Hoops Etc.

I have been so excited all day to download my latest pictures off of my new camera. It is a little point and shoot by Nikon and I just knew it would be okay. These pictures really make me miss my old camera. I promise I will stop whining about my old Nikon very soon, but I am overwhelmed with how fast my children are growing and changing and I just hate to miss a moment with a crappy camera.

Hope and I are settling back into our daily routine while the boys are at school. Yesterday we went to the gym and today we went to storytime and lunch with some new friends. Her little girl is just a few weeks younger than Hope and we talked all lunch about life and how much fun little girls are.
Hope is seriously enjoying her new kitchen. She often cooks while I cook our meals and I cannot tell you how happy it makes me when I realize that us girls are both cooking in the same kitchen:)
Mike is coaching a rec league basketball team and both boys are playing on it! I LOVE this picture of the boys in huddle before tipoff. There is big Kyle (#17) and if you look really hard you can see David (in the yellow and blue shorts) who is so small that he can barely reach in the huddle. It makes me so happy when they can be on the same team.

Coach Daddy and Dave before the game:)

Teammates and brothes for life! It makes me want to bawl and smile all at the same time when I watch Kyle encourage David in sports. Kyle still does not get all the details about Down Syndrome, but he gets enough to comprehend that it is a big deal when they are on the same team. Last night I watched Kyle call David over to the huddle at halftime so he would not miss a beat with the team.

Warming up! That 8 foot goal is really tall for tiny Dave! We won our first game and I just know this will be a magical season as Mike coaches our two boys!

2010!

As we embrace the year 2011 (wow) I always enjoy looking back through my pictures at the previous year. 2010 was a wonderful year for us and I just had to walk back through the year relishing the small moments and remembering the life lessons we learned throughout the year.

January hammered us with lots of snow and a million snow days. There were days that the kiddos drove me batty with their fighting and such, but I also enjoyed the fun moments when we could dig out and go swimming at a local pool.

I learned that little boys with red hair look pretty darn cute in glasses:)

I learned the joys during 2010 of having a little girl. Toe nail painting and baby doll playing were seen around our household for the first time in 2010.

Valentine's Day 2010-somehow by the grace of God I got this picture of all three kids smiling!!

I constantly worry about David socially at school and last year's sockhop at the school proved to me that I have nothing to worry about. Seriously how cute are these two??

2010 was the year of the golf ball business for Kyle. It started as a fun hobby, but actually grew into a lucrative business for an 8 year old. The golfers were beyond gracious and kind to Kyle. Maybe I can borrow the money for a new camera from Kyle?? Ha!

Easter was our fun and quick trip to Ohio to visit the NFL Hall of Fame. Fun times! We also toured around the local amish area which was fun for me.

2010 was full of spontaneous playdates and fun at Hungry Mother Park. We are so blessed to have that beautiful area in our backyard and we try to take full advantage of it.

Tball season was super fun and I learned that David can hit the ball pretty far!! We still need to work on base running, but the boy can hit!

Hope Madeline turned one. Unbelieveable. We love you sweet girl!

We had some seriously fun times at the country club pool this summer with friends. Love that place.

Special Games is always a hit for David and here he is running his guts out! I love this day as we gather with new and old friends to celebrate all the special people in our life. If you can get through it without needing a tissue then you need to get your pulse checked.

Our family has a tradition of swimming at Hungry Mother every year on the last day of school. I pick the kids up from their early dismissal at school, we hit McDonald's and then we cruise out to the lake for an afternoon of swimming to celebrate SUMMER! I love the picture of Pops and Hope at the lake.

We finally redid our basement with new paint and hardwood floors. I no longer need an anti-depressant to hang out in our basement!

Sweet family times with those that are now home in glory. This picture was taken on the 4th of July and it turned out to be the last time we were all together as a family at my grandparent's lake house. This picture is such a reminder to me to savor and enjoy family time. My Pawpaw loved family time the most of anyone I know and I hope to carry on his tradition of family gatherings. I miss him so much.

All Star season brought us many road trips down I-81 traveling to ball games. Kyle and I made a CD that we listened to nonstop during these road trips. I love cheering on my kiddos in sports.

We celebrated sweet Dave's 6th birthday.

Our trip to Busch Gardens is what helped Hope fall in love with Sesame Street. We love that place despite the hot hot temperatures there!

Remember that idea to savor family? God orchestrated a family reunion exactly one month before my Pawpaw passed way at his lake house for all of his family. His brother and family flew in from Texas which prompted this amazing reunion. I will never forget this day.

The first day of school for my 1st and my 3rd grader! I learned that some things that we totally stress about really are not that big of a deal. I worried all summer about Kyle moving to the intermediate school and now I am embarrassed that I spent any moment of my life worrying. He loves that place and is so happy.

I learned that trips to Pigeon Forge with multi-generations will help heal a broken heart. We took this trip the week after my Pawpaw passed away and it was a fun way to remember that life does indeed go on.

I learned in 2010 that front teeth really come out during rough games of backyard football! I think he looks adorable.

My Kyle fell in love with soccer when he joined a local travel team! During 2010 I learned a lot about soccer.

Spontaneous trips to the pumpkin patch are the best!

Because of David we have met some amazing people and Angie is one of our favorite! I LOVE that my family is involved in our local Down Syndrome group where we gather a couple of times a year with our group and celebrate our kids. Kyle adores Angie and always looks for her at our events.

I learned that Ashley can carve a pretty darn good pumpkin and that my kids are kind of squeamish about the insides!

In 2010 I understood that David is truly blessed with an amazing village of cheerleaders that root for him in every endeavor he pursues. We are very blessed that AShely's family has adopted David into their own and they come and support him.

I learned that Hope is not so crazy about the guy in the red suit:) During 2010 Kyle turned nine-how can that be?

I was also reminded that the greatest gifts cannot be bought at a mall but are felt in our hearts as we appreciate and love our families, surround ourselves with great friends, and accept the amazing gift that is Jesus our Savior.

New Years Eve 2010

Well, I have to admit that I am seriously hungover this morning from our New Year's Eve celebrations. I am not hungover from any alcohol but from loud belly laughs with friends, good food, and fun. Seriously, New Years Eve rocked.

Between four families we had 8 adults and 13 children (ages 1-12) and we decided to do a progressive dinner. I never imagined how much fun that idea could really be. We started at our house with appetizers and some games-Daddy root beer chugging contest, Cuponk, and some other minute to win it games (from the tv show). Then we went to our other friends house for yummy dinner and Wii Rock Band. I rocked the microphone and my husband rocked the drums-wait until you see the pictures! We had Mommies vs. the Daddies rock band contest and lets just say the ladies got robbed.

I also would like to say that I have a ton of pictures, but unfortunately I had a camera malfunction with my NEW camera seconds into the party. Yes, I am serious. This week has not been my most wonderful camera week. Anyway, I know my dear friends will share their pictures with me in a day or so, because we have some doozies of Mike rocking Rock Band and Kyle chugging root beer in a contest.

The evening ended at another dear friend's house for dessert and toast at midnight. The kids had fun with Mario Kart at our last stop as we patiently waited to watch the ball drop. Then at midnight we all screamed the countdown and then lots of hugs and kisses ensued. Super fun times for sure with some fun and dear friends. My kids had a blast and Mike and I got to laugh and have fun with some friends while our kids played. It was the kind of night that makes you smile for days as you recall something funny that was said or done.

One of the funniest things that happened was that poor Hope enjoyed watching the bubbles in my glass and decided to pull on it. Sweet bubbly went all over her and got stuck in her hair. A trip to the bathroom cleaned her right up, but it was funny. Also, Kyle was "embarrassed" when Mike and I kissed at midnight-he is getting to that age where we embarrass him on a weekly basis.

I will post pictures when I get some-I promise:) Happy Happy New Year blog friends.