Busy...

Wow... things have been busy lately, and I have not had a chance to really keep things up to date on here. I'll try to give some updates as to the recent happenings.

Johnathan's Birthday

Yep... my oldest is now 17! I can't believe how quickly time passes. It seems so recent that we were trying to teach him to walk back in Missouri. He was such a tenacious little bud. We had a surprise birthday party for him and actually pulled it off. It really didn't take much to plan though. One call to his girlfriend one week beforehand and she was on her phone texting to everyone to get everything set up. There were a couple of small slips but he didn't catch on. I think if we had given people any more notice than we did, there is no way we could have kept it from him. As far as the party itself... I think the highlight attributed to one of his gifts. He opened it up and it was..... diet coke. He was confused. You have to remember this is the kid that is in excellent shape and does not even like to drink soda because it's unhealthy. But then he was told to keep digging in the bag... and down further in was the....... mentos. Yep, a little too much Myth Busters for that group. Anyway, the entire group then proceeded outside to determine who could keep their mouth closed the longest after filling it with diet coke and popping in a mentos. It was hilarious and he had a good time, so I think it was a success.

Carter Started T-Ball

Well, not only did Carter start, but guess who was signed up as assistant coach. Yep, so I got to start too. I was a bit concerned at first when I looked at the schedule and found that he had a game scheduled before the team ever had a chance to even meet. Once I saw the other team and the rest of the kids on his team, I knew we were fine though. The game was a little interesting as most of the kids had no clue what the were supposed to do. However, there are no outs, and no score. Everyone gets to bat, and when each has had a turn, the inning is over.

He looks good and is giving the thumbs up, but is completely oblivious to the fact that the next guy is already batting. I don't think any of them were too into paying attention, but they all had fun.

Oh... and we forgot to use the helmets for the first batting order. Oh well, no one was hurt. I don't think anyone really even noticed.

Emmy's Birthday

We got the good china out and had a tea party for Em. She loved it! She is such girly girl. She put on her princess dress and we got her a new tiara and clip on earings. I think she bumped up from princess to queen for the day. She was in charge and made sure to let everyone know what they were supposed to be doing. I'll have to post some pictures of the party later. I'm behind and they are still on the camera and have not been downloaded to the computer yet.

Field Day

This is one of those things that I used to alway love going to. However, being out of town, I missed this one and only got to see it in pictures. It looked like they had a great day for it, and from what I saw... everyone had a lot of fun.

And then a couple of pictures from just around the house. They are so cute and silly sometimes, it's hard not to snap some candid pics just to preserve the memories...

"Home" for the weekend

I have been living in Omaha for almost 15 months now, and I have not spent a single weekend here... yet. However, that is about to change. I will be staying "home" this weekend. I don't really have any plans other than to spend as much time as I can with my girlfriend, and maybe try to help her get moved into her new place. Whatever we end up doing... I am sure that my first weekend here will be fun. I'll have to add a post later to let you know how it went... well... maybe not all of it!

The Zoo

Yay... the weather has finally been nice enough to take a trip to the zoo. The little ones love it there.

Feeding the fish... I think this is our favorite spot.

I think she made a new friend.

They make quite the crew don't they? I love how great they all get along (most of the time).

She is such a sweetie... but she wanted to pick all of them!

Everyone was getting a bit tired. It was time to find a place to sit down and relax.

Ouch!

I was hit from behind yesterday on my way to work. These are the pictures of the accident. Oh, and to make things even more fun, I have been informed there might be a "possible coverage issue" with his insurance. I should have an answer on that one by Friday. Let's hope everything turns out ok and his insurance can cover it.

This is the car that caused the accident by running into the one behind me...


Then this is damage caused to the car behind me when they hit me.


and believe it or not... this is all the damage that was caused to my vehicle!

Old Favorites

I just thought I would share some of my older favorite photos...

Home

This will be a short post, but I just wanted to point out that in my first post on this blog I said that I thought I was actually getting where I would be happy to call Omaha my home. Well, in short...

"Home is where the heart is."

... I am happy to say that my heart is here, and I am home.

Dreams...

Of course, as we are growing up, everyone dreams of a happy life for themselves in the future. For most, these dreams change over time, but typically involve a loving spouse and some specified number of children that the individual has decided upon.

However, I guess they key part in the above statement is the fact that these dreams change over time. Sometimes we have to let go of our dreams in order to make room for new ones, and you never know.... What comes to pass might end up being better than what the original dream was to start with.

For the longest time, I had the dream of that happy family and I did not want to let it go. However, the tighter I held onto it, the worse things seemed to get. I realized this some time ago, and finally decided to let go of that dream. Letting go of that dream was very difficult for me because I had already chased it for so long, and in the process of trying to manufacture that dream, I had four incredible children. The portion I had the most difficulty with, was the realization that letting go of that dream did not mean letting them go. They are still very much a part of my life and a part of who I am. However, I have a new dream for me and my future. A dream where I am happy once again, and I have someone to share with and create new memories. New family moments to enjoy. Tickles, laughs, hugs to savor, and ducks to feed. The incredible part about this is that I am not dreaming. I'm awake and it is real.

Play Time

Don't you just love this time of year. It's time to let the little ones get outside, get some fresh air, and get some of that pent up energy out they have been driving everyone crazy with all winter. Okay, maybe not that bad... but it is still nice to let them get outside and have some fun in the sun.


Emmy always looks so cute and petite, but don't let her fool you. She is a tomboy all the way.


Carter is always my happy adventurer. He can be quite the little monkey, and can climb about anything.

More Charlie Bucket

I would tell you how wonderful I think Andrew did playing the part of Charlie...

... but I thought it would be better to show you instead.



I thought he was great, but maybe I am a bit biased. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.