The Ross Family Happenings

Post First Day of Kindergarten…

2011-08-20T23:20:00.001-05:00

Most kids crash and crash hard after their first day of all day Kindergarten. She was up by 6am that morning, ready to go. School doesn’t start until 9…oy…

This kid does not crash. She was so pumped after her first day, she swam…she swam for 3 HOURS!!!!…

…tis the season…

2011-08-20T22:56:00.001-05:00

…for new crayon boxes, sharpened pencils, and new duds. Yep, the new school year is here and we are REA….DY!!!

We had ‘Meet the teacher’ on Tuesday night and started school on Wednesday….well, Tuck started. Sawyer had to wait until Thursday because of the Kindergartners easing into the schedule, but they are now both off and running…

She found her desk right away…

Tuck showing her around the Kindergarten room…

”you sooo don’t want to have to sit in that chair, Sawyer…”

We got the great news that Miss Jacks gets to stay in the Ross family. She is Sawyer’s Kindergarten teacher too…we LOVE her…

Tucker found his desk in Mrs. Stemple’s room…

She is so SUPER cute and fun!…

There he is….my big First Grader…on his first day…tear…

And there is that KINDERGARTNER!!! I can’t even believe that she’s going to big girl school. She looks so little next to the other kids…but her personality sure makes up for her size…

And then there’s this kid in the middle…

…the sweet sweet baby who I was sure could not live without them all day…

…nope…he’s good…never asked about them once…

…there they go…together…that makes me happy…

…and there’s Sasserella at her absolute happiest…she’s been waiting for this for a whole year…

Yeah…she owns it. Doesn’t she just look like a teacher?!?…

It’s gonna be a GREAT year!!!!

Summer Wrap-up ‘11

2011-08-20T21:48:00.000-05:00

So the summer has come and gone in a milli-second. Branson is an every year thing for the Ross’s but this was Sawyer’s first year to get to go out for T-ball. She loved the sport, loved her coach, and is pretty excited for next year. She is showing some pretty fantastic athletic ability. She may be my mini-me but she is so much more in to sports and competition than I ever was…

Those helmets are so darn big…

We were able to go back to Lake Wilson at the end of July for our ‘almost’ annual Ross/Bucholtz family camping trip. We went 2 years ago but were unable to meet up last year due to harvest schedules…darn Mother Nature…you just never know what her plan is. We were so happy to get to go back this year. That lake is beautiful and it is never boring when this family gets together…

From this camping trip, Tucker and Sawyer left for Granny Camp…quite possibly THE BEST part of summer for both them and me…joking…I miss them every time they go, but this really gives them a great trip to the farm + THE BEST COUNTY FAIR IN THE STATE OF KANSAS…and it gives me a chance to get started on yet another home improvement project.

Darrin, Porter, and I made it in time for the parade and fair…specifically the DEMO DERBY…

OH YeAh!!!!

(thanks for the pics, Grandma Bucholtz…darn camera battery)

And… maybe the biggest news of the summer…………………………………………..

TUCKER FINALLY LOST HIS FIRST 2 TEETH!

yep… a little freaked out by the fact that he had been working on those darn things for about 5 months….a little freaked out by the fact that it took one face-plant into papa’s pool table…and A LOT freaked out by the fact that that pool table interaction knocked not 1 but 2 right out of that kisser…

(both above pics taken by cell phone…we just weren’t prepared for this)

And the thing is…the 2 baby teeth took so long to come out, the 2 permanent ones were completely through about 2 months ago…crazy lookin’ kid! He may be a little snaggle-toothed right now but we’re really REALLY hoping they find their way to the front of his jaw and quit growing towards his tongue…ewwwww….

No matter what, he’ll always be handsome in his mama’s eyes.

A 5th Birthday and Branson Part 2….

2011-06-21T16:29:00.000-05:00

And it wouldn’t be Branson without lil’ miss Sasserella celebrating a birthday…NUMBER 5!!!…AHHHH….where is the time going?

And who got to spend her 5th birthday tubing on Table Rock?….

Tucker got on the tube for the first time this year and LOVED it!

Oh Porter-man…

…didn’t love it so much…

There’s that birthday girl…after a long day in the lake…

My dad enjoying Sawyer’s scuba set…

She’s a fish…

….and a rockstar…

…and a ham…

THE WINNER OF THE WRISTBAND COMPETITION…

Mom and dad’s ‘cottage’ at Stormy Point…

Secret handshakes with cousins

…Beautiful scenery…

…fun in the sun…

…and FAMILY….

Goodbye Branson…see you in a year!

Branson 2011 Part 1…

2011-06-20T15:17:00.000-05:00

And here we are again for our 5th year at Big Cedar. Every year gets more and more fun. Candy and Rich joined us again this year and it was great.

Bass Pro Shop…So completely amazing with all the wildlife exhibits…

Joe’s Crab Shack is always a favorite…

Do you see how well behaved my sister’s boys are? Completely patient while waiting for their meal…

…and then there is mine…Uncle Erick is so completely thrilled to get to sit next to her…

Yes…CRABBY would be the right adjective. How did that waiter know him so well…

We got to stay in cabins this year. SO completely awesome!…and so are pantless 2 year olds…

On one of the nights, we all saw a show on this showboat…REALLY fun…

These guys were fantastic…And this girl … WOW! You can’t see in the picture, but she has a violin strapped to her. Yes…she played it while doing THIS!…

This is what a posed picture of my kids tends to look like…

SO fun!

A fun game of washers…

The Lincoln Log table …

Spring Dance Recital

2011-05-20T18:12:00.000-05:00

We were so lucky to have so much family in town the weekend of Sawyer’s spring dance recital. Trevor (cousin) graduated the same weekend so it all turned out just perfect. We love cousin Lexi and especially the her talents with stage makeup…

There’s that sweet little butterfly. This costume was my favorite…even if little miss didn’t want to do this dance for ANYTHING!…

She would do this thing with her lips because of the lipstick…..SO funny…

The monkey dance…

I’m gonna be honest. For as ready as my daughter was for this part of her childhood to be over (dance), she was BY FAR the best at the monkey dance…

Yep…great form…

POST Pre-K

2011-05-17T18:01:00.000-05:00

There she is…1 day of Preschool left…

And there she is being Sawyer…We got to join our kids on the last day for a picnic lunch. Of course, the weather never cooperates in Kansas so it turned into an indoor activity. That’s OK, though. A picnic’s a picnic, right?…

Mrs. Wright…

Mrs. Slack…

The next time I see this, it will be her FIRST day of KINDERGARTEN!!!!…oh my…

Emily and Sawyer are great friends. Susie (Emily’s mom) and I are great friends…

and…these 2 will both be going to the same elementary school in the fall..YAY!!!

Sawyer’s Spring Program ‘11 … Kidslink Goes Prehistoric

2011-05-02T17:48:00.000-05:00

I love watching this kid perform. She never disappoints. I hope she never loses her stage presence.

We love Kidslink Preschool. We are 2 for 3 right now. Kinda sad to think that we only get to watch one more go through this preschool program….BUT…taking a year off of monthly tuition…I can handle that

Kindergarten…here she comes…

2011-04-28T17:38:00.000-05:00

She is so ready to start school…independent…strong…ready. She won’t miss me….but I’ll miss her. When I tell her I love her, I ALWAYS get, “I love you too, Mom.” I don’t get this with the boys. She’s a hugger/lover and a fighter all rolled into one….I love that kid…

Easter 2011

2011-04-22T16:25:00.000-05:00

Tuck’s Spring Kindergarten Program

2011-04-14T16:23:00.000-05:00

Car Talk…

2011-04-08T20:03:00.001-05:00

Let me just start by expressing my love love LOVE for Volkswagon Bugs. I have an affection for them all – old ones, new ones, broken down ones, flourescent orange ones…it doesn’t much matter. I love them all. I had a little white 1973(?..if I remember right) when I was in high school. It never ran and once I had to drive it home backwards because the ‘drive’ part of the transmission went out but for some reason ‘reverse’ was in mint condition…..but I didn’t care. I loved that car and cried when my dad got rid of it. When I was a little girl…probably 4 or 5 … one of my favorite memories with my grandpa Willey was the many times I would get into his little yellow VW bug and dream of one day owning it…. my favorite thing --- the gas pedal was in the shape of an actual FOOT…yes, toes and all. I loved that car, hence starting my love of the beetle

SO…to the car talk part of this post…..

We’re driving down the road tonight and I see a BEAUTIFUL little cream colored bug CONVERTIBLE…soooo cute! I told Tuck that one day, when he is rich and in the position to take care of his mama, I would like him to buy me a convertible bug just like the one seen….maybe in yellow though…I don’t know…my tastes may change by the time I’m 70….what does Tuck say? He says NOTHING! He sits there with a ‘you’re joking, right?’ look on his face. Then says,

“Mom, those are like……. two hundred….fifty bucks!!!!”

Oh son….how I wish they were…how I wish they were

Family Fun Night ‘11

2011-04-04T15:58:00.000-05:00

Every other year, McCollom Elementary puts on a family fun night…and boy, was it ever fun! There were games in every classroom, facepainting, water fights with Mr. O’D the pe teacher, and fantastic carnival food. What a great time! This year’s theme was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate. Because we really couldn’t use Willy Wonka’s name, it was perfect to incorporate our principal’s name. And so, Mr. Walcka’s Chocolate Factory was born

Here is Sawyer getting her crazy braid put in…

Yep, that’s Mr. O’D. He’s great!…

Porter doesn’t like to be left out of the current trends. He refused to leave the crazy braid booth. He wanted one so bad. Can I just say that anytime Sawyer and I want to paint our toenails, we have to wait until Ports lays down for a nap….zy

Mr. Walck’a’ himself….

And our fav, Miss Jacks…

Spring Break ‘11

2011-03-29T14:55:00.000-05:00

We got to spend this year’s spring break in Darrin’s and my most favorite place on earth…that would be Colorado. Darrin’s uncle has a completely gorgeous ranch just outside of Alamosa and we were lucky enough to get to spend the week in his guest house. The kids LOVED the horses and everything about this vacation. No tv or cell phone service and we all survived and didn’t even miss it.

BEAUTIFUL…

Little man LOVED feeding those horses…

These next 2 are for my ‘Twilight’ loving friends…NOT joking, this dog is part WOLF! Yes, you heard me. There is a man who live close to Wayne and Nancy that breeds them. He was so gentle…and gorgeous!….

It wasn’t ALL perfect…and beautiful…and gorgeous…and happy family…

Riding horses with Wayne…

Feeding the fish in the pond with Nancy…

There were deer everywhere…EVERYWHERE!!!! Herds and herds….

We went to the sand dunes on just about the windiest day we could have. They are completely amazing. You could see them off of Wayne and Nancy’s land and everyday, because of the winds, they would look different…simply amazing…

Those little ‘specs’ are people hiking the dunes…WOW!…

When I was 8 years old, I learned how to snow ski in this little mountain town. The small lift is still there but no longer running. This was pretty much the only shop open.

The rock formations outside Cuchara are incredible….

We went to a crocodile farm…evidently a huge tourist attraction for southern Colorado. It was horrible and I will never take my kids to it again. We could have renewed our zoo membership to our beautiful, well kept, humane zoo for the price we paid for the 5 of us to go. I’ll sum it up – there was a dead goose at the entry gate that no worker was planning on cleaning up, my 3 kids got to walk past a worker skinning a crocodile, it was freezing cold outside (snowing actually) and there were tons of animals left outside…. Aren’t crocs warm, humid weather animals?… and there was trash in cages. Just not a big fan of the croc farm…

And did I mention there were deer everywhere? Yep, even in people’s front yards. It was crazy!

We had such a great time! The kids and I had never met Wayne and Nancy before and they just couldn’t have been more gracious. They never had kids of their own but you would never know it by how great they were with ours. Thanks Wayne and Nancy!!!

mice, leprechauns, and a horse…oh my!…..

2011-03-28T12:30:00.000-05:00

This once a month blogging is really putting me in a funk. There’re all these things I should be journaling but I either forget about the moment 2 minutes after it happens, am never at the computer, or this 2 year old in this house has me running like a mad woman….the latter…yes, the latter The kids are getting older, which means I am getting busier, which means I am losing my mind!!!!! …. it’s all a vicious cycle

Sawyer was Star of the Week the week of March 14-18. this years class mascot is a little Church Mouse. I kind of felt sad for this one…up until now, they have all had a name. This one…just Mouse….hmmm…

Sawyer was so excited when she was FINALLY picked as SOTW. If you remember, the one concern with Sawyer in a classroom situation is that she ALWAYS wants to be FIRST! I’m pretty sure her teachers rigged the ‘pull the name out of a can’ system. TOTALLY fine with this mama. It was so good for her to wait her turn.

Of course, St. Patty’s Day was the 17th. Those crazy little green men made a visit to our house in the middle of the night. The kids just couldn’t believe they did what they did!!!! Even a potty break!!!…are you kidding me?????!!!!!! obnoxious I tell you, just obnoxious!

and….do you see why every minute of every day is consumed with this ‘lil’ cowboy’?…..

yikes!

Next up: Our spring break in Colorado

Snow Day…

2011-02-09T16:10:00.001-06:00

Today - Tucker was home from school due to the snow. I tend to let things hang over my head – the snow could not have come at a more perfect time. I wondered when we would get his Valentine’s (mail)box done before Monday, as well as getting all of his Valentine’s for his friends done. TODAY WAS THE DAY!!!!

Sawyer was snowed in out at Grandma’s so she will have to sign hers when she gets home

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

…if I don’t get back on here before Monday…which could be very likely

….and a BIG thanks to my mom for keeping the other 2 today. Tuck and I would never have gotten all of these done…THANKS MOM

That’s my girl….

2011-02-04T20:01:00.001-06:00

There was ZERO fighting with this little chica today.

That’s a big deal… a REALLY big deal. All day…”thanks, Mom”…”ok, Mom”…”I love you, Mom”. We’ve been struggling the last couple of weeks…shoot, MONTHS would be more accurate. I’ve had to really think about what I’m doing and saying to her as her mother. She’s strong…very, very strong. I had a small phone conference with her preschool teacher a few weeks ago. I had so many questions regarding how she treats others at school, how she treats her teachers, how she handles ‘no’, etc, etc… Mrs. Wright had wonderful things to say about her…(Praise you, My Lord)…but… there was one little thing, “Sawyer always wants to be first. ALWAYS” Sawyer struggles with taking turns and always wants to be first at everything. She’s highly (to put it lightly) competitive and won’t take no for an answer. These qualities will definitely benefit her as a grown woman but as a 4 year old….this mama is WORN out.

Today was a breakthrough, a true breakthrough….not one fight, not one…..I should re-phrase that…not one fight WITH HER MOM…the boys, on the other hand….well they’re just gonna have to deal --- she is the only girl afterall

Christmas 20….10 … :-)

2011-02-03T00:20:00.001-06:00

Welp… the photo card is full so I guess it’s about time I posted our Christmas 2010 photos. Yes, I know my promptness is unbelievably mind-warping

Here she is performing at her preschool’s Christmas program. Everyone in jammies… so cute

Santa and Christmas day at our house this year.

This is the look of a man who can no longer handle the Christmas morning excitement of 3 young children….

I told him he needed to quit being a less.than.happy.can’t.stand.the.screaming.running.fighting.SCREAMING.children parent. He understood

I, yes, I, Dina, the non-cooking type decided to take on Christmas dinner this year. It was stressful and I can’t believe my mom has done it for so many years… but I really really enjoyed it. The turkey was not charbroiled nor raw and the sides actually got done all at the same time. My mom was a HUGE help, though. Pretty sure she knew she should probably intervene

We celebrated the Willey family Christmas on the evening of the 26th over at my parent’s house. This is always fun but more-so this year. Maybe it was the ‘no need to rush on Christmas morning’ feeling or maybe it was the beer… regardless, it was A LOT of fun…

This thing was hilarious! I’ve always seen them at Bed Bath & Beyond but wondered who in the heck would actually buy one… ummmm… that would be my SISTER! She bought it for her daughter Tabitha… ummm… but everyone wanted a try. I have to admit, I even tried it when no-one else was looking and it’s …. FANTASTIC!!!! I highly recommend it….

Ok, the next series of pictures are SO typical mother/ daughter behavior in the Willey house…

My sister opened this present from our mom. Mind you, the mat was not underneath…

This is where my sister about wet her pants because she’s thinking our mother has fallen off her rocker and has given her a handle for her bathtub.. you know, all those times her 40 year old body needs help getting out of the tub…

This is Mom trying her best to explain but my sister and I are laughing too hard to even hear a single word she’s saying…

It’s just too hard to control…

Mom is still trying to explain…

Mom is starting to give up….

It all turned out though. Turns out, it’s this really cool tool for quilters (my sister’s quilts are AMAZING) to hold down their ruler thingies while they’re cutting. I think it’s alternate bathroom use sounds good too though.

Christmas 2010 was a blast and I got to posting this so late, Christmas 2011 is just around the corner. See, there’s always a method to my madness

It’s the most wonderful time….

2010-12-07T19:32:00.001-06:00

And…. as it has been for the last 5 years, the girl wanted NOTHING to do with the man in red. I sure wish I would have thought to twist around and get her picture as she was hanging on for dear life to my coat tail hiding her face and yelling at me “no Mom…no… I don’t want to see him… NOOOO”

We were in St. Francis for Thanksgiving and Tucker and Darrin went back last weekend for deer season…

Daddy missed Sawyer’s first dance recital but we got plenty of pictures and video….

“Enough with the camera already, MOM!”

Balloon.... fun?.....

2010-12-06T23:39:00.000-06:00

A little more 'fun' from Porter's Birthday. Pretty sure this will pay for his college fund:-)

2 year old in the HOUSE….

2010-12-05T21:27:00.001-06:00

Well, for the 3rd and final time, the Ross house has hit the 2’s. Terrible?… maybe. Totally cute… absolutely. Porter man had his big day back on NOVEMBER 10 … yep, MOTY (mom of the year) again…

The boy would have been completely happy with every gift being a balloon. LOVES them…

Octopus and seaweed… you KNOW you want the recipe…

Every load of Porter’s laundry includes about 2 cups of pebbles in the pockets. He has an obsession. What better cupcake topper than rocks???… in the chocolate flavor of course…

The Grandma’s My mom’s birthday is the same day as Porter’s and Darrin’s mom’ is just 2 days earlier. I’d say these ladies got a pretty special birthday present 2 years ago…

Ports, you amaze us everyday. You’re a little man of few words but you know what you want and EXACTLY when you want it You are so busy and keep us constantly on our toes but your curiosity about this big world is so fun to watch. Love you little-big man

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T00:04:00.001-05:00

Once upon a Halloween there was a colorful clown…

A whimsical pumpkin…

And Batman …. a BLUE Batman…

The evening started out great….

Until that snarky pumpkin thought she would ‘borrow’ some of the clown’s candy…

That didn’t go over too well…

… AT ALL…

Batman…

Clown…

And pumpkin….

….decided to meet up with some friends for a great adventure which involved lots and LOTS of candy…

Until next year when we will have bigger buckets

One hand down….

2010-10-24T17:05:00.001-05:00

Yep, I am mother of the year. My oldest turned 6 almost a month ago and I’m so very promptly getting it blogged. I’m amazing

No more telling people how old he is on one hand. Tucker now has to use both hands.

This was Tuck’s first ‘real’ birthday party. Up until now, the parties have pretty much consisted of brother, sister, Grandma, and Grandpa. Since he is still convinced that he wants to be an owl man when he grows up, I thought the perfect place to have his first ‘real’ party would be out at the Eagle Valley Raptor Center. When we were told that there should be no running, yelling, being loud, etc… I was beginning to wonder about the fun factor for a bunch of 3-6 year olds. But honestly, the kids could have cared less. The animals were absolutely amazing.

Grandma Willey made that absolutely adorable owl cake. She did such a fantastic job. Mr. Lockwood aka ‘Owl Man’ was so impressed. He asked if he could put pictures of it in his brochure Thanks Mom! It made the party perfect.

Yep, that’s a dead mouse that that bird’s eating. There was a lot of that….

I love my friend Maranda’s face…. the kids were mesmerized – she was completely grossed out.

I love this owl. My high school mascot was an owl. This one reminds me so much of good old GP.Tuck got to feed one of the birds since he was the birthday boy. It happened to be the vulcher. Kinda gross but ok… He looks like he’s sick right here….those dead mice were nasty…… but really he was just taking a bow….Dead mice flying through the air…

Terror…. pure terror….

Mr. Lockwood taught Tucker “Eagle-language”….

So amazing and beautiful…

I had to include this one. Kara and I are busy trying to arrange their marriage.

Pretty sure he’s starting to get tired of the traditional birthday plate picture. You’ve got at least 12 years left of this babe…

Treats for the Kindergarten class…

This little girl is Karsyn. She makes Tucker’s life crazy but they are really great friends at the same time. She torments him on a daily basis but I’m pretty sure he loves it.

And the sweet little girl in red is Katie. Bless her heart. Every class has a Katie. She was not at all impressed with the Trix on Stix. She asked me if I had brought any other treats. She said she only likes healthy cereal like Lucky Charms and Fruity Pebbles. Oh sweet sweet Katie…

Oh those hands…No birthday is complete without a few super hero appearances…

Abs of steel…Oh Tucker…. I can’t believe you are 6. You are in school and have completely grown up overnight. You can sound out simple words and now read to me at bedtime. The beginning of the school year started off pretty rough. Lots of tears and long goodbyes in the morning. Now you get out of the van and walk in like you’ve been doing it for years. So many people have told me that once a child enters Kindergarten, don’t blink because you’ll miss everything. Those people were so right. The first quarter is already done. Why does time go so fast??? I love you my little man…. more and more every day.

And then there’s Pig Pen…. this kid has a permanent cloud of filth surrounding him. It doesn’t matter that this was right after eating birthday cake. He is ALWAYS dirty….

10 on 10

2010-09-10T21:28:00.001-05:00

September 10, 2010

Lady Gaga goes to Pre-K…

2010-09-08T20:14:00.001-05:00

Yep, there she is…. my daughter the rockstar headed out to her first day and last year of preschool…

Gotta have those new fancy shoes – Thanks Grandma:-)….

She went in so fast I couldn’t even get a picture with her and her teachers…

“Have a great day, Honey… I’ll see you in a few hours….” That’s Mrs. Wright. She’s pretty fantastic….:-)

Sawyer is my easy goin’ kid. My boys are …. let’s just say it…. they’re mama’s boys. OK, I said it. They will hate me for it later in life but that’s just the way it is right now. And honestly, I’m ok with that. Sawyer is my independent one. If she’s emotional, she doesn’t want to show it. If she’s hurt or not feeling well, she brushes it off. She loves school and doesn’t think twice about missing me. … at least she doesn’t show it. She’s a middle child and that makes her an adapter… if that’s a word? She adapts to everything. There are things that really bug her and tick her off (believe me) but in general she has such a fantastic attitude and outlook on life. I love love LOVE that! There are days when I look at her and wish I could be more like her. She’s funny, loving, and definitely marches to the beat of her own drum… which again, I LOVE! She’s our only girl. That not only makes her special, but it also means these boys get to have a girl (other than mom) in their lives…. and a really COOL one at that:-)

I had to include this series of pictures. I tend to enjoy holding the button down on the camera to get a ‘play by play’:-) I think she pinched her finger in the seat belt… that, or realized her fingernail polish is chipping… she’s getting a little more ‘girlie girl’ everyday… I never said she wasn’t dramatic…:-)

Just another day, huh Ports….:-)

1 MAJOR milestone down….Can I really handle this?….

2010-08-19T12:13:00.001-05:00

My first born ventured into a world the other day that I really was not quite sure if I was ready to let him enter. BUT… it’s not about me, it’s about him. It’s about him being excited for Kindergarten and all the new adventures that come when he enters school for the first time. After our Kindergarten Round-up experience, I was really struggling with the actual FIRST day. About 2 weeks ago, I decided to not let my mind go to that place and let things fall where they may.

Last week, we had ‘Meet the Teacher’ night at Tuck’s school and I think this was what put him in his ‘happy place’. He got to meet Miss Jacks for the first time and realized just how fun she was going to be…although the look on his face looks like pure fright, I think he was just taking it all in….

‘Good Job’ card…… and ‘NOT such a Good Job’ card. We hope this card never gets pulled…

I do think he’s pretty pumped about sitting a table with 3 other girls…. oh my boy!!!!…That’s Ella…

Tuesday was Tuck’s actual first day. This getting up thing is going to be a struggle for this little guy. I’m not sure how I’m going to handle him as a teenager…

There he goes….:-(….

I’m going to miss seeing this little face in my rearview mirror throughout the day…

And there she is… Miss Jacks… Tucker absolutely loves her! She is fantastic! We are so blessed to have her be such a HUGE part of his life for the next 9 months. But she will FOREVER be his Kindergarten teacher:-)…

His ‘space’….

My morning therapy…. I haven’t been to SB in months but if there was ever a morning I needed a little mood booster, it was Tuesday morning…

Tuesday was a very ROUGH day for me. I did so well up until I saw the school buses rolling in at the school. It’s as if the last (almost) 6 years flashed in front of my face as fast as they seemed to go by in real time. I think back to the time in my life when I was never going to have kids. Tuck and his brother and sister are now the ‘imprint’ that I will leave on this earth…(whoa… gettin’ a little deep, Dina) I am SO SO proud of who this little guy has became and excited to see what the future holds for him.

Now this poor little miss just didn’t know what to do with herself all day Tuesday. About 20 minutes after we got home, she wanted to know when we were going to go pick up ‘Tucko’. I told her he’d be at school all day. She let out a big sigh and said, “I wike my bwutho…” Poor baby. They spend a lot of time together and now her little world is in for a big change…

I picked him up and was SOOOO excited to see him. I told him how much I had missed him all day and I asked if he had missed me. His response, “Not really, Mom. I wasn’t really ready for you to pick me up.” And I was worried that he couldn’t handle ALL-DAY Kindergarten???? :-) Happy Day!

The County Fair ends with a parade and CRAZY drivers….

2010-08-19T01:41:00.001-05:00

The perfect ending to a perfect week? Well, a parade and DEMOLITION derby, of course! Granny Camp is always centered around the fair. This was Tuck and Sawyer’s first Granny Camp experience but they can be assured that they will get to enjoy all this small town goodness every year. Saturday morning was the downtown parade… Here comes the candy… Only in a small town parade is the a semi-truck with a warning sign attached…

…followed by a dozen 4-wheelers spinning their tires in tubs of water to create a cool shower for the crowd --- PERFECT!…

That little man has some fast, yet short, legs…

… and this is where Darrin had to start to ‘intervene’…

That tootsie roll-lovin’-sucker-catchin’-parade-cheerin’ boy was no longer a happy camper… … until the float with the popsicles came by… WHAT A GREAT IDEA AT A HOT SUMMER PARADE!!!!

Later that evening, it was time for the Demolition Derby. I’m here to admit that I’ve NEVER seen anything like this in my life! The only thing I’ve seen closely resemble this was an episode of ‘Happy Days’. WOW! That’s really all I can say. Men putting tons of time, money, and energy into a junky car just to crash it time after time… after time… AFTER TIME into each other… I L.O.V.E.D. IT! I know… really? Really! Now… I’m not saying I ever want to see any of my own children participate in this particular sport, I’m just sayin’ that this would be something I can see myself attending again next year:-)…

Poor ‘Cody’ had to be air lifted by front loader in order to make it out of the arena…

Before….

…and….After….

Adam works for Grandpa Bucholtz at the hardware store and has been doing this every year since he was able to drive. His car went to demo derby heaven but he re-assured us that he had 13 more cars waiting in his pasture for their turn in the arena. Some guys keep cows in their pastures… Adam keeps run down hunks of metal in his…:-)… Great Job Adam!

Granny Camp 2010 ended for the Ross kids but how can anyone be sad when this is what we got to enjoy on the ride home…

Granny Camp … Fair Time!

2010-08-12T08:40:00.001-05:00

Yes, you’re reading that right. 25 CENTS per ticket. Now if you’d like to experience $1 per ticket come on down to our Sedgwick County fair…. Hellooooo airplanes…. On come the propellers… Good thing Darrin is sitting on that side of the ride:-) … No cotton candy in a bag or plastic bucket at this fair. Yep, that’s the real deal…. Rug burn on the forehead – don’t ask…. Got Cotton Candy? … I can’t believe that this was my first fair experience in St. Francis. It’s truly as if I stepped back in time. Have you ever heard of a county owning all it’s own rides? 25 CENTS per ticket --- I just can’t get over that:-) The townspeople work in shifts running the rides and games…. no creepy Carnies. My kids could run and do what they wanted without me being a total wreck as to who was going to steal them. We will be coming back:-) …Next up… the parade and DEMOLITION DERBY… oh man!

10 on 10

2010-08-10T21:13:00.001-05:00

August 10, 2010

:-) …. :-(

2010-08-04T22:32:00.001-05:00

I miss my kids:-( They should be the ones missing me… but I miss them.

I will see all 3 tomorrow:-)

I went to buy Tucker’s school supplies today:-(

I love brand new crayon boxes:-)

I wish I could use them with him:-(

All the painting is done:-)

There are still a gazillion projects that need to be completed in this house:-(

They will have to wait because I will be bringing my kids home from Granny Camp very soon:-)

Granny Camp 2010

2010-08-04T00:49:00.001-05:00

Ahhh…. life is good… Summer meant many things to me as a child. But the number one thing I always remember was getting to go to Grandma and Grandpa Willey’s house for one week long with NO PARENTS. This was my favorite part of summer.

This is the first of many summers for my kids to enjoy the same thing. Tucker and Sawyer have been on the farm since Sunday night. I will go on Thursday to join them. They are having the time of their lives… They have called about two times a day which is far less than I was expecting. They have evidently been giving each other rides on the lawnmower. This is safe, right? My mother-in-law would never put my children in harm’s way:-) I had a city grandma so this farm thing may take a few summers for me to get used to leaving them there without me, but if their phone calls are any clue to how things are going…. they’re going great! So far they have ridden the lawn mower, caught grasshoppers, and gone swimming. The county fair starts on Wednesday so they really went up on the perfect week. Their 9 year old cousin Cooper (from KC) is there also and the 3 of them are having the best time together.

Where is Porter? Well, I thought I would ease Granny B into the Ross children and not throw all 3 of them at her at once. Porter has been at his own Granny Camp over at Grandma Willey’s house the last few days. According to the lasted reports, he is now nearly off of this… My mom is a Wonder Woman! I know, I know… a 20 month old still on a bottle… blah, blah, blah…. I feel guilty enough about. He doesn’t need it all the time, just when he’s tired. Evidently mom is having great success with him. We’ll see how his mom does when he comes home. The cabinet is being cleared out tomorrow! No more ba ba’s! Lord help me!

As soon as the older 2 left I started in on this…

The living room is now painted, the kids’ hallway is now painted, all the trim is now painted, the living room window panes are now painted, the doors to the kids’ rooms and hallway door are almost painted, and the living room tv cabinet is painted! God Bless Grandma’s!!!! My kids are so lucky to not only have one Grandma but two that would leap tall buildings in a single bound for them:-) And I am so lucky to have these women by my side giving me my sanity back:-)

Just another HOT day….

2010-07-28T18:27:00.001-05:00

I’ve been MIA from the blog world for a few weeks. There’s been plenty of action, I’ve just missed getting the time to post anything. Between visits from family and a TON of projects that needed completed, I haven’t been in much of a mood to write, take pictures, function. You see, I lost one very special, dear, significant, admired, LOVED person in my life. My Grandma Willey traveled home to her forever destination where she joined my grandpa:-) This was a hard thing for me to go through but I am SO SO blessed to have had her in my life. Every child needs that one person in his/her life that is always in her corner rooting her on with pom poms in one hand and a batch of homemade peanut butter bars in the other. She was that for me. Grandma really deserves her own post on here so I’m not going to go into great depth today.

Tuck, Sawyer, and Porter: I want you to know what a precious woman she was. When I have more time, I will get pictures and stories … and RECIPES (she was a fabulous baker:-) on here so that you may know the great legacy that has been left to you:-)

…. ok… tears all wiped:-)

TODAY --- and the last few weeks for that matter have been hot, hot, HOT! I wish I was brave enough to take all 3 to the pool by myself but they are just at a water+age = SCARY stage right now. And Lord knows my swimming skills are a big, fat, goose-egg, ZERO! Soooo…. we resort to keeping busy here.

Beading this morning…

I know, weird, right? My kids LOVE this. They see me doing it and ALWAYS want to ‘help’. They honestly do a really great job and it keeps them busy FOREVER!….. loooovvvveeee that:-) Of course, this only takes place when Porter is down for a nap.:-) Can you even imagine????

Next was Sonic. Happy Hour: 2-4 baby! Where else can you get a frozen treat for $.50???? Their favorites: slushies of course! …

No matter the flavor, they always want 2 real cherries in their cup. It’s a BIG deal if this step is skipped. It’s not pretty… just sayin’ :-)…

Oh, and this Sonic fix is ONLY enjoyed OUTSIDE. This boy is a disaster when it comes to cups with lids and straws. Water is one thing. Sticky, syrupy, slushy mess is a whole other story…

He’s SuPeR cute until…. …he starts doing this… … and she joins in on the fun…

Do you see that drip of pure sugar hanging from is elbow? THAT’S what I’m talkin’ about…

Today was a good day:-) I love that….

Can she really be 4 years old???…

2010-06-29T11:09:00.001-05:00

Just call me Mother of the Year. There was a birthday in our house 2 weeks ago and I am just now getting around to documenting it… geesh!

My one and only girl is no longer what I would consider a toddler. Why is there such a huge difference between 3 and 4? You tell people you have a 3 year old and they’re still little… kind of on the tail end of toddler-hood… Then all of a sudden overnight (literally) you have a 4 year old. An almost-ready-for-school-totally-independent-ready-to-take-over-all-things-that-used-to-be-mom’s-job 4 YEAR OLD! Our Branson trip always falls very close to Sass-erella’s birthday. --We’ve been calling her that since she was tiny and now she’s developed this strong attraction toward the REAL Cinderella…. go figure…

Anyway, we celebrated a few days early while in Branson…

This pinata had NO idea what he was in for…

Of course her actual birthday (June 15) was a few days after we got back and so of course the BIG EVENT seemed to turn into a week long celebration. Doesn’t it always??? :-) ….

Some jewels…

Some shoes…

A bat….hmmm…

and…

ummm….

wow…

okaaayyyyy…

Yep, Sass-erella turned Sharp Shooter

Meanwhile Mr. Rough and Tough….hmmmm….what’s wrong with this picture?…

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! I can’t believe you’re 4! Your dad went into your room the night of June 14th to kiss you goodnight. Before he did, he told me he was going in to kiss his 3 year old daughter goodnight for the last time. Of course I cried. You’re growing up too fast but I sure am loving watching my one and only daughter keep developing into such a strong, independent, determined young lady…. sometimes a little too determined…

just a little tiny eensy weensy bit:-)

Table Rock 2010

2010-06-16T00:54:00.001-05:00

Last week marked our annual trip ‘down south’ to Branson. I’d love to say that we had a fabulous time but I’m just going to be honest and say that once we got there, I was ready to turn around and come home. My kids started fighting and it NEVER stopped. They drove me nuts, Darrin nuts, my sister and her family nuts, my aunt and her husband nuts, and worst of all my parents nuts. I’ve mentioned this before… my folks own 2 time shares down there and are so completely generous to basically pay for my sister and I AND our families to have a real vacation away from homes. These time shares aren’t just motel rooms or condos…. they are nice – REALLY nice. Of course, my sisters kids were perfect the entire time and mine had to be complete crabby brats. [yes children, I know this is YOUR blog but really in all honesty you need to know what you put me through on vacations when you were 1, 3, and 5. HELL – COMPLETE HELL!!! But I love you :-) ] I think it’s way worse when there are other kids along and they are the angels and mine are the spawns of satan. I’m starting to understand that vacations are no longer about rest and relaxation. They are now about keeping children entertained for hours upon hours and days upon days. As long as we were doing something that they enjoyed, the fighting was at bay but unfortunately we DID have to go back to the lodge and heaven forbid we eat out at a place that served food on glass plates with metal utensils and HOLY COW --- shopping???? Really? How dare I enjoy myself in a store. That’s just absurd!

I’m starting to sound a little trite towards my kids … “simmer down, Dina” … as rotten as my kids were, we SOOOO appreciate just getting to leave town for a while. Thanks Mom and Dad:-) Maybe next time we’ll hire a babysitter to come along with us:-) Now that’s a real family vacation. HA!!!!

Pretty much Tucker’s face on the entire trip…

All of the grandkids (except Porter… he was asleep on the boat) and the ONLY time Tuck would step foot on the the tube…

There were a few smiles as long as we were in the pool. That was nice to see… :-)

Not liking this ride…

not liking it one bit…

Ok, maybe it’s not as bad as I thought…

On the last day, my Aunt Candy brought over something so completely special and something that reminded me to just let some things go. There are things in this world so much more important than me worrying over fighting kids, tantrums, or what other people think. And those ‘things’ just happen to be these little ‘gifts’ from God. This quilt made me cry. It makes me cry just writing about it. This quilt represents what happens when two people fall in love… when they are crazy enough to have a family… when they realize that life is short and these little people will be grown and gone before we can even say, “How many times do I have to tell you….”.

Thank You Candy. You have no idea how much this precious precious gift means to me. You went through hundreds of pictures and completely managed to pick THE most perfect ones that tell the story of who my kids really are. They are not spawns of satan or rotten brats… they are each unique, sweet little people with their own individual personalities who may throw tantrums and scream hateful words at one another…. but they’re kids and if they didn’t act the way they do, …..they wouldn’t be Tucker, Sawyer, and Porter. I’ll keep ‘em:-) I LOVE it, Candy… I really really love it:-)

….and by the way…. who are those two people in the middle???? Not sure I recognize them:-)

Goodbye Big Cedar! See you next year …

A little dancing, a little mud, and a WHOLE lot of clorox….

2010-06-02T19:42:00.001-05:00

And now presenting, the outstanding ballroom dancing talents of ‘twinkling toes’ Tucker and ‘sultan of swing’ Sawyer performing their version of Dancing with the ~~Stars~~ Siblings…

Evidently, she didn’t get the memo on NO DANCING IN THE MUD PUDDLES….

It really didn’t look this bad from far away…And this is the part where she realizes what her pants look like… …and… this is the part where she realizes mom has seen what her pants look like… Clorox to the rescue!!!!… “Dancing - Shmancing… I’m more a flower man myself…”

Didn’t I just post about the first day of school?…. and now it’s the last…

2010-05-31T12:00:00.001-05:00

The kids had their last day of Preschool on the 18th and 19th of May. This has been a crazy busy year. I understand the ‘mom taxi’ term now more than ever. Tucker attended everyday Pre-K and Sawyer went on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They both had the same hours but with Preschool only being 2 hours long, it felt as if I did nothing but load, unload, load, unload kids all day. But I’m not complaining. I could not be happier with the education that my kids have received there. They would come home everyday telling me something new and interesting. I love listening to their excitement for learning. I hope they always enjoy school the way they have at Kidslink. Sawyer will go back for another year before Kindergarten but this was it for Tuck. He developed such a love for Christian education and for his teachers and friends. These teachers gave him something that I hope and pray stays with him for a lifetime. His favorite part of the day was the bible story time. He would come home teaching me about the parables of the bible. I went to Sunday school my whole childhood and I don’t remember nearly the amount of details he knows. – And he’s so excited about it. I really love that for him. I don’t love that he won’t get this when he attends public school in the fall. I hope and pray that we (Darrin and I) can continue his love of Christian education. He’ll love his new school but I just don’t want this interest to leave that little mind of his.

The last day of school for each of the kids consisted of a day of games and ending in ice cream sundae parties…. so fun!

I got to help with Sawyer’s party which was also a ‘Summer Birthday’ party. Since Sawyer is a summer birthday, we decided to bring balloons for each kid to take home. BEST idea ever! The kids loved them and even the younger siblings got in on the fun…

We will miss you Mrs. McCalla and Mrs. Tucker. You have given her an OUTSTANDING first school experience and I love you for that:-)

This sweet girl is Ryleigh. I went to Kindergarten through 12th grade with her dad, Bob. I love that Tuck and Ryleigh had their ‘first school’ experience together. This is also the Ryleigh and reason for the tie that Tuck wore to school… if you remember that post:-)

I did so well throughout the entire party. I never knew that at this moment I would be hiding behind my camera lens in mid ugly cry… again. Mrs. Bolan is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. She reminds me so much of my Aunt Candy (the most amazing 1st grade teacher you would ever meet) in her teaching style. She’s soft spoken and can gain complete interest in her classroom. These kids love her and she loves them. God definitely put her in her perfect place in life. She gave my son the most amazing experience and I am so grateful:-)

Oh what a night….

2010-05-30T22:52:00.001-05:00

We went camping this beautiful Memorial Day weekend. We got back late this afternoon and decided we would take MUCH needed baths/showers and go out for dinner. Camping food is great… hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, candy, pop, JUNK food… but when you’ve had enough, you’ve had enough. Dad’s choice tonight and it was Red Lobster. We never go there so it was a welcome change. Besides, there was no luck fishing so Red Lobster is the next best thing right?:-)

I don’t know if the kids were so tired, they were deliriously silly or the fact that with 2 full days of being outside - they were a little too used to talking/laughing/playing as loud as they wanted … they were right out CRAZY at the restaurant tonight!

Let me preface a little… They have been obsessed with hamsters lately … don’t ask me why … for some very VERY odd reason, hamsters seem to make it into every conversation lately….. I know, WEIRD!

I ordered a broiled platter sort of meal. Translation – there were several different seafood items all on one plate. One was shrimp scampi. Evidently in Tucker’s eyes, the way the shrimp were presented on the plate was very similar to the way crab legs might be presented. I know – I don’t get it either – Bear with me.

Tucker doesn’t say crab legs though … this is what came out of his mouth:

“Mom, you’re not going to eat those hamster legs are you????” [Did he mean to say crab legs? But they’re not even close to crab legs it’s shrimp!!!]

“What???? Those aren’t hamster legs, Tuck. Those are shrimp.” What the???

Some time passes… Sawyer’s shoes come off, her feet go on the table, Porter is covered in ketchup and lemonade because he throws a COMPLETE fit if I try to help him, I have given up and am just trying to eat my meal and start to pray to myself, “Thank you Lord for there only being one other table of people in our area of the restaurant".

Darrin had ordered some sort of seafood linguine. Tucker asks him what it is.

“It’s linguine. Do you want some?”

“Little Weenie???”

Sawyer’s laughing uncontrollably, the baby is now trying to eat the crayons, I’m looking at Tucker --- WHAT did he just say??? And Darrin loses it. Not, “Be prepared for your lifelong sentence in time out” kind of losing it – He joins in on Sawyer’s behavior. He can’t quit laughing. I’m glaring at him with the you’re-going-to-be-sorry-when-he-ends-up-in-the-principal’s-office-everyday kind of glare. He says, “I feel like we’re having dinner with Doug.”— Darrin’s brother – Tucker is definitely his ‘Mini Me’…. in every way.

Why didn’t we just go to McDonald’s like they wanted to?

…. But you know what??? Sometimes you just HAVE to laugh to get you through the moment. And I did. I let Porter drench himself in lemonade and ketchup. I let Sawyer sing the ABC song at the top of her lungs. And I laughed at Tucker. Hopefully after we all get a good night’s sleep tonight in our own clean beds, we’ll be back to normal tomorrow … or not????

Darrin says to me tonight before he headed up to bed, “Our kids might be REALLY naughty, but they are damn funny.:-)” I would have to agree….

but I won’t let them know that until they are grown and out of this house:-)

Take me out to the ballgame…

2010-05-28T09:40:00.001-05:00

Summer is here and that marks the beginning of BASEBALL season. Tucker has had his first 4 or 5 games now and he is just loving it. He’s grown so much regarding the whole sports thing. He did soccer when he was 3 and that was… well… an experience… I’ll just put it this way – he was much more interested in the dirt and the dandelions than actually chasing the ball. Baseball seems to be different for him. Of course, he’s more mature now and I think baseball is a little more up his alley. If anything, I hope he continues to play if for anything but all that cuteness in that uniform … can you stand it???? !!!!! :-) He had his first REAL hit last night. I missed it. I missed it because I didn’t get to go to the game last night because his sister decided to spray paint the basement carpet purple. Do you think I was going to let her go to the game and have all kinds of fun playing in the dirt aka mud with all the other baseball player siblings? She loves going to those games more than he does sometimes. She had to stay home. I stayed home with her. I missed my son’s first real hit. :-( That’s ok. It will happen again:-) Right now I need to figure out how to get purple paint out of white carpet…

A cause for celebration …. May 7, 2010

2010-05-27T22:25:00.001-05:00

Mother’s Day weekend brought with it a trip to St. Francis – the western frontier. We usually travel out there once every summer but usually for a graduation. There were no graduations this year but there was still a big reason to celebrate. Do you remember Nanny Nichole -- Trey’s (Darrin’s nephew) fiancé? Nichole lived with our family while she worked just outside of Wichita. She became part of our family back then but now it’s official. Trey and Nichole were married in late April in Mexico and the big reception celebration was the second weekend of May in St. Francis. We traveled out and as you can see, our 90 degree temperatures did NOT follow us. Who knew we’d hit freezing sleet in Goodland, just 5 hours away???

I took this picture right before I touched the electric fence … yeah, you heard me right….

Welcome (officially) to our family Nichole…

This girl has decided that she will share her ‘buddy’ with Nichole. There was quite a bit of reluctance but if Trey loves her, Sawyer does too… :-)

Oh the tushies this lap has seen. I believe the count is 24? … Yes, this woman has 24 grandchildren! And that doesn’t even include the tushies of her own children. :-) We sure do love that Grandma Bucholtz!

Kindergarten Round-up…April 29, 2010

2010-05-27T08:28:00.001-05:00

The last week of April was a tough one on this mama and her first-born. Tuck’s last preschool program was on the 27th and the 29th was Kindergarten Round-up. Obviously this is tough on me but why on Tucker? This 5 year old might not like look like his mom but we are two of the same when it comes to sad good-byes and scary new beginnings.

He knows he’s going to Kindergarten in the fall. He also knows that his days… and I mean 8:30am to 4pm…. will be spent away from everything he knows. Everything will be new and unfamiliar and NOT with mom. I think this last part is actually the scariest part for him. I have been trying to prep him for this. I put on my happy face, though this is the hardest happy face I’ve ever put on because I’m sending my first born to KINDERGARTEN! Every new change he goes through for the the first time, so do I. Don’t get me wrong, I do love a certain amount of change, just not when it involves my child going out into the big world where the innocence of staying home with mom (also known as his bubble) will be broken. Wow I sound uptight about this! It’s just all so new. Come August, this new adventure will be welcomed with open arms. Shoot, there are days now that I’m ready to call the elementary school and ask if I could just drop him off and I’ll pick him up next May.

So I put on my happy, overly excited face that evening as he, his dad, and I went to the new school so that he could meet his new teachers and LOTS of other kids. The first part of the evening consisted of the three of us sitting in the library being welcomed by his principal. Soon I felt him start to hug my arm and not let go. I had been strong all day, putting on that (artificial) happy face. This was fun – so fun I could just hardly wait --- remember the word ‘artificial’? Anyway, I looked down at this little person hugging my arm with tears welling up in those big blue eyes and all that strength I had mustered all day was gone, all GONE. I lost it – completely lost it. He was crying. I was crying. The principal was getting ready to dismiss the kids to go with their new teachers for activities while we (the parents) stayed in the library to go over all the ‘boring’ school stuff. And there I was in the middle of my ugly cry. I’m pretty sure I was the only one (other than a few other 5 year olds) not in control at that moment. How embarrassing! Darrin looks at these two pathetic souls sitting to his right and lets out his common little chuckle (with eyes rolling) that he does every time he watches his wife watch one of those Hallmark commercials. We’re emotional – Tucker and I. We always will be. Thank goodness Darrin was the one to take Tuck to the teacher. He knows me well. He knows that when the ugly cry comes out, this woman doesn’t want perfect strangers to witness the swollen eyes and puffy red nose. I got myself under control and evidently Tucker did too. We picked him up in his new classroom and he just couldn’t stop talking about how excited he was for Kindergarten. I’m SO glad!

A camping we will go…(April 27, 2010)

2010-05-27T01:10:00.001-05:00

Holy Smokes! The months of April and May have completely zoomed by and I’m suppose to be keeping this online account of my children’s fun-filled lives. Do you remember that blog ??? – The Ross Family Happenings – I think it’s called??? :-) To the little short people that live in my house: Mommy is sorry for being so overly busy these past two months as to not be keeping up with this here ‘online journal’. The whole point of this project is to keep a chronological order of the little and big things that go on in your daily lives. I will do better.

Sooo… here is the beginning of several back posts that need some much over-due attention.

Tucker and Sawyer’s end-of-the-year music program was back in the last week of April. This year’s theme was a camping theme – PERFECT for these Ross kids. The school does such a good job of setting up photo ops.

Here they are going for a boat ride…

On a bridge…

and enjoying the great campfire in the great outdoors…

I wouldn’t say that my kids are the most musically talented, but their singing expressions are my absolute favorite… :-)

Once upon a time, there was a nice day outside…

2010-04-26T14:40:00.001-05:00

when the weather was beautiful and the Gator was screaming, “Ride me, Ride me!”.

Two brothers and a sister…

Best Friends…

This is Sawyer’s first year of really being able to ‘drive’ the Gator. Tucker’s not ‘thrilled’ about this…

…but Sawyer is:-) …

….until she wasn’t watching where she was going and crashed into the side of the slide…

…and Daddy scolded her for not knowing how to drive… (typical man)

Then of course, he felt bad and had to make her laugh…

Meanwhile, the boys are off..,.

“Hey, wait for me…”

Friends again…

“Come on, Porter…”

“Whoa, he comes down like a torpedo…”

The Three Musketeers…

… with a little ‘Bob the Builder’ thrown in there too…

Easter 2010…

2010-04-05T00:13:00.001-05:00

The kids live for this part….

Easter morning… That bunny was busy this year. He figured out how to do appliqués…

Sawyer found this cracked egg and immediately announced, “I found ‘Poto’s’ egg. Here you go, ‘Poto’.” Isn’t she so helpful?…

Do you see any kind of resemblance between him…

… and him?….

After church, we’re off to Grandma and Papa Willey’s house for another Easter egg hunt…

There is just something about a little girl in her Easter dress…

There were 3 golden eggs… one for each child. Tuck was super excited when he found the first one.

And here is my sorry attempt at trying to get a picture of all three kids together. I would love to change the picture at the top of this blog but this isn’t doin’ for me. Tuck tried so hard to get the other two to cooperate…

… no luck WHAT-SO-EVER!

This one could have been so cute if all three little personalities would just cooperate for 2 seconds…

When you’ve had enough…

You’ve had ENOUGH!

We could not have asked for a more beautiful day today. A beautiful day to celebrate a beautiful HIM. Just like Christmas, I tend to let this holiday overwhelm me. It took my 5 year old to bring me back to reality. “It’s not about the candy and the bunny, Mom.” It’s NOT about the candy and the bunny … or the baskets or dresses … or the egg hunts or children being on their best behavior during the church service (which my kids were NO WHERE close to). It’s about a Savior. A Redeemer. A Bearer of all burdens.

HE IS RISEN!

A boy’s life…

2010-04-04T00:58:00.001-05:00

As I talked about in the last post, Tucker started baseball this week. He had his first practice Tuesday night and how excited he was! He told EVERYONE that afternoon about getting to start baseball that evening … his friends at school, his teachers, the check-out lady at Dillons … EVERYONE! We got there and of course his best buddy Reece was there to greet him. Reece’s dad, Phil will be the coach of the ‘Heaters’ (isn’t that such a ~~cute~~ tough team name?:-) Trasie is Reece’s mom and one of my very best friends. Reece and Tuck are inseparable. It just seems right and perfect that they be on the same baseball team. Isn’t that what buddies do? Each one complains all the time … and I mean ALL the time about not getting to hang out with the other one. They will get to spend the whole summer together this way and hopefully Trasie and I can quit listening to their belly-aching:-) Chances are though ….. probably not.

Doing a few calisthenics before actual practice…

Reece and Tuck pairing up…

Is my big guy the smallest guy on the team?…

Whew… gettin’ tired…

Running the bases… a boy’s life…

So serious. Just wait until the season gets rolling. This was also about the time he laid his glove down and ended up losing it. Dad found it eventually:-) Typical Tuck:-)

…and… not so typical at a boy’s baseball practice. Tucker would have loved this guy. They could discuss ‘above the ankle’ footwear.

This little miss has never met a stranger…

And this little guy was just enjoying being outside… even though the wind was blowing everyone and everything up to Canada. He didn’t care…

… best buddies…

PLAY BALL! …

2010-03-28T23:59:00.001-05:00

This boy will have his first experience as a baseball player this week…

He will be with a bunch of other boys his same age…

…that as a 1st time baseball mom …

… I hope they’re at his same (or at least close) ability level…

I wonder if they’d pick camo boots over baseball cleats too? Don’t worry, I won’t send him in camo boots …

He’s so excited and that makes me so excited that he’s so excited :-) It’s gonna be a great summer!!!!

Random…

2010-03-25T22:51:00.001-05:00

If you know how fast a camera shoots when you just stand there and hold down the button, you know how fast Tucker was ‘hamming it up’.

And this little girl is going to have her mother’s complexion. I remember in the 2nd grade when my mom got me this shirt that had an iron on (because that was the big thing on t-shirts back in the 80’s) with a curly haired girl with out-of-control freckles. I had a perm back then… like everyone in 1982… and evidently Mom thought I resembled the girl on the pink t-shirt. Beneath her cheesy smile it said, “Freckles are BEAUTIFUL!” My mom has always loved freckles. I, on the other hand, have not. I remember her forcing me into that t-shirt (which, by the way, had my name in the back in shiny iron-on letters… did I mention it was 1982?) I remember leaving my jacket on ALL day because I didn’t want anyone seeing such a shirt. Did it really matter? Evidently it did to me. I grew up my whole life hating my freckles. That is, until now. I have a daughter with freckles and they ARE beautiful. I now know what my mom was talking about all those years. I just may have to find Sawyer a t-shirt one of these days:-)

And here they are, doing what they do best …. tormenting each other and loving every minute of it. They have such a love – hate relationship. They can’t live with each other but they can’t live without each other either. As much as I hate the fighting, I know that their love for each other is equally as strong.

And then there’s this sweet little turkey bird. He’s not quite big enough yet to join in on all the ‘fun’ but don’t think he hasn’t tried. I have a feeling he’ll be the biggest bully of them all:-)

Today…

2010-03-18T00:02:00.000-05:00

Audience Etiquette …

2010-03-13T01:20:00.001-06:00

I can’t believe I’ve put this post off for a week. A week ago yesterday, Tucker, Sawyer, my mom, and I went to a fabulous performance of ‘Pinkalicious’. If you’re a mom (or dad, for that matter) of a girl you MUST get this book for her! This is one of Sawyer’s favorites and when I heard that it was coming to the Crown Uptown Dinner Theatre I knew we HAD to get tickets. The Crown puts on a fantastic season of children’s productions. Having a little experience in performing arts, I think taking kids to live performances is a must. We had such a good time. Yes, even Tucker had fun at PINKALICIOUS! Hopefully we’ll get tickets to ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ next … that may be a little more up a little man’s alley:-)

You can’t go to a dinner theatre without dinner …. and in this case, it was hotdogs, french fries, ‘pink’ applesauce, mac n cheese, and chicken nuggets:-)

On Sunday, we had the great pleasure of getting to take the kids to Sesame Street Live. You see, we have these friends … these amazing, fantastic, generous friends … the Wilson’s. If you don’t know the Wilson’s, you should get to know them. They are a family of five … just like us:-) But unlike us, they had their 3 children all at the same time! Yes, they have triplets. ….. 3 of the most beautiful, intelligent, sweet, sweet girls you will ever meet. Unfortunately, the girls were recently very, very ill. 2 of the 3 ended up in the hospital for a week with RSV. Izzy, the third of the sisters, was also very ill but did not have to be admitted into the hospital. They are all well again but last week, I saw Maranda (their mom and one of my oldest and dearest friends) and she wanted to know if we wanted their Sesame Street Live tickets. I just couldn’t believe she would want to give them up. But of course she, being the most caring mother that she is, did not want to go without Lily. You see, Lily was still in the hospital and would not be able to go with them. Many moms would have taken the kids that were well but Maranda wouldn’t think of leaving Lily behind. She’s super amazing like that:-) Soooo the Ross’s were VERY blessed to get to go:-) I still thank you, Maranda and Jimmy. We just had the BEST time!

The colors at this show are nothing but spectacular. It’s such an amazing production. If you have little ones … it’s a MUST!

Intermission came and so did a man carrying about a bajillion of these balloons. At $10 per balloon, I told the kids we would get one later. If they kept pushing the issue, I would go to Party City and get the same thing for $2. They forgot about them as soon as we left:-)

Oh, to be young again:-)

Thanks again, Jimmy, Maranda, Lily, Audrey, and Izzy:-)

And we’re outta here….

2010-03-04T22:20:00.001-06:00

…well, out of the house anyway…

Car Talk…

2010-03-02T00:14:00.000-06:00

On the way TO preschool…

Tucker: Sawyer, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Sawyer: Ummm….I not know …. ummm …. CINDOWELLA! Yeah, I wanna be Cindowella.

Tucker: You can’t be Cinderella, Sawyer. She’s just pretend.

*Being a preschool mom now, I’m at the school everyday and have really loved getting to see not only my own kids grow and change so much, but also all the other kids. One of the little girls in Tucker’s class had left the room one day and Mrs. Bolan told the mother of that little girl that they had been talking about what they wanted to be when they grew up. I heard Mrs. Bolan tell the girl’s mother that her daughter wanted to be a mom when she grew up. I just thought that was the sweetest thing. Just to see what her take was on that particular profession…*

Me: Sawyer, do you want to be a mom when you grow up?

Sawyer: Nooooo !!!! [not ‘NO’ in a “Why would you say such a stupid thing?, Exclamation mark!” kind of way …. but ‘noooo’ “Please, please don’t make me do such an awful, painful, hideous thing. Why would you torture me?” kind of way.]

Sawyer: I’m nebbow gettin’ mehweed! Nebbow, nebbow!

Those of you that knew me at age 29, know that there was ABSOLUTELY no way I was having kids. And those that knew me at age 26, know that there was ABSOLUTELY no way I was getting married. My, my, my how things have changed but wow, my daughter and I are more alike than I ever thought. Maybe one day she too will realize what an amazing ride parenthood is … and if not, that’s ok too.

On the way home FROM preschool…

Sawyer: There’s Jesus, Mom. [as we pass by a cemetery with a monument at the entrance]

Me: Yep, there he is.

Tucker: That must have hurt a lot when he was nailed to the cross, Mom.

Me: We will never know the kind of pain that He went through. You know he did that for us?

Tucker: That would hurt so bad. I just can’t think anyone could do that.

Me: You know why he went through that, right?

Sawyer: Yep, cause he’s bwave.

Me: [with a smile in my heart] soooo brave.

Sawyer: Can we get a pop now?

Anndddd …. it’s over – just like that:-)

Target practice ….

2010-02-19T23:27:00.001-06:00

*Disclaimer*

I am not a gun person nor a hunting type person but the man I married happens to enjoy both.

I am proud to say though, that he mostly hunts for the social aspect of it and I have never had to witness a dead deer landing on our back porch. Don’t get me wrong … he would love to bring a deer home but he’s smart enough to know that I would never be open to anything but pictures or the occasional ‘knick knack’ on my walls. He also has a huge love of all animals and doesn’t hunt just to ‘kill’ something and to feel all ‘manly’ but rather to help control the ‘circle of life’. There is a huge deer over-population problem in Western Kansas and evidently my husband likes to be a part of taking that matter into his own hands.

Anyway, Tucker wants to be just like Dad but has the sensitivity issues of Mom. I understand the whole over-population thing but my heart just always goes back to that beautiful, free spirited creature. Tucker goes out to Western Kansas with his dad every year to go hunting …. well …. Darrin goes hunting, Tucker hangs out with Grandma:-) … but this is hunting to Tuck and I’m ok with that. He got a bb gun for Christmas and wants to do nothing but shoot targets. He is already trying to convince his dad that there won’t be any shooting of deer next year … just target practice:-) I love that. I can deal with that. He’s really good about understanding that the gun only comes out of the gun safe (which is ALWAYS locked) with Dad or Grandpa. I love this too. He already gets how dangerous they are. I know it’s just a bb gun but that day will come when he wants something a little bigger and I think it’s so so important that he understands the seriousness of this. Honestly, this is the only way that I will even allow a gun in this house. I’m not a big fan but I do believe that it all comes down to a proper education about them.

Anyway, enough of the blah, blah, blahgity, blah…

He’s a pretty decent little shooter (is that how you say that?)….

Sis was not too thrilled with not having her own pink bb gun…

This kid could have a good time anywhere…

I told you he could shoot. All those divots are HIS … well, all but one. I had never shot any kind of gun before. He was gracious enough to give me a few pointers and yes, my mark is the one at the bottom of the red on the BULL’SEYE! You can just call me Calamity Jane…

BB’s stuck in the fence… To Tuck, these are like handprints in cement:-)

Car Talk …

2010-02-19T08:42:00.001-06:00

Tucker: Mom, when I grow up, I’m gonna be an owl man just like Mr. Lockwood.

[you must read previous post for this to make sense]

Me: Yep, you will be buddy.

Tucker: Ya know what people will call me?

Me: What’s that?

Tucker: Mr. Tuckerwood.

Me: :-)

American Hero …

2010-02-15T23:35:00.001-06:00

A very special thing happened this last Saturday. A beautiful symbol of American beauty and freedom was released back into the wild. Mr. Lockwood of the Eagle Valley Raptor Center rehabilitates native birds of prey (those that are hurt and might otherwise die without Mr. Lockwood’s intervention) right here in Kansas. … Cheney, KS – to be exact. My parents live in Cheney and were the first to tell us about this center a few years ago. Since then, I have heard LOTS more about Mr. Lockwood from none other than Tucker. You see, Mr. Lockwood has visited the kids’ preschool the last two years and has brought with him several ‘friends’ to show to the preschool kids. Tucker now wants to be an ‘Owl Man’ just like Mr. Lockwood. He has such a strong love of animals and truly LOVES what Mr. L does for these helpless creatures. Well, Darrin had heard that Mr. Lockwood would be releasing a bald eagle on Saturday down by the Arkansas River. The whole thing was just a little more special than just a release back into the wild for this animal. Mr. L wanted to dedicate this release in the name of Brian Etheridge. Etheridge was a Sheriff’s Deputy here in Wichita. He lost his life in the line of duty back in September of last year. This event completely shook all of Wichita. To Mr. Lockwood, this release as a tribute just made sense.

Darrin and my parents (I had a show) took the kids down to the river to watch the release. I really think the pictures speak for themselves…