Super Hilarious Blog

Ok, so thanks to my super sweet friend, Tracie (and her comment on Pastor Chris's blog), I have found my new favorite blog. It's called Stuff Christians Like, and it is absolutely HILARIOUS!!! You simply must check it out.

Thanks for directing me there, Tracie!!! LOVE it!

Our First Weekend of the Summer at the Lake

Last weekend was our first weekend of the summer at the lake, and we had a BLAST!!! Channing's parents (aka MiMi and PaPa) have been dying for us to get down there, and we finally had a free weekend. Yea! They have had lots of construction going on over the past several months as they've had renovations and additions done to their lake house. Friday night was our first night seeing the finished product...

It looks GRRRRRRRREAT!!! Tristan had already seen it and was thrilled to be able to show Channing and me his new room at the lake. As soon as we got there, he had to take us back. It is ADORABLE! The room is for the grand kids and has two twin beds and a bathroom. In true MiMi style, it is decked out in PBK (the new fish bedding...I think it's called Conor?). It is SO SO cute and perfect for little ones! The bathroom is super cute too with two pedestal sinks with white stools in front. The mirrors are from PBK and look fabulous.
They also had additions made in their living room, dining room, and deck. It looks so great and is a perfect weekend getaway.

As you can see in the picture above, Tristan, PaPa, and MRK had LOTS of fun on the Sea Doo (or jet ski as Tristan and PaPa call it). Tristan LOVES to ride it, and, according to PaPa, only knows one speed...FAST! Most times, he wants to drive. Channing said when he drives, the throttle is completely down.

Another favorite at the lake is boat riding. Here are MRK and Tristan ready for us all to get going. They were on a mission to find some ducks. We even had the bags of bread to prove it!
This was Asher's first boat ride (because I'm OCD about life jackets. He was too little for one last year). He wasn't too crazy about the life jacket, so it kind of affected his trip. I think he could do without boat rides if it means wearing that straight jacket...oh, I mean life jacket. It's a super safe jacket, though, and that's why I insist he wear it.Here is Tristan driving us all around. He's showing me all the property he's going to buy me when he becomes a super hero.Another of Tristan's favorite things to do at the lake is to water PaPa's flowers. He and MRK make sure the flowers have plenty of water to make it through the weekend.This was Asher's first pool experience of the summer. Of course, he had to show off. He has started standing up on his own and putting his hands up in the air to show his big accomplishment. He is SO proud!!!
Here is Asher's first time in the lake! Ok, so he didn't get all the way in, but he did put his feet and tiny hiney in. He like it, but the water was kind of cool.
On Sunday, the kids went fishing. I wish you could have seen Channing's dad and brother trying to get the poles ready...hilarious! Let's just say, in their family fishing isn't a big hobby.
It was SO cute watching the kiddos fish, though!After fishing, we went up to the pool at the club, and Asher got the chance to show off some more. See how proud he was?! On Monday, he actually took his first steps. He was beside himself with excitement!!!That afternoon, we made some homemade ice cream. Here is Tristan waiting patiently for it to finish.YUMMMMMMMMM!!!Ash looking down at the lake from the deck. He loved that he could cruise along the rails and look down at the water. He is my precious precious boy!!!Just a sweet shot of my sweet Tristan. I LOVE this little man!
Here are Tristan and MRK (in their matching jammies) playing what seemed like their hundredth game of the weekend. This time, they were playing Dinosaur (thanks, Josiah!!!). They had so much fun!
On our last night there, Monday night, we went to Sinclairs (formerly Kowaligia). It was a great way to end a great weekend.
I didn't get much rest at the lake (since Asher doesn't like to sleep away from home), but I had a wonderful time anyway. It was nice to get away from the stresses of everyday life and to enjoy so me of God's beauty down at the lake.
Tristan LOVES it there and has informed us that he would like to move there. With gas prices, I don't know if that would be much cheaper than our mortgage! In the meantime, I think we'll just visit often. :)

Goodbye T-Ball

T-ball is officially over. We finished our season with a party at Chick-fil-A and received trophies.
Here are some shots from the party. Notice Tristan doesn't have on his t-ball shirt. Great job, Mom. Just put it on my list of "duh"s!

It Shouldn't Matter...

Really, it shouldn't...but it does! You see, when I chose the names for my boys (yes, I admit: I named both our boys. Channing liked the names, though), I chose "unusual" names; not your run of the mill, everyday names. Both Channing and I have unique names and had hoped to pass down unique names to our boys.

I chose the name "Tristan" in high school. I always said that if I ever had a boy, that would be his name. Lo and behold...I had a boy. Tristan was not a popular name at the time, so I stuck with it. I loved (love) the name and the meaning (bold). Since then, I've seen a few boys with the same name, but only a handful.

"Asher" I chose when Tristan was a brand new baby. I was reading my Bible one night before bed, came upon the name and felt so strongly that I would one day have a little boy named Asher. I immediately ran into the living room and woke Channing (who had fallen asleep watching some game of some sort) to tell him the great news. He kind of gave me a grunt and the next day told me that the name was "o.k.". I then told him how I found it and what the name meant (happy, blessed), and he really started liking it.

Ok...cut to Asher's actual birth. We stuck with the name and were SO PROUD of our unique, unusual name. Um, yeah. That lasted for like a month. Then I started meeting Asher after Asher after Asher. I think our church has like five! I meet Ashers at the gym, at the store, at church, in neighborhoods. It's CRAZY!

Well today I was looking at the Today Show's website to get a story for my health blog (I saw the story on the news this morning) and ran across a list of last year's most popular names. Guess where Tristan was??? 18!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe that?! 18!!! Asher was 76!!! 76!!! BOTH my boys were on last year's most popular names list. I am so disappointed! :(

Oh well. What can I do? I guess my next child will just have random letters drawn out of a hat. ;)

Want to see if your kids' names made the list? Check out this link:
Most Popular Baby Names of 2007

A Great Wednesday Night

Last night after church, Tristan, Asher, and I accompanied Channing on a home visit. He has a patient who is unable to get into the office right now because of a recent surgery, so since she can't get out, he has been going out to her house to keep her spine adjusted (I love my hubby!).
On the way home (or there, I can't remember), I captured this super sweet picture of my boys. I looked back, and they were holding hands. It absolutely made my heart melt!
(Oh, and yes, Tristan sucks his fingers. I'm very open to suggestions on how to break it.)
Once at the patient's house, Tristan and Channing went in, and I decided to wait in the car with Ash (somehow I just knew he would want to get down and into all her stuff).
It didn't take long sitting in the car before he got restless and wanted to get out of his carseat. After several minutes of listening to him fuss, I finally let him out. He was THRILLED. He took advantage of the opportunity and decided to drive me around town. Check out the pictures I snapped:

Here he is waving to a pedestrian. Eyes on the road, Ash!!!
Just coastin'!
All in all, it was a great Wednesday night. I got to spend a couple of hours with super sweet babies at church; Channing was able to help one of his patients at home; I got to take a thrill ride with Ash (who knew he was such a great driver? ;)); and I got to see my sweet boys hold hands. Yes, it was a great Wednesday night indeed.
Tomorrow night, we'll officially end t-ball with our team party (sniff), and then we'll head to the lake for a long weekend. I think our family needs it!

My BIG Savings at CVS

Ok, can I just say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE me some CVS?! I do, I really really do. I don't take drugs, but I love CVS. I love their deals, and I especially love Extra Care Bucks (which my mom told me she "throws away"! Can you believe that?! It's like throwing away real money!).

Anyway, check out my latest deal from CVS.I got all this stuff for (are you ready for this???)...$6.28 out of pocket!!! According to my CVS receipts, by using coupons, ECBs, and by taking advantage of their sales, I saved a total of $210.20!!! The excitement doesn't end there...not only did I get all this for $6.28 oop and save $210.20, I earned $12 in ECBs!!! Woo hoo!!! The thing is, I could have done even better but was eager to get out of there. Despite my rush, I still think I did pretty well. :)

Thanks, CVS, and thanks to all you frugal tipsters out there who taught me all I know!!!

(Ok, so this marks like the fifth post I've done today. I am officially done...probably for a month. Take your time reading! :))

It's So Hard to Say Goodbye...

Last week was an especially difficult week for me. We had to say goodbye to Tristan's K3 class and teacher and to t-ball...all within two days! It was just too much for me. I never like goodbyes and struggle with change, so I spent much of last weekend in tears.

Last Thursday, Channing, Asher, and I attended Tristan's K3 graduation ceremony. It was the sweetest thing ever! The kids marched into the sanctuary with their animal masks, and then went onto the stage and sang several CUTE songs they learned this year. My absolute favorite was...
Squirrel, squirrel...shake your bushy tail! (or as Tristan says, "Skuwurel, skuwurel, shake your mushy tail!" LOVE IT!!!). This song was SO cute because, at one point, all the kiddos turned around backwards and shook their "bushy tails".

Here is Tristan with some of his little friends from class:
And watching himself on the big monitor:And here is his last picture with his teacher, Mrs. Karen. Mrs. Karen, thank you for a GREAT year! Tristan looked forward to going to school every day, and I thank you for your part in that.The very next day, we had to say goodbye to t-ball. TOO much for me! Here are some pictures from Tristan's very last four year old t-ball game. This was the first game where the t-ball teams actually kept score and outs, and let me tell you...when that happens, the dynamic definitely changes. There was LOTS more yelling, lots more tension, and more pressure to perform...for the parents anyway. ;) The kids could care less. They were out there to play.

Now I, being the competetive person that I am (I'm not proud of it), I immediately noticed that the Marlins (the team we were playing) were out doing some serious practice before the game. Here they were:And here we were:Let me point out, in case you missed it, the fact that the only people on their team's side of the field were the kids and the two coaches. Now look back at our team's picture. Do you see the difference. Yep, we had almost every parent from our team out there. Notice anything else? Our kids weren't practicing. Nope. They were picking noses, tackling each other, and throwing their gloves, all the while their parents were catching up with everyone else's parents. HILARIOUS!

Here's another one. Notice one of their coaches came over to meet with the ump to discuss the rules. Again, all of our parents are talking to each other and hanging out.
Check out the other team:
Yep, they were practicing! Ha! Again, I'm pretty competetive and had to go tell the coach's wife (who also happens to be really competetive) and my hubby that maybe someone should be out there warming the boys up while the coaches met with the ump. We both tried, but it never happened. Oh well!The thing is, our boys played AWESOME!!! They did SO well!!! They didn't win; however, it can mainly be attributed to a couple of things...
#1. We had some "parenting" coaching that went bad. Twice in one inning (actually, back to back plays), a parent sent a kid to the next base when they should have stayed where they were. Both times, the kids were literally held for a good 30 seconds, and then as soon as the other team had the ball and was almost at the next base, our parent would send them on. Not only that, but they sent two of our kids that take a little more time rounding the bases. Not the best idea (notice my competetiveness. Again, I'm not proud of it. ). And as I'm sure you've already guessed, the kids were tagged out.
#2. Before the game began, the coaches decided on a limit of four innings or 1 hour and 15 minutes of gametime, whichever came first. At the end of the third, we had some SUPER tired kids, and we were up 17-15. The coaches on the other team (one of whom was extremely competetive and totally inappropriate to be coaching four year olds (you should have heard some of the things he yelled at one of the parents who was on second base helping...) really wanted to play a fourth inning (of course they did, they were losing). There were LITERALLY three minutes left before the time limit...THREE MINUTES. Because we have such AWESOME coaches, they agreed to play another inning. Well, the last inning didn't go so well, and our sweet Cardinals lost the game. Of course, they didn't care. It was just sad for us parents.

It's never fun to lose, but I think it hurt me so much because it meant that t-ball was over. SO SAD! I LOVED t-ball. I loved watching my sweet little man get "baseball ready". I loved watching him strut to the plate to bat (he's a great batter!). I loved watching him dig in the dirt (as I yelled, "Tristan, watch the ball!"). I loved watching the other boys. I LOVED every minute.

Speaking of great batter, here is my great batter. Hitting one out to the field for his team. Tristan, I'm so proud of you!
The end of the game. Here they are going to shake hands with the other team (or slap their hands really hard; depends how you look at it).And running back for the last time together as a team. Next year, they'll be split up. :(Getting hugs from Coach David. Thanks, Coach David, for all you did. You are AWESOME, and we are so proud to have such a great leader and role model for our boys!!!
So yes, t-ball is over, and yes, I bawled all weekend. I loved it, what can I say. I will definitely miss our weekly practices and games. I'll miss our sweet boys. I'll miss hanging out with the new friends we made. This truly was a special team. We had an amazing group of boys and such awesome parents. We had parents who truly cared about all the boys and parents who weren't obnoxious and embarrassing at the games (unless you count me. ;) Kidding! I really wasn't that bad. I don't think...).

What a great season! Next year, word has it the boys have to try out. Have you ever heard of such? Trying out for a five year old t-ball team??? Well, as much as Tristan (and I) loved it, we'll be there!

Mother's Day 2008

This year's Mother's Day was extra special because I got to celebrate with both of my boys (all three, actually). We went to Church together and then met up with Channing's parents and brother at one of our favorite restaurants...Mikata. Here is Tristan in the parking lot. I had to snap this pic because my mom got him this outfit, and I wanted to show her how cute it looked on. :)Here are some shots from inside...before the fire, flames, and delicious food!
Here are Channing, his dad, and Ash.
Here is the whole clan, minus PaPa who was taking the picture. Thanks, PaPa!!!And then our little family of four... As you can see, Tristan loves the chopsticks.To keep Asher content, I brought some dinosaurs for him to play with. As you'll see in the picture below, Tristan enjoyed them more than Asher did.
And then the reason I'm able to celebrate Mother's Day...my super sweet boys. What blessings these little guys are!!!
Tristan:Asher:
Thank you, boys, for making my Mother's Day the best one yet!!! Thank you, God, for entrusting these boys to Channing and me. I hope we'll make you proud!

Some T-Ball Highlights

T-ball season is officially over (I'll post more about that later), so now all I'm left with are memories and pictures. Enjoy!
The picture above is one of my very favorite. It definitely captures the innocence of four year old t-ball. This is Tristan throwing his glove up in the air and waiting for it to fall...during a game. That's right, I'm sure you've seen Chipper Jones do the same thing...right???
In his defense, he and his team were waiting for the opposing team to come up to bat. :)

The picture below is of my sweet little man on second base. See how he's leading off? He's a pro!Here are my two boys at another game...this one against the Braves. I LOVE this picture. I guess because it's got my two sweet boys in it. I don't know what it is about it, but I just love it. Here is one of Asher doing his favorite thing to do at Tristan's games...play! As soon as we would get to a game (or practice for that matter), he would insist on being put down so he could crawl around and get dirty. He LOVED every minute!
Speaking of dirty...
Did I mention that Asher loved getting dirty??? I'm sure there were whispers behind my back, but I didn't care. He was having a good time. Plus, God made dirt, dirt don't hurt...right??? There was no way I was going to keep him away from it. It just made him too happy.See that utter joy?!Yet another great t-ball moment. The glove ON the head. Every game needs a moment with a glove on the head. I'm positive that Derek Jeter does this too. Positive.