Alex's 2 yr, 10 mo. and a NEW roof!

Hello all!

Yes, we'll give you a moment to scrape yourselves off of the floor.....after all, it was just two days ago that we last posted.....

OK, now that you're back up at the computer...WE HAVE A NEW ROOF!

July 22 there was a "small" hailstorm that swept through Ord, and our roof was one of it's victims. Our roof was needing to be replaced in the next couple of years anyway, but once the hail got to it, we had big chunks and entire shingles laying all over our yard. SO, I called the insurance company and they sent out an adjuster....yep, it was totaled. So, here are the "before" and "after" shots....

The front of the house BEFORE....

The back of the house BEFORE......

And (drumroll, please...) the front of the house AFTER....

and the back of the house AFTER......

They even did the shed! (Insurance included that in their claim!)

We weren't too sure about the dark color.....it'll take some getting used to, but we think that it looks really nice.

Saturday night Alex and I baked a fruit pizza.....yummy!! (Although Alex ate more than he put on the pizza...as you can tell from the shot, he's about to put more pineapple into his mouth!)

And we couldn't have an "official" post without an adorable picture from the "Z" man. ;)

One other bit of news.....last night Alex pooped on the toilet for the FIRST TIME!! We are so proud of him! He had us in stitches, because right after he pooped and got up, he looked at it, looked at us, and said, "I pooped a BIG one!" We took the obligatory "poop" shots, so if you'd like a picture (we didn't feel right putting it up on the blog....we don't want anyone to lose their lunch/supper/meal), we can e-mail it to you. Yeah...that's just what you want filling up your inbox....it was a big deal for us, so....yes, we took pictures. He's our first, after all, so we're just going with it. :)

Happy September, all!

Zach's 10 month update, et al.

Wow.....it's been a while! (And that's an understatement!!)

Let's see...since August 3rd? Wow....can I even remember back that far? It's good that we have lots of pictures and videos, otherwise we'd have threats of physical harm from all of the grandparents out there. :)

We'll narrate as the pictures and video as we go.

Zach's "official" 10 month picture...crawling the halls of Sargent High School.....he looks so little compared to most of the kids I see walking through these halls! (Fortunately, I haven't seen any of the high schoolers crawling...although some days I wouldn't be surprised...)

We did go over to Sargent for their volleyball and football "soap" scrimmages. Both teams have the JV vs. the Varsity, and everyone brings a Powerade/Gatorade (used to be soap....hence the name) as their admission fee.

Now....WAAAAAY back to the beginning of the month......

Alex wanted to take a nap with Mommy.....here we are pretending to sleep. (We just ended up being silly - no naps here!)

Alex taking a picture of me taking his picture. (His didn't turn out....) :)

Earlier this month, our fridge started making funny noises. After a couple of phone calls to some reliable sources, we concluded that the compressor was ready to go. I kept checking the freezer, and noticed that our ice packs and the cardboard on some of the food was beginning to be soft. SO, we called a friend and she let us borrow their pickup for the night....so we went down to Grand Island and came back with this......

It was discounted about 40% because of some scratches on the side....but it's nothing that a little paint can't fix. We're especially liking the ice and water in the door. :) Ah, the little things.

Some shots of the boys.....

Alex being tickled...just LOVE the smile! :)

Zach getting into his brother's beloved trains! (as if he's saying, "Who?? Me??")

Although it looks like Alex is ready to throw the ball at Zach, he didn't.....this time, anyway. Alex is really into soccer right now, which is just killing his father.

The other morning we went into the boys' room to wake them up, and Zach was positioned like this....ouch!

This is a perfect example of "Monkey See, Monkey Do." And we certainly love our little monkeys.



Here's Alex playing soccer. One of his favorite lines is, "I'm a good kicker."

And Zach as we're playing......then with our next bit of news......just watch, you'll see!

Yes, Alex has been wearing underwear for a week now! His accidents are few and far between....and we still haven't mastered #2 on the toilet yet, but he's getting more comfortable with it. He loves his underwear...he has Thomas, James, and Percy from "Thomas and Friends", Lightning McQueen and Mater from "Cars", "Handy Manny" and "Elmo" underwear....so he likes to talk about how he doesn't want to get them wet, because he doesn't want to make them cry. Now we're starting to focus more on "They don't want to get poopy..." so we'll see if that has the same positive result.

Andy's been busy at work...he had to cover a while for one of his co-workers who went into early labor and maternity leave, but he's staying busy with nursing home coverage, home health, and his outpatient caseload here in Ord. He had a continuing ed course last weekend, so we didn't see him much (left at 6:30 Sat/Sun AM, and returned around 6:30 PM), but he said it was really good, so we're ok. :)

I've been in school for two full weeks now (with students.....plus two work days).....things are going well! It's been hotter than blazes (and I have no window for an air conditioner), plus my junior high volleyball gals and I spend 2 hours in the gym every afternoon...which adds to the heat. :) They are coming along nicely...our first game isn't until the 14th, and some have a ways to go, but they are a good bunch - it should be a fun season. :)

Other than that, it's just BUSY! Laundry, meals, cleaning, sleep, spending time together, that's pretty much our life. Take care everyone.....love to you all! :)

P.S. At the boys last Dr. appt (I can't remember when it was......a few weeks ago.......) Zach was 23 lbs., Alex was 32. Easy to remember, YAY! :)

Thomas, Zach's 9 month, MO vacation!

Hey All! We know it has been a little while since we posted, but such is life. Rather than try to give you a big sweeping recap of the past 2 weeks of our life, we will just let the pictures do the talking. Enjoy!



First, we have a few pics from our trip to Fremont to see the Thomas the Train. Very exciting for a certain little boy.

Our first glimpse of Thomas on his way into the station.

The accordion player, who entertained us while we waited for the train. Yes, Thomas fans...he did play the "Thomas and Friends" theme song.

The 3 amigos on the train. Sure daddy has a cheesy grin, but the look of pure excitement on Alex's face more than makes up for it.

The boys, watching the world go by at the speed of Thomas (about 4 miles per hour).

Thomas, up close and personal.

Sir Topham Hatt (pr. Top-um Hat), not so up close and personal.

Alex, who just realized there was a baseball field nearby.

Watching Thomas arrive from another run.

Now, on to our vacation pictures. Things happened to fall into place that Elly and Noah were available to get together, so we got together with the whole crew in Blue Springs. Its not very often the cousins get to hang out together, so it was nice to see the boys get to play together for a while.

Traveled 390 miles, played with trains. The boy(s) know what he(they) like(s).

More trains. Lots of trains.

Did I mention he likes trains?

Don't forget about me!! I'm still cute too, right?

The official Zach 9 month old picture. I'm sure that facial expression means something, but I don't know what.

Alex and Grandpa at the zoo.

Alex checking out the wildlife.

Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Frank, the gang got to spend a day out on Lake Jacomo on a pontoon boat. It was a very relaxing day, just hanging out and floating around.

Zach, playing with Alex's fishing pole.

Alex, "fishing" (no hook, no bait) with mommy's help. Soon after this picture was taken, the fishing pole found its way to the bottom of the lake (yep...it is still there).

Zach swimming with Aunt Elly's help. His little outfit is even less comfortable than it looks. Think a chunk of foam on your chest, and thin foam pillow under your head, and long, nasty, thong-like strap connecting the two. Just lovely.

Zach, enjoying his post swim crackers a little too much.

Alex, re-hydrating after a long morning of avoiding getting wet at all costs.

Nap time on the pontoon boat.

A life vest makes a good pillow.

Zach in his outfit-de-comfort. This was the only time he wasn't really crying about his outfit.

The whole gang.

Zach, helping grandpa pick his next fishing lure.

Andy spitting lake water at me (yes, collective "eeeeewwww")...after this I threatened to have him walk back to Ord.

While we were boating, we had some company......at first there was only one raccoon......

Then two raccoons....and the crackers we didn't quite get to the shore.

The raccoon....trying to get close enough to reach the crackers.....

We also got a chance to swing downtown to Crown Center, a little indoor shopping area in downtown Kansas City with some neat little shops and restaurants, including a Fritz's, a restaurant where your food is delivered by an elaborate series of trains attached to the ceiling.

Alex and Noah outside of Fritz's....aka "The Train Restaurant".....

Zach eating his lunch (fruit and fries). :)

Alex eating his lunch (grilled cheese and fries).

This is just a quick video of the train delivery apparatus. Yeah, the restaurant is about as loud as this video.

Saturday evening, the boys were playing in a pool in the front driveway, and we were able to snap a few pictures and a video as a water fight ensued.

The crew - (if you notice, Dan is getting Sarah with a water gun - Go Dan!)

Silly boys!

Noah, Alex, and Ruby share the pool. We got a kick out of Alex's "plumber butt" - - - his pullup was SOAKED!! He got his clothes off soon after this (Noah had just stripped)......

Zach - during the water fight. :)

Alex throwing a ball into the air - don't you LOVE the saggy pullup?!?! :)

A short video of Alex winning his own personal water fight with Ruby the Dog.

Finally, one picture we snapped on the way home.

As we were passing through Grand Island, we saw this cloud/storm. It looked pretty cool!

Happy August Everybody! We hope you enjoyed our pictures.