Jersey Day

This week was Red Ribbon week at school and the girls really didn't participate.  I've learned to pick my battles so I didn't push it.  But Friday was "Team up Against Drugs" AKA jersey day and both girls were all about their outfits this morning!!

Not to be left out, Drew found a jersey to wear today too!  :)

Nap

Drew is still adjusting to having a sitter come twice a week in the mornings.  And that is because we haven't been able to keep a good schedule with all the sickness we have had.  So about the time he starts to get use to Jolie coming, she has to mess a week b/c someone is sick at our house.  Then we start readjusting all over again.  This means nap time gets thrown off and thus we've had lots of short naps from 2 to 3 in the afternoons and I have to do the totally unfair task of waking a sleeping baby to go get sisters from school.  :(

 

Nothing Wrong with Hand Me Downs

It was time to find some winter clothes and go up a size in clothes for Drew.  I didn't think it'd take too long... and it turns out we have been blessed with A LOT of hand me downs!!  It took me pretty much all day to switch out his clothes.

 

A Fairy Tale Diaster

Once upon a time I could give Drew yogurt and a spoon and he'd fee himself while I cooked dinner.  Don't guess that fairy tale will continue....

 

Memories of Carli

My Facebook memories were full of Carli the other day.  Not much has changed in my strong willed baby!

 

Today, she got a splinter, it isn't deep, it is half in and half out of her hand.  It'd take less than a second to pull I out.  She's been outside, crying at the though of pulling it out for almost an hour...

 

Tuft and Needle

Keith and I were in dire need of a new mattress but had put off getting one b/c well, it was a pretty daunting thought and expensive.  But our chiro recommended the brand Tuft & Needle.  After Keith did some research we decided to give it a go!

 

They shipped us our King Sized Mattress in the mail...it came like this:

 

 

We started unrolling it and once it hit the air...

It puffed up to a big King Mattress!

 

So far we are really enjoying the mattress!  We have 100 days to tell them if we are dissatisfied but so far we are pretty satisfied with our purchase!

Date Night!

It's very rare that Keith and I go out without the kids.  We are okay with that, b/c well, we have kids and they are our life right now.  But every now and then Keith will get Grammy and Pa to come play with the kids and we go to the movies and dinner alone.  Not only did we manage to go to the new Jack Reacher movie and I stayed awake, we had dinner.  We forgot we didn't have the kids with us and finished dinner in less than 15 minutes... oops!  We didn't make it to Lowe's, so by Hays' date night definition I'm not sure this really qualified as a date!  :)

Stryker

Meet Stryker...our 3/4 Bull Mastiff and 1/4 Stafford Bulldog Terrier.  He's a rescue and we decided that we had room in our hearts for another dog...call us crazy b/c we are.  :)

We actually got Stryker because Sadie is so crazy lonely and we knew she'd appreciate the company.  And after watching Stryker with his rescuer, he was the calmest puppy we had ever seen.  And he is crazy about kids. 

The vet estimated him to be around 10 weeks old when we got him, so that put his birthday at the end of July - we are going to us July 22nd as his birthday.  He was 30 lbs at 10 weeks old.

We brought him home and Sadie was thrilled.  They are inseparable!

But he and Sadie played so hard, he got a nice scratch on him that turned into an infection despite our efforts to keep it clean.  Poor baby.  Because he was a rescue and a bit malnourished his immune system wasn't very strong.  But after an IV antibiotic and an overnight stay with the vet, he was as good as new!  It had only been 2 weeks since he had been to the vet and he was already 40 lbs!



October Sassy Slugger Tournament

The Sassy Sluggers had a tournament this past weekend in Carthage.  When Carli started playing for the Sassy Sluggers we promised her we would stay in a hotel for at least one tournament.  We picked this one and go figure we woke up Saturday morning and Ava was not feeling well.  So Carli and I headed to play ball and Keith took Ava and Drew to the Urgent Care to make sure Ava was okay.

 

Carli had an amazing first game.  At the plate she had a single, double and the go ahead triple.  She started in right field and did an amazing job helping back up first and paying attention with each pitch.  She ended up in left center after the second inning.  :)

 

The Sassy Sluggers won their first pool game in an awesome game!  :)  The girls were stoked!

 

We ended up playing four games on Saturday.  Ava insisted she felt fine so Keith and crew came  in time for the first bracket game.  We lost our first two bracket games which was awesome! 

Grammy and Pa even got to come and watch one of the games we won.  Carli had a rough first bracket game but made up for it in her second game.  We went and grabbed a bite to eat between games.

 

Sunday morning we lost our first game and I took Ava and Drew home as Ava still wasn't 100%.  Sassy Sluggers lost their second game but placed 4th in the tournament which is the best they've ever done!  Whoop!

Homecoming

This was homecoming week for Troup and Carli got a sweet surprise from Branson tonight!  We are so thankful for this sweet friendship they share!

 

Random Drew Pictures

Drew loves ketchup and green beans.

 

 

Grammy found him a small chair that's just his size to sit and play on her iPhone!

 

Drew found Daddy's boots and didn't understand why he couldn't walk in them!

Lunch with Sisters

When your 6 year old works through her fear and holds her own practicing softball with a bunch of 8 year olds, you hold up your end of the bargain and bring her Sonic for lunch.  And the other two siblings get to reap the benefit of a good bargain.  No nap for Drew and a Dr. Pepper for Carli.

 

Sassy Slugger Family Day

Carli's softball team had their usual Sunday afternoon practice and then we enjoyed a family day celebration.  We had burgers and hot dogs fresh off the grill then a fun game of kick ball with the girls vs their families.  They even had cupcakes to celebrate the fall birthdays on the team.  We have enjoyed getting to know the families of Sassy Sluggers and have greatly enjoyed watching Carli make new friends while learning the importance of teamwork on the field.

 

Fall birthday Celebrations

Ryleigh Lane, Addie, Rylee Lohmeyer, Carli, Rylee T., Gracie

 

The Sassy Sluggers

 



Family Picture

Carli and Ava playing kickball

Pa and Drew

Drew and I go to Alto every Friday.  I go work at the TeraGanix office and Drew gets to spend some time with Grammy and Pa.  Drew really enjoys his Fridays!  He gets the undivided attention of Grammy and then Pa will come and take him on rides through the pasture and to see the chickens.  There's just something pretty special about a boy and his Pa.  :)

 

Naps

So I told Drew he needed a nap...

 

And five minutes later, he proved my point...

Going Camping

Branson came over and there was a lot of discussion going on out in the garage.  They left me this list while they headed off to Branson's house to get camping supplies!

 

 

Later I found the girls in the yard waiting for Branson to get back so they could go camping!

 

Picture Day

It's picture day!  Are you are familiar with Pig-Pen from Charlie Brown, the kid with dirt swirling around him?  I am taking bets on how long it takes Ava to look like him, especially her hair...and crossing my fingers they let 1st grade take their pictures first!

 

OTA Return Visit

When we asked Carli what she wanted to do for her birthday, her immediate response was that she wanted to give Mrs. Chrissie a hug and a bundt cake.  So today, after our 8 year old well check, we made that happen!

 

My Boys

When Keith and Drew are in charge of softball practice for Ava, they have a lot of fun together!

 

Carli's Birthday Celebrations

Carli really wanted to wear a birthday shirt to school and I really didn't want to spend $50 on one.  So we compromised and got the stuff for her to make her own birthday shirt.  She had a lot of fun picking a design and using a ton of glitter!  Ava joined in on the fun as well.  For our first time making our own shirts, they turned out pretty good!

 

I don't do parties very well, so we kind of go all out for the snacks at school.  Carli asked for bundt cakes and ice cream.  They were a big hit and she really enjoyed sharing her favorites with all her classmates. We made use of our softball wagon to get all the goods in and out of the school, including Drew!

After school we headed to softball practice, where Carli's teammates put her up on the ball bucket and sang their little hearts out to her!  :)  Then it was off to Little Mexico where Grammy, Pa, Uncle Andy, Aunt Chelle, Logan and Eady all joined us at Carli's request for a birthday dinner.  She didn't want the staff to sing to her but she was a good sport and wore the hat for a picture for us!

 

Saturday morning, Carli opened her gifts from us - Keith finished Rebecca's loft bed for Carli and Ava gave Carli a new pink collar...which is for the new mastiff puppy we are suppose to get to pick up this week.  The puppy is half for the kids and half for Sadie.  Sadie has been super lonely since the girls went back to school.  

 

After presents, we picked up Branson and were off for a morning of bowling and then lunch at Taco Bueno!

Ava was a lot of fun to watch bowl.  She's a great granny bowler but the funniest part is that she rolls the ball and walks away without even knowing what she knocks down!

Branson and Carli did their best to bowl the "right" way and wore themselves out in the process.  Drew enjoyed sitting on the step and helping Ava bowl every now and then!

After a couple games of bowling it was off to Taco Bueno for a bit of lunch before we went home to finish off some cake and get ready for Ava's softball game.

What a fun couple days we had celebrating our girl.  We sure are blessed with her smart, witty and a bit strong headed beauty!