Christmas cheer...from Chase!

Just sharing some Christmas cheer in the form of Chase's artwork!

 

Sometimes they can be so sweet...

Normally, the boys would never, EVER voluntarily read a book.  Let alone to each other.  So, you can imagine my shock when I walked into the room to find Cole reading Chase a story!

They were reading a Christmas book that has been sitting on the coffee table for a month.  It must have been the Christmas spirit that made them decide to read it! 

 It was truly a Kodak moment...  (Although....I'm not sure what is all over Chase's mouth!  Looks like he had been eating something blue or black beforehand!)

Here is a little video...just to prove it happened.  It may never happen again.  :)

Meet our new puppy!

Daddy surprised the family a few weekends ago by taking us to the animal shelter.  As we were greeted when we arrived, the girl asked if there were any particular dogs we wanted to meet.  Mommy answered with a quick, "No," however Daddy whipped a list of dog names from his pocket!  WHAT?!?  Clearly, he had been doing a little quiet research without us knowing about it.

We looked at all the dogs, but didn't find one we could all agree was the perfect one.  And, we left.  We followed that with many, many more trips to the shelter....each time with the same results.  We even tried a few more area shelters, all with no luck.

Today we went to the Warrensburg Animal Shelter to look at a sweet puppy whose picture we had seen on the internet.  Daddy had to work, so it was just Mom and the boys.  (Yeah...never let Mom and 2 boys alone to make that decision.  I'm surprised we didn't take them ALL home!!)

 Lucy was just as cute in person as her picture.  She was a shivering little Jack Russell/Rat Terrier mix, who was sitting on a cold concrete floor, feet away from a drafty doggy door.  No blankets or anything soft and warm.  We melted. 

We asked if we could see her in person, but were told no.  The shelter's policy is not to let anyone handle dogs under 6 months.  (The shelter estimated she was 5-6 months old at the time.)  So, we just had to trust that she had a good temperament and would be a good fit for our family. 

We paid the adoption fee, and out the door we went with her.  Then, reality struck that we had no dog supplies whatsoever outside of a lease and a dog crate we had borrowed from Nonnie for the trip!  So, we stopped at Wal-mart, and bought Lucy a crate, bed, food, treats, toys, and shampoo.

We've got a long road ahead of us with housebreaking her, but the boys just absolutely LOVE her.  Welcome to the family, Lucy!

Cole's video

 

Cole asked me to shoot a video of him showing everyone how his holiday train set works.  Enjoy!

Santa!!

We just sort of lucked out today....definitely a case of being in the right place at the right time.  (And, that normally does not happen to us!!!) 

Just so happened, we were at Summit Fair shopping for a new suit for Daddy.  As we walked out of one store, on our way into another, we noticed what appeared to be a big, red Santa chair sitting all alone....not a soul around. Hmmm...strange.

But, after we came out of the second store.....THERE HE WAS!  Sitting all alone in his chair. SANTA!  And, not a single person around him! 

Could we really be THAT lucky???  After all, the line for the mall Santa we had seen a couple weeks earlier was outrageous!  So, off we went....literally sprinting down to see Santa, trying to beat the rush of other kids!  We looked around, and still no one.  We had Santa all to ourselves!  Talk about luck!

(Now...if Mommy had only known beforehand that we would be visiting Santa, she would have made sure we had nice clothes on...)

Cole hopped right up on Santa's lap, spilling his entire list of what he wanted and telling Santa how good he had been all year long.  Chase, on the other hand......wouldn't go NEAR Santa!  He clung to me like glue.  At one point, I even tried to walk over near Santa thinking that maybe the 3 of us could be in the picture together.  But, Chase wasn't having it.  He took off running the other direction.  Sigh.)

No pic of Chase with Santa this year.  But, at least we got a couple with Cole! 

Chef Chase

For his good behavior at school, Chase was given an award.  Each week, the name of every child who was given an award that week, is thrown into a hat.  And, winners are drawn randomly for special treats.

Chase was one of the lucky winners to be a chef for a day!!  On the menu?  Pizza! 

He made his own pizza in the school cafeteria right before the start of his lunch shift.  And, he had a great time doing it!  What an awesome reward!

Did it snow in Chase's room...?

Oh wait, no.  This is what happens when:


(1) Your great-uncle Mark gets you a really cool workbench, and

(2) Your Dad carries it upstairs to your room in the box, but says, "Don't touch it" and promises to put it together in the next day or so, and

(3) You are just soooo impatient you can't possibly think about waiting!!!!!

"I know....I can assemble it myself!  I'll get all 9875 pieces out of the box and try to....  Better yet....all this Styrofoam is awesome!  And, much more fun than actually trying to figure out how to assemble this workbench!"

"A Turkey For Thanksgiving" by Chase

Mrs. Ullah puts together a collection of stories every year about the Thanksgiving turkey, as told by her Kindergarten students.  These stories are so cute, and definitely something to look back on one day for a chuckle.  Chase was so proud of his story that he had me read it out loud. Let me tell you, that was no easy task when I literally was holding back the laughter!  By the time I got to the end, I had tears running down my face from trying not to laugh! 

How cute this is story?  (I love how he makes Mommy out to be the laziest one of  the bunch!!!  Too funny!)

And, if you want to compare the boys' story-telling abilities, here is the link to Cole's story from when he was in Kindergarten! 
 http://coleandchase.blogspot.com/2009/11/thanksgiving-storyby-cole.html

Funnies

The amount of funny things that happen around here on a daily basis could not possibly be captured!  However, here are a couple that happened just yesterday that I am still laughing about today...  :)

_______________________

Before bedtime, Chase was telling me all about the money he had in his bedroom.  He had counted it a couple of times and was so proud of it!  I told him that we really needed to put that into the bank where it would be safe.  Of course, being 5 years old, he didn't quite get the concept of keeping money in the bank.  But, I really thought Cole did....

Mom:  Chase, we really should take your money to the bank and not keep it in your room.
Chase:  No one is stealing it, Mom! I want to leave it here.
Mom:  Well, if we take it to the bank, you can always go get it anytime you want it back.  Plus, the bank pay you even more money to keep it there!
Chase:  They will?
Mom:  Yes, its called interest.
Cole:  Ooooooh....it is???  I thought it was Pinterest!

________________________

 

 

Chase:  Mom, how do you spell "see?"

Mom:  S-e-e

Chase:  NO!!!  I mean, how do you spell "see?"

Mom:  S-e-e

Chase:  NO!!!!  I'm talking about A, B, C, D...

Mom:  Oh, well....that's not a word, Chase.  That's a letter.  You spell it with just a letter "C."

Chase:  But how do you spell it???

Mom: You don't spell it, its just a letter!  Its just "c".

Chase:  Sigh.  Nevermind.  You don't get it.

Election Day!

This morning, Cole got all dressed up in his red, white and blue!  He wanted to be patriotic for Election Day!  As he was eating breakfast, we asked him some questions about the candidates and who he thought we should vote for.  He surprised us by reciting lines from all those policitcal ads on TV!  Who knew he was paying THAT much attention?!?

After a few minutes of discussion, Daddy decided that the best thing to do would be to take Cole to the polls so that he could see exactly how to vote and what an election really meant.  So, off they went to the polls before school!

After school, the boys got off the school bus so excited to tell me all about the elections they voted in during school.  Chase was even wearing an "I Voted" sticker that he made at school!

 

 

Here is the voting booth Chase made at school!

 



So sorry you're sick, Cole.

Cole missed school today.  He came down with a stomach virus last night, and was sick all night.  Chase slept through the whole event, so he didn't know anything was up until I woke him for school this morning.  He wasn't too sure about riding the school bus without Cole, so he said he would only do so if I promised to pick him up from school in the afternoon.  (Always such a negotiator...) 

 

When I picked him up after school, he couldn't wait to show me the note he had written during his free time at school today. 

 

Here he is holding it.

 

 

 

 

Close-up of what it says -- "Cole, i i am saree that you are sic" ( In other words: Cole, I am sorry that you are sick.)  Isn't he sweet??? 

Happy Halloween!

Here are my 2 Army men, ready for action!  These boys have known what their Halloween costume would be for months now!  Ever since they received these "REAL" Army uniforms for their birthdays, they couldn't wait for Halloween to arrive!  And, honestly, these uniforms have already been worn many times before today as well!  But, add in the guns and pumpkins, and they are ready to roll!!! 

 

Our town hosts a "Safe Trick-Or-Treating" event every year that the boys just love!  From 4-6pm, the businesses in town allow the kids to trick-or-treat!  So, after school, they changed into their Army uniforms and we hit the town!  We literally went from one end of town to the other!  And, by 6:00 pm, their pumpkins were already full! 

We stopped by McDonald's for a quick dinner, and then ran by home to empty their buckets and start the trick-or-treating all over again!  We went by all of the grandparents' and great-grandparents' houses that were close, plus hit a few random houses along the way.  These boys didn't stop for 4.5 hours!  At the end of the night, poor Chase was so tired that he literally just sat down in the grass in some stranger's yard and gave up!  Daddy had to carry him back to the car!  And, poor Cole had a blister on his foot!  That's some major trick-or-treating! 

And, now....what ever will we do with the mountain of candy they collected?????  Oh wait...I bet Daddy and I can figure it out....  Shhhhhh...  :)

Here are the pumpkins the boys carved this year!  Chase's is in the left, and Cole's is on the right.  Chase said, "Cole's pumpkin is happy and mine is scared of Halloween!"


This is the pumpkin chase made at his Fall Party at school this afternoon.

 More of Chase's Halloween artwork!

Chase can't wait for Halloween!

This is the paper Chase brought home from school this afternoon!  He was so excited to dig it out of his backpack and show it to me!  (Fortunately, he was so excited to share it that he read it for me...otherwise, I might have never figured out what it said!)

 

"BOO   Tmoro (tomorrow) will bee haluwhing (Halloween)"

 



Chase's trailer designs

So, we have this new trailer to work on and restore.  And, the boys are so excited they really can't hardly contain themselves.  In their minds, they think we ought to be camping in it by spring. 

Truthfully, we're a LONG way off from camping...may even be a couple of years.  But, in the meantime, we've got lots of time to plan for how this project is going to come together.  And, it will be amazing and completely cool with Daddy behind it. 

I'm thinking we may have a budding designer on our hands.  Maybe a little man to follow in Daddy's footsteps? 

Here are Chase's drawings and sketches for how he thinks the trailer should be laid out.  Funny thing is...he is pretty much spot on!  I'm seeing some talent in this kid!

Daddy even gave this one a gold star!

A trip to the Pumpkin Patch

We went to a new Pumpkin Patch this year.  The boys had a great time!  We didn't actually end up buying a pumpkin here, so no pics of that.  But, with all of the other activities they had, we didn't even miss picking out a pumpkin!

They had a zip line, corn maze, tractor rides, huge stacks of hay bales to climb on (and jump off of...yikes), a huge vat of dried corn to play in, and the hoppy horse things to race around a track.  Here are a few pics of the boys we managed to snap while we were there!

Ft. Osage trip with the Cub Scouts

Cole is a Bear scout this year, and loving it again!  Today was our first field trip of the year.  We went to Ft. Osage in Sibley, Missouri.  The boys had a great time, and I think the parents did too (well, except the fact that it was only 28 degrees outside and we were all frozen!!!)!

The Fort was buzzing this weekend as there was a reenactment going on.  There were lots of soldiers there, cannons being fired, guns being loaded, cooking fires going, and soldiers' wives cooking up meals!  It was a neat way to see the fort for the boys....being lived in and used!  Hopefully they got a better understanding of what life was like during the War of 1812.

 

The scouts that were able to make the trip:  Cole, David, Jacob, and Will.

The infantry.
 

 And, of course, Chase was there too!  (He thinks he is one of the big boys!)

Some good notes from school!

Chase has finally turned things around at school.  I haven't had a bad note or phone call in quite some time.  And, I think he has finally figured out that its better to behave and get GOOD notes than to be onery and get into trouble.  I also think he has finally realized that, yes, Mommy does find out what goes on at school...even if she isn't there!  (ha ha!)

So, here are a couple of good notes that Chase got in the past few weeks.   (Yippee!)

Report Cards: First Quarter

Its hard to believe that first quarter is already over!  It feels like this school year just started!  But, the boys are both doing good so far!

 I am especially proud of Cole this year!  Not only is he getting most all of his work completed at school (instead of bringing it all home every night like last year...ugh!!!), he loves his teacher and is making good grades!  So proud of him!  I hope he keeps it up!!!

He got A's in both Reading and Math.  One B in Writing.  (And, for a kid who loathes writing, I'll take a B any day!!)  The rest of the grades were all "Satisfactory" or "Pass".  The only area he really needs to work on it completing his work on time.  And, that's just Cole....  Don't know if there is really much we can do to help him improve in that area.  Some days are good, while some days he is more "in his own world" and can't get work done on time.  That's the autism for ya.  All in all, I'm pleased with his grades so far this year!

Cole's report card.
 3rd grade | 1st quarter

 

 

Chase's report card was pretty good...better than I expected with the behavior problems he was having at the beginning of the year.  His teacher still feels he needs to work on his listening skills and keeping his hands to himself, but overall, he has improved since those first few days of school.  Much of his problem is that he is one of the youngest kids in the class, so he's got some maturity issues going on.  We'll get there. 

 

He is learning to read and write.  So cool!  He's come a long way in a short couple of months!  Can't wait to see what the rest of the school year holds!  :)

 

Chase's report card

Kindergarten | 1st Quarter

Daddy's new project

The boys are so excited about Daddy's latest project!  They had a blast helping Daddy build the old truck, and now they are equally excited to help out with the latest project....a 1949 Spartan trailer!  I'm not sure if they more excited about tearing it apart and re-building it, or if it is the thought of all the places we can travel to once it is finished!  At any rate, it is going to be quite awhile before we go camping, but the boys are gung-ho to get started on remodeling!!!

Mommy and Daddy had to travel to Peru, Indiana to pick up the trailer.  I thought the boys might be upset at the thought of us leaving them for the weekend.  Nope!  They were thrilled that we were finally going to get the trailer they had been looking at pictures of for so long!  So, on Friday morning, we kissed them goodbye, put them on the school bus and headed out on our road trip!

NaNa and PaPa watched the boys all weekend long!  (Hopefully they boys didn't wear them out completely!  At least they survived to talk about it anyway!)  :)  While the boys had tons of fun being spoiled by their grandparents, Mommy and Daddy had a great drive to Indiana (albeit, long!!). 

We managed a quick stop in Hannibal, Missouri to see the sights.  Literally, this stop consisted of a 10 min. walk around the Mark Twain home/sites, a stroll down to the river to see the river boat, and quick stop into a shop to get a little gift for the boys.  No time to even enjoy lunch in this quaint little town!  Instead, we hit the Taco Bell drive-thru and got back on the road!

Finally that evening we rolled into Indiana.  While debating which town to stop at for dinner, Chris nearly gave me whiplash after he spotted a Dog n Suds!  Not only was the place totally originally and very cool, apparently they haven't changed the menu prices in 20 years!  Both of us ate dinner for $6!  What?!?!?

Early the next morning, we drove out to pick up the trailer.   And, then we got back on the road toward home.  However, seemed like we couldn't get anywhere as nearly every road we went down had a detour, some leading us in a complete circle!  Driving home was certainly an adventure, to say the least!  Not only did we drive that old trailer home on old, rotten tires (how we made it without a blowout is beyond us!!), but we also had to deal with major storms and wind all the way home!  I was never so thankful to be home in all my life!

Now, the fun begins....at least for the boys!  We've already begun the process of tearing out the old, rotten interior of the trailer.  Someday we'll have a beautifully restored trailer we can take camping.  In the meantime, the boys will have a great time working on it!

Inside of the trailer (messy, dirty, stinky, and GROSS!!!)   :)

Chase doing a little clean-up work.

Love Notes

Lately, Chase has really decided that he likes to write!  Every few days, I find love notes. 

And, its pretty awesome!  And, sweet!  :)  Love how sweet this boy is!

Homecoming 2012

This town shuts down for the high school Homecoming parade.  Literally...shuts down.  All of the schools dismiss early, not just the high school.   Kids of all ages ride on floats for the parade.  And, if you want to travel anywhere in town that afternoon, well...forget it.  Not happening.  Either the traffic is unbelievably crazy, or the local establishment you were wanting to patron isn't open anyway!  Its a little weird, I guess.  But, on the other hand, its also pretty cool to see the town support our local Roosters!

 

This year's parade/game can be summed up in a single word:  C-O-L-D!!!!!!!  It wasn't just a little chilly, it was downright cold.  Brrrrrr.

 

If not for the fact that Cole was IN the parade, I would have stayed home for sure.  However, Cole was really excited to ride on the Boy Scout Pack 300 float, so we braved the weather.

 

Here is Chase....trying his hardest to show his Rooster pride with the hat he had made in school this morning....all the while freezing!  What you don't see in this picture is the fact that we were wearing he was wearing 2 layers of clothes, his winter coat, gloves, and then covered up with a blanket.  And, guess what?  He was still freezing!

 

He did, however, seem to warm up once the parade started and the candy was being thrown at the kiddos!  He manage to fill an entire Halloween pumpkin full of candy for he and Cole to share!  (Just what they need....)

 

Cole's float!!!  He had a blast throwing candy for all the people who came out to watch the parade!  And, if you'll notice....he's wearing only a Cub Scout uniform with a tee underneath, and a lightwight jacket...unzipped.  I'd love to have even half of the body heat that child produces.  :)

 

 

Needless to say....as much as we love to support our local Roosters football team, it was just too darn cold to brave the football game!