Alone (Temporarily)

KC is ice fishing.

Boys were at home with my mom.

Girls were performing in their band concerts.

Zoe on flute.

Audrey on clarinet.

And I was sitting alone in the bleachers.

Not having to ..... tell anyone to sit still, please stop trying to sing along, having boys standing on my lap to get a visual of their sisters, apologizing to the parents around me trying to record their children, praying for this to be the last song before I lose it, digging in my purse for candy to persuade good behavior, apologizing to the people in front of us because they are getting kicked in the back, trying to explain that 'Bravo' doesn't need to be yelled after every song.

I just got to sit and enjoy.

That doesn't happen very often anymore :)

I enjoyed my two hours tonight. The girls sounded great. And I sat back and just watched.

I Survived a 9 Day Weekend

Wow! That was exhausting. My kids had the whole week off of school, so if you include the weekend before and after, that was 9 long days with five very loud kids.

It started off rough. Lots of fighting, made me 'a lot' nervous about having them home for so long. I guess it's just practice for Christmas break which is coming way too fast.

We went 'home' for Thanksgiving. Emmitt kept yelling "I don't want to stay home, I want to go to grandma and grandpa's". Yes, I still call it home even though it's been 15 years  :)  and I kept trying to explain to him what I meant . . . but he just got more mad, so I dropped it and assured him that we were going to see both grandparents.

We stuffed ourselves with two complete Thanksgiving meals, one for lunch and then several hours later for dinner. We also celebrated Grandpa's, Emmitt's and Castiel's birthdays. And even after two meals, I couldn't turn down a slice of DQ ice cream cake :)

Over the holidays, I found out that all my kids love pumpkin pie, which surprised me a little. The huge mountain of cream piled high on each slice may have help a bit :)

We attempted to take lots of family photos, which I haven't had a chance to upload yet. I'm hoping for some good ones, so maybe I'll make a Christmas cards this year.

We had beautiful weather Thanksgiving day. We got the kids outside, ran them around a bit. Then the temperature dropped over night. Just in time for shopping.

We've done Black Friday shopping for many years now. This year was a little different. I shopped Thursday evening on-line until 2am, then got up on Friday at 6:30am to shop with Zoe until nearly 1:00pm. Then shopped for a couple of hours on Saturday with Audrey.

I didn't like the idea of taking the girls with last year. This year I found it very helpful. Maybe because I feel like I'm behind this year, it's nice to have a little help making decisions.

We did really good this year. I felt like I found some great deals.

Black Friday shopping is important for me. With five kids, getting away to shop is very difficult. I have built-in babysitters at 'home' that I appreciate SO much for letting me go out. I think I would really struggle through December without those couple days.

And I finished up on Cyber Monday. I have my lists and just searched for the best prices :) Saved lots of money on items that I planned on purchasing any ways. I love being able to shop from home.

It's a lot of work making Christmas magical for five kids, but definitely worth it. It's definitely one of the best times of the year to be a parent. So much excitement in the house. So much curiosity. So many questions. I love it all.

I'm ending this post totally randomly :)

The kids and I had the best discussion tonight. Zoe, out of nowhere said, "I wish I could fly!" Which lead her to ask, "If you could have any super power, what would it be?"

After a bunch of brainstorming of all the great powers, we all agreed that flying would be the best! Even the twins joined in and Emmitt started running around the room saying "I'm Superman, I can fly."

Then Cameron added, "I think being invisible would be pretty cool too."

Is there another super power that beats flying? Doesn't everyone wish they could fly :)

Actually, I've decided to end the post on a VERY EXCITING turn of events!

We were able to welcome home Mike and Tracy from South Korea. They made it through there year abroad safely with SO many great experiences to remember forever. They have returned to their life in Virginia, but have to wait 2 months for the majority of their possessions to arrive by boat. Happy to have you both back :)  And I'm also very jealous of the amazing journey you both experienced over the passed year.

4749 Days :) (on Tuesday)

410,313,600 seconds . . . 6,838,560 minutes . . . 113,976 hours . . . 678 weeks

They all add up to 13 years!     HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KC!

It's hard to imagine that that much time has passed, until we add in 5 homes & 5 children together :)

We had an uneventful day, but we spent it together. Kids had school, I had to run some errands, KC made some AMAZING chicken salad, and we got to go out for dinner (thanks Katie and Tony for watching the kids!). We were going to check out a new restaurant located only blocks away from our house, but an advertisement scared KC away. "Magic Dave on Tuesday Night"  :)

After dinner we went to Walmart to walk the toy aisles to get ideas for Christmas, which I loved because I usually do the majority of it myself. Nice to have his input. So I took lots of pics with my phone to remind me of what we found . . . got a few ideas for him too :)

We really spoiled ourselves already this year with a trip to Vegas! I haven't shared photos, because my blog wouldn't allow it (thank you Flickr, you are now my choice for photo imports).

KC has been there a few times before, but I had never. I guess the thing that got me the most was the sheer size of everything. Hotels . . . huge. Casinos . . . huge. Drinks . . . huge. Bills . . . huge.

Too bad the pay out wasn't huge, but it's not like we didn't try  :)


We stayed at Treasure Island. We were able to see and hear the pirate show a couple of times every night. We also had a great view of it from our room above :)

I know I should have sat by the pool, went to a spa . . . relaxed just a little.

But I wanted to see everything! Yes, it's true . . . I don't get out much :)


We walked and walked and walked. And then we got a bus pass, so we could see even more :)






And my favorite :)

I've never been to New York . . . . hint, hint :)

We also spend almost an entire day in old Vegas. We didn't plan to, but we love it. Old Vegas has a completely different feel. It's possible to cover a lot of ground in Old Vegas in a short amount of time, not true on the new strip.


And we made a little stop here :) I wanted to meet Chum Lee, but the line was around the corner and I will live on . . .


And my favorite night lights . . .

This photo is another dream . . . hint, hint . . . but I realize that this might be 'a few years off'

The best thing about Vegas are the shows. We were lucky enough to see two.

I loved this show. Would recommend it highly :)

I thought that was all we'd see, but we were invited to dinner and a show with (Chuck & Stacy, thank you!) . . .


Our life together started with The Beatles. We had a 60's theme wedding . . . daisy bouquets, girls with bouffant hairstyles, peace/love/happiness, Beatles grand march. Yes, we love The Beatles :)

It was great listening to all the songs. The show is much more chaotic and strange, but definitely entertaining  :)

I had such a great time. Even when KC had to work at the bike trade show, I didn't stop exploring. Tried to make the most of every minute away.

But by the end of the week, I missed the kids so much. Love the time away, but there is no way to avoid missing their sweet little faces.

We returned after all the kids had been in bed, but bright and early the next morning, they all joined us in our bed, so excited to see us . . . and that feeling never gets old.

Cameron's B-day and Summer Fun

I was 2 weeks late on Cameron's party this year. The beginning of the summer is just so busy all the time, and there is an adjustment period of getting used to 5 kids around all the time.

Honestly, I was thinking about skipping the party all-together . . . but Cameron kept asking when I was going to make him his cake. A five year old doesn't let you forget to throw a party, especially my Cameron : )

It's been of my tradition to make a special cake for each child for their party. I asked Zoe if she was interested in making the cake, but she let me keep that baking responsibility. I'm glad for that, it's been fun to keep up with it through the years. (I'll have to find all my cake pictures and share someday)

Cameron asked for Luigi and mini chocolate chips this year . . . but I had made him a Donkey Kong cake last year. (this is last year's cake)

And we were keeping the party simple this year. So I went with his other favorite : )

I did include mini chocolate chips up the sides of the cake, he was very happy with that! He saw it on the counter top just after I had finished it and said, "Hey, there's a G on the cake!" and I said, "Yes there is, why did I do that" and he answered, "It's for a Packer fan!" with the cutest smile on his face.

He really is such a happy kid : )

He had to blow his candles out fast, because the wind wanted to do it for him.

And he quickly claimed an end piece that was loaded full of chocolate chips . . . which of course he got.

It was a beautiful day.

Here is a picture of the Buchanan side cousins . . . we missed Jack and Ella. (Ella visited us the next day and tried out the pool and slip and slide)

They spent the day playing in the water.

Or at least around the water like Castiel and Eli preferred to do . . . but Castiel seemed to get just as wet as the others without ever plunging in.

Here are some fun slip and slide pictures. Audrey and Cameron really love it. Olivia was learning how to. My mom may or may not have taken a tumble trying to help her go a little faster. KC, of course, had to give it a try : ) And Emmitt just took a walk on it occasionally and stopped all other traffic.

Fun day, fun party . . . glad it all fell together nicely and glad my little Cameron didn't let me skip it.

We also had a water balloon fight and a baseball game of adults verses the kids. And I surprised Cam with his preschool friend Paul who joined the party : )

Had to share this funny moment.

During the party, while Cameron was opening his gifts, there was an audible 20 second fart . . . and we looked in uncle Tony's direction.

I showed Emmitt this photo today and he said "I farted by Tony", I loved that he remembered . . . wonder if he was a little embarrassed yesterday.

Cameron got baseball bases, so we can play a real game in the backyard. (no more frisbees and hula hoops required)

And he also received a photo book of his week at the Lakehouse with Grandpa, which he started reminiscing with everyone at the party with big smiles across his face.

A late HAPPY BIRTHDAY blog to my little man, CAMERON! He is my sweet, goofball who loves to talk any one's ear off, play Donkey Kong with his daddy, play anything with Audrey all day, have Zoe make him chocolate chip muffins, Emmitt's best friend, Castiel's boxing buddy and talk about his fun-filled days at the end of every night with mommy while I tuck him in.

Truly a lovable, happy child . . . who my wish is for him to stay that way forever.

My Boy at the Lakehouse . . . Finally!

Cameron talks about the Lake House all the time.

When can I go? How much longer? I wish I was there.

Grandpa promised a boy's week as soon as school was out. A couple days after his graduation I said good-bye to him

But his first stop wasn't the Lake House.

He hopped rides on his way to Fond du Lac.

First he caught a ride to Milwaukee with my sister and family. They went to the Children's Museum where he got to lay on a bed of nails and touch a sting ray. He spent the day happily with his cousins.

Then he hitched a ride with my brother-in-laws parents and brother's family the rest of the way to Fond du Lac. Since he spent the day with them, he had no problem jumping into their car . . . from what I hear, he slept most of the way.

He was dropped off at my parents house where he got to ride (actually drive) Grandpa's tractor, go to Culver's with Grandma, and take a bath in their huge garden tub.

Grandpa S had to work on Monday, but as soon as he got out of work he picked Cameron up.

Of course, there was no leaving town before stopping in to see Grandma S. I was actually worried for her that they would be so excited to get to the Lakehouse, they wouldn't have waited around to see her. They finished packing up and said good-bye and off they went.

We all were talking about the fact that there was no way to tell who was more excited . . . Cameron or Grandpa :)

I received a phone call that night that they made it safely and that it was dark out, so they were going to start the fun first thing in the morning.

Then, just after 6am the next morning, we were receiving texts that they were out on the dock, watching the sunrise! The fun had begun :)

Grandpa told him to make a list of all the things he wanted to do that week, so a couple days before the trip I wrote as Cameron listed.

He definitely knew what he wanted and it consisted mainly of Macaroni and Cheese, fishing and no naps : )

Then on the back of the paper he wanted to write a letter to Grandpa himself) which Audrey helped him spell.

It says "Can we read together", but she wrote it all in lower case letters, which he always converts to uppercase letters and mixed up the "d" to a "b".

Looks like he had so much fun!!!

Here are some of my favorites : )

Grandpa said that he was "reading" his Bass magazines and showing him the big lures that they need to be using to catch the BIG fish. Cameron used a big lure and snag it in the weeds and broke his line. But give the boy a few years and he'll have it all figured out. He keeps telling me about his 14 inch Bass!!!

And from the looks of it, Grandpa got him to put his own worm on the hook!

So, from what I hear, there wasn't a lot of napping going on . . . but he was definitely worn out by the end of every night.

I want to thank Grandpa SO MUCH for sharing these photos with me. I can tell by the smile on his face that he had the best of times, I only wish there was a picture of the two of you together.

So I'll have to add some oldies but goodies : )

Cameron has grown up making regular visits to the Lakehouse since only weeks after he was born. The older he gets, the more often he wants to make the trip.

I was a little worried that I was going to lose him to the Lakehouse, but he returned home and as I was tucking him into bed for the night I said, "I'm happy that you are home" and he replied, "It's good to be home mom."

Thank you Grandpa!!!

(I'm sure he talked your ear off all week, I hope it isn't too quiet without him)