Do We Look Older?

Looking a little smug... our newly titled THIRD grader and KINDERGARTENER! How did it go so fast???

We celebrated the last day of school by going to the park for pizza and play time with friends, then on to "Kung Fu Panda 2" where we ran into more friends. Fortunately we finally had some nice weather after three days of rain and clouds.

Miles Soccer Season

(Catching up from old photos...) At the last minute we signed Miles up for soccer again this spring. He (mostly) enjoyed it--not sure if he'll want to stick with it.

Play Ball!

The boys played in their second tournament this weekend. After lots of rain and crappy weather all week long, we couldn't have asked for better weather this weekend. Our team is really improving and beat the team who whipped us in the first tournament back in April. Owen is having a great time playing ball--I think he'd be happy if they had a practice or game EVERY day! (Thanks Pelusa for the pictures. Although I brought my new camera, I have all fence shots.)

This was taken at the last league game. Apparently you are supposed to put on your "rally hat" when you are trying to make a comeback...news to me. They did come back and win this one.

Good Bye, Powershot, Hello, Rebel!

Adam and the boys went all out for Mother's Day this year! This was #1 on my wish list, but I had asked for a new iPod holder as something more reasonably priced. Needless to say I was VERY surprised when I opened my trunk and found this, a fancy lens, carrying case and storage disk! The only thing he left off was a cool strap (but what guy knows to get on Etsy and find a cute one??)... I'm making myself read the whole booklet and maybe I'll even get signed up for a class this fall. Watch for better pictures to come!

Pre-School Graduation

We have a graduate in the house! Miles celebrated his last day of pre-school last Wednesday. I was able to join him for his picnic and recognition. He has really enjoyed his teachers and classmates--a nice mix of old and new friends.

This was one of the really hot days last week, hence the red cheeks. He's with our friend Meg in this picture. Meg's mom drove Miles back to Debbie's all year on Wednesdays (so he could stay for Lunch Bunch). Thank You!!

Interesting...

We're thinking of trading in the Traverse...

It looks kind of crazy, but very professionally done!

Happy Mother's Day

We spent the weekend in Lebo celebrating not only Mother's Day, but also my Mom's 60th birthday and conclusion of her treatments. She warned us months in advance that under NO circumstances was there to be a big birthday party.... so we opted for some family and a BBQ. I think we all had a great time.... and my food was actually well liked :)

The big boys had fun with their cousin McKinley. Miles likes to be the "big kid" for once.
When they weren't on the Mule--which was pretty much the whole weekend--they found other ways to "drive."
Happy Mother's Day to my mom, my mother-in-law, aunts, cousins, sister-in-laws, and friends that are moms. Too bad the only pictures I have from the weekend are of grandpas or kids!

First Communion

Owen (and 50+ other second graders) celebrated their first communion this weekend. We enjoyed having all four grandparents, Aunt Emily, Uncle Josh, Baby Brody (and Jersey, Newman's boxer cousin) here at the same time. All of the kids looked so sharp dressed in their fancy clothes, even if it was short lived. Owen shed the tie, belt, pants, shirt and shoes in about 10 seconds upon arriving home.

Observation #1: Kids need "how to smile for a camera" lessons. Such fake smiles.

Observation #2: I really need to invest in a higher quality camera.

10 Months!

How time flies! At ten months Graham: walks/scoots around furniture, squeals with delight if he thinks there is any chance he is getting a bath, downs a big bottle at about midnight EVERY night, chews on everything, understands "no", loves to take all the books off of the big boys' shelf, enjoys the vacuum, and is ready for it to STAY warm so he can get rid of the jeans he barely fits into!

Batter Up!

We experienced our first baseball tournament this weekend. Owen loved it, and has been following the weather in hopes that his Tuesday game is playable (we've had rain today). He played 3rd base, catcher and left field. I'm excited to see how his team progresses this season. I think they are so cute in their uniforms!

These two "Mini Braves" are pretty cute too!
Uncle Quint and Aunt Susan were here for part of the weekend!
I should have tried to get some better pictures...maybe next time.

Early Easter

We spent Sunday in Council Grove celebrating Easter a week early. The kids now have enough candy that I can take it to school, give some to all 120+ students, and still bring some home! So glad that we could all spend the day together AND enjoy a fabulous meal! Thanks Aunt Nancy!

Anxiously waiting to see what's in the eggs from Grandma Jean--candy, Star Wars cookies and new work out type clothes. They LOVE clothes!
There are three kids old enough to hunt for eggs, and there were at least 100 eggs to find! Do you see why we have so much candy??
One with eyes closed and fake smile, one squinting and blocking the sun, and two completely distracted... and this is the best picture I have of the boys and their cousin, McKinley. Good thing I don't take pictures for a living.

Great Wolf Lodge

After the race last weekend, we hit Great Wolf Lodge with some friends (sorry no good pictures will be included here). Graham had his own weekend getaway courtesy of the Lebo grandparents so Adam and I weren't outnumbered. Owen and Miles LOVED the slides and pool. They tried out each ride and liked them all, but ended up spending most of their time doing whatever had the shortest wait so they could maximize their water time. Me? I need a tan. And a new swimming suit. And some goggles :)

That's Miles in both of these shots if you can't tell.
The kids did enjoy the bunk beds in our "Cub Club" room.

Running

I've been running for years, but had not completed a half marathon until last weekend (Rock the Parkway in Kansas City). I convinced my brother and sister-in-law to run with me, and I think they liked it well enough I could con them into another. Now I can say I've done a 5K, 10K, half and full marathons!

PRO's of this race: IDEAL weather conditions, pretty course, close to home, yet still a little vacation-ish, able to spend time with KC friends/family, new playlist for iPod courtesy of Quint, met my goal of finishing between 1:40-1:50.

CON's of this race: ran too fast early and too slow later (need to be more consistent and set a more specific goal), nagging hip pain that I'd been trying to ignore, but was much more noticeable during this run.

I'm looking forward to planning a couple more races this year. Anyone else want to run something or have thoughts on which half or full marathons would be enjoyable?

We went to breakfast after the run at a clever little place called Succotash. This is not mine (you know I hate fruit!), but look how huge it is--dense too!
Susan's mom Leanna came to cheer us on. I think we have her ready to sign up for a 5K or 10K walk.
Quint and Susan--BEFORE!
Me, Quint, and Susan AFTER! Undecided on the "pants under shorts" look...
Owen and Aunt Susan--marketing team for grey Under Armor!

9 Months (Late)

We're a little behind with his monthly picture. So to make up for it, we dressed Graham extra-nice for his photo shoot :) This onesie over PJ pants is courtesy of a lazy dad who didn't want to change his shirt and already had the pants on. Sidenote: I was obviously not home at bedtime to correct this leotard combo!

Anyway, at nine months he is a crawling machine. Pulling up and starting to scoot around stuff. STILL waking up every night for a midnight snack. Sneezes a lot. Booger nose. Likes to stand/lean on the dryer door and bathtub. Loves bathtime. Loves shoelaces, dog water, and the computer cord.

Huskies!

First a K-State fan, second a Duke fan, and when they both fell from the tournament, the Husky fan came out. And, in our house, you must wear clothes in support of your team. So what do you do when you don't have a real UConn shirt? Make your own, of course! Husky printed from google images and traced onto a too small white T-shirt.

Back to Work

Two days back into "real life". . . Back to getting up by 6:00 and trying to be out the door by 7:20. Back to sequences, and factoring, and new seating charts, and grounding from iPods, and construction, and 125 teenagers coming through my door!

People always ask what we did over Spring Break and I say nothing because we didn't travel anywhere, but when I thought more about it we did a lot: ran the St. Patrick's Day 10K, spent a lot of time outside on the early warm days (including trips to the lake and park with friends), watch party for the KSU game, TONS of play dates, a day spent with my mom during treatment, a little shopping, a little crafting, some grading/planning, cleaning and re-cleaning, Target x 5, meal for a friend, to-do pile tackled. . . . See, who needs a vacation?

A trip to the lake = football time.
Graham got to venture out of his stroller and try the slides. It seems like they have a hundred of these little play areas around Tuttle...

I'm a sucker for flower accessories--not real practical in a house of boys, but still fun. I don't think Miles noticed I was using him as a model. Must have been a sticky situation for Mario (he's on his DS).

Edie

One of my Spring Break goals was to get some pictures on here (since someday I plan to actually get this blog made into a scrapbook) to highlight Edie's life. Most of you know we lost Edie in mid-February--it was a very sad week or two, and it's finally starting to feel normal just having Newman. Edie was a WONDERFUL dog, and we are so thankful we picked her from the puppy mill in Omaha to share nine years with us.

Edie as a puppy--she liked to ride on our lap when we drove. That didn't last long since she got big....quickly. (Focus on the cute puppy, not the very out of style sunglasses)
Edie went to obedience training with Deb in Papillion. This was no Petco training class; Deb was hard-core, and possibly part canine herself. Edie placed 2nd in her class!
When she was excited she would get a full-body mohawk.
Photo session at a park in Omaha.
First grandchildren on the Braxmeyer side--Edie and her cousin, Bozeman.

When Edie was 2, we got her a companion, soon to be best friend--Newman. He ended up outweighing her by 20 pounds.
Edie (all of us actually) spent a lot of time at Walnut Creek Park in Papillion.
All of the boxer cousins--Edie, Newman, Bozeman, Jersey--in Denver.
In Manhattan, a lot of time was spent at the dog park and the lake.
Staring down a squirrel in Lebo. We love you Edie!

Hiding

Graham squeezed his way between the couch and the wall. He was content for a few minutes playing with a toy that had rolled under the couch) until he figured out he couldn't turn around. Luckily I had cleaned behind the couch this week so he didn't eat a bunch of dust balls.

Naughty

Not sure how well you can tell in this picture, but the front of Graham's shirt and pants are soaked. He LOVES spilling the dog water and laying in it. So far he's beat me to the water bowl three times (this spring break). I think he's going to like the pool this summer.

Flat Hair

One of the first things on the Spring Break "to do" list was getting Miles a flat haircut. In his world flat = short like Owen's.

Before and after. Not sure where the weird smile comes from.