Christmas with the Black Family

This year we spent Christmas with the Black side. It was a lot of fun as always. We went to church with Brian's parents on christmas eve and then went up and had junk food and opened presents. It was a late night but it made for a good chirstmas morning because we got to sleep in until 9:30am. Woohoo! We spent christmas morning at home playing with new toys and destroying our house. Then we went and ate dinner with Brian's family. We had a wonderful christmas and the boys enjoyed every moment.

Our attempt at a family picture

Grandma Black's new baby she got for christmas

Little Dribblers

Ethan finally got to participate in basketball camp this year. He has been waiting for what seems like forever to be able to go to basketball camp. I wonder who has brainwashed him into this sport. HMMMM! The way this little camp works is that they practice on Saturday for 3 weeks and then they play in a game during halftime of the varsity games. Well he loved it and had so much fun. He really enjoyed it because it was taught by the Varsity girls, which he knows most of them. He was so excited to go to "practice" on Saturdays and get to learn how to play basketball. Cody even got to practice with him each Saturday even though he isn't old enough. Another advantage of being a coach. The game was a little bit of chaos but he still had fun. I guess what sport isn't chaos at that age.

Ethan with his team and Coach Haley

Showing his moves

Cooper being loved on by the basketball girls Haley and Kendra-notice he already has to have a ball in hand. UH OH!

Happy Birthday Cody!

My little boy is getting bigger and bigger. We were able to celebrate Cody's 4th birthday this year the Saturday after Thanksgiving. He thought it was pretty cool because most of his cousins from my side were there because all (except for Krystal) of my siblings were home for Thanksgiving. Let me tell you it made for a crazy party though. We ended up just going to Timeout Pizza aka "Pizza Planet" as my children call it and had the party there. The kids enjoyed themselves and couldn't seem to get enough of the arcade games. It was sure a fun time. Some highlights about Cody. Your favorite color is blue, the same as your beautiful eyes. You love to watch Caillou on tv even though I can't stand the way he acts like a baby. You love to do whatever Ethan is doing and spending time with him. You tell me everyday that we need to get rid of Cooper because you don't like him getting into your stuff. You are a big helper around the house. All you have to do is bat those long eyelashes at me and twinkle those blue eyes and usually I will give into anything. You want to be a soccer player when you grow up. You are full of life and energy. Cody we love you and can't believe how big you are getting. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CODY!

Opening presents with some of the cousins around

Blowing out the candles on your robot cake. You thought this cake was so cool because it was covered in candy.

Sorry for the lack of pictures again. I turned the camera over to Shane (my brother) to take pictures and needless to say I ended up with a lot of RUDE pictures. Note to self: never give him my camera again.

Soccer Season

It is that time of year again. This is the second season that Ethan has played soccer and he LOVES it. He is such a competitive kid (sometimes too much if that is possible) and he loves sports. I didn't know how it would go since last season he really didn't know what to do and just ran around like a crazy kid-he wouldn't even chase the ball like most kids. But this fall it went a lot better. He scored quite a few goals and was pretty good. In fact this year all you had to do was to find that ball and Ethan was somewhere near it. He had to be right in the middle of it. I am glad that he enjoys it and loves being active. His highlight to the year was that he got to be on the Orange team because it is one of his favorite colors.




I am kind of pathetic and only took my camera to one game and this is one of the only good pictures that I got. So this is all you get.

VEGAS!

In October Brian and I went on an adult trip with 3 other couples to Las Vegas. This was the first time that we have both left our kids for more than a night or two. Pathetic I know but our life revolves around our boys. Needless to say we had lots of fun and came home everything but recuperated. It is funny how Vegas wears you out more than gives you a vacation. We got to see lots of cool and amazing things though. We enjoyed going to Cirque Du Soleil, a variety show, and a hypnotist. We did a lot of sight seeing and not so much sleeping. It was a fun time with our good friends and we are glad we went. Thank you to Grandma B for watching the kids so that we could go on this fun trip.

Group Shot: Brian and I, Crystal and Isaac(Brian's sister and brother-in-law), Sarah and Casey (Friends), Todd and Rachel (Friends)

Boy Shot: Casey, Todd, Brian and Isaac

Inside the Venetian, one of my favorite hotels on the inside. The art and theme was amazing.

The Limo ride from the airport. Fun Times!

Grandpa Meulman

On September 28, 2009 Brian's Grandpa Meulman passed away. He was such a soft spoken, kind man. I am so glad that my kids were able to know him and spend time with him. He was also a man that was full of humor. One joke of Grandpa's that I will never forget is, "How do you catch a Polar Bear? Put some peas around an ice hole and when he goes to take a pea you kick him in the ice hole." This was the best joke and everyone would laugh no matter how many times we had heard it because of the way Grandpa told it. The boys miss Grandpa but they know that he lived a good life and that he is in a better place. Plus we get to visit him often right across the street. (advantages of living across from the cemetery)

First Day of Kindergarten!

Well I am finally caught up. This is our latest happening. My little man started Kindergarten this year. Ethan was SOOOOOO ready for school to start. We started counting down the days in mid July and everyday he would wake up and ask "How many more days Mom?" He is so smart and loves to learn. The first day of school was super exciting for him but kind of sad for me. This was the way our first day went. We got up early (6:30am if you know us you know that this is EARLY!). Ethan couldn't hardly contain his excitment. I made him cinnamon rolls for breakfast since it is one of his favorites. He ate, got dressed and was ready to go by 7:30. So we took some pictures out in the yard. He was great and "ham"ed it up. So then it was off to school for his first day. We got to school and I was so excited to get him there and take some more pictures of him in front of the school but this is the conversation that we had as we arrived and were getting out of the car.


Ethan: Mom I don't need your help going to school. I can do it myself.


Me: No I am going to take you into the school and make sure you know where you are going. Just a minute Ethan I need to grab my camera.


E: Why are you grabbing the camera we already took pictures at home?


M: Because I wanted a picture of you in front of the school.


Ethan: I am not taking anymore pictures so you can just leave the camera in the car.


M: Okay (as I was throwing a mommy fit).



I guess I was told by a 5 year old. Well it didn't end here. We went into the school and the kids are suppose to go into the gym put their bags in a line, then play with toys until it is time to go to class. So I took him into the gym he put his bag in the line and he was off. I walked over by him and asked him if I could have a hug goodbye. Well he politely gave me a "You can leave already" arm around the shoulder. I almost wanted to cry but I was happy at the same time that I knew he was going to love Kindergarten. And let me tell you he does.

Being the super big brother with Cooper

Giving me the DOUBLE thumbs up.

This was the bus bringing him home from school on his first day.

Photography Fun!

Since I got my new camera last summer photography has really sparked my interest. I have always like it but just never thought that I had a good enough camera (I know lame excuse). But now I have no excuses. So I have started playing more with it and adventuring out. As you saw before I did some senior pictures. Well I tried my hand at some family photos for some friends. It was a lot of fun. I was happy that they liked the way they turned out. So here are a few to share.

I also have wanted to get some pictures of lightning but we have had very few storms. So one night I thought I had my chance. We were getting an AWESOME storm and lightning was everywhere. But sure enough what usually happens when there is lightning and no rain. Yep you guessed right FIRE! So fires trumped AWESOME lightning pictures that night but I was able to get a couple from my yard. Really no scenery in them because I kind of live in a hole but I got some. So these will just have to feed my addiction to lightning pictures for now.

This one was kind of wierd with the street light shining in it.

All I can say about this one is HOLY BOLT OF LIGHTNING!

A day in Seattle!

In August the boys and I got to take Grandma B (my mom) to Seattle to the Dr. so we decided that we were going to make a fun day out of it. The boys had so much fun seeing lots of new things. We got to enjoy walking down on the docks at Lake Union and seeing some NICE boats. Ethan said that we should buy one. Well considering that they cost more than 10 times my house we probably won't be doing that anytime in the near future. Sorry bud! Then we got to go to the zoo. Of course this is the only place I took my camera out. They boys had a lot of fun and really enjoyed seeing all the animals.

The tiger was by far their favorite animal to see. They were so excited when it came out and sat out for a while and they could watch it.
The boys were amazed how tall the giraffe was. It was too funny just watching them stare in awe.

Cooper was totally mesmerized by the gorillas. He thought they were fun to watch.

Ethan and Cody enjoying a day at the Woodland Park Zoo!

Water Bugs!

Every year my kids can't wait until they get to take swim lessons. They have so much fun and absolutely love the water. This year Ethan was in level 2, Cody was in level 1 and Cooper was in IPAP (parent/child class). Ethan's teacher was Jessica McDonnell and he absolutely loves her. She was so good with the kids. He became a better swimmer and his favorite thing to do in class was to bob in the water.

Ethan with his teacher Jessica

Learning to dive-another one of his favorite things to do

Learning how to do an "I" float

Like I said Cody was in the level 1 class. He actually passed this class last year but since he was still so young compared to the others in the class I put him in it again. Plus I didn't want him and Ethan in the same class. He is my son with no fear whatsoever. He thinks that he is invincible and can do whatever even when it comes to water. He was so funny in swim lessons because you could tell that he was just freezing to death but he didn't want to ever get out. His favorite thing was to jump off the diving board. He was so mad when he found out that he wasn't able to jump off the board when we would go to the pool just for regular swimming.

Cody with his teacher Katelyn McDonnel-she is the older sister to Ethan's teacher

Enjoying the water during his class

Getting ready to jump off the blocks

This was Cooper's first year in swim lessons. He didn't really know what to think. He was one of the younger kids in his class. In his class they spend sometime in the really shallow water where the kids can touch and then we spent some time in the deeper water teaching them how to float and go under. Cooper wasn't to fond of being in the deep water. He didn't like not having control or being able to touch. One of his favorite things to do was picking up the toys in the shallow end. He really enjoyed being where he could touch and do what he wanted.

Cooper doing what he enjoyed most, picking up the "groceries"

Not to often will you see a picture of me on here but I did it.

This is the only picture that I have with Cooper and his teacher Erin Boland. She was about to hand (I told her to throw him) off the diving board to me.

Bowman Reunion!

I need to do some major updating to cover what our family has been up to. I promise that we do more than I post about (we aren't really that boring). So here it goes for the marathon update. To start off with at the beginning of August we were able to go to a Bowman family Reunion in Cle Elum, Washington. This was with all the extended Bowman family (i.e. grandparents, great aunts and uncles, 2nd cousins, aunts and uncles, cousins...pretty much everyone I know that is somehow related). It was so much fun to get together with all of the family especially since I hadn't seen some of them for quite a few years. The boys had so much fun and were so excited about all their new "friends" that they made while we were there.

This is my cousin Jason's son. We have always thought that it was so funny how much him and Ethan look alike even when they were little. So now we make sure we get a picture of them everytime we are together.

The camp that we stayed at had a huge "farmers" slip-n-slide. Pretty much a manmade hill with a tarp put over and sprinklers at the top keeping it wet. The kids had so much fun on it.

No this is not my kid but I would have to admit that he is pretty darn cute. This is my cousin Lynette's little boy Jake. He was the funniest little boy that I have ever met. Him and Cooper are only a couple weeks apart in age but he is so much bigger and WAY smarter. He would say anything you wanted him too. I loved it.

The kids were able to ride horses while we were there. They had so much fun. Even Cooper thought it was a lot of fun.

I am so glad that we were able to go and catch up with all of our family. While there we also got to celebrate Grandpa's 80th birthday. He is such an awesome Grandpa and we love him dearly.

Senior Photos

I have really wanted to start doing photography but have kind of been procrastinating it. I really enjoy taking pictures and playing around with the editing of them. I love taking photos of my kids so I thought why not branch out a little bit and start doing a little bit more for other people. I did a senior photo session a last week and I had so much fun. It was so much fun to work with Mallory and she is such a beautiful girl and SO photogenic. We had a blast. So I just thought that I would share a few of the pics from our session.

Lack of POSTING!

CAUTION: LONG POST AHEAD!

Okay I am so sorry for the lack of updates about our doings. It has been crazy and I have kind of put blogging on the back burner. So I am going to do a MEGA post and catch you up to date on the Black family. What we have done in the last 2 months. Hmmmmm...

Memorial Day Weekend the boys went and spent the night with Grandpa and Grandma B. They got to roast marshmallows and then they helped raise flags in the Quincy cemetary on Memorial Day.

Onto the next event. We have been working in our yard this year trying to make some changes to the front yard. Well we made a major change. We cut down a GINORMOUS walnut tree that we figured had to be at least 50 years old. It was ruining our roof because it was sitting on top of the house and we couldn't park in our driveway because the birds in the tree would drop BOMBS on our car. So we decided that instead of paying someone to trim it we would let some woodworkers have the tree as long as the cut it down for free. Agreement made and this is the stump being removed by my dad and Brian. Oh and the hole is still in our front yard to this day. OOPS!

Now onto my latest addiction. In May I started looking at our budget and wanted to start saving money on my groceries. I was already a sale shopper but I knew that I could be doing more. So I started clipping coupons and have become a crazy coupon shopper. I know what you are thinking "Ugh I hate getting stuck behind those crazy people in line that have 50 thousand coupons and complain when the cashier overcharges them for something." Well I have become one of those people. I am sorry if you ever get stuck behind me but let me tell you I am saving MOOLAH and I LOVE it. I probably spend on average 8-12 hours a week on clipping and organizing and shopping. It has become my own little part time job that is "making" our family money and also building up my food supply. So here are a few pictures of my shopping successes.

This first trip cost me around $35. I thought I was doing awesome. WOOHOO! That was until I went on this next trip and I spent $8.45. Oh and I saved $285. Let me tell you it is SOOOOO much FUN!!!!


What next??? Father's day. We had a great day with daddy and grandpa. I was so excited for Father's day this year because I had found a super cute idea for a gift for both Brian and his dad. So this is what we created for Father's day.


This one worked out great because there are 7 grandkids on the Black side. So each kid had a letter. And then the 3 boys posed for their dad. I didn't do anything great with the dad one because I put it in a split frame so each picture was individual but when Brian got it he said that he wanted a smaller version to put in his locker at work so I made this one and put them together. It was quite fun and I was glad I found the idea in time for Father's Day.


We are getting closer to up to date. Yippee! Over 4th of July weekend we went boating with some friends. We had a great time and the boys absolutely love the boat and the water. Also during the weekend we got to enjoy the fireworks out at Soap Lake. We had a great time and are very appreciative of the service men and women that allow of the freedoms that we enjoy in this wonderful country.

Cody enjoying the tube with Uncle Isaac

Cooper with Uncle Todd

Ethan & Cody taking a swim Ethan with Uncle Isaac

Playing with my camera while watching fireworks

Alright now to the finish. This last weekend Brian, Ethan, Cody and I had the opportunity to be in the wedding of our good friends Todd & Rachel. (Todd is in the above picture with Cooper) Brian and Todd have been best friends since high school. It was so much fun to enjoy this special day with this great couple. We had such a fun time and hope they did too. They are such a cute couple and have a great love for each other. So here are some pictures from the day.

Enjoying a dance together at the reception

The wedding party
My two handsome Ringbearers

The beautiful Bride and Groom

Well I am all caught up now and hope to stay up with it at least for a while.