Winter Update

Alas, I have no pictures to post at this moment, but I do need to update everyone on what is going on in our lives!

Morgan has completed his first-ever junior high basketball season. I'm not sure what the team's record was, but I think they probably broke even on wins/losses. Some of the boys on the team have played together for several years, but were playing with different kids this time and in different positions! They had a great season and lots of opportunities to learn! Morgan did a really good job and had a great time! I am very pleased to say that he has a good attitude and takes it in stride when the team loses as well as wins! He begins a league with a "travel" team tonight in St. Joe for the next several Wednesday nights. I am sure that he will enjoy it as well. He seems to be getting settled in to junior high very well. During the first week of November, he was very sick and missed 3 1/2 days plus a day the week before, but he got caught up in his classes and is working very hard! Last night, at the Winter Concert, the high school band played and they sounded great! I know that he enjoys being in the band and works hard at learning the songs!

Maggie had her Christmas dance recital last weekend and did an outstanding job in both her jazz and gymnastic numbers! She was joined on stage by her dad for a special number! I will post pictures later! He was wearing a tutu over his jeans and white top with a snowflake pinned to his shirt and a snowflake tiara! There were almost 20 dads up on the stage with their daughters! It was a sight to behold! If I can figure out how to load video, I may post it as well!! School is going great for Maggie! However, as usual, her favorite part of most days is spent at the daycare helping take care of the kids. We have a 5-month old that she LOVES to hold and love on! Last night at the Winter concert, she did a great job on the trumpet!!

Marshall is doing well with school and is getting involved in 4-H. In fact, he has his Christmas party tonight! We haven't gotten hogs yet, but will be sometime in the near future! He is very excited to get to show them this summer! He is busy going to open gym and "Rowdies" during the morning before school and hanging with his best friends! At the Winter concert, he did a great job singing his class's songs! He claimed he was so nervous that his palms were "all sweaty", but you couldn't tell it by looking at him. He smiled the entire time!

We have almost completed the basement. All that's left to do is "finish" work: hanging the pocket doors on the stairwell, the baseboard in most of the rooms, and wrapping one of the exposed columns! Greg has done a terrific job and we have a cozy place to hang out. Of course, we had to put two Christmas trees up.....one upstairs and one downstairs. Marshall wanted to know if that meant Santa would leave presents under both trees.....UUUUHHHH NO!

We hosted two Thanksgiving dinners this year. Thursday with some of my side and Saturday with Greg's side. It was a very fun time (but hectic). I think I will be taking next year off and letting someone else host! I enjoyed having everyone at the house, but the preparation wore me out!!

I will try to post some pictures at a later date! See ya later!

Family Photos

We recently had our family photos taken by our pastor's wife who does an outstanding job and is very budget friendly!! Below are just a few of the many shots she took! Thanks LK!!

Sock Hop

The last Friday in September, the Elementary StuCo at our school put on a Sock Hop for the elementary students.

Maggie in her poodle skirt.....that is a coffee filter colored black with the center cut out of it.....desperate times call for desperate measures.....she had a felt record from a dance recital, but we couldn't find it!!

Marshall as a greaser......

Aren't they cute!!??!!

Hayride!!

A few weeks ago, some of our friends had a hog roast and hayride at their house! It was a beautiful fall evening and our family had a terrific time. Of course, Marshall rode in the tractor with the driver rather than on the hay wagon. Maggie, Morgan and I sang songs and visited along with the other people in the wagon. We had a fun time. It reminded me of the times when I was a kid and we used to have hay rides!! Fun, fun!!

Marshall in the tractor cab with Melvin and Zac......those who know all three of these realize that this is SCARY!!! LOL!

Maggie and Morgan......can you tell it is dark outside, but Mo has on sunglasses!?! hehehe

Halloween 2010

Halloween 2010 proved to be very interesting! As usual, Halloween turned into a several day celebration.....I have noticed that when you have kids this happens.....every holiday/birthday turns into a multi-day celebration!! Oh well.....they are only little once.....and mine are just about not that little anymore!! :( We started our pre-Halloween celebration on the Thursday before the actual holiday with a Trunk or Treat at our school sponsored by the CharacterPLUS committee. The school board members served a freewill donation chili supper while local organizations and businesses sponsored a Trunk or Treat in the gym. The varsity girls' basketball team set up a haunted stage for kids to go through! It was a fun evening!!

However, the holiday got hijacked later on that evening when Morgan and Marshall began vomitting at 10:45 and 11:30. The boys and I spent most of the night up and down vomitting while I tried to figure out a way to handle the situation. Sick kids in the middle of the night was not going to go well with getting up and being at work at 6:00 a.m. in the morning. My mom wasn't available, so I closed the daycare.....which really spoiled the plans for our Halloween party.....but what can you do....sick kids need their mommy!!

Maggie was fortunate enough to be well, so she got to go to school Friday and celebrate with her classroom party!! Last year, she dressed up as Mommy for Halloween so this year, she decided to go as Daddy! She looked really cute in her carpenter garb!!

By Saturday morning, the boys were doing better and Morgan went deer hunting for the first time ever!! However, he had a crummy weekend and didn't get a deer, but he is waiting for the regular season so that he can try his hand again!! Say a prayer that he gets a deer.....he is really excited!!

Sunday evening, we headed to my brother's family's house for our annual Trick or Treating frolic. We have been trick or treating with them since Morgan was little. We gather at their house and eat supper (usually pizza) and then trick or treat their street and the next street over! The kids have a super time!

Below are some pictures of the kids and one crazy lady in costumes!

Oh look!!! It's Aunt Andi with Alli's stem on her head.....isn't she cute!?!?

Marshall as a Kansas City Royal.

By Sunday night, Maggie had tired of wearing the carpenter's tool belt and was ready to dress up like Mommy again.....

Morgan wasn't feeling well on Sunday night and instead of wearing his Percy Jackson costume which granny worked really hard on for 10 minutes to make he borrowed this Yoda mask to make trick or treating with Alli more fun!!!

Old Threshers

OK....so here's how I end up doing things. I take, take, take pictures, and then I finally upload everything at one time.....so here is post number one!! Back in September, we headed to Greg's parents' house to attend Old Threshers in Shelbina. Marshall was super excited to go since it involved farming and old tractors! Below are a few pictures of the weekend. As a bonus, we got to see all of Greg's immediate family except for one of his brothers and his wife and oldest son!! That doesn't happen very often since we all live so far apart and have very busy lives!!

Marshall during the pedal tractor pull.....this was his first one ever. He ended up getting upset because he thought he was treated unfairly....he wasn't.....HE just thought he was!!! Typical Marshall.....God love him!

Prior to the pedal tractor pull, they had games for the kids. Here is Marshall in the hay scramble!!! He sneezed lots later on!

They also have rides for the kids. Marshall is here with his cousin Bridgit on a train made of barrells that are painted to look like tractors.....imagine that he is in a John Deere green one!!

Here is little miss Maggie in the tractor barrell ride!!

Daddy and the boys!!

Fall, fall, fall

Well, it is officially fall in Northwest Missouri! The trees are all turning beautiful shades of orange, yellow, and red! Now, if it would just freeze so that allergies would go away!!

The first quarter at school is over and the kids have had a great start to the school year so far! Morgan is adjusting fairly well to junior high, though I think he still is working out some of the kinks! Maggie is loving fifth grade, and Marshall is enjoying being in the second grade! They each have great teachers and are enjoying the school year!

Morgan has started junior high basketball. So far, his team is 2-2. We had our annual junior high tournament at Winston last week and the boys finished fourth. The girls' team received second place. Morgan is doing great so far and has had 7 points in each of 2 of the games! I think he may have already tied my points scored throughout my entire high school career!! (hehehehe!!)

This past Saturday night, Maggie's girl scout troop attended a Vampire Scavenger Hunt! She got to wear her costume (construction worker like Daddy!!!.....last year she was a mommy!!) and then they broke up into groups and had a scavenger hunt around Cameron. Instead of finding items, they had to go to certain places and take pictures on a digital camera....I thought that was pretty neat! She had a blast!!

Marshall has quit Cub Scouts, but is now a 4-H-er. He visited his uncle in Indiana this past summer and has become very interested in showing animals! He has always said that he wants to have a farm when he grows up, so I'm not surprised by this turn of events! He is the child in our house who spends a great deal of time playing with his dad's old farm toys. He has a very precise way that he lines everything up and plays with it. So, Marshall joined 4-H and has picked Swine, Woodworking, and Gardening as his projects for this year. I am not that familiar with 4-H, so I'm sure this is going to be an education for me.....but as long as Marshall enjoys it, I'm all in!

Well, that is all for now! We'll catch you next time!!