Proud Moments

This past Saturday evening after Church, we had the play that the kids have all been working on for a while now. Andie was asked to play the part of Mary, since there was a singing solo. She likes to sing with the ladies in the choir during Mass, and since she is the only youth that participates, they knew she would do an outstanding job in the play. Boy did she do an AMAZING job!!! I teared up when she started singing...and she just made us so proud! She started out with a real baby, as seen below, but then when the baby start squirming a little bit, her Mom came and got her from Andie, then handed her a doll. Andie looked much more relaxed after that! Maybe it was just Mike and I that were a lot more relaxed...yep, I think that's it!

Anyway, back to the play. Drew was volunteered by his lovely sister to be a camel. She figured that since she had some speaking parts, as well as singing, it was only fair that Drew do something. He also did an amazing job, but at his request, I am not posting any photos of him. I get it. 12 years old. Photos might make it around school somehow. Or worse - facebook! He might qualify for a butt-kicking at school if people actually see this picture. (hee hee).

Isn't this picture beautiful?? I put just a touch of makeup on Andie for this...it was a special occasion, and even though she wasn't on a stage, it just seemed like the thing to do. Of course, her Dad wasn't home for either one of us to ask beforehand, so...I just made an executive decision on my own. She doesn't get it everyday - she doesn't need it, but I thought it might make her feel good for this particular evening.

Today just happens to be Drew-B's 12th Birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DREW! We had his birthday party last night, combined with Joshua's 2nd birthday (December 29th) and it was a fun-filled party. Can't believe how fast these amazing kids grow up!! Good thing we, as parents, don't age even though our kids grow up :o)

I have so much more to post, but my mind is fried right now...will catch up soon. We are all looking forward to having some time off for the holidays - so be on the lookout for some detailed updates.

Love Long Weekends

So I just about wrote a novel the other night...wow.

I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving as much as we did! Dinner was yummy and the house is now decorated for Christmas, except for our tree, which we will be getting on Sunday after church. Ahhh, sweet traditions! We go to the Christmas Tree Farm in search of the "perfect" tree every year. It's a whole family thing - and when there's snow, there's always a snowball fight...some years with tears, others with just whitewashes. Not this year. This weather is so frustrating.

So we went searching for the camera I keep talking about...I cannot wait until Christmas to see what Santa brings me!!! I know which one I like, but we'll see!!!!!!!

I also plan on taking pictures of the kids this weekend so I can order Christmas cards too. When I do get the pics, I'll be sure to post, both here and on FB.

See? I can make it short and sweet sometimes.

Happy Thanksgiving

Time to post a blog that starts out a little happier than my last post - jeeezzz.

Sorry about the doom and gloom, but since I've posted last, Ava has gotten better, had her birthday party - both for family and friends (life is good at 5, don't you think??), oh, yeah, and gotten in her first car accident. Yep. I was on the phone tonight to Shani asking for a simple recipe when she got hit by a car that failed to stop at a stop sign. All I heard was, "Aaahh! Aaahh! Uh oh." And then I heard Ava start freakin' out and screaming. Then Shani said, "I just got hit. Gotta go." Disconnected. What a helpless feeling!!!!!!! I didn't know how bad it was, where she was, or if anybody was hurt. Nothing. But only a few minutes went by and she called back to say that they were all fine, but they were just waiting for the police to make the report. Whew!

Let's see...what else has happened? Oh yes. How could I forget? Drew had every intention in the world of going deer hunting with Mike. He had been helping with the new deer blind that was being built by my ever-so-talented husband, in the garage, for two nights, with all the doors closed, and sawdust flying everywhere. Not a good combination for one Drew Bolles with asthma. Mix that with just a plain ol' virus and what do you get? Let's see...you get a fever of about 101, increased strength of Advair, add nasal spray, singulair, albuterol, zyrtec, and then to top it all off, steroids and an antibiotic. Wow. (Need a breath.) Fast forward 10 days later, and Drew is doing much better and not coughing like he was. Thank you Lord! It just breaks my heart to see him suffer like that when these things hit...but I am very thankful for Dr. DeTorres and his staff at Shoreline Allergy. They are great at what they do!

Hmmmm, what else am I thankful for? My Mike. My Drew. My Andie. My family. My friends. My job. My life. There is so much to be thankful for. I love this time of year when I can really reflect on what's important and how fortunate I am to have this amazing life that I have and everybody that's in it. If you're reading this - THANK YOU for being part of my happy life!!

My good friend Kris had the big 4-0 last week. Jodi and I planned, along with the help of Don and Connie, (and pulled off!!) a surprise party for her last Saturday. She was just expecting to spend a nice evening at Keith and Jodi's w/Mike and I for a bit of relaxing fun times between friends. Little did she know what we, along with about 20 other people, were at her house waiting for her to arrive. It was a very fun night with friends - and yes, we did the floor party too! Wouldn't have been a party w/o the floor party - right girls????

Looks like we'll be getting Christmas decorations out tomorrow. Andie has been nagging me all week to get started on the house!!! I told her before I would get one single decoration out, we had to do some major cleaning. I like to think that I keep my house pretty clean...but I must admit, it's been tough with being back in school. I know...no excuses, right? But man, I'm telling you, it's tough! With helping the kids everyday with their homework, dinners, everyday mom stuff, cooking, etc., cleaning has become tougher and tougher. BUT. We got into it and it feels soooo much better in here! So I told her that tomorrow morning, we would start with the village. I'll post pictures - I promise! I know I'm not that good at posting pics, but hopefully Santa will be good to me this year :o). But I will. Get pics posted of my village. It's one of my favorite parts of Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy your dinner and families and everything else wonderful that goes along with this holiday.

Love Friday :o)

Ok...Ava's got H1N1 it looks like - keep them all in your prayers so that everybody else doesn't get it!! Shani just took her for an x-ray because her fever has been so high since last night (around 103-ish), and she's been saying all day that her chest hurts. Good indication of pneumonia...but the x-ray showed only a little shading in her lower right lung, which could mean that it isn't full fledged pneumonia yet, so hopefully getting her started on antibiotics right away will help keep it that way. My poor new five year old goddaughter! Breaks my heart that she's not feeling well, Josh too. :o(

So we had conferences this week...and do I just have to say how proud as a mom I am of my two munchkins! Drew is currently carrying a 4.0 GPA and adjusting remarkably well to middle school. Way to go Drewcifer Jenoble!

Miss Andie Makae is doing outstanding as well. Even though she's missing two worksheets in math, her grade is still an A...and Mr. Knowles is letting her turn them in still. So she has the pleasure of competing this assignment twice. How lucky for her! Thanks for Mr. K for his flexibility! She claims to have completed them, but they've somehow been misplaced. Hey - it can happen! So other than that little hiccup, she's doing well also. Mrs. Dorr said she's going to start really pushing Andie with her writing. Fine by me - Andie's pretty creative and Mrs. Dorr apparently sees quite a bit of potential there, so go for it as I told her!! Stretch her abilities!

Great job Drew & Andie :o) Mom and Dad are proud of you.

Indoor soccer is well under way at this point. I'll try and remember to take the camera to tomorrow's game so I can post some pictures. All the kids have such a blast playing, and I think all the parents of the W.L. MasterTag Maniacs (boys' team) have just as much {if not more} fun that the boys playing!!

I'll post more when I've got the photos to share. Have a great Friday...it's easily my favorite day of the week! And tonight we've got a great fire in the fireplace and are chillin' at home together. Doesn't get any better than this!

Can I just say that it's been forever since I've blogged?? My goodness how time flies! Much has happened since my last blog, on October 9th...let's see, I've celebrated my 15th wedding anniversary and received a most beautiful diamond necklace from my amazing husband! I've finished up with my first class since returning to finish my college degree, started my second class. Been to Las Vegas for the first time, and gotten Mike and Andie back to healthy status, as they both had the crud...thankfully not the H1N1. But many prayers to everybody that does have the nasty H1N1 virus and many thanks that we've not been plagued with it. Can you just imagine how nasty that will be if Drew gets that, on top of having asthma?? Goodness.

Ok...so let me go back a bit to my list from above. Las Vegas. What an interesting place!!! It was really neat to see for the first time, and we traveled with great company!! Thanks to the Rake Families - Ron & Carol, Don & Kris, and Todd & Kim for a great time! While there, we visited the Hoover Dam. What a neat place! Check out the pics...

Oh my word is that a llloooonnnggg ways up! My big strong brave man is afraid of heights and not afraid to say so!!! Yep, he struggled with looking out over the dam while we were there, but did it anyhow! The photo of us together almost didn't happen. I had asked Mike to turn around and back into the groove so he wouldn't have to look down. But I really wanted a picture of us with the gorgeous background. We had to be ready for the camera as soon as he put it up there. Snapped the picture. And he was gone. But at least we got the photo!

We're still having {fun} with outdoor soccer. I hesitate to use that word because of the awful fall weather we've had this year! But Drew's team played in their third tournament game tonight and won 3-0, so we advance to the championship game, which will be played at 9:15 a.m. this Saturday. You know, cause who needs to sleep in on a Saturday??? But this should be an exciting game because it's for first place! He also has an indoor game this Friday evening at 6:00 p.m., then Andie begins her indoor season Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

Oooohhhh, then fun! It's Halloween!! Drew will be dressing up as a nerd this year, and Miss Andie will be a MSU fan...didn't go over too well with her dad!!! We will be doing the annual tradition of tacos before trick-or-treating with my family. Andie has decided not to go t-or-t again this year so she can stay and hand out candy to everyone with my mom and I. I guess my sugar-nazi ways have finally started to rub off??? good :o). For all of you who will be trick-or-treating...be safe and have fun!

Sorry if I seem to be jumping around tonight....I've got so many thoughts running through my small brain tonight and am trying to get them all down. Oh, and in addition to everything we've got the pleasure of having Louie visit this weekend too. Gonna be a crazy household this weekend, but like I said before, it's who we are and we love our busy lives!! As long as we spend it with those we love and have fun, what else do we need, right??

For You Jodi!!

So here it is...The 'W' Retainer...I don't think it's the best photo - but it's the best I've got considering my camera situation, which is my new phone. I'm just very thankful that it takes pictures and I can show you this. The bottom one is just like it, but without the 'W'.

Oh, and in response to Andie's 'sweater gloves' they are pretty cool, I agree, and she loves having them! Her response to me about them was, "Well at least now I can still wear short sleeves and be warm at the same time!" Hey...when she's got a point, how can I argue???

Still - Go Yankees! They won again tonight :o) yay!

Tigers? Whatever.

GO YANKEES!!!!

Oh The Pressure...

I just wish the Tigers would get some hits and build a cushion!!!! It's the bottom of the 7th inning, one out, one on base...Zach Miner is pitching and seems to be holding it together somewhat. Oh how I want to be there!!! Ok. Never mind. Twins just hit a two run home run, which put them up by one run. Snap. Now I'm going to be a bit snarky for the rest of the evening.

BUT. At least we're all home together for an evening without any sports, school, or other activities that we have to attend tonight. There's just nothing better than spending time together watching baseball, you know??

Does anyone remember when we had our Indian Summer? Cause I sure don't. Oh wait, maybe it was from June through August. That's right. We never really had summer, just skipped right over it and went right to fall.

Have a great night and root for the Tigers!!!!!

Sweatshirts!!!

Holy cow...did fall arrive with a vengeance! Cowboy needed his sweatshirt this week, as did the rest of us! Last week we still had summer weather and all at once it changed. I talked with Erica on Monday and told her it was 50 and raining and windy and do you know what her response to me was?? I can't remember her exact words, nor should I type it exactly as she said, but she said it was 106 degrees in Phoenix that day. 106!!!!! Now I'm not exactly a big fan of 50, rain and windy conditions, but I'd rather have that than 106. Geeeeeezzzz! Want to know how completely unprepared I was for the fall season?? Drew and Andie don't even have fall jackets! Guess what we'll be doing this weekend?

Check out these pictures - Andie just looked exceptionally cute on this day before school, so I had to take a pic. And the one of Drew is the day he got his braces off. Look at that puuuurrrrddddyyyy smile! He now has his retainers, which are really cool. Half is red, the other half is black, and it has a white W in the middle. Go Vikings! (That one is for you Shani!)

So we just got done grilling steaks for dinner - complete with marinade made by Drew. Yum! We'll be having steak again on Sunday at Mike's parents as we celebrate his Dad's birthday (which is today). So after Drew's two baseball games Sunday afternoon, we'll be heading over there. I need to make gluten free lemon bars for dessert and boy are they GOOD! The gluten free part is the crust...instead of using flour and oil, I use gluten free graham crackers. They're delicious.

Let's see...what else is going on? Oh yes. My cousin Mashawn is getting married tomorrow. Congrats to her and Brian!!! If anybody deserve some happiness - it's definitely Mashawn. She has endured her share of trials and tribulations, so we wish her nothing but the best and a lifetime of happiness! Love you Mashawn :o)

I received my new shoes this week - black casual Puma's. Wow are they comfy! I was going to take a picture of them earlier today so I could show you, but I was busy busy busy and just flat ran out of time. They're now tucked neatly away in their box...so the photo will have to wait.

This next week brings Fire Prevention Week - which means fire truck rides on Wednesday at Montague Fire Station. Best part? They're FREE! That, and my Dad will be there. Need I say more? Drew will be in heaven hanging out with his Papa, and seeing all the trucks. I'd love to be there with my family, but I'll be busy running a 5k for school. Yipeeeeee.

Big game tomorrow afternoon! U of M vs. MSU. Go Blue! Have fun whoever you decide to cheer for!

I Know, I Know...

...I suck lately. I made a vow to myself that I would keep this up, as I always feel better getting stuff written down. Ok, not written, but you get what I'm trying to say. Anyhow, I've not had time to uncross my eyes long enough to do just about anything. But I will. This weekend. We only have a spaghetti dinner, a football game to go see, a 5k to run/walk, trick-or-treating (maybe), and two baseball games on Sunday. Oh, and I have a test to study for this weekend. So I should have plenty of time. See? We don't have a soccer game on Saturday, so that gives me all kinds of free time :o). Not. But I've got some new photos to share, and blabbin' to do...so I will get on here. But for now, I sat down about 20 minutes ago and can hardly keep my eyes open, so sweet dreams all.

Great Weekend...

These were from the first day of school...

I just have to say that our weeks have been slammed with busy-ness! Monday I have class, Drew has soccer; Tuesday is baseball practice; Wednesday I have class; Thursday Drew has soccer; then we get to breathe on Friday. Only to gear up for soccer game on Saturday and double header baseball games on Sunday's. Oh...and homework in there for the kids and I. What more could a mom ask for???? We are having soooo much fun with everything, and the weather has been gorgeous!

So Drew and teams had an outstanding weekend of winnings. First the soccer game on Saturday was at 9:00...in Ludington! But the boys played together very well - lots of teamwork - it was great to see. They won 7-1. And then the White Lake Blue team won both of their games. Drew hit 3 for 6...two doubles and a single, plus had an outstanding catch in center field. Needless to say, we stopped for ice cream on the way home!! It's just good to see him have fun with baseball again and gain back some of his confidence. He had a batting lesson with a pro Friday evening, and has another one for this Friday - it seemed to help already!

Miss Andie seems to be starting the year out right with her schoolwork - she seems to be taking it more serious this year than last, which is good because that really needed improving!! So kudos to her for that. I saw in this weeks Beacon that basketball sign ups for girls is this Tuesday and she really wants to give that sport a try. The only time she's played b-ball is at home...never on a team. This will definitely be a big learning year for her, but she's pretty athletic and rather competitive, so she should have some fun!

Drew finally gets his braces off tomorrow - he's so very excited! I'll make sure and take some pics so you can all enjoy his "pretty" smile. Oh, if only he knew I typed that about him...he'd love me extra big for that one! Hee Hee

Back to School

Oh my goodness...time sure flies! I now have a junior high student!!! Funny how the kids can grow up so fast, yet we as parents don't age. Hey - that's my story. Not changing it. :o)

The morning actually went better than I thought it would...there were no tears. Yay! I thought maybe Drew would be nervous, or anxious, but he just said he was excited and didn't want to get up early. I'm glad it was only that! But then as Andie and I were driving to school, she was unusually quiet (so not like her!), so I asked her the same things - was she nervous, excited, anxious, etc. and her whole problem was that she was a little nervous because she was in a different school than Drew. aaawwwwww! Now that brought tears to MY eyes! Other than that, I did really good - with not tearing up and stuff. I always have a heavy heart on the first day of school. I just miss them when they go back.

Being the first day of school, I always like to drop them off and pick them up, and today was no exception. Drew and I got to Ealy to pick up Andie and as soon as we turned the corner to the hallway where her classrooms are, we saw the principal and the nurse. Not a good sign. Turns out Mrs. Dorr took the class out for a little 'friendship activity' (meeting new friends) on the lawn. They were sitting in a circle and apparently disturbed an underground home of YELLOWJACKETS!!!!! I guess they were everywhere. In all, five kids got bit (yellowjackets bite, not sting) and Andie, unfortunately, was one of them. But thank goodness she's not allergic. However, one of the boys that got bit was allergic, and according to Andie, "He swelled up like a pumpkin!" Poor sweeties.

In other news at the Bolles' Estate - we had a great camping weekend with the Stratton's and Rake's at Jellystone in Silver Lake. The weather was perfect, activities were plentiful, and company was great! I've got pictures to post, but they'll have to come in a day or two, because the patch cord isn't in the house with the camera...oh how I can't wait until Christmas when Santa brings me my very own new shiny camera!!

Our fun schedule returns as far as sports go...Drew is playing fall soccer, which starts this Saturday, and he's also picked baseball back up. He seems to be really enjoying both sports this fall and we always look forward to watching him play. Again, I'll post pictures this weekend. I hope to have that darn cord back in my possession.

Oh by the way...I return to work tomorrow. I'm so thankful that I work for a company that allows me to have summers off with my kids. I'm also thankful I have a job to go back to!! Hopefully the economy turns around and more people find jobs again.

Enjoy the gorgeous fall weather!!!!

Life Is Fast

Oh, where do I begin? It feels like such a long time since I've blogged...lots has happened since then! Let me first start with some exciting news to us - Drew is playing baseball again!!!! YAY! He decided to play the fall league through Extra Innings. From what I'm understanding about this, it's more instructional than competitive. They practice one or two times per week, play double-header games on Sundays for six weeks, then it's done. There's no places or standings, like in regular league baseball. He has not played with these coaches before, but we're familiar with who they are and have heard pretty good feedback about their coaching style.


They had their first practice last night...but along with that for Drew also involved a golf tournament in the morning with some buddies, flag football a friends house, home for a little bite to eat and a change of clothes, then baseball practice for an hour, and then soccer practice for a while. Whew! Oh, and then when everybody got home, Mike and Drew went outside for some more catching and batting practice. Let me just say that Drew was one tired boy last night! But he wasn't able to sleep in this morning, as we had to get up and go to the middle school for registration! I can't even believe that our "little Drew-Drew" is starting middle school. Where does the time go??? He's surely looking forward to being able to let God wake him up tomorrow morning :o)

Miss Andie is either going through a growing phase these days, or is having some serious sinus issues. This girl has not eaten much in the last two days...and when I say not much, I really mean not much at all! She usually eats the bulk of her food for breakfast and lunch, then the minutes in between, up until dinner. But the last two days combined, she has only eaten what she normally does by afternoon snack in one day! Poor sweetie. Growing pains suck.

So here we are to Friday night, and we are just hanging out together watching the Tigers on FSN. Love family time!! Tomorrow we are helping in the concessions during the Lil' Vikes games. We enjoy volunteering and want to stay to watch the game that Drew would be on if he had decided to play this year. But that's ok. Oh...and we've also got Louie with us this weekend. We love having Louie and he and Cowboy play.play.play very well together. Right now, they're both wiped out and chillin' for a few minutes.

Aren't they too cute??

Anyways...life goes quick. Kids grow up too fast. Tuck 'em good tonight!

My Baby Girl...

I know this wasn't the most recent...but Andie was in a play the end of July/beginning of August. The name of the play was The Legend of Scarface and Bluewater. Andie, her best friend Lauren Baustert, and fellow classmate Sky Harsch, were the three dancing maiden squaws. They were absolutely adorable and had a ton of fun!! Let's just say that Andie seems to have found her niche. The world of the arts seem to be where she "comes to life" and enjoys it all.

Now maybe it's just me, but I happen to think my daughter is pretty darn cute. But once I added the makeup...glitter eyeshadow, lipstick, mascara!!!! I just felt this overwhelming desire to lock her in a closet and leave her there for a few years. There's just something about the look that we're not ready for here. I think we'll work on keeping her little still. Take a look...

The next photo is with some of the other cast members.

I took some more pictures today with the intentions of uploading them - but as of right now cannot find the cord which connects the camera to the computer. Oh why does this technology crap have to be so difficult?? The kids and I went to the MasterTag Garden today and picked a bunch of veggies. I came home, cleaned everything (with the help of my Mom - thank you!!) and arranged it all on the table for some pictures, as well as inventory so I can add to the Log at the Garden. I have every intention still of getting these pictures on this page, but it's just not going to happen tonight. Needless to say, Drew and Andie are hooked on picking fresh veggies out of gardens, so it our goal to get to there to help harvest all of the veggies that are ready and ripe for the picking!

Boy Heaven

Looking so forward to my day tomorrow! First, I get to take four boys to the golf course so they can have a little summer fun. I get my gorgeous nephew in the morning, while his beautiful sister goes to swimming lessons, a little afternoon summer fun, but then the work begins.

We have to move furniture for the carpet cleaning day on Friday...remember the Cowboy story?? Yeah, I get to live that still for another day...

Until later - see ya!

Hmmm....

I think I've figured out the playlist thing, but now I just need to figure out the box size so you can view it better. I know what I need - I need JODI!!! Her page is amazing and I just want mine all done. Set up. Functioning. I know I'll get there, but I'm just not that patient with stuff like this. I like things to be complete. Done. I don't like the set-up factor with stuff. Mike is so much better at that than me. Blah blah. I'll stop babbling about that.

So this week should be a pretty good week. Unless of course, this awful headache I woke up with this morning decides to stick around and turn into something more...like a sinus infection, like it feels like it's trying to do. First Andie had the virus, then Mike, now I'm thinking it's my turn. I sure hope not! I've got my adorable nephew Josh coming over on Thursday while my adorable niece Ava goes to swimming lessons. Drew will be golfing with some buddies that morning, and I was hoping to do something fun with the kids that afternoon. Then on Friday we have carpet cleaning people coming.

OH! I didn't tell my story about Cowboy and The Purple Paint! Andie has (had) these paint tube things, with a sponge tip, kind of like Bingo paint things. So it's Sunday evening and we don't see Cowboy for a while...one should always wonder when you have a puppy, what he/she is up to when you don't see it for a while. Well...Mr. Cowboy had gone into Andie's room and found this purple paint bottle, taken it into my room, chewed it, spilled it, and wore it!!! His fu-man's (jowls), and both front legs were PURPLE!!! And not just a little bit. Mike and I ventured into our bedroom and found three different spots of purple paint puddles. Yes. Puddles. There were also purple paw prints throughout our hallway, living room and even the kitchen and dining room. Now, I must add that we had been talking about getting our carpets cleaned anyways, but who really wants to do it when you're forced into it because of A DOG???? So needless to say, Andie no longer has these paint bottles. Darn dog anyhow.

Bottom line is that I don't have time for this sinus headache thing to affect my life right now.

Confusing...??

Ok...I'm trying to get the hang of this. I've created a playlist for your enjoyment while you read, now I just can't figure out where the heck to paste it into...??????? I'm so NOT technically advanced this way. Stay tuned, I'll continue to work on it.