St. Patty's Day

So, we love St. Patrick's Day. It involves sneaky little people, gold, candy, treasure hunting, and pinching. What more could a family with three boys want in a holiday? Last year the boys heard about people catching leprechauns in traps (then they have to give you all their gold). Last year's trap didn't work so they tried a new one this year. Leprechauns live in the woods, so they added sticks and leaves to make it look homey, added lots of colors to make it look rainbowish, and put shiny money inside (everyone knows they love shiny coins!). Matt was getting ready to leave when Matthew came downstairs very early. When he saw the lid was down, Matt said he looked at it with big eyes, picked it up and whispered, "Is any one in there?" When there was no answer he picked up the box and shook it. He really didn't want an angry leprechaun jumping out at him! The leprechaun had escaped, though, leaving behind some of his "gold" that was trapped with him in the box! We had some green eggs and ham (bacon) for breakfast, and after dinner had a rainbow. The boys were sad they didn't get to pinch anyone (everyone had gone to bed in their green clothes for the next day just to be sure!) Too much fun!

Family pics at Christmas

I've wanted to get these up for a while. They are from when everyone was here at Christmas. We were bummed to miss Jeffery in them. (He was supposed to be here, but ended up not getting in until later). My friend Nicole was great to come and take them the day before Christmas. Thanks Nicole! Now if only the kids would be so accommodating...

Andrew's Birthday, the 5th edition

Jump zone!



















Andrew is always really great about showing his joy. That is why I love some of these pictures!
























































The underwater (blue) cake- complete with divers, sharks, and treasure.


















Here is the replacement candy.














































Said bag of lost candy.





























































































Birthdays are just too much fun. Andrew has been really looking forward to turning 5. He has been counting down days for weeks. It was so hard for him to decide what he wanted to do. Luckily he got to do a lot! Monday (the day before his bday) Matthew had the day off from school. So we all went to Jump Zone and they ran around like crazy for 3 hours. The morning of his birthday he woke up early (he is always our earliest riser anyway). He was pretty excited. We put up a bday sign and had donuts. Then he got to open one present. He knew which one he wanted to open because Matthew had already told him what he bought for him (he had spent his own allowance and was really excited about it). Drew opened the Kirby game with much joy. He had a fun day (going to the gym, picking a movie from blockbuster, and playing Kirby were highlights). When Matthew got home we headed strait out for his chosen activity- Dave and Busters. He had a blast. The only bummer was when some guys bused our table while we were playing games and took the bag of all blue candy that Matt had brought with him for Drew. Luckily the Manager happily took him into the prize area to let him pick out some candy there (also all blue). At the end of the night we had enough tickets for Andrew to pick something- a giant blue frog (your probably sensing a theme here). We went home for a blue underwater cake and presents (a superhero squad DS game and BLUE light sabers). Everything a boy could want. It was great. The next day he was still smiling. Thank you also to grandparents who sent money, cards, and phone calls for helping him really feel special!

Matt hits the big 3-0!

On Jan 18 we met Matt at school for lunch. We took him flowers, a big balloon, and a cake. (Just enough to make sure everyone there knew it was his bday!) Later we had him met us at the Opry Mills mall for a good time at Dave and Busters. We came home late, but fit in lemon cake (from Nana) and presents. He got a Stillerstrong headband (that supports Haiti), another blu-ray movie, and Matthew spent a lot of his own money on a new Calvin and Hobbes book for him ($16- a lot of money for him, but he insisted!) I think it was a big hit.

Snow days in TN

So we've had 7 1/2 snow days so far this year(more days than we ever had in Cleveland) and they mostly look like this. I mean, seriously?

The turkey fry

So for Christmas we had turkey. We put one in the oven and another small one we decided to try and fry. (It seemed like southern thing to do.) The fried turkey ended up being the most expensive dinner we've ever made. (Who knew turkey fryers and oil were so expensive?) We ended up borrowing a gas tank to help keep the cost down. Then there was the logistics of frying the thing. Apparently it can be dangerous (just look up frying turkeys on u tube). We finally got it all figured out and done. It was pretty yummy injected with its cajun spices, but I don't think we will be going to the effort again anytime soon. As for the rest of Christmas dinner- Emily was here. Need I say more? (Just thinking about it makes me hungry!)

Christmas Day

Can I just say that the pictures don't even do the massive amounts of presents justice. Remember, the tree is huge! The presents went all around the bottom and behind it as well. Jenny put the presents that she bought out the night before and the under the tree was already full from her gifts (Matthew said he thought Santa wouldn't come because Jenny got so much stuff!) They were surprised that he still came and man they must have been good! Even Anubis joined in the holiday spirit. Besides getting decorated, he had a huge bone wrapped up for him. He went crazy when he smelled it. I was worried that he would tear through all the presents looking for it once he knew it was there so we had to put it up high. When he finally got it he was pretty excited, but he could finish it all so when we let him out he took it outside and buried it! Everyone else got so many things it would take all day to list them, but there was one highlight I wanted to mention. Matt was surprised by a giant new tv from his mom, HD tv channels, and a blue ray player. Our entertainment upgraded significantly. The boys loved all the games, toys, and books (Percy Jackson and Calvin and Hobbes books have been great). We all got great clothes- thank you Jenny! The best part of course was having everyone together. Just seeing all those stockings lined up makes me happy because they represent all the family coming together. I wish we could get together more often.