Snow

Atwood had quite a bit more snow than Manhattan--the kids were glad I remembered to pack their boots.  They made two or three trips outside (each day) to play in the snow.  I only have pictures of them sledding in the neighbors' backyard, but Adam also pulled the sleds on the four wheeler which they thought was great.

 The four "big" kids ready to check out the snow.

 I love Miles' expression here.  He was actually the best at sledding, of course, that annoyed Owen.

Bum Knee

Rewind to December 1994... knee scope to repair damage caused by a collision in a basketball game. The scope was a waste because I actually had a complete ACL tear (this injury was popular back in the day, or maybe that was just Lebo people) and had another surgery a few weeks later.  Basketball season?  Over in the second game of the season.  Fast forward to December 2011... same knee, same surgery, this time (fortunately) the scope was successful.  Apparently I had torn both the lateral and medial meniscus (I've included a nice picture for you to reference if you aren't familiar with the knee lingo).  How?  Not sure.  Too many years and miles of running?  

A week later and things are going well.  My follow up isn't until December 29th.  I'm sure he'll recommend that I find other ways to exercise, hopefully he doesn't pass that info. along to my physical therapist :)  In the meantime, I booked my flight for the Nashville Marathon in late April.  Who else is in??

PS:  Keely was my pre-op nurse at the Surgical Center--fabulous patient care, she should get a raise!

Christmas #1

Owen had a basketball tournament (second place) in Lenexa on Saturday, so we made a weekend out of it and had Christmas with my family as well.  

 Graham loves these balls from Aunt Nancy and Uncle Rolland.  He carries at least one of them everywhere and says, "ball" over and over and over...

 The boys with their cousin McKinley.  Next Christmas she will have a little sister to join the mix.

 Very excited to get Under Armor sweatshirts (and UA turtlenecks as well).  Now Owen doesn't have to wear his blue one EVERY day.  He can at least mix the green in a few days here and there. Thank you Grandma Jean and Grandpa Harlan!

 Boise State jersey and Texas hoodie were hits as well--thanks to Aunt Susan and Uncle Quint!

 Graham had fun playing in McKinley's kitchen--we don't have any girlie stuff here.

 Pumped to get Oregon jerseys from Aunt Nancy and Uncle Rolland.

Thanks everyone for the gifts--as you can tell clothes are popular at our house.  We are fortunate to be able to spend time with both sides of our families around the holidays.  On Friday we'll head to Atwood to attempt to drive Rosie crazy--seven cousins, 3+ dogs, 8 adults and new hardwood floors.... hmmm...

Hoop It Up

I took the big boys to Newton this weekend for Owen's first basketball tournament.  We ended up in the more advanced bracket and ran into some serious competition.  They lost on Saturday but battled back today and ended with a third place finish.  Very proud of Owen and his teammates for always playing hard and getting better each game.  Adam hated to miss but had his company Christmas party on Saturday night.  Grandpa Mike came to Manhattan to hang out with Graham.  I enjoyed the opportunity to have just the bigs.  

 Tenacious defense :)

 Third Grade Wildcats--great job!

Miles spent most of the gym time leached onto Diesel (another little brother).  They definitely got a workout in!

Hard Core

A little rain and cold doesn't keep these dudes inside!  This is either Oregon Ducks (Owen) vs. KSU (Miles) or Boise State (Owen) vs. Texas (Miles).  

Owen has started basketball practice (and games too, no pics yet since Graham was high maintenance at the first game).  For basketball, he has to wear his vest since he claims he can't shoot in his big coat.  Apparently the right glove throws him off too.  

Where's Graham?

What child doesn't take a nap in a bank vault?

Thanksgiving

What a great few days spent with family (and some old friends as well).  We definitely have a lot to be thankful for... I contributed nothing except starving, messy kids.  Let's hope that by the time it's my turn to host a holiday, it will be appropriate to order pizza!

Appetizer spread.... YUM!  

Cousins.

Graham digs the poppy seed cake, just like everyone else!

One of about ten ice cream cones in four days.

Rotating massage lines.

We had fun digging out some old favorites--like this "must wear
every day in the 7th grade" leather jacket!

Newman had some BFF time with Barney.

Diving to make a catch.

The much anticipated pillow fight--boys vs. Uncle Quint & Aunt Susan.

Grandpa Harlan taught Owen how to play solitaire.

Uncle Quint taking the Bigs down.

Meanwhile...

While Graham and I were in KC, the Bigs and Adam headed west to begin careers as assassins, hunters, marksmen??  They were so excited to shoot a gun for the first time and can't wait to go back for round 2.  I have a feeling Grandpa Mike and Adam had just as much fun.  

Me + Graham

Graham and I headed to KC Saturday morning to shop, hang out/craft with Sharla, spend the night with Quint and Susan and run the Gobbler Grind 1/2 marathon Sunday morning.  Here's the recap (sorry no pics, took my good camera with a dead battery).  

1.  Legends = BAD.  In over two hours I bought ONE pair of socks--this is NOT like me.  Lunch and "Lebo Talk" with Sharla, Quint and Susan = lots of laughs.  Graham was a good shopper and was rewarded some stroller free time to hit these bushes.  

2.  H&M = JURY'S STILL OUT.  Some cute stuff, but WAY too many people and it was pretty much a sauna.  Definitely not willing to stick around to try anything on.

3.  River Market Antique Mall = AWESOME.  Could have bought a ton.  I'll show you what I scored after I get my camera charged.

4.  Crafting = FUN.  Didn't finish anything, but got some busy work done and Sharla made a neat wreath.  I should have made one too.  

5.  Gobbler Grind = CHILLY,  but I enjoyed running in different weather than my past races.  Kind of a weird course, lots of repetition.  This marathon would be so BORING.  I think they pass the same places 3-4 times!  No record times, just did it for fun.  

.... Finished off the weekend with a trip to Oak Park to try and hunt down some new boots.  No luck there, but did get some cute stuff that was on my list.  It was a really fun weekend.  I'll tell you what the bigs were up to next time...

P.S.--Quint and Susan passed the parenting test.  They took care of Graham (and his poop diaper) while I ran.

Making a List

I turned Owen and Miles loose on a college gear for kids site and they spent about an hour making careful lists of all the jerseys, sweatshirts, sweats, T's, hats, etc. that they want.  I guess I should be happy that they are asking for clothes (which they can use) instead of a bunch of toys that get played with for a day.  I hope Santa can keep everything straight!  (In this picture, they are checking out Boise State apparel)

Belly Button Patrol

Graham has become obsessed with looking at and pointing to his own (and other people's) belly button.  He is scared of most adult belly buttons, but is curious enough he'll keep coming round to catch a glimpse.  

Another Mohawk

Miles equates a haircut with a mohawk. He thinks "mohawk" is a length.  Here he is after a trim; you can imagine the amount of product it took (and this is after a few shirt changes).

What a Win!

Great weekend for K-State football--a win in FOUR overtimes!  Owen was on the edge of his seat!  The boys ran into Collin Klein at a recent basketball game and thought that was pretty cool.

A Work in Progress

This blog is so ugly right now.  I messed around with some new settings thinking I was making it better, and now I'm not sure I can go back to the old format (or maybe I can, but I've edited so many things that it would look even worse if I did).  I just wanted to be able to make my pictures XL size... and here's what I got.  So it's a work in progress--need a new header for one.  I took off all my links since I set up a Pinterest page.  For now, let's hope Grahaminator can liven up the page. 

Who Orders This?

Have you eaten out with the person who actually orders the biggest entree offered--the one with a name like "The Monster"?  We ended up at Rambler's (to use a gift card and watch some of the KSU football game) last weekend, and this is what Adam ordered.  Apparently he's been watching too many food shows where the host tries whatever weird or huge food the restaurant offers.  It wasn't actually a bad deal--add some fresh buns and the leftovers fed the kids and Adam the next night, with some left for the dog too :)  

Out with the Old

Since updating all of our software (this household is on the cloud now) and getting new phones, I've decided to retire the paper planner, sticky notes and this ancient alarm clock.  I've probably had this bad girl since junior high.  It's totally out of place, but it was comfortable I guess.  Since the two alarm system is down to one (thanks to Graham) and the only wake up noise is radio static, I decided it was time to move on.  And let's be honest, who even needs an alarm clock in this house?  If Graham isn't up by 5:30, then Owen and Miles are definitely up at 6:00!

A Little Halloween

We weren't total grinches for Halloween (despite the lack of costumes and kids not wanting to trick-or-treat).  The big boys spent a couple of hours one morning making decorations for the front door.  They were excited to hand out candy, but we didn't have many kids come by.  Good-bye Halloween, hurry up Thanksgiving break :)

7-0

Owen's first season of flag football wrapped up last week.  They had a great group of 3rd and 4th grade boys and two fantastic coaches!  Coach Joe really knows how to work with the kids--Owen learned so much and absolutely LOVED playing and practicing.  If he had his way the season would go on forever.  Us spectators were lucky to have nearly perfect weather for all of the games.

Team picture gone bad :)  Notice they all showed up with mouthpieces IN for the team picture.  Owen went through three this season--he eats them!

 Owen enjoyed playing on the same team as his good friend Mason.

And he enjoyed playing against classmates and other friends on different teams.  He knew someone on every other team, usually knew who was "fast", "strong", "flag guarders"

 Meanwhile, Miles found entertainment at the games with the Henry clan and Cole.

The team and their families enjoyed an end-of-season get together at Sirloin Stockade (my kids loved the buffet :).  Coach Joe had specific highlights he shared for each player.  For Owen he recalled his early season "Pick 6" (Owen's words) that allowed them to win the game and a flag grab that prevented the opponent from getting a first down.  You could tell all of the boys felt special and the parents enjoyed the recap.  

Until next year....