loses, and 2 ties. Not bad and at least they had a winning season. Thank you to Imo's Pizza (who else?) for supplying the end of season pizza party, the kids really deserved it and it was very much appreciated by all. Since we Tivo'ed the All Star Game we had to go home and watch the National League lose AGAIN. It was a good game though and the park looked great, just wish it would've been a better outcome.

Last game of the season....well almost.

2009-07-10T13:03:00.016-04:00

The boys had two baseball games scheduled this week, one on Monday 7/6 and the other on Thursday 7/9. I took off early on Monday since it was a 6:00 game (they have to be there at 5:30) and the boys started summer school that day, so I wanted to make sure we had enough time to get home, have dinner, etc. At 5:00 we were all in our baseball gear and packing up the car when the phone rang. It was the coach stating the game had been cancelled, due to the rain the previous weekend. We couldn't believe it! It was a beautiful day and the season is almost over as it is, plus it was our game to bring snack and had arranged to get several Imo's pizzas delivered at the end of the game. Everyone was disappointed but the coach assured us it would be rescheduled and he would let us know when asap.

Fast forward to Thursday evening, the boys actually got to play but after the first inning they were already down 7-0 and at one point it was 9-0. The team did battle back and ended the game with a hard fought 13-13 tie!!!! They are officially the comeback kids!

Meanwhile, the coach informed us that Mondays game had been rescheduled for next Tuesday July 14th at 6:00pm. I knew that date sounded familiar but didn't have anything written on the calendar and just dismissed the feeling. Then it hit me as I was driving home, Tues July 14th is the ALL-STAR GAME in St Louis. Everyone in our house is very upset about the conflict, but its the last game of the season and we still owe them a pizza party, so I guess we will be TIVOing the game and staying up late to watch it when we get home. GO CARDINALS x 2 !!!!

You win some...you lose some.

2009-06-30T16:22:00.012-04:00

After our great game on June 22, the boys were pumped to pay another game that very same week on June 24. Unfortunately, the outcome was not nearly as favorable. No one is quite sure of the final score but it was somewhere in the 17-5 range. Both the boys did fine and even scored a few runs, but the overall effort was difficult to watch at times.

This weeks game was a little closer, but still needed improvement. We lost 9-3, but Alex scored two out of the three runs. Our other run was scored when our catcher Jake hit the first official homerun of the season--way to go Jake! Only two more game to go (7/6 & 7/9) and then the boys have to decide whether or not to play Fall Ball in O'Fallon with some of their teammates. If they do decide to play, I will post that schedule once I get it.

We are planning on heading up to the Lake this weekend for the 4th of July holiday, hopefully it doesn't rain on us again. The last weekend we went up, we got stuck out on the lake in a torrential downpour. My Mom, Bill, and Uncle Richie are going up as well, and we plan on bumming around Hannibal for awhile while Richie races in a 10K race on Saturday morning. Saturday night we will be watching the fireworks that are shot off the dam, although we still haven't decided whether we will be watching them from the boat or from dry land, either way it should be a fun weekend!

Best Game So Far...

2009-06-23T09:25:00.005-04:00

Despite it being 100 degrees outside, the boys probably had their best game of the season last night. It was a good game for both teams and the score went back and forth the whole game. We were the home team and were down 13-10 going in to our half of the last inning. Alex was due up 4th and Brady 6th, so I wasn't even sure they would get to bat again. Still down 13-12 and with two outs, Alex came up to bat and walked, the next batter and a wild throw advanced him to third. Brady came up and hit a double to score Alex who was the tie run and then Brady scored the winning run on a ground ball, making the final score 14-13 WOOHOO! We still have one more game this week on Wednesday June 24, but its not until 8:00 so hopefully it will be a little cooler by that time.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

2009-06-17T10:02:00.003-04:00

So this week's baseball game was again rained out, and the make up game has been rescheduled for Wednesday, June 24 at 8:00 pm at Dardenne-Field #1. Also the make up game from the rain out on June 3rd has been reset for Thursday, July 9 at 8:00 pm at Fireman's Park in Wentzville. Hopefully all the rain will stop and we can get some of these games in. The boys are having baseball withdrawls.

****Note: The July game has again changed since my original Post, it is now Thursday July 9 at 8 at Fireman's Ballpark in Wentzville*****

Baseball Catch Up

2009-06-04T09:33:00.004-04:00

So I got a little behind with updates about the boys' baseball season, so I will try to catch up. The boys had a game on 5/18, which they won although I'm not exactly sure what the score was since its been awhile, but I think it was 15-10 ish. The game on 5/22 was a make up game from a rain out earlier in the season. Unfortunately, the other team did not get the message and did not show up so it ended up being a forfeit. We still may end up playing it at some point if the schedule permits, since its really no fun for all the boys not to play.

The game on Monday 6/1 was a baseball butt kicking, unfortunately we were the butt and not the foot. It was a really good team who score the max of 7 runs in each inning they played. We could not get them out, nor could we hit their pitching. Alex and Brady did walk both times they batted, but it was a lost cause. We lost 21-9 and we were lucky we ended up with nine, up until the last inning we had only scored 2, but then the other team changed pitchers and we ended up scoring the maximum 7 runs making it 21-9, which sounds a little better than 21-2. The game yesterday was rained out, even though by game time it wasn't raining at all and the sun had actually come out. I don't know when that game will be made up yet but I'll keep you posted.

But, Broccoli is Good for You!

2009-05-20T09:25:00.005-04:00

Last night, as we were getting ready for bed, my 4-year-old bounces up onto her bed and says "Momma, when I grow up I'm gonna be just like you! But I'm still not gonna like broccoli." It caught me off guard, especially since we hadn't had broccoli that night. I laughed, hugged her, teared up a bit, and told her that broccoli was good for her, to which she replied "it still tastes yucky." I'm humbled that me daughter wants to be like me and I also think even my picky-eating preschooler will in time come around to appreciate the finer points of green vegetables, but if she doesn't, I think I can live with that.

You can't win them all

2009-05-14T09:22:00.004-04:00

With the threat of rain lingering all afternoon, no one was certain whether or not Game 4 would even be played. Come game time though, the rain had gone well south and there was not a cloud in the sky. The game started well enough, with each team only giving up one run in the first inning, and that run was scored by Brady. The rest of the game was higher scoring and went back and forth the whole game. In the end, the other team scored the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the last inning, giving us our first loss with a 13-12 score :( Oh well, we can't win them all and at least we kept it close. They scheduled our make-up game for Friday May 22, so there are two games next week, hopefully we can keep the losing streak at one.

A Game Three Nail Biter

2009-05-07T09:32:00.004-04:00

The boys' third game was a nail biter. We were playing a tough Lake St Louis team who was also undefeated and it went back and forth all night long. The boys' team was up 15-10 going into the last inning and then our lefty pitcher had a bit of a meltdown and the Lake St Louis team ended up scoring the maximum of 7 runs in that inning, making the score 17-15. Our team had one more chance, it was already after 10pm so three runs or three outs would have ended the game. The Cardinals ended up scoring two before the inning ended, which forced the game to end in a 17-17 tie. A tie was appropriate since both teams fought so hard and now both teams are still undefeated. To add additional drama, one of the boys' good friends from Boy Scouts was the opposing teams starting pitcher! The game didn't end until about 10:20 since the last inning took forever, so we are all exhausted today. My throat hurts a little too from cheering so much, 17 runs requires a lot of cheering. Way to Go, Guys!

Game Two Results

2009-04-23T09:30:00.003-04:00

Game two of the boys' baseball season had just as good of an outcome as the first. The team won 15-5 and all the boys played well. Although Alex has a baseball size bruise on his hip from getting hit by a pitch. I told him to get use to it, because it would be the first of many. In the first two games the boys' team has outscored their opponents 31-8, not a bad start-Go Cardinals! Also FYI, the game next Monday 4/27 was originally scheduled for 8:00pm has been changed to 6:00pm. Keep up the good work guys!

Game One Recap

2009-04-20T11:13:00.005-04:00

The boys' first baseball game was last week and for those of you who weren't in attendance I thought I'd post an update. Alex and Brady were the lead-off batters and were ultimately responsible for scoring 5 runs between them and Alex had three RBIs in the 16-3 victory. Both boys had quite a few good fielding plays as well and the team as a whole looked very impressive in their first outing. The boys played some in the outfield but mainly played second base and short stop which seemed to be a good combo. Next game is Wednesday so hopefully it goes as well as last week. I'll keep updating!

The Boys 2009 Baseball Schedule

2009-04-10T11:08:00.016-04:00

The boys have started baseball again, they have been practicing for about six weeks or so and I finally got their schedule for the season. They are playing for Wentzville Parks and Recreation and the are the Cardinals this year, which they are very excited about having been the Nationals and the Blue Jays in the past. I'm pretty excited about this too because it will make it a whole lot easier to have team spirit since we all already own plenty of Cardinal gear. They mainly play in Wentzville, Lake St Louis, or Dardenne which is good; however, all of the games are on weeknights and most don't even start until 8:00pm! Here's the schedule...

Thurs- 4/16/09-8:00pm @ Dardenne

Weds- 4/22/09- 7:45pm @ Legion Ballfield, Wentz

Mon- 4/27/09- 6:00pm @ LSL Founders Park, Field #1

Weds- 5/6/09- 8:00pm @ Progress Park, Wentz

Weds- 5/13/09- 6:00pm @ LSL Founders Park, Field #1

Mon- 5/18/09- 8:00pm @ Progress Park, Wentz

Fri- 5/22/09- 8:00pm @ LSL Founders Park, Field #3

Mon- 6/1/09- 7:45pm @ Legion Ballfield, Wentz

Weds- 6/3/09- 6:00pm @ Progress Park, Wentz

Mon- 6/15/09- 8:00pm @ Dardenne

Mon- 6/22/09- 6:00pm @ Fireman's Park, Wentz

Mon- 6/29/09- 6:00pm @ LSL Founders Park, Field #1

Mon- 7/6/09- 6:00pm @ Progress Park, Wentz

Hmmmm, doodlecakes?

2009-04-10T10:30:00.003-04:00

So I was checking out my blogs site meter today (yes I'm working on Good Friday and I'm bored). I don't look at it very often, but when I do I always check out the location where the views are coming from which are usually from Missouri or at least the US. This time however, I noticed hits from Libya, Pakistan and Egypt. Curious about sudden on slot of foreign interest in my blog, I investigated further to discover that these page views, which were all on separate days, times, and countries, were all referred to my site after doing a google image search for "doodlecakes." Some of you may remember my post back June of 2007 about doodlecakes if not check it out here. I did the same search myself and sure enough there was the blog post link. I'm not quite sure why so many Middle Easterners are researching doodlecakes, but it's kind of fascinating to ponder.

Alena's Birthday Pictures

2009-03-08T17:05:00.014-04:00

We got Alena's birthday pictures taken today, I can't believe she is almost 4!

Ethical Society Trivia Night 2009

2009-02-17T10:50:00.008-05:00

It's that time of year again, the Ethical Society Mid Rivers is holding their annual trivia night and I'm looking for sponsors and participants. Its being held Saturday, March 7 at O'fallon Civic Hall, doors open at 6:30 and trivia starts at 7. Cost is $20 per person which includes beer, soda, snacks, etc. There will also be silent auctions and the usual stuff. We also need round sponsors, $25 will get your name on the power point and your cards on the tables. So if anyone knows anyone that needs a cheap way to advertise to some wonderfully ethical people, just let me know. Just let me know if you or anyone you know is interested in playing, donating items, or sponsoring a round. Thanks in advance!

Snow Day

2009-01-31T16:41:00.004-05:00

Due to the six inches of snow that fell last week, the kids and I had two unexpected days off work and school. They had a great time playing in all the snow, even Dixie got in on the action. Here's some pics...

What a Great Two Days!

2009-01-21T17:46:00.018-05:00

It all started on Monday which was MLK Day so the boys and I all had the day off work/school. I decided we would participate in the King Day of Service and volunteered to package food for Kids Against Hunger. The boys and I had a great time, helping put the food packages together, our load in particular was going to Uganda, but the organization also sends bags to hungry children in the US. After volunteering for the two hour morning shift we headed for lunch at Red Robin and then went to see the movie Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler.

The next day I called in "sick" so I could watch the Inauguration which was fabulous! It was a long, and in my opinion disasterous, 8 years and our new President is inheriting too many challenges to count, but I am optimistic that we finally have a true leader we can be proud of.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-01-17T14:03:00.009-05:00

I figured since I haven't blogged in 2009 yet, I needed to post something, so here are a few pics from X-Mas 2008. Alena got a little upset when I began taking the Christmas tree down, she said whimpering "Momma why are you taking the stuff off the tree?" I replied that Christmas was over and we had to put it away until next year. To which she said "I don't want Christmas to be over, I want Christmas to be on." I know she's not, but I'm very happy it's over and the house is back to normal again. Well at least as normal as it ever gets around here.

ElfYourself 2008

2008-12-19T15:13:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Candy Cane Anyone?

2008-12-19T09:39:00.008-05:00

Every Monday night, the children and I make our weekly trip to our local library. For the past several weeks there was a jar full of those little candy canes for kids to submit their guess about how many were in the container. Of course both boys jumped all over the chance since they are obsessed with numbers and they even put in an extra guess for Alena. So I get a call at work from Alex this week....

Alex: "Mom guess what?"

Me: "What?"

Alex: "I won the candy cane guessing contest at the library. I guessed 179 and there were 183."

Me: That's great hon, what did you win?"

Alex: " All the candy canes and the jar!"

I don't know what on earth we are going to do with 183 candy canes, but I guess we will figure something out. Luckily, my wrapping paper this year has a candy cane theme, so I may tape a candy cane to the top of each package. That should take care of about 40 of them. Plus I had the boys take 30 each to school today to give to their classmates for the Christmas parties, but even then there are still 83 more canes! So if anyone needs some let me know.

So far in the past couple months Alex has won us a Wii and 183 candy canes, Brian told him that he is going to be picking the lottery numbers from now on.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T15:34:00.007-05:00

Every year since the boys were born and continuing through the birth of Alena, all my children have had coordinating Halloween costumes. That is until this year... No one could agree on any coordinating costumes and they are all trying to assert their independence, so I surrendered control and let all of them pick out their own costumes. We ended up with the Cinderella, the Scream Ghost, and an Evil Jester, I'm hoping this is just a phase and they will all come back around by next year. Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch 2008

2008-11-01T14:42:00.003-05:00

We didn't have time to go out to Eckert's pumpkin patch this year, so we ended up going to Rombach's which isn't nearly as cool, but it is still a good place for photo ops, here's a few...

Grant's Farm 2008

2008-11-01T14:11:00.004-05:00

The first weekend in October was absolutely beautiful so we decided to take the kids to Grant's Farm. The boys hadn't been since they were little and Alena had never been. Since it had been so long I had forgotten what a wonderful place it is, especially since it's free! We fed goats, saw the animals, watched the show, rode the train, and drank beer, all for just the $10 parking fee. I hope when InBev takes over Anheuser-Busch, they don't close Grant's Farm because it is a true St Louis gem!

Welcome to Las Vegas!

2008-11-01T13:21:00.010-05:00

To make my 30th birthday a little bit easier to deal with, I decided to celebrate this milestone in Las Vegas. We left at 7 am Friday morning and with the time difference we were are our hotel by 9:30 am Vegas time. Neither Brian nor I had ever been so our main objective was sightseeing not gambling. We went with economical accommodations by staying at Circus Circus, which was fine, especially the indoor amusement park which I was highly impressed with. We walked the strip, went to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, and took a gondola ride at the Venetian (which was my favorite hotel of them all). We ate lunch in Margaritaville, shopped at the four story M&M store, saw the Cirque du Soleil show, Zumanity and took in as much of the city as possible in three days. My only complaint was the weather, it barely reached 70 degrees the whole time we were there and had 40+mph winds most of the time. In contrast, St Louis that weekend was 80 degrees and beautiful. I can't believe we went to the desert in October and it was colder than at home, oh well we still had a great time, we just had to wear our jackets and stay out of the pools. Although she enjoyed staying with Nana and Bill for the long weekend, Alena was very happy to see us when we got home on Monday and we were all happy to be back at home together again.

Definitely thought provoking...

2008-10-29T09:29:00.004-05:00

This is another political post I received via email, I don't know how much of this is race related and how much is just a double standard between the parties, but it is thought provoking none the less and worth reposting...

What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
What if McCain were still married to the first woman he said 'I do' to?
What if Obama were the candidate who left his first wife after she no longer measured up to his standards?
What if Michelle Obama were a wife who not only became addicted to pain killers, but acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
What if Obama were a member of the 'Keating 5'?
What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?
If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are? This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.

For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.
White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.
White privilege is when you can call yourself a "f____' redneck," like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their f____' ass," and talk about how you like to "shoot sh__" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.
White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.
White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."
White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me," and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn't added until the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.
White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.
White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto is "Alaska first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she's being disrespectful.
White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college and the fact that she lives close to Russia--you're somehow being mean, or even sexist.
White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because suddenly your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."
White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.
White privilege is when you can take nearly twenty-four hours to get to a hospital after beginning to leak amniotic fluid, and still be viewed as a great mom whose commitment to her children is unquestionable, and whose "next door neighbor" qualities make her ready to be VP, while if you're a black candidate for president and you let your children be interviewed for a few seconds on TV, you're irresponsibly exploiting them.
White privilege is being able to give a 36 minute speech in which you talk about lipstick and make fun of your opponent, while laying out no substantive policy positions on any issue at all, and still manage to be considered a legitimate candidate, while a black person who gives an hour speech the week before, in which he lays out specific policy proposals on several issues, is still criticized for being too vague about what he would do if elected.
White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a good church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably hates America.
White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.
White privilege is being able to go to a prestigious prep school, then to Yale and then Harvard Business school, and yet, still be seen as just an average guy (George W. Bush) while being black, going to a prestigious prep school, then Occidental College, then Columbia, and then to Harvard Law, makes you "uppity," and a snob who probably looks down on regular folks.
White privilege is being able to graduate near the bottom of your college class (McCain), or graduate with a C average from Yale (W.) and that's OK, and you're cut out to be president, but if you're black and you graduate near the top of your class from Harvard Law, you can't be trusted to make good decisions in office.
White privilege is being able to dump your first wife after she's disfigured in a car crash so you can take up with a multi-millionaire beauty queen (who you go on to call the c-word in public) and still be thought of as a man of strong family values, while if you're black and married for nearly twenty years to the same woman, your family is viewed as un-American and your gestures of affection for each other are called "terrorist fist bumps."
White privilege is being able to sing a song about bombing Iran and still be viewed as a sober and rational statesman, with the maturity to be president, while being black and suggesting that the U.S. should speak with other nations, even when we have disagreements with them, makes you "dangerously naive and immature."
White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism and an absent father is apparently among the "lesser adversities" faced by other politicians, as Sarah Palin explained in her convention speech.
And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren't sure about that whole "change" thing. Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.White privilege is, in short, the problem.

First Political Blog of the Season

2008-09-27T10:37:00.003-04:00

This was sent to me via email, I thought it was so good that I needed to share it with everyone and I thought it was time to throw something political into the mix.

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight:

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different." If you grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, that's a quintessential American story.
If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim. Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.
If you graduate from Harvard Law School and you are unstable. But if you attend 5 different small colleges before graduating then you're well-grounded.
If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a constitutional law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator, representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, are elected to 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people and sponsor or co-sponsor 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.
If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with fewer than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.
If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 daughters, you're not a real Christian. If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your first wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.
If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society. If , while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system and then your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant , you're very responsible.
If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a high-paying job in a good law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's. If your husband [nickname "First Dude"], sports at least one DWI conviction and didn't register to vote until he was 25, but did belong to a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

We won a Wii

2008-09-08T21:34:00.003-04:00

It's been a long summer and we all have been very busy, hence the lack of blogs of late. But something happened yesterday that has brought me out of my blogging funk-- We won a Wii!!! It all started when Brian signed the boys up for the second annual Wentzville Soapbox Derby. The city provided the cars and we paid $5 per child for the boys to race down the "hill of thrills" in front of Progress Park. There was food, door prizes, a corny announcer and it was a beautiful day, so all in all it seemed like it was going to be a great afternoon. Every child that raced got a T-shirt and a bag of goodies (stickers, coupons, etc). Additionally, each kid was entered into a raffle- they raffled off gift cards, a 19 inch flat screen TV, and a Nintendo Wii. And as my intro revealed we won the Wii-yippii. Alex's name was picked just as he finished his race (which he lost by a hair). Brady won his race but by then we were all so excited about our new Wii it really didn't matter who won or lost (not that it would've anyway). It was a very nice set that came with several games and controllers (approx. value $400). My arm hurts from playing too much tennis and bowling and we've all had a great time with it so far. Needless to say that we will definitely be signing up for the soapbox derby again next year!

Boys' Baseball Schedule-Summer 2008

2008-06-27T09:37:00.007-04:00

The boys have started playing baseball again through the YMCA and I thought I would post their schedule in case anyone wants to come see them play some time this summer.

They had their first practice yesterday and did really well. Their are 17 kids on their team, so I don't know if they will get to play as much as they did last year, but I'm sure they will still have a good time. Next year they will play on a more competitive league with a longer season and they are already really excited about it. Hope to see you this summer!

Saturday, June 28 @ 10:30 am - Founders Park Field #1
Saturday, July 12 @ 3:30 pm- Westhoff Park Field #5
Saturday, July 19 @ 1:00 pm- Westhoff Park Field # 5
Saturday, July 26 @ 1:15 pm- Founders Park Field #1
Saturday, August 2 @ 11:45 am- Founders Park Field #1
Saturday, August 9 @ 1:15 pm- Founders Park Field #1

Family Camping Expo 2008

2008-06-18T16:17:00.004-04:00

Two weekends ago we took all the kids camping. The County hosted a Family Camping Expo at Klondike Park and since I'm a county employee I got a discount. It was only for one night, was close to home, and was geared toward families with kids, so Brian and I decided it would be a good introduction to camping for the children. It started on Saturday at 10am, we arrived at the park, set up our tent, and met all the park rangers who would be our guides for the weekend. One ranger gave us a lesson in dutch oven/campfire cooking, complete with taste tests. I honestly had no idea so many things could be cooked on a campfire. We even prepared our own dinner packets and cooked them on the fire and everything turned out really tasty. The rangers also gave us a lesson on knot tying and took us on a guided nature walk through some of the wooded trails that run throughout the park. There was even a fishing derby at the lake and all of us caught at least one fish! After dark, the astronomy club set up high powered telescopes and we got to see Saturn, Mars, and the space shuttle which happened to be flying over that evening! When we were finished star gazing we headed back to camp and roasted some marshmallows on the fire and headed off to bed. I was a little rough getting everyone to settle down and go to sleep in the tent, but once they did it didn't take long to fall asleep since we had such an eventful day. The next morning (Sunday), we got up, ate breakfast, hiked up to the top of the bluffs that overlook the river and then headed home. It was a great experience and everyone learned a lot. I hope the county does it again next year and we will definitely go again!

Butterfly House

2008-06-01T18:26:00.009-04:00

A few weekends ago I took the kids to the Bu tterfly House in Chesterfield. We all really enjoyed seeing all the beautiful butterflies and I got a lot of great pictures too. We also took a ride on the old carousel in Faust Park. After we got home, Alena was playing outside in the yard when she came inside and announced:

"Momma I want to be a butterfly, I need my wings." To which she immediately ran into her room and retrieved her fairy wings. I helped her put them on and off she went back outside.

About 15 minutes later...

Alena: "Momma my wings are broken."

Me: "They look okay to me."

Alena: "But I can't fly!"

Me: "Well honey, you just have to pretend."

Alena with a heartbroken look on her face: "I don't want my wings on anymore."

And she took them off.

Really???

2008-05-17T18:00:00.004-04:00

I have been driving for 12 years or so and NEVER in that time have I ever seen anyone pump gas like this. This sign was on top of the pump while I was getting gas at my local Costco. They wouldn't have this sign above every pump unless someone did it, but have you ever seen anyone do this before?

Happy Earth Day 2008

2008-04-22T15:57:00.002-04:00

A Day at the Zoo

2008-04-19T20:45:00.004-04:00

A couple weekends ago Amy, Alivia, Brayden, Mindy, Lilly, the kids and I all took advantage of the beautiful weather and spent a Sunday at the zoo. This was Alena's first trip to the zoo and she was in awe. She absolutely LOVED it! She wanted to spend 10 minutes at every exhibit whether there was actually an animal in there or not. She really likes the elephants, zebras, and the penguin house. She even liked the reptile house! I think she felt at home at the monkey house, since she is our own little Alenatang. It was a wonderful day and everyone had a great time visiting all the animals.

Alena's Birthday Playdate

2008-04-13T15:52:00.003-04:00

Alena's birthday playdate, although a little chilly, was also a lot of fun. She was very excited about her birthday this year and couldn't wait for her party with all her friends. We had a bounce house for the kids to jump around in (thanks Dougie) and Alena got a lot of fun new things to play with. She even had a chocolate birthday cake with her picture on it in icing. She did a really good job blowing out her candles and already can't wait until her next birthday!

Easter 2008

2008-04-13T14:52:00.007-04:00

I finally downloaded all my pics and can get caught up on blog posts, so I guess I will start with Easter 2008. Since it snowed on Easter this year we really didn't do an egg hunt, but everyone still had a great time getting dressed up and spending some quality time with our families. We all had a lot of fun decorating Easter eggs the Friday before, which we turned into deviled eggs for Sunday. And even though Alena was still officially two years old, this was her FOURTH Easter, which I thought was rather strange. Here are a few of the pics...

April 4th Anniversarys

2008-04-04T09:44:00.005-04:00

Today, April 4, 2008, marks the 40th Anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I have previously blogged that Dr. King is one of America's true heroes and his words are an inspiration to me and millions of others. Everyone should take a moment, not just today but everyday, to reflect on Dr. Kings messages, such as "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." Also one of my personal favorites for obvious reasons, "When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative."

Ironically, today is also the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Symbol. The symbol was first introduced in England on April 4, 1958 at a nuclear disarmament march. The symbol quickly spread throughout the world with the turbulent 1960's. As we look to the leaders of the future, we must choose ones that consider the messages of peace, equality, and nonviolence the most important issues facing our country and our world. "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus." -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Happy 3rd Birthday, Alena!

2008-03-24T12:52:00.004-04:00

My little girl turns three years old today and she is very excited about it. She got to take all her friends at school chocolate cupcakes to celebrate and she even got her first presents yesterday. She will get a few more tonight, but her party/playdate is on Saturday. Her and all her little friends (approx. eight 3-5 year olds) are coming over to celebrate with a bounce house (Thanks, Doug), party games, and chocolate cake. I'm sure they all will have a great time. Happy Birthday, Alena!

2008 Ethical Society Trivia Night

2008-03-18T15:53:00.008-04:00

It's again time for the annual Ethical Society Mid Rivers Trivia Night. This years event will be held at Progress Park in Wentzville on Saturday, April 26th at 7 (doors open at 6:15). We are in need of participants, donations, and round sponsors. It is $25 to be a round sponsor and we put the name/logo/info of your business on the overhead projector and make any info/brochures/business cards, etc available to the participants. We could also use door prize/silent auction gifts/donations, so if you know a business that may want to help please let me know. I will also have a table and need to fill it up. Not to brag, but I was part of the winning team last year (see flyer pic). Its $15 per person if we register before April 19th and as an added bonus, we get to bring in alcohol this year-- WOOHOO! Let me know if you want to join in the fun!

Great Job, Alex & Brady!

2008-03-18T10:48:00.003-04:00

The boys started spring break on March 14 and they don't go back to school until the 24th! It must be nice, I never remember having spring breaks as long as theirs when I was growing up, but I digress. The day before their break began was the end of the quarter at school so report cards were sent home. For the 3rd quarter in a row they both had all A's and one B+. Great Job, Alex & Brady! Alex has also had perfect attendance and Brady only missed one day back at the beginning of the year because he was sick, which is also quite impressive considering I have been sick quite a bit this long winter season. I hope their academic success continues for many years to come, it definitely makes life easier for all of us. Keep up the great work boys!

Alena's Latest Pictures

2008-03-12T08:26:00.010-05:00

Since Alena turns 3 later this month, we took her to get her pictures taken last weekend. She had a great time posing for the camera and the pictures turned out okay. Here are some of the better ones...

SOS--Sick Of Snow/Sleet

2008-02-22T11:33:00.003-05:00

I know I'm just adding to the annual winter whine, but I am so sick of all this nasty weather. To date the boys have had SEVEN snow days this winter and I think that is more than the past few years combined. I have had to use all my "sick time" at work to be able to stay home with them for all these days off. I know spring is just around the corner, but when it has barely broke 40 degrees all February, it makes it hard to think positive. OKay, now that I got that out of my system, I'm going to go clean house and make use of my unexpected three day weekend.

What did you do to my child?

2008-02-16T10:36:00.005-05:00

The boys desperately needed haircuts, so last weekend Brian got out the clippers to give them the normal buzz cuts. Alex was up first, but had a special request--he wanted a mohawk! Brian humored him just to see what it would look like, but with plans to cut it off. However, when it was done Alex was so excited about it I told him he could keep it for the weekend since we were having a get-together for Brian's birthday. Everyone at the party thought he was cool and now it's a week later and it is still there. Sometimes he spikes it up, sometimes it's down but he thinks it is cool so I guess it will stay for a little while, but it has to be gone by Easter!

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-16T09:46:00.005-05:00

OKay I know I'm a couple days late, but I hope everyone had a very happy and special Valentine's Day. Typically our Valentine's Day is rather uneventful, the kids are always excited about their school parties, but more often than not Brian has to work, we don't have a babysitter or don't want to fight the crowds, so we just spend the evening at home. Not this year! Brian's friend owns Market Street Bar & Grill in Warrenton and invited us to come out on Valentine's Day for all-you-can-eat crab legs. Since Brian is actually off on Thursday evenings, I thought we might could make it work this year. For the past couple weeks we have had a live-in babysitter, since one of Brian's employees has been staying with us while her car gets a new motor put in it, so the babysitter issue was covered. The only thing left was to get out of my usual Thursday night bowling league which was not hard to do. So we were both available, had a babysitter and had a table waiting for us on Valentine's Day, it was great! Dinner was wonderful and very reasonable. I got the crab legs which also came with a salad, stuffed mushrooms, pasta, and chocolate strawberries- all for only $19.95! Needless to say I was stuffed. Brian got a huge steak with all the fixins, and we both had a few drinks to go along with our lovely evening. I also got a beautiful mystical topaz necklace and he got Reese's peanut butter hearts and a singing card (I definitely got the better end of that deal). We had a wonderful evening, which is good because it may be several years before we get to go out again on Valentine's Day.

Great Job, Alex!

2008-01-13T12:15:00.000-05:00

Alex was in the school wide Spelling Bee on January 9th and after his disappointing experience last year we didn't quite know what to expect. This year was a very different story. The top speller from each class (3rd- 5th grades) get to go to the school bee. Alex won his class bee and was selected to be their representative. Brady came in 3rd in his class which is an accomplishment in itself- great job, Brady! Alex was a little nervous but easily breezed through the first few rounds. Before we knew it, it was down to only two spellers- Alex and Casey, who was the representative from Brady's class. After going back and forth for several more rounds Alex misspelled "frolicking," he left out the "k," and Casey won, but it really did seem like she got easier words throughout the competition, but I guess I'm biased. One of Alex's words was "infomercial," I almost protested because I just don't think that is a real world. I know people use it, but as far as a spelling bee word I don't think it qualifies, but again I'm biased. Brian was so happy for him that he made a few pizzas and took them up to Alex's class to celebrate. All the kids thought that was great and Brian and Alex were very popular people that day. Alex is now the school's alternate representative in the St. Louis Spelling Bee in March. Congratulations Alex, we are all very proud of you!

At the Little Gym

2008-01-13T12:03:00.000-05:00

It was Alena's last week at gymnastics, which is "show week," where everyone gets to come in a take pictures. I thought I would share some pics of my little monkey girl doing what she does best!

2007 Christmas Wrap-Up

2008-01-12T20:19:00.000-05:00

We all hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and safe New Year! We survived another Christmas season and I am just now getting the house back in order. Our festivities this year began the Sunday before X-mas at my mom & Bill's. My cousin Ryan was home on leave from the Army and my Aunt Barbara and Cousin Jennifer were up from Poplar Bluff. It was great to have all of us together for once. All of Bill's growing family was there as well and mom had a packed house, but it made it all the more special. Next year we will add one more to the mix, since my step-sister Andrea is getting ready to have a baby girl later this month.

Christmas Eve we stayed up late putting Alena's kitchen from Santa together. The boys got new Cardinals bedding, but it was officially their last year for Santa. On the car ride X-mas morning I told them we had to talk about Santa and Alex chimed in "We know he's not real." Brady answers "Yeah, its just some guy dressed up in a Santa suit." Alex then says "but you buy us the presents." A fact that I think surprised Brady a bit, because after a long pause he exclaimed "Does that mean the Tooth Fairy is not real too?" Then they both wanted to know what I did with all their teeth! Still a little later Brady says "I guess the Easter Bunny isn't real either." To which I replied "Seriously, a six foot tall bunny going around hiding eggs, does that make any sense?" He giggled and said no. I told them not to fear they would still be getting Santa presents, since there are just some things that can't be wrapped, and besides they still have to play along for their little sister.

Christmas Day we went to Brian's Dad's side of the family, which was nice since we don't see them very much throughout the year. Brian's mom was in California over the holidays so we did Christmas with her at Brian's sister's house on New Years Day. Then last Saturday Jan. 5th we got together with his Aunt and her family to celebrate the season. We still have one more get-together on the 19th, but X-Mas is almost officially over! Thank you to everyone for all the gifts, well wishes, and hospitality- it was definitely a year to remember!

The Physics of Santa

2007-12-15T13:31:00.001-05:00

A girl at work sent me this email and I thought it was interesting enough to repost.

Is there a Santa Claus? - a physicist view

Consider the following:

1) No known species of reindeer can fly. But there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen.

2) There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total 378 million according to Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each.

3) Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for the purposes of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75-1/2 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding, etc. This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second - a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.

4) The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element.Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that 'flying reindeer' (see point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload - not even counting the weight of the sleigh - to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison - this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.

5) 353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair ofreindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy per second each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of G-force. In conclusion - If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's dead now.

Go Elf Yourself

2007-12-10T18:49:00.000-05:00

OfficeMax has sponsored this hilarious site where you can turn yourself into an elf. You can even personalize what you want your elf self to say. Here is a link to my elf (Click here to see my elf), but if you want to make your own, visit www.elfyourself.com Both links may take a minute, but it is well worth it since it is so much fun. Enjoy!

The Twins are 10!!!!

2007-11-30T23:06:00.000-05:00

Happy 10th Birthday, Alex and Brady! I can't believe I have been a parent for a decade! They are definitely not the teeny, tiny, little babies I gave birth to ten years ago today. Now that they are in the double digits it just reminds me even more that the dreaded teen years are rapidly approaching. Tonight we went out to dinner at Playtime Fun Center, which is a Chuck E. Cheese knockoff here in Wentzville. All three of them had a good time playing (although the food sucked) and the boys were very proud that they earned 510 tickets! Tomorrow we are having a small family get-together to celebrate and then on Sunday the boys are having a party with their friends at the new Brunswick Zone bowling alley that just opened up in St. Peters. They are very excited about it, but it is definitely going to be a very busy weekend for everyone. The pictures are their birthday pictures we had taken a couple weeks ago and also a few of all of them together to give out for X-mas. Hopefully I will get X-mas cards out next week sometime and again Happy Birthday, Alex & Brady!

Happy Belated Halloween!

2007-11-03T17:21:00.000-05:00

Since I started my new job, I've gotten a little behind on blog posts, reading email, checking my myspace, etc., so I would like to wish everyone a Happy Belated Halloween! I got off 30 minutes early on the 31st so I could get a head start and raced to get the kids and get home to get them in their costumes. We went to Brenda's first and trick or treated around her circle, then it was off to my mom and Bill's for some more candy and a walk down to the scary house at the end of their street, which is a Halloween tradition. Alena was petrified of the place and a little scared of her brothers at times, but all in all it was a good, albeit rushed,Halloween night.

A Great Day at the Pumpkin Patch

2007-11-03T16:51:00.000-05:00

Amy and I took Alivia, Alena, Alex, and Brady to the pumpkin patch at Eckert's in Millstadt, Il. Every since the boys were little we have always gone to the patch in Chesterfield Valley, so when Amy asked if we wanted to go to Eckert's, I jumped at the chance to get a change of scenery for the annual pictures. It was a beautiful day, windy but warm, Alena and I even got a mild sunburn, very rare for late October. The patch was great, they had rides and tons of animals to pet and feed. Alena took a pony ride and the boys got a kick out of the pumpkin cannon and the pig races. I spent a ton of money, but we had a lot of fun and got some great pictures. Here are a few...

I got the job! YIPPEE!

2007-10-19T16:47:00.000-04:00

I have been trying to find a full-time job since I graduated from college in June. In August I applied at the St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney's Office to be a Victim Advocate. I interviewed for the job, but they ended up giving it to another girl who had previously held the position and was moving back to the area. They said I was the first runner up, which was nice to hear especially since there were 88 applicants for one job, but I still didn't have a job so I kept looking and looking and looking. Then last week (two months after I had initially applied) I got a call wanting me to come in for a second interview with the Prosecutor Jack Banas. Apparently the lady who they had originally been given the job was unable to accept it due to a pending divorce (her ex didn't want her to leave the state with the kids) and me as first runner up was given a second shot at the job. The interview went well and I will officially start on October 30th! My title is Victim Assistance Counselor, which basically means I help victim's of crime through the court system. I inform them about upcoming court dates, keep them updated about the status of their case and I accompany them to court when the time comes. I will also be in charge of training and overseeing college students doing internships in the department. The job pays great, has great benefits, and I think I will be really good at it. I'm sooooooooo excited! It will be quite an adjustment for everyone in the house since I have never had a full-time job before, but it will be a good thing for the entire family in the long run. I will have to become one of those real people with a real job. I will have to get up at 6am and go to bed at 10pm which is quite a scary concept for this night owl, but I'm sure I will get use to it eventually. That's about it for now- times they are a changin'. Amy, Amber, and I are taking all the kids to the Pumpkin Patch tomorrow so hopefully I will post next week with some cute pics from Eckerts.

First Call to Poison Control

2007-10-03T01:20:00.000-04:00

The boys went to a birthday party last night and when they got home they had glow stick necklaces, which of course Alena was fascinated with. She came into the living room chewing on one and just as I was walking over to take it away from her, it broke in her mouth. I quickly cleaned her up and made her rinse out her mouth. She briefly complained that her mouth hurt, but then went on playing as usual. I figured I should probably play it safe and make my first ever call to the poison control center. As I expected, the nurse said it wasn't serious but could cause some minor mouth/skin irritation and could give her a slight tummy ache. They suggested I give her a bowl of ice cream to help her mouth and coat her tummy at the same time. Alena obviously loved that cure and suffered no ill effects from the escapade. The hotline was very nice and very helpful, but hopefully that was my first and last call to the poison control center.

September Wrap-Up

2007-09-25T12:16:00.000-04:00

September has been a bad month for me and computers, consequently it has also been a bad month for blog posts. My office moved over Labor Day weekend and our DSL was down for the first two weeks of the month, since I often write blog entries at work, posts were scarce. My computer at home has its good days and its bad days and since I never know what I'm going to get, I often save myself the frustration by not even turning it on. I think I was kinda in computer burn out anyway, so it was a much needed break. There are many things I must use a computer for, but there are also A LOT of things I could do without. I haven't been on myspace for over a week and I don't even feel all that lost, but to my 111 myspace friends, I do apologize for missing birthdays or not responding to messages, etc. I just needed a break!

I digress, September started out with a trip to the Mark Twain Lake over Labor Day weekend. All the children and a couple of friends went with us, and the back of the truck was loaded with food, clothes, and leisure activities- way more than we would ever need of course. As we finish unloading, I realized we forgot the worst possible thing we could have forgotten (except a child)-- Alena's big pink bag! That bag had EVERYTHING of hers in it, diapers, clothes, toys, swimsuit, EVERYTHING! I debated whether I should just go to the nearest Wal-Mart and make an exception to my "Just Say NO to Wal-Mart rule" (see post) or if I should just go back home and get it. In the end, I decided that the gas would probably still be cheaper than a trip to Wal-Mart, so I dropped everyone else off at the lake and Alena and I drove the 3 hour roundtrip drive home to retrieve the now infamous pink bag, all the time hoping that this would be the first and only disaster of the weekend! For the most part it was, we all had a good time going to the beach and doing some tubing on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday morning , all the boys decided to get up early and do some fishing. Alex and Brady still lose interest pretty quickly if the fish aren't biting, which they weren't. The only one to catch anything was Brady, and all he caught was Brian through the lip! I still have not forgiven Mike for not taking a picture, but from all accounts the hook went in through the top of Brian's upper lip and out the bottom, but the best part was the minnow was still hanging from it! Brian wasn't hurt, but the picture would have been priceless addition to this post--thanks a lot Mike, lotta good that camera phone did!

I have been looking for a new job since I graduated in June, but still have not found one, which is rather disappointing. I have been the runner-up twice for a job as a victim advocate in the Prosecutor's office, but unfortunately they gave the positions to two former employees who wanted to return. I am also still trying to get a job at State probation and parole, but it is a very slow process, so for now I'm still just working two days a week at MMCS.

All of our recreational activities have now started again, Brian plays on a pool league on Tuesday nights, I bowl on Thursday nights, and then we both bowl every other Sunday on a league. Not to mention Alena is back at gymnastics on Monday mornings, at least the boys really don't have anything going on right now, except school, which is nice, although they miss playing baseball and can't wait to play again next year.

Speaking of baseball, we are all very disappointed with the Cardinals lackluster season, but it was still fun to watch (most of the time). We attended our last game on Sept. 16 against the Cubs, but lost 4-2. Oh well, there is always next year- spring training is only 4 1/2 months away and we will have football through most of that time, although the Rams season isn't off to a very good start either (0-3). That's about all I got for now, if I think of anything else I'll write an update. C-ya!

Baseball Trip '07- Washington DC

2007-08-29T22:39:00.000-04:00

We arrived in Washington DC around 5, got settled in and decided to walk around and check out our nation's capital. Our hotel was downtown toward the Capital side of the Mall, so we walked down to the Capital and the Supreme Court to take some pics, then we headed back and took a tour of the National Archives. We saw the Magna Carta, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, among other national treasures. Unfortunately, they didn't allow flash photography, so all the pics we took just look like tanned pieces of paper and you can't tell which one is which. The next day we had planned on going to the Smithsonian, which is somewhere I have wanted to visit since I was a child. But of course, when I actually get the chance to go to DC- it was CLOSED! It closed last summer and will remain closed until next summer for renovations. So we decided to go to the National Air & Space Museum, which is also ran by the Smithsonian Institute and it had about 100 pieces from the closed museum on display. The boys learned a lot and enjoyed all the airplanes and rockets hanging from the ceiling. There was also models of the Lunar Lander and the Space Station which were quite cool. I got to see Dorothy's Ruby Slippers, Kermit the Frog, George Washington's Military Uniform, Jackie Kennedy's Inaugural dress, a baseball signed by Babe Ruth, and other pieces of Americana that are on loan while their home is being remodeled, so at least it wasn't a total loss. After the museum, we went up in the Washington Monument and got to take in the whole city from 555 feet in the air. Our view from the top allowed us to plan our hike to the White House to take some pics and then we took the subway back to the hotel to get ready for the game. We used the subway quite a bit while we were in DC, including to and from the game, and the boys quickly became obsessed with this method of travel. The Nationals are getting a new stadium next season, which is a very good thing because RFK Stadium was not impressive at all. The only things that were cool were the mascots, the main mascot is an Eagle named Screech, but then they have four big headed presidents that also dance around and have a race in the middle of the game (see pic of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt). Unfortunately the Cardinals lost in the bottom of the 9th inning, 3-2, but at least this game was a nail biter and not a blowout. The following day we visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Wall, and the WWII Memorial, which has a beautiful fountain- I love fountains! It was about 100 degrees and we had to do a lot of walking, but we all made it through. We left DC later that afternoon and drove to Columbus, Ohio where we crashed for the night. The next morning was our final leg home and Alena and Dixie were very happy to see us when we got there. In all we crossed seven states and traveled over 1700 miles. We get to mark two more stadiums off our list, bringing our total to 13 (if you count both Busch Stadiums). All in all it was a good trip, not the most relaxing vacation we've ever taken, but it was an experience everyone will remember for a long time. I can't wait to see where we get to go next year!

Baseball Trip '07- Pittsburgh

2007-08-24T11:45:00.000-04:00

This year we took the boys on our annual out of town trip to watch the Cardinals play. Neither of us was crazy about driving 1700 miles with two nine year olds, but we knew it would be a good learning experience for them. The first day we just spent driving from St. Louis to Pittsburgh, PA. Although we did stop for lunch at Wendy's, which was a welcomed treat since all the Wendy's in the St. Louis area have been closed for over a year! We stayed about 5 miles outside of Pittsburgh to save some money and it was definitely the right decision. We had a suite with a full kitchen, the hotel had free breakfast (not just continental either) and a free two-hour happy hour everynight- it was great and everyone was really nice! The hotel even took us to and from the baseball game, so we didn't have to pay for parking. At less than $100 per night it was definitely the bargain of the trip and with the exception of the fire alarm going off in the middle of that first night it was a pleasant experience. There was no fire, but of course the alarm was right outside our door, luckily the boys slept through it all, Brian wasn't so lucky. The next morning we toured PNC Park and got to go in the dugout and the pressbox and see the inner working of the Pittsburgh Pirates home. The ballpark is right on the Allegheny River and is a very pretty park. After we left we decided to go up one of Pittsburgh's historic inclines (130 years old historic) to get a better view of the city (see pic of the incline going up the hill and the overview shot of downtown Pittsburgh). After going back to the hotel for a quick swim and the free happy hour, we left for the game and watched the Cardinals lose 15-1 :(

The next morning we ate our free breakfast and hit the road on our way to Washington DC!

TO BE CONTINUED....................

Kiva Update

2007-08-23T16:15:00.000-04:00

As I blogged about in a previous post, over the winter I donated money through Kiva to women starting or expanding businesses in developing countries. It was my little way of feeling as if I was making a difference to not only the entrepreneur, but her to family and in some cases the entire community. I loaned four women a total of $150 and I'm happy to report one of the women, Lidys Fajardo, has repaid her loan in full ahead of schedule. I took the $50 she repaid me and have since donated $25 each to two more women to help their businesses. I have added a Lenk's Link with my lender page so anyone who wants to can follow the progress of any or all of these women.

Another 1st Day of School--YIPPEE!

2007-08-21T00:10:00.000-04:00

The boys' started fourth grade today (8/20) and other than the bus being over 30 minutes late (which is typical for the 1st day) everything else went smoothly and the boys enjoyed being back in class with all their friends. I'm also very excited to have my normal life back, it was so nice shopping today with only ONE child! Alena starts her first day of "school" tomorrow. Her babysitter is about to have another baby, so we decided it was a good time to put her in daycare. She still will only go two days a week (at least until I find a full-time job) and it will be good for her to get around kids her own age.

I finally downloaded the pics from our vacation today, but still need to go through them and organize. I promise I will post about our trip later this week. One reason I didn't get the vacation pics done today was that I started organizing my picture files, for example, I now only have one file entitled "First Day of School" and inside it are all the subfolders for each grade. It has made my "My Picture" File a lot less cluttered. Anyway, as I was condensing I pulled out similar pics from all the first days of school the boys have had and thought I would share them with everyone. So here are pictures from all their first days of school from Kindergarten through 4th grade. I can't believe how much they have grown up over the past few years!

A Sun-filled Weekend Part 2

2007-07-29T23:43:00.000-04:00

After we got back from the doubleheader, Brian's mom Brenda called to ask if we wanted to go out on the Mississippi River on their pontoon boat on Sunday. Of course we accepted and spent the day playing/relaxing at the beach and tubing up and down the River. The weather was beautiful, we had a great lunch Ron grilled on the beach, and the kids had a great time playing in the sand and surf. We even got Brenda and Ron to do a little tubing-- check out the pics of Brenda before and after we started moving!

The next day (Monday 7-23), Brian and I took the boys to Six Flags for the first time. Alex & Brady received free tickets to Six Flags at a Cardinals game we went to earlier in the month, so it gave us a great excuse for Brian to take off and go on one of the weekly field trips with us. The boys are tall enough to ride almost every ride there and we rode everything we could. We rode the Screaming Eagle, The Boss, Ninja, Tony Hawk's Big Spin and of course Thunder River and Tidal Wave (the boys stood on the bridge twice and got completely soaked). Since we went on a Monday the lines weren't long at all (except the Moon Cars for some reason). Some rides we just walked right up and got on, so that was really nice! Most of the rides there I have ridden dozens of times, but it was neat getting to be with my children as they rode them all for the first time. Its a whole different experience when you don't know what to expect and it was very cool to share that with them. Sorry we don't have any pics from Six Flags, but who wants to carry a camera around all day?

It was a long three days, but we all had a lot of fun! Now its time to get ready for vacation-- Pittsburgh and Washington DC, here we come! Hopefully the Cards will keep up the winning streak for the roadtrip, so we can see some winners. I will post some vacation pics when we get back.

A Sun-filled Weekend

2007-07-29T23:23:00.000-04:00

The weekend of July 21-23 was a fun, sun-filled weekend. The boys had their baseball pictures (see team pic) and a doubleheader on Saturday July 21st. Unfortunately the team suffered its first two losses of the season, but the boys played well. Alex was the catcher for a few innings both last weekend and this weekend, he likes that position and shortstop best. Brady has played about every position and even pitched for the first time this weekend and did pretty well. The pictures show Alex (red shorts) and Brady (blue shorts) having a great and helping out the team!

Alivia and Jack are 2

2007-07-18T18:01:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday (7/15) we attended Alivia (Amy's daughter) and Jack (Jenny's son) second birthday party. Since they share a birthday Amy & Jenny decided to have a big circus themed party for both of them. It was so much fun! It was at Dame's Park in O'fallon, the weather was great and there was plenty of room for all the kids to run around. Rob and Joe did an excellent job BBQing and Alivia and Jack seemed to like the little tricycles we got them. There was even a guy drawing caricatures (see pic) and a pimped out snow cone mobile. The snow cone mobile probably had 50 different flavors to chose from and of course they all sounded good. I ended up eating 4 snow cones during the two hours it was there (pina colada, cream soda, strawberry cheesecake, and honey dew, in that order). As I told Amy, it was the bestest second birthday party I've ever been to, I can't wait to see what they do next year. Happy Birthday, Jack and Livy!

Trying to Stay Busy

2007-07-16T22:04:00.000-04:00

The boys' summer vacation is now officially half way over. We have been trying to stay busy so they don't drive me too crazy. We go to the library every Monday to check out books and movies for the week and we try to go somewhere else either on Wednesday or Friday. Some weeks it's just a trip to the park and some weeks are a little more fun. A few weeks ago we went bowling. The boys are becoming better bowlers as they get older. We still used a bumper lane, but they really didn't need it half the time. Alena helped me bowl, although she kept stepping on or rolling the ball over the foul line so she really wasn't much help, but she had fun anyway. If anyone has any ideas for cheap, fun places we all can enjoy, please pass them along. Hope everyone is having a great summer!

The Neverending Fourth of July

2007-07-16T19:21:00.001-04:00

So I finally downloaded pictures that had been accumulating on my memory card since June. Here are some pics from the 4th of July. It seemed like this year since the Fourth of July fell on a Wednesday, the holiday actually consisted of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th of July. Mike came over one night to shoot off fireworks; Joe, Joanne, and JD came over another night and shot off hundreds of dollars of explosives; on the 4th I took the kids to the fair in O'fallon and we watched the fireworks there with Brenda & Ron; then that Saturday we went over to our friend Abbe's house for a BBQ and another huge display. Needless to say, everyone had a great time and saw plenty of fireworks -- at least until New Years!

A Great Weekend for Baseball

2007-07-10T13:34:00.000-04:00

Alex and Brady had their first baseball game last Saturday (7/7) and won 11-9! Alex played third base and Brady played shortstop, although they are all suppose to rotate so they may have to play a different position next week. Alex hit two singles and came around to score both times. Brady went 3 for 3 with a single, a double, and a triple in that order. His triple with the bases loaded scored the three runs the team needed to tie the game and then he scored from third to be the winning run! They both did really well and most importantly had a lot of fun. Way to go, boys!

On Sunday afternoon, Brian, the boys, and I went to the Cardinals vs. Giants game. It was a hot 95 degrees, but thankfully our regular seats are in the shade so it wasn't too unbearable. The Cardinals won 7-0 and Barry Bonds played, but didn't get a hit all game. It was a great weekend for baseball!!!

Happy 231st Birthday, America!

2007-07-04T11:46:00.000-04:00

231 years ago today our forefathers declared our independence from Britain by proclaiming, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," and with these words the United States of America was born.

John Adams, the first Vice President, the Second President of the United States, and one of the members of the Second Continental Congress who signed the Declaration of Independence, wrote to his wife, "I believe that it (July 4th) will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival... it ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other..."

In honor of this momentous occasion we hope everyone takes John Adams' advice and has a safe and happy Independence Day. Happy Birthday, America!

Boys of Summer

2007-07-03T10:45:00.000-04:00

Last week the boys started practice for their summer baseball league through the YMCA. They did really well at their first practice and they are anxiously awaiting their first real game this Sat (7/7) at 1:30. Their team, the Washington Nationals, is part of an instructional league, so they get to rotate positions and master the basics without any emphasis being placed on winning or competitiveness (which is good because they constantly compete with each other in everything). They are very excited about their new cleats and baseball attire, although they were a little disappointed their team was the Nationals and not the Cardinals, but it works out well since we are going to Washington DC at the end of this month to watch a Cards/Nationals game. Anyway, I though I would post their schedule so if anyone wanted to come see a game you could plan accordingly. All of the games are on Saturday and only take about an hour. Click on the location to get a map.

7-7-07 1:30 St. Charles YMCA Field #11

7-14-07 12:30 St. Charles YMCA Field #11

7-21-07 12:15 & 1:30 (Doubleheader) Founders Park, Field #5- Lake STL

7-28-07 1:30 Founders Park, Field #5- Lake STL

8-11-07 11:00 Founders Park, Field #4- Lake STL

8-18-07 12:15 Founders Park, Field #4- Lake STL

Truth, Justice, and the American Way!

2007-06-26T18:18:00.000-04:00

On our way home Sunday from Kentucky, I just had to take a detour through the Illinois town of Metropolis to get my picture taken with the giant statue of Superman. I had seen a sign about it on the way down and had talked about stopping by on the way home all weekend. We all had our pictures taken with the statue and I spent $20 at the Superman gift shop. Thanks to Rob and Mike for tagging along on our little adventure through Metropolis, the whole visit only took about 30-45 minutes and it was a great photo-op--check them out!

Congratulations, Jeff and Mickey!

2007-06-26T12:01:00.000-04:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you...Jeff and Melissa Davenport! Jeff and Mickey are officially hitched and I did a great job, if I do say so myself. The wedding was a beautiful sunset ceremony at a Gazebo/Jetty on Kentucky Lake. It didn't rain, I didn't forget my words, and no one passed out from the heat, so all it all I would call it a success. Since the wedding was on Friday evening, we had the whole rest of the weekend to play and celebrate. We ate well and drank well and had a great time hanging out with all Jeff and Mickey's friends and families and I think we all got a lot closer as a result. I will post another entry about our Saturday excursion on Kentucky Lake after I get the pics from my waterproof camera developed, but for now here are some pics from the wedding. Congratulations, Jeff and Mickey- we love you both!

What's a Doodlecake?

2007-06-21T12:33:00.000-04:00

Many of you may think that this is a picture of a Hostess chocolate cupcake (or its generic equivalent), but in the Lenk house it is known as a Doodlecake. Brady started calling them that since "they have a little doodle on top," and now all of us call them doodlecakes. I thought it was so cute I just had to share.

I hope I don't screw up!

2007-06-21T11:10:00.000-04:00

We leave for Kentucky Lake tonight to go to Jeff and Mickey's wedding. Brian is a groomsman and I'm performing the ceremony. I still can't believe I got myself into this and I'm getting more nervous the closer it gets. When I first agreed to do it, I was told it was a small informal ceremony at a Jetty on Kentucky Lake . Three months later, however, there are 7 bridesmaids and they are expecting over 60 people. I'm sure everything will be fine (at least that's what everyone keeps telling me). I have the whole 3-4 hour drive down there to practice, and then the wedding isn't until Friday at 8 pm, so I have most of the day tomorrow as well.
Last weekend was the Bachelor/ Bachelorette parties and the rehearsal/dinner. The bachelor party was at our house and 30-40 drunk well wishers camped out on our property.

The bachelorette party was an 80's themed slumber party, hence the Strawberry Shortcake PJs and the scrunchy (see pic). Everyone had a great time and stayed safe. I will post an update next week about how everything went and some pics from the wedding. Wish me luck!

Bye-Bye Little Gym

2007-06-06T15:37:00.000-04:00

Last week was the last day of 3rd grade, this week was Alena's last day of gymnastics class. Alena and I have been taking a mommy and me gymnastics class at The Little Gym since January. The Last day is "show day" where all the kids get to show off their skills to any family or friends that want to come take pictures. Alena learned how to do a somersault, donkey kicks, monkey jumps, and crab walks, just to name a few. At the end of class they all received a metal for all their hard work. We are taking the summer session off, but plan to return for the fall session which begins on August 20, the same day the boys start 4th grade!

The Last Day of Third Grade

2007-06-01T11:47:00.000-04:00

Wednesday (5/30) was the boys' last day of the third grade. They worked very hard all year and were very successful! They both had perfect attendance, made the honor roll all 4 quarters, were in the spelling bee, and didn't get in trouble even once. In honor of all these achievements, I took the day off work on Thursday and planned a day of fun to celebrate and kick off summer vacation. Alena went to the babysitter and Alex, Brady and I headed to the Magic House. I didn't tell them much about it other than it was a "fun museum," so they didn't quite know what to expect, but when we got there they were both very pleasantly surprised. We all had a blast and learned a lot too! After the magic house we picked up Brian and Alena and went out to Chuck E. Cheese's for dinner and more fun. It was a long, but very fun day. Hopefully, they will do just as well in the 4th grade and we can do it all again next year. Only 80 more days until school starts!

I'm so glad it's over!

2007-05-24T11:35:00.000-04:00

I'm very happy American Idol and all the other reality shows I watch are finally over! Idol was a little disappointing this year, although I'm glad Jordin won. I have no doubt that by this time next year I will be singing along to one of her songs on the radio, unlike last year's Idol Taylor Hicks (Chris is the true Idol from last season). The worst part of last night was the end and I'm not talking about the fact that Jordin won. I have school on Wednesday nights and have to TiVo Idol. I got home about 10 and fast forwarded through most of the finale, only stopping at a few performances that peaked my interest. Anyway, after waiting through the two hours of filler, it finally get to the end when they are about to announce the winner and--- the recording stops! Even though they stretched a 10 second show into two hours, they still went five minutes over-- absolutely ridiculous! After all that, I still had to look up who won on the Internet!

We Actually Won!

2007-05-11T13:10:00.000-04:00

The Ethical Society's First Annual Trivia Night, I posted about previously, was a complete success! Although we could always use more teams and sponsors for next year--I will let everyone in plenty of time the next time it comes around! Best of all, our team came in first! Thanks to Amy, Brenda, Ron, and our new friends Liz, Chuck, Cindy, and Jim for all their hard work. Out of the 100 questions (10 rounds of 10) we got 77 correct, in categories such as History, Mexico (it honor of it being cinco de mayo), Geography, Sports and Games, and Music. Everyone ate a lot of chips and salsa and had a great time!

The reason it took my so long to post this great news is because Alena had a fever and was kinda pitiful last weekend and when I took her the the doctor on Monday, they diagnosed her with a double ear infection (OUCH!) None of my kids have ever had an ear infection before (thankfully!), so this was a first for me. A few days on antibiotics and she's as good as new. Unfortunately, I also got sick on Monday and when I went to the doctor on Wednesday, they said I had bronchitis. Needless to say, it has been a rough week! Alex and Brian also have the sniffles and have been lazier than usual, but Brady gets First Prize for the best immune system in the house- he has yet to be sick (knock on wood).

I missed work and school all this week since I was sick, so I will be working my butt off this weekend and next week to try to catch up. I am so happy summer is just around the corner!

That's So Gross!

2007-05-01T15:15:00.001-04:00

Last week the children and I were eating spaghetti for dinner, when Alena started rubbing her marinara covered hands all over her nose and face and acting strangely. She tends to freak out when she gets messy, so I promptly wiped her off. She was still rubbing her face, she said she was done and I got her out of her chair. I never thought anything about it again until about 4 hours later about 11pm when she was sitting on my lap watching TV. I thought I saw a booger in her nose, but when I went in to retrieve it-- a two inch long piece of spaghetti came out! GROSS, now I was the one freaking out! I guess when she was slurping her spaghetti into her mouth she accidentally also sucked some up her nose. After I pulled it out, she did one of those full body shivers and said "Mama, my nose is better." I guess so!

P.S. I almost took a picture of the piece I pulled out for the blog, but decided that was a bit much, so this picture was taken back in January.

Happy 8th Anniversary!

2007-05-01T15:06:00.000-04:00

Eight years ago today (May 1st), Brian & I tied the knot! Its been a long 8 years, but we made it through the 7 year itch-- so that's a good thing! Brian brought me 8 red roses to my work today, they smell wonderful! Thanks, honey! Happy Anniversary to Us! I Love You!

Cinco de Mayo Trivia Night

2007-04-24T13:22:00.000-04:00

The Mid Rivers Ethical Society is hosting its first annual trivia night on Cinco de Mayo- Saturday May 5 @ 7 (doors open @ 6:30). I have reserved a table and need about 5 more people to fill it. It's $20 per person and there are door prizes, silent auctions and snacks provided. It is a Mexican theme and has a prize for the best decorated table, so if anyone has any cute ideas please pass them on to me. Also, if anyone/business would like to donate items for the door prizes or silent auctions please let me know ASAP. Also if anyone/business would like to sponsor a round of trivia, it's a $25 tax-deductible donation and you get your business name on the promotional materials and get to put cards/flyers on the tables. Thanks already to Amy at AAA for sponsoring a round! Let me know if anyone wants to go, I'm sure it will be a great time!

Alena's Rough Weekend

2007-04-24T11:42:00.000-04:00

On Saturday Alena was suppose to be napping when all of a sudden I heard a thud. I ran back to the boys' room and retrieved my now screaming daughter who had a big red mark, right in the middle of her forehead. I think she probably fell trying to climb up to the top bunk, but no one really knows. Anyway, as the evening went on I noticed her right eye wasn't as open as the left one. It wasn't red and she was acting fine, but I called mom just to be on the safe side.
The next morning Alena's eye still wasn't open as much as the other eye, it looked a little swollen, but still wasn't red or bruised. She played outside all day long while Brian cut the grass. And as if she wasn't suffering enough, she ended up with a little sunburn on her arms.
The next morning (Monday) Alena woke up with a big black eye! I don't know why it took two days to appear, but she looks pretty rough with her black eye, red mark on her forehead, and sunburned arms. I have a feeling it is going to be a very rough summer!

Easter 2007

2007-04-18T12:44:00.000-04:00

Easter 2007 was quite cold, but we made the best of it anyway. We started the day with a visit from Kenny to give the kids their Easter cards and then headed off to "church" (see ethical society post). Alex lost a tooth in Sunday school and Alena skinned both of her knees as we were walking in, so I was a little concerned about how the rest of the day was going to go. After church we went to my mom's, ate some great food and watched the baseball game. The crowd at her house was smaller than usual, and mine were the only kids this year, but it was nice to visit with everyone who was there.
After mom's we headed to Brenda's and the kids hunted eggs in their winter coats. They all had a good time finding all 75 eggs we had hidden throughout the yard. After the hunt, Alex and Brady wanted to hide eggs for me and Brian to find. So they hid 30 eggs and Brian and I raced to see who could end up with the most. When we stopped to count, I had 15 and he had 14, which meant there was still one egg to be found. Brian was on a mission since if he found it we would be tied, but if I did I would "win". We probably looked for that one lost egg for another 10 minutes, but in the end I was victorious. It was really fun being a kid again for awhile, I think we have to make it an Easter tradition.

Alena's 2nd Birthday Party

2007-04-14T13:32:00.000-04:00

Alena's 2nd birthday party was a success. The weather was great! It was 80 degrees and everyone hung out outside and played in the yard. She had a Care Bears theme and got lots of great stuff, including a new baby doll which didn't hardly leave her side the rest of the day. She even took it out to play on the swing set! Everyone seemed to have a good time and Alena is now officially a toddler. Let the terrible two's begin!

Mid Rivers Ethical Society

2007-04-12T12:29:00.000-04:00

Since February, the boys and I have been attending "church" every Sunday. I know what you are thinking-- Rachel is not religious and fears organized religion. All this is true, but we have been attending services at the Mid Rivers Ethical Society, which is not really a church but is a nonprofit organization that has a lecture/service for the adults and a Sunday school for the children. The Ethical Society does not follow any particular religion, their mission statement is "to bring out the best in others and thereby in ourselves." The Sunday school's core values are:
Ethics is my way.
Every person is important and unique.
Every person deserves to be treated fairly and kindly.
I can learn from everyone.
I am part of this earth; I cherish it and all the life upon it.
I learn from the world around me by using my senses, mind, and feelings.
I am a member of the world community which depends on the cooperation of all people for peace and justice.
I can learn from the past to build for the future.
I am free to question.
I am free to choose what I believe.
I accept responsibility for my choices and actions.
I strive to live my values.
Basically, do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, not because you will be rewarded in some sort of afterlife. The lectures often discuss current events or political causes, other times they are just inspirational stories that make you think. Everyone that goes there are intelligent, professional people (many are teachers) and it is great have an adult conversation at least once a week.
The Society also does community service projects. Last month the Sunday school collected items for the local no-kill animal shelter. They got to deliver all the items in-person and take a tour of the facility to meet the animals they were helping (see pic). All the kids had a great time and the boys actually look forward to going to "church" every week.

I know, I'm a bad blogger

2007-04-12T12:12:00.000-04:00

I apologize for being a lousy blogger as of late. I am currently taking 6 different classes at 3 different schools and my homework load has been insane the past couple weeks. The next month is going to kill me, but it will all be worth it when I graduate in June! I have a little bit of a break this week, so I'm going to try to get caught up on some of the posts I have been planning. I will have pics from Alena's b-day party, Easter and maybe even a few others, so stay tuned!

Happy St. Patty's Day

2007-03-17T14:29:00.000-04:00

Hope everyone has a happy and safe St. Patrick's Day. Don't forget to play the lottery to see if you have the luck of the Irish on your side (Powerball jackpot for Sat. 3/17--$183 million!!) Also don't drink too much green beer! Happy St. Patty's Day!

Look who's almost 2!

2007-03-16T15:42:00.000-04:00

On March 24, my little baby girl will turn 2. We got her pictures taken this week and they will be back in time for the party on the 25th. She is becoming such a big girl, she can count to 12 and sometimes further, she says most of her ABC's and can carry on a conversation. She even climbed a tree in the backyard the other day all by herself! I can't believe she is almost 2!