"Dog Days of September?"

The past few weeks have been SO nice! We have been going on a lot of walks, and playing at different parks.

Here I got a shot of Andrew in his triple threat position at a local park!

And here is Johnny in his!

This past weekend was Dozinky Days in town. It's a Harvest Festival that is ranked in the top 10 of all Harvest Festivals in the whole nation! Who knew! (USA TODAY!) Meredith was so excited to be at the parade. Meg was excited too, especially when Ronald McDonald yelled in her direction- "Hey Fellow REDHEAD, see you at the family reunion!" We were dying! To her credit, there was another redhead behind us.

The boys and the neighbor at the beginning of the parade! They loved EVERY minute of it!

After the parade...look how FULL their bags are with candy and goodies! I have NEVER been to a parade that is so generous!

On Friday night was the Car Cruise, and Street Dance! ( I know, it's almost too much excitement for one week!) Anyways, Erik had a rough week at work and didn't make it down to the festivities on Friday night. At 10:00pm I was walking down a dark alley pushing my stroller, and talking on my cell phone. Andy was in it, and Curtis was holding on to one side, and Johnny on the other. (I'm sure I didn't have a "Happy" look on my face, with 3 kids by myself in a sea of people!) A group of 6 college kids who were drinking walked by us and started chanting, "John and Kate Plus Eight, John and Katie Plus Eight!" I was dying of laughter! Either I looked smokin' hot like Kate, or a crabby "B" like her! Pretty sure it's the latter of the two!

BIG NEWS

A little more happened at the Twins game then I was allowed to blog about!

Johnny's Birthday...The Final Chapter!

Ok, first things first. The boys LOVE basketball. My dad made my deck like a giant playpen a few years ago. It's been great for when I'm trying to make dinner or clean up, and I need to keep an eye on the baby. Andrew is SO into b-ball with his brothers! I LOVE it!

With both boys at school three days a week, I have a little helper on my hands!

Here Andrew is playing before the big party in his pj's!

Johnny had his 4th Birthday party with his friends today. I probably wouldn't do a 4th party with friends. But, when we lived in Europe, Curtis had one, b/c we had no family to celebrate with and that's what they did over there. So, fair is fair! Here are the party goers wearing the visors that they made!
I'm not going to sugar coat the party. I was SO excited, and did all the preparations, made games, cleaned, and stayed up late making sure we were organized. The first 10 minutes of the party, my two older kids, ended up in time-outs b/c they didn't win at games and were poor sports. Game two starts, and Johnny made it through it. Game three, Johnny had to be carried up-stairs b/c he was going crazy that he didn't pin the basketball RIGHT in the hoop. Game 4, and Johnny won the first round of the egg race, and lost the second. He tightened his legs, and was going CRAZY screaming that everyone was cheaters!! Soooooooo, back up to his room goes the birthday boy! Game 5, Johnny sat out. Johnny also missed half of lunch! I think he was in his room 45 out of the first 60 minutes! It was driving me BATTY! Thank goodness for Megan and Kyle here to help AND to help me laugh about it! (Above are the best behaved party goers related to me....Andrew and little Miss Meredith!)

Andrew loving Meredith, as usual! Who doesn't?

Finally, the birthday boy regained control and was able to join us for the song and presents. (Smart kid!)

Megan made the cake. Johnny requested a b-ball! How cute is it?

Johnny was VERY excited opening his presents!

Then it was time for pinata! Each kid took about a million swings at it, and nothing was happening. I had Kyle swing a few times to loosen it up. Still wasn't budging. So, Erik took a shot. Just look at the determination on his face! This was ONE tough pinata!
It still didn't' break, but the holder did. So, Erik ended up just hitting it on the ground and splitting it open for the kids! Boy, from the tantrums, to the pinata.....Erik and I need the date we are going on tonight!

On another note....now that Curtis is at Kindergarten all day....I get entertained by Johnny all day. (Usually he is well behaved and nice!) Here are some videos of two things that NEVER get old. His magic trick I see about 20 times a day, and his animal talking voice that he does the other half of the day when he plays in his room! Enjoy!

Hey, Don't Forget About ME!

Johnny's first day at Pre-K!

Here he is outside of school!

He's got the BEST teacher!

And loved all the activities today. Friday will be his first full day with no parent and he couldn't be more excited!

Curtis was up bright and early! He just wanted to get on the bus SO bad! Here he is 15 minutes BEFORE it was time go out out to the bus!

Waiting for the bus!

So, I was fine, until he got on the bus and it pulled away. Then I turned around and the tears were rolling down my cheeks. Erik looks at me and asked what was wrong. My biggest worry is b/c he goes to a private school, he gets on the bus with the middle school and high school kids. (Our public school elementary doesn't start for almost 2 hours after he gets on the bus!) So, I looked at Erik and said, "Our poor innocent kid is getting on the bus with a PACKER backpack, and it's full of middle school and high school VIKING FANS!"

That was my worry...he was set up for instant teasing! But, he ONLY wanted a Packer Pack, and wore it with pride! He got home this afternoon, and was SO excited about EVERYTHING and had a great day! Now, I can start to enjoy my PEACE and QUIET at home!

First Day of School

Trying to get a picture of all three boys!

Finally got one!

Curtis was SO excited to get to school and into his classroom!

Tomorrow will be the TRUE test....his first full day, and riding the bus for the first time! He is SO stinking excited! I'm so nervous about him making it to school! I'm sure he'll be fine! Still can't believe that he is THIS old already.

How Fast it Goes!

It seems like yesterday that we were pulling up to our new house in Minnesota and I was 7 months pregnant. As we got out of our car, a little 1 year old girl comes toddling over, to meet my 15 month old son. A bond and a friendship was built. Tomorrow they will both be off on the bus to start Kindergarten...and the baby that was in my tummy will be in Pre-K. Doesn't seem possible! Wish me luck, b/c Curtis is totally fine...it's me that's been the blubbering idiot!

Dear Mommy and Daddy

I know how much you love me,

I love you bunches too.

When we are home together,

I love the things we do.

But now I'm getting bigger

and doing things by myself,

like hanging up my coat

and putting books up on the shelf.

I can give my notes and money to my teacher,

and what's more,

the biggest help that you can give

is to kiss me at the door!

Happy Birthday Johnny!

My little Johnny turns 4 today! Last night, the preparing began. Johnny wanted a "Basketball Room" in the house. After numerous trips to Craigslist, and garage sales, I found exactly what I wanted for $10! This hoop keeps score, has a disco light, and EVEN talks trash to you! So, I dragged it to Megan and Kyle's where I cleaned it and stored it waiting for the big day! Last night I went to get it, and Erik set it up in the playroom!

Johnny was LOVING his gifts this morning when we woke up! The ball and the hoop were Johnny's favorite gifts! (Blue is his favorite color!)

The boys playing a heated game of 1 on 1!

Johnny...

HOOP IN' IT UP!