They're here!!!

I am pleased to announce the arrival of my 2 new babies.......laundry has never been so much fun!!

No blood, no foul....

Luke's team played a a pretty rough team last week. Kids on the other team had really bad attitudes and played "dirty." This little injury happened at the end of the game when Luke was shooting the ball cross court....the opponent slapped his arm as hard as he could, and no foul was called. I guess I'm glad, we just wanted to get out of there before there was a "rumble".

Artist in Progress

Here's Andrew, the shaggy dog toothbrush boy, creating another piece of artwork for school....shhhhhhh.....don't disturb his groove...........

Shaggy Dog Toothbrush

I walked down the hallway after all of the kids had left for school and entered the bathroom to pick up the towels that certain people had left on the floor after their showers and what did my eyes see?? This shaggy dog toothbrush was sitting on the counter top, just screaming out for attention....as if to say...."I've seen my day and now it's done.....pitch me, pitch me...it will be fun!!" Who is the proud owner of this sorry, pathetic toothbrush???? The guilty party will be featured in the post tomorrow.....

Basketball and more basketball

It was a weekend full of basketball for us...we were involved in 2 tournaments- and we came home with this.... 3rd place.....and we play for the championship next weekend up in Hartford....
I'm including a picture of Andrew on his birthday.....we celebrated his big day with his favorite trifle dessert!
and here's the latest update on the remodel....the hardwood floors are IN!!!! They are a beautiful maple- with lots of character in the wood. We love it!!

Friday...

Here's a little piece of paper that I received in the mail last week....it was GOOD mail....
and here's what's happening at our house- hardwood floors are going in....this was taken in the dining room. We asked that the boards with more "character"be put in here...I think it's turning out quite well......
This is also the "last hur-rah" for our 5th grade basketball team- we have 2 tournaments to play in this weekend....wish us luck!!! or skill!!

Birthday Boy!!!!

My first baby is turning 18 years old today.......
he stole my heart at birth...
and it continued through the years....

and he's still my buddy today....even if he's not a baby anymore...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!!!!! Love you!!!!

and as promised, here's an update on the remodeling project......
Here's the new paint in the front room, I mean, the new dining room.....
and here's the new breakfast nook....the wainscoting was put up yesterday...it will be painted today....and the new hardwood floors are being installed today!! Now that's progress!!

Wordless Wednesday- Getting spoiled a little

Buds

Here is Luke with his friend, Jonnie after the basketball tournament. Aren't they proud of those medals??? They are good buddies.....

Here's the next picture that I took......boys being boys.......
and here's a shot of Luke at the game....he was the "jump-baller."
Sorry, I didn't get a picture of the remodel....I think there will be more progress to see after today.....

Fabulous Weekend!

What a great weekend!!! It started with celebrating my birthday at UNO's Chicago Grill for dinner and then having a surprise birthday tart with fresh fruit for dessert! Wonderful!!
We spent the rest of the weekend at the school with our team, watching and playing in our school's 5th/6th grade tournament in basketball. Our 5th grade team played tough but was up against all 6th grade teams. We lost the first game on Saturday morning and couldn't believe that the team we played had a 6ft. tall player....in 6th grade!!! Holy Cow!! The loss put us into the "loser's bracket", but we ended up coming back and winning the last 2 games, so we ended up in 4th place in the tournament....that was unbelievable!! Luke was up to some new tricks as he performed a beautiful "Michael Jordan Reverse Lay-up". He made the shot and got fouled for the 3 point play. We were so proud of those 5th graders!!! Here they are, posing for their picture....not all players were there...some sick, some had plans for the weekend and couldn't be there....
Here are the older boys with Luke, our 5th grader. They were wearing their own jerseys from when they played in middle school....can't believe those jerseys still fit!!! Now that's team spirit!!
and here's what the bench looked like when our team won..........I love it!

feel free to "click" on the picture to see facial expressions....

Tomorrow I will post a remodeling update.....

It's Friday!!!!!

This is so strange.....who is the girl that is sitting next to Luke? A new girlfriend? the babysitter? A study buddy??
OH yes, and here's Anna doing some dishes... this is how we are doing dishes these days during our remodel. It's our shower in the basement- along with the attachment we use to bathe the dog....perfect!! Wash the dishes in the tub and then set them in the strainer and rinse well!! Anna actually thought this was fun!!
Ok, Ok, Luke doesn't have a girlfriend....he was just sitting by Anna's mannequin head....it's kinda scary sometimes. Anna likes to "freak out" the worker men by setting her mannequin on the couch, in front of the tv and leave the tv on while we're gone!!! Funny!


and by the way, I won't be doing many dishes today......we're going OUT tonight! It's my birthday!!!!!

A concert

On Sunday, my parents and John and I went downtown and saw this guy direct the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. (Marvin Hamlisch) He was doing a tribute to George Gershwin and his songs. While I didn't know many of his "show tunes," my parents and John knew almost all of them. It was fun just spending time together...all of us "old folks."

Wordless Wednesday....Ben

Remodel Update...

Just a few more changes in the remodel process......all of the wainscoting has been taken off and new wainscoting will eventually be applied and then painted off-white.
The rest of the areas were taped and "mud" was applied in preparation of spraying the surface of the drywall with texture (knock down).
and don't forget the laundry room....
See the white paint by the doorway?? That is where they have installed a "pocket door"- no more door slamming shut when the door to the garage is opened! Woo Hoo!!

Also, all of the tile in the hallway bathroom was taken off the wall today....it will be replaced sometime next week.

I wonder how much work will get done today....it's a SNOW DAY for the kids! We're expecting 10-15 inches of snow with 30 m.p.h. winds.....brrrrrrr....gotta love Wisconsin!!

Artist

I guess the big news is that Andrew's piece of Artwork is on display at the Milwaukee Art Museum...
Here he is with his artwork on display....
His artwork is called the "i-Hold". It's an Ipod holder carved from soapstone that he made in his 3-D art class at school.
Andrew won a "Gold Key Award" in the Scholastic Art Contest. By winning a gold key means that his art will now be going to New York to be judged and if he qualifies, will be on display at Carnegie Hall in New York City. WOW.... so proud of him!!!

Here he is, getting his award in a ceremony at the museum on Saturday.....
and here's Ben, looking at some of the other Art work from the Exhibit. The woman in charge of the Exhibit said that these high school student's artwork are the "best of the best" in the state. We were in shock- we would have never guessed that Andrew would win such a prestigious award for Art!!

We are SO blessed....