Happy 11th Birthday Mark!!!

Eleven years ago today entered into the world my first born son! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone, and I sit back and watch you as you grow into a young man. I do not know what the Lord has planned for your life, but the bible says God knows the plans he has for you!! -Plans to prosper you and give you hope for the future. I am thankful to be your mom and feel very blessed to have you in my life. I hope this next year holds many new and exciting things for you my son....

This is Mark's new "pal" Cyrus. He loves to watch Jeff Dunham the ventriloquist. Jeff started with puppets when he was just 11 years old. I'm not sure that Mark will grow up to be the next Jeff Dunham, but I do think it would be cool if he keeps practicing and possibly used his puppetry talent to minister to the children at church one day!!!

He also got a new DSi from Grandma and Papa, which is a new and improved Nintendo DS. This one has a built in camera that allows you to do a lot of fun and crazy things with your photos. He's been having a lot of fun with this!!!! Mama and Papa gave him a nice chunk of change to spend. We had a small gathering of grandparents over tonight for a barbeque, and in mid July, he will be going to Lazer Rock to celebrate with some of his friends...

Powder Valley Nature Center

Today I took Mackenzie, Corey, Connor (not pictured here) and Katerin to the Powder Valley Nature Center. I Love to go visit here, so we do so often. It's really neat to see this park during the different Seasons. Caleb had school this morning, so we got an early start, before it became to hot. We only hiked on one trail today. - I would have liked to have done more, but Connor wasn't cooperating.-(Always has to be one....). We then went inside to explore some of the fun things indoors. We got to see the busy bees making their honey, huge fish and snapping turtles, beautiful blue jays, and deer. It was a fun adventure that we won't soon forget!!!

This is a photo I captured of a spider web. I think it really turned out pretty cool. It resembles a C.D. or a DVD!!!!

Mackenzie had to bring Brandon along for the adventure. I think Corey looks cute admiring his big sis....

Here is a shot of Connor before he got crabby.....

Corey is looking so TALL!!!!!!!

This was one of my favorites I took of Katerin today...

Schooooools Out For Summer!!!!!!!!

Well, school is out for the Summer, but there are a small amount of children that get to enjoy Summer school.-Caleb being one of them!!! My boys were enrolled in the At-Risk Program at our school this past Fall. It is a phenomenal Pre-K program that meets 5 days a week for 3hrs. The program is government funded which is fantastic, because we couldn't afford to put the triplets in pre-school. All the boys started out in the same class, but after about 8 weeks, they decided that Caleb would benefit from being in the smaller classroom, with lots of aides. He also receives speech therapy twice a week. The goal is to get him back into a class with his brothers. This year his teacher recommended Summer school for all the students. It meets 3 days a week for about 5 weeks. It's kind of a nice way to break up the day for Caleb. He really needs, and thrives on structure and overall he really does like school. The only part neither of us really enjoy is getting up at 7 A.M. This is his second week, and I literally had to carry out of bed, he was so tired.....

Gotta have a little chocolate milk before school you know.....

He loves his "umbwella". That was one of his favorite Birthday gifts, and even though it was just sprinkling, we needed it!!!L.O.L

Mackenzie wanted to see him get on the bus. Where'd your smile go Caleb?????

Workin' At The Car Wash....

A good friend of ours once said, "How do you spell love?" The answer: T.I.M.E. That quote has stuck with me, and I couldn't agree anymore. Last week Mark and three of the kids decided to "love-up" on me by washing my van.- I mean THE van. Of course it's not really mine, I just drive it most of the time.L.O.L. Anyway, it really meant a lot, because usually when I run it through the car wash, I'm still left with a huge amount of bug residue in the front. Mark got all of the little critters off, and the kids scrubbed until everything looked shiny!!!!

Mackenzie going for some fresh water and more bubbles....

I think Corey has more bubbles on his arms, than on the sponge!!!

A quirky and a cheese pot grin....but still makin' mommy's van look shiny and clean!!!

At the end Connor was really getting into it, so much so, that off went the shirt!! He was down to some serious car washin'. -I love how he's standing on his tip-toes!!! The kids are lookin' for some things to do to keep them busy this Summer, so let them know if your ready to get "loved-up" on!!!!

Little Momma....

I'm going through old photos for a project I'm working on, and I came across this picture. What a hoot!!! This is Mackenzie with my nephew Alex, playing house with Corey. Every now and then she would put one of the triplets in her doll stroller and pretend like they were her babies....So cute. She cracks me up with her little "sassy" stance. Recently she has started playing with her baby dolls again, and today I was asked to "baby-sit". I told her that was fine so long as she didn't stay out to late. Hard to believe one day I'll be a baby-sittin' Grandma for real....SIGH....

Just Keep Swimming, Swimming, Swimming.....

Outdoor pool and fun pictures from our Indiana trip. The lighting was much better for these photos! The kids didn't want to spend to much time in the outdoor pool because apparently the chemicals were a little to strong, but I was able to get a few shots. I look forward to getting some fun Summer Photos at Hilltoppers where we swim everyweek!

Acting goofy, just like his dad....

Is that a cheese-pot grin or what?!?!?!?

Ready, Aim FIRE!!!!!!!!!! I'm still waiting to hear about some Summer Adventures that are planned and wondering if there would perhaps be any room in your trunk??? I think I may be in need of a kid-free vacation soon!!L.O.L.

Fun At The Indoor Pool

The nice thing about arriving in Indiana on a Tues. afternoon, was that the kids had the pool and hot tub completely to themselves. They loved that.-So did mom since come night time, it was totally packed!!! I found myself constantly counting heads. 1,2,3,4,5,....They spent part of their time in the indoor pool and then would go over to the hot tub for some nice warm fun!!!

Here Mark and Mackenzie are enjoying some fun in the hot tub. (Not sure why the picture uploaded vertically...)

Time for the boys to get in for some action....

Connor was really having fun in the pool this year. He would spend most of his time just swimming around or putting his face in the water. He just loved the new goggles he got for his Birthday...

Here's Mackenzie with her George Washington hair....

Cute smiles from Mark..(Again not sure why the pic. uploaded this way..)

What day would be complete without a little craziness from the wildman?!?!?!?

Connor had to get in on the craziness too....

This is what Corey spends his time doing in the pool. He makes his way all around the perimeter of the pool by holding on to the edge. This is what he is comfortable with. Hopefully by the end of Summer, he will be right out there with the rest of the kids!!!

Meetin' Santa....

This year, the budget would only allow for us to go on a short trip, so we decided to go to Holiday World in Indiana for a couple of days. The boys were really excited about meeting Santa and he was the first person they saw when they walked into the park. In fact, we were the very FIRST people to meet Santa on that day!!! Kind of exciting...Corey was a little stand offish at first. He let brother's do the first official greeting.

Then he finally joined them for a picture, but was sure not to take his eyes off of Santa...

Finally, the smile I know and love!!!!

This was Corey and Connor with Mackenzie at the front entrance of Holiday World. Caleb was to "busy" to get in the picture, and Mark was to "big". Three out of five isn't bad I guess...

This was of the boys in front of the only strip mall in Santa Claus Indiana... Not much of anything at all to do in that town other than Holiday World. Our dinner was at Subway both nights. My friend suggested that this would be a good place to open up a restaurant and retire someday!- I have to agee with her.

Mackenzie wanted in the photo too... She's always striking some kind of pose!!!

I just had to add this photo. Caleb was so tickled to be in the photo with Santa.-Real or not, it didn't matter to him....

Big smiles from Connor and Caleb. You can see Corey just off to the right. Not cooperating for mommy for a picture...The trip went pretty well. I have decided that being pent up in the car with the five little darlings for 4 hours is about the longest I can withstand at this point. We wanted to go to Disney in the near future if finances allowed, but I'm not sure I'm up for a fourteen hour drive just yet. Maybe in the future...Hope everyone is having a GREAT Summer. Let me know about any vacations your planning, maybe I can stow away in the car....L.O.L.

A Day At Grant's Farm...

On Tuesdays I watch my girlfriends little girl, so I have decided to try to make this our "Field Trip" day. Mark is still on vacation this week, and since this morning was filled with chaos, we decided to divide and conquer. I set out with Mackenzie, Katerin, Corey and Connor. We were going to go to the zoo today, but decided to wait until we had grandma with us for that adventure. We ventured out to Grant's Farm. I'm so bummed the above photo was so washed out. Someone messed with the settings on my camera and I wasn't able to "fix" all of the photos of the day. I wanted to post this photo though, because it's still cute, even though Connor was in "one of his moods" SIGH........

This little guy quickly became Mackenzie and Katerins favorite. So much so, that Mackenzie thought we needed to bring him home....

Here is a shot of Connor feeding the goats with the girls...

When the goats started getting "aggressive", Katerin quikly passed her bottle off to Mackenzie...

Only for Mackenzie to pass it right back!!!!!!!!

Corey was so funny, he wanted to do EVERYTHING the girls did....Thankfully big sis didn't put up a stink about it!!!

The girls really had a GREAT time together. They have only known one another for a few short months, but act as if they have been life time friends!!!!