Ice Storm 2008

On December 19, 2008, we had a horrible ice storm that destroyed several trees in our area. It literally looked like a disaster area for a while. It was crazy watching the huge limbs crash to the ground over and over. Surprisingly I think our house was the only one on our street that didn't have any huge limbs break off. Here are some pictures of the mess before Christmas.

Our poor Birch tree limb was bent clear over in front of our house.

The thick ice.

This was a bunny under our Birch tree that was trying to find warmth. Nik saw it out there in the evening. That's why the picture is so dark.

Christmas Party

Sunday after church we had a Christmas party on my mom's side of the family. We rented a small hall in Auburn. It was a beautiful place with a full kitchen. It was a fun-filled day with lots of great food and games for everyone to enjoy. Can't wait for next year!!

Jordan, Carter, Hunter, Graham, and Isaiah

Joel

A Game of Duck Duck Goose

Presents, Puppy Chow, and a Party

This month is flying by. I have the majority of my christmas shopping done, but I am dreading wrapping everything. It's fun the first hour, but then it gets old. I remember Becki Wilmot paid me one time to wrap her gifts. I was so excited to do it and thought she was nuts for paying me. Now I am willing to shell out money too. ;)

The boys and I made Puppy Chow last night. Or as Kate Gosselin calls it, Monkey Munch. I went to Walmart yesterday and the whole section of Chex cereal was gone. I guess there are a lot of people making Puppy Chow for christmas. The boys enjoyed making it, although at one point, Jordan picked up the open bag of powdered sugar and dumped almost half of it on the counter. Lovely...

We have a christmas party this Sunday with my mom's side of the family. We are hoping to play several games with the little kids and hopefully get some games in with the adults.

Well, nothing exciting has happened in the last couple weeks. Sorry for the boring update. :)

Happy Birthday Brother!

Be sure to wish my brother a BIG Happy Birthday today. He has lived many years on this Earth. :) Love ya Lancer!

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. We did our usual Kendallville lunch with Nik's side of the family and then to Ohio for dinner with mine. Friday Nik had to work for a half day and I got to stay home with the kids. That evening we went to Jefferson Pointe and got some Christmas family photos taken. Even though it was a lot of work (mainly because of Jordan), the picture we picked out turned out awesome. I will have to scan it and post it on here. While we were at the studio, Jordan got away from Nik at one point and started hitting buttons on the security system. The police called to make sure everything was alright and the alarm went off. It was extremely embarrassing.

On Saturday afternoon, Lance's family came over and the kids all jumped on the trampoline. That was pretty much a lazy day. On Sunday we put up the Christmas tree and more decorations around the house. The most snow we have had this winter came down on Sunday morning. So after church, the kids made a snowman and went sledding down our steep driveway. The boys have never been sledding before, so that was extra fun for me to watch them, and they had no fear, which didn't surprise me since they both love to jump/dive off the diving board at the pool. It was a great memorable weekend.

Joel and Brian

Graham reading Grandpa Stiver and Jordan a story

Tara and Brian

Nik teaching Savannah how to play chess

Carter and Jordan enjoying the snow

Frosty and the kids

Cookies and Music

Jordan is fine now besides his cold. Last night the boys and I made peanut butter kiss cookies. Last December I attempted the same recipe and couldn't figure out why all the hershey kisses melted on my cookies. But I now know for sure what the reason was. I used hershey kisses the last time that had mint flavoring in them. I thought it would be a special treat, but it ended up melting the chocolate. This time I bought regular kisses and they turned out awesome.

While we were making the cookies, I had the radio station set to christmas music and The Little Drummer Boy came on. Carter was listening closely to the music and said, "Mom, there is a triangle playing in that song. A triangle has 3 sides."

"Very good! Did you learn that on Noggin?" (a pre-school age tv channel)

"Yep."

"Nice job bud."

Screams in the Night

At 1am this morning I could hear crying and screaming coming from Jordan's room. I found him sitting up crying at the top of his lungs and shaking uncontrollably. Even after I held him in my arms he continued to shake for about 5 minutes. I could tell his body was extremely hot. I checked his temp and it was 102.3 F. I got some IB Profen in him and after about a half hour, his temp had started to die down. It took him a while to fall asleep, which made for a long night. Then when we finally got out of bed this morning, his temperature had stayed down and he was acting pretty normal, despite his hacking cough and runny nose.

My parents came over around 10am. My dad came to help Nik clean out our gutters (which were very bad). Thanks again dad! And my mom did the boys monthly haircuts. THank you mom! My mom came for a little more than she bargained for though because Jordan ended up throwing up 4 times during the day. It was a messy day. I am really glad she was there to help me though.

When I put Jordan down for bed tonight, he was a little warm but not too bad. I gave him some medicine to help him sleep through the night. I don't think I will take him to church in the morning though. I hope tomorrow is better.

Winter is Here

It's snowing!!

The Windy City

Once a year in November my company takes a chartered bus trip to Chicago for a full day of shopping. My mom went with me this year and we had a great time despite the cold weather and a sore blistered toe from walking. We definately got in our excerise for the day.

Our first stop was the Disney store. It is a bit larger than Fort Wayne's store. Unfortunetly we didn't have any luck with finding any christmas gifts there. Our next stop was Crate and Barrel. This is by far one of my favorite stores in Chicago. There are 4 levels. I had my $100 gift card to use that I had won earlier in the summer at our company picnic. One of the things I purchased with it was a cute white casserole dish. I actually bought 2 different sized ones. But with the way they were packaged (on top of each other in a bag), by the time I got home, the one had a broken handle. I was so bummed that I had traveled all that way and got home to find a broken dish.

Nik called the store the next day and they asked us to ship it to them and then they would do an exchange and ship us a new one. Well, since the broken item alone was only $20.00, I figured it would take at least $10.00 to ship the thing back. So I was a little steamed. Before Nik got off the phone with her, she told him she would make an exception just this once and just ship it to us without us having to ship them the broken one. I was soooooooo excited. That was on Saturday that we called, and it got here by UPS on Tuesday. Pretty impressive.

My mom had never been to a lot of the stores in downtown Chicago, so I took her to the Water Tower Mall. We found a few great christmas gifts there.

Two hours before the bus was supposed to head back to Ft. Wayne, we were getting extremely tired. We actually sat in Crate and Barrel for 45 minutes on some nice furniture because we were so exhausted. All in all it was a great day!


Here are some kid quotes:

After I cut up an apple tonight for Carter and handed it to him he said, "Thanks mama, I really appreciate it."

During Carter's bath tonight he commented about the water temperature. "This is definately perfect on my legs mom."

Jordan was jumping on the couch and fell straight backwards on purpose and sat up and said, "That was cool."

Dose of Hope

Whats up family, friends and blog groupies.

This is Nik, and I wanted to post up about Nate (my brother) and what is going on with his band "Centrevol". Their newest CD "Beggars and Thieves" just came out and is really well done. It is engineered by Wyn Davis, who did Sublime's and No Doubt's albums. For those who have not seen a show live, it is very energizing. **See Link Below**

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=38952184

This trio is so talented. Their style is an indy provoc/rock with sounds that reach from Coldplay, U2, The Police and Mute Math. Their amazing talent and phenominal blended sounds are only out shined by their genius lyrics, of which are both Encouraging and Enlightening. The last song on their new CD is called "Dose of Hope" and it speaks volumes of this bands beliefs. It is vital words spoken to a world that is much in need of Hope. I would encourage you to check out their web site at http://www.centrevol.com/ and take a listen. If you like what you hear, please pick up their new CD, I guarantee you will enjoy it.

This is a press junket write up of the band that I thought was really good and I wanted to also paste on this blog.


Press Release, October 2008.


You can tell a lot about a band by where they lay their head, and for the better part of 12 months Centrevol slept in one bedroom, on a triple-bunk bed they made by hand from wood scraps and a second-hand loft bed. “When we moved to California, we didn’t have much to call our own,” drummer Nate Burkhardt recalls. “We toured and moved at the same time, so we had to leave a lot in Boston. Lose the toaster, keep the snare drum, leave the curlers, bring the bassist.” Touring with their first EP, “City of Angles” the band settled in Long Beach in fall of 2006. Their fresh start in the west proved to be a bigger challenge than anticipated. “I envisioned the classic overnight LA rock story in my head, but it was quickly replaced with a temp job on a delivery truck and a 90-minute commute thru LA traffic just to rehearse.” Bassist Jon Guinta smirks, “My slap-bass technique got a lot better then.”


It was a year later that break-through finally came and Centrevol found themselves at the winning end, receiving $10,000 in cash and prizes for 1st place in the local Mai Tai Rumble. “We learned a lot about dependence and need in that year – everybody faces it; some fall to their knees and some take what they want. Nate knows, he had three different bikes stolen from him in a couple months!” Pete Guinta, singer and lyricist for the group continues, “That was the backdrop and really the story for the album: ‘Beggars and Thieves.’” With a prize under their belt (and in their pocket) they independently financed the project, completing the finishing touches in August with the help of engineer/producer Wyn Davis, (Sublime, No Doubt).


Most recently, they competed in the 2008 International Emergenza Festival, reaching the National Finals at the renowned Key Club in LA, finishing in the top four out of over 500 bands in the west. With a quickly growing fan base and set list, the band’s momentum is now focused toward the future, releasing their new CD on November 7th, at the Blue Café in downtown Long Beach, and planning a spring college tour. “I’m excited to see what’s next,” Burkhardt jokes, “We may have retired the triple bunk, but I’m still trying to upgrade from the couch.”


Instrumentation


Peter June - Vocals, Guitars, Keys
Nate Burkhardt - Drums, BGVs
Joe Nash - Bass, BGVs


Discography


Beggars & Thieves (LP), To Be Released November 7th 2008


1. She Moves Me (Like A Song)
2. Flame
3. Fifth Avenue Dream
4. Tickity Talk
5. Lose Yourself
6. Pretty Machines
7. Too Much To Ask
8. Safety
9. Consequence
10. Beggars and Thieves
11. #7
12. Rumor
13. Dose of Hope

Presidential Ads

Last night I turned on my laptop to check my email and the MSN homepage showed a picture of the presidential candidates of course. Carter looked at the screen and said, "Hey that's John McCain and Barack Obama." I was a little shocked and said, "How do you know that?" He said, "On Kathy's (his babysitter) tv." So I was a little impressed.

Right after Carter said that, my other son Jordan who is TWO said, "I'm John McCain and I approve this message."

I about fell off my chair.

Halloween Time

Halloween this year was very fun for us. We had 3 very anxious trick or treaters and the best weather we have had in years. We decided to trick or treat over in my brother Lance's neighborhood this time because if anyone remembers my post from last Halloween, we get about 700 trick or treaters on our street, so that only allows everyone to hand out 1 piece of candy to each kid, which isn't very fun if your a kid, so I wanted them to get bigger and better candy somewhere else, which they certainly did.


After about 45 minutes, both Carter and Savannah were tired and ready to be done. I was kind of bummed, I wanted to keep going. ;) And Jordan walked up to about 4 houses this year and then he started to go into "fit" mode. He sometimes would just lay on the ground flat on his back all sprawled out and refuse to walk to anyone's door. It was humorous, but frustrating. So Nik carried him most of the way. He got lots and lots of compliments on his costume though from several strangers.

My brother Lance and his son Hudson

My nephews Isaiah (Diego) and Graham (Ninja Turtle)

Holy Birthday Present Batman!!

Carter received some nice birthday money and I went out and bought him a Batman Cave that I knew he would love. It reminded me of being a kid when my brother used to have Castle Grey Skull from He-Man. The boys were both whining this morning when we had to leave to go to the sitters and they weren't done playing yet. It's so fun to watch them use their imaginations.

The Birthday Bash

Carter turned the big 4 on Saturday. All morning he kept saying over and over, (while jumping up and down and clapping his hands) I am so excited for my party mama, it's gonna be so great).

It was a batman themed party with Batman topped cupcakes and a "pin the bat on Batman" game. Graham won again this year. I think he must have x-ray vision or something. There were lots of fun and exciting gifts as well. Nik's mom and dad got Carter a laser gun game with a target that you wear on your chest and shoot at each other. The kids were really chasing each other around the house with that game. It was pretty cool.

Carter keeps asking how many days until trick or treat. He can't wait to get some candy. Carter is going to be Batman of course, Jordan is going to be Buzz Lightyear, and Savannah is going to be Peyton Manning. I am not dressing up this year. I don't know if Nik is or not.

Leave me a comment and tell me what your kids are going to be and if you are dressing up as well.

How Fast they Grow

It's hard to believe that it has been 4 years since I had my little Carter. He is getting so tall. Tomorrow is his official birthday and we are going to have a little batman party for him. He can't stop talking about it.

It seems like just yesterday he was this little.....

Boys Photo Shoot

So earlier this week, my friend Amanda sent me pictures of her kids that her husband took on Sunday. Needless to say, this got me in the mood again to take pictures of my kids. Sometimes it is just so hard to get a toddler to cooperate. I have been wanting to do a photo shoot of my boys in the park since I did Savannah's earlier this summer. We have been so busy over the last couple months though that if I would have done it, I would have taken them by myself without help, which I decided I was gonna have to do, since Nik was tied up.


So last night, we went to Lakeside Park. And again, Jordan wanted nothing to do with the pictures. It was quite the struggle. All my bribes weren't helping!! I did end up with some pretty good shots though after all my hard work. Carter was so much more willing this time.

HOT CARMEL APPLE CIDER DRINK

Here's the recipe.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Video Time

Video #1 - Jordan is pretending to be Woody from the movie Toy Story and saying the famous line: There's a snake in my boots.

Video #2 - Carter singing an oldie but a goodie from Audio Adrenaline. This song was big back in my youth group days.

Carter singing Big Big House.

Halloween Flashback

Little Carter James at almost 1 year old. Our cute little bumble bee. :)

Fun and Crazy Weekend

Saturday morning, Nik and Savannah left for Kendallville to work at the Apple Festival in Nik's grandparents carmel apple booth. I was going to take the boys and walk around, but the more I thought about it, walking around with two toddlers in those crowds would probably be pretty stressful. I could imagine Carter wanting to go one way and Jordan the other, and losing one of them very easily. It would have been really hard work by myself, and taking a wagon or stroller is even harder through those crowds. So anyways, we ended up staying home and I took them to Chuckie Cheese instead.

Later that evening I got ready to go out for Danielle's bachelorette party that I arranged. We met at TGIFridays, which was very good. Steve Staley's wife, Jade, (Danielle's soon-to-be sister-in-law) brought Danielle a purple boa. Danielle wined about it at first and said everyone would be staring at her, but we forced her to wear it. She looked so cute. :) And the waitress also tied three balloons to her chair while we were eating too.

After supper we went to Crazy Pinz for some bowling. For some reason I did terrible, which I usually have a pretty good game. Danielle was on fire though. I had no idea she was such a good bowler. It was a great night.

Danielle's sexy pose. LOL

Jade (8 months prego), Danielle, Me, Megan, Sarah, Rachel, Kelle

Sunday I hosted a jewelry party for my mom, who is now a certified jewelry demonstrator, or whatever you want to call it. I invited several people but only 2 were able to make it. Oh well though, we had a good time anyways, despite all the interruptions from my loud children! ;)