The day we lost Evan.....

Yes you read that right, we lost our little Evie and it was scary! Grandma Patty was in town so we met her for lunch and headed over to the great mall so the kiddos could play. We went to the pet store first so the kids could look at the animals and then headed down to where I thought the playground was. When we got there (the playground was no longer there) Katelin says, "Where's Evan?" So we all start looking and no Evan. Patty and the kids start running back towards the pet store while Chet and I are walking peeking in each store we walk by. We were almost to the pet store when we see Patty with all 4 bigger kids, Evan included. Evan doesn't wander off from us so he either got distracted looking at the bunnies or he saw this other family in there and thought it was us. They were kind enough to keep an eye on him until we got back to him. He had tears in his eyes and he was hugging his daddy very tightly, definitely scared him! He was insistent on holding our hands the remainder of our time there. It was scary, I don't tend to panick and I was pretty confident he would be back at the pet store, had he not been there I am confident the panick would have set in.....thank God he was there!!!!! So after he was found we went to check out the train museum......

 

It is a model train museum and Evan loved it!

 

 

There is so much detail in the display!

 

In fact, all the kids enjoyed it.....it even kept Kinley mesmerized!

 

 

 They even had hobo's on the trains!

 

 

 

There was one train imparticular Evan was especially fond of....

Thomas!

 

 

He followed it around and around!

 

 The picture really don't do justice to all the details, I definitely recommend checking this our for anyone who likes trains at all, even if you don't it is still really neat! And there are no words to express how grateful I was to find my little boy safe and sound.....I cannot even fathom a different outcome and I pray nightly that I will never have to with any of my babies!!!!!!

Owen's Party.....

 

 This year we decided to have O's party at advanced laser tag!

 

He invited 8 boys and 6 of them were able to make it, they were a great group of kids too! 

 

They all got some tokens for the arcade. We couldn't find Evan and there he was sitting at a car at the arcade, we could hardly keep him away from that car (he wasn't even playing, the computer was but I think he thought he was). Finally Rylie being the great big sis that she is....hung out with him and helped him play a few things!



 

 

They did a konga line over to the gong!

 

Which Owen got to hit! 

 

Ready. Set. Go. 

 

 

It was pretty loud, can you tell by his face!

 

Then it was time for cake!

 

This is his "I'm uncomfortable because everyone's attention is on me" look! 

 

They got to play 4 games of laser tag (the big kid, aka Chet, even played in the last 2) and they had a blast. Rylie's shirt really glowed under the black lights and this pic doesn't really show it but Chet's hair was glowing green. You can't really take pics of them playing because it is dark but those red dots are some of the boys while playing! Haylie, Rylie and Abby also played!

 

It was a great day and despite the icy roads his party was still a success and everyone showed up (I was a little worried we wouldn't have a turn out because of the sleet the night before).  Owen had soooo much fun and that makes this mama happy!!!!

 

Of course his real birthday was the next day so we had to have a cake for that too, and how appropriate that we had a football ice cream cake since it was also super bowl sunday! And in case years from now we are looking back at this wondering how that game turned out well it was quite the shocker. Denver Broncos (QB the infamous Peyton Manning) were the favorites to beat the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks scored 2 points on the first drive with a safety then they got a field goal after field goal. 22-0 at halftime. Final Score 43-8 Seattle! While our house was rooting for Seattle I think we all thought Denver would win because their offense was pretty unstoppable so this was quite a shocker I think for anyone who knows anything about football!!!!!

 

 

Superbowl Sunday, Groundhogs Day And Most Importantly................

Today is the day we celebrate our very own Owen Andrew!

 

This was our sweet little boy 9 years ago today! All 8lbs 10 oz of him. He arrived at 1:29 am, I was one tired mama and he was my first successful VBAC! I love birth stories and in case your interested this is Owens.....Click Here!

 

 

 

Some fun facts about my O man:

 

He is tall and skinny (like toothpick skinny), his ribs are very visible and I worry that if the wind picks up too much that he may blow away!

 

He loves playing sports, his favorite is football!

 

He loves Xbox, we have to limit his time or he would be on there a whole lot!

 

His favorite drink is Dr. Pepper, another thing we have to limit.

 

He loves pizza, cheeseburgers from McDonalds, M&M's, Oreo cookies, Sonic blast, Cool Ranch Doritos, PB&J's, Mac n cheese,  Popsicles, Chocolate pop tarts and those would be his favorite junk foods. He does eat and like most his fruits and veggies but i'm not sure he would list them on his favorite list.

 

He likes to go out to eat Mexican food!

 

He loves the Chiefs and is getting more into watching games, though he still doesn't sit and watch an entire game.

 

He has the prettiest ice blue eyes you will ever see!

 

His favorite colors are green, blue and red.

 

He likes to wear jeans and he sleeps in his pajama pants with no shirt.

 

He fights with his siblings but he loves them, he is still very close with Rylie!

 

He will often put his shirts on backwards and\or inside out, when I point it out his usual response is....I don't care!

 

He is a smart kid but school has had his struggles for him.

 

He is the best sleeper of my kiddos! In fact he is the best listener of my kiddos too!

 

He reminds me a lot of his older brother Cheston including having a love of animals (he is not a reptile whisperer like Cheston) but he loves his mammals and they seem to love him back. Captain is his buddy!

 

Also like Cheston as a kid....Owen likes to make random weird noises and he likes to throw and catch the football in the house!

 

Away from home he is very quiet, like he doesn't hardly talk quiet.

 

He is just a great kid, I was so blessed 9 years ago when he was born and he has blessed us everyday since.

 

Owen.....you are an incredible boy and one day you will be such an incredible man, daddy and I are and always will be so proud of you and we LOVE you sooooo much.....never ever ever forget that!!!!!



Owen at his party yesterday, more on that soon!

 

 

And I would also like to wish a very very Happy Birthday to two very special girls (daughters of 2 good friends of mine) who share this day with Owen......Happy 10th Birthday to Stormy and a Happy 1st Birthday to sweet little Evelyn!!!!





If you mustache????

                                       I think I have some devilishly handsome kiddos!!!!!

Rylie looks like a French painter! 

It's Luigi and Mario!

 The second pic makes her look like Charlie Chaplin!!!!                                                                                  

Kinley wasn't too sure what was going on, she kept trying to eat it and then..... 

Daddy got ahold of her....poor baby!!!!

New Year Crafts

While the kids were still on break I bought some fun crafts for them to do! It's a little harder to find fun stuff for the boys so they got some teenage mutant ninja turtle neon pics to color! They were happy, they don't get quite as crafty as the girls!

 

 

For the girls I found a chalk board and jewelry box for them to color and decorate, they really liked those!

 

I think they turned out awesome.........

 

 

Oh and this girl.....

 

she loves to color on anything and everything.....

 

which is why markers have to be closely monitored at our house :)

 

 

A little bit of a warm up......

 

we got into the low 50's today which is a nice change from the "polar vortex" as the meteorologist call it that we have had and it looks like it is on it's way back. Should be 0 when we wake up tomorrow with a high of 16 degrees....YAY!!!!

 

"Hey Captain....I found your toy!!!!"

 

"Oh Thanks Kinley but I have my log" 

 

Evan found the Big dump truck!

 

And Kinley found the little truck, this truck has been around since Owen was a baby which is why it is an outdoor toy....broken, dirty and so much fun for the littles!!!! 

 

These 3 were all over the place playing tag and just enjoying the outdoors. And no it wasn't warm enough for a tank top and shorts but she insisted so I let her, take note that she does have her warm fuzzy boots on!!!!! 

 

Evan finally got to ride outside on his "airplane bike the santa got me" as he says! 

 

Which made Owen want to get his bike out and.....

 

Katelin wanted her bike out, I think it's time for her to get a bigger bike! 

 

This little girl really wanted to play on the big kids bikes and when we wouldn't let her she ever so gently through herself down on the driveway and threw a fit then..... 

 

big sis rescued her, whenever she is mad at mama and daddy....her sissy always makes her happy! 

 

 

Then the kids wanted me to sit on the trampoline with them, it was a little chilly so.....

 

they got blankets and pillows! 

 

And this goofball of mine found a treasure in the shop.....

 

some birdhouse, we have no idea where it came from so she...... 

 

hung it on a tree!!!! 

 

 

It was nice to be outside for a bit and now it is windy, cold and even a few flurries so not only am I looking forward to meeting baby boy this spring but also to some nice weather!!!!

 

2014 So far.............

has been fairly uneventful! Which is how I like it! It's been busy which is why my blog has been neglected but i'm hoping to get some post out soon.

I have also made a decision....I am not going to do the photo challenge this year!!!! Not that I don't take enough pictures because boy do I but it is just time consuming trying to get them all together for the week and get a post out each week. I think instead at the end of each month I will just post all my favorite pics from the month that haven't been included in any post already!!!! That will give me more time to focus on post that just capture some of the little moments in our life:) Those sometimes end up being my favorite ones to look back at!!!!

I will also, of course, be posting updates on my pregnancy now that I am in the second half and the fun is beginning and then after April I will having my darling baby boy to dote on and post all his little milestones!

I plan on doing a lot of blogging, shortly after baby boy arrives the kids will be out of school and I will have all summer with my 6 little loves.....it should be fun and you can bet there will be lots and lots of pictures! Today has been a lazy day at home getting a few things done and taking care of my very sick O....he has a fever, watery eyes, headache, stomachache and mild sore throat, he has only left the couch twice to go to the bathroom and has been sleeping on and off. Not sure I have ever seen him look so sick, hoping he wakes up tomorrow feeling better...it's making this mama feel really sad for him:(

I promise my next post will include pics of my beauties after all i'm sure that is what anyone who reads this looks forward too!!!!!!!