Kyle's Kindergarten Program

Kyle in the orange shirt

The school year is coming to an end and Kyle is getting ready to go into first grade. We were invited to go to the Kindergarten program where the kids sang songs for their parents. Kyle did such a great job and the songs were so cute! I can't believe he will be in first grade!

Branson, MO

Down at the Branson Landing Water Show

Water Show

Inside Bass Pro Shop

Showboat Branson Belle

Showboat Stage
We sat at the very top of the 4th table from the stage

One of Janette's favorite shows

Out on the boats 3rd deck

One of the bathrooms on the boat

Todd Oliver & Irwin the talking dog

Miniature Golfing at Pirates Cove

In front of the waterfall

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

You might be a redneck if?

No this is not a hotel...it is a church

We spent our 10th Anniversary down in Branson, MO. We left Thursday morning and came back Sunday afternoon.

Thursday we went down to Branson Landing an outdoor mall. Joe's favorite shop at the mall was the Bass Pro Shop. Janette's was every other shop. While at the mall we watched a water/fire show which was pretty neat.

Friday we went to an Outlet Mall, checked out some other stores, and went on the Showboat Branson Belle. The Showboat was so much fun and we had great seats. We started out with dinner while they played music and sang songs. After dinner we were able to go outside on the decks and enjoy our cruise around the lake. Then we went back in for more shows. 2 guys and 2 girls sang 29 broadway/movie songs in 10 min's while doing costume changes. It was really good. Then Todd Oliver & Irwin (the talking dog) came out. They have been on Leno, Today Show & others. We haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Go to YouTube and look them up.

Saturday we went back to Branson Landing and checked out more shops around the area, went miniature golfing, and ended the day at Dolly Pardon's Dixie Stampede. The boys were jealous of us going to a Pirate Miniature Golfing without them. We took pictures for them though. Then we went to the Dixie Stampede. It was also a dinner and a show. Sorry no pictures, because cameras were not allowed. YouTube it if you want to see what it is like though. Awesome! We sat around an indoor arena . Our side was the North (like the Civil War) and the other side was the South. We cheered for out team and booed the other team. When we couldn't clap, because we ate our dinner with our hands, we kicked the boards in front of us. We were served soup, whole Cornish hen, corn on the cob, ham, biscuit, half a potato, and an apple turnover. Dinner was very good and the show was great. The boys were also jealous that we got to eat with our hands.

Sunday we packed up and had a nice drive home wishing it could have lasted longer.

The "you might be a redneck if" picture is a minivan pulling into a Hilton with a boat on the back. I thought it was funny. Not what I would expect to see at a Hilton.

We did learn a few things while we were down there. We learned that we still love each other and have to do something like this again before another 10 years pass by. We had so much fun and would recommend Branson. It is family oriented meaning the shows are clean and it is not just for old people. We were the youngest couple on Thursday though by 30 years, but as we got closer to the weekend more families started showing up. We also learned about the bible belt. They take their churches very serious. They were huge and fancy as you can see from the picture.

10 Years

Today we are celebrating our 10th anniversary, 10 years, we are that old that we are celebrating a mile marker anniversary! I have spent a third of my life married to Joe, it will take a couple more years for Joe to say that, but we will make that too.

We were married May 13, 2000 we honeymooned both in Park City, UT and the Oregon Coast.

Our first anniversary we went to his brother wedding for our anniversary with Joe's Dad riding in the back of our car.

Our second anniversary we celebrated with our 6th month old baby boy Bradley I also graduated from college a month later. Joe and walked together in graduation and Joe finished the following winter.

Our third anniversary we celebrated at Mt. Rushmore on our way to Omaha while Joe looked for a job. Joe found a job in June of that year with the same employer he is employed with now. We found out that we were pregnant with Kyle right before our 3rd anniversary.

Our fourth anniversary we celebrated with our 2 1/2 year old and 5 month old in our first home and our new home. They went to bed early and we had a nice dinner. Joe started his MBA this year.

Our fifth anniversary we celebrated by getting a hotel for the night in downtown Omaha. We walked around the old market and had a wonderful time just the two of us.

Our sixth anniversary we celebrated with our 2 boys with the third coming in August. I made dinner and we watched a movie.

Our seventh anniversary I surprised Joe with a trip to Kansas City to watch the Seattle Mariners take on the Kansas City Royals for baseball. We had fun at the baseball game and walked around an outdoor mall for a bit before returning home.

Our eighth anniversary we went to Olive Garden for dinner. We were expecting our fourth boy in beginning of July and I felt like I was ready to bust already. Joe finished his MBA in February of that year, shortly before our ninth anniversary.

Our ninth anniversary we learned we could no longer play the put the kids to bed early and have a romantic dinner, so we sat down in the dining room and had dinner with our kids. They loved it! After they went to bed we put a movie in and both fell asleep on the couch. We had just sold our first home and moved into our second home. We got a puppy a week after our anniversary.

Our tenth anniversary is today we will be eating steak with our boys tonight, they are super excited! Next week however we are taking a 4 day 3 night trip down to Branson, MO. We are really excited, we are looking forward to being able to spend some time just the two of us. My parents will be watching the 4 boys.

Kyle's Field Trip

Kyle in front of the lions

Friends from Class

Friends from class

They saw the lemurs and decided to take a picture like them

They are a lemur family too!

Kyle, Derek, and Jack

Kyle in Desert Dome

Here we go!

Look at that lion, very scary!

Kyle took this picture of his friends Joey, Hayden, and himself on the bus.

Today we went on a field trip to the zoo with Kyle's Kindergarten class. Kyle was super excited because he got to ride the bus. It ended up that only four kids in his class didn't have a parent that was there so I was really in charge of Kyle. We had a lot of fun walking around with his friends Derek and Jack for the whole day. We saw a lot of his other little friends from Mrs. Hoods class through out the day, including Joey and Hayden. On the way home some of the Mom's were saying how tired their kids would be after such a long day of walking at the zoo, some of the kids even fell asleep on the way home. All I could think is that this had done little to wear on Kyle's energy level but more to wear on mine. When he got home from school he went straight outside and jumped on the tramploline, had some dinner and then was to soccer practice. He showed no sign of being tired at all!

Brad's Soccer Season

We are amazed at the skill level difference there is when they start to play 2nd grade soccer. It has become exciting to watch at Bradley's level, where before it was just fun to watch, as it is with our other boys right now. Brad is very good on offense and has learned to really attack the ball this season.

Kyle Soccer Season

Kyle has been having a lot of fun playing soccer this season. He is definately Kyle still and does silly things during the game, but he is learning a lot and most importantly having fun! He scored the first goal for the entire season for YMCA, (they had the first game).

William Soccer Season

How soccer use to be for William

William playing on his own.

William going after the ball

William is playing his first season of Soccer. Until last Saturday we were really questioning our decision to do it. He would only play if Mom or Dad were holding his hand and running on the field with him. Last Saturday we told him every time you go out and play by yourself you can have a piece of bubble gum that Mom brought. He had so much fun! We were so happy that he finally discovered that he can have fun and enjoy himself and how much fun it is to have everyone cheer you on the sideline. Below is a little thing William started doing. He would look over and salute us on the sidelines.

Free Comic Book Day

Who is this guy? (Clue in last two pictures)

Boys with Batman

Boys with Clone Trooper

Boys with Bounty Hunter & Trooper

Boys with Storm Troopers

Boys with Darth Maul

Boys with Snake Eyes

Free Comic Book Day is the first Saturday of May. The boys look forward to it each year. Krypton Comics throws a big party each year. They have people dress up as you can see from the pictures, they get artists to draw pictures, they get an actor to come and sign autographs and of course they give out free comics. Last year they had the guy that played the original Hulk. This year they had Ray Park, who is in the first picture. He played Darth Maul & Snake Eyes in the movies.