A little dancing and our week in review.

The kids were dancing the other day and I managed to get a couple minutes of it on video. I am not sure where Maddux gets his moves but he was cutting some serious rug to Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal." Brooklyn was doing her thing and Nolan was just along for the ride. We did have to end it a little early as Payton got a little to close to the action and was taken out.


This is a picture that I have been meaning to post for quite some time. Maddux decided he would try and stick his head between the bars on the stool. Well he got his head through but couldn't figure out how to get it back out. Now the funny thing is that I had taken Nolan to get a haircut and stop by the grocery store so I wasn't home to help get him out and Jennie didn't know where the wrench was to loosen the bars. So she had to call one of our good friends, Randy, who came over and took the stool apart and freed Maddux. I think that Maddux probably spent a good 15 to 20 minutes with his head in the chair. He was not all that thrilled about it but will probably never stick his head in there again. The only picture that we got was from Randy's cell phone so the clarity isn't all that good but you get the idea. I can't believe that Jennie didn't break out the camera. That would have been the first thing that I did.

Well this week I took off for vacation and we got to spend a lot of time with family for the holiday. We were lucky enough to see Nate and Lauren perform in the Radio City Music Hall production of the Rockettes and had a great time at the show. The show was in Pittsburgh, about 2 hours away, but was well worth the drive. We are thankful to Nate and Lauren who got us free tickets right in the middle of the stage about 15 rows deep. They were perfect seats. I think the kids had a good time and really enjoyed the show. It was the first time that I had really watched the whole program and enjoyed going to see it. Sorry there are no pictures but those were not allowed during the performance and they had people making sure it wasn't going on. If you have never seen them before you should look into it as it is a good show.

We then brought Nate and Lauren back with us to celebrate Thanksgiving and were joined by Jennie's aunt and uncle, Vickie and Steve, Greg and his family, and Spencer. We played up at the Church with the kids for a couple of hours and then went back and stuffed ourselves silly. Then capped the night off with some Catchphrase, which the guys won 3 - 0, and some dessert. It was the perfect way to spend the holiday and great to see family.

As usual, the week of vacation flew by but I am looking forward to another week during Christmas. We hope you all had a great turkey day yourself and are thankful to all of those that made ours possible. It is such a blessing to be so close to family.

Brooklyn's Hoops.

Brooklyn's basketball career started last weekend and they are off to a slow start. Her league is second grade boys and girls and this is the first year that she has played. Once again Jennie is coaching Brooklyn's team along side one of our good friends, Randy, who also has a daughter on the team (one of Brooklyn's friends). It is a kick to watch them play as most of them dribble a couple times, pick up the ball and run a little bit, then dribble some more and run with the ball. You can't call anything because everyone does it and it wouldn't be any fun if they did. Brooklyn has made big improvements from the first game. Her first game she was scared of the ball and didn't want anything to do with it. When it came she would close her eyes and swat the ball away. She did shoot once but didn't look like she really wanted to. Then her next game she was firing away and shooting every time she touched the ball (kind of like her mother). She did manage to hit one of those shots and was very excited to score. The boys kind of take over the games so the girls don't get a lot of action outside of running up and down the floor. Now we just need to work on Brooklyn's dribbling and getting herself open to shoot. Everyone runs down to the end of the court and then they just stop and watch the person bring the ball up the court. Then when they get down they aren't really sure what to do and end up just watching. It is really fun to watch them and I know that Brooklyn is having a good time. Maddux has been practicing with the team but still has a couple of years to go before he can play. The funny thing is that he would probably be the 2nd or 3rd best player on the team. He is a scoring machine. I am still going to try and get him in at least one of the games before the season is over. I can't imagine anyone saying anything. Anyways, here are some pictures from the first two games.


Maddux and Nolan had the best seats in the house, the yellow line is the baseline under the basket.


Brooklyn running down the floor getting ready to go on the offensive attack (her two friends Alexa and Meghan are running with her).


This is how Brooklyn and most of her teammates play offense. They just stand around watching.


Brooklyn passing the ball inbounds to her teammate.


This was Brooklyn's first and only shot of her first game. She is out a little further than she should be but we will work on that.

Well it should be a fun season and Jennie and I are very excited to watch Brooklyn progress and learn throughout the season.

Brooklyn's class had a Thanksgiving play with the other two second grades classes, last Thursday, and here are the highlights from that night. Brooklyn did a very good job in memorizing her two parts and even got to play the xylophone because one of the other kids wasn't there. She stepped in and did a great job. I just wish the video quality was a little better but you can still see her performance. The play last about 45 minutes which was perfect for the rest of the kids. She was very proud of her performance as were we. Who knows, maybe this will be the start of her acting career. Anyways, we wish every a Happy Thanksgiving and are thankful for all that we have.

Final Two Weeks of Soccer.

Well soccer is now over and now it is on to basketball. Before we move on I wanted to post some last pictures and video from their final games. They ended the season with a doubleheader as they were making games up from the season. The weather was a little cold and I am glad to be done with practices and games in the cold. I am sure it wasn't that bad for the kids as they could run around but for the parents sitting and watching it was not as nice. Maddux ended the season by dominating the last two teams they played. In the first game they won 13 - 1 and the last game was even more lopsided than that. I stopped keeping track as they scored goal after goal. The other coach wanted to stop the game with 5 minutes left because it wasn't even fair. For the season Maddux's team didn't lose a single game. They did tie once 2 - 2 on a day when Maddux was sick. They didn't allow more than 2 goals in any game and Maddux has developed a very nice left foot (not to bad for a 5 year old). His last two games he scored a total of 16 goals (7 in the first game and 9 in the last; a majority of which were left footed). He had a very good coach and worked with and pushed Maddux to use his left foot a lot of the time. He has a very strong right foot and to help keep things somewhat competitive he would make Maddux kick with his left quite a bit. To give you an idea of Maddux's right foot, he had one goal from beyond the midfield point where he just kicked the ball over everyone's head right into the goal. I am still yet to see another kid kick the ball as far as he did that day. I can't wait to watch them play in the Spring when they have the exact same team. It was almost unfair to watch them play some of these teams and to watch they in another 6 months when the are bigger and faster is going to be fun. We finally had to stop paying Maddux money for every goal because after every goal he would come over and let me and his coach know how much he had.

Brooklyn finished the year on a high note with two wins and her very first soccer goal ever. They finally got into the win column with two games left and then won the last on a forfeit (they were suppose to play the same team they just beat again and they must not have wanted any of that so they didn't show up). It also saw Brooklyn's first goal and if you wait to the end of the video you will see her score. I had to turn the camera off so you wouldn't hear me scream like a crazed parent. We were all very excited and I know that Brooklyn was extremely happy. It was fun to watch the girls win their first game because they were jumping up and down like they had just won the World Cup. I was glad that they could finish the season out on a positive note. They really did get a lot better throughout the year and really started to develop by the end of the season. We will see if Jennie and her mom want to coach next year. If they do they will have to coax Brooklyn into playing because I don't know that she is that excited about it right now. Maybe once the weather gets nice she will change her mind. That and Nolan should be able to play next Spring so she may not want to be the only one not playing. Anyway, it was a very fun season and I can't wait until Spring to watch the kids again. I love going out and watching them and just hope that I don't embarrass them or Jennie with all my yelling and cheering. I really hope that I don't turn into one of the crazy parents who is going nuts at every game. I always make fun of those people and I will probably turn out to be just like them.

Here are a couple of photos from the kids final couple of games.


Maddux scoring one of his many goals. In most of his goals you will not see anyone else close to him as he generally outruns everyone and has a clear path to the goal. I believe that he is lining this up to kick it with his left foot.


Maddux getting ready to turn on the jets and take off.


Brooklyn trying to outrun the other player to the ball.


Strike one, this is one thing that we need to work on with Brooklyn. Sometimes she gets going to fast and whiffs at the ball. For now it kind of works as a fake but as soon as the girls start trying to take the ball away from her it will not be as effective.


I love this shot because as you can see the other player is gearing up to kick the ball away but by the time he gets his foot back Maddux has already kicked the ball by him and is on his way to get it back.


Maddux and his team after their final game with their trophies. I think it is cool for them to get them even if Jennie thinks kids should not get trophies. I know that Maddux loves getting them.


Maddux's last goal of the season. As you can tell by his attire it was very cold for his last game.


Brooklyn gets pushed down while going for the ball.


I know that goalies are suppose to wear different tops to stand out but this may be a little much. Colored sweater with the purple beanie. I guess it worked because she didn't allow any goals. She actually became very good at goalie this year and know just needs to work on punting the ball out after she stops it. She doesn't have a great throw and tends to throw it toward the other team creating more work for herself. However she did have many games where she stopped every shot and didn't let anything by her.

Stay tuned for basketball updates as Brooklyn starts a new journey. She will not be alone as Jennie is coaching her again with one of Brooklyn's friends dad. It should be an interesting season.

We finally have a bedroom set.

No more sleeping on mattress on the ground. After being married for almost 9 years Jennie and I finally have a real bed with matching dressers. We decided that we were going to upgrade our bedroom and get out of the ghetto. So we headed to the furniture store and an hour later had a bedroom set ordered. We had looked at a couple other stores but there aren't many options out there for a California King bed. Most manufactures don't make that size and the ones that do only make 1 or 2 options so we were having a hard time finding something we liked. Well we finally found one and weren't going to let it pass us by. Six weeks later and we are out of the ghetto (as Jennie has called it). Here are some before and after pictures of our new bedroom (never mind the messy bed, it is very rarely ever made).

Before :


This use to be our bed. Just a couple of mattress lying on the floor and no frame. This gave us an excuse to not make the bed.


We had dressers but not one single one of them matched or was even close.


I honestly think all our dressers were hand-me-downs.

After:


The new bed. Still haven't gotten in the habit of making the bed but maybe now that we have a real bed we will start to make it.


Jennie's new dresser with full mirror included.


My new dresser, which now matches all the other furniture.

I don't know how Jennie put up with it for so long. I am a guy and it really didn't bother me but for her to put up with that for the first 9 years of marriage is remarkable. I think we are down to one last hand-me-down dresser (Maddux's) and then we will have all new furniture.

Happy Halloween.

It only took a week but I am finally getting caught up and ready to post some pictures from Halloween and some of the activities leading up to it. I will apologize for all the pictures now but figured it would be easier to put everything up at once instead of waiting another week to put more. It is amazing at how busy we can get and our blog has sacrificed so we can do other things. I will try and make a conscious effort to regain my dedication with our posts. We ended up going to a couple of different pumpkin patches the week before Halloween to allow the kids to have a little fun and try and get some decent pictures with all the pumpkins. The first patch we went to was on a very cold day and the kids did really well considering the temperatures. The second one was on a very nice day and was a lot better to be out in.

Then on Halloween we went over to Jennie's brothers house (Greg and Tacie) and ate pizza then out for trick-or-treating. We haven't been out in our own neighborhood once since moving in 6 years ago. We always have gone to Jennie's parents or her brothers. It was a little chilly but overall not too bad. It could have been a lot worse with snow or rain. The kids had a blast and got lots of treats; which also means dad got lots of treats. We will probably have treats well into December if not later. Brooklyn dressed up as Hannah Montana, Maddux as Darth Vader, Nolan as Venom (the black spider-man in case you didn't know), and Payton was a purple snow leopard (even though she didn't officially go out). Tacie and I took the kids out while Greg and Jennie stayed at the house to pass out candy (while scaring little kids) and watching the little ones. We were out for an hour and a half and got lots of candy. Nolan and Kenzie had enough after one block so we dropped them off and took the older kids to hit up some more houses. When you are that age you can never get enough. Although I was surprised by their enthusiasm or lack thereof. I remember being that age and running from house to house to try and get as much candy as possible. Then going home, changing costumes with a buddy and hitting the same houses up again to get more candy. Our kids were just walking from house to house in no particular hurry just out for a stroll. It was like we almost had to drag them around and tell them to hurry up and move. Anyways, we had a lot of fun, got a lot of candy and everyone was safe so a very good night overall. Here are quite a few pictures of our trips to the pumpkin patches along with some pictures of Halloween and the kids.



I love Maddux's face in this picture. One of the pumpkin patches that we went to had these giant popcorn balls that the kids had to have. I tried to warn them that they really weren't that good but Jennie insisted that I get them the popcorn balls. As I had imagined they did not like them at all and we threw them away. This is one of Maddux's first bites.


The kids standing on some tree trunks that were cut down to use as seats while the kids played in the giant treehouse.


Brooklyn, Maddux and Nolan.


Just hanging out in the treehouse.


Payton was not as big of a fan as the other kids were.


The kids overlooking the valley below. The parking lot sits on top of a giant hill and there is an apple orchard and pumpkin patch down below. I love the color of the leaves on the tree this time of year.


From the top of the hill they had a huge pumpkin launcher that was sending pumpkins down to the bottom. If you look closely you can see two dots; which are pumpkins on their way down.


This is the second pumpkin patch and the day we went here it was a lot colder. Brooklyn and Nolan may look like they really love each other but they are probably just trying to warm each other up.


Nolan, Brooklyn and Maddux peering out from one of the windows in the hay fort. The kids could climb inside and navigate through all the tunnels.


Brooklyn, Payton and Maddux surrounded by pumpkins. Payton was not all that excited to be out on this cold day.


My big boys.


Brooklyn, Maddux and Nolan posing with the cutouts.


Nolan and Maddux (aka Venom and Darth Vader) eating their spider donuts that they made at the library Halloween party.


Here they are again wrapping each other up as mummies.


Here are all three of the kids playing a version of Simon Sez.


Maddux and Brooklyn just waiting for the clock to strike 6:00 so they can go trick-or-treating at Greg and Tacie's.


In line waiting for the parade to start at the library. They got to walk throughout the library and stop at all the different stations and collect goodies.

Brooklyn (Hannah Montana):


Brooklyn sorting through her candy looking for what she can trade with her cousins and siblings to get better candy. This has become a tradition with Greg and Tacie's kids.


Skipping from house to house excited to get more candy.


Brooklyn pondering on whether or not this popcorn ball is really all that good.


Playing in the play yard at the pumpkin patch.


Striking a pose with the pumpkins. I think this is the first time I have ever seen this pose from her and now it has become a staple. Not sure where she picked it up; most likely some show.

Maddux (Darth Vader):


Maddux hanging out with the pumpkins.


Striking a pose in the play yard, notice he still has his soccer stuff on. We went there right after his game because the weather was so nice.


Darth Vader ready to terrorize the streets and collect candy.


Maddux running from house to house with light saber in hand.


Darth Vader pretending like he is asleep during a game of simon sez.

Nolan (Venom):


Nolan playing with Darth Vader's mask in his undies.


Venom running and trying to catch up to the bigger kids.


And you thought Venom used webs to catch the bad guys.


You have got to love Nolan and his faces. He is the cutest thing ever.

Payton (Snow Leopard):


Payton was not all that happy to be out so this was the best picture that we were going to get of her.


Payton looking through all the candy trying to see what looks good.


The cutest purple snow leopard you will ever see.


Sporting the darth vader mask. She wasn't a big fan of wearing this but we did manage to keep it on for a picture.


"The Visitors" Greg and his kids set up some visitors to try and make the house more festive and scary. Our kids wanted nothing to do with these and wouldn't even look at them. They were outside along the walk path up to the house. Maddux was so scared that he wouldn't even go use the bathroom because he thought he was going to get a glimpse of them through the window. It took me carrying him with his eyes closed to the bathroom so he could go ...... and that was just the beginning.


This is what kids were greeted by when they came to their house. Greg had dressed up in this costume and it completely freaked Brooklyn and Maddux out. At one point Brooklyn was curled up on the chair with her head burried in the pillows crying and Maddux had tucked himself in a corner and was screaming at the top of this lungs. You would have thought that someone was cutting off his legs. He had his darth vader mask on and when I took it off his eyes were closed as tightly as can be and he would not open them. We actually had to go in and out of the backyard in order to get him out of the house. I don't think Nolan really knew what to think. He wasn't that afraid but really didn't want anything to do with it at the same time. Maybe in a year or two they will be ok with the masks and not afraid of them. Once we started trick-or-treating they didn't seem to bothered and probably weren't even thinking about Unlce Greg. Overall it was a very fun night and just glad that the weather cooperated and everyone could be safe. Sorry for the delay in getting these pictures up and the amount that you had to scroll through.