Almost Christmas!

Christmas, I am so ready for you. The tree is up and decorated, we've seen Santa and told him what cool new toys we're hoping for, gifts are bought and wrapped, and we had Christmas goodies but then Emrick 'dropped' them on the floor and the dogs ate them all up. The kids are big enough to really get into gift buying this year, so my parents took them and let them pick out gifts for Burger and me! I'm so excited to see what they picked! And Burger took Jacob shopping to get a gift for Emrick. I will be taking Emrick later today to pick something for Jacob. They are beyond excited!

Burger's work schedule is ridiculous, as it usually is this time of year. When the factory get days off, the electricians work extra hard! It's nice to have the money from over time, but it's really sad to not see much of him around the holidays.

Well, time for me to keep on keeping on. A few more last minute Christmas errands today and maybe some more goodies baking tomorrow. Hope you enjoy your holiday!

Painting With Daddy

I was away and Burger decided that it would fun to paint Emrick's new room with the kids! Mom, if you're reading this, I'm sorry Burger let Jacob ruin his new awesome pants you bought him. But, if it makes any difference, all three of them had the time of their lives! Jacob made up 'the butt dance' which is how their little behinds got so messy. But by the time I got home it was all cleaned up. Except the clothes, which were thrown in the hamper with all the other dirty clothes. Burger was clearly using his head today! And also, yes, Emrick peed her pants and Burger took pictures like that. So...

Halloween Fun

This is what Burger and I did on Halloween to entertain ourselves. Right after the picture was snapped, both kid jumped up and immediately begged us to wash off their' blood.' They thought it was super fun, until it wasn't any more. The weeks before Halloween we went through costume picking hell. Jacob kept changing his mind and just didn't know what he wanted to be! Emrick didn't want to be anything, because she's Emrick, as she would say. For trick or treating Emrick dressed as an M&M and Jacob as a skeleton vampire. They got lots of candy and had fun!

Happy Birthday!

What an amazing day for a birthday! The weather was so wonderful, and I got to spend time with all the people I love. Burger and the kids made me amazing wall decorations and Burger bought me a book. Smart guy! We had lunch at Perkins. The evening was spent with my parents at the pumpkin farm. It was great! We bounced on the giant air pillow thing and it was super fun! Then we ate at Fazzoli's. And even though Emrick ate half my food instead of eating any of her own and the free birthday cookie they gave me tasted disgusting, I still feel like we all had a good time.

Toddler Troubles

Emrick is definitely her own little person. She is so cute and innocent that sometimes I forget just exactly how naughty she is! Then, we have a week like last week and it all rushes back to me. Last Tuesday she decided to give herself a little hair cut. That's what I get for washing the dishes, I guess! It was awful. Nearly down to her scalp. I decided that I better call the hair salon and see if they could help me. I ran to the basement to grab the phone book and when I came up Emrick had colored her legs red with marker! We got the hair 'fixed' as best we could, but it's still a little interesting looking! Then at lunch on Wednesday she decided to see what corn would taste like. Up. Her. Nose. Luckily we were able to get it out and all was well. She didn't care for it much at all so I'm thinking she might not stick anything else up her nose for a few days, at least. And today while we were visiting a friend, Emrick decided that their living room walls would look better in red marker. I'm not sure if we will be getting invited back...

And Then We Did This...

We didn't get to actually SEE Daytona Beach because we got there too late. But I got a nice picture of the sign with my phone camera!

Emrick playing Barbies in the airport waiting for out car to come!

Before our Florida trip, I let the kids at a can of chocolate frosting just to see what would happen. Now we know! It was super fun and the clean up wasn't as bad as you would think.

Jacob plays football!

We visited Hansen Dairy Farm in Hudson to see where our milk, eggs, and butter come from!

Home Schooling and MOPS

That. The title. That's what I've been up to lately. Or, in theory at least!

Jacob has been really into watching Star Wars lately but today he randomly pulled out the Spiderman movie. I like Spiderman better than Star Wars!

Emrick is her same old messy self.

Burger has decided he would like to go back to school. He's just not sure what he wants to learn there, yet. So if you have any great ideas, let us know!

Whoa!

We had Emrick's half birthday a few days ago. Super fun! We baked a cake and the kids decorated, then we all ate it up! She is two and a half years old now. Growing so fast!

Over the weekend we went to the air show and had a good time. The kids loved watching the loud planes!

Today I am trying to clean up our cluttered house. Tomorrow I will be wrapping MOPS gifts, hopefully!

Finger Painting

I got the kids giant Spiderman coloring pages and some finger paint yesterday. They hada great time! When Emrick was done, she decided to leave a hand print in the hall way. I plan to wash it off eventually, but I kind of like it there...

Trying!

I really need to try harder to write more here. Just for myself. To have this to look back on when I need to remember what life is about. Jacob is turning 5 tomorrow. Tomorrow! Five whole years! It seems so unreal. He is the most awesome, amazing person I know. He is my inspiration. Jacob is almost always excited about everything, even if it doesn't turn out exactly how he had thought. He is a little smarty who has more common sense than most adult people I know. He thinks about things in a very realistic way and figures out his own problems even when I'm unsure if he will be able to. Jacob loves Emrick. Jacob loves almost everything.

Burger and I talked a few months ago and after some debating decided that I will home school Jacob. It was a big decision but in the end, it was a pretty easy choice. I know that we will have so much fun and it will be a great experience for all of us! Jacob is ready to learn and extra excited that I am going to be his kindergarten teacher. I have been looking through curriculum books and trying to figure out where to start! This is going to be an awesome adventure!

Awesome

We went to our very first Buck's game ever on Sunday! Had a great time even though it was way too super hot outside. The kids brought little cars and played in the bleachers. They ate cotton candy and drank Gatorade. Then they bounced in the little bouncey house. They had an amazing time. Thanks for going with us Cody!

I love these guys. They are best friends and would be lost without each other. I hope they can keep this up for ever!

Emrick at the game. She ate a candy bar and it was so melty hot out! But, she thoroughly enjoyed her chocolate and that's all that matters!

Friday!

If I try to write, you won't understand any of it. I am tired and busy and it would turn into a bunch of run on sentences that don't make sense. So instead I'm going to do this:
-We had sweet corn for lunch today! Yum!
-Jacob is watching Power Rangers for the first time ever and I had forgotten how stupid this show is.
- Emrick is napping.
-Burger left for work.
-I am thinking of starting to get some of the garage sale stuff arranged.
-The garage sale is tomorrow morning. I have a lot of work to do before then.
-Planning Jacob's birthday party is a big pain in my behind.
-Jacob's birthday party is next Saturday!
-I can't believe Jacob is going to be five entire years old.
-I just spent nearly $30 on Lego shaped candy for Jacob's party. They better taste awesome.
-I don't have anything to drink in my house so I am forced to drink water out of the tap. My least favorite kind.
-We went to Target today to get some supplies and I forgot to get garbage bags. I am completely out of garbage bags. It kind of feels like something to panic about right this minute.

Fun!

Someday I might figure out how to post pictures on ere in the right order! But for now, you'll just have to read the stories to understand, sorry! Jacob had a dentist appointment today. He rocks at the dentist and has no cavities! He picked a sticker and a bouncy ball for his prize. They also gave Emrick a new tooth brush and let her pick prizes. Happy campers. Then we went to Toys'R'Us to browse. The kids love to play in the big car aisle! All in all, a pretty fun day.

July?! When did that happen?

Uh, like 12 days ago... sorry for the posting strike. We have had a lot of things to think about recently and big decisions to make. But, more on that some other time. Burger has been working 2nd shift going on the third week now. I love love having him work 2nd shift but it seriously messes up my whole 'schedule.' Can't complain though, because we get to hang out and the kids get to see a lot more of him!

Today I decided to take every single thing out of the kitchen cupboards and get rid of all the stuff that we don't absolutely need. Our kitchen is far too small to be storing things we don't use regularly. I started at ten o'clock this morning and I have been working on it all day. I am still not quite finished and it's six in the evening. Like, tub time for the kids! I haven't even given them dinner yet. They have been really good sports for the most part. So, when they asked if they could paint, I paused my work and to get them all set up. Then I went back to my cleaning. Jacob came to me and was so excited because they were master artists! And I need to come see! What they did! It was so great! And amazing! And I was going to love it! Come see! Come see! I bet you can't guess what kind of master pieces those little monkeys made. Table, chairs, and some walls were beautifully splattered. And the floor. We had a little chat about that, then I cleaned it all up and went back to cleaning. On my agenda for tonight after the kids go to bed is finishing my kitchen project and cleaning the couch. What a busy day!

Summer Fun

Hey guys! Long time, no see! Well, we went to Dubuque the other day and went to the river museum with my nephews and sister in law. Was fun to see everyone! The river museum is always a good time. Then we went to dinner with a friend of Burger's. Also always a good time!

Yesterday our air conditioner stopped working. Awesome sauce. So the furnace guys are here today installing a new furnace and air conditioner.

I ordered Jacob a new booster car seat at a deeply discounted price from a web site I heard about. Great deal! Now I'm waiting for it to come in the mail. It should be delivered today...

Emrick is wanting to use the potty now. Well, sometimes. Enough that I am starting to make her use the potty even when she doesn't really want to...

The kids wanted capes the other day so I went and bought some heavy duty safety pins and pinned hand towels onto the shoulders of their shirts. They think this is the most awesome thing ever! And, I'm pretty sure it is...

Great Day!

Well, I uploaded the pictures completely backwards, but you still get the idea! The kids and I went shopping at Target then the mall. We played at the mall then had Subway for lunch! The kids ate every single bite of it! Then we got cones from Coldstone's. And when we got home we picked up the living room and Jacob passed out on the couch. Somewhere in there we stopped at the grocery store and got fruit to make some popsicles! We had a really fun day together!

Jacob graduated Preschool!

Weekend Fun!

1.) Friday, we went to the Fourth Street Cruise Show and Shine. The kids were crazy people! My mom and I took them to the petting zoo. They love it there!

2.) This is what we do when we hang out at home.

3.) Yesterday we went to my parent's house and washed the cars. The kids played in the water and had a blast!

Today was Jacob's last day of preschool. He doesn't seem to mind one way or the other but I am super happy to have him home with me for the entire summer! Tomorrow we have park day with his school. The kids will sing some songs and play at the park with their school friends then we will go back to the school to have a sack lunch on the school lawn! Jacob is really excited!

Fun Times!

1.) Jacob drew a picture of a water slide with the sidewalk chalk!

2.)Emrick and Great Grandma playing sidewalk chalk together.

3.) Emrick walking to get Jacob from school.

4.) Jacob playing at Great Grandma's.

Catch Up!

OK, so I am really bad at Picture a Day May! Soon it will June and I feel like I have kind of failed at this mission. I will admit, I have posted WAY more than I probably would have, had I not promised a picture a day in May. So, that counts for something, right?

1.) We went for a walk in the rain on Friday. The kids thought it was fun to wear their rain coats. They already wear their rain boots all the time!

2.) Emrick dressed as a cowgirl when we went to Jacob's school for Family Gathering.

3.) Today we went to a car show and there was an Army helicopter there for the kids to see. They got to climb right up there and check everything out. My kids thought it was the most awesome thing ever! We had a great time!

4.)The kids playing ball at Grandpa Oldenburger's house on Saturday. They took turns with the bat and Jacob can actually hit the ball sometimes when some one throws it to him!

5.)Emrick in her rain gear. She was telling the rain to 'Stop!'

Bubble Fun

I bought a bunch of super fun bubble blowers for the kids yesterday! We had tons of fun blowing bubbles and being outside. Today we were busy! We had a Family Gathering at Jacob's school and got to see all the fun things they have been growing there. Then I bought a new coffee table and end table from a friend's garage sale. It's quite a bit bigger than our current coffee table but it fits and we're getting used to it! The end table is a nice addition, since we never had one. Tomorrow Jacob's teacher is coming for his end of year home visit. I think it counts as his last student/teacher conference, so we should get a lot of information on how he has been doing and all the things they have been teaching him. Next week is his last full week of preschool. That went crazy fast!

Llamas!

We went to the llama farm on a field trip for Jacob's school today!

Hello!

I am starting to get really really tired of crappy phone pictures.

On Friday we went to my mom's school and celebrated her birthday with cupcakes and ice cream! Jacob and Emrick enjoyed meeting my mom's school kids. I had fun eating cupcakesa nd ice cream. Saturday we went to Toys'R'Us and had a little too much fun with the 90% off Easter stuff. Sunday was boring until we decided to go to Chuck E. Cheese. Both kids were happy and my dad schooled Burger in skee ball.

Over the weekend the baby chicks at Jacob's school hatched! Tomorrow we will be going to the llama farm for his school field trip. I have invited myself and Emrick along. Hopefully his teachers don't mind!

Making up for Yesterday

Because I didn't post yesterday (because I'm lazy, or busy, or blogger failed or something else more fun that maybe you could come up with...) I decided that it would be only fair to post extra pictures for you! Yay! Pictures of Mandi's offspring! And husband! Who has entirely too much hair on his head. But, that's a story for a different day. Or maybe never. We'll see...
Picture #1- Emrick blowing bubbles at Megan's house.
Picture #2- Emrick being a butterfly. Which is so cute it would make you gag. Maybe I will get a video of it to show you. Oh yeah, that's right, I don't have my camera. Which means I have nothing to record videos with... Bummer for you...
Picture #3- Burger at the park with the kids.
Picture #4- Jacob using the bubble blower at Megan's house.