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!