BOOT FAMILY STORIES

OUR SUMMER 2011

2011-08-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

I'm back and i am planning to catch you all up on the goings on in the Boot house. I will start with our summer and go from there....

we visited the Gwinnett Braves and LOVED the game!!! it is an awesome stadium and the kids came home with TWO foul balls.

We had a very fun family home evening at the skating rink. the kids loved trying something new and spending time with the family.

back to school pictures...

Summer went by in a flash..... we had lots of fun exploring whether or not we liked swim team. some kids loved it (Annelies, Sofia, Oliver and even Jakob) and some hated it (Nico). We had lots of fun celebrating Nico's 12th birthday where he decided it would be a swell idea to spray paint the words WATER STATION on our brick house for his water gun war party. UGH! needless to say Nico did not have much of a summer after that (until he scrubbed the paint off of the wall, anyways). We spent lots of time at the pool and saw the summer FLY by and before we knew it, we were on the school bus.

COMING SOON.....

2010-08-15T19:42:00.001-07:00

i was reviewing my pictures and realized that i have not updated since APRIL!!! give me some time and i will be updating my post with our summer adventures. stay tuned!

NIE NIE RECOVERY

2010-08-03T18:05:00.000-07:00

i have watched this amazing story from the beginning and am so inspired by them! what an amazing and strong testimony! i love the gospel!!

MY NEWEST ORGANIZATION ATTEMPT

2010-04-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

I found this board idea HERE! i found a blog friend who could make it for me and i hung it on the wall. it has a section for each of the kids and a hook underneath with their initial to hang up their book bags. i LOVE it!!! it is a magnet board and a chalk board so i can write messages if i need to and i can keep up with each of the kids papers that come home from school. so far, it is successful! this summer i will incorporate their chores on the board.

CARTHAGE JAIL

2010-04-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

in front of the statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith

reflecting on the Well that Joseph fell onto outside of

the window he jumped out of the to escape the mob

this is the hole from the bullet that shot Hyrum

Carthage jail deserves a post all its own. i was so moved by the spirit that resides here and especially impressed by the preservation of it all. we were so fortunate to be able to tour the jail with just our family. it's an amazing experience to walk through the cooking area and the dining area and know and be able to envision the stories that we have heard about Joseph Smith's experience there at Carthage. Joseph and Hyrum often shared a meal with the family who owned the home that the prison was in and were well respected by them. it was an amazing experience to walk up the exact stairs that Joseph and the others must have done every day (they still have the original stair rail). i was especially moved by the spirit in the "dungeon room" where Joseph and Hyrum were held at the beginning of their imprisonment. they were later transferred to a bedroom where they would be more comfortable and eventually meet their fate. as we walked into this room, we noticed the hole in the door that has been preserved from when Hyrum was shot. we were able to hear wonderful stories of the Prophet and some of the experiences he had there. it was a very humbling experience and one of the most spiritual ones we had on our entire vacation. it was the perfect ending to a perfect family vacation.

ADVENTURES IN NAUVOO

2010-04-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

before the carriage ride

in front of the temple at night!

the old school house.... this was a REALLY interesting site.

at the visitors center

We made the most of our stay in Nauvoo. we visited ALL of the cute little historical homes, took the carriage ride, the wagon ride, watched the AMAZING movie in the visitors center, we spent some time in the family living center where the kids learned how to make home made bread in a brick oven, make rugs from scraps of fabric, make a rope and a barrel and candles and see how they made pottery. we also visited the brick house and the kids got a Nauvoo brick to bring home. when we visited the black smith each of us got a "prairie diamond" which ollie thought was the coolest thing ever. the prairie diamond is a ring made from an old nail. i think the kids favorite activity was the Rendezvous in old Nauvoo. this is the cutest little "play" put on by all of the senior missionaries, the kids loved it so much that we saw it twice! we had an amazing time and i can't wait to go back soon.

ALMOST TO NAUVOO

2010-04-28T13:08:00.001-07:00

the kids were intrigued by all of the amazing bridges that we got to cross, but when they saw the big Arch in St. Louis we had to get out and do some site seeing! they thought it was beautiful and again it was another chance to get out and stretch our legs.

THE LAST FAMILY FIELD TRIAL

2010-04-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

On our way up to Nauvoo we made a stop in Kentucky for a field trial and then again on our way back. the kids and i were entertained with the local war museums around and playing in the large fields surrounding all the horse trailers. we had a great time and the kids loved being able to take a break from the long car ride.

PINE WOOD DERBY

2010-04-28T12:47:00.000-07:00

i am FINALLY getting around to posting the boys pinewood derby photos. they had SO much fun creating these speedy cars with their dad and this time they actually got to be involved in the production process! Jakob created a spider man truck which won first place over the entire race and nico designed a perry the platapus car and won first place for his age group and 3rd place for the entire race. Ollie was able to participate after all of the official cars were run and he got to race his van halen car against his brothers! it was a fun and successful night for everybody.

MY MANY PROJECTS

2010-04-28T12:25:00.001-07:00

these go way back to february, but i thought i would share anyways! the girls LOVED taking these valentines to all their friends and i had fun making them. i got the felt heart idea off another blog that i have fallen in love with and have gotten LOTS of great ideas from. and the girls new hair-bow holder came from another blog, but i forget where i saw it, but i really liked the idea! it is made out of an old frame that i had and some chicken wire and i have PLENTY of chicken wire!

BABY BROOKS

2010-03-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

on Sofia's birthday she decided she wanted to visit her new baby cousin brooks. My sister had her second baby on Friday, March 12 and he was ready for us to come hold him! we were not able to visit him at the hospital because they have new rules about children visiting at the hospital and i had pink eye, so we stayed clear for a while! the kids were SO excited to see their new cousin. he is such a sweet boy and loves being held. i love my new nephew and the kids are so happy to have a new cousin! welcome to the family baby brooks!!! we love you.

BIRTHDAY GIRL

2010-03-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

where does the time go? i cannot believe that my sweet baby girl is FIVE years old. we have watched her this past year blossom from an adorable little toddler to a sweet little girl. it is amazing the transformation they make between 4 and 5. she is her own little person and always has been. She keeps us laughing with her funny little faces and her silly jokes. She is such a sweet heart and is definitely daddy's little girl. Her Nanny and Poppy call her trixie and i have to say the name fits PERFECTLY. she loves to play tricks on you and knows exactly what she is doing. she is very sneaky, but not to be naughty, just because she can be. she is so fun to have around and brings so much life to our family! she is my SWEET SOFITA PITA!! happy birthday big girl!

** the picture of the little girl with Sofia is her friend Genevieve from church. she came with me to Sofia's school to surprise her and wish her a happy birthday!

THE HAIRCUT

2010-03-18T09:30:00.001-07:00

Rob has been begging me forever to get sofia's haircut into her cute little bob, but being a girl, i thought she deserved the right to wear her hair how she wanted it. She has been asking for a year or so if she could grow her hair out and of course i let her. the only problem is that her face is so tiny and the girl has TONS of hair!! it is SOOOOOO thick. so this past saturday Rob and I talked her into getting her hair cut short and she enthusiastically agreed! she looks so cute and aside from thinking she looks like a boy, i think she likes it too.

2010-03-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

Spending the day at the temple with the young women on friday, i didn't get a chance to spend much time with my family, so i tried to make up for that on saturday. after i took nico to saturday school (for math tutoring) i took the other four kids with me to visit Rancho Allegro farms which is a local farmers market that sells only local products and offers some fun things for the kids to do. we had a good time, but with the weather being a little over cast and colder, there were not that many vendors set up. the kids had fun riding the pony and playing for a little while on the play ground. i loved watching them interact and play together and i think they liked having me all to themselves.

TEMPLE TRIP

2010-03-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

With the Atlanta Temple being closed, we have had to make an extra effort to attend other local temples and we are so lucky to have S.C. and Birmingham within a couple of hours in each direction. I have recently been called to be the 1st Counselor in Young Women's. Lucky for me it was just in time to attend the temple with them. when i got the word that I would be able to go, I got to work on getting my family names ready! It was such a sweet moment for me to take the names of my grandmother and great grandmother to the temple. i am so grateful for this opportunity, i love my new calling, i love the girls i get to work with each week. we had such a great time on our road trip and had a little bit of a scare with some car problems on our way home, but prayer is a powerful thing and we got home safely!!

OLLIE AND MOMMY DATE

2010-03-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

We have finally had some fabulous, warm weather around here after our very unusually cold GA winter. Ollie and I decided to take advantage of the warmth by spending the day OUTSIDE!! we started by taking a brisk walk around our neighborhood. while we were walking i found a grave site from a local family in the area. it was very interesting how it had been preserved by a brick gate with houses built around it. We later ventured out to our local game ranch where Ollie got to hand feed all the animals and pet the deer and goat. he tried catching a bunny, but they weren't too friendly. it was sad to see the damage that had been done to the game ranch due to the flooding that we had back in the fall. the game ranch sits right on the Yellow River and the floods washed away anything that sat next to it. luckily none of the animals were harmed and the staff was able to save the animals that were in danger.

While we were there, the peacock decided to show off a little. it was BEAUTIFUL!!

On our way home, Ollie insisted that we visit a local tractor store. so being the good mom that i am, i took him in to see the big tractors. HE LOVES TRACTORS!!! i have never had a child have a fascination with anything this much. the men who worked a the tractor place let Ollie sit on them and he thought that was the greatest thing EVER! he was not the least bit scared and all the men were impressed at his lack of fear for these big monsters. all in all, we had a great day! i love my little guy and i cannot believe that my time with him at home is almost over!

MORE FIELD TRIAL FUN

2010-03-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

Rob loves his field trials and when possible and if the weather is good, we like to go along and play also! this particular field trial my in-laws came along and we stayed at a beautiful resort! it is called Barnsley Gardens and i HIGHLY recommend it for a nice retreat/ getaway. the kids had so much fun roaming around on the resort property and exploring the "haunted" house that is preserved from 1850 from the original family who owned the land. the house is AMAZING with lots of history. the museum was incredible..... it featured the old stove and other old utility machines. the kids LOVED it, especially the civil war room where nico got to see all the cool weapons! it was a wonderful family trip and we got to watch rob run the dogs! we had a blast and the weather was GREAT!!

LOVE TREATS

2010-02-16T18:24:00.000-08:00

We have chickens, so therefor we have more eggs than we know what to do with half the time..... so, thankfully i have kids who LOVE eggs! once again i pull a recipe from the pioneer woman cookbook and make a yummy dinner for me and the kids. i made each of the kids egg in a hole with the hole shaped like a heart in honor of valentine's day. they loved it and i must say, it was delicious!

PRETTY SNOW PICS

2010-02-16T18:13:00.000-08:00

snow wouldn't be the same if mom didn't play too!

SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!

2010-02-16T17:49:00.000-08:00

We had an amazing time in the snow this weekend! i cannot believe we got as much snow as we did, but it came down and kept coming until we reached a good 6 inches. the kids were in heaven. since we are from the south and don't have much use for snow boards and sleds, we improvised with wake boards (minus fins) and boogie boards. it worked just fine and we got plenty of speed on our little slopes to satisfy the kids desire for some fun snow sliding! the kids spent most of the night outside on Friday night until it got too dark and woke up early saturday morning to continue playing. Nico and Annelies invited some friends to play, once the roads were safe enough to travel on. Nico invited his friend (a girl) Kerstin over and annelies had Kerstin sister Lauren. by the end of the day, the kids were soaked and exhausted.

we woke up on sunday to Ollie with an awful kroopy cough and sniffles and coughs all around! i had to make it to church since i was teaching Relief Society, so i called my mom in to watch the kids. Rob spent the weekend in south GA for a field trial. as i was getting dressed and ready for church, nico decides to fix himself some breakfast and pull out THE SHARPEST KNIFE IN THE DRAWER to cut some cheese for a biscuit. all of the sudden i hear cries from Nico like he is dying..... i come down to find blood everywhere and his finger continuing to drip blood in the sink. he was freaking out and i began to panic..... luckily the bleeding stopped after 4 soaked paper towels. my friend Karena (a nurse) came to my rescue to reassure me that he did not need stitches. i went on to church, came home, fixed lunch and collapsed on the couch for a 4 hour nap!

we had a great and dramatic weekend!!! i LOVE the snow, but i am glad we only get it maybe once a year.

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!

2010-02-13T08:06:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, last year i was involved in the walk and rollathon for CMV awareness. the details of this years walk have not been worked out yet, but it will be sometime in may! i am so excited to be a part of this cause. last year i prepared a speech that shared Jakob's story and this year it has been published HERE. i am so excited to be able to help and be involved in this. i hope that you will be able to support this cause also!! i had some GREAT friends show up last year to support us.

KIDS HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES~ backtracking (sorry)

2010-01-30T15:34:00.000-08:00

this is Jakob's sweet class, that i have the privilege of being the room mother for! they are all SOOOOOO sweet and always have great big hugs and smiles for me!
i am the VT to one very special girl, she is pictured in the middle wrapped in her puppy dog paws blanket.... i love visiting with wendy and i am lucky to get to spend a little time with her each month!
rob always loves telling the story of Sinter Claus.... this year his parents would be out of town, so we invited friends from church over to help us celebrate the festive occasion.
sofia and ollie eating ice cream sundays at sofia's holiday party at school.
and last, but not least..... Nico crying during his 4th grade winter performance at school. he HATES getting up in front of people and instead of singing with everybody else, he stood on the stand the entire time with this look on his face and tears streaming down his face. i think it was a good 30 minutes of misery for the kid!!

OUR FAMILY PICTURE WITH SANTA

2010-01-30T15:32:00.000-08:00

ANNELIES' THEORY ON LIFE

2010-01-30T15:17:00.000-08:00

Annelies is such a sweet girl, she always thinks of others and always wants the best for everybody! her prayers are pure and thoughtful. she is such a good girl, but she wines A LOT! the other day as i am lying on the couch not feeling good at all, she explains to me how disappointed she is that i slept the whole day! she then goes on to say, "i really wanted to ride my bike to get more practice, after all THESE are my learning years!" i couldn't help but to laugh..... she is so cute. i love the mind of a 7 year old!

PLEASE FEEL SORRY FOR HIM!

2010-01-30T15:13:00.000-08:00

Rob, of course has no recollection of this picture, much less ASKING me to take it, but needless to say..... he asked, so i did! he has had lots of stomach problems lately and underwent several procedures to get some answers. unfortunately we do not have any answers, but i have this great picture to remind us of his misery!

CHILDREN'S MUSEUM

2010-01-30T15:09:00.000-08:00

Our playgroup ventured out to the Children's Museum in atlanta where they were having a special curious george museum. Ollie had a blast with all of his friends, but wanted to stay on the tractors the whole time. he also got to be a planet (pluto) in a little show that was put by some of the employees. he did so good and had so much fun!

MY DEAR SWEET FRIENDS

2010-01-30T15:01:00.000-08:00

before everyone got back into the groove of things after the holidays, me and a few of my high school friends decided to get together and enjoy some pizza, salad, dessert and good company! we had lots of laughs and tons of fun catching up on each others lives. three of the girls are pregnant and ALL expecting girls, one friend just got married, and the others of us are enjoying the kids and lives we have created for ourselves. to top it off, the girls surprised me with a very yummy birthday cake and a super sweet card signed by them all!

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...HAPPY NEW YEAR

2010-01-30T14:54:00.000-08:00

my friend Rachelle had a bunch of us families over for a very fun New Years celebration for our kids. She made yummy treats and had homemade pinata's ready for the kids to bust open. the kids had a blast and felt a part of the new years festivities! after the party, we ventured to our house for our own adult count down! thanks Rachelle for a great party!

OUR NEW PUPS

2010-01-30T14:48:00.000-08:00

the kids got to view first hand how babies are born! our dog rockette had her second litter of puppies this past week and the kids had front row seats. Nico reacted by throwing up, the other kids lost interest after awhile, but Jakob sat by her side for as long as he could stay awake. he was so excited when he woke up to 8 healthy puppies and one very tired mamma dog!

FLAG FOOTBALL FUN

2010-01-30T14:42:00.000-08:00

Nico spent a good 2 weeks organizing a flag football game at our house with all of his friends. the girls each went to a friends house and ollie went with daddy, so Nico and Jakob had the backyard to themselves. the boys had so much fun playing, but complained that Jakob kept throwing the football into the creek!

CHRISTMAS 2009

2010-01-30T14:30:00.000-08:00

Rob and I decided to keep Christmas simple this year, we would get a big gift for all of the kids and Santa would bring the kids one special gift each and fill their stockings. it was fun to see each of the kids really think about what they wanted for christmas. Nico asked for a bomber jacket, Jakob wanted a nerf gun (that ended up not working), Annelies wanted a book, Sofia asked for an American Girl doll and Ollie wanted a motorcycle. For the big gift, the kids got a Wii that has proved to be a very family friendly activity! Christmas was quiet and low key. we had my mom and brother over late in the afternoon and we enjoyed our annual trip to Waffle House, except it was over crowded, so we decided to venture over to iHop.... it was a fun day and the kids enjoyed the simplicity.

REINDEER FOOD

2010-01-30T14:12:00.000-08:00

Jakob can hardly handle the anticipation of christmas. he asks EVERY night up to Christmas if this is the night that santa comes, and this starts after his birthday! it is quite exhausting to say the least, but i love seeing the excitement in his eyes. he was so excited when i FINALLY told him it was time to spread out his reindeer food. he was ready for santa now and all that was left to do was leave out hot chocolate, cookies and some carrots for the reindeer!

AWAY IN A MANGER

2010-01-30T14:03:00.000-08:00

Ollie, his joy school friends and their families all gathered at our house for a "holiday" party. the kids all dressed in nativity costumes and acted out the night christ was born. it was so sweet and quite hilarious when our two shepherds got in a scuffle over a gun! it was quite the scene! afterwards we enjoyed a yummy potluck dinner and the kids had a great time playing.

OUR MODIFIED COOKIE BAKING DAY

2010-01-30T13:55:00.000-08:00

with my sister being pregnant and having a two year old at her feet and me not being completely up to our traditional cookie day and my mom not having any more PTO due to the health of herself and her parents, we decided to modify our cookie day. The kids were quite happy with decorating pre-baked sugar cookies and we were happy that it only took less than an hour!

JOY SCHOOL FUN

2010-01-30T13:48:00.000-08:00

Ollie has been involved in Joy school this year and thinks it is the greatest thing ever! i was in charge of the month of December and of course had to do a fun craft with them. our first craft was our count down to christmas craft and this craft was the best! a reindeer handprint scarf for each of the boys to keep and stay warm! so cute- we are missing a member of the class, but it is all boys and super fun!

PRAY PEOPLE!!

2010-01-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

In Church we are taught to have faith in Heavenly Father. we are not told what trials we may have to endure to gain this faith, but we know that through prayer and scriptures, we can gain a closeness to our Heavenly Father that he desires us to have. I was able to teach a lesson in Relief Society yesterday (my birthday) that taught us about Our Heavenly Father. we learned of His attributes, His miracles, His creations and how to grow closer to Him. i felt grateful to be able to teach this lesson and share my thoughts, but mostly i LOVE to hear the experiences of my sisters that i teach. i am able to learn so much from them!

at this time in our ward, we are facing many challenges. there are many battling cancer, broken limbs, we have 9 women that are pregnant and one sister who just miscarried after finding out the sex of her baby and hearing that the baby girl she is carrying will not survive. this woman is my friend. she is strong, beautiful, creative, funny, passionate and caring. the Lord has helped her through the loss of her child, but now she herself is in the ICU in critical condition due to blood poisoning from the amniotic fluid. her family is here to support her husband and be at her side, her two little girls are being shared through out the ward by our generous sisters and meals are being brought in daily. it is amazing to me how truly and unconditionally willing we are to serve each other in times of need.

i know that all things are in the hands of our Heavenly Father. i know that the challenges he places in our lives are to strengthen our testimony and draw us closer to Him. i pray that each of us can be close to Him and know the true miracles that he can perform and have faith to pray to him every day. have faith in Him, grow from His lessons and know that there is a God and He loves us! my prayers are with the Sanders family at this time, i am also praying for my sweet nephew Beckham and my sister and scott that all will be well with him. Rob has a procedure this friday to hopefully get some results on his stomach issues. in the midst of all the gloom, i am very grateful for my family and our health. i am grateful for the gospel in our lives and for the amazing examples my sweet children are to me. we are truly blessed.

COOKING FOR PLENTY

2010-01-04T19:10:00.001-08:00

i am not claiming to be the best cook, but i LOVE good food and i love feeding people and entertaining. i have decided to create a new blog with all of my favorite recipes. please join me there and enjoy some of my families favorite meals!

ALSO..... i will update my home blog with new pictures and holiday updates! we had a great christmas and a fun new years!

click HERE to view my new blog

FIELD TRIAL FUN

2009-12-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

Rob and I took the kids (the older 3) out of school for the day on friday and heading down to Plains, GA where we attended a field trial for the dogs. we rode on mule pulled carriages and each of the kids took their turn holding the reins to the mules. they had so much fun! it was cold, but very worth the family time. Nico ran his first field trial with Rocky.... unfortunately rocky ran off and the men on horses had to go track him. not so funny at the time, but we had a good laugh!

PICTURES FROM JAKOB'S B-DAY

2009-12-08T18:31:00.001-08:00

my awesome friend decorated the cake for Jakob! he LOVED it.
Jakob is ready to eat this cake!

Jakob and his best friends.... Eddie and Daniel.
Jakob and Eddie (from Atl. area school for the deaf)
it wouldn' t be a night with the boots without someone getting hurt. Jakob actually dropped a 12 pound ball on his foot! OUCH. nico and Eddie helped him limp out to the car.

THE BIRTHDAY BOY

2009-11-19T14:50:00.000-08:00

Jakob has come such a long way since he was born. today he turns 9 and i look back and reflect on all this little man has accomplished. he is such an example to me and a huge blessing to our family. he teaches us patience and love and at times he reminds us to be prayerful. he is a special little guy and i am so grateful the Lord has blessed our family with him. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKOB ANDERSON BOOT!!!

Jakob's birthday countdown usually starts on November 20th (yes, the day after his birthday). he LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his birthday!!! today started at about 6:30 for Jakob, even though he fell asleep around 10:30 because he was so excited about his birthday. he put his birthday pin on and put some $ in an envelope to buy ice creams for all of his friends at school. he was SO excited. when he got home, he pulled out all of the cards that his friends made for him at school. most of them said how great Jakob is and how much they love him.... and of course "happy birthday". For dinner, Jakob has asked for "cheese" hamburgers, french fries and macaroni and cheese. chocolate icecream and cake for dessert and for presents he wants.... in this order.... spider man 2 game, brown dog, scooby doo movies, bycicle and x-men game. he has reminded us of this EVERY DAY!!

Jakob- i hope you have a GREAT birthday!!!! you keep my life exciting and very interesting!! i love you so much.

2009-11-11T11:53:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

MY NEWEST PROJECTS

2009-11-05T17:21:00.001-08:00

i have been working on lots of projects in the house lately.... at the top of my list is my spices! Rob LOVES to cook, but can't stand looking for his ingredients, so........ i made it so he will never complain again... about the spices anyways!

This is something that has been in the making for about 10 years or so.... i finally got them all framed and put up on my wall. soon each of them will have the name of the baby in each belly picture....
this is something fun that i got from snapfish.... they are 20x30 collage pictures of our families fondest memories.... these just happen to be our family vacations in the past couple of years. the kids have so much fun looking at all the pictures on their way up the stairs.

HALLOWEEN FUN

2009-11-03T13:08:00.000-08:00

Cruella (lorna) and the Boot kids
My rock star and his groupie!!
Indiana Jones (Jakob), Tinker Bell(Sofia), Frankenstein (Ollie), Bride of Frankenstein (Annelies)
SLASH! (Nico)
enjoying the loot!!

With all the rain on saturday, we did not get a chance to do the BIG trick or treat, but our church had trunk or treating before the rain started, so it worked out and our kids got PLENTY of candy!

PICS FROM DISNEY WORLD

2009-11-03T12:59:00.001-08:00

HANDY MANNY IS OLLIES FAVORITE!
JAKOB'S WHEELCHAIR GOT US TO THE FRONT OF EVERY LINE!
THIS IS THE CHICKEN COUP FROM THE MILEY CYRUS MOVIE

MY MONSTERS WITH THE MONSTER, INC. CREW

DISNEY WORLD

2009-11-03T12:35:00.000-08:00

Ollie got this right before our trip!
Jakob LOVES the water
indoor skydiving! SO FUN!!!
he LOVED this!
eating at the best icecream place EVER!

We decided to take advantage of the opportunity we had to go to Disney World for Brett and Sarah's wedding and make it our family trip for the year. we left a day early and spend a whole day at MGM studios where the kids had so much fun meeting their favorite characters from TV and riding some fun rides. it was so nice to spend some time with the kids with no distractions.

to make our vacation even more fabulous, we got to see Brett and Sarah FINALLY get married. the kids had so much fun dancing and playing.

we ended the trip with indoor skydiving. Nico had SOOOOO much fun! rob had a little trouble getting off the ground and i was PERFECT according to the instructor! melanie was terrified! it was pretty entertaining between Rob and melanie. and Andy did great!! we decided that next time we would have to do the real thing!

FAMILY PICTURE '09

2009-11-03T12:33:00.001-08:00

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

2009-10-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

I know it is almost thanksgiving, but i have to back track a little and catch up on things that have happened.... Nico started 4th grade this year, Jakob is now in 3rd, Annelies is a big 1st grader and my sweet Sofia is joining the school kids for the first time this year as a Pre-k(er). everybody is so excited to start the first day! ESPECIALLY NICO!! haha
Jakob thinks school is the best!
Sofia doesn't know what to expect and Annelies is always happy!
Oliver is thrilled to have me ALL to himself!

THE BIRTHDAY KIDS

2009-10-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

we have not one, but TWO birthdays in the month of september.... Annelies and Oliver celebrate their big days only 2 days apart, so it makes for lots of CAKE! i didn't think i would ever say i would be sick of cake, but september just about kills me. i have learned to get creative and switch up the deserts a little and the kids don't seem to mind. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNELIES AND OLIVER.

THE AQUARIUM

2009-10-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

with the kids back in school, Ollie and i have had lots of fun times out and about.... one of my good friends Brittany and her little man Zack invited us to the GA aquarium. we had so much fun looking at all the fish and even petting some of them. it is so fun to spend one on one time with my little ollie! he is getting so big.

THE FLOOD

2009-10-14T18:31:00.001-07:00

The rain in GA has been merciless!! our backyard turned into a lake and practically got washed away. we are working to repair the damage, but have a lot to do. the kids thought it was pretty cool to have a "pool" in the backyard until they saw that many of their toys were GONE, their trampoline was wrapped around the trees, the fire pit was GONE and all of our yard furniture was buried under lots and lots of dirt. i have never seen anything like this as long as i have lived in GA- (28 years). it was amazing to see the damage A LOT of rain left behind. we still have many roads around us that are closed and plenty of repairs being made around us. it will be a long road to recovery.... and the rain is still falling!

DANCING IN THE RAIN

2009-10-14T18:23:00.003-07:00

due to all the GA rain, we have had lots of opportunity to dance in the rain! the kids LOVE it.

THE HAIRCUT!

2009-09-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Oliver's hair is a hot topic at our house. should we cut it? should we keep it long? he looks like a girl..... so, we finally decided to make his grandparents happy and cut the BOYS hair! Oliver was not in agreement with this of course and most people did not recognize him when they saw him. i have to say- it took us quite some time to get used to it and at times i miss his curls.

FORTS

2009-08-16T16:59:00.000-07:00

My kids are really into building forts lately. in fact as we speak there is one under construction in my family room. they use every pillow, blanket and chair that they can find. before school started back, they would build forts and have spend the night parties. it's so fun to be a kid.

SUMMER IN TENNESSEE

2009-08-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

Our family LOVES to go to Tennessee and "play" on the farm. we take the four wheeler and the mule. we bring the dogs, we ride horses, we swing on the hammock, we jump on the stacks of hay. my kids are so happy here (especially nico, he is a different kid!) Nico is totally in his element here and loves everything about it. i cannot wait until we own our own land and have our own rolling hills to run on. ONE DAY!!

5 SECONDS OF FAME

2009-07-30T16:30:00.000-07:00

FUN WITH GRAMMY

2009-07-26T08:50:00.001-07:00

notice Ollie in his Jammies.... better this than his underwear!

Rob and Nico went to tennesse with the dogs a couple of weekends ago and then they went fishing and to the job site the weekend after that, so me and the other four munchkins decided to go visit Grammy on both weekends. Mom and I had so much fun organizing her house and putting pictures on the wall. We have de-cluttered a lot of her "stuff" and only kept the essentials. i LOVE doing this! it is completely rewarding and it is way easier to get rid of other peoples stuff. while we worked, the kids played! they watched movies, helped bake brownies and took walks around the neighborhood. (thanks AVA!) One of the weekends we took the kids to a concert in Smyrna to see a group called MAGNO. they were pretty good and the kids had a great time dancing and playing. there were a lot of people with their dogs, so Jakob was in heaven. we love spending time with Grammy!!

DOUBLE DIGITS

2009-07-26T08:26:00.001-07:00

I can hardly believe that i have been a mother for TEN years. my sweet little baby boy is now a big boy and i cannot believe how fast the time has gone. i can still remember the first time i saw him, how beautiful he was.... (others in the room had different opinions about this!), still the feelings i had were magical and like nothing else i had ever felt! i was a mommy and he was my baby. it was an amazing feeling. i have enjoyed watching him grow up and become the sweet boy that he is. he is an AMAZING big brother and an even more amazing son! i love how he still lets me kiss him in front of his friends or how he has to say he loves me A MILLION times before he leaves to go somewhere. i love how sensitive he is. i love how he laughs at my stupid jokes or how he thinks i know everything..... even though most of the questions i try to answer we have to refer to google! I LOVE MY TEN YEAR OLD BOY!!!

I must say he had a very good birthday. we got him his own puppy to train and eventually take to field trials. i made him an ice-cream cake, that turned out to be DELICIOUS!! and we had his favorite dinner..... STEAK! HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICO!

PAMPERED CHEF PARTY

2009-07-06T10:38:00.000-07:00

ALL ARE INVITED!!


	Your 6 O'Clock Salads Cooking Show Information: Show Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2009 Show Time: 10:55 AM Host: Shanna Boot Co-host: Phone: (678) 641-5396 E-mail: shannal@bootfamily.com Location: EMAIL ME FOR INFO View Map/Directions

SWEET DREAMS

2009-06-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

This is how we found Oliver after our family movie the other night. we sent him in the kitchen until he could stop whining and until he could be nice. he never did come back in!

PUPPIES FOR SALE

2009-06-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

We have the sweetest pups from rockette. we had 5 and now we are down to 3. there is one that is so fat and cute! two are brown and white and one is black and white. they are english pointers and are GREAT for hunting! any takers?

CAN I CHANGE MY NAME?

2009-06-28T14:34:00.000-07:00

why is it that i am the ONLY one that the kids come to when they want a snack or anything at all to eat? why do they whine ONLY to me? why do i constantly hear, "mom, can i" or "mom, can you get me....." UGH!!!! it is exhausting and annoying to tell you the truth. and then i realized my husband does it too! i guess it is true that kids follow your example. i think i need a vacation, and i'm sure i will be fine tomorrow, but today i want a break!

SLEEPING ROB

2009-06-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

It is not very often that Rob falls asleep before any of us. he is usually the LAST person asleep in our house, but he started a new job this week and has been pretty exhausted. Just to be safe, he took something to help him get to sleep because he usually has such a hard time. Before he even made it to bed, he was out. the kids had so much fun with him and were laughing hysterically while he was trying to feed himself a brownie or when Jakob SCREAMED in his ear to try to wake him up and Rob instinctively slapped him (NOT HARD). the kids even started to make funny faces with his face, but when they threatened to get the finger nail polish and permanent markers out..... i had to call it a night.

TENNIS CAMP

2009-06-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

i LOVE tennis!!! i have been playing since i was about 12, with the exception of a 10 year break to have kids. i am so glad that my kids have also found a great love for this sport also. they had so much fun this week at tennis camp. Coach John did such a great job with the kids and helped them learn some very important skills. this year Nico, Jakob and Annelies got to be in camp. Sofia is dying for her chance to get on the court.

ANNELIES AND HER NEW DRESS

2009-06-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

For the past few months, Annelies has been very interested in making a dress with some of the fabric i have. i finally had some time this week to help her pick a fabric and cut it out. she had so much fun coordinating fabric and ribbon and flowers. She was more than thrilled when it was finally done and she could go outside and twirl around in it. i am really enjoying watching this little girl grow up.

FACEBOOK REUNION

2009-06-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

i was born in Richmond, MI and at age 4 we moved to GA. i hardly call myself a northern girl, but i still have great friends that i have stayed in touch with through the years. thanks to facebook i have officially reunited with one of those friends. We met up at stone mountain last night for a cookout at their camp site and the laser show afterwards. we had so much fun talking about memories and reminiscing about 'back then'! thanks Karrie for coming to visit and inviting my family to come play! we had so much fun.

MORE FAMILY FUN PICS

2009-06-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

FAMILY FUN

2009-06-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

my sister and becks came down for a visit yesterday and we had the best day! we all hopped in my car for a trip to the movies. the kids loved seeing Charlotte's Web and even seeing some of their friends from church. after the movies, we came back to the house and played in the back yard. the kids and aunt rissa had fun in the sprinkler. there is nothing like eating popsicles in the heat of the summer with your cousins! it was a very fun day!

OUR NEWEST ADDITION

2009-06-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

as many of you know, rob has a love for animals and one day we plan to live on lots of land where we can have LOTS of animals like cows, horses, sheep, etc.... For now on our 3 little acres, we are happy with our 3 hunting dogs, 4 puppies, 2 frogs, 2 rabbits, 26 chickens (13 fryers, 12 layers) and now we have added two kittens. the kids are in heaven with our little farm and it keeps them very busy taking care of them. i often find a kitten hiding under a blanket on the couch with one of the kids! the animals are all outdoor because of our severe allergies.

OUTSIDE FUN

2009-06-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

our neighbors had their grandkids in town for a few days and we LOVE it when they come! all their kids are my kids ages and they all play so well together. unfortunately they were only here for a short weekend, but we enjoyed every minute of it. the kids played baseball in the yard until they couldn't see anymore and Shawna (their mom) and I sat on the porch watching the kids play and drinking the most delicious strawberry smoothies!

PUPPIES

2009-06-12T18:44:00.000-07:00

we have three dogs. one female (english pointer) and two males (one english pointer, one black lab). all dogs are pure breds and are awesome dogs, so when we realized that our female pointer was pregnant, we could only hope that our male pointer was the proud papa! well today (since rob is at a scout trip in tennesse), i am in charge of tending to all the animals. as i went to check on the dogs, i noticed a cute little bundle of white and brown fur huddled in the corner of our dogs make shift birthing box. we now have 4 FULL BRED english pointer pups! whew...

***correction*** there are now FIVE puppies!

THE LAKE, FINALLY!!

2009-06-12T18:35:00.001-07:00

All summer there has been nothing that Jakob has wanted more than to go on the boat. unfortunately it has either been too cold or too wet when we have planned to go. We got lucky this past weekend, when Melanie was in town, with some good weather. Jakob was thrilled and we had a great time with family! Nico got to wakeboard and got up with no problems..... the boys enjoyed a ride on the tube before we called it a day. Melanie, being 8 months pregnant decided to sit on the beach with mya and avoid the rough waters. we had a great time!

THE BIG GRANITE ROCK

2009-06-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

My sis-in-law Melanie was in town for a few days so we tried to do some fun things while she and the kids were here. poor Mya was sick for the first couple of days, but eventually she was well enough to take a trip to the laser show. the kids had so much fun and LOVED the excitement of the fire works and lasers (except sofia who stayed tucked in Nanny's arms the whole time with her little ears covered). the boys were very patriotic and stood in salute to the american flag during the national anthem. the kids had so much fun dancing, singing and just enjoying each other. it brought back memories from when i was a kid.

LET'S GO TO THE MOVIES!

2009-06-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

my girlfriend robin and i have devoted our summer to being FREE!! i have done my research and found LOTS of great things to do. our local bowling ally offers 2 free games per child each day! our library has puppet shows and stories and all kinds of great activities, and our local movie theatre is sponsoring a free kids movie morning for the month of June. so Robin and I got our munchkins together and went to the movies. she took the girls to see an American Girl movie and me and my boys saw Shrek the 3rd. it was so much fun, they LOVED it and best of all it was FREE!

WALKS WITH NANNY

2009-06-12T18:14:00.000-07:00

while the boys were at the father/son campout. the girls and I decided to make the 45 minute drive to see nanny and poppy. lucky for me they were having a garage sale and i inherited some lovely things, but after the sale, we grabbed some popsicles and took a walk down to the lake. it was a perfect ending to a perfect weekend. the girls LOVE their nanny.

BAKING

2009-06-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

i have a love for baking and one day would love to take classes on how to make fancy pastries and tarts, but for now it is fun to dabble here and there with recipes i come across. Annelies, Sofia and I found ourselves home alone while the boys went to the father/son campout with church. so we decided to make the most of it by baking the most delicious, made from scratch chocolate fudge mousse cake! YUM. you know you want some!

HOME ACTIVITIES

2009-06-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

Today we are staying home from the pool. instead of letting my kids gaze lazily into a television screen viewing mindless cartoons, i give them a few choices..... they can play on starfall.com, or they can play outside, in the playroom, chores or watch these awesome dvd's that i found at target a few years ago for $10 each. if you are trying to get your younger kids or 'special needs' kids to learn there alphabet and put words together using phonics, then these are the dvd's for you! i love them. jakob sings all the songs and has memorized them. it keeps their attention and they are learning something! check them out at leapfrog.com. there are a lot of other dvd's as well.

10 NEW POSTS!!

2009-05-30T04:32:00.000-07:00

i have been so preoccupied with the end of the school year activities and everything else that has been going on, that i have neglected to post any new blogs about the kids. so now you can see what we have been up to.... you may have to hit the "older posts" button to view more blogs!!

STRAWBERRIES and WATER PARKS

2009-05-30T04:16:00.000-07:00

my sister brought beckham up for the day on thursday and we decided to take the kids to pick strawberries and then go swimming. the kids had so much fun picking all the strawberries they could get their hands on and of course eating some along the way!

after our hour long adventure of picking strawberries, we headed to the pool only to find out that it was closed due to someone throwing up!! (side note: Jakob was not the one who threw up!!! YIPEE!!) so~ in light of this news we headed to the local water park. we had SO much fun and i have to say, despite my anxiety of this adventure, it was pretty low stress. my kids are now old enough and tall enough that i don't have to worry about them as much. they had such a great time sliding down the water slides and swimming in the lazy river. what an amazing day!!

SLEEPY HEAD

2009-05-30T04:13:00.000-07:00

this is how i found Ollie one morning after he, Nico, Annelies and Sofia camped out down stairs!

SUMMER BEGINS

2009-05-30T04:03:00.000-07:00

our summer started early this year. the kids got out of school on May 20th!! the weather has been quite cool for GA at this time of year, but that has not stopped the kids from splashing in the water! of course we had to start the summer out by giving nico and jakob their summer hair cuts....

MY GARDEN

2009-05-30T03:46:00.000-07:00

i love this time of year!!! my yard is in full bloom and it is beautiful. the bees are buzzing, the birds are singing and from my desk i can watch chipmunks and squirrels skipping across the yard. we have lots of wild life and fun things to see in our yard. this year rob and i planted a garden and are just starting to see our first little vegetables from it. it is so exciting to see real food growing in your own yard! it's quite rewarding. the kids think it is quite amazing!

KIDS AT THE CMV WALK

2009-05-30T03:32:00.000-07:00

i have been side tracked with my own personal blogs with the CMV walk and media that i have neglected to post my family pictures. the kids had such a great time at the walk and had lots of fun playing with other children that were there. they had a great playground. after the CMV walk, we took all the kids across town to Jakob's baseball game. Just as Jakob got up to bat, the clouds opened and pored buckets of rain on us! we were SOAKED! it was a very fun day!!

WATER FUN

2009-05-30T03:25:00.000-07:00

while the big kids are at school, we don't just sit around twirling our thumbs waiting for them to return..... we go do lots of fun things and tell the big kids about it when they get home. they are always super disappointed that they missed out, but what can you do. so~ this time i took Sofia and Oliver to a fun little water fountain play area with a group of friends from church. it was a little chilly outside, but the kids had a blast.

END OF THE YEAR PARTIES

2009-05-30T03:18:00.000-07:00

somehow i managed to hit all three of my kids end of the school year parties this year! thankfully they were all on different days and i was only in charge of ONE of them! it was so much fun to be involved and spend time with each of them and all of their friends. Jakob's class is always so excited to see me and this year i did a butterfly theme party. they painted butterfly pictures and presented their butterfly reports. i also made super cute butterfly cup cakes that were a huge hit! it has been such a fun year and and now i am ready for summer!

SWEET SOFIA

2009-05-30T03:11:00.000-07:00

sofia is finally letting me put her hair up in pig tails and pony tails and other fun hair do's. it is finally long enough to do cute things with. one night after coming home from somewhere i see a large amount of hair laying on the table accompanied by a beautiful bow that used to be in sofia's hair. instead of asking daddy for help to take it out, she PULLED it out of her head, hair and all!

MORE COUSIN TIME

2009-05-30T03:07:00.000-07:00

this time we went to see Beckham at his house. i cannot post many of the pictures, because i am afraid sofia is a little too old for nudie pics on line, but needless to say.... they had a lot of fun and my sister and i had a lot of laughs!

PLAYING WITH BECKS

2009-05-30T03:01:00.000-07:00

my kids think it is the greatest thing ever when they can play with there cousins! luckily my nephew Beckham visits quite frequently. They have so much fun now that Beckham is old enough to really play with them. he is such a cute little guy!

YUMMY DESSERT

2009-05-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

This dessert is featured on a blog of a friend and i made it for my family and it was a success!!! even the kids loved it and rob, who is hard to please with sweets LOVED it! try it and tell me what you think. it is also featured here! (more pictures on this one, step by step...)

**melissa~ i think this would make an excellent addition to the cook book!

THE SPEECH

2009-05-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday went very well. my mom joined me and 4 of my kids to Shorty Howell Park. the pavilion was set up for the CMV walk and i was ready to give my speech. The weather was overcast, but luckily the rain held off until later in the afternoon. it was not too warm and there was an audience of about 40 people. i was so grateful to see a few of my friends from church show up! thanks Krista, Evan, T-man, and Mandy & Sierra! ya'll have been moved up on my friend scale! Jakob had so much fun and knew the event had to do with him. He was at my side for the whole 10 minute long speech and made it all the more entertaining. He payed close attention to what i said and reacted to my words. if i said 'bowling', he showed everybody how he bowls. it made everybody laugh which only made him want to entertain some more. if you want to read my speech, click HERE.

I have now been asked by my friend at the CDC to put my speech on youtube for others to view. i could possibly, hopefully have a "career" as a spokesperson for congenital CMV. i am very excited! i see many doors opening.

THE ARTICLE

2009-05-05T10:31:00.001-07:00

4/29/2009 12:01:00 AM

Email this article • Print this article

If you go

• What: 2009 Congenital CMV Awareness Walk-n-Rollathon

• Where: Shorty Howell Park in Duluth

• When: May 16 at

10 a.m. Registration begins at 9 a.m.

Walk to raise awareness, funds to help fight virus

By Heath Hamacher

Staff Writer

DULUTH - To help raise awareness about a virus

that disables a child every hour in the United States

, a couple of Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention researchers will host a Walk-n-Rollathon

on May 16 at Shorty Howell Park.

Congenital cyto-megalovirus - or cCMV - can cause

hearing and vision loss, mental disabilities, seizures

and even death. About 30,000 babies are born with t

he virus each year. Several factors determine whether,

or when, symptoms or disabilities arise.

"My supervisor, Michael Cannon, and I were approached

at the International Congenital CMV Conference held

at the CDC by the Brendan B. McGinnis Congenital

CMV Foundation and asked to host a walk here in

Atlanta," CDC researcher Jen Stowell said. "We work on

CMV prevention and wanted to volunteer for this event

because we think it is an important cause."

Stowell said the event is not sponsored by the CDC.

Participants will walk the 1.25-mile trail, which will bear

signs serving as billboards with information about the

virus. Before the walk begins, researchers will share

their knowledge and a Gwinnett family will give its first-

hand account of how cCMV has affected them.

Rob and Shanna Boot's 8-year-old son, Jakob, was

diagnosed with the virus two months after he was born.

He has lost all hearing, didn't sit up until he was 16 months

and couldn't walk until he was 3 years old. Shanna said they

will be on pins and needles until Jakob is about 18, by which

time they should know if he will lose his vision.

Despite all that, Shanna feels lucky.

"Intellectually we don't know exactly how he'll be. We think

he'll have the ability to work in the world and survive,"

Shanna said. "But we're fortunate. I've seen some children

who are way more severe."

Stowell said the purpose of the "rollathon" is two-fold. The

first objective is to bring attention to children affected by the

virus, many of whom are wheelchair bound.

"The second reason is for strollers," she said. "We want this

to be a family event with parents involved - especially

mothers of child-bearing age as they are the 'at risk' population."

The McGinnis cCMV Foundation is asking for donations and

pledges to help fund vaccine research, but the event itself is free.

"One of our main goals is awareness, so the bigger the turnout,

the better," Stowell said.

Boot hopes that sharing her family's story can help someone else.

"When I was pregnant with Jakob, I had no idea what it was,"

she said. "They tell you there are scary things out there ...

my biggest hope is we can help let people know what it is

and what it can do."

BEWARE OF WHAT YOUR KIDS ARE WATCHING....

2009-05-04T07:06:00.000-07:00

Jakob loves watching T.V. he thinks it is hilarious when somebody falls or gets hurt, i know it's kind of sick! he started out loving AFV (and still does), then we moved to boomerang shows like tom and jerry and flinstones..... innocent enough, right. then he found power rangers by searching the channels. i felt this was safe enough and he was getting up and play fighting and interacting with the show. unfortunately with his obsession for television, we get letters home from school that say things like; jakob hit a friend over the head with a frying pan... (tom and jerry influence), or jakob slapped a friend across the face.... (power rangers). the list of bad behavior goes on...... he is just expressing himself right. well the other day i found that jakob has truly learned the power of the remote control. he knows what buttons to push to get to the channels that he wants and has now discovered CARTOON NETWORK!! yikes. has anybody else come across this channel? it seems harmless enough, unless your child wakes up at the crack of dawn and turns it on. at the wee hours of the morning it is called 'ADULT SWIM'. i have only watched a few minutes of this show and found it to be very disturbing. if your child is a CARTOON NETWORK fan, be aware of the adult content of the early morning and late evening programming. it is extremely offensive and not appropriate for children. i can only imagine what kind of letters i would get from school if i didn't catch this when i did. BEWARE!!!

*** i did block the CN from my T.V. thanks for all the advice!!!

MAY 16TH

2009-04-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

8 and 1/2 years ago, Jakob was born with a virus called Cytomegalovirus (CMV). We were fortunate enough to be involved in a church surrounded by doctors and specialist that could answer many of our questions. for one~ what is CMV? another blessing was that the CMV specialist for the CDC was in our ward and also the head of children's surgery at Egleston. God had placed us in this ward for a reason and we were quickly finding the miracles. i have been in contact with my friend Mike (CDC specialist) over the years. He has done an article about CMV with Jakob's story, he uses Jakob in his presentations and now he has asked me to give a speech at the FIRST ANNUAL walk and roll for CMV. i am very excited. on top of that, i was interviewed for our local newspaper, telling Jakob's story and promoting the walk. it is very exciting and i am very grateful to be able to make people more aware of this devastating virus! we are very lucky that Jakob's case is not more severe. The Lord has blessed our family and i am happy to be able to give back and hopefully someday help find a CURE or immunization for CMV. come out and walk with my family!!!!

*if you would like more info, just leave a comment, call me or email me at shannal@bootfamily.com.

MORE PICS

2009-04-17T13:34:00.001-07:00

MORE PICS FROM S.B.

2009-04-17T13:27:00.001-07:00

SPRING BREAK HOME STYLE! PICTURES

2009-04-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

SPRING BREAK HOME STYLE!

2009-04-17T05:53:00.000-07:00

we had a really wonderful spring break. it started out with an AMAZING stake conference with some extremely powerful messages that i felt spoke right to my heart!

Spring break week started out with a fun family home evening at the movie theatre to see MONSTERS vs. ALIENS. the kids loved it and i can't wait until it comes out on DVD. with 5 potty trained children, i spent a lot of my movie time in the bathroom. (maybe not such a good idea to get TWO LARGE soda's!!) Rob treated us all to some home made french fries and fried chicken when we got home! YUM..... not very nutritious, but fitting for some fun family time.

i took the kids to see my Nana in Alabama. She loved seeing all the kids, but did not put up a fight when we said it was time to go. the kids LOVE seeing her and exploring her house for fun 'stuff'! the kids made the 6 hour round trip great and rob was relieved when we made it home safely.

on Thursday, the kids all had friends over for a BIG spend the night party. they all arrived around noon. We had a great time with an easter egg hunt, a movie and some yummy lasagna dinner. Nico and his friend Bill put on several little skits to entertain the younger kids. they got all dressed up with face paint and everything. all ten kids spent most of the time outside until they were soaked from the hose that nico and bill were chasing them around with, so off to the bath we went! you can't have a fun spend the night party without an enormous bubble bath! FINALLY, lights were out around 11:00 and lights were back on at 6:30! how do kids have so much energy SO EARLY!

we finally pulled rob away from work long enough to do a mini vacation up to Tennessee where rob's friend has some land with horses. it was freezing and we did not come prepared for such cold weather, but we made due and still had a great time! we went horse back riding and swimming at the hotel, had a cook out and road around the land on the ranger with the kids. Thanks Tom for a great time!!!

the weekend ended with Easter dinner with my mom and brother. We then packed up the car and made our way down to Peachtree City to visit with Lorna (Nanny) for more easter fun. the kids had a fun easter egg hunt and found each of there baskets that the easter bunny left hiding in Nanny's back yard.

we had such a great week! it is always nice to have the kids at home and spend time together and just relaxing!

THE BIRDS AND THE BEES

2009-03-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

We have been watching a lot of family movies lately and reminiscing about the kids being young. The kids have taken the liberty of put the DVD's back in the cases and replacing them with a new one. When Sofia was born, we recorded her birth.... THE WHOLE THING! we did not know the sex, so it was all very exciting. this video was quite an eye opening experience, especially for Nico. as i walked in the room and saw what they were watching, it was too late to stop it. i sat back and waited for their reaction, not knowing what to expect.... Jakob was amazed, but Nico was DEVASTATED! he was staring in disbelief.... as soon as Sofia was born, he started balling and collapsed in my arms. i took him down to Rob and we talked him through it a little. the poor guy thought babies just happened to come out of the tummy once it was too big. his closing statement was, I AM REALLY GLAD I'M NOT A GIRL!

CHANGES

2009-03-22T18:44:00.000-07:00

first family picture

after Sofia was born i felt like we were definitely done. she was the perfect baby; hardly cried or fussed, easy going, sweet..... perfect. nine months after her birth i found out that i was pregnant with Oliver. my whole world was about to change. i knew i could handle my four, i was happy, still somewhat patient and under control, but what was FIVE going to do to me? UGH!! i was in a panic.

it has definitely been more challenging having five. my patience has been tested a lot more. Oliver was not the perfect baby. he cried ALL THE TIME, i was sleep deprived and could feel myself slowly losing my mind. i can now tell you after two and a half years of having five children i have survived. i am even beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and i am grateful that i had my number 5. he is such a sweet little guy! now that we are finished having babies, which now makes me a little sad, i am beginning to see lots of changes in our house. Nico is almost 10 and in need of some privacy. he just got moved to his own bedroom where he can get some peace and quiet. i took the crib down for the final time. (it survived 10 years of abuse!) Ollie is now in a big boy bed!!! i have successfully potty trained all five children. NO MORE DIAPERS!! i can not even tell you what a relief that is!! i thought the day would never come.

while all of these changes are happening, i am coming to realize how blessed i am. my family is complete and it feels good. next year 4 out of 5 of my children will be in school. i am playing tennis again. i am starting to make plans to get my degree in sign language interpreting. it feels good to be me right now!

our most recent family picture

OUR LITTLE SWEETIE

2009-03-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

four years ago today a little bundle of joy was born to our family. With the pregnancy of Sofia, we did not find out her gender. needless to say the anticipation of her birth was very high. i so wanted a sister for annelies and rob was hoping for a boy. rob's mind was changed instantly the second he saw her. she was beautiful, tiny, and elegant. She was born almost the minute that my grandmother passed away. i am convinced that their souls met somewhere in between, because sofia reminds me so much of my g'ma cook. she is spunky, small, full of personality, hilarious, unpredictable, and full of energy. i love this girl. she brings so much laughter and brightness to our family. i am constantly laughing at something she says, even if it does require her mouth being washed out with soap! sofia loves her brothers and sisters and LOVES her friends. she is such a sweet little girl and is always trying to make everyone happy.

for her fourth birthday she wanted to have a birthday party at her favorite restaurant ~ Chick-fil-A. so lucky for me, they have parties and all i had to do was buy the lunches. Chick-fil-A did everything else from balloons and decorations and FOOD and ice cream. it was perfect for her and the kids had a great time. too bad it was raining, so the kids couldn't play outside on the playground.

on sunday we had all of the local family over. Nanny, Poppy, Aunt Rissa, Uncle Scott, Beckham, Uncle Ben, Grammy and Wyndell all came to celebrate with us. Sofia got so many great presents including a bike, helmet, princess ball, ballet clothes, garden set, book bag, barbies, tinker bell movie, coloring books, lotions and lip glosses, a hoolahoop (that nico has mastered), and our first family webkin!

*************HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET SOFIA!!!***************

OTHER NEWS

2009-03-16T12:26:00.001-07:00

A friend of ours has a wild and crazy son named Zack who my kids think is hilarious. he is almost two and has a TON of energy. he LOVES fish and all things aquatic, so his mom invited me, Sofia and Oliver to the GA aquarium. we have never gone as a family, so i thought this would be perfect to take the little ones to. Luckily my friend had a guest pass so i didn't have to pay a thing! it was so much fun. the aquarium is beautiful and we even got to watch one of the divers clean the tank and feed the fish.