Branson 2010

Well we finally decided to take the kids on their first real family vacation. We have been patiently waiting for this till all the kids were old enough to remember them. So poor Haley has had to wait till she was almost 14 to begin vacations. She has had a few on her own but none with the whole family. So this year we decided for our first outing Branson would be far enough from home to have fun yet be close enough that well we werent to far from home :)

We spent a week in Branson Missouri with the kids and there were days that I just wanted to come back home but all in all the vacation turned out to be a nice one. The kids had tons of fun and are actually ready to go back.

Haley's highlight of the trip was the Dinosaur Museum-I found this extremely corny-but she was more than happy. She bought a shirt and a necklace and took some pictures and overall she had fun.Her other happy moment was a stop at the precious moments chapel in Carthage, Missouri. She bought some stuff there too. She really like it there.

Brandon's highlight was the Titanic Museum. He has been waiting to go thru this museum for almost a year. He was so excited when we got there that I was actually shocked. He made his way thru and looked at all the history involved with the actual ship and accident and there were even a few recovered items from the ship there and he was just thrilled. They have actually rebuilt the grand stairway inside to specs and he just about died when he found out this information and got to walk up them he even became more excited. For him that was just a complete moment of utter happiness for him. I couldnt have been happier to let him go thru a museum and just be in total aww.

Tanner-now this kid totally surprised me. His thrilling moment was the night we went to the Dixie Stampede Dinner and Show! He had so much fun there that every moment he found a chance he would turn to me and whisper "Mom this is the greatest night ever!" He told me this about 6 times thruout the show. He loved the food and the show and everything that went along with it. The pre-show was a juggling act and he even loved that. The atmosphere and the dinner and horses and flags just made his night. He was able to hoot and holler and just have a ball of fun. I was so happy everytime I got his little whisper of uncontrolable happiness.

Peyton-where do I begin with him. Silver Dollar City... that was his moment of complete overwhelming joy. He rode all kinds of Roller Coasters in our 2 1/2 days there. ALL the water rides and then returned to the Roller Coasters. I now have 2 more roller coaster addicts on the family list. My dad, me, tanner and Peyton. Peyton rode the biggest coaster there called the Powder Keg. He went over and over and over again. He was tall enough to go with an adult but not without one yet. Tanner too. But Peyton would grab any willing adult and haul them into line with or without a true willingness to get on :) He had so much fun on that ride and would have rode it all day had we let him :)

Grandma and Grandpa Holmes went with us on this vacation. We really enjoyed having them with us this trip. They have just as much fun as the kids and Papa well he's a super fun blast on the rides. He is just as young at heart as the rest of us. Grandma rides one ride called the Wildfire but sometimes she can be a stick in the mud. We all had fun tho.

Justin finally rode his first big Roller Coaster on this vacation. Only because I was rude and called him a wimp and used some other choice words. As his 7 year old son was begging him to ride with him.  He had such a rush on that ride. He rode it again and that was enough for one day he said. the fear is apparent on his face LOL!

We Had a really nice time with our kids this year. Who knows where our adventures will take us next year.

But be watching for Summer 2012-A trip of a lifetime is being planned for them!

Valentine's 2010

Valentine's is always a fun time of year especially when you're young and in elementary school. To give small notes of friendship and of course as Tanner would say..."THE CANDY!" This year it was no small feat for me to make it thru the small holiday for the boys at school. During open house at the beginning of the year we somehow got signed up to take the snacks for not only one class but TWO classes this year. It turned out fine as my mom volunteered to help bake some cupcakes for me. She did one batch as I did the other. Thank goodness for my mother dearest she has helped me out of some tight spots and this isnt the first time this year either. I ended up sick on Tanner's birthday this year and she baked them and took them to school for Tanner. He was very grateful for his Grandma Weezee that day :) As I was! Anyhow, our lovely morning turned into a total nightmare as for the first time in my life my cupcakes didnt rise or turn out very well. Of course I wasnt going to take those to school and give the kids... I just figured if they tasted ok my kids could eat the flops... and they did as I suspected.

In the end I had to go to the grocery store to buy cupcakes which I despise doing. But I had to do something of course. I get to the store and they have NO cupcakes on the shelf. But the lady behind in the bakery saved my little tushy and was making up some more and she made them specific to my needs which I thanked her for and she acted as if it was no biggie. Well it probably wasnt a big thing to her but to me it was and I was thankful that she was there. I thanked her many times for her generosity and kindness to me. In the end the kids in Tanner's class got grandma's cupcakes and Brandon's class got my purchased ones. I felt terrible but at least they had cupcakes :) Delivered on time and with some extra candy from me to hopefully keep myself from feeling completely like a failed mother... They ate them of course and loved them cuz they were so pretty. I was gonna do some neat stuff but I just didnt get the chance cuz I had BAD cupcakes! I have no clue as to what happened but I have never had that problem before ever! I am still at a loss.

Saturday proved to be a wonderful day for the boys as Grandma Weezee took them to Wichita. They spent the entire day with her on a "kids" day out with grandma :) They really enjoyed that. It's been a while since she has done something with them like that. They went to Wichita and ate at Burger King of all places but they stayed and played for an hour or better there. After leaving there they headed straight to the mall for a little shopping with Grandma at their favorite place on earth... The Build-a-Bear Factory :) They had gift cards to spend and they were determained to spend them and more of course as you cant seem to get out of there without spending an arm and a leg on your teddy bear of choice and of course some accessories to go with them. This time they bought camoflauge tents for their newest additions to their bear families :) It took Tanner about 2 seconds to pick his new friend which of course is a monkey-no suprise there and named him Max. Peyton did suprise us by getting a camoflauge teddy bear that he named Brandon LMAO! And Brandon my sweet boy loves his teddy's. He has one that is getting kinda worn in his advanced age and is ripping in a couple places. He has been bothered lately by this and so he walked in on a mission looking for a replica of his Teddy :) They didnt find one just like Batman Bear (he named him batman bear lol during his b-man phase) but he did find one very close to the same. One that he was at least satisfied with. The lady was very nice about helping him because they didnt have any in the bins that he liked to choose from. This nice lady went into the back into the stock and searched for a bear that would match Brandon's request. She found one and he was content with him. He is a honey color and actually a very pretty bear. Brandon may be 9 but his teddy's are still his friends and I wouldnt ever take that away from him. He takes them to his Dr. appointments so I know they mean more than just a bear to him. They are his friend yes but also some security during his laser treatments. They go thru it with him and I am sure that is how he looks at it. That helps me in a weird way to know even though I am there or grandma is there...he isnt going thru it alone and he is comforted by the fact that his bear goes with him. So his new friend is Barry. I am just thrilled that they had a good day with Grandma. They were needing some grandma time that was well over due. There is just so much drama from another in the family that it prevents my kids from having time with my mom. It is really unfair to them but doing what is best for MY kids is what I have to do. So...Thats they way it is and if my mom isnt careful with how she is handling this situation she might find that she loses how close she is with my boys. Due to stupidity from other sources. But anyhow they had a good day and that was a Valentine's Trip made of pure love for them and that was the best day they have had in a very long time.

I will add a picture of Peyton with his new friend. He will have a new friend for a long time to come with proof in the picture :)

Oh My Its Been A While!

Oh wow its been a long while since I have made a post to our blog. LOL! Busy days, Busy Nights make it somehow seem ok but then again I know that it's just an excuse that I shouldnt be using.

Things around here are as nuts as ever. Since my college graduation with my RN, I have been to London and Paris while I left my dearly loved children at home to finish the school year with their grandmothers. They work with each others schedules very well and trade off with the kids as needed. Haley isnt big about the farm and it with it being in the middle of nowhere she isnt big about having to go there either. So after school was out she of course spent the rest of her time with my mother in town. The boys dont mind the farm. They are little farmers to the core and love being out there. So they of course went to the farm. Tanner & Peyton had some home sick issues and eventually came back to town with my mother. Brandon-no problem-he hung out at the farm the whole time :)

Haley has started her last year of middle school and we are now currently in the last semester of 8th grade. She just finished up her cheerleading season yesterday.  She has done wonderful with it and it has brought her out of her shell more than I had ever dreamed it would. When she was little she used to be so shy and to herself. Well by about 3rd grade that had changed and she had become a little social butterfly. Well by 7th grade and the beginning of cheerleading...she has become a beautiful young girl with lots of friends and having tons of fun. Thats what I love to see and hear about from her. She is excited about being done with Middle School but I am positive that she doesnt realize that High School is a whole different story when it comes to what they themselves are responsible for. I am sure that she will do fine though. Come the spring she will be starting band competitions and it will be the first one for them. I am super excited about this because the 8th grade band is amazing! I cant hardly believe I am hearing 8th graders playing. They actually sound like they are a high school band. I am super proud of her and her sax! I love listening to them play. I listened to the 7th grade band this year and was shocked at the difference I was hearing. Our band instuctor is amazing here and I adore what he does with these kids but his class of 2014 is special I think. He has made a note or two of it also at some concerts without going overboard of course with the other class bands there. But Mr. B deserves so much credit for what he does with our band kids for PHS and LMS!

Brandon is in 3rd grade and I cant hardly believe how big he is getting already. I am happy with him that he has such awesome skills when it comes to hand writing and spelling. His hand writing is something else. It's perfect and at the begining of 2nd grade it was just terrible. Awful and you couldnt read a stitch of it. But by the end of 2nd grade he had the most perfect hand writing I have ever seen especially out of a boy with ADHD. He had the best writing in the class and still does. He carries A's in almost all his classes and 99% in spelling. I am really proud of him. He has made a huge turn around and I dont know what brought about such a turn around but none the less I am Super Duper Proud! He loves football and baseball. He loves to be at the farm or even out on the truck with his Uncle Robert. He and Tanner got and Xbox 360 for their birthdays in October 2009 and now they seem to think that Grand Theft Auto is the bomb and the also love to play one called Need For Speed Under Cover. They play that one Online against other people and they play in the area called cops and robbers. I might add that they are getting very good at it and that kinda scares me :) But boys will be boys. He continues to have laser treatments in Denver every 3-4 months now. He is about to the point where we are just doing maintenence treatments and I am thankful for that. That means we are where we need to be with his treatments and we are just keeping him where he is at so he doesnt get worse and he is about as good as he is gonna get. Poor guy I hate the thought that he has to do this for his entire life.... but nothing could change how much I truly love my son.

Tanner Boy...he's a little mess right. Mouthy as ever, crys all the time, he's a real momma's boy on top of it all. Thats ok tho as I am sure it wont last long. I still get my hugs and kisses everynight from the boys and that's perfect for me :)
Tanner's improvements this year-he reads to me at bedtime now. Some times I cant hardly believe the huge words that he can sound out. He knows some really hard words. Last year it was such a struggle with him and reading but now he reads aloud and reads books to me and I couldnt be happier with that. Of course he is our kid that excels in sports. His report cards always has Mastered under PE. That doesnt suprise me at all. This kid is so sports oriented that I think he eats, sleeps, dreams anything sports. He is so proud of his hoola hooping that he runs around the house begging everyone to watch him. He can throw a ball further than any third grader and can knock a baseball out into the green and he was 5 when he started that. He made a double play on his first t-ball game of the summer 2009 season. He was 6.  LOL! We were very proud of him. He is already sliding into base and he was ready to make bigger plays but with t-ball rules he couldnt. So he is really looking forward to this year since he will move up a league. Brandon also plays so they work together in the back yard all the time. It's nice when they get along :)

Peyton-where to begin with him. He is my baby. My sweet sweet baby. He has a royal temper though. He can get crazy mad and you practically have to sit on him to keep him contained till its over. when it passes he just cries and cries to release his frustrations. I was really worried about him because at the beginning of the school year he started kindergarden.  He was so stubborn that he refused to even write his own name. He was also put into speech therapy because he was having some issues on a couple sounds and they said he should have those at five. I reminded them that he turned 5 the first week school started. Cut off for age is the last day in August and his birthday is the 24th. So he was very close to the cut off date. I was unsure about him. I thought we will see how the first nine weeks goes and I will either pull him out or let him continue. Tho I have let him continue I am thinking that he may have to do kindergarden again. That would be hard. None of the other kids have had to redo any grade and I dont know how I will feel about that. I sure hope that with him being on his medication now for ADHD also that he comes around before the end of school and we make some progress. That is the only thing I can do right now is hope beyond hope that he improves. I dont want him to struggle though either so its a toss up...we will just have to wait and see...

Justin is still at Basic Energy where he has been for the past 10 years. We celebrated our 10 year anniversary in September. I cant believe how fast time flies. It seems just like yesterday that we were married. Now we have 4 children, a home, jobs, kids activities, church and so much more. I was working in wichita on the pediatric floor for Via Christi but the drive got to be to much for a part time job so I quit. I am waiting for the new hospital to open in Greensburg and that is only a 30 minute drive instead of an hour and a half. that puts me way closer to home in case of an emergancy and that is something that I always have to think about with such a large family. That and to be home with them as much as I can when I am not working. I was driving 3 hours a day when I worked and that was just way to much. I could have had two hours or better of that at home had I been working closer. It made for short sleep nights by the time I got home. I was working nights so Justin would be home with the kids at night time. So that is what has been happening in our lives since I last posted. I hope this catches you all up and you continue to stay involved with our lives. If you are far away and not here this is a fabulous way to keep up with what is going on with the children. We love you all~

Haley the Photographer

So Haley has become quite the photographer here lately. She got two digital cameras for Christmas this year. One from Uncle Butch & Aunt Tracy, and the other from Santa. I am glad that she has switched to a digital because it should save me some money vs. her 35mm. I would get her film developed and I would have pictures of things like the carpet, walls, grass, a shoe, the list goes on. I hated her having a camera with film because I couldnt check the pictures before developing them. I am thankful for the digital camera with her in order to save me some money from her stupid picture taking. Why she did stuff like that I have no clue or answer to. Shes a kid and I guess she just wanted to do it I don't know. But now I can have a little more control over what gets developed and what needs to be deleted. What she has taken with the digital she is doing better. She has gotten some pretty good shots. So I wanted to share a little of her skill with everyone.

Mixed Emotions

Ok so the emotions were running deep when it came time for Tylar to move. Haley & Tylar have forever been very close. They hang out together, go to the same school, they are best buds. But on the plus side we got to see Shaelyn for just a short while. She has gotten so big. Shaelyn and Tylar are both taller than me now but thats ok. Shaelyn is so pretty when she wants to be. She only gets ugly when she opens her mouth which is all the time. She is a pistol that is for sure. Though we will all miss Tylar dearly its a good move for him. So they did hang out at our house and I got some good pics of the kids that I will share. So here are some pics of Debbie, Eric, and all the kids at one point or another...They all turned out well....

My Wii Gamers

The only thing they think and breath is the Wii...Tylar will soon be leaving for Wyoming to live with his mom. Its gonna be a good thing. So we will miss you Tylar. But they are having tons of fun on the Wii. Its fun to watch even the little ones like Tanner & Peyton play the games. Tanner is good enough that he even can whip Mom & Dad on some games. Its funny....

Controlled By the Wii

ok so here we are 2 days post christmas and we are controlled by the Wii...but we are having so much fun that 4 controllers arent enough for all of us to play....we seem to have a problem with what game we are playing lately and Haley doesnt seem to share well now....at first it was ok but now not so well.....Tanner is a total gamer now and all he wants to do is play and it has to be some tank game of blowing tanks up...its pretty neat and the kids are very active with it. Its fun to watch them bowl and run through the living room to "throw the ball" its very comical...they are learning fast, made their Mii's and playing it up....well Peyton is running fever so we are headed off to watch Ratatouille...had to shut the game down for a while we were having some fights....so popcorn and a movie it is tonight.....

Let the Unwrapping Begin!

Ok I will share a couple pics of our kids from Christmas...they can make a mess in no time flat...

its quite amazing to watch actually. There is no amount of control or sanity when it comes to opening gifts...they just tear into them we have to snap pictures about as fast as we can...hehehe

Post Christmas

Its all done and over with. The presents unwrapped, the house is a mess, kids are fighting over who got what. I would say all in all its been a good Christmas. The kids got a Wii system this year and it has actually turned out to be a good investment I think. They have enjoyed it like crazy already and chores get done in a hurry already....I wonder how long that will really last. They actually have to be active with the game in order to play it and that makes me happy on these cold days that they cannot go outside that they can keep themselves entertained instead of trying to entertain me with messes to clean as quick as they can make them. It was a good Christmas for them and though they didnt get everything they wanted, I think the game satisfied them beyond their wildest dreams for this year and that was easier on the pocket book of course. Happy Holidays to you all....