a birthday, a broncos game, and two bored teens....

this guy turned 14 years of age on Sunday.

yes that's right my baby is growing fast.

 

for his birthday he rec'd club seats at the broncos game, for him and his dad!

(his dad's birthday is in a week)

if you ever are going to get your face painted and they ask what you'd like, you better come up with something to say or you get whatever they give you. kind of like what brady has on his face here.

fully,(i mean fully) covered.

but he had fun with it.

 

on the way to the game they happened to pass Joe's Crab Shack.

so they stopped in there for his birthday lunch.

 

i'm not going to lie, our family loves seafood!

 

 

while the hubby was busy with birthday boy at the game

i was stuck entertaining these two....

 

 

what better way to entertain two teens than with food, right?

food, mall and then more food.

(have you ever ate at wich wich if you haven't...you should.

it's kind of like a subway only better.

 and you mark your lunch bag the way you'd like your sandwich made.)

 

 

we continued to shop and shop and shop until....

we found chocolate!

i'm not going to lie...we love chocolate!

especially, when it's covering cheesecake...ON. A. STICK.

 

 

just ask brooke and her cousin alex...

these don't look like bored faces anymore.

 

 

salad anyone?

 

 i do love these salad bowls! found here

 

At home...a few changes.

as most you know i have been selling athome things for awhile now and doing parties for them in your homes. things have changed a little since athome america closed and was purchase with new owners. the changes are:

• name-is just At home now
• ordering- you can order anytime online at www.athome.com/jroberts 
• product- although some things have remained the same, they have added new things to choose from. they will sell a bigger variety of products for your home. and if you liked the old products and want more they have some of those too.
• the new company has flash sales that last a week or so and have really good deals.

just wanted to get the word out to those of you who have had interest in athome america and knew nothing of their closing changes.

i'm kind of digging their HALF PINT ICE CREAM MAKER. COMES IN A COOL PINK TOO.

P. S.. you can like my page on facebook here...CLICK HERE.

hello.

i love this red door and i so want to put a "hello." on my front door.

 

found here.

Nov. 11th...thank you vets!

today was a special day for my husband. he was reunited with a buddy of his from Iraq who was injured in his 4th tour overseas. after being in Iraq with my husband alex was then deployed to Afghanistan. he stepped on IED their and lost both of this legs. one below the knee, and one above the knee. he was walking on his new legs months after this happened. WHAT AN AMERICAN HERO!!!

 

chuck and alex

 

brooke and brady with alex.

 

i must say it was an honor listening to this guy's story and having supper with him!

 

 

pink (for awareness)

the cheer girls, football boys, and volleyball ladies all fashioned their pink for breast cancer awareness month.  they looked very cute too. and the boys very tough wearing pink:)

it's unbelievable the amount of people effected with or by breast cancer some how.

 

on a side note: we finally wrapped up brooke's volleyball season and brady's football season.

it was so much fun to watch them, but will enjoy some nights at home for awhile

(until basketball season that is)

 

very proud of my kids for doing their best in these sports.

 

wicked cool craft...

i don't use the word wicked very often, but my folks did. my mom still does. i was born in maine, and my mom is still living there now and the word wicked is use ALOT there. examples:

• that is wicked good lobster
• you are wicked cute
• it's wicked awesome

i'm sure you get the idea now. anyway, i found a wicked cool craft to try this halloween to use for your porch decor...go to the link and check it out.

black cat o'lanterns

i'm trying to get more crafty in my old age :)

homecoming week for my daughter. 10th grade.

brooke & ariel

brooke & jessica

brooke and marie (marie is her buddy from Spain)

brooke & ryan

hannah, brooke, and ryan.

gaige &brooke

it was so cool this homecoming. i think fall is being skipped and we are headed right into winter.

we've had snow already. brrrrrrrr!

falls my favorite season & pumpkins my favorite thing!

things with pumpkin that i'm going to try this fall....just click on link to the recipes. yum!

pumpkin cookies with cream cheese icing.

pumpkin dump cake.

pumpkin pie sheet cake.

pumpkin whoopie pies with creamy cream cheese filling.

and they are all really, really, good for you. (insert sarcasm)

and why i love fall and all it's colors....and cool-ness.

decorating pumpkin ideas. found here.

 

go here for pumpkin carving ideas.

 

cute way to make pumpkin cupcakes.

 

 

my mom's backyard.....fall in maine.

 

 

 

 

 

teenagers~

i know i've been warned about raising teenagers! on how hard it is! on how hard it is going to be! but why didn't someone warn me it would be SO HARD! anxiety- wanting- to -pull -my -hair -out -and -cuss- HARD! i'm a Christian girl who tries to keep my language and attitude like that of Christ, but i must admit i'm failing miserable. i've even thought about my husband and i running away from the kids. (don't get me wrong. my kids are my world and i love them more than anything.) but they don't get me. i don't get them anymore. i keep telling myself that i must be doing something right since my daughter has said she hates me like everyday for the past year. they say if your kids like you that you are not doing your job as a parent. so hearing that i must be getting a A+, right? i mean i know that she just says this when i put my foot down and don't let her do some of the things she wants to do. but it still hurts my feelings. then i end up hurting her feelings. it's so frustrating. frustrating that i can't hold my temper with her when she spats back at me with her words. anyone out there hear me on this?

brady says last night at 9 that he needs batteries for school. I say "batteries" he says "yeah" i said "this would have been nice to know when we were at wal-mart a minute ago." he than says " well i really don't need them, but i do"  ugh?? i ask what that's suppose to mean and he says " we'll i just need them for my shock pen" i'm thinking he DOES NOT  need the batteries. it just seems like lately this is our nights. every night. added with all the running from activity to activity. added to my anxiety. so i'm feeling exhausted and numb.

which brings me to why i've started a new bible study called UNGLUED.... hoping this helps me control my actions and outburst while trying to raise these teenagers.

i know i was difficult too as a teen. maybe it is payback time. i give. i really give.

bleacher bums~

seriously it feels like every time i come back to blog a little about life it has something to do with how busy we are. but seriously WE ARE! i know how busy your lives are too. it seems to never slow down, right? something every single night! this weekend was no different. we had a hershey invite for the girls JV volleyball team and they rec'd first place.  we were there yesterday from 11 am to 5:30 last night. i realize someday my babies will be gone and life will slow down a little, but for now i guess i'll keep my running shoes close by.

 

friday night we had a home game for the high school football team.

they won!

here is a picture of brooke cheering at that game.

(well not really cheering right now)

but they did great when they were.

the middle school had a game too and sadly lost in overtime.

my boy #88 getting ready to play. of course he had to look for his mom in the crowd first.

i heard someone make the comment that #88 looks like he's in college. made me smile.

even though only 13 he sure is a big boy. 

 

so that is the last couple of nights. lets just say our butts are tired. whoever created bleacher seats is a genius!

pictures were from our phones so not so swell.

best video ever!

i must admit i've watched this video over and over and over. i'm completely in love with it. i hope you enjoy it too. video is about 14 or 15mins. long and you need to watch to the end. let me know what you think? is it cool or what?

 

totally describes this in Psalm 148: 1-13

 

"Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights above.

Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts.

Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars.

Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.

Let them praise the name of the Lord

for he commanded and they were created.

He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that will never pass away.

Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,

lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding,

you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,

wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,

kings of the earth and all nations., you princes and all rulers on earth,

young men and maidens, old men and children.

Let them praise the name of the Lord.

day two...a full day~

we made it through the first day of school yesterday.

it was a half day. out at noon.

today it will be a full day. let the fun begin.

2012-2013 first day....

 

brooke's first day as a sophomore :( it doesn't seem possible she's this old already.

speaking of old already... my baby below....:(

this years will be his last year of middle school.

which means this year he's

TOP DOG!

maybe that's why the serious face in the photo.

i remember those days when you were the top grade of the school.

you thought you owned the place.

hoping this year brings:

1. -a patient mom
2. -no drama
3. -little stress
4. -great grades
5. -fun with sports
6. -great school year
7. -new friends
8. -memories that will last a lifetime
9. -patient kids
10. -lovable teachers ( these guys and gals must have patience)

cheer..

well like i stated at the end of last year, brooke made cheer.

so this summer she had tons of fundraisers, camps, and fun with these girls.

they just finished relay for life...

with school starting so is the practices.

so far we've been doing cheer in the morning and volleyball at night.

hoping for a great year.

P.S. brady will be doing his usual too. Football, basketball, and baseball.

he is still in junior high this year. as a 8th grader this will be his last year of middle school.

(insert sad face here)

anyway i will have more pictures of that coming up. as a middle school er he does not start sports until school actually begins. which is thursday.



school clothes shopping tomorrow.....

 

should be interesting....

~more us

it's a rare thing when i find something i really, really like (craft wise) and try it. but i did try making this bath sign pictured above, that i placed above our main bathroom. i found this idea here and absolutely loved the idea. it was so amazingly cheap to make too. i also made one for the kitchen and plan to make one for our office once our office looks more like a office.

we are getting more color in the house. now instead of every wall being white, we only have a few rooms that remain white. this is a photo of the colors we decided to do in the spare bedroom upstairs. one of our quests liked it so much they went home and painted their living room the same exact color. the wife was happy the husband not so much, since it caused more work for him. the house is becoming more and more us as we've lived here a year now. CAN YOU BELIEVE WE'VE LIVED HERE A YEAR NOW? me either. i only wish we could have done more to the outside but it was just to hot to work in most days. maybe closer to fall we'll get doing more of that stuff. until than i'm decorating the inside.:) central air is nice.

just weekend drills

for all of this girls life her dad has been leaving on weekends once a month(sometimes more)he's done two tours to iraq one that lasted 10 months in 2003 and one that lasted 15 months in 2006. these weekend drills are much easier to take. i've told myself i've told him i don't know if i can take another one. is that selfish or what? lets just hope and pray as he is reaching his "almost 20 year" mark that we will not have to go through it again. but if the time comes, i realize this is what he signed up to do so many years ago. he was 18 years old when he signed to protect his country. he says he hopes in him going it will prevent someday his children having to go. but for now we are thankful for just the weekend drills. AND THANKFUL FOR OUR MEN AND WOMEN WHO SERVE. GOD BLESS YOU.

twice baked...

i like to share recipes that I try that my kids enjoy! as a mom I'm sure you go through the same thing at your house...TRYING TO MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY at the dinner table. if one kid likes it the other one is complaining. rarely i'm blessed to find a dish everyone is craving. a dish were they'd ask when i'll be making it again! the kids once had a babysitter that made me a little jealous! i mean it was hard having my kids come home comparing her delicious meals to my not so good ones!! made me feel like a failure! i like to use the excuse that I was a young mom and never learned to cook. i had two kids in diapers at the age of 20 so who had time, right? lately i've been trying all kinds of new things thanks to Pinterest and all these lovely blogging ladies that share what works with their families. so here is one I've made twice now at the request of my family:) link here: http://food-pusher.blogspot.com/2012/07/baked-potatoessort-of.html

the rockies..

we were lucky enough to attend a colorado rockies game while in denver too.

we showed up early in hopes to get pictures with the team.

and that we did.

i'm still trying to figure out how he dresses like that and does not pass out.

it was so hot for us just in shorts and t-shirts.

brady made a new friend.

#31 Hill getting a picture with all of us.

this guy rocked.

he had infant babies he was carrying around just so moms could

get a photo of them together.

brooke said i wish i was still a baby so he'd carry me on the field.

~on cloud 9~

is where my daughter was this past weekend. CLOUD 9. she is a lover of mister peyton manning and since he now plays for denver we decided to attend one of the broncos practices. which was a great idea since brooke was able to get her favorite sports players autograph. she is no longer wearing the shirt he signed or using the marker he wrote with. (pretty serious stuff) it made our day to sit in the 100 plus degree temps to watch one of her dreams come true.

peyton knows. just ask her.

dad and daughter getting first look at the broncos this season.

the man himself.

brooke is in the mess somewhere along with brady.

i chose to stay out of it:) and look from a far.

brady was not as excited as his sister(which surprised me)

but he came out with champ bailey's autograph.

he did think that was pretty cool.

i think brady wanted to find our hotel with the AC on high.

it was a HOT one.

p.s. it did surprise me how many adults pushed the kids around just to get a autograph. i was almost scared of letting my two in there. adults:  sometimes we need to step back and let our kids enjoy our dreams.

a fun day for sure.

~math~

i read a little poster that cracked me up today. it was about math. if you went to school with me you already know i'm terrible at math. and my sweet daughter was handed down this wonderful trait from me as well. however, my husband and son are so good at math it's sick. they often laugh at brooke and i for not getting it because it's so easy for them. anyway the poster went something like this.....

how i see math word problems:
if you have 4 pencils and i have 7 apples,
how many pancakes will fit on the roof?
Purple, because aliens don't wear hats.

yup, that's pretty much how most my math problems sounded. can you believe the kids go back to school again in a couple weeks. this summer went super fast.

some of the family.

 it amazes me some days how much brooke and her cousin alex look alike.

except for the fact he's about 6'4" and a year older than my daughter.

here is alex by his dad (a.k.a my brother) jeff is looking a little short by him.

and my sweet niece destiny who is almost 21 now. crazy!



i'm back...

just when you think things cannot get any busier, they do!

between cheer camps, baseball games/tournaments, and normal womanly duties,

i've found it hard to get on here and update my blog.

i'm also doing a bible study on a book called Made to Crave!

it is amazing!!

i wanted to at least drop in and give you a few pictures of things we've been up too lately....

brooke at cheer camp.

i ended up going to get brooke early from camp as she wasn't feeling good.

bummer!!

but she did go for a bit and had a good time while she was there.

her next stop is dance camp and i am excited to be able to attend this with her.

#78 in the dug out is my boy.

these boys did amazing this year.

most their games were played in 100 + degree weather.

and wouldn't you know the day baseball ends it drops down to the 80's

oh well i'm just happy we get a break from the heat.

brady on deck

waiting to bat next!

this is their last game this season

(picture was poor and from my iphone)

brady pitched one heck of a game.

he went in to pitch during the 2nd inning

and the other team never had the chance to score again.

so proud of him and his team.

otis has been enjoying brain freezes this summer in the heat.

this dog can eat ice cream fast!

cheer berry!

have you been? it is so much fun. i wish we came across a place like this when the kids were younger. they have all kinds of things to put on your yogurt. i did not get a picture of the fruit bar but it was loaded with kiwi, berries of every kind, cheesecake bites, bananas, etc.

my teenagers were impressed. even if they couldn't fit in the little kid chairs anymore.

different cereals, nuts, and things to put on top of your yogurt if you choose.

then you head to the register to weight and pay.

 i loaded mine with fruit

(the one in the back with little ice cream was for the dog. can't forget him)

cherry berry seating, couches or chairs in every shape or size.

we sat outside on the curb since we had otis in the car.

you should find a location near you and go.

this one happens to be newly open in grand island, NE at the mall.