Green Bay Packers Rule!

Here is some info on my paternal grandfather, Roger Grove. He played for the Green Bay Packers before it was popular to be a professional sports player. My husband came across an article that mentions him gifting a woman (who managed the hotel where he stayed during the season) a football signed by all the players and coaches. That football was passed down to her son, who has since donated it to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. Cool!!

Here's the link of the article:

http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-1/Green-Bay-Packers-Hall-Of-Fame-Inc-Announces-Donation-Of-Rare-1934-35-Autographed-Game-Ball/9e8e83de-5aa4-11df-a3b6-528cc843f916

Crazy Hair Day

This is one of our favorite days of the year! CRAZY HAIR DAY! The kids were up bright & early & we had a blast styling hair. Tomorrow is picture day, & somehow I can't imagine that the excitement that was in the air this morning will also be present tomorrow.....

This is Scottie's skunk-inspired do!

Alfalfa never looked this good!

Yes, this is real. This girl has enough hair for 3 people. The height was achieved with the help of a water bottle. Ingenius, I know....(or maybe a google search helped!)

First Day of School 2010

Scottie is now in 6th grade

Tyler is in 4th grade

Joelle is in 1st grade

This morning was crazy! The night before was Meet the teacher night & I had stayed up late filling out the myriads of paperwork involved with school, trying not to get overwhelmed by the amount of information my tired brain was struggling to absorb. People who know me, know that I don't do well when I'm sleep deprived. So anyway, in the morning I was rushing around trying to get ready for work & gently rushing the kids, packing lunches while simultaneously trying to keep an upbeat mental attitude so as not to stress the kids out....I kissed them goodbye, watched them scooter off, fought the urge to stay and watch some more 'cause I was already late for work. I cried on my 15 minute commute, pulled myself together, & walked into the office only to realize that I was scheduled an hour later than usual. My awesome coworker had thought to give me more time at home that day! That made me cry more- the thoughtfulness of the gesture as much as the time that I missed with my kids. I could have walked them to school. Sigh.

Life

I haven't posted since November of 2009...7 months ago!! WHAT?!?! It certainly doesn't feel like it's been that long. I haven't even posted Christmas pictures, or Valentines Day...St. Patrick's Day, Joelle's Birthday, Moving into a new house, My 14th anniversary, or the last day of school.
WOW! I have a lot of catching up to do! The good news- I finally have a working computer. The old one has been on the fritz for months, so the new one should be a fabulous addition to our family.
More to come!

Blogging Layouts

I HATE WHEN I WORK SUPER HARD ON A LAYOUT...PREVIEW IT A MILLION TIMES...AND IT STILL LOOKS STUPID WHEN I POST. TAKE, FOR INSTANCE THE POST BELOW:

I WORKED & WORKED ON IT...AND STILL...NOT CENTERED- OR NOT JUSTIFIED TO THE RIGHT SIDE...OR WHATEVER! GRRRRRRRR.

NOTICE I WROTE ALL IN CAPS TO RELAY MY FRUSTRATION!

Tyler's Baptism Weekend

FYI: My sisters & mom have normal sized heads covered by massive amounts of hair, which on the positive front makes us all appear taller than we are; however, we all look like giant-heads when put next to my dad who is #1 a pinhead and #2 hair-follically challenged...

Greg & Tyler ready to take "The Plunge"

The week after school started, I began working full time at an optometrists office. A few days after starting work, my family started arriving from out of town to celebrate Tyler's baptism. For me it was bittersweet for the following reasons:

1. Excitement & trepidation over learning something totally foreign at work.

G'Pa Grove & Tyler

2. Stress over the fact that my house was a disaster.

3. Not enough time to lay in bed chatting with my sisters while listening to

the children play & fight.

4. Elation over seeing my little sister, Gwen, pregnant with her first child.

Belles of the Ball:

Some of the Poulsen Cousins

5. Disbelief that my second child is old enough to be accountable for his actions! Yikes!

Thanks to my wonderful family for putting up with my mood swings brought on by stress and sleep deprivation! I love you guys!

Some of the Grove Cousins...Need I say more?

Creating a Monster

These angelic looking women, er, um girls... are two peas in a pod. My sister, Joleen, has always loved girliness...make-up, shoes, glitter, and all that jazz. Similarly, Joelle is fashion conscious...and likes all things pink. Joleen is creating a monster in Joelle. Every time they see each other, Joelle asks Joleen about when she is going to give her a makeover. While it's cute now- I can see the writing on the wall (in lipstick.) Joleen might have to be given temporary custody of Joelle during the crazy teenage years. It's only fair, after all- since she has created the problem!

Catch Up Time

I was told the other day by more than one person that I am a terrible blogger. This is NOT news to me! I have a hard time keeping up with laundry, much less typing out the goings-on of my daily life and that of my kids. But that doesn't mean I'm a quitter...I will keep trying!!! I am imagining the little engine that could....

Soooooo, first and foremost- school started! Wahoo!! Here are the first day of school pics:

Almost time...

I have been counting down the days until school start. If I count today....4 more days! This is not to say that I haven't had a ton of fun with the kids. But there IS such a thing as TOO much off a good thing. We have played a ton, laughed a ton, swam a ton...on the flip side there has also been a ton of fighting, crying, & mess-making. I am feeling pretty much drained from the constant entertaining and refereeing. Ahhhh, 4 more days....

Birdie Heaven

After we came home from church the kids ran upstairs to check on our pets and found the ledge empty. They ran outside and found the remaining baby bird (the other one disappeared a few days ago) outside. They were so upset!

So like any good dad, Greg dug a shallow grave and we held a small funeral for our little friend. Some of the words of consolation from Scottie to Joelle, who was the saddest, were "Don't worry, Joelle, the birdie went up to the big nest in the sky." She looked up and around and still didn't get it!

Scottie helping with the burial. Morbid creature!

We are also missing the adult birds and the nest looks to be abandoned. The twigs have been scattered all around. We did find another small bird that had been eaten. It was too big to be our other baby, but we're wondering if there is a predator around who is attacking!!

More Birthday Fun

Cousins came over yesterday to celebrate...

Yes, this is frosting up the nose...in my family growing up we had a tradition that the birthday person would take a little bite out of the cake and then the surrounding people would push his/her face into the cake...hence, frosting up the nose!

Even though he got a bike, his favorite present was this football!

Happy 8th Tyler!!

Yesterday, Tyler turned 8!! We had a family dinner at Wild Buffalo Wings, where it was every kids (and Dad's) fantasy. 30 TV's broadcasting all kinds of sports, video games brought to your table to play...presents along with good food. Suffice it to say...we didn't converse much....but it was still fun!

WE LOVE YOU, TYLER!!

Our New Pet

We have inherited a new pet. Actually, 2 pets...actually, 3...Let me explain!

I have been rearranging the loft in the rental house we're in. The other day I kept hearing a cooing sound and realized that there was a nest on the ledge right outside one of the loft windows! Two birds sat there in the heat, snuggling...then I realized that there was an egg they were protecting.

A couple days later another egg appeared. And soon after that both eggs hatched! It has been so fun to see the progression of these little creatures!

Anyhow, here are some pics:

The kids check on the babies every day...poor mama bird is probably looking for a new nest without nosy neighbors!

St.George Trip

We had so much fun at the lake!

Scottie & Robyn

Tyler, Joelle, & Sydney

Joelle, Uncle Mark, Sydney

Park fun later in the week. Cousins are great!!

Robyn & Scottie battling for possession of the ball in Kickball.
This is the best pet to get. This tortoise eats weeds, is entertaining to watch, doesn't need to be taken for walks...of course it will outlive us all...hmmm
4th of July pancake breakfast at the church in front of G'Pa Poulsen's cool car
Joelle showing off her face painting

Sparklers!!Waiting for the fireworks to begin...