Happy Birthday, Reebs

In honor of our collages we used to make cutting out photos & magazine clippings... I present an electronic one to you on your Birthday. {I think the PW Spirit Day photo put me in that mood}

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEST OLDER SISTER EVER!

"You're unbelievable". - EMF

Sharp!

Here is Brett this morning... the 1st Graders go to Mass with the rest of the school on Wednesdays!

We almost had an emergency... NO PANTS. I was kicking myself because I was at 2 stores yesterday & almost bought some navy blue uniform pants, but didn't. (waiting for a sale) His pants from last year got cut off & hemmed into shorts when all the knees ripped out! Luckily, I remembered he did have a couple pair of corduroys. August doesn't exactly scream for cords, but it's actually been nice lately. So cords it was. And I'll be getting those uniform pants sooner, than later... sale or no sale.

Anyway, doesn't he look so sharp? I know the shirt should probably be tucked in... but I knew when he went potty it'd come out anyway. So I let it go. He is only a 1st grader after all!

Lewis Family 6 month Anniversary!

Today is the 6 month anniversary of Roman becoming the son of my sister Becky & her husband Jason. I can not believe it's been 1/2 a year already. Seems like yesterday that we all had our eyes glued on the door at the airport, waiting to see our nephew, cousin & grandson stepping off the plane here in Kansas City. As soon as we laid eyes on him we all wanted to snatch him up, squeeze him, kiss him ... but we couldn't. First of all - he had no idea who we were.

The poor guy was so bewildered, exhausted & lost. I tried to make eye contact, tried to get a smile, tried to get anything... and he just was too bewildered, exhausted & lost. He just rocked back & forth on his 2 feet, searching our faces, nervous about what was happening. It made me so sad for him & like most rough patches, I just wished I could hit "fast-forward". I knew life was going to be so good for him - eventually. But I knew it was going to be tough at first.

It was so neat seeing Becky & Jason, the new parents, at the airport as "4-day experts". Although Roman was weirded out by the rest of us, he knew his parents were his safe-haven. And that made me smile & tear up all at the same time. There was already a bond, a trust & security established.

Words can't describe how much I love this kid. I will always have such admiration for this little tyke's resilience. He is the smartest, sweetest, cutest, most energetic kid. Now when he sees us, he energetically struts (and he is a strutter) toward us with a big bright smile on his face.

Roman, we're so glad you're here... and to his Mommy & Daddy, I just want to say to give yourselves a pat on the back. Parenting is sometimes a thankless job... and you've had a lot on your plate these last 6 months w/ a 22-28 month old 100% BOY who had to learn a new language & explore his entire new world. It'll be nice to look back on these past 6 months & think "well - it can't get any harder than that!" :) You survived the toughest part of the journey... the past 6 months & even before.

WE LOVE YOU LEWIS FAMILY! :) xoxoxoxoxox

Friday Night at the "K"

(Kaufmann Stadium) Friday night we went to our 1st Royals Game as a FAMILY! And we went with our neighbors! We had a GREAT TIME. We tail-gated in the parking lot, getting some Popeyes to-go. [Mouth is watering just thinking of a buttermilk biscuit with honey... is there anything better? Maybe - but not at the moment] Anyway, our kids had a great time clowning around in the parking lot, throwing ice, all-you-can-eat chips (Kyle made that rule) & just being kids. We then went in to enjoy the game & ate more snacks. :) The weather was perfect, especially after the sun went down. We had a great time, but had to leave in the 8th inning... poor Libby was just too tired. And the stadium lights were bothering her! [she got her lips out to show her disapproval!]

P.S. Brett was there!!! Just no pics... he was too afraid of fireworks at the beginning, so he was by himself glued to his chair. :) He finally loosened up & enjoyed himself.

COME SHOP MY TAG SALE!

Cuteness galore. Although, I'm pretty biased. :)

Sorry ... Tag Sale pages & all links have been taken down. All good things must come to an end! But you can still find me on my cREaTe site {here} & my soon-to-be Etsy page {here}.

1st Grade & Pre-K

The boys' 1st day back went great! Here are some photos of the boys before they started their school day, one of the front of school & a couple of the brick walk between the church & school. Kyle's parents bought a brick & had it engraved with the year the 3 boys graduated from 8th grade @ St.Elizabeth's. :) So neat!

After school, I took the kids to the Classic Cookie where we enjoyed a sweet little treat! (Libby's snickerdoodle was divine... lucky for me she was more into the bottled H2O than she was her cookie)

Bye Bye Summer

Today was the last day of summer. We kicked it off with haircuts for B & D (Libby's is just a lost cause I'm afraid) ... with their favorite barber, me. :) These were the best haircuts I'd ever done! Afterwards, all 3 got popsicles, played with the splash rocket, then we all had a picnic lunch outside. (The weather has been AMAZING for August) We then went up to school to see their classrooms & so Davis could meet his teacher!

Brett & Davis head back to school tomorrow at 8:00am sharp. I'm going to miss my little buddies. This has been one fun fun summer.

LEWau

My sister (Becky) & Jason had their annual LEWau party... and this year it was a Jimmy Buffett theme. It was soooo fun. It was our last stop for the day... 3rd party, 3rd outfit change. No really. (check out the previous 2 posts - same day, different outfits) I think that's a record for us. It has to be.


Becky & Jason bought this inflatable water slide which was a HIT. They even hired 2 babysitters to help monitor it which worked out great. My kids LOVED IT. Brett had this hilarious technique he developed where he'd jump high in the air, bouncing on his rear before going down. It was so funny!


Libby got her dress wet after climbing in the baby pool with it on (she was wearing it as a swim suit cover up)... and so after she got out, Kyle came up with this hot little ensemble.


No, you won't find this outfit at Gymboree! It's a Daddy-original. It's a size 4 boys white button down, cuffed & knotted showing off that 17 month old midriff. :) {But Libby loved it...because she likes to swirl her belly button when she gets tired, so she had easy access.}

Later in the evening, we made all the kids go down to the basement since Roman had already been put to bed. Well... what we forgot was that it was where all the candy & desserts were.


{You Have GOT to click on the above picture to see an enlarged view} Talk about kids in the candy store. HOLY MOLEY those kids were in heaven. I went down to just check on things & I caught this free-for-all going on... Davis included. (Brett's peering in from the outside!) I love the boy w/ the Twizzler! Anyway, it was GREAT FUN... thanks Lewis Family!

Karah & Doug say "I do".

Yesterday we had the honor of witnessing Karah & Doug exchange their vows & become Mr. & Mrs. Pope at last. It was beautiful. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. And you can see what I gave to them as their wedding gift on my cREaTe blog {click here}.

T-Ball Party!

1 party down, 2 to go - in a 6 hour time period. This morning we had Brett & Davis's end-of-season T-Ball Party! It was a fantastic time & the weather was just BEAUTIFUL. There were some fun surprises such as "Slugger" the KC Royals' mascot, trophies (always a hit!) & an icecream truck with free icecream. It was so fun! Slugger was NOT happy Brett was wearing a Texas Rangers hat (his old t-ball team in TX!) so Slugger tried to hide it... it was pretty cute. Libby was NOT a fan of Slugger... I actually even made the mental note when Slugger arrived "Wow - no criers! Usually there's a kid who freaks out!" 30 seconds later it was Libby! :) So unlike Brett & Davis who just get so starstruck by anyone in a costume. Anyway... it was super fun. Off to our next soirees! :)

"strAWESOME"

The box calls them strAWESOME & I have to agree. I had all 3 kids at the grocery store on Monday & let them each pick out a snack. Davis chose these after seeing the commercial on TV. Sounded gross... but that was his choice. The next day, he begged me to open them up. I got him a big mug of cold milk & gave him 2 of these cereal straws... it was a bust. He "changed his mind". He was turned off by the taste & was bothered the milk didn't taste like chocolate (after getting sipped through a chocolate tunnel). I knew Brett wouldn't eat them... so I wondered what I was going to do with 22 more Cocoa Krispies Cereal Straws. I took a bite... and my heart skipped a beat. These things are indeed strAWESOME. Go out & get yourself a box. No, not to use as straws... but to eat in place of these:

Dare I saw they taste even BETTER than Pepperidge Farm's Creme Filled Pirouette's? Yes. And here's how it all shakes out...

Pepperidge Farm Pirouettes
Serving size: 2
Dietary Fiber: 0 gram
Calories: 120
Fat: 5 grams
$6 / 30? (don't quote me on this)

Cocoa Krispies Cereal Straws
Serving size: 3
Dietary Fiber: less than 1 gram
Calories: 140
Fat: 3.5 grams
*Added bonus: "good source of 7 vitamins!"
$3.88 / 24

Now, I know the commericals are annoying. And the website dedicated to these with the jingle playing from the cereal straw looking ghetto blaster is even more annoying {you don't believe me? click here}. Not to mention the elves Snap, Crackle & Pop are a tad bit juvenile. But one bite of your rolled wafer pastry & all your doubts will melt away. Eat them as a sweet treat, serve them with icecream, dip them in your coffee... and sure - you can use it as a straw, I guess. Serve them at your next party! They look so sophisticated & if you bury the Snap, Crackle & Pop box in the recycle bin, no one will ever know.

And this just in: my Cocoa Krispies Cereal Straws also promote good health. I had an extra tab open on its website & I guess I was there too long. When I came back to it, I had a message on the screen saying: "It's time for a break! Turn off your computer! Jump out of your chair! Go outside & Play" & then gives you the option to click to find out "more fun ideas to get your moving". Wow... a cookie that helps your burn calories just so you can eat more. Just when I thought my strAWESOMEs couldn't get more strAWESOME.

Biker Chick!

Libby cracked me up last week... she saw Davis riding his bike with a helmet on & she insisted on wearing one to ride her scooter! She was a RIOT. This face she's making above is one of my favorites... she does it when she wants to be ultra-sassy. Kyle always tells her to put her lips away! :) ha She's such a hot-shot! Desperate to keep up with her brothers... as I'm desperate to keep her a baby. :)