The Many Faces Of Lukey J

I LOVE THIS BOY!!!

The Family That Exercises Together...

I couldn't resist sharing this! Jon, Ben and Abby were doing a Biggest Loser workout video and Luke joined in. It was the cutest thing ever!! (Notice Luke had to take off his shirt as he was working up quite a sweat!)

A Beautiful Spring Day

We had some gorgeous weather while Ben and Abby were on spring break! It was so nice to spend some time outside!

Pops!

A while back I bought a deal on livingsocial.com for Pops! We went to Pops last May and loved it, so I couldn't pass up the deal! I thought it would be a great place to go over spring break. We opted for Tuesday because it is $2 Burger Day! ANY burger on the menu was only $2! Amazing!
It was a gorgeous day for a drive on Route 66! I am SO happy to see the trees in bloom!
I just thought this was cool artwork on the corner in a small town on Route 66.
It was hilarious watching Ben try to open his bottle of pop! He finally ended up going inside to have it opened with a bottle opener!
We had to wait an hour to be seated, so Abby, Ben and Jon started out with their first drinks. Abby: Stewart's Orange Cream Soda
Ben: Leninade (Russian lemonade?)
Jon: Faygo Original Redpop
Aren't we cute?! :)
While we were waiting outside we saw this B-2 fly over. (I think that's what Jon said it was.)
This was truly YUM!
I was so happy that it was such a gorgeous day outside since we had to wait so long for a table! It made the wait seem like nothing since we could play outside!
Boys will be boys, no matter what their age!
My happy girl!
Last time we were at Pops Ben couldn't find Vernor's. (He has come to love it as much as Jon and I do!) He was thrilled to find it this time!
I opted for a traditional fountain Diet Coke! It doesn't get any better than that!

We had a fun time being together as a family on a gorgeous spring break day! If you are ever in the area and are looking for something fun to do, check out Pops! We love it!

Girls Weekend in Springfield

I was SO excited when my BFF, Karen, called and told me that her daughter had a soccer tournament in Springfield, Missouri! Why was I excited? Well, Springfield is halfway between the two of us and we hadn't seen each other since last July. Her husband was getting a room for her and their girls for the weekend with his points (that he had earned from his travels) and I was invited to come stay with them for the weekend! YAY!!!
Karen's birthday is on the 19th, so I decided that a week early is good enough for presents! Nothing beats personal delivery! I think she loved her presents!
I just LOVE this girl! She's the best!
Abby and Madison (Karen's daughter) went to school together when we all lived in Kansas. They hadn't seen each other in almost three years! They had fun getting together again!
Erika (Karen's youngest), Madison and Abby =]
Me and sweet, sweet Erika! Before Karen moved to Oregon and I moved to Oklahoma, we spent a lot of time together! I mean A LOT of time! The big kids were at school, so the three of us (me, Karen and Erika) would hang out almost everyday! In the last three years Erika has grown up a ton, but she is still one super sweet girl!!
Don't we look happy?! We are! I am so happy I got to spend the weekend with Karen and the girls! I am so happy that they moved back to Missouri from Oregon! Even though I don't get to see her as often as I would like, it is good to know that I can see her more than when she was SO far away!

Thank you, Karen, for a super fun weekend! I love ya!

Spring Planting

Two years ago we built a raised garden in our backyard to grow some veggies during the summer. The veggies didn't turn out so well, bur form what I heard from others, theirs didn't go so well that year either. We opted not to do it at all last year. This year, we're back at it! For one, we just really want to do it. Two, the price of veggies is ridiculous!

This year we are going to try tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, serrano peppers, lettuce and possibly some cucumbers. We'll see how it goes.
Ready...
Set...
GROW!

Ben's Band Concert

In preparation for band contest, Ben's band performed their music for the parents. I always love hearing Ben's band and how they have progressed. Considering how many kids were missing at the concert, I was totally impressed!

Korean Folk Rhapsody

Valley Vista March

Christmas In February

Who doesn't love when a package is delivered?
My kids do!They want to dive right in!
Even if it is Christmas presents and a late birthday present! These kids welcome presents ANY day of the year!
Ben was thrilled with a new Michigan shirt and jersey!
Abby was excited about her new BopIt game!
Luke was over the moon over his new race car set!

THANK YOU UNCLE BRIAN AND HALEY FOR THE GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFTS!!! YOU MADE THREE KIDS VERY HAPPY!!

It Never Fails...

It happens almost every time Jon goes out of town. Someone gets sick. When Jon told me that he was going to Montreal for work, I remember one of my first thoughts being, "Who's going to be sick this time?"
It's usually this one. And it was again. Doesn't he look terrible? My poor baby!
He tried to look happy for a minute. Poor little guy. As terrible as he looked, he sounded even worse. He had a terrible sounding cough! I took him to the doctor and found out that he had croup. Lovely!
This is the best part of having a sick little one. I LOVE all of the snuggling that we get to do!
Thankfully the doctor prescribed some medicine that seemed to work pretty quick. The cough didn't last too terribly long.
Of course as soon as Daddy got home everything was great!