Brock's 7th Birthday

Brock's Skylander Cake

Portal of Power

"Please smile nicely for a picture with your cake" turns into this expression.  You would guess that I was pinching him under the table or something.  Torture, sheer torture.

Birthday Egg Hung

Presents

Who wants to throw pies at Brock?

Each friend gets a turn.

 One at a time, Brock's friends throw pies at his face.

First up -- Alex

Teddy

Max

Jacob decided it would be much easier to smash the pie in Brock's face.

 Must...get...revenge...on...Jacob...

Ella wasn't too excited when she got a spatter of pie on her chest.

Let's throw pies at MOM!

 

 

A Dress That Doesn't Twirl

Sophie after her failed attempt at twirling in her dress.  "This is not a twirl dress!!"

Harper and Hamstie

As most of you know, we had an incident in which Harper tried to get the cupcakes off of the stove.  In the midst of her chocolate craving, she turned the gas stove on and caught the stove and cupboard on fire.  We have been so fortunate that there was minimal damage and that everyone is safe.  With that said, I have TONS of pictures to post as soon as I get them in order, so stayed tuned.  =)

Quote of the Day

Sophie as she is screaming and crying:  "BROCK KICKED ME IN THE BUTT CRACK!"

At Least You Don't Have Gray Hair

My birthday weekend began with plans of Chad whisking me away to Kansas to eat at our favorite dive -- Wagon Wheel.  It was a lovely and peaceful drive.  On our way, we noticed Ella Street:

Chad and I have a deal that each time we go to Wagon Wheel, we have to try something new, and this sandwich stood out from the rest.  The Kill Bill (fried pork tenderloin, bacon, ham, pepper jack cheese, and a fried egg on a pretzel bun):

 

Yes, I couldn't resist.

I indeed killed Bill

After our lunch, I didn't want to go home just yet, so we went to Lincoln and did some shoe shopping for Chad -- little did I know he was just buying time ($100.00 worth of time).  On our way home from Lincoln, Chad told me he wanted to show me a house that one of his contractors was building, so we headed out that direction.  We missed our turn and decided to drive by Grammie and Papa's on the way home (our usual route).  Chad slowed the car down and turned into the drive of my parent's place, and this is what I saw:

Apparently, Chad had been planning a surprise party for me for the last three months.  He (as did EVERYONE else) hid it very well, as I was COMPLETELY surprised!  A BIG thank-you goes out to Chad's family, my family, and all of our friends for all of your hard work and for making this my most special birthday.  Love you all!  And to you, Honey, for making my heart grow a little bit bigger every day.  You are truly an amazing person, and I love you so so much.

Molly's 30th Birthday

  

The Planning and Decor (click to enlarge)

Bonfire

My Bestest

Thank you, Honey, for the best birthday ever!

And THANK YOU, Heidi, for the best birthday cookie ever!

On my actual birthday, we went to Valentino's Vegas Buffet and then to Lost in Fun.
What better place to make you feel young than Lost in Fun.  I came out of that place drenched in sweat.  Sooo fun!

I was telling Ella that I am an old person now, and she replied, "At least you don't have gray hair." Soon, my child. Very soon.

Movin' On

After months and months and years and years, we have finally came to the FINAL decision to put the "Big Blue House" behind us.  As many of you know (and have heard A LOT) we have always been torn with what to do with our house.  Should we add on?  Build a bigger garage?  Do a basement?  Have our house physically moved to an acreage?  With us here, the opportunities were endless.  But after MUCH deliberation, we have decided that a home on a couple of acres would be grand.  Due to Chad's position at Menards, he is unable to build a home due to what he does and the things he has access to (it's in his contract).  We are, however, very excited to move forward.  At the time being, destiny came knocking on our door, and we have our hopes set on one particular acreage, but if that falls through, we are very excited to start shopping!  It is very sad to think of us not being here for much longer because this is truly an awesome house.  We love so many things about it, and there have been so many wonderful memories made here.  I will be sad to let it go, but hopefully it will fall into the hands of someone who can truly appreciate it.

When I was mudding and sanding Brock's closet, I noticed the floor:

You can't see it too well with all of the mud on it, but it says "Chad n Molly 2009."  I wrote that when we built Brock's closet.  There are lots of memories behind the layers of paint on all of the walls we put up (starting in 2006).  I can't remember what I wrote on all of them, but they will be there forever.  On the subfloor in Brock's room, the kids had fun with their artistic abilities when we remodeled that.  So if anyone decides to replace the carpet in there, they will see our masterpiece.

In my attempts to create a romantic candlelight dinner for Daddy (after kids are in bed), there was a week-long scheduling delimma resulting in the salmon sitting in the fridge waiting to be cooked.  Before it went bad, I decided to have a candlelight dinner (one of many) with the whole fam.  It was wonderful.  Perfect ending to a long day.

Sophie's "Pretty Face"

Normal...

turning...

sour.

Pretty Girls

Best Buds

Sophie's Shoes

Her shoe choice is always interesting.

 Or they're always on the wrong feet.

Deep Sleep

 When I tell Sophie to smile pretty, she starts off normal, and then...

SLOWLY her face turns...

 

 SOUR

 She does this all of the time, and it's hilarious!

Brock threatening to throw the ball at me for taking pictures of him:

So proud!  Almost done!