Man, that's a good-looking guy on electric guitar!

Corey, our youth pastor Gabe, and a few of our very gifted high school students had the opportunity to lead worship for 300+ Jr. High students at a retreat this past weekend. It meant a lot of practice beforehand, and another weekend away from home, (which I wasn't excited about), but it was really a good thing.

Corey's folks came to help me keep my sanity while he was gone (his dad even did a few projects around the house for me. Bonus!) and we were all able to drive to Hidden Acres to see the band do worship on Saturday evening. It's always fun seeing Corey do something he loves. He is so musically talented. The whole band was great. It's kind of hard to believe that the majority of them are only about 16-years-old (give or take a year).

I was very happy to have him back home on Sunday, and don't look forward to the next time he goes, but when he's gone, it sure reminds me how much I appreciate having him here.

Separating FACT from FICTION

This morning before school Carter told me that yesterday and today they are learning about planets and astronauts in his kindergarten class. I asked him if he could remember the names of any of the planets, "Umm, Krypton...."

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What can I say, the line between the comic book world and the real world is a pretty fine one at our house!! (He did come home with some actual planet names today. )

Casanova

Tonight the boys and I were listening to Reliant K's "Sadie Hawkins Dance." I then explained to them what a Sadie Hawkins Dance is and what a date is. After I was done, Carter said, "I could go on a date right now. I just need to choose one of my 4 girlfriends." I didn't realize my son was such a Casanova.

A Perfect Snow Day

NO SCHOOL! Carter was very happy when school was cancelled yesterday, and we took advantage of the day by having some neighbor boys over to play in the morning. In the afternoon they headed outside to enjoy the newly fallen snow. Lucas and Carter are in the "forest" (that's what the boys call it) in our backyard. Logan and Owen are making tracks in the yard.
SNOW FORT! The highlight of the day was the snow fort that Corey built for the boys. He spent most of the evening outside, digging out the inside of this hill he made. Carter and Owen are loving it. They have been asking for a snow fort all winter, but this was the first time we've had a big enough snow. Owen can almost stand up in it.

It was back to school this morning, much to Carter's dismay. The first full day of school they've had all week. It has been quite the winter!

And so it begins

Lewis rolled from his back to his tummy at 4 months. Now, 5 months later, my 9-month-old finally decided to give rolling the other direction a try. He was successful, and made the trip across the living room a couple times this evening. He even managed to destroy Carter and Owen's Lego bridge...the first of many destructive moves I'm sure. The big boys have no idea what they are in for.

Dells Vacation

The element of surprise: We successfully kept our destination a secret until we pulled into the Chula Vista drive and the boys could see the waterslides. We didn't think we would be able to pull it off. Carter's response to seeing the resort, "Oh, I knew we were going here." Owen's response "But we're not staying here right? We're going to McDonalds." (We were looking for a McDonalds with a playland, but never found one.) Lewis was a dream as usual. If I had to use one word to describe him, it would be happy. He had a great time watching his big brothers and all of the other commotion going on around him, and he even played in the pool and took a few trips around the lazy river.

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One of the Carter and Owen's favorite things was the roller coaster (they are standing in line for it in the picture). According to the rules, they didn't weigh enough to go without an adult, but they let them anyway, and I bet they rode it at least 20 times over the weekend. The bonus of going during the off season is most of the time they didn't have to wait in line, they could just get off and hop right back on. We enjoyed the rollercoaster too.

Enjoying the small slides in the kiddie pool.

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The boys also had a ball in the arcade, where Grandma and Grandpa dropped more than a few quarters.

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All the swimming and playing wiped these guys out. We had a wonderful condo to stay in. 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 fireplaces, kitchen, living room and jacuzzi tub, which the boys soaked in more than once to get the chlorine rinsed off. Another benefit of going in the off season - we got this condo for the same price as we would have paid for two regular hotel rooms.

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Corey and I took a dip in the outdoor hottub when it was in the single digits outside. BRRRR! The water felt so wonderful, but I was not excited about getting out and running back to the building in my swimsuit.

Vacation Footage

This is the boys in the "kiddie pool." Last year they spent a good chunk of their time in this pool. This year they were more interested in the big stuff.