Booges & Bubba

New Year !!

2011-01-15T15:59:00.000-08:00

Wow... I can't believe it has been over a year since I posted anything. As my children get older life gets more complicated. They keep Dan and I very busy mentally and physically. We are trying to stay one step ahead of them. LOL
Madi had her first basketball game of the season today. She likes basketball despite being the shortest on her team. She had three assists.
Ethan has started his swim lessons. There are two kids in the class including Ethan. Needless to say he is the star swimmer. It helps that the other boy doesn't speak any english. LOL He is doing well and the instructor said he will move up next session.
Dan is still loving his job and running. He is contemplating running the JFK50 miler again this year.
As for me, I am surviving. This time of the year I kind of get into a funk. It was this time three years ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I am cancer free now but it still hits home every year at this time.

Happy New Year !!!

2010-01-01T04:28:00.000-08:00

What a year 2009 has been. We are anxiously awaiting to see what is in store for 2010. We hope all of you have a great year with much happiness.

Snow and Puppies

2009-12-19T08:42:00.001-08:00

Wow, I can't believe it has been that long since my last post. Time seems to fly by without us noticing. So much has happened so here is the recap:

March 09 - Finally closed on our house here in Manassas, Va. We love it and the neighborhood.

April 09 - Celebrated Madi's 8th birthday at the Roller Rink. A great time was had by all.

May 09 - Still getting settled into the new house and starting some renovations (kitchen).

June 09 - Celebrated Ethan's 4th birthday at the all time kid hang out - Chuck E Cheese. He had to have his party there even though he is scared to death of Chuckie.

I started working part time at a hospital in Warrenton, Va.

July 09 - Still renovating the kitchen.

Aug 09 - Busy meeting neighbors and all the 19 kids on our cul-de-sac. The kids are having a ball.

Dan put in for a new position and got it. A lot of excitment.

Sept 09 - School starts for Madi. She loves her new teachers and friends. Ethan is adjusting very well to his new 5 day preschool.

Dan's parents come all the way from Montana for a month visit. They had a great time and are thinking of coming back in the spring.

Oct 09 - Dollie, our cavalier king charles, has three puppies.

Dan and I went to a B&B for our 14th anniversary. We toured Monticello and hiked up Crabtree Falls off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Madi was a geisha girl and Ethan was spiderman with muscles for halloween. They enjoyed trick or treating with all the kids on our street.

Nov 09 - I ended up having to work Thanksgiving so we celebrated the day after with my parents.

The puppies are growing.

Today we have had about 12 inches of snow so far and it is only noon. It has been snowing since 9pm last night. The kids said it was too cold to play but the puppies had a ball. This was their for time walking in the snow. They will be ready for their new homes next week. We are going to be sad to see them go.

Bend it like Ethan

2009-04-16T10:18:00.000-07:00

Ethan has really enjoyed his first year playing soccer. He is on the U4 Rush. His coaches are Tank and James. They do a great job coaching. They have 6 players including Ethan. All boys and one girl. Ethan is not sure of all the kid's names on his team so he just calls them his "boys". They have played 3 games so far and have won all three. He has scored at least one goal each game. Maybe we have a future Beckham on our hands.

Apartment Reveal #2

2009-01-17T12:50:00.000-08:00

We have been getting slack from some people about not including more pictures of our apartment. So here you go. Now I know some of you were impressed with the Entertainment stand in our family room but this is one is even better. This stand doubles as a TV stand and a tool chest. It is very sturdy so we don't have to worry about the kids knocking the TV over.

I included this great picture because some have specifically asked to see our bargain lamp. It is a great table for a computer and doubles as our only light in the family room. Because we have such great window treatments, they keep our apartment kind of dark hence the reason for no lamp shade. We rescued this great piece of furniture from being thrown into our local landfill. Yes we had to modify it a little to get it to work but it has turned out to be a great asset to our apartment. I have yet to be called by HGTV but am sure once they see my imaginative use of many multi-functional pieces they will be begging me.

Here is the breakdown:

Tool Chest/Entertainment Stand: $59.99 at your local hardware store

Lamp/Computer Table: FREE from the neighbors trash

Time spent with two kids and a husband 24/7 for 30 days in a 350 square foot apartment: Still Priceless

Our apartment's big reveal

2009-01-16T12:22:00.000-08:00

Some of you have waited so patiently for the big reveal of our apartment. Finally it is here. I am thinking about taking a job on HG.TV to be a "Stager". I think they will be begging me after they see how great our apartment looks. My favorite find for our apartment was the great window treatments. They were bargained priced at 50 cent at the local thrift store. I think they really open up the space. I would have to say my next favorite piece is the nice sage green entertainment stand. It was a bargain find from our local Wal-mart. It is a multi-functional piece that not only serves as a TV Stand but also a storage unit.

Here is the breakdown:

Window Treatments: $.50

Multi-functional Entertainment stand: $5.00

Time spent with two kids and husband 24/7 for 30 days in about 350 square feet: Priceless

Visit with Santa

2008-12-22T12:38:00.000-08:00

Every year we go through the same routine of getting a picture with Santa. Madi is such a good child and loves sitting on his lap year after year. On the other hand there is Ethan. Ethan is scared of anything wearing a suit i.e. Santa and Mickey Mouse to name a few. So needless to say it is not a fun time trying to get his picture with the big jolly red guy. So this year I held nothing back and threatened him with no presents if he did not sit on his lap and let me take a picture. So with that being said he ran as fast as he could and jumped on his lap smling for his picture before I could even get Madi's coat off.

House in Manassas, VA

2008-12-14T11:09:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of the house in Manassas that we fell in love with. We still do not know if we got the house and will not know for probably a couple of weeks. It is your typical 4 bedroom 2 1/2 bath with a full, unfinished basement.

We are on the move.....

2008-11-20T05:19:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, our time left in Pierre, South Dakota is slowly coming to an end. We have had some awesome opportunities while living here. Our family has bonded over many a nights camping around the states of South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. We have meet some great friends that we are truly going to miss, who know that they are welcome anytime at our new house. We also have gotten the chance to spend as much time with Dan's family as possible. These are just a few of the many wonderful experiences we have had here. But as our departing time draws closer we plan to spend as much time as possible doing the things we have come to love about the small town of Pierre, South Dakota.

Trick or Treat

2008-10-31T17:42:00.000-07:00

The kids had a great time trick or treating this year. Madi went with some neighbor friends all over the neighborhood while Dan and I took Ethan on our street. He loved getting all the candy and was so excited to be trick or treating "outdoors". We are not sure what he meant by that. To aleviate some of the stress off Dan and I, we allowed Ethan to take his John Deere tractor to ride on. It was so funny. At first we thought we would put the candy in the bucket on the front. Well that lasted about 1o minutes before he dumped it all out and laughed as Dan and I picked it up. Not funny!! So needless to say we put a stop to that and decided to carry his bag for him. Overall we all had a good time and got lots of candy.

Ethan, my fire marshall

2008-10-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

Ethan has become a fugitive wanted by the federal law in town. Here is the story:
On Monday, Ethan and I headed into the local federal building/post office to mail some packages. Everything was fine heading into the post office. We got our packages mailed out quickly as no one was in line. Heading out the door on the way to the car Ethan is trailing behind me. Halfway out the door I turn around to see my son pulling the fire alarm. I proceed to freak out and reprimand him right there on the spot. He doesn;t cry but has a terrified look on his face as the alarms and flashing lights start going off. I proceed to grab him and take him back into the post office to tell them what just happened. I told the man behind the counter and he takes off running. I guess this is protocol when the alarm has been set. So I proceed with Ethan to the car. Once safetly inside the car I proceed to call Dan at work. His office is on the third floor of the building. He starts laughing hysterically at what his son has just accomplished. I am mortified at this point and continue to reprimand him as we are driving away from the scene before the fire trucks show up. About fifteen minutes later I receive a phone call from Dan stating that the maintenance guy from the building came looking for him. He needed to get Ethan's information for the fire report. Also the federal security agent for the building caught the whole thing on tape. I asked for a copy for Ethan's baby book but they said they can't release it.

Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Vikings

2008-10-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

The past weekend, Dan and I got to enjoy an awesome weekend in Minneapolis. Dan's parents traveled from Montana to babysit our kids for the weekend. They had a great time with the kids and really enjoyed spending some one on one time with them. We left on Saturday morning with some great friends, Brian and Kris. While in Minneapolis we got to enjoy a Minnesota Wild hockey game on Saturday night and a Minnesota Vikings football game on Sunday. The Wild game was their season opener. It was packed with a sold-out crowd. Dan and I had never been to a NHL game. It was an awesome game with non-stop action. The Wild beat the Boston Bruins 4 to 3. On Sunday we ventured to the Minnesota Vikings game. Dan has been a Vikings fan since I have know him. He was so excited to finally be at a game. We had some great seats right on the 25 yard line. This was also our first NFL game. They beat the Detroit Lions 12 to 10. We headed back home Sunday after the game. It was a great trip. I did not take my camera so as soon as Kris emails me some pictures I will post them.

Montana Marathon

2008-09-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend our family went to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Montana. While there Dan participated in his third marathon. He ran with his niece, Briony. They did an awesome job and had a good time. Madi and Ethan also got to join in on the fun. They ran in the Kids Race. Ethan had to run half a football field and Madi had to run the whole football field. They did great and had a blast. Hopefully we have two track stars on our hands.

Madi's first day of second grade

2008-09-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Here is Madi on her first day of second grade. She looks so grown. She loves her teacher and was glad to see all her friends.

Ethan's first day of preschool

2008-09-03T19:23:00.001-07:00

Here is my baby as he ventures to his first day of preschool. He goes to the local Montessori preschool three days a week. He had no trouble telling me bye and heading in to the room. He just did not understand why he had to wear his slippers. They do that so the floors will not get so dirty. He thought it was cool after I explained the reason to him. I took a few pictures and left him there. He did great and so did I. I will probably lose it when he goes off to K5.

South Dakota State Fair

2008-09-03T18:58:00.001-07:00

We had a great time at the South Dakota State Fair. We saw lots of animals and ate lots of carnival food. They kids really enjoyed all the 4h animals. Madi even wanted to buy one of the rabbits for sale. He was pretty cute and cuddly. We watched the pig races and went to the petting zoo. It was a fun day with some beautiful weather.