Tuesday, May 31, 2022

A TEENAGER!

 So we have a teenager...Jude turned 13 the day after Easter this year.  Man March and April were TOUGH months around here.  We worked and worked on the house nonstop.  We lived in filth.  We painted and stained and shopped for new furniture and ripped out carpet and moved furniture and vacuumed and dusted and wiped and so much more.  In addition we decided to add a new puppy to our madness and also went to an Elton John concert (amazing!) besides celebrating Easter and planning our big 40th/House party.  AND besides celebrating a fresh new teenager!  Gil took him camping for a night up at Weigand.  It was cold, but I think they had a good time.  Then on his birthday he had his friend Eli come over.  We went to Runza and got a DQ birthday cake and they played the new Star Wars Lego Nintendo Switch game most of the afternoon.  Jude got his own gun and will be taking hunter safety this fall.  Jude I can't believe you're a teenager!  You have done an amazing job navigating jr. high and have loved (almost) every minute of it.  You played football, basketball, track, did a science fair project, got good grades, were on student council, and were chosen as the student of the year for both social studies and science.  You are a willing volunteerer at school and sometimes at home!  You love to try new things and are outgoing, smart, kind, thoughtful, full of questions, and interested in all sorts of topics.  Your quest for knowledge (and what you know) both amaze me.  I can't wait to see all the amazing things you will do in your teenage years!  We love you so much!!!



Jude and Eli

cousins at easter with the piรฑata in place of an egg hunt (so fun!)

easter outfits
new globe

robes and globes for easter this year!

gun...don't ask me what kind...I hate guns!

Sunday, March 6, 2022

February birthday no. 2

 

Well Lukey Pie is 7.  How can that be?!?  I've always thought of him as my baby boy even though he isn't really the baby...I think it was the coming a month early and the scare he gave us during the pregnancy.  He's always been a little littler, but he has a lot of spunk and he's getting more each day!  For Luke's birthday we had a birthday breakfast party (obviously!).  Luke got a new John Deere planter, a couple more Lego race cars, a John Deere shirt and a nerf gun that arrived a few days late!  He also got a Mario shirt and some candy from the Herricks and a Kirby squishy and stickers from the Swindolls.  Then headed to school.  It was a Friday so after school I took him and Duke and got some gas then headed to pick up Case Ruwe.  From there we stopped at home quick and then headed to Taco Bell with everyone in both vehicles.  We ate some tacos and then went to cone park for their last weekend open of the winter.  We still haven't gotten a single day to sled or use the snowmobile this winter...Crazy!  We did a little sledding and ice skating and then made the rounds again to bring the boys home.  They are a wild crew those three, but the energy level on the way home was markedly less than on the way there! Even so they had a lively conversation about the planets and space and the meaning of life along with the list of hard words they are capable of spelling.  The topics were wide ranging is what I'm saying!  

The next morning Gil brought "Bubbles," AKA "Bubba" home!  The kids were thrilled but I can say definitively one week later that the honeymoon phase has already ended (eye-roll!).  He is adorable though and also full of energy and the desire to chew everything in sight (even us...).  Brett and Sammy brought his sister home a couple days ago and called her "Penny."  

Then that afternoon grandma and grandpa Ridenour joined grandma and grandpa Koester and us for some birthday cake.  We had a little party then my parents headed out to York to leave for Arizona the next day with Jim and Barb.  As I was making supper that night Chelsea Majerus appeared with her husband walking through my deck door.  It was so surreal!  I got to give her a hug and a tour of the place that I know looks nothing like her childhood home anymore.  That was a special thing.  So unbelievable.  Just that afternoon mom and been saying, "don't you wish you could show this addition to all the people who lived here before!"  It was a true blast from the past.  After the kids went to bed we stayed up late playing cards with John and Carolyn.  Then the slept for (hopefully) the last time on the air mattress while listening to the puppy whine all night!  

Luke you are such a sweet boy.  You are a go getter and strive to be the best at whatever you do.  You always have a ball in your hands and have gotten really good at soccer, football, and basketball.  It will be fun to see you try baseball this summer.  You are getting to be a good reader and love to read your own books.  You have such a great smile with your sparkling brown eyes that I can't resist!  You also built your Legos all by yourself!  You have lots of questions and are learning so much each day.  You like to keep up with the big kids and do everything they get to do.

Here are some recent pics in a very random order again!


Gil and I finally got to attend the Martina concert Gil got me tickets to for Valentine's Day 2020!
Bringing Bubbles home.
Planter
ice skating
Thomas and Like playing tic tac toe
Nerf gun finally came!  It's big...
This boys gave me a pedicure yesterday ๐Ÿ˜‚
Birthday breakfast party
Saturday afternoon party (and Thomas is shirtless ๐Ÿ™ˆ)




Taco Bell
Duke, Luke, Case
Wore him out!
Cake time!
Attic play while the guys mud and tape on a Sunday
4955 tractor ๐Ÿ˜Š

Monday, February 21, 2022

Mikey is Nine!






Well Mikey is 9.  I say it every time but I don't know how it happens!  His birthday was on a Saturday and we had sort of planned a sledding day at ConePark with the Herrick's but Mikey and I were both down with the stomach flu (booo!) during the week so we just had a day at home and then went to Godfather's with the Pick's and Koester grandparents last minute.  Mikey really wanted a dessert pizza so that's what he got!  The morning of his birthday we had cinnamon rolls and opened presents.  He got a big spiderman Lego, a stuffed giraffes (I will never get over how much they love and play with stuffed animals!), a spiderman shirt, a terrarium from the Swindolls, and some birthday money from grandma and grandpa Ridenour.  We got to show my family around our addition after pizza that night.  It is really coming along and Travis built the "library" above the living room this week.  

The following Thursday I had parent teacher conferences and Michael came home to spend the night with Mikey.  They played outside, Legos, and a TON of Nintendo Switch!!!  The next morning I brought Michael home and we had Friday off so we had another nice day at home.  Then Saturday morning Jude had his last Jr. High basketball game in Winside.  So he went to that and Gil and grandpa Lindy took Mikey and Cora to 4-H calf weigh in.  After that we raced over to Winside and met the Herricks and grandma and grandpa Ridenour there.  They won the game and Jude had a good season playing point guard (!).  Next we ate lunch at Runza and following that we stopped by the Muellers to see their 21 (!) Australian Shepard puppies (2 litters).  We have been thinking about getting another bigger dog and they must have won us over because we left debating between a male and a female.  Spoiler we picked the male and named him "Bubbles" or "Bubba" for short (much to Cora's dismay!).  Finally, we headed home for a quick house tour and some Spiderman birthday cake.  

Mikey, you are such a cool kid.  You are inquisitive and always trying to figure out how things work.  You are becoming a very good student and have been very responsible with your school work this year.  You love animals and all the pets and are a great chore doer!  You have a great sense of humor and are always laughing.  You have grown so much over this past year.  I can't wait to see what the next year brings for you.  Love you so much Michael Johnnie!!!

I should also mention that the week before Mikey's birthday we lost Grandpa Gilbert at age 99.  His services were such amazing times of reflection on his amazing life and lead to some great discussions between Gil and I and with the kids.  We were so grateful to have gotten to see him at Christmas.

These pictures are in really random order!

Mikey's cake and kids
Mikey holding Bubbles, the first one he held!
Birthday morning
Party time
New Warriors (Curry) Jersey
Cake:)
Puppies
Godfather's
Lego
Dessert Pizza!
Family Service
Jersey
Godfather's
Cake
Cheesecake Factory on the way home from the funeral
Thomas and Luke looking at Grandpa
popcorn balls
candles
Terrarium group project 
Boy's car