October 15, 2013

Well He Made It

 

 

He as in WE all made it through our first season of Pee Wee Football.  It was a BIG commitment & a lot of hard work, but Hank made it through the season like a champ.  Sure, there were days that he wasn't feeling the 1.5-2 hour practice but he pushed through it and did really well. 

 

 

 

 

He played Center & Safety most of the year & even though I know those aren't really the positions that he's meant to play I know that he has to earn the spots that he desires & will do well at once he gets there.  With his speed and build, I know he would do well at Running Back & Wide Receiver which are the positions that he wants to play.  At the beginning of the season, the focus just wasn't there, so he got moved from Running Back to Center which is fine his first year.  He got the game a little more each week, and had a few really good Defensive games. 

 

 

He had a few tournament games which were held pretty late at night for a second grader & he got to wear pink to benefit Breast Cancer for the month of October.  His last game of the season, which was this past Sunday he ran the ball for the first time!  He recovered a fumble and ran it for about 40 yards!  I was so happy for him I could hardly stand it.  I hope to see a lot more of that kind of playing from him next season, because I know he'll be back and I know he could be a great Receiver & Running Back!!

 

Hank, we are so proud of the way you handled yourself all season.  We weren't sure how you'd take all of the hits & physical beat downs that you can get from Football.  Honestly, I wasn't sure if I could handle it either, but we both did OK :)  So far, you love the game and we're so happy that you're so active & enjoy sports.  You're a very gifted, athletic kiddo and I can't wait to see you play again next year!!

 



October 9, 2013

Making Brownies W/ the Birthday Boy

September 18, 2013

 

We celebrated Wyatt's Birthday at Chuck E Cheese's the weekend before his actual Birthday so on his actual birthday, we let him open his gifts from us.  After dinner, I scooped my 5 year old up & we got to work in the kitchen baking the famous Ghiradelli Brownies that we brought back from Chicago!  We've had these Brownies once before & they are OH SO GOOD!

 

 You get to lick the spoon when it's your Birthday!

 

Wyatt's quite the little baker.  He snuck & cracked the egg & put it in the bowl when I wasn't looking and did it w/out getting any of the shell in the bowl.  Pretty impressed Momma right here!





 

Happy, Happy Birthday to my youngest son. 

The light of my life and my reason for living.

I love you & I hope your day & the brownies were GREAT!

 



October 2, 2013

Our Last Days of Summer

Spent as many days at the pool that we could.



 

 

 Hank got an awesome belated B-day present from his friend.

 

 And we watched the WEBN fireworks!

 

Summer, it's been good.  I really hate to see you go!

 

 

September 26, 2013

Happy 5th Birthday, Buddy

 

Let me just say that I cannot believe that you are 5 years old!  I know this is cliché', but you will ALWAYS be my baby.  Yes, I still carry you around on my hip and let you get away with things that your brother & sisters never got away with, but I don't feel bad about it.  You are still the sweetest boy I know and your hugs still melt my heart and always will. 

 

We had your "Pre Party" at Chuck E Cheese's with family & Ethan and Carys also came!  You had a great time & were a little of unsure of Chuck E at first.  You warmed up to him though and gave him a few high fives.  Since you were the Birthday Star, you got to go into the Ticket Blaster where they blow tickets around & you get to keep the ones that you catch.  You had a little trouble in there at first, so they let me go in there with you & we had a blast and caught lots of tickets!! 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone had fun at your party & Mama always loves celebrating her Birthday with you!  On your actual Birthday, you & I baked Ghirardelli Brownies & you opened your gifts from us.  I'll post more about that soon!  I hope 5 is a great year for you.  I love you to the moon & back!

 

XOXO,

Mom



September 25, 2013

Ohio Farmers Festival

 

A few weekends ago, Sky, Hank, Wyatt & I slipped off to the River to check out the Ohio Farmers Festival in Ripley & to visit with my parents.  It was a day full of warm weather, festival food, carnival games and some pretty bad ass face painting!  There was live music, and the kids had some quality time down by the River with their Papa!     

 

 

 

 

The best part of the day was when Hank got on the Mechanical Bull!  I'm still in shock that he rode it.  This is the same child who will not ride any type of roller coaster, (minus Disney) or do anything crazy that's out of his control.  To say I was proud was an under statement!  And the fact that he rode it twice & loved every minute of it makes it even better!

 



 

Can I get a Yee-haw??!!

 

 



September 13, 2013

Oh, Sweet Chicago

 

We took a short Road Trip to Chicago last weekend for opening weekend of NFL Football and we had an absolute blast!  It's amazing what a weekend getaway can do for your marriage!  We both got off a little early of Friday & hit the road. 

 

 

We made quite a few stops on the drive and arrived at our Hotel at about 8PM.  We stayed at The Waldorf Astoria, which is one of the best Hotels in the World & the Suite that they upgraded us to was amazing.  This soaking tub is only one of the luxuries in the room!  After settling into our room, we headed out for dinner.  We dined at Lou Malnatis which is known to have the best Chicago Style Pizza.  It did not disappoint.  I had a few Voodoo Lou Cocktails w/ dinner which was a Pear Infused Vodka w/ Vanilla Stolli & Sprite & it was rather good.  After dinner, we walked back to the room & crashed like old folk do ;)

 

 

Saturday morning, we ordered room service and laid around until I swear noon.  Who gets to do that anymore?  I know we usually don't & we took full advantage!  Breakfast was amazing.  The granola in the parfait was outstanding & like nothing I'd ever had before.  The potatoes were baked, and then flattened & fried so they had this soft filling with a crisp outside which was phenomenal.  So, so good & worth every penny of the $85.00 it cost us! 

 

 

Saturday afternoon, we took a cab to Roscoe Village for the Guinness Oyster Fest.  Oysters, Oysters & more Oysters is what we had & we didn't have a bad bite to eat.  We also had a few lamb tacos & a cheese plate which were also pretty tasty!  I'm usually not a fan of raw oysters, I'd tried them a few times & never really liked them.  Creag & the server talked me in to trying them, and I'm glad they did because they were so fresh & so good!  The Bienville, I can never complain about, either!

 







 

 

After the Oyster Fest, we cabbed it back Downtown.  We stopped in a few shops, along with Garrett's Popcorn, where we finally tried the Chicago Mix; Caramel & Cheese Popcorn!  That night, we went to our favorite Italian Steak House, in Chicago, Harry Caray's!  

 

 

Sunday was game day!  We got up pretty early & packed up and then went to a little spot for Breakfast.  We talked about how great it was to finally get away for a weekend and how we couldn't believe that the last time we traveled together was in April when we went to Hawaii!  We discussed where we'd go next and decided to not wait that long again.  After breakfast, we trekked it all the way to Soldier Field by foot!!  That was a long walk and surprisingly, a very calm one.  The fans were very laid back compared to Cincy.  They only let out their emotions during the game, which was a change.

 

 

The Stadium was nice, and it was a pretty intense game.  I think we could've won that game, but our coaches blew it for us by mismanaging our time-outs.  They also had the best stadium food.  We ordered a burger that was almost gourmet.  So, so good!  All in all it was a great trip and we can't wait to see you again, Chicago!