ALL MY GUYS and ME

first "big" snow

2009-12-31T11:57:00.001-05:00

it seems like we have gotten a lot of snow this month, but it has been too warm for it to accumulate. finally we got about 4 inches this past week--enough to squeek a couple hours of outdoor play in!

christmas 2009

2009-12-25T11:36:00.004-05:00

after church and a Christmas eve dinner out, the boys rushed in the door to run upstairs and look under their pillows to find their "matching jammies." they can never seem to figure out how they get there, but know that they are from mom and dad and love getting them! funny. we had a great evening at home, opened santa gifts the next morning and then headed to grandpa and grandma's house for the day {a favorite gift was the snuggie that each boy got!}! of course we had fabulous food and were content to do lots of relaxing!

moritz family christmas

2009-12-20T09:10:00.003-05:00

terry's mom & dad headed to indy the weekend before to celebrate Christmas--we loved having them stay with us, were treated to a yummy Christmas dinner, a lot of relaxing, present opening, and breakfast out before they went back to IL. as always, the cousins can't get enough of being together! i loved watching their faces as they opened their presents!! the 3 little guys all got DS's from grammie and papa, soph got a wii fit, gracie was thrilled with lots of gift certificates and luke received a combo b-day/christmas gift of an ipod touch. seems shopping is starting to get simplified as the kids get older--they want more expensive gifts {which also means it is less to buy}

the parties~

2009-12-18T20:58:00.000-05:00

the kids are always so anxious for the last day of school before Christmas break. today was no exception! All the excitement, of course, is for the class party. a bit different than when I was a kid--now no outside food is allowed into school--so they each got a slush cup and a bag of snack mix {i guess the kids don't know any different, but it makes me sad to think about what they are missing!} cole's class played a very exciting game of musical chairs!

cole has made LOTS of friends this year, but he has found one best buddy who is just sooo sweet!

the exciting game in first grade was "pass the present." a box wrapped about 12 times --kind of like hot potato, but when the music stops, you want the present so you can unwrap it to see if you get to the surprise inside! grant was the one who got to open the box!luke's class was a bit more tame!!--they had two craft stations that kept them very busy--the hard one was the origami Christmas tree that was amazing when it was finished!

hey santa-

2009-12-18T19:44:00.001-05:00

last friday night we took our annual trip to Reynold's to visit Santa. this year the boys all wanted to sit together on Santa's lap, ah, brotherly love. cole decided he was going to pull on Santa's beard to make sure he is "the one," but he chickened out! their faces are just amazing to watch during this magical moment. i love this picture of grant talking to Santa--so serious and satisfied yet filled with excitement.

long lost blogger

2009-12-16T22:27:00.002-05:00

it's been a month and a half since I have blogged. I have pictures and stories to share, but have had no time to share them! soon, though--my busy season is just about over and I am looking forward to Christmas break to catch up on a few things--like blogging. until then, i leave you with a photo of a few crazy kids!

luke is 9

2009-12-13T20:08:00.000-05:00

it's hard to believe that luke is half-way finished with childhood. 9 more years and he heads off to college--sure hope that the next nine years don't go as fast as the first nine. something tells me that time is not going to slow down--so for now we just have to enjoy each day we have. luke's birthday was a simple celebration--after church we had lunch with grandpa, grandma and uncle brett. we had subway! funny. that is what luke requested--that sure made it easy on mom! after opening presents the boys enjoyed unlimited wii play with luke's new games. then, off to his friend's birthday party for the evening.

God has blessed luke in so many ways--he is a great big brother, responsible and helpful. he is healthy and happy and loves to be with others. he is a great gift to our family. we love you, luke!

2009 Halloween

2009-11-01T21:36:00.002-05:00

So thankful that the rain stopped in time for Halloween. . . .it was a bit blustery, but I don't think the kids even noticed!! Grant insisted on being a pumpkin! hmm. nothing easier than using a leaf bag. Thanks to hand-me-downs from cousins, and Terry's Chicago Bears helmet from when he was a kid, Luke got to be Brian Urlacher. And Cole, well, he was the last of the 3 to wear the spider costume {I think we got our money's worth!}. Of course we enjoyed a brief stint with the cousins, an annual thing that i think we are realizing is getting harder to do as the kids get older. And so this ends our fall break! The kids are ready to go back to school--so thankful that they all enjoy it so much. I think I am ready for them to go back to school :)!

cousin days

2009-10-26T20:53:00.002-04:00

our kids love, love, LOVE their cousins. cole says his best friend is joey. . . 6 months apart, they get along great. luke jumps at every chance to be with his cousins and grant has a special place in his heart for Grace...it's a connection of some sort.

so, of course the kids have been thrilled that the cousins are getting a tree house. a very cool tree house. grammie and papa have come 3 of the last 6 weekends to help build it. this means that on those weekends they have had cousin days and are more than over-joyed! this weekend the cousins and grammie hung out at our house and one of the highlights was making, decorating AND eating Halloween cookies. mmmm.

Grant is the Champ!

2009-10-13T21:28:00.008-04:00

Since August Grant and Luke have both been playing fall baseball. . .wow we've watched 3 games every Sunday--it's been great to watch them both grow. This past weekend was the tournament. Luke's team lost in the first round, the end to a well played season.

Grant's team, on the other hand ended their season tonight, after winning all 4 tournament games! They did such a great job and won tonight's game 4-3.It was exciting for Grant to play against our neighbor and a super-duper friend, Owen! Both boys had some super hits tonight!So thrilled with the ginormous trophy!! That might take me hours to dust! :)Uncle Brett brought this giant cookie to Grant after the game. Grant thought he would get to eat the whole thing himself. . .hmmmm...
Congratulations Grant! We are so proud of Y-O-U!!

pickin'apples

2009-10-02T07:58:00.004-04:00

Last weekend we headed to Tuttle's for our annual apple picking! The kids are AlWAYS anxious for this outing. . .it never seems to get old! What started off as a cloudy, crummy day turned out to be absolutely perfect!
I realized that when the kids were little it used to take us a few hours to pick the apples, corral the kids, help them pick the apples etc. Wow, have things changed! We kind of stood back, let the kids do the picking before we even knew it the bags were full!

mmmm. . . i think the best part of picking apples is eating the carmel apples after we are all done. . .this seems to be the best part for someone else too!

couponing. . .

2009-09-03T20:54:00.005-04:00

So many of you know that I use a lot of coupons. My kids know that we don't buy something at the grocery store unless we have a coupon. Typically, we only eat at restaurants that we have coupons for etc. Over the year, I can only imagine how much money it has saved us.
The other day, one of my college roommates said she was going to be in Indy and was going to go to KMart to do their super double coupons. WHAT??!!?? We don't have a KMart!! Sure enough we do--only about 15-20 min. away--worth the trip! She here's a little picture of the things I picked up for just a little over $2:

Pretty amazing. isn't it?? I did spent about another $15 on other items that we use a lot and with the double coupons were still much cheaper than I could normally get.

This past year when Terry was completely self-employed, getting things for free or almost free was a huge blessing. And, even now as we are half self-employed and half employed at the firm our budget is super tight. So again, we are thankful for bargain shopping trips like the one I took to Target this week (and spent $1.86!!!):

back to school '09

2009-08-12T11:57:00.005-04:00

It's here already. . .back to school 2009! They have been anxious all week! Mommy was ready, until they all drove away on the bus-how is it possible that they are old enough, I feel like I should still have a house full of toddlers running around! Enough of the sappy stuff {i could go on and on!} Here are the handsome boys. . . the new official grades: grant in first grade, Cole in Kindergarten and Luke in third grade!
Anxiously awaiting the arrival of the neighborhood kids for our back-to-school breakfast celebration!Kids and parents starting to gather AND enjoying muffins, granola bars, fruit, coffee cake and of course Starbucks for the moms and dads (thanks, Lori!)!
What a crew--hope the bus driver is ready for this! So thankful for wonderful neighborhood kids!The bus has pulled away. . .do we cry or rejoice??? hmmmmm. . .i think there was a little of both.

thirty-nine and 7

2009-08-11T09:08:00.005-04:00

It is birthday time at our house. Terry turned 39 on the 7th and Grant turned 7 on the 8th! Actually, it would almost be easier if they were both on the same day (at least for mom, that is!). This year because of a business conference that Terry needed to go to, we celebrated both guys birthdays on the 7th! Of course, each gets their own cake-Terry gets a lead cake and Grant gets and ice cream cake.
Grant and Terry enjoyed a little fishing in the morning, we all went to the Golden Corral for lunch (grant's choice--he likes the ice cream bar!!) with grandpa, grandpa and uncle B.) and then the two went off to a movie in the afternoon. Such a great perfect day.
Hard to believe that Grant is 7. Seven. That seems old to me, only Luke gets older, but in reality they all do. It has been fun to watch him this week express how EXCITED he is for first grade. Such a thrill to have his OWN desk and supplies that he does not have to share. G got lots of legos for his b-day. . .he will sit at the table for hours building his masterpieces all while singing at the top of his lungs--it's quite entertaining!
So the boys each picked out a present for Terry and Cole picked out this fly swatter in yellow (cole's favorite color!!). funny. don't you love the flower??!!

On Grant's birthday DAY Terry had to be gone so we went off to spend the afternoon at a local water park. I am amazed how the kids spent 4 1/2 hours going down 2 water slides over and over again. Fun fun.

troyer family reunion

2009-07-27T11:20:00.004-04:00

two weekends ago we enjoyed a SUPER great day in Archbold, OH with my mom's (5 sisters and their families) side of the family for a little reunion. the boys can't wait to go back. . .who wouldn't want to go back after a day filled with food, waterslides, high dives {proving my almost 39 year old husband can still do back flips off the diving board} , tractors, farms, cows and a brand new play area to explore!

happy 4th of july

2009-07-04T18:51:00.002-04:00

it has been a cool and rainy 4th of july. . . so i guess it is a good thing we did our "celebrating" on the 3rd! the cousins {minus grace who was off with a friend for the weekend--missed ya gracie!} spent the day at our house. although it was a bit cool, we headed off to the splash park and playground--seemed that joey was the only one tough enough to play in the chilly water.

the kids decided they would rather swim in the pool where the water was MUCH warmer!then it was off to uncle j and aunt l's house for a camp out. . . mmmm hot dogs, s'mores and dough-boys all topped off with an outdoor movie [Pink Panther 2]. the kids seemed to like it more than the adults--check out how glued they are! We had intermission to go watch Conner Parairie Fireworks--great show--and of course there were sparklers {what would the 4th be without them?}.

of course there was a big tent sleep-over with the dads--thankfully the rain held off until today so the kids enjoyed some super-fun playtime indoors.
makin' memories.

arctic swim lessons

2009-07-02T19:26:00.002-04:00

thankful for a really warm heated pool this week since it has been as low as 67 for a high one day and the kids are taking swim lessons in the morning. luke is taking a swim team prep class with his cousins {these kids absolutely LOVE being together}. . .their speed and stroke development are coming along!grant has started working in breast stroke, wow! can i see a lot of terry in him:)
a bit of diving practice for cole--they have all worked really hard and are coming along! and a huge thanks to miss stephanie who keeps cranking up the heater!

all-star game

2009-07-01T12:41:00.000-04:00

luke made the all-star team again this year--always a privilege--and played a double header last night. the kids had a great time and luke enjoyed getting to play ball on the same team with his buddy {and our neighbor} drew.the boys got trophys for a great season of play

check out the headbutting. . . grant and cole shared a slurpee during the game and i think it was "game on" to see who could drink the most while trying to push each other's heads out of the way.

ahhh, the freedom festival

2009-06-28T15:22:00.001-04:00

our boys always love heading out to the fishers freedom festival. . .new this year was a kid run. i think it could have been much longer, and so did they--maybe next year! of course, EVERYONE got a medal!

the favorite activity of the weekend had to have been the water balloon sling shots {every boy's dream--big boys included--}it seems that no matter where we go cole can manage to find dogs or puppies to pet. today he found two CUTE lab pups, i think he could have pet them for hooooours!another highlight was the rock wall. . .seems that cole blew his bros out of the water on how far he could get!

and of course, what would the freedom festival be without the p-a-r-a-d-e??!!! we always watch this one with grandpa and grandma. it seemed a bit sparse on the candy this year {a sign of our economy???} but the kiddos still had a blast.

beatn' the heat

2009-06-24T16:33:00.000-04:00

so HOT here. . .as i am sure it is everywhere. the kids love, LOVE our neighbor's new triple slip n' slide. it was an instant hit and has kept them busy for the past 2 days--a treat to mommy!

father's day '09

2009-06-21T21:26:00.002-04:00

we had a sweet simple day to celebrate. . .church, a little lunch with grandpa, home to open a few presents and then a quiet afternoon. one that fulfilled terry's father's day wish {a nap that lasted ALL afternoon, really it did, he woke at 5:30}. thanks to our fantastic neighbor we had some leftover pizza for dinner and grant and i made a lead cake for dessert. a perfect day in the eye of the beholder--we hope you loved it T!

last day of school. . whoohoo!!

2009-05-28T22:43:00.005-04:00

Here already. . the last day of school! It's been a great year with super teachers who LOVE their jobs and their students! A quick pic of my now 3rd grader, 1st grader and Kindergartner!! Everyone will hop on the bus next year--crazy.
Luke with his teacher from both first and second grade, Mrs. Vadas--thank goodness for looping!! One of the other super duper room moms put together a 50 digital scrapbook of the past 2 years--yes there were tears!And, Grant with Mrs. Walter. She made his year super. Luke had her too and we are crossing our fingers that Cole will get her next year! She also got a scrapbook--each kid put together a page. It turned out SO cute. We officially finished 5 years at Castleview PreSchool. We will be sad to leave Mrs. Lamke (right), Mrs. Simpson (left) and the other super teachers there. Our kids have been shown the love of Jesus!

finally ridin' on a two-wheeler

2009-05-27T21:45:00.001-04:00

Cole is such a sweet kid, but he definitely has a stubborn streak! Terry and I both worked with him this spring a few times to get him to ride without training wheels--and we had no luck. Cole kept saying "i can't!" Well, enough of that! On Monday I told him he couldn't play the Wii until he could ride his bike. It rained most of Monday, so there was no bike riding. On Tues. afternoon I was out planting flowers and Cole got out his bike. I watched Grant show Cole how to ride one time. Next thing i knew, Cole was riding down the street! Now, we can't get him off. . .it is his new found freedom and he keeps riding around the block over and over again!

cole plays a little ball

2009-05-19T21:28:00.002-04:00

Between lots of rain and a very busy spring schedule yesterday was the first I got to see Cole play baseball! This is such a fun age to watch and these boys are just SO cute.I have said many times that Luke and Cole are a lot alike and I am guessing that Cole will follow in Luke's footsteps and make baseball his sport. He seems to really enjoy it and does pretty well.

the shirt

2009-05-13T15:15:00.004-04:00

YEAH!! The shirts have arrived. . .my friend, and owner of www.StinkyToesDesign.com asked me to work on the artwork for this shirt.
"Keep calm and carry on"--seems to be her motto that she adapted from the original poster which was issued by the British Government’s Ministry of Information in the spring of 1939 to diminish fear prior to WWII.
She dropped off a shirt for me yesterday and it is oh-so-soft and fits great. If you want to grab one for yourself head to her site or stop in Gallery 116! You can get it in black, brown or aqua~