Ben's first time on the golf course

I promised Ben that when he turned six I'd start him on golf. It was as much a promise to myself as to him. So today was the day and we went to the local municipal golf course.

We started on the putting green.

But, like most golfers, he just wanted to hit the long ball....

And like most golfers we finished up in the club house!

It was a good day and a good start to what I hope turns into a real love for the game.

There's no denying who Andy takes after

David doesn't see it - but I don't know how you can miss it. He's a mini-me of his daddy.

Have you met Muffy?

On Mother's Day we were out for a family walk and came across a dog who was just about to walk behind a moving car. I was able to get the dog to come to me. She had tags, so we called the number - walked her around the neighborhood and tried to figure out who she belonged too. Long story short - we didn't find the owner. Brought her home and the next day called the city (her tags were rabies tags). They knew the dog and said that they pick her up every few weeks b/c someone finds her in an almost tragic predicament. Once a lady rescued her from the lake - b/c she had walked in and couldn't get out. There are many more sad rescue stories like this - but thankfully she's been lucky thus far.

The city worker told me that he didn't want the owners to get the dog back b/c he's afraid the next call he gets will be to pick up her dead body off the road. Whenever the owner gets calls to come pick the dog up - she would always take days or weeks to finally come and retrieve her. It was apparent that they weren't concerned for the dog. After speaking to the city worker - David and I decided, that now this dog would become ours. He said that legally we had to keep her for 30 days for her to become ours. He told me that if we had children (which we do) that he didn't recommend us keeping her b/c everyone who has rescued her she has tried to bite. Well - being the animal lover that I am, I was immediately in her face loving on her and kissing her. When he told me about the biting, I walked over and picked her up and put her face to mine. He said "I can't believe that dog is letting you do that. She must feel safe - or feel something different about you."

The dog "muffy" (named by Will when we first saw her) is about 12-15 years old, has a cataract on one eye and another forming on the other eye. She doesn't hear or see well. She continually walks in a circle until she 'lands'. We've had her going on 6 weeks now. I think it's nearing the end of her time - I think. When we first rescued her - her tail was tucked and she was skiddish. After a few days, she got a skip in her walk and her tail raised. Now - she's starting to have bad days. This morning, I thought it was her time, but then this afternoon - the skip was back. We know we don't have long w/muffy - but we are so thankful to been given this time w/her and to have saved her from another tragic rescue.

It's June 20th and Ben's 6!

When Ben woke up today, he was very excited because he knew it was his birthday and tonight would be his party. I had snuck in while he was asleep and put balloons around his bed and hung a banner that said 'Happy Birthday'. He was pretty excited when he woke up and saw the balloons and banner.

His theme for his party is a skateboarding theme. And that's sorta what he's into right now. He got the skateboard in the picture and some Tony Hawk skateboard toys. He was so excited by all that I did for his birthday to surprise him. I love seeing the joy and excitement in his eyes and on his face. It truly blesses me.

I'm still having a hard time believing that he's 6. Where does the time go? It just feels like yesterday that I was bringing him home from the hospital. My sweet little Ben Ben.

Equal Time for Andy

Since Andy wasn't shown in the last posts I took some shots of Andy...

I thought this one came out nice.

Here he is, maybe 2 months past his 1st birthday...

Father's Day ...

The boys and I got up and made breakfast for David. This is actually the first time I've made a 'real' breakfast for the guys. Normally David makes the eggs/bacon/biscuit meals. But it was a nice treat for David. He really appreciated it and had a great father's day. We didn't do a whole lot. David always watches the US Open on Father's Day - so that was the main thing that he did. Although I think David did play about 6 games of chess with Ben. He loves chess and plays many games a day with his daddy.





Then I went and met my dad and my brother, Christopher, for dinner. We had a great time. It was nice to be able to hang out with just my dad (normally my mom is with us). David and Andy stayed home and watched the Open.

Ben's soccer team

Ben finished his 2nd season with his soccer team - the Crashers. He really enjoyed himself and had a great time. We think he'll continue this next season. He seems to want to. He's not a real athletic boy, but he loves to play. He's not competitive (like his brother) and he's always smiling when he's playing. He has a great time.

Will has been so sad this season that he hasn't been able to play soccer. David took his picture when we took the team picture - he was so happy about being included. This season, we'll sign him up with the city. He has to be 4 to play and since he'll turn 4 in July, he's old enough now. He can't wait. He's more athletic and physical that Ben is - and we think he'll do great. He's got more of a competitive spirt than Ben - so hopefully he can keep a good team spirit being on a team.

This summer Ben is taking a golf camp - he's excited about that. David really wants him to play golf - and since he's not a real physical kid, we think it might suit him better. Although left handed - hopefully he doesn't have any problems. Some say he's more suited to play baseball since he's left handed. And who knows - he may play this next season.

Sleeping boys

Ben and Will share a room. They have bunkbeds that are unstacked. Bedtime can be tough or easy for us. Depending on the boys moods and how tired they are. Last night, I went into check on the boys and I discovered 2 sleeping brothers laying together peacefully. If only - they were like that awake with one another. I snapped a photo of them - the flash makes it look like it's light in there, but it was dark.

The boys really do love each other. I think Will kinda drives Ben crazy most of the time. But Ben really is Will's hero. That saying "Brothers are better than superheros" definitely applies for Will when it comes to Ben. He thinks Ben is the greatest.

Day 6 - David's post

I'm there to basically annoy the kids with my off-camera strobe practice...
It got dark fast and the ISO was climbing uncontrollably on the G9... The exif shows 1/5 of a second at F8. One strobe triggered by a power wizard on the G9 and the other was in SU-4 mode.
At ISO 400 I'm getting a lot of grain and not to mention the huge crop as the lens was at 10mm. So, of course, run a black-n-white conversion. That's not noise thats artistic, old-school classic film grain (ahh, Photoshop - the last refuge of a crappy photographer.)

My Hair - Self Portrait

I had an appt. today to get my hair done. I told my hairdresser I thought my hair was looking too blonde. I told her I wanted white blonde instead of yellow blonde and I also wanted chunky, dark panels in my hair. She said she understood ... but that's not what I got. David was happy - he loves it. He's not real fond of hair that looks like you paid for it. I, on the other hand, like that look.

I'm also not too fond of photos of myself these days. Since January 1 - I've lost 35 pounds. So I'm proud of myself for that, but w/30 pounds still to go - photos of myself aren't my bestfriend. Although - even though I don't like seeing them, I'm the one usually behind the camera - and I do want there to be some evidence that my boys have a mommy.

Day 5 at our gym's pool

Day 5 is June 11, 2008. I made an early morning water aerobics class which was torture for my muscles after Monday's barbell class. But it was great to get a chance to workout. The boys were all still sleeping when I left (although awake when I got home) - and since David is permanently working from home, it works out nice for me on occassion to be able to go to the gym alone.

We went back to the gym in the afternoon and met some friends. I actually only took a few pictures for some reason. Not real sure why. Maybe Will wasn't around, or the other kids had left. But I got some cute pictures of Ben swimming in the water.

Then of course on our way in/out of the gym, the boys must always go by the motorcyle parking and look at the motorcyles. Will is obessed and I think Ben is acquiring a love for them too. Both hope to one day own one - I hope they grow out of it.

Meeting friends - Summer day 4

I missed Day 3. We didn't do much. I went to the gym. Tried a barbell strength class. OH MY GOODNESS! I found muscles I didn't know my body had. It was pain - but a good pain.

I guess I'm not really counting weekends toward our summer days. Tuesday, June 10, 2008, was our 4th day of summer. We met some friends from our old pre-school at Joe's Crab Shack. This was the boys first time to go to Joe's - and really my first time since having kids. I've been there many times in the past for drinks - but never to play on the playground there. It was big fun. It rained pretty hard the night before so the playground was a complete mud pitt. So as you know: kids + mud = good times.

Andy had a great time walking on the deck and playing in the sand. He was quite excited to have somewhere different to walk around other than home. My girlfriends daughter tried to take him out into the mud and he wasn't really thrilled about it. But at least she got a nice hug from him. He gives the best hugs : )

Will and Ben enjoyed their time w/their old friend. They actually didn't remember each other until they saw each other - but then they really enjoyed themselves.

Ben was very excited to order popcorn shrimp off the menu. I thought it was his first time to eat shrimp - but David told me once we were home that it wasn't. Ben was pretty excited to show daddy the pictures and tell him he hate shrimp. Joe's is Ben's new favorite place.


My girlfriend and I - we tried (although not real effective) to chat and catch up in between screaming at the kids to stop throwing sand. We have another playdate scheduled for next week - maybe it will be more effective. Good times!

My Big Camp Boy

I had to hurry home from my girls weekend b/c Ben had a meeting at our Church for his first camp. It's only a 2 day camp thankfully (I'm not quite ready for an overnight camp). It's going to be a lot of fun for him. It will be a great chance for him to have an opportunity to be around other Christian boys his age and to experience a camp environment. They are going to swim in the lake (which he's never done), swim in a big pool, play on big water slides, Bible time, eat a camp lunch (could be interesting) and really enjoy himself. He's certainly excited. I volunteered to help those two days (of course, you know me) - but unfortunately they don't have a spot for me and I couldn't be with him. Maybe I can sneak in as the camp photographer.... hmmm - maybe I can pull that off.

Here are a few pictures of he and I that I snapped from the meeting.

My weekend away

My best girlfriend, Dena, and I took a weekend (or more so a day and night) and treated ourselves to a little girl time. We were gone for about 24 hours but we got a lot accomplished in that time. We got pedicures, manicures, foot massages, our hands dipped in hot wax (which I still think is a little creepy feeling), ate lots of good food, and enjoyed a night in a hotel in downtown. It was great fun. It was nice to have a little time where we were just responsible for ourselves. We'll definitely be making this an annual tradition.

 

The boys had a good time while I was away - as you can see from the blog entry below this one. With the boys long hair (which they love) it makes the punk rock hair easy. Good times!

Home Alone

Took some pictures of the guys while mommy was on her vacation... The guys fought me a little so I didn't get a chance to setup the tripod and get in the shot... Probably better that way.

It was punk rock day which explains the hair...



and their payoff was a mini-can of Dr.Pepper...

Summer vacation - Day 2

Today was our 2nd day of summer vacation. The boys woke up wanting to go swimming, of course. We went to the gym first - I had a yoga/pilates class I wanted to try out at the gym. I never knew 3 c-sections would do so much damage to my core. I am completely out of shape in that area. I think I'll have to do a few thousand sit-ups before attempting that class again.

Normally, we would swim at the gym - but today was an overcast day and the pool was pretty cold. So I talked the boys into coming home. Andy and Will napped on the way home - and Ben and I chatted about how mean I was for not putting sunscreen on him yesterday (I feel pretty bad - he got burned).

We ended up going to the neighbors to swim again. The boys swam for about 3 hours today. They had a lot of fun. There were a few more extra kids than yesterday. 3 more neighbor kids (brothers), and then another friend. Everyone had a good time. I, of course, made everyone line up for a photo. I didn't plan it well b/c the water from the sprayer was in their faces and my neighbors son thought it would be funny to hide behind the waterfall. It was great fun.

We came home, had dinner (David cooked burgers on the grill) and then gave the boys all a bath and put them to bed. A little quiet time for mommy and daddy. I'm actually pretty excited - tomorrow I get to go have a little girl time w/my best girlfriend (hi Dena). We're staying in a hotel in downtown for Saturday night and then hanging out during the day Saturday and Sunday and then coming home on Sunday evening. I can't wait. It's going to be big fun. Yea us!

Big News for Andy - he's a toddler!

About 3 weeks ago, Andy started taking steps - and in the last week he's mastered his walking. He's officially a walker - and he couldn't be happier. He was much different than Ben & Will. It was so cute to watch him learning to walk. It was like he knew that he was doing something different and he was so proud of himself. He would get up - tottle around, fall down and get back up and try again. He was so determined to walk - he wasn't going to give up. He was going to figure it out - and he did. He was so happy - always with hands out and mouth open wide, laughing as loud as he could. Of course - Ben and Will made a big party of it everytime he walked. So that encouragement helped with his excitement.

For me, I'm excited for him that he's walking - and the walking makes it easier for him to play outside with the big kids. But I wasn't quite ready to have a toddler - I was still trying to hang onto my sweet little baby. They grow so fast!

The same eyes

Yesterday after the boys came in from swimming, I made them sit down so I could take a photo of them. After I loaded the photos I realized "wow, my boys all have the same eyes." I knew they looked a like, but I guess I didn't realize how much.

Ben is 5; Will is 3; and Andy is 1.

And our summer begins - Day 1

I decided that everyday during the summer I would take photos of what we did. And at the end of the summer - the boys and I will make a collage and talk about what we did during the summer. I think it will be a great way to remember our summers and to enjoy them too.

Today, my plan was to clean house and go to the gym. I completed half of that. I cleaned a little - but we didn't make it to the gym. The boys got invited next door to our neighbors house to swim. They swam for 6 hours, and had a great time. Pools are awesome. Such good exercise and it wipes them out so they go to bed early and sleep soundly.

I snapped a few photos of the kids playing. The 3 neighbors kids, and then a boy from down the street and then Ben, Will & Andy. Andy doesn't actually swim - just plays in the puddles around the pool and in the fountain pool. It was great fun for them all.

Where should I start

Now that I'm a blogger - I think I'm a little addicted, sort of like craigslist. My best girlfriend got me hooked on that (thank you Dena) - but that's a different story.

Today is the first day of summer (officially for my boys). It's 9am - Will is awake (of course); the hubby went into the office today (maybe he'll actually get some work done); Ben is asleep (he remembers me telling him yesterday if he got up for his last day of school that he could stay up as late as he wanted b/c it was summer. Little did he know that was a ploy to get him out of bed. Of course - last night he was up until 11pm. Yikes!); and Andy is still asleep as well (the last week he's been sleeping until 10 or 11 everyday (yea me!). I'm certain it's a growth spurt and soon he'll go back to waking up at 7am). Not a lot of plans for today - just going to clean house (it's so scarey), and maybe taking the boys to the gym so I can workout (yes - I'm working out ... I know hard to believe), and then they can swim. We'll see how the day actually goes - but hopefully I at least get some housework done.

Will needs clothes - I guess my blog is done...

I'm an official blogger

So ... I've been thinking, contemplating starting a blog. I mean - why not? Everyone whose anyone either has a blog, a myspace or a facebook page - or all three. My friends keep telling me I'm not cool if I don't have a myspace, after all I just have email.

So today - David started this blog for me and added the first photo. I'm not particularly fond of that photo - I think it's a bad angle for me. But it depicts what our family is - we are a unity, but it's a little nutty in our house. With three boys, life wouldn't be anything other than complete chaos. But it's great chaos and it's ours and we are so thankful for it.

So - thanks to my husband ... I now have a place to write, add photos and keep my family and friends updated about our lives. And if for nothing else - it's a place for me to post and keep treasured memories so that I won't forget them.

I hope you enjoy and let me apologize in advance if I ramble (like now).

Kate

Brothers being boys

Today Will and Andy were in the boys bedroom playing on the bed. They were being so cute. Will was really taking care of Andy. I always feel like I'll never remember these moments. I grabbed my camera and snapped a few photos of my boys.

I never realize, until I look at photos that Will is so photogenic. The camera loves him. I snap a photo and then he has to immediately see what he looks like - and then we have to retake it if necessary.

I love these pictures of my boys - being boys. I'm the luckiest mommy in the world to have not one, not two - but three handsome boys.

Ben's now a first grader

Today was Ben's last day of Kindergarten. I can't believe that already he is a first grader. It just seems like yesterday that he was starting kindergarten. He had a great year and really enjoyed his friends and his teachers.

When I picked him up from school today I said to him 'you are no longer a kindergartener - how does it feel to be a first grader?' He said 'I'm not a first grader - I still have 3 months.'

He was excited about the summer coming, but now is wondering 'what do I do?' We have a lot of camps planned for the boys - so hopefully we won't have a tough time keeping them amused.

On the first day of school I took a picture of Ben in front of the tree in front of his school, and then today - on the last day, I took the same picture (or tried - I suppose). I can't believe how much he's changed in one year. His hair is a little longer now - both Ben & Will have decided the longer, skater look is what they like now.

We are so proud of him and so happy with our 'almost in 3 months' first grader.

Post Number One - It's Great to be Here

Family portrait Memorial Day 2008 - of course, one guy is squirming and another just isn't happy.