As Time Moves On

Well here we are at the end of April and again so much has happened. This year is just flying by in the blink of an eye-does that always happen when you're kids get to a certain age? I feel like the older the kids get the faster the time goes by and that I'm missing out on so much :(

Most recently we have had a couple of big events -

Norbert turned 17 in March. Wow I just can't believe how grown he is now and can actually see his maturity level rising daily. He makes me so proud I constantly want to burst into tears lol. Not only is 17 a huge milestone but he has accomplished so much this year. He's starting to look into colleges for his chosen career of Veterinarian. He is actively involved in his animal classes as well as FFA (Future Farmers of America). He was just elected FFA Office - Sentinal for next years Waterford Chapter...what a great stepping stone for him. He's also been shadowing/interning at a local vet clinic to get hands on experience. This is a great thing for his resume as well as college application. I just can't get over how focused he is on making his dream job a reality. I could go on & on & on but that is what's happenening in the world of Norbert right now.



Accepting his award

 

Norbert w/his award

 

Norbert w/his certificate



Abbigael just turned 16 this month and wow that was big. Not only was it her sweet 16 but also her golden birthday. Now is where this will get long lol.

So she was pretty set on having plans for this bday since it was so special but what she didn't know was that Dennis and I had a surprise party planned for her. This has been the most stressful 4 months of my life keeping this a secret. About 75 people were in on the secret and 10 close friends that were actively involved in keeping her mind tied up elsewhere to keep her off the trail. At times I thought she knew but her face told it all when she walked into the hall and realized the party was for her. It was so wonderful to see so many friends and family together in one place and catch up with everyone. We all had a blast and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I won't post all 200 pictures here like I did on FB - I'll try to pick the most special ones. The best part of the whole thing was seeing everything come together after all the planning. We made 2 photo booth backdrops and set up props (so much fun!), we had a candy buffet...the talk of that was the enormous sugar ball pictured below, and we also had a lighted cake table for the majestic cake! Thank you to everyone who helped, came, and just made this day so special.



Setting up the homemade photo booth - masquerade theme!
Ashley took 2 white plastic tablecloths and taped them together
She then took black card stock and taped that to the tablecloth in a diamond pattern
After printing several black/white masks she cut those out and taped to cardstock
The finished product looked fantastic and was huge hit!



Yellow & White Candy Buffet
We had so much candy! The center piece of the whole table was the sugar ball
I bought the largest styrofoam ball I could and after 2 bags of dum dum sugars (306 to be exact) you have a finished ball
I was not able to place sugars in the bottom because they kept falling out. I would suggest floral foam for this as it grips much better!. We had rock candy, sweet tart ducks, gummy penquins, gum balls, mango gummy bears, popcorn balls, sixlets, unicorn pops, smarties, and lemon heads.
www.candywarehouse.com has the best custom candies ever
halfnuts.net in the Milwaukee area is great for those old fashioned candies



Cake table w/lights
I took a table w/white table cloth and hung white lights around the table w/tape
Placed yellow glitter tulle for effect and cake on top. Looked so beautiful once the lights were dimmed.



Bailey, Dawn, Abbie



Serious family photo

Drake hasn't really had much going on other than school and video games. He seems to either be playing Xbox or games on his Ipod. I guess that's the generation but it would be nice if he'd play outside a bit more too. I know the weather hasn't been the greatest but we've had a few good days lol. He is getting excited for football which we sign up for next month. Can't believe that all starts in August again!!!! He is still the ham is always was and continues to make me laugh daily with his antics.

Dennis is working a ton of hours - that never changes. It has finally hit me that we are starting to do more for ourselves now that the kids are getting bigger. Although we both still work very hard I feels like Dennis is doing more things he wants to do and I get to invest more time in my books & crafts. It feels nice to be able to take vacation days for myself and not have to save them all for kids sick days.

Spring break was a blast! I took the week of to do a tour of the Milwaukee area sights that we've never seen. We had so much fun discovering local history and partaking of being a family. Other than our overnight trip to the Dells (curtosey of a good friend Ms. Jackie Lee) Dennis went to everything with us. By weeks end we were all pretty tired so it was nice to have a couple days just to relax before going back to work.  

Pabst Mansion Tour

Chula Vista w/bff's

Jelly Belly Factory Tour

Serpent Safari



Serpent Safari



Rainforest Cafe



Sprecher Factory Tour

Our next adventure won't be until October when we embark on our cruise to the Bahamas with the whole family! I can't wait for that to happen...and with our family you never know what small wonders will arise!!!

So bad at this!

I started this blog as a memory keeper for all of the daily things my family goes through and mostly to keep intact thos especially funny moments that I don't ever want to lose sight of. The problem is I'm so darn busy and some of the funny stuff makes me want to go back and document everything that happened before this. There are not enough hours in the day to make this happen so I do the best I can. It's been year since I've posted anything and there is much to catch up on so here goes.

• We have moved! It's been a wonderful year in our new home and I couldn't be happier. We love the area, the people, and the schools. The kids have finally all adjusted and have impressed me with their new choice in friends, involvement at school, and dedication to making this work. Don't get me wrong, the first few months were absolutely horrible for Abbie! Drake is constantly lonely since he has nowhere he can walk to. Norbert is bored most of the time but what teen isn't?
• Norbert has gotten his license and it's still a shock to my system most days. I want to give him the freedome to be a teenager and drive all over the world in my car but I can't let go of this impending doom that something might happen that I can't control. He's a good driver but I have no faith with others on the road. Norb's also started looking at colleges which is very scary. His grades aren't strong enough yet to go to Vet school but he's addament he's going to make it happen. I really want him to go somewhere close so that he can live with us and continue saving money. I also want him to start working so that he has some kind of experience but Dennis wants him to wait until his truck is done so we don't have to drive him - we'll see!

• Abbie has adjusted very well really. She's got a ton of wonderful friends, joined cheerleading, and is always involved in something. Sometimes she amazes me with what she can keep up with and other times I'm amazed at the size of her attitude. She's definitely not growing up to take slack from anyone! Abbie also has her temps and is doing her behind the wheel now....it's getting scary in our house lol. She's in this new thing where she really likes taking pics of herself and herself with others (see below). When she wants to she really loves her brothers! She and Bailey broke up a few months ago and she's been spending time with a new boy. They aren't dating just yet but I think it's bound to happen sooner or later. She's been very happy and I like seeing that.



Abbie 1st Day of Cheer




Abbie Cheer Team - Varsity

 

• Drake is his normal goofy self. He is getting into the whole teen attitude thing but he really knows how to work it when he wants to pass for younger. He's such a ham all the time and has, of course, made a ton of friends. He doesn't really get to spend much time with his friends because of the distance and having to drive everywhere but he's loved that's for sure! He currently has a girlfriend named Abby (very weird) and he's finally moved to the hand holding stage. Even though he's a handful some days he's still my snuggler on the couch. I have done a good job of "letting go" since football started but it's still hard most days. He has turned out to be an amazing player and once he got over the intial shock of tackling his friends he gained a ton of confidence. His team won Superbowl Champs 3 years in a row - what a great accomplishment!

Drake after winning Superbowl

• Dennis and I continue doing what we do best - work & home life! We are so involved in what the kids are doing that it's like a 2nd job most days. I don't know what I'll do with my life when both Abbie & Norb are driving full time. That's pretty much it for us just rolling along the highs & lows and hoping for the best.

Pics from Abbie



Abbie & Drake at Walmart

 


Abbie & Norbert 1st day of school '13

 



Abbie loving herself AGAIN

  


Abbie & Norbert before school