HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

This year, both kids were SO excited for Halloween and dressing up!! Rylee chose to be a witch and Mitchell was a Clone Trooper. We went Trick-or-Treating with several of our friends and had lots of fun

Mitchell's school skating party

Some students at Mitchell's school were rewarded with a roller skating party for reaching a certain goal with a fundraiser and Mitchell was one of them! (thanks to all of our family and friends that participated!) It was his first time ever to roller skate... Most of the time he had to hold onto my hands or hold onto the wall. He had a great time! He was the only boy in his class to go so he was surrounded by girls (obviously he didnt mind!)

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

Last Wednesday was the big FIRST DAY OF SHOOL for the kids. My little buddy Mitchell is no longer little... he started Kindergarten (sniff..sniff...sniff!) Rylee started Pre-School. Lorne even got emotional when dropping them off this day. It was just sad to see him standing in the line in the hall getting ready to enter his classroom with a big smile on his face and he just looked SO BIG!! After we dropped Mitchell off, we went to take Rylee and this girl has no fear. She took her back pack, put it on and turned her head straight up into the sky and started strutting her way into school with her hand on her hip... like she has done this THOUSANDS of times!! "HELLOOO".... i said " where's my hug?" "oh" she said, then pranced back to me, hugged me quickly and again was on her way to be independent for the rest of her life!
Later that day when I went to pick up the kids, Rylee did the same thing when I picked her up...just looking like she was living on cloud nine! Mitchell on the other hand was different. He got in the car and I said " how was your first day of school?" then he said "hmmm, ... it was boring" very matter of factly!! You can always count on kids to tell you JUST how it is!!
All in all is was a good day and we are all adjusting around here to this new little schedule!

Family trip to Bartlesville and the annual Vaclaw Family Fireworks (2009)

Rylee and Papa Mike sitting on the dock

boating time on what the kids call "Papa's boat"

some friends of ours let us borrow this toy called an "air chair" Lorne had a blast on it. It was so weird... one moment you would be waiting in the water and the next... you would bounce out of the water like you were on a pogo stick and then you just felt like you were flying

this is the rope swing at the lake house. Mitchell wouldn't dare touch it last year and you can still see that he was somewhat reluctant to try it this year but he did it! WOO HOO!!

Mitchell, Mack and Logan... this is the only picture of them that i could somewhat get them to hold still for 2 seconds...even then... the picture didn't turn out to well... boys will be boys!

the 3 divas..... Evie, Ellie and Rylee

we had a real treat this year with a flyover right before the firework show started

all of Lorne's brothers, brother-in-law's and Dad

the firecracker bomb that starts off every Vaclaw Family Firework show!!
SO LOUD!! SO AWESOME!!

Summer time childhood memories...

Jumping on the trampoline with a sprinkler spraying underneath it brings back a lot of summer time childhood memories! It was the best on the hottest of days just laying directly on top of where the water was spraying!! Lorne and I introduced the kids to it the other day and they can't stop talking about it!

Can you see Lorne's feet?? He's doing a belly flop and the kids thought this was hilarious!
FUN...FUN...FUN!!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!



I found this idea on a website for a Father's Day treat! They are cupcakes cut in half with a brownie in the middle and lots of frosting holding it all together... mmmmmm!! The "fries" are sugar cookies sprinkled with sugar! SO CUTE!

The kids "helped" me put them together for daddy's special day! There was definitely more eating than helping going on but we had a great time!!
The kids were so funny! They kept saying... "when are daddy's crabby patties going to be done ?" (sponge bob anyone?) :)

DELICIOUS!!!

Thank you Lorne for all that you do for us!! You are the best! We love you!

Gone Fishin'

We took the kids out fishing last week for their first time! It was awesome! There were some other people there when we arrived that had been fishing for a couple of hours and had'nt had any luck catching anything. Within seconds of setting Mitchell's line... he had a bite and he caught this 2 lb. bass!! He was so excited... until Lorne told him to hold it for the picture (that is why he looks a little disgusted here!)

We put a second line out a couple of minutes later...and what do you know...seconds later...he had another bite and caught this second bass! The people that were there before us weren't too happy about their luck... but they were very happy for Mitchell.

Lorne told Mitchell to give this one a pretend kiss and again... he wasn't to eccstatic about that! I wish I hadn't put my camera away because a couple of minutes later, Rylee was begging to "pet" it and I didn't get a picture of it.

Pirate's Cove Family Trip.....AAARRRGGHHH!!

We had the most AWESOME family trip recently at a place called Pirates Cove! This place was amazing and unbelievable! It was HUGE! There was pirate paraphernalia everywhere!! It seemed like we were on the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride at Disney Land! We went with my dad, my new step mom, her kids and my siblings and all of our family and friends! I took over 400 pics so it was somewhat of a challenge to pick only what I did for this post... sorry its so long!

My dad, "Papa Ron" with Mitchell