The High Ground

My family has a long proud history of Military Service and in Wisconsin (in the city where my dad was born) they have this amazing memorial for Wisconsin Veterans called the The Higher Ground. It is hard to explain how amazing this place is. All these heroes recognized in one place.

My mom's dad was in the Navy and fought during WWII. Above is the memorial for those who fought during that war and Below in the boys sitting by his plaque.
Below is probably the most heart-breaking memorial there. In the back is a soldier who didn't make it home and in the front in a mom and child with their flag. In the summer water flows from the back to the front representing the tears shed.
The boys and their cousin ringing the bell.

Wisconsin Thanksgiving

As I mentioned earlier in the blog me, the boys, my parents, and my oldest brother loaded up my Suburban and drove to Wisconsin for the week of Thanksgiving. It was an absolute blast! We had such a great time and pretty good weather too. My aunt and uncle live on a farm and it is like a second home to me. I LOVE it there and my boys sure did enjoy themselves too. Ty was hilarious...he was deathly afraid of the cows, but the dead deer hanging up didn't bother him one bit..he actually thought they were dogs and every time he saw them or got close to them he would shriek "gog" or when he gets really excited he says "gog-a-lee-gog" It had everyone laughing. The boys were in heaven playing with all their Wisconsin cousin. Most all of the boys wrestle and now Tucker informed us he wants to wrestle now too.
My uncle still has some cows he milks and he sells his milk to one of the local cheese factories, so we ventured out one morning and checked out the factory. The boys loved watching cheese being made and it was extra special since it was being made with milk from Uncle Ernie's cows which the big boys had been helping out in the barn milking! Then in true Wisconsin fashion we had ice cream from the cheese factory at 10 in the morning when it was about 40 degrees outside!
We had an amazing Thanksgiving dinner..well actually all of the food we ate there was amazing. My aunt is one heck of a cook and she pretty much makes everything homemade. We also got to go out for a Friday night fish fry, which was amazing! I haven't consumed that much food in a week since the last time were up there.
It was deer hunting season and my dad braved the cold (he hates cold weather) and went out hunting with the rest of the hunters..pretty much all the men in family hunt. Unfortunately my dad didn't get a deer, but between all of the hunters they got 7 (I think...) We had an awesome fresh venision meal one night and Tucker even went out in the garage with all the hunters and learned all about hunting and cutting deer meat..he would also like to hunt when he is old enough now too :)

All Star Birthday Bash

Ty currently loves a few things: balls, dogs, and music, so for his birthday we decided on a sports theme! He had a blast with all his Colorado cousins! I even made his baseball and football cakes!

2 year old Baby Boy!

Ty had a fun 2nd birthday. He was excited for his 'chicken' ... Since Ty shares his birthday with Veterans day and my dad is a Vet we made a special dinner of cornish hens. It was good!

We did things a little out of order and he opened his presents first. He tore right into them, making sure to get all the paper off, but then he had to make sure he got every scrap of paper into the trash bag and couln't move on until it was picked up.


He was excited for his 'cupcake'! Below is Ty showing us he is 2 years old!

All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth!

Tucker's two top front teeth have been loose for months now...they finally got so loose they really needed to come out..He finally pulled one out himself, but couldn't get the other one out..
So the tooth shifted and he looked like 'hill billy Tucker' and of course this happened on the day I was getting their Christmas pictures taken. I even offered him 20 bucks to pull it out before pictures, but he just couldn't get it out.
Then that night a couple of hours after pictures he and Grampa were playing and Tucker hit is face on Grampa's knee and Tucker took off running to the bathroom. Well, that hit on Grampa's knee did it and his tooth finally came out...it was a pretty bloody one too...

I LOVE this picture (below). Gramma and Grampa and I keep singing to him "all I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth, my 2 front teeth" It is currently Tucker's theme song :) When we went to see Santa I told him I would give him $10 to tell Santa that he wanted his 2 front teeth for Christmas, but he was too shy...

Surprisingly these top teeth are growing much faster than the bottoms. He lost the bottom last February and they still aren't even full grown, but these top teeth are already out a good amount for only being a month since he lost them.

Almost half way over

Man, I can't believe December is almost half way over already and I haven't even posted anything...So here is a quick update:

Make sure you look back though my posts and look for one about Ty's hair....I started the post, but never finished it..It's back in mid November.

We had a great week long Thanksgiving trip to Wisconsin and it took me forever to get back in the swing of things here.

I started a new session at work...so it's a lot of fun working with new kiddos!

The big boys are still doing great in school and Ty has created a new definition of "the terrible twos"

But mostly we have been trying to get ready for Christmas! We've got the tree up and decorated and have the house looking pretty festive! I am almost done with Christmas shopping...fingers crossed I should have it wrapped up by this weekend! We went to Bass Pro Shop and had our traditional picture with Santa..Ty wouldn't let go of me so I am in the picture this year :( We went to the Electric Safari at the zoo and had great weather for it. I made a cute photo card this year and I've got them printed out already and I am currently working on addressing the envelops (FYI..it ya want one and I don't have your current address..send me an email and I'll be sure to send one to you). The boys last day of school before break starts is Friday and they can't wait to have 15 days off! We are going to be busy baking goodies, playing games, and spending some quality time with family! (It is going to be a very nice change to actually get to spend the holidays with family.)

Enough of this rambling I'm going to try to get some pictures on here...I know that's the only reason you come on this blog :P

Days 20 to the End

Day 20: I am thankful my parents are crazy enough to want to road trip 1,142 miles with me, my brother, and my 3 rambunctious boys to spend Thanksgiving with our Wisconsin family.

Day 21: I am so thankful to spend Thanksgiving with a huge part of my family that I've never actually gotten to spend this holiday with them before.

Day 22: I am thankful the boys weren't the least bit shy and had an amazing time with all of their cousins!

Day 23: I'm thankful for my Grandparents, they both passed on a long time ago, but I still miss them everyday and being back 'home' can sometimes be hard, but this time it was different, it's hard to explain it right..the memories of them made my heart smile not feel sad...

Day 24: I am thankful for my Aunt Jean because is an inspiration.

Day 25: I am thankful we had an amazing trip with our amazing family.

Day 26: I am thankful for my husband, especially when he tells me how proud of me he is...being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done and there are a lot of times lately I feel like I am epically failing at it and he is always there to re-assure me, comfort me, and support me...it's hard being away from each other, but despite the distance our relationship is as strong as ever.

Day 27: I am so thankful for the times when I tell Trey I love him and he says "I love you more" It makes my heart melt.

Day 28: I am thankful that come June I will have another niece or nephew to love on....and that I won't have to wait 3 years to meet this Searles baby.

Day 29: I am thankful for this blog because I know one of my biggest faults is not being very social and not keeping in touch with the people the way I should and this gives me a way to share our life with you, so thank you so much for reading...it means more to me than you will ever know.

Day 30: I am thankful this year is finally coming to a close, 2010 and 2011 haven't been the best years for us, but being "the glass is half full" type of person I am, I have high hopes for 2012.

17 & 18 (& 19 a day early)

Day 17: I'm thankful that the big boys are doing so well academically in school. I am so proud of them for working so hard and doing such a great job.

Day 18: I'm thankful that when I was younger my parents instilled all these awesome things in me like the love for fishing, camping, road tripping, and a love of history..just to name a few....

Day 19: And going along with day 18, I'm thankful that my kids have a love for those above mentioned too!

(I posted 19 a day early because I know its going to be a crazy day.)

Days 12-16

12: I'm so very thankful to have such healthy kids. I'm going onto my 7th year of motherhood this coming up February and besides well baby checkups, all 3 boys combined have only been to the doctor less than 7 times...and the majority of those were because of Ty and his hives...

13: I am thankful for the church we go to here in Colorado and that the boys are for the most part very well behaved the entire time.

14: I am thankful (and will forever be grateful) for the boys preschool and our Church down in Texas. They are by far the nicest and most welcoming group of people I have ever met. They were beyond amazing and they are one of the things I miss the most about Texas.

15: Even though she is included in Day 14..I needed to give her a special one...I am so thankful for the boys preschool teacher Miss Jessica. She started out as my first born's very first teacher and she has grown from there to be a friend and now is part of our extended family. I don't think I could ever express everything she means to our family...she is one of the best people I've ever known.

16: I'm thankful when my friends randomly text or email me just to see how I'm doing. It's nice to be thought about :)

10 and 11

Day 10: I'm thankful all of the US Veterans..you are true heroes. I have so many in my own family and I especially proud of them.

Day 11: I am so thankful to be celebrating my baby boy's 2nd Birthday today..what an awesome day for a birthday 11-11-11!!!

Just in case your wondering...no I didn't trade in Ty for a curly haired kid!

I'm not sure if you have noticed that Ty looks a tad bit different now...he has changed so much and is becoming such a big boy! What has changed the most is definitely his hair!!
Here is his current hair in all its 'hippy' glory. I am going to attempt to take him to get a haircut tomorrow and I wanted to make sure I have some good pictures before it's cut, just in case it looses it's curl after it is cut.
It is also very blonde in the sun.


****UPDATE****seeing how I forgot to post this blog way back when (It's Dec. 14th when I am actually posting...) I did get Ty's hair cut. I had them cut about a half inch off all around and it is still as curly as ever and you would never even notice that I actually cut it.

One smart cookie

I recently had one of my proudest moments so far as a mom! Now that Tucker is in 1st grade he gets real grades. One day in his folder I got an invitation to a Renaissance assembly at his school...which means my little man is getting a Renaissance Card! Well I go to the assembly and I am waiting for his name to be called...well he ended up getting the second highest card. I'm so proud of him and all his hard work! He is doing excellent in school!! Gramma got to take a quick break from the office to watch him get his card too. I'm a little bummed though because I didn't get a picture of him with his little card on, but oh well... (he is wearing the orange shirt with 11 on the back)

My snow boys!

The boys were in snow heaven! This was the first time in years the big boys have gotten to play in more than a dusting of snow. Ty just walked around looking for good snow to eat. Trey and Tucker were busy making snow balls. I am happy I did get them to sit and take one good picture for me.



By the end of the day we ended up with a good amount of snow! Grampa went outside with the boys and he did a little bit of shoveling and of course the boys wanted to help shovel too, so Grampa went and found each of the boys a little shovel for them to use.

Ty playing in the snow

While the big boys were in school Ty wanted to play outside in the snow again. This time we bundled up, he let me put on his gloves and his snow pants without a fight. He was so excited. He was cracking me up because he would play then stop walk over to the tree and stand there and just take in the sights...it was so cute. His favorite thing to do was eat the snow. A couple of times he had a leaf or two mixed in the snow, but he didn't care much. I had to force him to come inside to warm up. He is my snow baby!

7, 8, & 9

Day 7: I am thankful for the great man my father-in-law was. I can't believe he passed on a year ago already...He was a great dad and an awesome grandpa. I wish we had even more time with him, but I am so thankful for the time we did share. We will always love you grampa Tony and miss you so much.

Day 8: I'm thankful that Ty and I get to spend the weekdays with 2 of the cutest 4 year olds I know and 1 precious baby boy. I love them!

Day 9: I am thankful for my remote start on my 'burb...because man I am so not used to this cold weather and snow anymore.

Ty's 1st Snow

A couple of weeks ago we got our first snow of the season, this also happened to by Ty's first snow (well first snow he is able to play in). He and I walked the big boys to the bus stop as usual and then came back to the house to check out the snow. He was really excited about it and he really loved it! I had gloves for him to put on, but he wouldn't wear them....but he soon realised snow is cold and did not fight me any other time I tried to put on his gloves. We didn't stay out that long because he was only wearing windbreaker type pants, not his snow pants and he was not ready to come back inside. So he cried and threw his snow boots at me because he wanted to go back out!