Pictures just don't do it justice...but here is my first project I was talking about on Sunday. The after picture just didn't turn out like I had hoped it would.

Now that I see the actual pictures of the them, I can't wait to do the next phase!!

And especially now that I see the pictures of it, I am not as excited to show it off as I thought I was. It really looks so much better in person than in the pictures. What I am missing specifically for the mantel is candles to put behind the garland. I have two adorable crystal taper candle holders that are just crying out for red candles, but I think I also want to do some fatter piller style candles...you know, the different height ones. Maybe white and/or green to accent the red tapers. Just a thought.

And I can't believe how bare the back part of the mantel looks - that wreath is just too small...definitely have to do something else there. Think I'll first complete Phase Two before totally deciding what to do with the wreath. Hmmmm...the wheels are a turnin'!

Have I mentioned that I hate wrapping? Still haven't started that yet....dreading it all the way. Loathe wrapping. I'll bake for anyone who wants to do my wrapping....????? Any takers?

I'm thankful for:

10 more sleeps till Christmas Day {zzzzzzzz}

OCI coffee - haven't had any, but sure would like some!

Stories from my kids

The ability to help other people out during the holidays

Products made in the USA

A little birdie suggested I put more pictures of Miss Andie's new hairstyle on here to show how it looks when a commoner like myself has to style it. I like the idea, and plan to accommodate, but will need to wait until a different day - maybe tomorrow morning I will because she is going to put some curl collector in her hair, and have it go 'natural.' It's pretty cute that way!

Productive Day!

Despite not feeling well at all today, I have to say that it was a rather productive day!

I took the kids to Faith Formation this morning, and went to my Mom and Dad's to make a gift for a friend (despite them not having any power!). Didn't feel too well being in their cold house, with having a sore throat, but I had my wool sweater, a scarf and my down coat on.

Got home and did my first project that I've had in my head for a while, I'll post pics later tonight or tomorrow. I bought a 24-ft. piece of garland and decorated it with holly berries, poinsettias, mini ornament balls and regular sized ornament balls, as well as some pine cones. Went through quite a bit of hot glue - but goodness I love that stuff! Then put a string of lights with it and now all I need are some tall red taper candles, and that phase of my project will be done! Yay! I'm not sure I'll get to the second phase this Christmas, but I'm gonna try!!

I hadn't planned on adding the string of lights to it, but when we were at my parents today, Drew made more than one comment about the wide variety of lights that my mom has beautifully placed around with so many of her decorations. Well...I can certainly read between the lines and when we got home and found this extra string of lights, I just knew it would make him happy! Success :).

Did some laundry, put dinner on, re-arranged a bunch of stuff in a cabinet that just needed to be done, made some bows for the wreaths for outside...hmmm, I know there's more, but I just can't think of them right now.

Andie and I were invited by my cousin to go to church with her and her daughter tonight to listen to Christmas singing and I sooooooo wanted to go, but I'm just not feeling good enough to leave tonight. Bummer, too, because I am really loving the Christmas caroles this season! Not only that, but with not knowing what "bug" it is I've got, I don't really want to expose anybody else to it. Sad.

Let's hope the teachers are kind to the kids this week as I'm sure they'll all be a bit distracted in anticipation of finishing up school for the year this week!!!

Can you even believe the difference here??

It started out as a not so good start, as we couldn't agree on a style that she could get. She wanted ultra short (think Rihanna!), and I wanted to be a little more conservative. What you may not understand about Andie's hair, that I'm trying to help her understand, is that ALL of the styles she was picking were for straight hair. STRAIGHT. That word and Andie's hair have nothing in common. Zilch.

After about 15 minutes, and many threats from me to walk out the door and not waste anymore of Kerry's time, we finally agreed on a style. It still looks nothing like the photo, but as Kerry pointed out, Andie probably has about four times the amount of hair than the girl in the pic does...so now let me back up a sentence. When we left Kerry's, it DID look like the picture, but as the day went on her natural curl came back out a bit, and now it will never look like the picture again, because I will never have 45 extra minutes in my morning before school to get it there!

But the good news is that we have some product to put in her hair that if we decide to have it be natural for the day, of course, it'll look adorable. She could easily do, like fifteen different looks with this style, so I'm excited to see how the upcoming days play out!

Oh, and the best part? Kerry is sending her hair in for Locks for Love, or whatever it's called...feels good to donate to a worthy cause!

Drew is day two into his steroids now...and we're noticing that about an hour after he takes them, his cheeks get really red, almost like he's got a fever. I've not noticed this time that he's overly crabby, like he's been several times in the past. For that, I'm thankful. I'm also thankful it's not pneumonia, which we've had plenty of with this child as well. All in all, things are starting to improve, which I'm thrilled with!

Tonight, I'm lovin:

Saturday night Mass

A beautiful fire in our fireplace

Yummy home cooked meal

Shopping online

The treadmill that is calling my name, but I've ignored so far, but not for much longer

A fabulous hairdresser

Tomorrow holds a full day at the Bolleserosa front...making a gift for a friend, cookie bake, Faith Formation for the kids, homework, and maybe a concert at a local Church! Have a great night :)

Hangin' out with the kid-poos watching The Polar Express, all the while Drew is just coughing and coughing. To his array of medications that we had to bump up/add, he now started another anitbiotic today, AND a steroid. I know it's the best thing for him, but it still brings tears everytime. Soooooo...for the next few days, he'll get pretty crabby and extremely hungry! All in a day.

So glad the teachers enjoyed their brunch that so many parents went in on as a Merry Christmas gift!! Jodi, as always, did an outstanding job of thinking, planning, organizing, for this event. A HUGE thank you to you, Jodi! I love the photo on your blog [http://4menandamommy.blogspot.com] of the card that the kids made. They had soooo much fun and it looks great! The photo of the food spread looked great too! Again, thank you for what you did there.

Miss Andie gets her hair cut tomorrow morning. Poor girl had to have it rescheduled twice now - she told me the other night that she wasn't even excited anymore because she couldn't get it done when she wanted (I know, woe is her, right?). So I'm going to take my camera so I can post pictures when we're all done. I'm hoping we can get something that we both like, and can agree on, and that her hair will actually do. She wants nothing more than to have straight hair, or so she thinks, so she can "do all the fun things with it." Ummm...does she think those of us that have straight hair actually love having that??

Regardless, she would like to donate to Locks For Love, so expect to see some drastic pics! I'm kind of excited...nervous, but excited!

Oh, I almost forgot! Today I am thankful for:

4 wheel drive
Gluten free foods
wrapping paper with lines on the inside
Fridays!!!
Two amazing sisters
Ideas for projects (fun! fun!)

Have a fun Friday everyone!

So I'm a Little Late...

...but it's only nine days!

So much has been going on, it's hard to know where to start, so I'll just begin by updating about Drew.

He spent much of November dealing with his asthma flare up. Turned into a sinus infection and he's going on his fourth week of being on a higher dose of Advair. Tomorrow we get to start his second round of antibiotics, and a phone call to the doctor (again) will take place.

Wednesday they said that if he has to use his rescue inhaler more than three times in the week, then I need to call right away...well, it's Thursday and he is just finishing up his second round of his inhaler tonight. Darn asthma. I'm sure there's something I can be doing to raise awareness or something...think I'll make that a New Year's Resolution. One not to be broken. Breaks my heart.

As a token of beginning to raise awareness, I found this really cool website that makes jewelry for just about every cause there is. AND, being that I L.O.V.E. jewelry, this might just be a good place to start! It'll go great with one of my Christmas presents - what do you mean, what is it?? I can't tell you - it's not Christmas yet! But if you would like to check out the website, it's http://www.kiwijewels.com/. Kinda cool.

I'm totally getting into the Christmas spirit these days, though you may not recognize it by my blog. I've had a few technical difficulties with this gosh darn layout, and just gave up a few days ago, convincing myself that I didn't really need to do a damn blog anyhow. But, I'm over my pissy-pants tantrum and happily blogging again [smile].

This season I'm thankful for so much. To name a few:

My amazing husband

Two fantastic kids

The Christmas Program at Church next weekend

Being employed

A great place to live

Shopping trips with awesome friends

Not having to cook on Fridays

I could go on and on...maybe I'll continue to list stuff daily! Guess you'll have to stay tuned now...

Ummm....

Dear God what happened to my background?? I'm not quite sure I can answer that. I looked around a bit the other day when I was thinking about posting a new chapter, but I didn't remember choosing anything new. Guess I was wrong. Not sure I can explain that design, other than it looks kind of like the fabric I chose for the new wreath I made last week. [Thanks Jen!!] That's right....I tried my hand at a wreath. And guess what? I.LOVED.IT!!!!

I didn't even take a picture. But it was sooooooooo fun to create! Think you'll have to ask Kris for a photo. I made it for her birthday. It turned out great! I still don't think I'm all that creative, but this thing is cool. Anyhow, I plan to make more. Many more. You could say I'm hooked. So again - thanks JT for the cool idea!

Moving on...we had an awesome Thanksgiving. It is, by far, my favorite Holiday!!! It's close to Christmas, but it's not here yet, which I love, cause it means that it's not gone yet, but we can start thinking about and shopping for it.

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!

Happy Halloween!

This has to have been the best year for costumes that I can remember!!! Total investment? $4.99. We didn't really even decide what they were going to dress up as until about two nights ago...not that they're too elaborate, but still. Without my sister Erica here, it just sort of gets pushed back till the last minute. {Maybe you should just pack up and move home, Erica...just sayin'}

Thanks to Aunt Shani for the Mexican Blanket for Drew-B, oops, I mean Jos-B (hose-b). Thanks to Drew's Papa, he came up with the name. He said, "You've heard of Jose (hose-a), now he can be Jos-B, instead of Drew-B!" Only my dad :o)

He's not sure if he'll dress up for the dance tonight, he's going to keep his options open and decide once he wears the sombrero all day...

You can't really see it here, but Andie has glittery eyes - they look really cute! And the lips ahhhhh, the lips. That was the one thing she really wanted - red lips!! I'd say mission accomplished.

Hope all the trick-or-treaters this weekend have a blast and stay safe!

Poetry

Is anyone else really sick of the commercials for the upcoming election??? It seems like such a negative, slam-on-the-opponent-fest - I can't wait till voting next Tuesday!!!! Looking forward to the ads ending. Thanks - I just had to get that off my mind.

I will be returning to work on Monday, November 1st. It's nice missing work when it's your choice and it's fun...but two surgeries in four months. Jeeesssh!! Let's just say I'm ready to go back! I don't like putting the burden on my co-workers when they're already super busy, plus I have a new boss that started this week. Exciting!!

I've not talked about it much, but since I put it out there in the paragraph above, I decided I better update...my first shoulder surgery took care of the bone spur, but was frozen.

f-r-o-z-e-n!!!! So the second one was a closed manipulation and a success!!! Now I continue with physical therapy and hope to have that come to a close soon. The PT's at Shoreline Sport and Spine are fantastic but eight months and counting is plenty long enough. There's much more to the story here, but I won't bore you with the minute details! Definitely looking forward to this phase of my life ending.

On a more positive note - here's a few more pictures of the family. My SIL in Florida is having a Shutterfly party!!!!! I think we get a photo book, which would be perfect because I was wondering what/how I was going to scrapbook these fun pictures, and the day we had them taken, I got the message from Darcy asking if I would be interested. Would I ever!!! I'll be able to order a photo book, and arrage all 61 pictures that we got - how FUN!!!! There's obviously more pictures of Drew and Andie - but let's face it, they're a lot more photogenic! Plus more fun cause they're kids. Big kids I mean. What are they now??? I'm not a fan of the word "tween," but they're not kids, not adults either. How 'bout this - my offspring. Ha! Doesn't flow either. Whatever. They're just cuter in the pics!

Sooooo ready for Halloween to be over this year! Andie doesn't want to trick or treat (for the third year in a row I might add), but she wanted to do something for school...so I went to the store today and got her the devil headband, tail and wand (pitchfork). She's just going to wear that with her favorite huge-hole-in-the-knee-Hollister-jeans-from-Ashlyn and a black t-shirt. But I think the most exciting part for her was asking me if I could do some fun makeup for her. Of course!!! She doesn't wear it regularly now, much to her chagrin, but this is a special occasion!! She would really like to wear make up regularly now, but goodness...we (Mike and I) just aren't ready for that!! Maybe when she's, oh...I don't know, 20 or so? Ha! Not really, but certainly not yet.

Drew is still thinking about his attire for school. Thinking maybe hippie. My mom has a costume that we need to check out. But for trick or treating, I think he's going to be a hunter (sans rifle of course) - it'll be perfect since it's usually cold and windy for t-or-t-ing. So the boys will go around the neighborhood, while the girls stay back and hand out candy. Can't wait for Kris' hot chocolate!!!!! ;o) hint hint if you're reading this Kris

Will definitely post pics of Halloween - yes, Erica - this will be for YOU!!!!

Oh, the 'Poetry' title?? Sometimes I really have to think about what to write. Sometimes I don't. Tonight? I don't.

A Little Teaser

Soooo...I put a few of the pictures to the left of my blog and the header. I know it's just a little teaser, but I'm working on it!!!! I promise! I'll do more this week.

I'm Trying...

...to post a new update, but Google has other things in mind for my evening! Image uploads are disabled for a couple of hours tonight for maintenance, just happens to be during the time that I am free to post a blog. I have new pictures to post!!!!

We finally did our first ever Bolles Family Photo Shoot this past Sunday - beautiful day!!! I guess I'll have to build the anticipation for you, since I won't go into any of the fun details until I am able to put pictures with it. Oh well...another day!

I will go on to say that the Whitehall Middle School 7th grade boys did an amazing job tonight for their last game of the season!! It was so great to have them go out with a win! I will miss seeing these boys play, but honestly, Drew's bruised body needs to heal. He's looking forward to playing again next year though!

I'll come back to this tomorrow...I'll have time, since there's no football practice and no soccer practice AND a half day of school - yipee!!

This and That...

I just love the school spirit I see kids have on big game days!! This particular one was taken the morning on the Whitehall/Montague game. I had them both standing there...smiling I guess you could call it. But I just wasn't feeling it when I looked at the picture. So my instruction to them was to "pose" rather than just smile. Ta-dah! This was the result of it. Makes me smile everytime I look at it.


[Well there was a picture here...I have no clue where it went, nor how to get it back! I've tried four times to upload it and it won't work!!!] Guess you'll have to visit my facebook page to see it...gosh darn it. I'll keep trying!

This photo of Andie and Abi was taken last week at the Whitehall/Mason County Central game. Andie had math homework to do, and when she got done she looked over at Abi and asked if she could go play with her. How cute! How could I say no? An 11 year old wanted to go over and play with a 2 year old. I knew she would be great with Abi, plus I was right there, as was Abi's mom, so off she went. I snapped some cute pics of the two of them, then later with Brandon too, but this one just grabbed at my heartstrings. Precious kids - why do they have to grow up so darn fast?

On another exciting note - we plan to do family portraits for the FIRST.TIME.EVER this weekend! I'm so excited! My biggest struggle now is figuring out what to wear that we will all coordinate with. Any ideas/suggestions out there?? I like the white shirts/jeans theme, but I don't think we all have white tops. I'm thinking maybe white for the girls, blue for the boys, or red. Gosh, I just don't know. Definitely doing the jeans, I have to wear heels so I don't look like I'm the same height as my kids yet. I mean, they are both only about an inch shorter than me, so I'll do the heels as long as I can just so you can recognize me as the adult here!!

I so just love these nice quiet evenings at home - after all the hustle and bustle of getting up at 5am, making three lunches, letting the dogs out four to five times {in the morning}, making sure I have my mascara on, two of the same shoes, and out the door, all before 6:45 a.m.

We took the opportunity to go to church tonight and it just amazes me how much better I always feel after going. Plus, we don't have to get up at the ass crack of dawn now on Sunday morning :o). See my motive?? After church, we came home and made burgers for dinner and are now just chillin' out.

So I know it's been about a month since I've updated, but really a lot has been going on...we're getting into the swing of the school schedule, Drew is down to only two sports now, Andie is just as sweet as ever, my niece Ava turns 6 in exactly one month, and my nephew Josh is a busy almost-three-year-old, Mike and I will celebrate our 16 year anniversary in one week and I have to have another stinking surgery on my shoulder. I won't focus on that - need to stay positive!!!

Josh got his haircut a few weeks ago, and you may have seen this photo on facebook, but it is a favorite of mine, so I had to share here too, just in case you're not on facebook. [Does he not look just.like.Aiden??? Yes, it is a mohawk...and it fits him so well. Andie loves to run her fingers over the top of it everytime we see him. Ya just gotta love a two year old with a cool hairstyle!

Check out the ever-so-cool Kyle "Stwatton"

Does he look ready for a nerf war or what?? We had a fun night with friends over a few weeks ago and as always, the kids engaged in a nerf gun and rubber band war, and Kyle was serious about the competition!

Other than family, nothing compares to hanging out with friends!

Hmmmm...let's see, what else? Well, I started making the kids' Christmas lists today. Hard to believe that it's only about 10 weeks away! Which means, that I'll have a teenager in the house in about that short amount of time as well. The one part I'm not looking forward to about Christmas is the wrapping. I don't like it. I've tried and even told myself that it's fun, but really, it's one of my least favorite parts about my favorite holiday. I'd rather be on my feet for ten hours baking, which I'm sure will happen too. But I'll be looking forward to that part of it. Anyway, I've been watching the postings on fb, and the b-day parties lately have shown just how many of these amazing boys are become teenagers! Hard to believe. Where does the time go? As crazy as it is that they're growing up so fast, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

BUT...before Christmas, we have to enjoy my favorite holiday, which is Thanksgiving. And even before that, is Halloween, which honestly, I could do without. I'd rather wrap presents. Which, by now, you all know how I feel about that! I love that Andie hangs out with me on Halloween night, passing out the candy. Sure makes the evening fun...but so does Kris' hot chocolate! Dads - be sure to trick or treat at our place, there may be barley and hops in a bottle for you...just sayin'!

All in all, things on the Bolleserosa Front are going rather well. Hopefully I can resume taking a class (or two) for the winter semester in college...providing my shoulder situation shows signs of improvement. If not, PT will continue to take place of school. Time will tell!

P.S. - Happy 70th Birthday to the best Father-In-Law ever!!! Love ya Milty!

To start the weekend...

I took a whole Darvocet today, at the recommendation of my PT. He planned on it being a rough day of therapy. Boy was he right!
The kids each got a fish today. I wasn't really for it, but it's been about two years since their last fish, so...whatever. As long as I don't have to clean the tanks each week, I'm fine with that. Andie named hers Blaze, and Drew named his Frappe (yes, he loves them too!)
The dogs got groomed yesterday. I'm so tired of paying what we pay to keep the pups cute. They're expensive! It's that money supposed to be spent on ME??
In just a few days, I will have TWO jr. high students. Good thing I'm not getting any older!! I'm going to miss them so much, like I do every year when school starts! My heart hurts every school year at this time :(
Drew got his new glasses today - will post pics soon. Wow do they look great!! Now if only the contacts would get on his eyeballs already...
Drove out to Lake Michigan today to check out the waves - HUGE!! Impressive! Sure hope nobody decides to take a dip. Especially the "smart" people we saw at the end of the pier.
Love Love Love this cooler weather we're having! Ok, so today may have been a little cooler that I was thinking, but still, it's a nice change from the humid 90! Drew was wishing for a football practice today.
Looking forward to a Captain tonight with my BFF! Not more than two, don't want to feel icky tomorrow!
I know, lots of random thoughts, but wanted to get these thoughts down before POOF! they left my head.
Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Andie-ism #372

Out of the mouth of my sweet girl...Mike and the kids were eating lunch, so we're all sitting at the table, and Mike pulls up a video on espn of a catch made by an outfielder who climbed the wall and prevented a home run. It really was a cool play...too bad the cameraman only got him catching the ball, and not actually climbing up it - would've been cool to see. Anyways, one of the kids asked what team it was and Mike responded that it wasn't an American league, rather a team in Japan. Andie immediately pipes up and says, "Oh, you mean a Japanesian?" Japanesian??? Huh?

She has forever had these one liners that just make you laugh. My mom has told me from the time Andie could talk that I need to write a book of Andie-isms. Maybe one day I will...

Second Post of the Day!!!

Andie was in the Howmet Youth Theatre Play this summer, titled Skupper Duppers. She did a great job! She and I made the poster about a half hour before she had to be there opening day...talk about quick creativity!

Drew was in the 4th of July parade with my dad, {Papa}. He got to ride in his favorite fire truck, #1120 and loved every minute of it!! Andie wasn't feeling real well at the start of the parade, but improved as the day went on.

This picture of Mike and Andie is one of my favorite pics ever!

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Just Some More Rambling...

Is she not the cutest little flower girl you've ever seen?? Well, except for when Andie was flower girl, but right now it's about Ava! She was in my cousin Breanna's wedding this summer. She did an exceptional job and I'm so proud of her! {And wow does she look like her Mom here...}

One Drewcifer Jenoble has been keeping me busy lately! He decided last minute to play football and practice started Monday of this week. It's every.single.night. Luckily, it wasn't too hot this week, so that was nice for the boys. (The other nice part is that Kris and I have been able to get our walks in during practice). I'll be posting about that I'm sure, but games haven't started just yet...

Drew had some friends over Wednesday, Andie had Ashlyn {cousin} over and I felt seriously outnumbered! But what fun it was!!! There was you tube playing loudly, dart wars, rubber band wars, lunch, flag football, and general conversation. Ashlyn offered to help Andie "girl up." It's funny, because out of all of our friends that we hang out with, Andie is the only girl, unless she brings somebody. Really - she's the only girl! So naturally, whenever there is a get together and flag football (or whatever sport they happen to be playing) comes out, she just jumps right in and participates. Who can blame her? It's better than sitting on the sidelines and watching. Plus, I've learned that she just happens to be rather athletic, and V.E.R.Y. competitive! So I thought it was very sweet of Ashlyn to offer to help feminize her! My hope is that Andie can be "girly" and play sports all the same!

P.S. - not quite sure about the face on Brando - but we all had a good laugh looking at it after :)

I have mixed emotions about school starting in a week. My baby girl, a.k.a. Andie, will be entering the sixth grade. She is so very nervous!! I feel so bad for her, and can specifically remember the feeling of starting junior high. She is scared of, "not remembering her locker combination, of getting detention, and having her friends get into fights"....um, what?! My hope for her is that she remembers to always be nice, and treat others with respect.

On the flip side, I'm ready to get it [school] going...the kids have had an outstanding summer, but it's just time to get back into it.

Could It Be?!

So here I am now, ready to type and I have so many thoughts running through my head - where do I even begin? Hmmmm...I think I'll start with a re-cap of the most recent.

I went back to work today, Andie is horseback riding today for the first time!! She is with a new friend she made during this summer, while participating in the Howmet Youth Summer Theatre program. Drew's love for golf has evolved even more this summer; he is busy with lessons, as well as going to weight lifting and open gym two days a week. Soccer should start soon. Mike and I both celebrated birthdays this summer. We have a new nephew, Carter, who unfortunately lives in Tampa, Florida. We miss them terribly! Our puppy is growing fast! Erica is getting married next summer. My mom is going great with her weight loss! We got a new car!

Ok, so let me back up a bit and elaborate...I've been off of work since the middle of June when I had shoulder surgery. I asked the Dr. last Monday to let me go back...he released me to return today. Feels good to be on the payroll again ;o). My shoulder is still frozen, but hopefully by continuing physical therapy, and the shot I got last week, we can get that working again! It's been a painful summer, but it could have been so much worse than it was. Enough about me...

The kids are almost as tall as I am at this time. I know, it's not a hard thing to achieve, but hey, they've got that goal! And as long as they have a goal set, I'm happy. Andie starts Middle School this year - unbelievable!! I was ready for Drew to start jr. high, but I am so struggling with Andie. Girls just seem to have a tougher go of it in jr. high - I know not always, but I'm just thinking back to when I started middle school. It was so hard! I just pray that she keeps her head on straight and is always kind. Unless she is picked on again, then she can kick some ass. JUST KIDDING!! Drew plans on all A's this year, as his goal remains the same of becoming a Coast Guard Helicopter Pilot...needs those good grades!! Go get 'em Drew-B!

We sold our Grand Prix to Matt and Shani and bought a 2011 Subaru Outback. We love it! We knew we wanted an Outback, but when it came time to part with $$, we struggled, so as a result, only had one vehicle for...oh, about a month or so. That was a little strange and kind of nice, but now it's nice to have a shiny new car in the garage :o).

So here is Carter! Isn't he so cute?? This little cutie belongs to Eric and Darcy. They were up here at the start of the summer, so we did get to spend some time with them. It was wonderful spending time with them and getting to know little Carter. In my perfect world, all of my family gets to live where they want to, but it's still close enough to see everybody! Weird? Maybe. But that's my world.

I have many new pictures that still haven't jumped from my camera to my computer...how do I make it do that?? Just kidding. I really have not spent much time on my computer this summer, but have every intention of catching up with it all. So for now, enjoy Carter's pic!

Coming Soon!

I've got my computer back and my mind is already churning with what I'll write about soon!!! Like, I'm going to start....TODAY!

Stay tuned...

Too Tired...

So much to blog about...so little energy.

Now that my class is done, I will have time for a big blog. But for right now, I'm exhausted and going to bed. Yes, at 8:00. How old am I getting?? Oh, but it might be a few day, my computer (of which is less than a year old) has to go in for service. It keeps shutting down and freezing up...frustrating!!!

Percy Jackson Craze at the Bolles'

O.M.G. My daughter is C.R.A.Z.Y. for Percy Jackson!!! She has just finished up the fifth and final book in the series and holy kamolies it is like the end of the world for her!! She is doing all she can to extend the life of these books, which I find completely adorable. She is now sitting with her foot propped up, looking at her newest book, the Percy Jackson Ultimate Guide. It talks about each character, what their purpose in the story is, and details about their families. I feel like a part of these books, and I've never even read them.

I am beyond thrilled that she has found the wonderful love of diving into a book and getting lost! And she is so very excited about them, that she feels it is her God-given duty to share it all with the rest of us! Way to go Andie - keep on readin'!

Spring Break

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I just love this time of year! The Robin's are out, the Tigers are on, and things are just starting to come back to life.

We just returned from a short family vacation to Chicago. The kids had never been there, and while Chicago doesn't boast any palm trees, it was something that they have been wanting to do. Oh wait, the palm tree addiction is mine, not theirs! That's right :o)

So we took the train from Holland (a first for them), visited an array of attractions Chicago has to offer:

Shedd Aquarium (first for them)
Field Museum (first for them)
Planetarium (first for them - see my theme developing here?)
Museum of Science & Industry (another first)
Sears Tower Deck (you guessed it)

I'm struggling a bit with moving my pictures around - so they're at the top only. I wanted to get a little more creative and place them accordingly, but when I upload them, it's all just a bunch of codes and not actual pictures. For this non-techy girl, I just decided to leave them where they are!

So the first two pictures are at the top of the Sears Tower. If you haven't been there in a while, they have a spot that is a window that you stand on and you can see all the way to the ground. F.R.E.A.K.Y.!! But if you go all the way to the top, you just HAVE to stand there and look down! Unless you're Mike Bolles, but we won't go there. Just kidding! He did it too! But holy cow is it weird!

We also did a little bit of walking on Michigan Ave., ate at a few yummy places and delved into the hustle and bustle of the city. We ended up coming home a day early...and for a few reasons.

One being that we were just citied out...three days is plenty! Another is that we wanted to enjoy more than one day of the weekend at home, and the last (and therefore the largest...) is that Miss Andie hurt her foot at school almost two weeks ago.

She managed to hobble around the city by holding onto my arm and limping, but not without painfully doing so. So I had been keeping an eye on it the last week and a half, but it just wasn't getting better, so I decided to take her in for an x-ray. Sure enough. Her foot is broken! My poor girl!!

She definitely takes the award for Tough Girl, and I definitely take the award for Bad Mom. I feel absolutely horrible that she went as long as she did with it broke.

So there she sits in the recliner with her foot propped up with a cast on it. Well, just a temporary cast right now. I have to take her to her Dr. on Monday for a hard cast. All I can say is I'm sorry Andie! Mom loves you!

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy 11th Birthday Miss Andie Makae!!!!! Unbelievable that our kids are growing up so fast. They still change and amaze me everyday...I love you Andie!

Good Day...

Today was a day for tears for sure! I'm not sure what is in the air...but it seemed like every time I turned around, somebody was shedding a tear or two. And for some reason, it hit me too! Crazy. I'm sure there will be many more tears this Thursday - NOT because Miss Andie will turn 11, but because it will be Michelle's last day of working with us :o( She is going home to be a stay at home mom full time. I am so thankful for the time I had at home while Drew and Andie were little - I am very excited for Michelle, but she will be missed.

Let's see...what else? Got an A on my two tests tonight at school - yay! I positively cannot wait for this semester to be over. Now that sports will be picking up for both of the kids, we will be busy all over again! Not that we're not busy now, but it's just going to pick up again. I'm glad - I love watching them with their friends having fun. Oh - and Physical Therapy. Had that today too. Got some fun bright pink tape on my shoulder - just for you Ashley! The place I go to in Spring Lake is a great place if you need PT. Everybody there is very nice and it seems to be helping...just need to wait and see what the good ol' doc has to say in a few weeks.

We are enjoying this nicer weather very much!! Kris and I have been walking again and it feels great to get back out there! I just hope it doesn't snow Monday like they're calling for right now. Let's keep our fingers crossed :o)

Creative

I'm feeling rather creative tonight, so I decided to give the blog an attempt to have it show. Hope it makes me look good! Happy St. Patty's Day first of all...

Went to Target tonight with my favorite older sister that I don't get to talk to or see very often these days. We have an exciting baby shower coming up this Saturday and needed gifts, so off we went! Mashawn is due within the next month with her baby girl and we are soooooo excited for her, Brian and Aiden! I can't wait to see this darling little girl (and maybe babysit sometime...??) I ended up with some grocery items I didn't think I needed when I left the house, but realized I couldn't live without once I got there. Has that ever happened to you? Also got a start on Easter candy, which I hadn't planned on opening until, well, Easter, but my hubby had other plans for it. Right about this time, I am bumming that I gave up chocolate for Lent. My hips will eventually thank me for it, but right now it's tough! Gave up potato chips too. Ouch! If you don't hang around the Bolles' very often, you may not realize that Frito Lays Potato Chips are a favorite in this house. Not just by me. I think Mike loves them more than I do. In fact, I forgot about this whole Lent thing the other day when I was at the store and bought a bag. On the way home, I remembered that I gave them up for Lent, but then myself said to myself that I wouldn't be able to eat them, but the rest of the family would, so it was all going to work out in the end. Then I talked with MB and remembered [as I was telling him I bought them] that he gave them up too! So we sat at the table for dinner watching D & A eat them. Tough!

So I mentioned that I haven't spent much time with my sister, and I need to explain a bit. I've been working more hours this winter/spring, taking a class at school, and going to Physical Therapy twice a week. Not to mention helping Drew and Andie with whatever homework they have going on and all the usual housework stuff mom's do. So.....some days I'm not sure what's going on...am I coming or going?? Now with this precious lost hour of sleep...I am also excited about the lost hour because that means that the nice weather is finally on its way!!!!! yay :o)

Kris and I have started walking again this week. Wow does it feel GREAT to be back out there walking!! It's been a long winter. I'm just sayin' Apparently we aren't the only ones with this opinion because we've seen many friendly neighbors out and about too - it's nice to see :o)

We celebrated Miss Andie's birthday with family this afternoon (I'm continuing this on Sunday...). She will be 11 on Thursday and I also need to shout out a Happy Birthday to my Grampa Anderson too on Thursday. I miss him so much! She is happily playing with her new iPod Touch right now...which makes Drew oh-so-very-happy because now he doesn't have to constantly hear, "Drew, can I play a game on it please?" She also got a Ripstik Scooter. We're sure to end up in the ER with that thing! But it also came with pads for her wrists, elbows and knees. I wonder if they keep bones from breaking? Hmmmm... Oh and she got [another] Webkinz from Drew. She really needed another one. She also got a really cute outfit from Mimi and Papa, and Aunt Shani will be taking her to Barnes & Noble for their yearly ritual of book shopping. She's really into the Percy Jackson series and she doesn't have the last one yet, so she's looking very forward to spending some time w/Aunt Shani!!

I'm having a battle with importing the pictures from my camera to my computer...so I'm just going to go ahead and post this while I continue to work on this techy stuff. I'm so not the techy type!

Well It's About Time...

...that I put something on here, don't you think?? So much has happened, where do I even begin?

Let's see, I'll start with the most recent. Andie is home sick with the flu. Yuck. I'll spare the details, but let me just say that from 2:30 a.m. on, we didn't get any sleep last night! Poor sweetie! Drew had it Saturday night, so I guess it's only fitting that Andie has it now. We're going to Traverse City this weekend for Mid-Winter Break, so I hope that Mike and I both stay healthy!!! Keeping my fingers crossed for the Mom Protection... looking very forward to hanging out and chillaxin' with some great friends, eating some great food (Boone's!!) and hoping for some great deals at the Mall! (Andie and Lauren are looking forward to Justice!)

Andie got braces put on her teeth a couple weeks ago. She looks so darn cute! I've got a picture of her, but of course, it's not been uploaded to my computer. I'm seeing a pattern here, are you?? Maybe I should've made it a resolution to get better at it, but it just hasn't happened yet.

I cannot tell you how much I am ready for spring! I think the "gray-ness" of this year's winter is really getting to me! I took Cowboy for a short walk yesterday and it felt great to be outside, even though it was only 25 degrees! It's pretty bad when it's only 25 degrees, and you walk outside, take a deep breath and think what a nice day it is out!!! Sad. But it did feel good to be out there breathing the fresh air and just moving! I've really turned into a slacker this winter...looking forward to getting back in the routine of exercising :o)

Need to start shopping (ok, just looking) for an orange dress for my sister's wedding. Erica and Lucas are getting married, hopefully on the beach, but I'm not sure if it's going to be this September, or next year September. Guess I should really find that out before dress shopping, huh?? Anyways, I'm soooooo excited for them! They're building their house right now and she just e-mailed me some new pictures - it looks great! I can't wait to fly out to Phoenix one day and see her new place! I miss you Erica!


These are two of the pictures that we took during the Christmas break while we were geocaching on a gorgeous day! Yep - they were taken with my new camera...that I still don't know how to use real well. I so need to take the class that The Camera Shop offers! That's at the top of my to-do list.

I know there's much more to update you on, but since I've basically been up since 2:30 this morning, my brain feels tired and ready for bed. I'll post more again soon - it won't take as long, I promise!