Braxton and Braeden's Hideout

Trick or Treat!!

2008-11-01T14:28:00.007-04:00

Just wanted to share a few photos from the Halloween

night festivities. Here are the trick-or-treaters getting

ready to prowl around the town.

Braxton was defending the galaxy as Commander Fox from Star Wars.

(no, I'd never heard of him either)

Braeden's choice of costume was a tad more complicated.

He, of course, wanted to be from Star Wars, because Braxton

was being from Star Wars, and whatever Braxton does is, of course,

the absolute coolest thing on the planet. I, however,

wanted him to be four years old, so I tried to

talk him into Pablo from the Backyardigans.

After all, he ADORES the Backyardigans. Seemed logical.

What I neglected to consider was that a Pablo costume would be easy to come by, so, of course, that would NEVER do.

Instead, he wanted to be Super Why (PBS show. He has the

"Power to READ!"), because costumes for Super Why

are as scarce as positive media coverage

of McCain and Palin (like that?). I found some on Ebay

for a mere $100. No problem! S0, being the

bright girl that I am, I decided that

I would make one. HA!

Soooooo, at least $100 later, I dressed my darling

in a one-of-a-kind (thankfully) Super Why costume.

I'll be keeping my day job.

And, I will be eliminating one topic of discussion with his shrink one day. You know..."My mom always made my brother's costumes, but never mine...."

Seems like a win-win to me!

We went to dinner with friends, then to

Centenary Avenue (Treat Street), as is our yearly tradition,

and finally to the Cleveland/Walker Valley game.

We won't even discuss the outcome of THAT game.

Ok, maybe we will...

Suffice to say, Cleveland went from #1 in the Region

to #4 in one motion. Lost by one point in overtime

going for 2 after a touchdown.

Oh, well...

This is Braeden's friend Chace from church. He was Obi Wan.

Sensing a theme??? Overall, it was a very fun evening,

and now we get out the Thanksgiving decorations!!

I LOVE fall!!!

Pumpkin Carving Party

2008-10-19T19:32:00.005-04:00

Hello Again! Yes, I know it's been a while.

Just nothing very exciting going on.

Last week was our Fall Break, so in an effort to be seasonal,

I decided that we should attempt to carve pumpkins. So... off we went to the pumpkin patch called "Walmart" to choose the victims. As you can imagine, it was quite an undertaking. Every pumpkin was carefully removed and either labeled as a reject or put to the side for further observation.

Finally after much deliberation, and much to the relief of the produce personnel of the store, we chose three lucky victims.

Braxton decided to do a carving of the headless horseman and

his horse, and Braeden chose a ghost. We spent the remainder of the afternoon scraping out the "gooey stuff" and carving.

Braxton is at the age where he just needed minor assistance,

but Braeden was pretty much bored with the whole event

as soon as we got his template attached to the pumpkin.

Anyway, they finished them and are extremely proud of their efforts. Just thought you might want to check them out!

Braxton just LOVED getting his hands slimy!

An artist hard at work...

The finished masterpiece complete with candle.

VERY proud of his work!

Braeden's finished pumpkin

Posing with his buddy!

Todd's Birthday

2008-09-04T11:18:00.009-04:00

Hi Everyone!

Sorry it's been awhile since I blogged. Life has been crazy! For those of you who don't know, Todd turned the Big 4-0 this week. And because he never likes to be the center of attention, we decided that it was only fitting that we throw him a little party to celebrate!

We've been planning this for some time, but with Daddy's recent situation, we downsized quite a bit. My neighbor took him to the movies to get him out of the house, and in the meantime, we all gathered at my house and decorated and cooked and hid cars and got ready to surprise him!

Here is Todd entering the house to a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday." Yes, we're THAT original!

Todd, His mom and dad, David

I think his words at this point were, "This is a lot of people!"

His brother in law, Greg; my Dad; his other brother in law, Stephen

My sister and her family, Heath and Todd in background

Chuck and Jeff

The theme for the party was "Welcome to Your 2nd Childhood" complete with big screen TVs in every room and video game consoles. Look at the Amazing cake that Tachia made!

Then we ate, played video games, caught up with friends we haven't seen for a while, and watched the kids play kickball outside.

Just of few of the 14 kids who attended. Where did all these kids COME from?? Us???

Jeff and Todd

David, Todd, and Chuck

Del, Dustin, and Emily

Daddy, Me, Del, and Jon

Kevin and Todd

More kids--Video Game Heaven!!

Tachia and Stephen

Ross and Rachel

Josh, Tonya, and Greg

Overall, a pretty good party! We hope he had fun, because we sure did!!

Oops!

2008-08-18T13:01:00.006-04:00

I guess I should feel lucky that we've made it this long!!

It happened last Friday night, but we thought it was just a sprain. He hasn't been in very much pain (thankfully), so we didn't really think much about it. Besides the fact that sometimes it seemed to hurt worse than other times. For instance, when it was time to fold clothes, the pain was so unbearable that even a washcloth caused much wincing. However, when Parker invited him to play football outside, suddenly, all discomfort seemed to vanish. Strangest thing!!

Then, Sunday afternoon, I noticed one handed video game playing when no one was around for the "show," and I began to think that maybe we had something more serious.

So, Monday morning, we paid a little visit to the Orthopedist, and he found a fracture. It's on the middle tarsal going from the base of the middle finger to the wrist. Oh, MAN!

We have a lovely cast (as you can see) and will continue to sport it for three weeks.

Then, we will not be released to play sports for at least 6 more weeks after that. Well, there goes the football season! Needless to say, we are EXTREMELY dissappointed. I think Dad's taking it hardest of all---pray that he will be all right!

I still isn't hurting very much, but writing has become somewhat difficult. As of now, the bone is aligned very well, so no surgery. It will be x-rayed again next week and hopefully will still be aligned.

As far as exactly how this injury came to be.....you'll have to ask Uncle Jon and Aunt Tachia about that one!!

New School Year

2008-08-13T11:42:00.012-04:00

Hello again!

As most of you know, Braxton has been at Hopewell for all of his elementary school career. He started there because I was teaching there (not to mention it is a really good school), and I just took him with me. Although I have not been working at Hopewell for the past three years, we have continued to drive him there. His Dad has been becoming more and more concerned about the gas situation, seeing as my car uses more gas than just about any other vehicle on the planet! (But you all know me--gotta have somewhere to put all those shopping bags!!)

And then there is the issue of Braeden. He will be starting school next year, and unless I have them at two different elementary schools for a year, I would be driving to Hopewell for yet another 6 years!

Soooooo......this summer we decided to look into the school

we are actually zoned for. Imagine that! It's called Michigan Avenue, and it is a really good school, as well. Plus, it's less than five minutes from our house. Braxton gets to sleep in an extra 30 minutes!! (Of course, that would be enough motivation for ME to change!) For those of you who have been here, this is the school that is right next door to Tachia and Jon. (Even better!) They have lots of really neat programs, a brand new playground (isn't that the reason one chooses a school in the first place??), a great teaching staff, and a principal who is a complete fireball!! She goes to our church and during our many meetings this summer (you knew I'd be over there having meetings with the principal, didn't you?), she talked a LOT about the Lord, her excitement about her school and the stuff they do, and her love for the kids, etc. She really seemed to want him there (being the nephew of an Assistant Principal in the system never hurts--not to mention he IS perfect!!).

Soooooo....we decided (with input from Braxton) to try it. Of course, the bad thing is leaving his friends behind. He's been with these same kids since he started school, and it's always hard to start over.

The good news is: he seems to be adjusting. He's not really shy (as you all know), and he makes friends pretty easily, but it's never painless. Actually, he seems to be adjusting better than me! Having the overactive sense of responsibility that I have, I just knew I would be the cause of wrecking his entire life!!

He has made some new friends (and met some kids he wants to steer clear of), but I think this will serve him well when he goes to Middle School in two years!! Learning to recognize who you DON'T want to be friends with is at least as important as figuring out who you DO. God is good and is helping both of us as we make this transition.

I just wanted to share a few photos from the first week at our new school!!

The first day

of school outfit

What a cutie!!

The New Playground

First Blog

2008-08-11T12:53:00.008-04:00

Hey, Everyone!

Well, this is my first experience at blogging, so bear with me! I was inspired by someone who blogs about 3 times a day (yes, you, Tammy), and I thought at least I could try once a week and maybe keep you better informed about the lives of the boys.

I know some of you feel TOTALLY in the dark, so this is me trying to do better! No promises. We'll see how it goes!

We chose the name "Hideout" because, at my house, everything from pillows and blankets, to tables and chairs, to stuffed animals, at some point, becomes part of a hideout. That's just where my boys like to stay! The name just seemed to fit.