football fans

Who knew that flag football drew so many fans from so far away?

Love that they all take time to some and support the boys when they can!

Ethan's turn

So, Elliott had his time at Grandma and Grandpa's earlier this summer, and now it was Ethan's turn.

He ran trains with Ryan and Eli and Ben.

He helped Grandpa trim trees and haul the branches to the burn pile.

I'm sure he was upset that he had to drive the golf cart :)

And he went to the children's museum in Evansville with Grandma, Erin and his cousins.

He ended the week with the Cisne Reunion (which is a different post).

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa - he had a great time with you!

time at grandma and grandpa's

Grandma and Grandpa like to have each of the boys over to their house for a few days on their own each summer.

This was Elliott's turn.

Picking blackberries with Eli.

Feeding cheese to Taco.

I think that was her favorite snack.

She used to sit on the front piece of the lawn mower waiting for the driver to feed her cheese.

This is the last picture we have of Taco.

She passed away just a few days after Elliott was there.

We miss you, Taco!

Hanging out on the patio.

Holding his newest cousin, Gideon.

Thanks for the fun time, Grandma and Grandpa!!

Holiday World

My parents took the boys to Holiday World a few weeks ago.

They had a blast!

Aunt Meemer came too, but not in any of the pictures.  Hmmmmm...

Thanks for taking them Grandpa and Grandma!!

stingrays

More time with Grandma and Grandpa.

This time at the Zoo.

We were lucky this time to be there during the stingray feeding.

{Helping the boys get the food just right}

{Getting more instruction from the stingray experts}

{Ready to feed them}

{By the look on Ethan's face, I believe he was

successful.  The stingrays suck the food up from between

the kids' fingers, so it apparently feels really weird

when the rays eat.  I say apparently, cause I'm 

always chicken to do it myself.  More of

a spectator}

mini golf and baseball

My parents were here for a few days last week to watch the boys play baseball.

It was in the upper 90s everyday, but we managed to get some

fun activities in.

One of those was mini golf.

|{We tried to win the free game at the end}

{No luck either time}

At least the baseball games were in the evenings, and it cooled off

quite a bit so that we could enjoy those without sweating to death.

Christmas at Grandma's & Grandpa's

It's always fun when we're all able to get together with my parents, sisters, brother-in-law and nephews.  Especially for Christmas.  And we were all even under one roof for over 24 hours which meant that we could stay up really late playing board games, talking, laughing.  It was fun.  Reminded me much of New Years Eves when we were all still at home.  Those times are pretty rare now, so we make the best of them when we do get them.

Stratego was a new game for me - not for the boys of the house, though :)  I guess it was just foreign to those of us who grew up in a house full of girls.

Trivial Pursuit is a must for Erin and Brian - the rest of us try not to upstage them with our trivia knowledge......okay, the rest of us kind of stink at trivia, but we enjoy playing.  But only to 3 or 4 pie pieces.  6 is way to long of a game, don't you think?

All of the boys were excited about their presents the next morning.  It was fun to watch their faces as they opened each one.

Amber always chooses the perfect gift for Brian.  This year it was pants expanders for those times when you eat too much or your suit pants from high school don't fit anymore.  They are just so thoughtful with each other.

They assure me they will not shoot their eyes out.

 

Both of my sisters required a nap that afternoon.  Maybe I should have joined them :)

Of course a game of Monopoly.  If Elliott is around, there will be a game of Monopoly played before the weekend is over.

And ending the afternoon with a little iPad time.

thankful 13

Thankful 13 - For wide open spaces.  We love going over to Illinois.  Obviously we love going over there to see our family, but we also love it because there's a sense of peacefulness there for me.  There is quiet there.  There are wide open spaces for all of us - especially for the boys who need that.  Their new favorite activity over there is shooting the BB gun.  They were very excited about this - Mom even saved some more cans for them to shoot at.  And Elliott decided to shoot at some nests (empty) in the tree.  Made me nervous, but Dad assured me it was fine.  It was, and they had a great time!

thankful 11

Thankful 11 - This was Veteran's Day.  Thankful for anyone who has ever served in the military in any capacity.  Two Vveterans who are very close to our hearts are Brian's dad and my dad.  We were excited that my dad was able to come over for the Veteran's Day program at the boys' school.  Wish that Brian's dad could have been here, also, but we honored him with a poster and a picture in the slide show, also.

grandma and grandpa's house

A few weeks ago the boys spent the week at Grandma's and Grandpa's house.  They look forward to this every summer.  Trees to climb.  A dog to play with.  Acres of yard to play in.  Being spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa.

I loved going to my Grandma's house.  I don't know how many days and nights I spent there.  Too many to count.  Sometimes I would be there with my sisters.  Sometimes some of our cousins were there too.  We got to ride tractors with Grandpa.  Feed animals.  Go for walks.  Follow the path in the woods (which was always somewhat scary to me).  Play in the barn.  Always had meat and potatoes for dinner.  I can still smell dinner cooking.  Watched Jeopardy with Grandpa.  Sat outside under this huge oak tree shucking corn.  Learned to crochet in her living room.  Grandma let us pour milk from the creamer into our cereal because we thought that was so cool.  I know our kids are going to have fond memories just like I do.

Grandma and Grandpa with all of their grandchildren 1984

(To my sisters and cousins - sorry about the incredibly unflattering picture

of all of us - it was the only one I could find)

Elliott was graduated to driving the golf cart on his own this year - oh happy day!

Getting ready for fireworks.  There is plenty of land so they can shoot them off with no fear of hitting anyone else's house (which is what I fear here at my house every 4th of July)

He truly used to fit into this Gator.  Now look at his long 1st grader legs.

They spent a couple of days over at Holiday World (where they will not let you take pictures, which I think is crazy) and Evansville.  Got to see this cool military ship docked in Evansville.

Celebrating Eli's 3rd birthday.  Happy Birthday big guy!!!

Relaxing on Grandma Hosselton's chair.

Cardinals Game

Last Sunday the boys and I got to go to the Cardinals game with my parents and my sister, Erin, and her family.

 This is my cousin, Bryce, who is the reason we went to the game that particular day.  He was chosen to sing the national anthem to open the game!!  He did such an awesome job.  I wish everyone could have heard him.  Great job, Bryce!

 Sharing nachos

 and more nachos

 Ben didn't enjoy the game as much as everyone else :)

Grandma and Grandpa with the grandkids