STUTELBERG SCOOP

Family Night O' Fun!

2012-01-31T19:25:00.000-08:00

We had another busy weekend. The Fitchs, my parents and our family put on a huge yard sale at our house on Sat and Sun. It was extremely successful! Feels so good to be be rid of some of the junk we had in the garage. Our neighborhood is doing another one in March so we saved the leftovers to try and sell next month. After the next sale our garage will look awesome!!
Matt went on his first field trip last week. They went to see Beauty and the Beast at the Performing Arts Center. Matt's piano teacher played the organ for the show. Matt really enjoyed it. This was also his first school bus ride. We talked about it the night before and he was nervous about the bus because he wouldn't have a seat belt. Matt said he started to get nervous during the field trip but then stopped and decided he was actually having fun! After I dropped Micah off at school I saw all the buses pulling away from Matt's school and I cried. How did my little boy get so big?
Micah started gymnastics last week. He LOVES it!! He has been asking everyday when he gets to go again. We did a trial class and didn't even need to go home to talk about if we should sign up for classes. Micah had a huge smile and was bouncing around during the class so after it was over we went right up to the front desk to sign up! So now Matt's special activity is piano and Micah has gymnastics.
Matt brought home a flyer for t-ball. He saw me looking at the paper and asked,"Did you sign me up for t-ball?" I said, "No not yet, but I can if you want to play." Matt quickly said, "No thanks, I don't want to do that." Hmmm...I can respect that but team sports are so important...Matt is off the hook this year but he will probably have to play next year!
Karl took this video of Melea while I was at work this morning.

So here is a glimpse into a typical evening in the Stutelberg home.

Lea loves her bath! I think the days of her bathing in the kitchen sink are coming to an end. I am tired of mopping up water all over the kitchen after her baths!

This is bouncing Micah!

The Karl and Matt Show!

Oh, one more thing...Matt will proudly tell you he has the longest last name in his class! He is also one of the few kids who can spell and write their last name! I hear this is not uncommon among Stutelberg boys. Apparently it was the same for Karl! Micah is also learning to spell our last name. We turned it into a song STU TEL BERG Cha Cha Cha!

Our Colorado Ski Trip

2012-01-26T21:43:00.000-08:00

Wow- it has been a long time since I have blogged.

We had an amazing trip in CO at the beginning of the month. We drove to Vegas and spent a few days with family before continuing on to the cabin in CO. Karl's grandma was able to visit while we were there. We hadn't seen her for almost 2 years! We had a great time skiing and spending time with family while in CO. My parents, the Fitchs and my brother were also there. All 3 boys had a great time skiing. Our boys took ski lessons the first day and Karl skied with them the next day. Both boys were able to ski and make turns down the beginner hill!

Micah, Matt and Karl's brother's son Brayden.

I made the cousins matching pjs for Christmas!

My brother and Melea

My grandma and Melea hung out in the cabin most of the week!

Louise, My dad, Lydia, Melea and I packed up luch at the cabin and took it to the hungry skiers!!

Karl and Matt

Karl had a great time skiing with the boys. Matt responds very well to a "teacher" other than his parents and Micah is the opposite. Micah made much more progress skiing when Karl was teaching him.

Luke and Micah

Daddy and his little girl at the Green River Park on the drive to CO.

Melea was so cozy while she watched her brothers ski. She is such a good little girl. Poor baby was so tired in this picture. We had been standing at the base of the hill for over an hour while Karl took turns skiing with the boys!

No more training wheels!!

2011-12-26T18:49:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all!! The Stutelberg's had a fantastic Christmas. We went to church on Christmas Eve. It was an early 5:00pm service for children. Unfortunately there was a really small turn out. The electricity went out in the middle of the service so it ended up being a candle light service. Matt spotted Santa on the way home! We quickly wrote a note and put out cookies for Santa before bed. Sure enough Santa came!! Matt came into our bed at 5:30am asking me if Santa had come and I told him I wasn't sure because it was still the middle of the night! :) He went back to bed until 6:30!
We had a special morning opening gifts, skyping with family and eating a yummy breakfast. In the afternoon we met the Fitch's at my parents house for more gifts, dinner and family time. We had a special day. We are now gearing up for our trip to CO. We are leaving in a few days. We will spend a few days with Karl's mom on our way to and from CO. The boys are looking forward to skiing!
Our goal for this Christmas break was to teach the boys to ride their bikes without training wheels...mission accomplished!! We started teaching them on our street and Matt was proficient on Christmas day! Micah got the hang of it today when we took the bikes to the high-school parking lot to ride. Karl and I are so proud of the boys!! We have incredible kids!! Melea also achieved some milestones...she is rolling and prop sitting! The Amazing Stutelberg kids! The boys also ran in their first race on Christmas Eve day. Karl and I ran in a 5K (thanks to Bill for watching all the kids) and the boys ran in a 1K! They had fun and are so proud of their participation ribbons. Both boys say they can't wait to run it again next year.

Notice at the end of the clip Micah says "Let me go Dad!" Oh Sweetie, if you only knew how hard that is for us Mommys and Daddys!

Our 3 Wise Men

2011-12-11T22:18:00.000-08:00

The boys participated in the Christmas play at church today. They did great! They were very sceptical at first but with Karl's gentle encouragement they agreed to participate. Matt was the leader and Micah and Luke followed him up and down the isles on their journey. The boys ended up having a good time and LOVED their "king costumes." "Joseph" was a little boy Matt goes to Kindergarten with and they had fun during rehearsal goofing around. The wise men last year were in high-school so the costumes didn't fit. I had to run out to the fabric store on Saturday afternoon and find material. I think they look great! I think everyone in the congregation liked the play and numerous people said it was the best one in years!

Micah kept dropping his gift! During rehearsal Micah kept picking at the wrapping on the box. I think he was curious to what was inside! I was feeding Melea so I had another mom run up to the front and tell Micah there was nothing in the box!! Problem solved!

Lydia turned ONE on Dec 8th. It is so hard to believe a year has passed since she was born. Louise and Jon had a little "family party" this weekend. Lyd performed well with her cake. Of course the cake was frosted with purple icing! I'm not sure I want to know how my sister created purple frosting! She even took her first real walking steps at her party!
Our Christmas tree is up! Matt has one more week of school before the long break...Christmas is coming fast!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all! We spent a wonderful afternoon at my parents home. My grandma and uncle were visiting from out of state and it was wonderful to see them.

This was taken a few days before Thanksgiving at our house. I made a fire while the boys watched a movie and Melea took a little nap. Doesn't that look like the perfect spot to nap? So cozy!
Grandma made crepes on Sunday morning. This was Lydia's first crepe! An epic moment! Everybody loves crepes. I think Matt and Micah ate 4 before I cut them off! Our favorites are filled with lemon juice and sugar. YUMMY
Uncle Ray helped Micah paint an airplane. Micah was so proud of it and decided to give it to Ray before he left! It was Micah's idea to give his project away. I am proud of him for being so selfless. He knows Ray is a pilot and loves planes.

Micah and my dad- good hugs!
The family- minus Karl who was taking the picture. My sister hosted Thanksgiving at her house for Jon's family.

4 generations of girls!!

Other news in our house:

Matt got "lunch on a tray" for the first time this week. He felt really proud of himself! Of course the crap they serve at school tastes better than the lunch I pack him so he keeps asking to buy lunch again. Karl and I are still deciding how often we should allow him to buy...hummm!

We are in full "advent mode" in our home! This means we do a different activity relating to advent each night. It will be a challage to add something else to our evening activities, but this is important so we will make it happen

Hans, our elf Santa sent from the North Pole, arrived this morning. He came with a note telling the boys he would be watching the boys during the day then returing to the North Pole at night to report to Santa the boys behavior! Last year the boys would find Hans doing silly things in the morning! They found him on the piano or in the pantry or playing with their toys! Fun stuff!!

4th birthday video interviews

2011-11-17T22:54:00.000-08:00

Me: What is your favorite food?
Micah: Watermelon
Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Micah: An Astronaut
Me: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Micah: You mean when I'm an astronaut?
Me: No, like right now, if you could go anywhere, where would you go?
Micah: To the farmer's market, because they have watermelon there!

Awesome

Melea's Baptism

2011-11-15T13:53:00.000-08:00

Melea was baptized this past Sunday. Tom flew out last week and was able to perform the actual baptism. It is special that our kids were baptized by their Grandpa Tom.
We had a busy but fun weekend. Jeanette, Brad, Jack, Raina and Brayden made the trip from Las Vegas. My mom put together a wonderful lunch reception after church.
Karl and I are so blessed to have love and support from our families! Our children are loved by so many people!!

Jon, Louise and Clark are Melea's sponsors

All of the kids have been baptized in this gown. It is a family gown and we know my Grandpa Crane wore it. It could have been worn before that...but it is at least 80-90 years old.

Micah's 4th birthday party!

2011-11-06T15:49:00.000-08:00

More pictures and summary to come!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T21:09:00.001-07:00

Micah-Captain Hook, Lydia-Tinkerbell, Luke-Green Lantern, Matt-Captain Hook, & Melea-Belle

Melea's costume change into Miss Bones

There is WAY TOO MUCH candy in my house right now! I wanted to give out pretzels and pencils but Karl said I would have to be the one to clean the egg off the front of the house! So we gave out candy. Unfortunately we didn't get as many kids coming by as last year so we have a lot of left over chocolate. I have very poor self control when it comes to chocolate so this is not a good thing!

The boys had a blast. They both wanted to be Captain Hook. We borrowed Micah's costume from a friend and got Matt's online. Both boys had parties in their classrooms today. I went into Matt's class to help for awhile. I feel bad for his teacher tomorrow...28 kids hopped up on sugar is scary!

We are celebrating Micah's birthday at his preschool tomorrow because he doesn't have school Wed-Fri this week. Louise and I are planning take all the kids to Kidspace on Wed for Micah's birthday. I will pull Matt out of school for the day. I feel a little weird about this but it's only Kindergarten...

Pictures from Micah's birthday to follow soon...It feels like yesterday I was waddling around huge and pregnant with Micah while we trick-or-treated with Matt!

Micah and Melea

2011-10-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

Micah sings to Melea! The boys are such great helpers. They are very sweet with their sister. Matt often wants to cuddle a little too much with Melea. We have to remind him he should give her one hug and one kiss then back up so she can see his face!

Apples, Soccer, Smiles and More!

2011-10-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

Jeanette came to visit last weekend. She and Karl ran in a local trail race and had a great time. Micah started soccer last Saturday so I loaded up the kids and made it to the park by 8:00am! I was very proud of my ability to get myself and the 3 kids dressed, fed and out of the house that early! The boys even got their teeth brushed!! We had a little cold spell last weekend so I got to bundle Melea up and she looked very cute. Karl and Jeanette were home in time for Matt's game in the afternoon. I know Matt loved having his Grandma watch his game! We went to pick apples on Sunday afternoon. The weather was warm and the apples oh so good!
This weekend was filled with soccer, church and work around the house. I got out for a run with Dawn this morning and it was awesome! I had missed meeting with her for early morning runs! I made it 5 miles...the longest yet since Melea was born! It felt so good to move!!

Apple Picking (Matt took this picture!)

Yum Yum!

Melea at Micah's soccer game last Saturday. I think she looks like a little MN baby!!
Micah was so excited to play soccer! He ran over to me in the middle of the game to ask if he got to keep the uniform. Okay, so he was more excited about the red uniform than the actual game!

Melea is smiling more and more! This picture is of her taking a bath tonight. Poor little girl had to get shots yesterday. Our family all went to get flu shots after soccer on Saturday. The boys were so brave...and very proud after their shots. Melea had to get her 2 month immunizations. She was sick at her 2 month well check and the docter found she had ear infections. She was put on an antibiotic and we had to wait until she finished the meds before getting her shots.
I'm not sure how I can claim this little girl...she looks just like Karl in this picture! WOW

The Flying Stutelbergs

2011-10-02T20:31:00.001-07:00

Fun in the backyard!!

We went to a Star Wars birthday party this afternoon. The kids dressed up. Micah was Chewbaca, Matt was Darth Vader, Luke was Han Solo, and Lydia was R2D2. Melea decided she would rather stay in her dress from church and didn't dress up this time! The dad of the birthday boy dressed as Anakin and Karl, Bill, and Jon corrdinated Clone Trooper outfits. They made a surprise enterance in the middle of the party. The kids were so shocked and surprised! I'm not sure who had more fun the dads or the kids! They had some great duels. The kids then went through a "Jedi Training" obstacle course and got "Yoda Soda" at the end. The kids and parents had a blast!

Darth Vader used a mean "force push" while fightning Han and Chewy!

Han and R2D2...Lydia was pretty cute and Luke was very much into character.

September Wrap Up

2011-09-27T14:09:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe September is almost over! The past two months have flown by! To recap... baby girl born, boys starting school, tough kindergarten adjustment, tough preschool adjustment (which we are still dealing with), soccer, and mom goes back to work for a few hours on Tuesdays. Karl is Mr Mom on Tuesday mornings and is doing great! I set cloths and breakfast out for everyone and Karl gets the kids dressed, fed and off to school. I really admire moms who juggle breastfeeding and working! I only have to deal with it for one morning a week but to do it full time would be quite a challange! I have been volunteering in Matt's class for an hour on Weds. It is fun to be in the background and get a sense of how he interacts in class. We have parent conferences at the end of the week and I'm interested in what his teacher has to say. I have no doubt he is keeping up in class and doing great! Micah starts soccer this weekend and because we are not busy enough, Karl will be assistant coaching his team! Micah's preschool adjustment is a little slower. He seems to be having separation issues again. Much better than last year but he is not his usual happy/silly self when I take him to school. Melea is doing great. She started "half smiling." I have not seen a full grin yet but it is coming soon! She is a champion sleeper and has been going to bed around 7:30 and sleeping until 5:00am! I hope I didn't jinx it by writing that! Melea loves to be held and cuddled! She is a sweetheart...like her brothers!

Recent Pics of the Kiddos

2011-09-14T21:13:00.000-07:00

The boys are such helpers! They LOVE "helping" give Melea a bath. Micah ran to the bathroom and came back with his Mater bath toy for Melea to play with!
Melea and I before we went to our baby shower that the women I work with gave us.

Matt working on his homework. It was such a nice evening last night he did his work outside.

You would never know it but 20 minutes before this picture and before Micah was given Motrin he had a 105 degree fever! He will stay home from school the rest of the week but is doing better.

Take me out to the ball game!

2011-09-08T22:07:00.001-07:00

See the jib jab video here.

Micah's First Day of Preschool

2011-09-06T20:17:00.000-07:00

Our little Micah Man had his first of preschool today! He was very excited and wore his backpack, which was empty, around the house for an hour before we left! Poor Matt got nailed with a nasty virus and didn't go to school today. My dad came over to stay with him so Karl, who has Tuesdays off, and I could take Micah to school. Micah was excited! Totally different from Matt on his first day! I think Matt really thinks about things and Micah is more like me. He kind of jumps into things and doesn't dwell or think it through too much. Both ways of going about life are ok...it is interesting to see how different the boy's personalities are and how they cope with new situations. Micah dove right in and put his name on the board under the "boy" colum and then started on puzzles. Luke is in the same class and I think he and Micah mostly hung together today.

Today was my sister's first day back at work so I watched Lydia and Luke. Karl was home today so he helped out a lot. It was lucky he was home because we decided to take Matt to the doctor. Karl took him and it appears he is just fighting a really nasty virus. Matt will have to miss school tomorrow and possibly Thurday. He still had a high fever when we put him to bed tonight. I pray Melea doesn't get this! I guess it is not too bad, we made it through a whole month of kidergarten before bringing a yucky bug home!

A Few More Pictures

2011-08-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...I think my dad is enjoying retirement!

The kiddos playing this morning! WOW Karl and I are so blessed! I don't know what else to say!

Week 3 of Kindergarten is complete! Matt's adjustment is slow but I think we are making progress. His little brain, body and personality are being challenged and it will take time to adjust. Our family is heading out to Red Robin for dinner tonight per Matt's request! Karl and I decided to think of something special to do on Friday evenings. This gives Matt something to look forward to during the week. We decided to go out to dinner this Friday and let Matt choose the place. Red Robin it is!!

Melea 2 1/2 weeks old

2011-08-23T17:40:00.001-07:00

A few pics of sweet Melea I took this afternoon.

The kindergarten adjustment continues...Monday was great but today Matt was sad at the end of the day. Oh, my sweet boy. This is so hard for Matt, Mom, and Dad.

Matt's First Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

Lots of new happenings in the Stutelberg's home! Matt had his first day of Kindergarten on Monday. Tom and Andra were still visisting so they stayed with Micah and Melea and Karl and I took Matt to school. I know Matt was very nervous but he tried to be brave! It has been a tough week...Matt comes home from school excited and talking non stop about his day but as the evening progresses his anxiety increases. He has been having night terrors each night this week. I think it will take awhile for him to adjust but I'm confident he will eventually do well. I know I sometimes feel overwhelmed with the changes that just occured in our family so I can only imagine how a sensitive 5 year old is interpreting it all. Matt has such a good heart and I would do ANYTHING to minimize his stress...I think only time will help. When I picked him up today he was excited and said, "I decided I really like Kindergarten. I had the best day yet!" Of course it is Friday...so we'll see what he is saying on Sunday evening!

Melea is doing great! She is officialy one week old today!

Micah seems to be adjusting well. He is loving the one on one "mommy time" he gets when Melea is sleeping!

Welcome Melea Jean Stutelberg

2011-08-07T18:33:00.000-07:00

Melea was born on Friday, Aug 5 at 3:01pm. I was induced one week after my due date. Labor went pretty quick. Pitocin was started around 12:00 and Melea was born 3 hours later! The fast labor is good but feels like being hit by a truck!

Melea was 7lb 7oz. She is just perfect and we are so blessed to have her.

We didn't know her gender until delivery and the nurses had fun predicting the sex before she was born. They predicted boy! Karl, Louise and I were in disbelief when the doctor and nurses said "it's a girl."

Our family is complete...I can't believe how blessed we are.

Melea and I came home on Saturday. I wanted to come home as soon as possible and we were dischared 24 hours after Melea was born.

The boys are adjusting well. A little more fighting than tyical but overall not bad. It helps that Grandma and Grandpa are visiting. They are such a HUGE help! Matt starts his first day of Kindergarten tomorrow so check back for pictures of that event and more Melea photos!

July Wrap-up

2011-07-31T22:03:00.000-07:00

Still no baby...my due date was July 29 and that day has come and gone...
If nothing happens this week I am scheduled to be induced on Friday Aug 5th. At least there is an end in sight!
The Schneider's annual slip and slide party was a few weeks ago. This year each family dressed up. I stayed home but the boys (aka pirates) had a blast! Karl came in a close second and slid over 60 feet!

After Church today...Jeanette and Erin came on Tues last week. The plan was to have them help with the boys while I cared for baby and rested...so much for that plan!! Unfortunatly Jeanette had to leave today but will hopefully be able to come back in a few weeks to meet the baby. Erin will be here until next Saturday. It has been great having them here. Life with two little boys gets difficult when you are over 40 weeks pregnant and their help is amazing!

Matt and Micah participated in Soccer Camp this past week. The boys seemed to enjoy it and and really learned a lot. The coaches for the camp were from England and had come over to the US to run week long camps all around the western states. The camp was very oganized and well run.

Matt really learned a lot during the week. He has not had any exposure to soccer prior to this camp and by the end of the week had made great progress with some skills. It was obvious the difference between a 5 year old and a 3 year old when it comes to soccer! Micah spent most of the time sitting on his ball but loved running over for water breaks! He said he had fun though and that is what counts.

Karate Camp

2011-07-15T18:21:00.001-07:00

The boys participated in Karate Camp this week. It was one hour a day this week. The boys LOVED it!! I have never seen kids be so active for a full 60 minutes! They learned some basic kicks, punches and grappling maneuvers. Most important the boys had blast and got VERY tired! They have been in bed asleep at 7pm each night this week!! There is another camp the first week in Aug. I may have the boys do it again, we will see.
I'm now 38 weeks prego and no baby! AHHH I have been reading on natural ways to induce labor and a mom at karate was telling me about acupressure points on the feet and legs that she said worked for her. So I looked it up last night and put Karl to work...I"m still very pregnant...It didn't work. Karl said, "I can't do this very long it hurts my fingers." Really Karl, your fingers may hurt but look at me!! The good news is we should have a big healthy baby that is ready to come out eating, crying, sleeping and pooping just like he/she should! I can't stay prego for ever... but the wait is so hard!

Backyard Play!

2011-07-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

We have had a relaxing long weekend! Karl's birthday was on Sunday. After church we went out to lunch. In the evening we went to my parents house for a bbq. I think he had a pretty good day!

We had a lazy 4th of July and hung at home. I had been keeping my eye on some material I liked for window valences. I took advantage of the the weekend sales and got it! I started them yesterday and am very excited about it! I plan to put them in the living/play room. As long as I stay pregnant I can hopefully finish them but if a baby comes soon the project will be put on hold!

Saturday, Karl's boss had a work bbq at his house. The kids, including Karl, had a blast in the bouncer, riding scooters, water squirter fights, and basketball. Good times!

Karl's new website is up and running! Check out http://www.cuttingedgerunning.com/ Pass it along to your friends who maybe interested in running training programs, personal coaching, and general core exercises. He is offering 20% off in July as an introductory special! Spread the word...he has great knowledge and experience with running physiology and coaching and I know can help runners achieve their goals!

Father's Day Weekend

2011-06-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

Karl and the boys had a Father's Day camping night at the Schneider's home. The kids and dads had a great time eating hotdogs and smores, glow sticks, a snipe hunt, looking at the stars and of course sleeping in tents! The moms went out to dinner for a little "shower" for me. We had a really great time! I stayed the night at my sisters house and we went over to meet up with the boys in the morning for a big breakfast cooked over the fire! Karl, my dad, brother, and the boys went to a baseball game in the afternoon. In the evening we had my dad over for fish tacos. I think Karl had a great Father's Day!! How can you top camping, hotdogs, beer, baseball, fish tacos, and time with two really great little boys?

The boys set up "Cars City" on the patio with the left over firewood this weekend. They worked hard on this project and were very proud of themselves!

Karl had a track meet on the TV this afternoon. The boys thought the long jump was cool so after the meet Karl took them outside to practice long jumping. These pictures remind me of my Grandpa Crane. He was a world class track athlete. He mostly did sprints and long jump. I remember as a kid having long jump compititions with him in the backyard and down the hallway. I know Grandpa was looking from heaven and smiling watching his great-grandchildren long jump in the backyard!!

Another Beach Day

2011-06-22T11:56:00.001-07:00

Last Tuesday we spent a family day at Will Rogers State Beach. It was still cold but we made the best of it and had a great time. Karl wanted to get some fish tacos so we drove down the PCH and spotted a great little fresh fish dive that was having Tuesday Tacos!! They were the BEST fish tacos! I tried to recreate them for Father's Day...but didn't come close!
Since Karl has Tuesday's off now it is great family time. We played last week so this week was a "house work" day! Kall and I washed ALL the windows in the house! What a great guy...he knows how to keep his crazy prego wife happy!! My house is smiling and shinning now!! At least the windows are!!

Last Day of Preschool

2011-06-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

Last week was the last day of preschool for the summer! Micah's last day was Wed and Matt's "graduation" was on Thursday. It was bitter sweet. I know I am super emotional due to being prego but I couldn't help but be a little sad. I turned in Matt's kindergarten registration paperwork on Tues and went back to the car and cried for 20 minutes. How is it possible I am registering my little 5lb preemie for kindergarten?
Micah had a fantastic year at Noah's Ark Preschool and we will miss it next year...but we are trying something new. He will attend a different local preschool with Luke that will allow us to save on some costs and just try something different.
Matt's "graduation" was very cute. I have never been a fan of preschool graduation with caps and gowns...but it turned out to be special. Matt felt very dressed up in his "gold gown." The class did a little program and sang "Shake Your Sillies Out" and "Jump Jump Jump." Following those two songs very few kids still had their hats on!! Then the kids got cake and a balloon. It wasn't over the top and ended up being very cute. Of course, I cried!

Matt and his school buddy Jaiden. Matt and Jaiden became friends at the start of the year and were still good buddies at the end. That doesn't happen often in preschool!
Micah in front of the playground on his last day of preschool

I am now 33 weeks pregnant...so far so good! I'm a little concerned this could be another "Micah" and I'll go past my due date! Yikes...I really want this to be over in 4 weeks!!

Our Day at Ventura Beach

2011-06-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

Karl's brother, Jack, and family visited for the weekend. We ventured out to Ventura for a beach day on Saturday. The weather wasn't ideal but we had a great day. It was Brayden's first time at the beach and after a snack and brief warm up time he loved it! All three boys had a blast digging in the sand and playing in the water. The dads, Jack and Karl, win the Dad of the Year award for playing in the COLD water with the boys who didn't seem to notice the cold at all!! We thought we would only be there a short time but ended up chasing waves and digging for over 3 hours! We then went to the marina and got ice cream and played on the grass. Today we plan to pick cherries...stay tuned for pictures.

Piano Recital

2011-05-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

Matt had his first piano recital this afternoon. He did awesome! We are so proud of him! He was the youngest student to perform. Matt played "The Paratrooper" and "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

30 weeks 2 days

2011-05-22T15:04:00.001-07:00

My boys looked so handsome this morning before church I had to get a picture...my 3rd boy, Karl, had to take the picture but he looked most handsome as well!!
I am now 30 weeks pregnant...come on July...you can't get here soon enough! Waiting to find out the gender of the baby is getting harder and harder but we will find out soon.
Baby: My apologizies to you now for referring to you as "it." I love you little "it."
I posted a cute picture of the boys late last night so scoll down to the previous post if you haven't seen it already!

Bed Tent

2011-05-21T23:20:00.000-07:00

Karl found a "Cars" bed tent on sale this morning and got it for Matt's bed. The boys both wanted to sleep in Matt's bed tonight. Karl and I questioned if they would ever fall asleep! They look so cute cuddled up together. I'm so glad they are buddies! Maybe they will end up sharing a room sooner than we anticipated! Karl and I were thinking the baby would be in our room for a long time...but maybe not!!

Spring Swimming in the Backyard

2011-05-05T13:57:00.000-07:00

Karl found a great deal on a Sony Playsport camera...I was playing with it when the kids were in the pool. Enjoy the video!

The Fitch kids are at my house today and it is the most beautiful spring day! We have been having a great time outside.
A great Luke quote from today... I was making smoothies and he saw me adding ground flaxseed to the blender and asked what that was. I told him and he said "Yes, I have been reading about flaxseed."

I love warm sping days! It puts me in such a good mood, which is hard to do these days. I am turning into a grouchy fat prego girl. I know I shouldn't wish time away but I am really looking forward to the end of July!

Matt has Kindergarten Round-up tomorrow. He is so excited to meet other 5 year olds and the teachers. Micah will be starting a new preschool in the fall. Big changes happening this summer for the Stutelbergs!

Happy Easter

2011-04-26T09:41:00.001-07:00

My parent's and all the kids....well almost all, I should have gotten my belly in the picture!

Matt and CC rockin a Mary Had a Little Lamb duet!

The boys got these silly gummy teeth in their Easter baskets from church!
Louise and I have this terrible problem of showing up to church wearing very similar outfits...this is not the first time this has happened!

We woke up early Sunday morning to find the Easter Bunny had been busy putting jelly beans ALL over our house! He then left the boys Easter baskets filled with cars, playmobile guys, and candy! Church had an egg hunt that the boys had fun with. We then went to my parent's house for a great dinner. The silly Easter Bunny had been busy there hiding eggs all over their backyard! It was a fun and exciting day, as Easter should be!!

Kidspace

2011-04-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

My freind Dawn and I took a van full of kids to Kidspace in Pasadena on Thursday. She had two of her kids with her and I had Matt, Micah, Luke and Lydia with me. Louise had to work. It was raining when we got to Pasadena so we got in for the reduced rainy day price. Lucky us because about 30 minutes after we got in the weather cleared up and we were able play and explore outside. We had a great day and Dawn and I were proud of our teamwork with the 6.5 kids! I am counting my 3rd little one as a .5 now! I'm glad we went out of town for the day because when we got home it was horribly windy. It would have been a long day in the house had we not ventured out! We all adopted caterpillers as well. Matt named his Captain Caterpiller. We have them in there special habitat on the counter so we can keep a close eye on them as they transform into butterflies!Collecting water and getting REALLY wet. Unfortunatly it was cold outside!

Little Lydia hung out in style! She was so good all day!

The kids are feeling a simulated earthquake and watching the lights sway above. Unfortunatly I'm sure this is not the last earthquake they will feel. We had a good talk about what to do if a real earthquake hits.

The Force!

2011-03-31T13:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Matt and Micah got to watch the much anticipated (at least among the boys in my house) Episode 4 of Star Wars. Matt's best buddy, Max, and his dad came for the "Star Wars Party!"
Karl gave me a shopping list and said he was making dinner...yeah, a little scary! The pictures are of the very creative (and a little gross) meal we enjoyed! The hot dog/toast/egg creations are Star Wars ships and dessert was marshmallow and chocolate R2D2 guys! I thew in some light saber carrot sticks at the last minute. Karl gets a 10 for creativity. Not sure if I can rate the health aspect of this meal! The important thing was the kids LOVED it!!
After dinner the boys settled in with popcorn and watched the movie. It was a hit! Matt asked question after question and Micah screamed and laughed when he saw the charaters he recognized!
The best part of the night was I went into the QUIET back of the house and read for over an hour WITHOUT interuption!! Hmmmm, maybe a house full of boys has perks!!

Happy Birthday Mom

2011-03-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

It was my birthday last Thursday. My dad came over with dinner and Karl got off work a little early so it was nice to spend the evening with all of my favorite boys!

Matt had been wanting to see Star Wars for over a year now...we thought he was too young but decided when he was 5 he could watch it. So tonight Matt's best buddy, Max, and his dad are coming over for the much anticipated Star Wars showing! I'll post some pics later! May the force be with you all!!!

Matt turns 5!

2011-03-16T00:04:00.000-07:00

For Matthew's 5th birthday we took him to Disneyland for the first time with his brother Micah and cousins Luke and Lydia. It was AMAZING! I will post more about it later. Here are some pictures for now.

Minnesota in Pictures!!

2011-03-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

We spent a week in MN visiting family and braving the snowy cold! We had a great week, kept busy taking advantage of all the indoor kid friendly activites the cities have to offer, and hopefully didn't wear out our welcome with our crazy kiddos! We went to not only visit family but celebrate some important birthdays. Karl's dad turned 60 and his sister 30. Happy Birthday!!

Andra and Erin took the boys to a children's play. They saw Babe. It was about a farm and talking animals!! You would have to ask the boys for details...I heard the boys got yummy treats at intermission! They had a good time and I was told the boys sat and watched the play nicely.
Bowling!

Snowmobile riding with Doug. Micah didn't want to go outside and had more fun playing with Joie's dolls inside! Matt was very proud of himself and asked Doug to "please take me on one more ride" again and again!

Building a snow tower with Grandma. The snow was very dry so we couldn't make a snowman but Grandma was creative and suggested a snow tower!

Sleding! We went to a perfect little hill just a few miles from the house and intoduced the boys to REAL sleding. They were fearless and had a blast. Matt wanted to go down the first time alone and after an few runs down Micah decided to go head first laying on his stomach!

Baking cookies with Grandma. 3 very good cookie bakers!

Our snow fort. The next day we walked back to the fort to see how it was holding up and decided to buid it another foot highter. It was very cool!

One last picture before leaving for the airport.

Those are just a few of our pictures. We also went to the MN Children's Museum, Como Zoo, indoor play area, children's book store, and spent a lot of time playing with cars and tinker toys in the basement!

We have been home for a week now and are gearing up for Matt's 5th birthday on the 15th. He wanted to go to Disneyland so that is were we are headed! Stay tuned for our Disneyland adventures and pictures. I don't think it is possible for a little boy to be more excited for his birthday than Matt is this year! I love it!

Lydia's Baptism

2011-02-06T17:08:00.001-08:00

Lydia was baptized this morning. A lot of family was present and it was a special day. Karl and I are honored to be her sponsors. Louise and Jon held a little reception at their house after chuch. Good food and fun! A great way to spend Super Bowl Sunday, in my opinion!!

Let it Snow!!

2011-01-02T18:03:00.000-08:00

Snow in Southern California! It doesn't happen often so when it does we get excited! The boys were bouncing off the walls! We got dressed in our snow gear, that will soon be packed for our Colorado trip at the end of the week, and headed outside! Matt lasted about 40 min before deciding sitting in front of the fire driking hot chocolate sounded more fun. Karl stayed out with Micah for a while longer and ended up dragging him inside! It is funny how different the boys are! Micah was throwing snow balls and having a blast outside and Matt was more than content sitting in front of the fire with me sipping hot chocolate!

The snow is still coming down...forecasted to keep snowing through the night. I'll post more pictures of our snow adventures tomorrow if the ground is covered in the morning.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-29T17:36:00.000-08:00

The Stutelberg's had a great Christmas! We went to church on Christmas Eve and even spoted Santa in the sky when driving home! At least that is what Matt said he saw! Santa visited us during the night which made for a fun Christmas morning. Matt came into our room and asked, "Did Santa come last night?" I told him I wasn't sure and he should go look at the fireplace and Christmas tree. About 20 seconds later he came running and screaming down the hall. "Santa came!!! Wake up Micah, Santa came to our house last night!!" Karl and I then HAD to drag ourselves out of bed. My parents and brother came over and the unwrapping fun began! The boys got lots of Playmobil figures, cars, Mr. Potato Head pieces, games, and a Powerwheels jeep.

My mom made the boys matching PJs. Lydia has a matching blanket but was not up to being in the picture!

Matt and Micah LOVE little Lydia!

It has been raining all day so my sister came over and we had a cooking day! Both our families now have freezers full of lasagna, chili, roasted red pepper and sausage cannolis and pizzas!! I got a dutch oven for Christmas and was very excited to try it out. I made chicken noodle soup for dinner earlier in the week and chili today in it! If you don't have dinner plans, come on over and raid my freezer!!!

Welcome Lydia

2010-12-08T01:42:00.000-08:00

Lydia Ruth Margaret Fitch was born this morning!

It is now 1:45am and I just got home from the hospital were my sister gave birth to a little girl. She is perfect and weighs 8lb 10oz and is 20.5" long.
Congratulations Fitch Family!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T17:24:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving is easy to describe this year...yummy food with a loving family!

Sorry for the prego pic, Weez...had to do it!

Happy Fall from Matt and Micah!

Annual CLU Turkey Tri and Last Game in Mt. Clef Stadium

2010-11-13T18:31:00.001-08:00

We spent the day at CLU for two reasons...first was so I could support my brother and participate in the CLU triathlon he helped organize and second was to see the last football game played in Mt. Clef staduim.

Mt. Clef stadium is the same stadium, in the middle of campus, that my parents watched football games at when they were at CLU. Karl and I have memories watching football in this stadium after our cross country meets. Karl and I spent a lot of time on the field because the cross country and track office was located on the side line and we would meet on the field in front of the office for practice. I know the new staduim, that will be located on the other side of campus, will be big and beautiful but I can't help feel a little sad. Mt. Clef has a unique charm...students could get on the field at any time to play ultimate frisbee and you could sit in the end zone during football games. I'm sure there won't be access like this in the new one. Oh, well...progress! Wow, it sounds like I have really given this a lot of thought and I assure you I have not!

Clark and his fellow RAs did a great job putting together this little tri! Unfortunatly there was not a big turn out...I know there has to be more people out there that think swimming, biking and running in the wind is fun. Where are you?? My boys, including my dad were amazing cheerleaders. I had a lot of fun!! I think I have written this before but I am so happy that my kids see Karl and I participate in runs and races. I LOVE that this is normal for them! Last weekend we were in Santa Clarita, about 45 min south of Quartz Hill, with Jeanette and Brad to cheer them on while they ran the 5K and Karl and my dad did the 1/2 marathon. Jon was also there and ran the 5k. Everyone did great and most importantly had fun. I think it is so great that my boys are exposed to an active healthy lifestyle and they learn to support their famiy and friends achieve their little personal athletic goals.

Hopefully the next time I post I will be showing off pictures of my new little niece! Louise has fought preterm labor for the past 10 weeks! She did a great job, not that she had much control, and is now 36 weeks. Bring on the baby!! At her last ultrasound the baby was measuring big so the goal has been to get her to 36 weeks then have this baby born! Ok Baby, listen up....time to come out!!! More later...........

Micah's 3rd Birthday (11/2/2010)

2010-11-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to my little Micah Man!

We held Micah's party the week before Halloween. It was a dress up party and we had a great time! Micah and all his buddies had a blast decorating spider cupcakes, decorating pumpkins, pumpkin bowling, and running around in the backyard!

Micah's favorite food is melon so he started out his birthday morning with a bowl of cantelope and honeydew melon! The weather was beautiful so we spent the morning at the park climbing and running. Karl got home from work early and the boys had fun playing baseball in the back yard. My parents and sister's family came over for dinner and birthday pumpkin pie! I think Micah had a pretty good 3rd birthday!
It is so hard to believe my little baby is 3!! I think I write that each time I blog on one of my boy's birthdays!!

Micah's favorite things at age 3:

warm milk "as high as the wall" (this is Micah speak for filling the cup to the top)
"tags" (Micah's two blankies)
Lightning McQueen
Buzz Lightyear
cuddling in the rocking chair with Mom
jumping off of high places
playing dress up (as Buzz Lightyear or Spiderman)
playing with Matt and Luke (50% of the time this involves fighting)
digging in the sand and getting dirty

Happy Birthday Micah you are such a fun, smart, and kind boy! I love you!!

One More Halloween Pic!

2010-11-04T20:34:00.001-07:00

I forgot to add this pic! FUN!!

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from Woody, Jessie, Buzz, and Army Guy!!

BIG NEWS!!

2010-10-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

Our little (big now) Micah is potty trained!! Now we have to break him of the binky!! He is not in his Halloween costume, just playing dress with up his brother (aka Toy Story Army Guy) and cousin (aka Superman.)

We had Micah's birthday party yesterday...stay tuned for pictures! His birthday isn't until Nov 2 but we celebrated a bit early.

I know...someday Micah will be really upset when he sees this! Sorry Buddy...Love you!

Once Again....It Was Too Quiet

2010-10-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

I came home from running and was greated at the door by these faces!

GOOD MORNING!

Karl said he was getting breakfast and realized it was too quiet in the back of the house. Sure enough the boys were turning themselves into "Spiderman, Batman, and Superman."

Oh, another day...here we go!

Pretty Toes!

2010-10-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

My friend found a girl who comes to homes and gives pedicures. We decided to plan an afternoon for my sister who is bored out of her mind on bed rest! I think she had a good time. She actually did more than a pedicure and put gel with sparkley glitter on our toes. Very "outside the box" for me but it was really fun!! My toes are blue and Weezie's are purple! Now we will just have to keep wearing flip flops into the winter!!

Camping in Ventura, CA

2010-09-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

The Stutels went camping this weekend at McGrath State Beach in Ventura. Honestly it wasn't the best camping trip we have had but we made the best of it and had 2 quality "family days." The weather was beautiful, about 80 for the high and mid 50s at night. The first night some really loud and obnoxious people were next to us. Fortunatly the boys slept through it all but I didn't! Should you really have to tell other adults at 1:30am to please stop breaking trees apart for firewood because it is too niosy and just plain a wrong thing to do? Anyway, thankfully they only stayed Friday night! Saturday we went to the beach for a few hours. The beach was about a 1/4 mile walk from our camp. The boys had more fun jumping off the sand dunes than at the beach! In the afternoon we went to the Marina and ate ice cream, looked at boats, and took silly pictures. In the evening when we got back to camp Karl started getting a headache and feeling sick. So he packed it in early. Sunday morning he was feeling fine and after a bike ride we loaded up and headed home! We stopped at the outlet stores in Camarillo and hit up the Stride Rite store for shoes for the boys. I always feel like such and horrible mother when after measuring the boys feet I realize I have been squeezing then into shoes a whole size too small! Luckly my boys are usually barefoot at home.

Our little campers! When I tucked them into bed tonight I asked them which they liked better, sleeping in the tent or their beds. Both said the tent!!

Karl told me I need to work on my "hops." I'm saying it's the photographer. He needs to catch the photo when I'm at my peak height, not coming down!!! :)

This is what your face looks like when you say "ARRRRR!"

Preschool update: Matt is still doing great! He got to bring home a letter "A" worksheet on Wed for homework due on Friday. He was very excited. After turning it in on Friday he got a sticker on his homework folder. He said he wants to always do his homework so he can fill his folder with stickers!

Micah is doing better...he didn't cry on Friday at drop off but his teacher said he started missing me after an hour and then cried for the next two hours until I picked him up. Right when he sees me he loves telling and showing me the things he does at school. He has a great teacher and I feel very comfortable to be working his separation anixety out with her.

First Day of School

2010-09-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

Matt and Micah had their first day of school last week on Wed. Matt was an old pro and did great when I dropped him off. He gets a little shy in groups so I think school is a little stressful for him. At home and when he is one on one with another person he will talk your head off but I don't think that is the case at school. He was very brave and gave me a kiss and hug goodbye then walked right into the classroom and started doing a project that was on the table. He is a precious little boy!
Micah, on the other hand, was not so brave! He CRIED and freaked out! Luke is in the same class and did super. Luke got his kiss and hug goodbye after I chased him down in the classroom and started playing with play doh. Micah was so upset I don't think he even noticed Luke was there! I let Micah bring his blankies (Tags) with him and I think this helped a little. When I picked him up he was not crying and the teacher said she thinks he will be fine in few weeks. She said Micah cried periodically during the morning. Micah was so proud after school. He was excited to show me his crafts and really wanted to sing me the songs he learned in the car on the way home.
My new challenge is trying to hear about the school morning from 3 little boys at one time during our drive home!

Micah: "Twinkle twinkle little star how I wonder what you are, up above the world so, umm (pause) how I want you to come over today." Then he stops, says "Wait a second Mommy." and puts down the car he is holding to make his hands into a diamond shape before continuing. " Like a diamond in the sky....."
Ha Ha Ha he is just a precious as his brother! :)

(Okay, I know the kitchen is a mess...but I was trying to get 3 little boys ready for school and as you can see by the absent shoes we are not ready yet!!)

Now those are "ready for school smiles!!"

Our Weekend!

2010-09-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy weekend...no suprise!

Karl and I have been working really hard on the backyard with a goal of getting the boys a play set. I made it a habit to check out Craig's List almost every morning and finally found one last week. Karl and some guys from work took it apart and moved it into our back yard. We had a "barn raising" on Friday night and turned it into a little party. We had some friends over and the daddies put the swing set together while the kids distroyed my house and the mommies tried to maintain a managable level of chaos! As the evening turned into bedtime we put a movie on for all the kids and the moms chowed on yummy ice cream! Weezie will hate the picture below...but how many times in your life can you rest your ice cream bowl on your tummy!! Around 10:00pm the swing set was done! I don't have a picture of it completed yet but I'll post one soon. It is has 2 swings, a slide and fort.

Saturday morning we took Matt to meet a potential piano teacher. Since Matt is so young she wanted to meet him and do a little mini "interview" with him. Matt was so cute. He sang the ABCs for her and answerd all her questions like such a big kid! We decided start lessons for a few months and make sure Matt stays excited about it! When we got in the car to go home Matt said, "Mommy and Daddy, I like piano lessons a lot more that swimming lessons!" Karl and I laughed and said "We know, Buddy!"

After naps on Saturday we drove with Jon and Luke to Santa Monica. Karl and Jon ran in a 5k run on Sunday morning. We spent the night in a hotel and after the run went to the beach. They boys LOVE staying in hotels and had a blast!

Jon PRd in his run and Karl was happy that his leg felt good. He has been dealing with a pulled muscle for over a month now. I'm sure he will have details on his blog.

We are home safe and the boys went to bed at 7:00! We had a busy weekend!

Please send us good thoughts...preschool starts on Wed. The boys will go on Wed and Fri mornings. I took them to meet their teachers on Friday and left them in their classroom for an hour while I attended orientation. Matt and Luke did great! Micah, on the other hand, was so upset. Actually upset is an understatment...he cried for 40 minutes and only stopped when I walked in the room to pick him up. His teacher is amazing and said she held him and gave him lots of hugs. She assured me within a month Micah would be over his separation anxiety....oh, it is going to be a long month for both Micah and myself.

Good Old A.V. Fair

2010-09-01T13:19:00.001-07:00

We went to the Antelope Valley Fair last week. I was kind of dreading the trip...hot, crowded, dirty, chaotic...but it turned out to be the most fun I have ever had at the fair. The boys made the evening fun. By the time we walked in the boy's faces were red and they were hot! So our first stop was getting lemonade. We then saw the animals...did you know the sheep are actually saying "MAAAAATT!!" Then we went to a kids area and participated in a show/talk on making butter. The boys made their own butter shaking and dancing around with a tupperware container of whole milk. We then ate a gross "fair style" dinner and let the boys pick 3 rides. Karl and Matt had been to the fair the nigh before to see The Beach Boys and Karl let him ride the ferris wheel then so Matt knew EXACTLY what he wanted to do! Luke and Matt wanted to go on the ferris wheel, all three went down the super slide and rode the airplane ride. Fun evening!!

????

2010-08-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

We are at home and I'm playing a Veggie Tales Worship CD while the kiddos are playing with pretend swords and saying they are going to fight and chop eachother's heads off. I'm not sure about this senario???

Grandma's in Charge!

2010-08-17T13:21:00.001-07:00

Jeanette spent the later part of last week with the boys while Karl was at work and I was recuperating from a minor surgery. I had an umbilical hernia since Micah was born and it was getting worse so the time came to have it repaired. The boys had a blast with Grandma. She took them to the park to feed ducks, the library, out for ice cream, to Bounce Palace and played A LOT of cars at home. THANK YOU!!!
Also a big thank you to my sis and mom for their help cleaning.
I am feeling almost back to normal. I will consider myself completly recovered when I can lift my sweet little boys and can go for a decent run. Hopefully in another week!!

3rd Annual Slip and Slide Competition

2010-08-09T21:28:00.000-07:00

The Schneider's 3rd annual Slip and Slide competition was on Saturday!! Karl was a fierce competitor but Bill won this year! I really stink and was named the Champion of the Kids Competition! This may not really be the case because I think some of the kids probably beat me! Following an afternoon of sliding we put the kids to sleep and the adults had a fierce poker game! Part of the fun was to dress in "poker garb." Karl looked great in a flowered polyester shirt, sunglasses and a white visor! I came as a "classy lady" and sported a pink shawl, huge sun glasses, and a very large floppy red hat! The first video is Matt's attempt at sliding and below is Micah playing with his little buddy, Cole.

Andi's Salon

2010-07-31T18:36:00.000-07:00

I have offically opened a hair salon...sound weird, concidering I am either wearing a running hat or have my hair in pony tail? :) This picture could be on my shop sign!! Matt has been saying he wanted a hair cut "just like Daddy's" for a few months now. I have been cutting Karl's hair for years but was nervous to cut at the boys longer hair! Well...I did it! I think they look great and more important my little customers think they are hot stuff!!

BEFORE

AFTER

Sea World

2010-07-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, so in typical Stutelberg fashion we have been SUPER busy the past few weeks. By the time I get around to blogging I am usually tired and only up for posting a few pic so I will attempt to cover some of our exciting summer in numerous blog posts.

Erin flew out to stay with us last week. It was great having her here. I did a triathlon with Ron and Julie on July 18. I went to Oxnard with Ron and Julie to practice swimming in the ocean on Sat the 17th. Karl and the boys picked Erin up at the airport then met us at the beach. We had a fun afternoon and evening. Erin, Karl and the boys drove home and I stayed with Ron and Julie to do the race the next morning. This is a family blog not a training one so I won't bore you with the race details...I will only say swimming 1500 meters in the ocean was definatly an experience. One of the hardest physical things I have ever done!

These pictures are from our trip to Sea World. This was the first amusement park we have taken the boys to. I told Erin in the morning to go into the day with no expectations. This way no matter what happens with the day it will have been a success! We spent the night in a hotel about 15 minutes from the park. This worked out great and we arrived at Sea World when it opened. We hit the Shamu Show and Dophin Show and almost all the exhibits. The boys took a nap in the stroller and in Erin and my laps while waiting for the dolphin show to start so they were somewhat rested! I really don't think the day could have gone better. It was really special to spend our fun time with Erin! Stay tuned for more posts...I still need to post on Yosemite, swim lessons, vistis from grandparents, beach trips, and our family reunion in Big Bear last week. Whew, that's a lot!!

Matt 's "best buddy" Murry the Morray Eel! Ewww they were so creepy but the boys loved them! Why do boys like the weird creatures?

Matt at the Shamu show. He was sitting on Karl's lap and when Shamu came out and jumped out of the water Matt leaned forward and said "Shamu is amazing!" I found it more amazing watching the boys experience the day!

Micah and the seals.

Matt and the polar bear. Matt LOVED the characters but Micah was a little shy. We spent a lot of time in the Sesame Street Bay of Play. The kids got to meet Elmo, Zoe, Grover, Bert, Abby, and Cookie Monster. Micah warmed up to these characters fast! He was so excited to meet them!

Play Time

2010-07-12T16:42:00.001-07:00

We have had such a busy summer so far...too busy to post on this blog! We have been to Yosemite and had fantastic visits from Karl's parents. Hopefully I will get around to posting some of the great pictures.
We are having a quiet Monday afternoon at home. It is really windy (big surprise) so we are trapped inside. Micah is playing with his cars and Matt with Star Wars figures. Poor Matt spent over 5 minutes lining up all his "men" only to have his little brother attack them! Chaos!! Did I say we were having a "quiet" afternoon at home?

It Was Just Too Quiet!

2010-06-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

This morning I was a little too "into" reading the directions and recipes for the food dehydrator I borrowed from my mom. I noticed it was too quiet. I went searching for the boys and found them climbing in the linen closet they had just emptied. BOYS!!!

Summer at Sea (not for the Stutels)

2010-06-16T19:45:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder or perhaps new information...
My brother left for a semester at sea program a few day ago. He is keeping a journal of his daily adventures on his blog. Check it out if you have the chance. The link is listed on the right of this page (The Crane Files.)
We love you CC...have the time of your life!!

The effects of a s'more!

2010-06-09T00:39:00.001-07:00

Pink Swim Cap Pic!

2010-05-20T10:31:00.001-07:00

I had to add a picture of our cool pink swim caps from the Irom Girl Triathon!!

Iron Girl

2010-05-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

I did it!! I completed my first triathon in at the Iron Girl Tri at Lake Las Vegas. I completed the event with Julie, Karl's buddy's wife, and her sister Joni. It was the first tri for all of us and we had a blast!

I finished 84/643 and am happy with this.

This was a sprint distance triathon with the swim being 800 meters, bike 30k and run 5k.

I had a great cheering crew! Thanks to everyone who supported us! I can't wait to do another one. Maybe next time I'll try a longer olympic distance race!

Spring Sing

2010-05-01T20:12:00.000-07:00

We spent the morning hanging out at home in the backyard and enjoying the sun and absence of wind! It has been really windy the past week and we have not been outside much. We all needed to burn a little energy and soak in some vitamin D! Karl and I worked in the yard while the boys played and swam in in the play pool. Actually, Micah swam and Matt rode his bike in circles around the patio table! Karl ran out to pick up our produce box. When he returned we sat on the patio and ate sugar snap peas. Micah grabbed this carrot from the box and started chomping away at it! I love this picture of Matt and Emma, too bad it was taken facing the side of the backyard that didn't get new sod! In the pots are my grapes and raspberries. They are getting established in the pots this year and we will plant them next year! Yummy!

Matt the Rock Star had his first performance on Tuesday night at Spring Sing! His class sang two songs, Arky Arky and God is Good. To say he was excited would be an understatement. A few weeks ago Matt told me he was planning to stay on stage after his class finished singing and he would sing Twist and Shout by himself. I had to explain in a gentle way that Spring Sing was only a group performance and he would have to wait to solo another time! The kids did great and after they sang they got medals. Matt is so proud of his singing medal...just like dad's running medals!

Leona Divide 50

2010-04-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

Karl did it! He completed his first ultra race! He finished the 50 mile trail run in 8 hours and 55 minutes. Karl's groupies (aka Andi, Matt, Micah, Louise, Luke, Don, Bill, Dawn, Myra, Max, and Vivian) hiked out the the 30 mile aide station to see Karl come through. Karl will post details of the run on his blog so check it out in a day or so. It was a long day for all of us! The boys and I came home for about an hour after seeing Karl at 30 miles then went out to to see him finish. It is 7:30pm and Karl is in bed with a fever and very tight/fatigued legs. The boys and I are chilling out watching "The Jungle Book." Good Night!!

Clay also completed the run! I'm glad they both finished healthy.

30 mile/Turn Around

Sod

2010-04-11T08:27:00.001-07:00

BEFORE.....

AFTER!

Karl and Matt went to pick up the first load of sod around 7:30 Saturday morning. The fun began! It was (big surprise) REALLY windy so the boys didn't want to play outside. They got to chill inside while Karl and I got to work. We worked all day and the result is fairly satisfying! Karl and I decided to name our backyard "Elmer." Do you know the children's book about Elmer the patchwork elephant? I think that explains it! Once the new grass takes and it all grows and blends it should look good!

Matt and the Horse!

2010-04-05T21:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, so 4 year olds crack me up too!
Today we walked the boys down the street from my sister's house to see some horses. Matt wanted to put his hand through the fence and pet one of the horses. I told him couldn't do that because we didn't know the horse and the horse didn't know us and I didn't want the horse to bite him. I could see the wheels turning in Matt's head...he then told me he thought the horse's name was Cinnamon. Then he turned to the horse and said, "Hi Cinnamon. I'm Matthew Stutelberg." He then turned to me and said, "So Mom, now the horse knows me and I know the horse, so can I pet him now?" I said "No, that was very clever but even though you and the horse are friends he may think your fingers are food. So, no you can't pet him."
What a goofy and clever kiddo!

Happy Easter

Micah Man!

2010-03-29T13:09:00.001-07:00

Two year olds crack me up!!
Around 2:00am on Sunday morning a little boy, aka Micah, came waddling into our room saying "I have a yittle pee pee on me." The kid was soaked in urine! I could have wrung his pants out! I changed him and tossed him into bed with Karl and I because I was too lazy to strip and change his bed at 2:00am. A few hours later I was awakened by a little voice, aka Micah, in my face saying, "Mommy, Mommy, MOMMY, what do you want to be for Halloween?" Are kidding me Micah Man???!!! I love you little guy!

Trip to the Beach

2010-03-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

For Andi and Louise's birthday they, along with Jonathan, took the boys to the beach in Santa Monica. As you can see they all had a great time!

Matt turns 4!

2010-03-17T22:54:00.000-07:00

Matt turned 4 on Monday and had a great birthday. He woke up and went directly to the mirror in our bathroom, looked at himself and said, "I got bigger!" I think he was a little disappointed when the scale still read 39 pounds. Matt, Micah, and Luke all got to go to the airport to see Andi's uncle Ray take off in his airplane, then go to a bakery, and see Andi's grandmother who is also in town.
The party was in the evening. The boys played baseball with Karl and Jon before dinner. We had hamburgers, carrots with humus, and soup. Afterward we opened presents and and had cake and ice cream. The highlight was a Lightning McQueen pinata filled with "goodies" from Louise and Jon.

Nutty Runners

2010-03-13T21:07:00.000-08:00

This morning was the first Nutty Runners race put on by a good running buddy of Karl and I. If we weren't friends with the race coordinator we probably would have stayed home! It was, in true Antelope Valley fashion, WINDY!! Not just windy but a cold wind! Karl and his boss/running buddy dressed as the Planter's peanut guy. The race was called "Nutty Runners" because the annual Almond Blossom Festival is this weekend. Get it...almonds...nuts...peanuts??
Anyway, Karl and Clay looked pretty funny and were quite a hit with the other runners and crowd. My sister came and pushed Luke in the jogging stroller, I pushed the boys, and Karl (aka Daddy Peanut) won the race! Matt and Karl stuck around to help with the kid's 1K race. Karl said Matt did a great job handing out medals to the kids. Micah was not a fan of the cold and kept asking to be held and cuddled and was crying, "keep me warm." The boys were so proud of their Daddy Peanut and truly knew they have the coolest dad ever!!

We took Micah for his two year old pictures a few weeks ago. I know I am a little biased, but is he not adorable? Wow...what a cutie!Daddy gave the kids a bath tonight. That can get a little silly! The boys love taking baths in "mommy and daddy's bathroom." At least the bathtub get some use this way!

Fireflies

2010-02-27T22:54:00.000-08:00

To Infinity and Beyond...

2010-02-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

So, I have been a little hesitant to blog on our latest "big family happening." That is what this blog is for though so here it goes...I'll get over my embarrassment! The news is...Matt has given up his binky (aka pacifier)!!!
Yes, my almost 4 year old was going to bed each night and napping with a pacifier. Am I a lazy parent for letting this go on for almost 4 years? Maybe, but I prefer to think of it as being more of a tired parent to needs to sleep at night and clean during nap time!
Matt has been wanting a Buzz Lightyear toy for a few months. His buddy Max got one for Christmas and Matt thought it was the coolest thing ever! So, Karl and I made a deal with him. If he gave up the binky for one week he could go out on a special trip with daddy to the toy store and pick out a Buzz.
Matt did such a great job! The first few nights were rough. In the middle of the first night without the binky Matt called to me and when I went into his room he said in the saddest little voice, "Sleeping without Binky is so hard Mommy." He never cried or asked for it though! The second night was filled with night terrors because he was over tired from not sleeping well the previous night. Now we are good...Matt and Buzz are cool!
I'm so proud of Matt. This event was similar to potty training. Once he put his mind to it and decided it was something he was ready for he did it!

Today is my dad's birthday...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PO!!!!!

Baby Jesus

2010-02-04T19:08:00.000-08:00

The boys have become parents!
Here is the story:

Matt came up with this totally on his own!

He started taking care of this doll this morning. He asked me to get the baby bouncer and some cloths out of the garage. He then came up with naming the doll "Baby Jesus." He told me he and Micah got married and had a baby. Matt and Micah have been feeding the baby, rocking the baby, giving him baby toys (which I also dug out of the garage), changing diapers and putting the baby to sleep. I was just told, by Matt, that God left Baby Jesus here for the night. He will be back to get him in the morning and if he doesn't come we can write "To God" on the baby's forehead and put him in the mailbox!
I guess if we ever have another baby we will have lots of help!! Yeah, right!!

Side note: Micah's face is not hurt or scratched. We had spaghetti for dinner!!

Movie Night

2010-01-23T21:02:00.000-08:00

We had a movie night tonight. Dawn's husband, Bill is out of town so she brought the kids over for dinner and a movie. We watched Lion King. My boys have never seen this one. I was a little nervous about the death scene with Simba's dad. When we watched "Finding Nemo" I skipped the scene when Nemo's mom dies. Matt of course asked what was happening and what was wrong with Simba's daddy. I told him he died and went to heaven. He asked what died meant and I told him it meant Simba's daddy wasn't alive anymore but was in heaven with God. Wow...maybe I should have thought that explanation through little more. Cartoon characters in heaven with God...I don't know! We brought the futon mattress into the family room and snuggled the kiddos up!
We took an intermission during the movie to make banana splits...yummy!! I have been so proud of our family's diet the past month, up until tonight! I made a new year's resolution to feed our family a mostly organic diet with focus on plant based foods. It is amazing the yummy things you can make. If anyone has any recipe ideas for me let me know!!!
We watched the documentary Food Inc. on New Year's Eve (yes, I know we are pathetic) and Karl and I decided to make some changes. I won't start in on our new food philosophy...just watch the documentary or ask and I'll love to tell you about the importance of organic produce, organic free range chicken, and organic grass feed beef!
Have a great weekend...oh, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAYDEN!!! Our little nephew is turning one!!!

Mom & Matt, Dad & Micah

2010-01-17T12:49:00.000-08:00

While Andi and Matt went to the snow to go tubing, Karl and Micah had breakfast at the airport diner, went to the park, and then came home to play cars! More pictures to come.

Dinner & Show

2010-01-09T16:30:00.000-08:00

Oh Yummy Organic Goodness!!!

My soup for dinner tonight is so beautiful!

Please enjoy the entertainment (sorry for the poor quality) while the soup cooks! Karl, Luke, Micah, and Matt rock out to Beat It! I am currently listening to the 15th live encore!

Christmas Events!

2009-12-19T21:27:00.000-08:00

As usual we have been a busy crew! Last weekend we went to Las Vegas . The band Train was doing a concert at Caesar's Palace and Brad and Jeanette were so kind to babysit Matt, Micah and Luke so Louise, Jon, Karl and I could go to the concert. It was awesome! This was the 4th time I have seen Train and Karl's 5th concert and this one didn't disappoint. If you don't recall who Train is think "Meet Virginia" or "Drops of Jupiter."
Henderson had a Christmas festival downtown on Saturday. Before the concert we took the boys to see Santa, listen to choir music, ride in a horse drawn wagon, and just run around and play. Matt and Brayden did great with Santa. Matt is old enough to realize how special Santa is and Brayden is too young to care! Micah was a little hesitant although he got close enough for this picture.

This morning was the High Desert Runner's Jingle Bell Jog. Karl pushed the boys and we ran together. We let the boys get out of the stroller about 100 meters from the finish and run across the finish with us. They thought that was really cool and kept saying "we won!"
Tonight we had the Fitch's over for dinner. We then went out and walked up and down a street where the homes are coverd in Chirstmas lights. After giving the boys a quick bath we watched Polar Express. We put our futon mattress out and cuddled the boys up with blankets and pillows. We all watched the movie and drank hot chocolate. Karl said watching a movie with Matt is as bad as watching one with me because we both constantly ask "what is that?" or "why is that happening?" during the movie! After hearing Matt I agree, that is pretty annoying!

One week to go until Christmas!
Merry Christmas!

Christmas Card Preview

2009-12-09T22:55:00.001-08:00

Here is a sample of pictures from our Christmas card photo shoot!

CLU Turkey Tri

2009-11-23T21:19:00.000-08:00

My brother assisted in putting on the CLU Turkey Tri. Somehow he talked me into participating...it was so much fun.
I had a great cheering squad including Karl, the boys, my sister, Jon, and my dad.
My goal for the near future is to find a sprint triathlon.

Happy Thanksgiving to all...I hope you have a wonderful holiday surrounded by family and loved ones! We plan to spend the day at my parents home. Check back next week for our turkey pics!

Trip to Vegas

2009-11-16T14:05:00.000-08:00

We were in Vegas a few weeks ago. It was fun to celebrate a belated birthday for Micah and see family. Brayden is getting so big! It is hard to get a good "cousin" picture because it is near impossible to get a baby, toddler and preschooler to sit still!!
We went to a children's museum where the kids had a blast. Brayden was such a trooper and is so good matured. He didn't get fussy the whole time we were at the museum.
The boys had fun "flying" in the airplane, playing mechanic, paying with bubbles, and "shopping" in the grocery store.
Karl's buddy, Ron, completed the half Silverman while we were there. It was fun to go out to Lake Mead and see him swim. Karl and I also caught him on the run portion to give him suppoort. Ron put forth an amazing effort and we are so proud of him!! What an acompishment!

Micah turns 2!

2009-11-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

Micah turned 2 this week. He is exactly the same height that Matt was at age 2. We had a family gathering on Monday night and then met some friends at the Fire Station on Tuesday and then had them over for dinner and cake! There was a theme with gifts this year...Disney Cars and Micah loves them. He got Cars sheets, boots, books, and lots of cars! He has been playing with all his new toys and taking a few to bed with him at night. He even had a Cars cake made by his mom! Nice work mom! The Fire Station was a hit as well. We were there for almost 1.5 hours with a full tour of the station and a REAL fire truck. One of the firefighters showed us all the equipment and put on all his gear. It was great to have the kids see a real firefighter with all his gear and hear about what happens in a fire. The firefighters were very good with the kids. They all got to try on some gear and sit in the fire truck. Check out all the pictures.

Now it's Mommy's turn to write...I read what Daddy wrote and he did a great job of summarizing the past few days.
I like to think that maybe someday you (Micah) will read this blog so I want to make sure that you know how much fun we had celebrating the day with you! You are turning into such a big boy and it is exciting to watch you grow and experience life. We love you very much. Happy 2nd Birthday!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T21:36:00.001-07:00

The boys had a great Halloween. We went to Mo and Po's first. Then trick or treated around our neighborhood with Luke. Micah and Luke were not sure at first but once they realized they got candy it was a blast. We hit a few houses and then went home to have dinner and play with glow sticks in the backyard.

Halloween Preview

2009-10-27T23:30:00.000-07:00

Matt had the idea! He talked Micah into it! Andi made the costumes! Stay tuned!

CLU Homecoming

2009-10-24T07:42:00.001-07:00

Cal Lutheran homecoming was last weekend. The school puts on a carnival after the football game. The kids love it. They had bounce houses, face painting, pumpkin decorating, and lots of yummy food.
In the above picture...I graduated in 2000, Karl in 2001, my parents in 1972 and my brother is on track to graduate in 2012! Pretty good lookin CLU family!

MN Trip Oct 2009

2009-10-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

Karl and I after the Twin Cities Marathon. We finished in 3 hours 49 minutes. A bit off our planned time on 3 hours 45 minutes but not bad! Just to finish 26.2 miles and complete the training for the race without getting hurt is success in my book! I love that my boys think every mom and dad run marathons!

Hanging out with Aunt Erin, Grandma Andra and Grandpa Tom.

Hike and picnic

Karl and Matt playing on a huge play structure. They were like Spideman climbing all over the rope web.

Lego display at the Mall of America. We went to the aquarium at the mall. The boys loved it!

We met up with Karl's Aunt Jane, Uncle Doug, and cousins Sara and Sonya for dinner.

The aquarium in the Mall of America.

The Aunt among the ants at the MN Children's museum.

Apple orchard in White Bear Lake.

The boys finally got to meet Erin's cat Mittens.

We had a great week vacation in Minnesota. It was great to spend time with family and watch the boys have so many wonderful experiences. In one week we ran a marathon, went to an apple orchard, played hard at a children's museum, went to the MN Zoo, played and picnicked at a state park, and went to an aquarium. All that plus the fun of playing in Grandpa and Grandma's basement and riding bikes and running outside on the parkway. It was a great trip!

Big Bear Pictures

2009-09-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures from Big Bear. Enjoy!

Micah was pretending to be an airplane.

Throwing rocks into Big Bear Lake. The boys, Max, Matt, and Micah did this for over 30 minutes!

Matt and Max checking out the ducks below.

My biggest fans!

Matt and I sledding down the Alpine Slide. We rode the ski lift up and sledded down on a track.

The Schneider-Stutelberg Gang.

Bedtime Stories

Big Bear

2009-09-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend in Big Bear with the Schneider family. Dawn and I ran the Big Bear Half Marathon on Saturday. We had a great time. After the race we went to the Alpine Slide where we rode the ski lift to the top of the mountain and sled down. We took turns taking the kids and after some hesitation on their part they were begging to "go faster!" We had a great weekend and I"ll post more pictures soon. Bill put together this collage of us "hangin out" and it sums up our fun at Big Bear Lake! The boys, Matt Max and Micah, were too busy throwing rocks into the lake to participate in our jumping acrobats!
Stay tuned for more pics and check out Karl's blog for some!

Matt's First Day of Preschool

2009-09-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

Matt started Preschool Today was parent orientation so Matt was only in his class for a little over an hour. He did great! No tears shed. I was able to choke mine back. We got Matt a new Lightning McQueen backpack and to say he was excited to wear it is an understatement! My friend Dawn came over with two of her kids to watch Luke and Micah while Karl and I went to the orientation. The picture above is of the "boys club," Max, Luke, Matt and Micah. Matt will be going to preschool two days a week for 3 hours in the morning. Hopefully his excitement carries on into next week!
We are off to Big Bear, CA this weekend with Dawn and her family. Dawn and I are running the Big Bear Half Marathon on Saturday. This will be a training run for me because Karl and I are running the Twin Cities Marathon in about 3 weeks. Dawn just had a baby 6 months ago so running 13 miles this soon will be a great accomplishment. Aside from the run we hope to have some good family fun in Big Bear. I read there is a slide you can ride down the mountain. WOOHOO stay tuned for some great pics!!

Ventura Beach

2009-09-07T19:43:00.001-07:00

We spent Sunday at Ventura Beach with Grandpa and Grandma Bennett. They drove to our house and brought us Karl's grandma's piano. They then went to Ventura and stayed in a hotel on the beach for the long weekend so we drove out to Ventura on Sunday to spend the day with them. We had a great time playing in the sand and water. It was awesome to see how great Brad is doing since his surgery. He is a new Grandpa! The boys are so lucky to have boogie boarding grandparents! After the boys took naps in the hotel room we went to the harbor and had ice cream, Matt rode a pony, and we looked at the boats. It was a great visit and everyone had a blast. I'm sure the boys will talk about this day for a long time.

Daddy and Micah built some cool sand castles!

Micah has Matt right where he wants him! Matt was buried in the sand and loved it.

Grandma and Grandpa hit the waves with the boogie board.

We dug a "house" of big holes then filled them up with water. The boys quickly "swam" and splashed before the water disapeared.

Micah and his trucks. That kid is happy anywhere as long as he has a truck and his mom close by!
Matt rode a pony at Ventura Harbor. His pony's name is Casper. Matt was in deep concentration during his 10 minutes of being a cowboy. Micah was too scared to ride and we decided not to push it with him.

Sand is everywhere!

The Past Few Weeks

2009-08-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

I have a good reason for not posting in so long...Micah switched from his crib to a toddler bed two weeks ago. I'll explain how this is related to me not posting! Usually I post after the kids go to bed. It has been taking us from 30 minutes to over and hour to get Micah to stay in his bed so by the time he is asleep I am too tired to post! The reason we transitioned him to the "big boy" bed was because he started climbing out of his crib. If it was up to me I would have kept Micah in his crib until he was 3 but safety must come first! Anyway, times are better (thanks to the tips from the Super Nanny show) and Micah is going to bed with minimal protesting!We watched Luke last weekend while Louise and Jon went on a cruise to celebrate Jon's graduation. Karl made the boys bunny pancakes on Sunday morning! Having 3 kids age 1,2, and 3 is TOUGH!!! WOW that is the only way to describe it!Last week we took the boys the to AV Fair. They had a good time looking at all the animals, checking out the lights from the carnival and eating funnel cake. Matt liked the swing ride that lifts swings up high and spins in a circle. Yikes, I told him when he is 6 years old Daddy would do that with him!
My sister and I took the boys to Griffith Park last week and let boys do pony rides and ride the little train. Matt was so proud and said "I'm like a real cowboy!" Later that day Matt told me he wanted to be a cowboy when he grows up. He had told me a few days before he wanted to be an astronaut. I asked how he was going to have time to be both and he explained that, "first I will be a cowboy, then an astronaut, then a fireman." Oh, silly me!It has been hard to get an appropriate picture of the boys playing at home because I'm having a difficult time keeping cloths on them! Every time I turn around a little boy has stripped! Here is a pic of them playing in their pool outside and of course minus cloths! Today Karl suggested since Matt is starting preschool soon we implement a clothing rule. We decided that the boys need to have underwear or a diaper on at all times when home. Except if swimming!This was the view from our front yard on Saturday! My sister was evacuated in Acton, CA. The fire looks really close but we are very safe. Hopefully my sister and her family can return home soon. Their house is in less danger because the winds have shifted although I don't think they can go home for another day or so.

"I want that one Mommy"

2009-08-13T20:11:00.001-07:00

Micah's language has exploded the past two weeks! He said his first real sentence yesterday. "I want that one Mommy." He was referencing a pink popsicle and after I gave it to him he said, "Tank To Mommy." Actually the sentence that I am bragging about sounded more like. "Iwantatwon Mommy." That isn't the point though, my baby is growing up!
The picture is of Micah eating a "special treat" Drumstick. Grandpa Tom introduced Matt to Drumsticks when he was here awhile ago. Matt definatly remembered all about Drumsticks. That kid has the biggest sweet tooth. I hadn't eaten one in years...sure was yummy!
Three year olds crack me up! Yesterday in the car Matt asked me what goosebumps were. I tried to explain and then asked him where he heard about goosebumps. He couldn't tell me but is now very ecxcited and nervous to see goosebumps this winter! Maybe I will take him to the freezer section at the grocery store to show him!
Our produce box was especially colorful and in a way beautiful this week. The peaches were the size of softballs and so good. The grapes are called Flame Grapes and taste like candy. I ordered extra grapes this week.
Have a happy Friday!
Louise's husband, Jon, graduated from his MBA program, FINALLY! We are celebrating on Sunday with a small party. Louise, Jon and Luke have made huge sacrafices the past two years while Jon worked on his degree. Congratulations to their family! We love you and are proud of you all!

Beach Day

2009-08-04T21:27:00.000-07:00

The boys and I went to the beach with a few friends last Friday. We had a great time! The kids loved the water and had a blast in the sand.
We are currently laying low at home because Micah is fighting a nasty virus. Hopefully we will see his smile again soon. I miss those little dimples!

Matt and his "best buddy" Max.

We dug a huge hole and the kids played in and around it for over an hour. Who would have thought there was so much to do in a hole! Micah discovered it could be a sand slide.

Matt is jumping into the hole. Great action shot!

Rockin to Crocodile Rock

2009-07-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

Mammoth Lakes, CA Camping Trip

2009-07-20T19:49:00.001-07:00

Warning: We are about to bore you with LOTS of pictures!

We got home today from a 4 day 3 night camping trip in Mammoth Lakes, CA. We had a great time and arrived home this afternoon tired and filthy! Mammoth is a 4.5 hour drive from our house. Other than my paranoia of bears and no showers we had a great time. Enjoy the pictures! We plan to go again next year. There is so much to do and it is absolutely beautiful! We would love company next year...join us!

The boys in front of the tent.

Micah was into jumping off of everything this weekend! Matt is king of the tree stump and so proud!

We hiked back to this lake. It was beautiful and the boys had a blast playing in the water and sand on the shore.

We rode the gondola to the top of the mountain. Matt was REALLY scared at first. After throwing a major fit/tantrum for the first part of the ride he realized how cool it was! He then kept talking about how cool it was. Micah called it the "gong-gong ride."

Family picture at the top of Mammoth Mountain. Some of the Mammoth lakes are behind us. There was snow in some places at the top but the temp was in the high 60s.

Devil's Postpile National Monument. You can't drive into this part of the park. We had to take a bus that stopped at various sites for hiking. We originally planned to do a couple hikes during this outing but we had two tired little boys so we settled on a short one to see the Postpile. This is a really cool natural rock formation. There are hexagonal shaped pillers that were formed after a combination of lava, eathquakes, and cooling (We were wrestling two very tired boys as the ranger was explaining!) Regardless of the details is was pretty awesome.

Yummy breakfast of eggs, bread, and fruit. Good hiking fuel.

We capured Micah in a rare moment not in the dirt! He loved shoveling and running his dump truck in the dirt. I have never seen a child so dirty! We bathed the boys in a plastic bin each night.

Matt's favorite was cooking in the fire. We made hotdogs, veggies, pizzas, pie and LOTS of marshmallows.

Here is what kept us up until 10:00pm on Sat night from the campsite next to us. Both Matt and Micah were doing the "country jig" in the tent.

Here is Micah recreating his dance moves from the night before.

Kidspace

2009-07-13T13:49:00.001-07:00

Karl's dad, Tom, came to visit from MN a few weeks ago. He was only here for a few days but we packed in the fun! We went to Kidspace, swimming, and Karl, Tom, Clark, and my dad went to a Dodger game.

Micah- you forgot to jump!

My sister and her family moved this weekend. They now live in Acton. She is a 22 minute drive away! They moved from a third floor condo into a cute little house with a yard! They are so happy to have a yard for Luke to play in. This move makes Jon's commute to work a little longer but shortens my sister's by 20 minutes. As I type this we have a really cool little "digger" grading our backyard. We are having a small wall built, additional drainage pipe put in, and lots of sand in preparation for a future swing set. This is phase one of the yard plans we had drawn up. This and preparing for a garden are probably all we will do this year in regard to the plans. We had to start somewhere!
We leave on Friday for our 4 day camping trip in Mammoth Lakes. I am excited to spend 4 days in the beautiful mountains and fresh air!

Karl Completes 30 Mile Run!!

2009-07-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

Check out Karl's blog for details about our busy weekend!
I have great pictures of Tom's (Karl's dad) visit the weekend before that I will post soon. We are still in minor recovery mode from the big event last weekend! Karl is doing great and I am so proud of him! 30 miles on his 30th birthday! I'm still unsure how supportive I will be if he decides to pull this same stunt when he is 40! Only joking...we had a great weekend surrounded by close friends and family. More pictures to come...

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to every dad!

Karl got a really cool tie from the boys (thanks for sending it, Tom.) The boys decorated it with crayons and then I ironed it to seal the "design." Matt drew crosses and a muffin on the tie. Micah added some very artistic scribbles! Karl went for a long run this afternoon and we then had dinner at my sister's home. Louise and I put together a dinner of ribs, salad, and sauteed veggies for our dad, Karl and Jon.
Tonight Micah wanted to sleep with Matt. I took this picture about 3 minutes ago after tucking my 3 boys into bed! I don't really think Micah will fall asleep in bed with Matt. In fact, I hear a bit of babbling and playing now! We will see though!
I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Camping in Los Padres National Forest

2009-06-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

I was feeling left out last week because my sister and her family were in Yosemite for their annual family trip. Jon's family goes each year and when they come back they always rave about how awesome it is! I meant to make reservations in the fall so we could join them although forgot and thus we were left at home! Poor us...not really! Karl and I decided to plan a few small camping trips this summer. We both feel it is so good for the kids to be outdoors and in nature. We also love the family time! On a whim we drove to the Los Padres National Forest outside of Santa Barbara on Saturday. We were lucky to find a campsite! Close to the campground was a stream that the kids had a great time exploring. We then did all the usual camping things and hit the beach on the way home. Various times during the trip Matt said, "Mommy and Daddy, I just love camping!" It is interesting to see the boy's personalities and how different they are. Matt loved sitting around the campfire and talking and hanging out in the tent and Micah wanted to hike, explore and play in the dirt with his trucks. Occationally Karl and I would have to split up and one of us would hang back and chat about the birds, trees and life in general with Matt while the other would explore with Micah. Even with their different personalities they are playing more and more with each other. It just warms my heart to see them play with eachother. It is usually a short lived feeling because inevidably one of them will wack the the other on the head with a toy or try to steal the other's toy!
This little trip was in preparation for a 4 day camping trip up north in Mammoth Lakes, CA in mid July.
Enjoy the pics. The last one is of the boy's faces after an ice cream treat in Ventura. Matt said he wanted purple ice cream! Lucky kid because they had purple and blue cotton candy ice cream. Gross!!