Baseball Update

Cole is doing awesome this year in baseball... he whacks the ball and runs hard. I can tell that this is definitely one of his strengths. Zoe will be back to play the last week, so I will have to make sure to get some pics of her!

Silly Pics 2010

Cole's 1st Orthodontics Appointment

Cole had his 1st orthodontics appt of many a couple of weeks ago... I didn't know that you could spend 1 1/2 hrs at the dentist have so many pics, x-rays and tests done. I had to take a pic of this one test as it measures the noise in your jaw when you move... it was pretty interesting, but Cole didn't like me taking the pics. He also did awesome when it came to making the impressions... I had hear horror stories, but all went well!

More Camping Pics 2010

Camping Pics 2010

Cole's new 4-wheeler... I have the green one in back for me and Zoe... and then Todd has the black one. We love to spend the day riding the trails... and the kids love to stop at the bars and have a kiddie cocktail and cheesecurds!

We haven't went camping as much this year since it seems to rain everyday and it is harder to get around with Zoe having her cast on... but we have managed to still make a few trips.

Zoe's Cast

Zoe has had a cast on for about 3 weeks now and she is such a trooper. She doesn't complain... much. She has been able to figure out how to play at the park and many other things. She also can get around better on the crutches than everyone would think. If you ask her on any given day how long she has until her cast is removed... she will answer very excited with how many days left... as of today, she has only 9 days left. I am so proud how she has handled not being able to participate in sports and swimming... she is a real trooper! Her favorite part is... having everyone sign it!

Spring Pics 2010

Zoe's Kindergarten Spring Picture

Cole's 1st Grade Spring Picture

Zoe's Accident

Just when you thought that things would be slowing down.... something else happens. Last Monday night, Zoe and a neighbor friend were in our basement jumping on the small trampoline. All of a sudden, you hear screams. I run to the basement to find Zoe sitting on the trampoline holding her ankle screaming in pain... she says that she was jumping and then her ankle hurt and she heard a crack. She seemed fine about 5 min later and we put ice on her ankle for about 30 min.... all seemed good.... she could walk on it and no pain... so we ate supper and went outside to hit some baseballs. About an hour later Zoe decided to go sit on the picnic table because her ankle hurt. I decided that I would be taking her to the ER to get it checked out... Salter Harris fractured ankle is the verdict. Since this fracture is in her growth plate we will be visiting the Orthopedic doctor tomorrow morning... we are hoping for no cast, but it doesn't look good.
She has done wonderful this week trying to stay off of it and keeping busy on the couch.... She was a little disappointed about no tumbling or baseball, but doesn't realize this could mean no activities all summer. Wish us luck!

Zoe's Teeth

One thing I forgot.... Zoe's bottom 2 front permanent teeth started coming in, but her baby teeth were not even loose... her permanent teeth were coming in behind the baby teeth.... so off to the dentist we went and they said they needed to be pulled. Zoe has fear like you wouldn't believe... so off to the dentist in Monroe where she could be given laughing gas to relax before removing the teeth. Long story short... the teeth are out and all is good here. We are hoping that we don't have to repeat this every time she has permanent teeth come in.

Summer Activities

Both kids are very excited to start their summer activities this year....

Cole has another basketball camp, summer school, modified baseball, library reading program and soccer. Zoe is waiting for modified baseball, tumbling, library reading program, soccer and cheer camp.

Summer has begun and so have the activities... the kids are enjoying themselves!

My Dear Uncle Carl

Many of you know that my Great Uncle Carl passed away on May 13th... he hadn't been well for awhile, but will be dearly missed. He was such a wonderful artist and loved to joke around. I didn't mind that he called me Dumbie Jr because I always called him Uncle Booger. Zoe has taken this loss very hard, but remembers him daily for who he really was... a loving and caring part of our family.

School

The last full day of school was May 20th... Cole and Zoe worked so hard this year. Cole will be going to 3rd and Zoe 1st in the fall. Where does the time go? It feels like I was just watching Cole get on the bus for preschool and now almost 5 yrs later.... time sure does fly! The kids both had a great year and loved their teachers.

Now onto the 3-month summer... and all the activities!

Bunny Hop

Todd and Zoe attended the Bunny Hop this year. Zoe was very excited... she loved her wrist corsage, dinner at Beach's with our friends, Matt and Sarah, and then the Bunny Hop to dance the night away. She is already talking about next year and the plans!

Sorry it has been awhile...

I apologize that it has been so long since I last posted an update. I didn't realize that time flies by so quickly until the kids only has a week left of school and then realized that nothing would get done until they went back to school in August. I will try to update you on everything that has kept us so busy.

1. Cole went to basketball camp in February. He really enjoys this sport and had a great time!

2. Zoe celebrated her 6th birthday and Cole his 8th. They sure do grow up fast! I just can't believe where the time went. New bikes were the presents this year... they love them and spend so much time on them.

3. Both of the kids had their Spring concerts at school and they both did great! It is wonderful that we are able to have such a great music program at our school that is fun & creative!

4. We went to several Ice Hogs games this season. The kids were able to take friends and had a great time. We went to one game that had the mascot for the Blackhawks and it was trying to eat Cole.

4. Zoe has attended a couple Girl Scout events this spring. She enjoyed the Thinking Day event and really had fun at the Mother & Daughter Spa Event in Galena. She is looking forward to Camporee in August.

5. Easter was fun this year... the kids remember our tradition every year, so we have a great time hiding and finding the eggs. They also love their "springy" gifts instead of a basket just filled with candy.

6. I went to the Carrie Underwood concert in April... and it was awesome! I ended up taking with me 3-15yr old girls, but it was still a good time. We had awesome seats in the 2nd floor and Carrie Underwood's truck stopped right over top of us and was about 15 feet away. The girls with me also got to touch Craig Morgan... and they think he is little hottie for an older man. :)

7. We all stayed pretty healthy this winter with the exception of Zoe and myself getting strep at the end of April.

8. Cole finished Sylvan at the end of April. He has raised his reading level at school by 8 levels! We are so happy that he is finally a relaxed reader and that he enjoys reading so much more. Way to go Cole!

9. In May, Zoe brigded from a Daisy to a Brownie Girl Scout... we are so proud of Zoe for finishing her Daisy program and for continuing on to become a Brownie. Way to go Zoe!

All-in-all it was a very good and busy winter!

Sylvan Update

Cole is about halfway through his Sylvan program and he is reaping great rewards. His reading level has increased 4 levels in just 3 months and he really enjoys reading now! We are so proud of all of his hard work and dedication, so we took him to the Ice Hogs game last night to reward him. He loved it and we had to stay to the very end! Great job Cole! We are very proud of you!

Home Improvement Projects Update

Old Cabinets

Cabinets refinished and new handles (and yes this is a different set of cabinets than the other pics, but I forgot to take a pic before we started).

We have started putting tiles on our kitchen countertops... Todd was a little upset when I asked him to put the tiles in a diamond shape since this would take quite a bit longer to complete. Yes another project started and not finished, but they will be all finished before the camping season begins!

Zoe's room is almost finished... all we have to do yet is the chair rail. We are hoping that the carpet will be installed in the next few weeks in both of the kids' bedrooms. It is so great to have such a handy husband!

Winter Tradition

When there is nothing else to do in the middle of winter... Todd and the kids get out the 4-wheeler and sled. This seems to be a yearly tradition for the kids and Todd joined in on the fun this year... Zoe had a blast playing in the snow while she was waiting for her turn to ride.

Girl Scout Mania

Zoe and I are officially Girl Scouts. Zoe showed interest that she would like to become a Girl Scout Daisy... I, of course, am a sucker because I am the troop leader.... the things you do for your children! We had to throw this troop together with enrollment forms and my few hours of training within 4 days and right before Christmas... just so we could sell cookies this month. Well we got everyone enrolled... training was done... and then after Christmas we were notified that I had another couple of hours of training just to sell cookies. So after those hours were done... we had to meet so we could train the girls and their parents on the cookie process. Everyone has been working very hard this month selling cookies to help raise "fun" funds for our troop and the girls are doing a great job!!! We have already had our "first" troop meeting and I think the girls had a wonderful, fun time! Zoe is working hard on learning her Girl Scout Promise... so she may earn her 1st petal patch.

Almost forgot... another Todd masterpiece!

I almost forgot to tell everyone about a shelf that Todd built for the playroom. I think he did a wonderful job and works perfectly!

Cole also helps with all projects... Zoe helps paint when needed.

Updated Roscoe Pics

Roscoe is fitting in well with us and we are really enjoying him! We have found that he is very loving and affectionate... The kids are really having fun with him too... Zoe is getting quite fond of him. We are estimating him at 35lbs and he is almost 6 mos old. He can now jump up on the couchs... which is good because he is getting very hard to pick up. He really loves the snow, chewing on his ears and playing with his toys.