Merry Christmas

I can't believe its over.....all the shopping, cooking, planning, wrapping, for the past month and a half, and its over just like that....whew! Why is it that the older you get, the faster life wants to go by. It's not fair....when you finally reach the age where you really appreciate things for what they are, you barely have time to really sit back and enjoy it!

Christmas was a lot of fun. We started off Monday night with the Collins/Cooper Family Christmas party. We got to see a lot of my cousins and now their kids, and catch up on old times. Wednesday was Christmas Eve and we spent the evening at my parents house with a wonderful meal and of course presents.

Christmas morning everyone came over to our house to open presents. Granny and Pa-paw came over, and Pa-paw made his wonderful pancakes. Nanny, Papa, and Uncle Sean came over too. They helped the kids set up a few of their new toys and then went back home to open their presents. We had lots of yummy food for breakfast, including an awesome French Toast Bake!! We opened presents and stayed in our jammies all day playing with all of our new Toys. Uncle Aaron and Becky stayed over all day too, and played and watched movies, and just hung out. What a perfect laid back Christmas Day!!!

We had a yummy christmas dinner and continued hanging out and playing with the new toys. Josh and I got a Nintendo Wii for Christmas, so we all had fun playing the Wii. Josh got a little too into his Wii bowling game, and he almost took out the Wii, our TV, and our Glass Doorwall. Lucky for us, his knee got the worst of it, and everything else made it through!

Christmas Program

Today the boy's had their Christmas Program. They did such a great job, I was so proud of them. Justin had a small speaking part in the program, I was really nervous for him. He did sooo good. He was loud, clear and said it perfectly. Way to go Justin!!

I did not catch Justin's part on video cuz I was too busy being nervous for him, but here is a video clip of the final song!

Book Club

We've established a book club.........and a blog to go with it!!!

Check it out - downriverbookies.blogspot.com

Current read is Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

One-derful One!!

WOW! Madison turned 1, its hard to believe. I think I say that everytime my children have a birthday and turn another year older. In part because we made it another year, and in part because time just flies by way too fast.

We were going to have a birtday party for Miss Maddie, but we have been battling the flu and colds for about 4 weeks now. Rather than infect everyone right before the Thanksgiving Holiday, we decided to cancel the party and just focus on getting everyone well.

Granny, Pap-paw, Nanny, and Papa came over to celebrate with her, so that was much appreciated. We had a nice little quiet party which I have to tell you was way less stressful than the bigger party that was originally planned.

Anyways, Madison is such a joy. She is not walking yet, but thinking about it, you can see it in her eyes. She is often content just watching her crazy brothers run circles around her and doesnt really have to work at walking. She got a cute little stroller to push her doll around and help her learn to walk, so hopefully that will do the trick.

She still only has her two bottom teeth which seems very unusual to me, but doctor is not concerned. I have to take her for her actual well baby visit next week. She's very much a drama queen and has learned from her brothers how to get her way quickly.

Here are some pictures from her birthday........

I Hate the Flu

Ok, so we all had the flu about two weeks ago and somehow it creeped its way back into our house. Round 2: Josh started, followed by a quick knock out for Sara. Justin came in next and we are waiting to see when the rest will join the fun! :(

It's horrible being sick, but its even worse to see your kids sick. I hate feeling so helpless and trying to explain over and over why they cant eat or drink anything. Poor little justin looks so miserable on the couch next to his bucket. He was pretty happy though because his teacher called and told him that his friends prayed for him in class today. Justin asked his friends to pray for daddy on Monday.

Anyways, since we are dealing wiht the flu, and we don't know to what degree this will go, we have decide to cancel Madison's first birthday celebration that was supposed to be on Saturday. I am really bummed, but I dont feel like dealing with a house full of people when I am trying to get my family feeling better. Not to mention, I would hate to infect all our guests right before the Thanksgiving holiday. I am sure they are thankful for the cancellation... ;)

Of course we will still celebrate our pumpkin's first birthday but just minus a few of hte guests! I can't believe she is 1 on friday. I will be sure to update you all with her birthday post and pictures.....

Hope you all are healthy and stay healthy.....this flu is miserable!!!

Joe Lovers

Tina and Julie.....

Ok girls, so this picture was at like 2am right after their concert. They put on a 3 hour show, then attended an after party at LAX after the concert, so this picture was taken after all that craziness. We actually happened to run into him in the lobby when he ran into the hotel gift store to grab some nyquil and advil. Poor guy was sick and just wanted to get in bed, but I couldn't resist stopping him for a picture (ha ha). I mean honestly, how often do you run into a New Kid - lol! So we have to forgive him if he looks a little rough, but i will tell you that he still sings amazing and does an awesome rendition of Please Don't Go Girl.....he still has it after all these years.

:)

Joey MAC

Hey Julie....this one is for you!

Who Says Growing Up Can't Be Fun???

I was 9 years old when I heard their song for the very first time. I was taunted and made fun of quite a bit by my older cousins, but I didnt care. All my girlfriends were in love with them!! My mom surprised me on my birthday with tickets to their concert....boy was I excited! My first concert and my favorite group.....

Remember when we said, girl, please dont go,And how Id be loving you forever,Taught you bout hangin tough as long as you got the right stuff,Didnt we, girls, ooh, didnt we, girls, aah?

I'm sure you've guessed it by now.......

Who knew that after 17 years, they would have a reunion tour. I recently had the opportunity to see them in Las Vegas and in Detroit. It was a great concert, better than I ever anticipated. It's hard to believe that there are so many other loyal fans out there.....

While we were in Vegas, they performed at the Mandalay Bay which was the hotel we stayed at during our visit, and coincidentally the hotel that the New Kids were staying at while they were in town. After the concert, the New Kids had an after party at LAX which is a pretty popular nightclub in Vegas. We were able to get in, although we almost had to throw down with some other crazed fans. I hope that you will all believe me when I say I am not a psycho fan, but I definitely enjoyed the opportunity.

Anyways, while we were in Vegas, we happened to run into a couple of the guys walking around the hotel. The night of the concert we saw Joe....he had run down to the hotel gift shop to get some advil and nyquil, poor guy just wanted to get to bed and take care of his voice for his next shows.....but of course we had to stop him for a picture (ha ha). I dont currently have this picture on me because its on my girlfriends camera, but as soon as I get it, I'll be sure to post it.

The next day we were walking through the hotel and Donnie comes walking by. He was so nice to stop and take pictures. He was very talkative and loved visiting with his fans. I hate this picture of me......please focus on Donnie....

We stopped to have lunch in the hotel, and two seconds after we sat down John walked in to have lunch at the same restaurant we were eating. Personally I have no interest in Jon or Danny so we didn't bother him for a picture.

Finally, later that evening we ran into Jordan who is by far my favorite in the band. He was my crush when I was younger.....i was speechless when I met him but I was able to get a picture with him and an autograph. All the guys were really cool and loved being with the fans. This isn't the greatest picture, but it'll do.....

Saturday the guys were in Detroit for the Detroit Show and they put on yet another fantastic show. Their new album is pretty good....i'd recommend it, but then I do enjoy the new kids. Actually their new name is "The Block" sounds a little more mature than a group of late 30-somethings and early 40-somethings calling themselves "the New Kids" - ha ha!! Anyways, if you get an opportunity to check out their show or their new album its definitely worth it.....

Peace Out!!

La-La-sagna

Madison eats like a champ, she literally just got the nub of her first tooth last week. It's not even all the way in, but we are happy its making progress anyways. We were beginning to wonder if she would ever get teeth.

Needless to say, not having teeth has not stopped Madison from wanting to try everything we eat. Well after dinner one night the boys had not picked up their plates yet and in all the madness of our house, Madison got to the plates before we did - oops. I walked into the kitchen to find this......

Aunt Amanda

Just for you!!! Koren, your post is coming next....promise! Just haven't had a chance....this took me long enough, even though it seems like a simple task (ha ha)!!!

This is my first time taking video footage on our camera, and ultimately my first time posting video on my blog. This is the kids doing what they do best.....wrestling and being goofy!!

Nothing Exciting

Justin and Jacob are back in school....they seem to be loving it so far. This friday they both go to Wiard's Apple Orchard. They are pretty excited!!

Joey and Madison enjoy their afternoons without their big brother's around. They get to take a peaceful nap with no interruptions (ha ha)!!!

We are still working on getting Joey to talk, and Madison is just growing up waaaayyy too fast. She is pulling herself up on everything, she has recently started walking along the coffee table. She loves watching her brothers play, and we are still waiting on her first two teeth to come in. Josh and I are convinced they are never coming in.

Josh has been working a lot. Hurricane Ike brought lots of rain and wind which translates to lots of work for Josh. My work has also been very busy due to the weather, but we are just settling down to normal work loads again.

September has gone by way too fast. I know the rest of this year is going to fly by. October I am supposed to be going to Las Vegas, and the New Kids on the Block concert which I am super excited about. We hope to start Justin and Jacob in swimming lessons! November is Madison's birthday and of course Thanksgiving. I have to work weekends in November, so that won't be too much fun, but we will make the most of it!!! I have to work Thanksgiving too! :(

Then before we know it, we are looking at christmas time. I can remember as a kid thinking it took forever for christmas to come again......summer break felt like FOREVER......now I find myself saying, wait, stop, hold on. I need another few hours in this day!!! And wait, hold on, my daughter was just born yesterday only to realize she is 10 months old now!!! It's absolutely insane.

Ill be sure to post pictures of the apple orchard....the boys are super excited because Granny Shupe is taking them on their field trip.

Little Maddie

What Can I Say

Justin's Birthday

Justin is 5 today. I don't think its possible to have a favorite child, but each one holds a special place in your heart, and creates a different relationship with you. Justin of course was my first, and that will always be special to me. He showed us what joy children bring to your lives, he showed us what it meant to love someone so unconditionally, and so much, you didnt think possible.

Justin is the sweetest little boy, he loves his brothers and sisters so much, and is always looking out for them. He takes a lot of responsibility on his little shoulders and seems to love doing it. I am so proud of him, I can't believe how big he is getting. Even as I look at these pictures, I remember and treasure every moment, but man has it gone by fast.

Justin started in a young 5's Kindergarten class and seems to be doing very well. The teacher told us that he writes his name very well. Josh and I could not be more proud of him. He is practicing letters M,O, W, H, A, & L, and is also learning sight words "IS" "THE" "DAY"! It's going to be a very exciting year!

For his birthday today, we are allowing Justin to pick where he would like to go for dinner and a fun activity we can do as a family. I will be sure to post all about it!!!

Stress

It's been a while since I have posted, and I apologize to any of my avid readers - ha ha! Don't get me wrong, a lot has happened, and I hope to share some of our fun. However, this post is trying to get some tips on some good stress relievers.

Although I did not change jobs, my job responsibilities changed at the beginning of July. I was really looking forward to the new challenge, but man is it stressful. I feel overwhelmed at times, and lose focus of what I am trying to accomplish. I always like to think of myself as someone who can handle pretty much whatever comes my way, but this has been a difficult adjustment for me. I still love my job, ok, most of the time I love my job.

Josh and I were talking about some things that we can do as a family for stress relievers, and then things I can do myself. I love scrapbooking, and have always thought of that as a good outlet for me. However, lately, I am way too over critical with my own work, and find myself stressing out about the perfect page......so, thats not working out too well and I have put my scrapbooking career on hold for a bit.

I am going to be starting up tennis soon. I love tennis, its exercise, and what better way to relieve some stress than hitting a ball with all your might. I might even picture a few of my co-workers and direct reports on the front of that ball as I am smashing it across the net. I will let you all know how tenniw works out for me.

Please, please, please, send any suggestions you may have.........i need HELP!!!

Ode To Jakey

Happy Birthday Jakey

Jacob Michael

Leo

August 18th is Jacob's birthday. He is turning four years old, and has a ton of energy. Jacob loves playing guys - Spiderman, GI Joe, Superman, Batman, whatever he can get his hands on. He loves playing sports, and swimming. Jacob will try anything and loves helping daddy "work"!

Jacob is anxiously awaiting pre-school, and does really well with counting. We are working on writing his name and practicing letters. Jakey is a little sweetheart, and a bit metro-sexual at times. He has to "get ready" every morning, which includes doing his hair, brushing his teeth, putting deoderant on, and he even tries to put in contacts just like daddy. He often comes downstairs smelling like daddy too, he has learned how to spray the cologne.

I can hardly believe he is turning 4. Seems like yesterday we were bringing him home to meet Justin.

On The Move........

Madison decided this week she was tired of sitting still. First when we went to get her out of bed one morning, she was sitting up waiting for us. We have never seen her sit up from when she was laying down.

So then this morning, I put her on the floor and noticed she has started crawling as well. She kind of drags one leg, and crawls on the other knee. Hey, whatever works. It was kind of funny because she has been looking like she was gonna start crawling for a while now, but never got the coordination to get it done. Well today, Josh left out of town for three weeks for work, and it figures that today is the day she picked to make it happen!!!

T-Ball

One of the things I have looked forward to with my kids, is for them to start playing sports. This summer, Justin was finally old enough to play t-ball. If anyone has ever watched 5 year olds play t-ball it is one of the funniest things to watch.

First of all, nothing fits the poor kids. The shirts are huge, the helmets are huge, the bats are too heavy. Second, half the kids don't know which way to run when they do hit the ball......When the ball is hit, the entire team of kids all run to get it, leaving no one on any of the bases. And usually the kids are kicking dirt around, or playing with the grass, or looking in the sky not paying any attention to what is going on in the game.

Regardless, it has been so much fun to watch him play this summer, and he has loved it. He is on the Orange Team and they are the Cubs. He plays on the same team as his cousin Brian, so that has made it even more fun. Here are some pictures!!!

Happy Birthday Joey

Joseph Micah
June 27, 2006
aka: Joe Joe, Joey, Joe Man, & Joe

Joey was born two years ago and was the sweetest, quietest little baby. He didn't cry a lot and as he got older and more alert, he seemed to just sit and enjoy watching his two older brothers run through the house.

I don't think I would necessarily classify Joey as "bad" but he definitely finds trouble. Some might say trouble finds him, but in this case....he finds trouble. Joey has a very strong personality, we think its because he's in survivor mode in our house. He has two older brothers who he tries and tries to keep up with and play with, and then there is his little sister Madison who in his eyes, does absolutely nothing. Although he does find it quite amusing to take toys away from her, and pull her binky out of her mouth. Anyways, Joey struggles to fit in with any of his siblings right now........to little for Justin and Jacob, and just a little too old for Maddie.

Joey has a smile that melts your heart, and when he wants to, he can lay some looks on you that have you in the palm of his hand. The problem is that at two years old, he has already figured this out.

With Joey's strong personality comes a bit of a temper. We first witnessed this last year at dinner down in Tennessee. We had just sat down to eat, things were going fine, when all of a sudden Joey got really upset. We didn't understand why at first, and I don't know that we ever figured it out because we saw a side of Joey we never had. His face got bright red, possibly a shade of purple, and he bit down on the edge of our table, similar to a tazmanian devil, and proceeded to shake his head as if he was going to take a hunk out of the table. Josh and I stood there speechless, laughing of course, because we had never seen our sweet little baby do anything like this before.

As time goes on, Joey continues to fight his way into the lego pile, the car pile, into the sword fights, and anything else his brothers are doing. Joey is shy when in front of strangers, he sort of stands perfectly still as if the person won't see him as long as he doesn't move. He will literally just stare at the unfamiliar person, no blinking, no movments, he doesn't cry, or run for me or Josh, just stands there and will not break the stare between him and the "stranger".

We often joke that Joey is the "demon seed"....... Last winter it was in the evening, freezing cold, and Joey insisted he wanted to go outside. Mind you, he had a t-shirt and diaper on at the time, and Josh told him that he could not go outside it was too late and way too cold. Joey continued to voice his opinion on the matter, so Josh said, ok fine, go ahead.......let him see for himself was the thought. He didn't go out outside, but in our back unfinished sunporch, with cement floors, which was still pretty darn cold. Joey stepped outside, and although I am sure the floors were shockingly cold judging by the fact that he was standing on his tip toes, he was not going to admit to us that it was cold. So he walked around, and seemed to be playing as he looked at us like, see I can play out here, its not too cold, and even if it is, I am not going to admit it to you two fools watching me from the doorwall. Josh says its the fires from hell keeping him warm........a terrible thing to say about your 18 month old, but Joey was pretty content playing outside in the cold.

Joey tries to be a big helper, in fact, Daddy recently put the ladder up against the house so he could retrieve a Frisbee off the roof so the boys could continue playing. The ladder was on the back of the house, and the Frisbee was at the front of the house. Josh walked up front to get the Frisbee and as he went to go down the ladder, who was standing on the roof but little Joey. Josh's heart sank to his toes and time seemed to stand still. He thought a million things as he walked towards Joey........of course you dont want him to take off, or panic, or anything.

Well, Joey is 2 today, and I am so proud of everything about him. He really favors his Uncle Aaron in a lot of ways, he looks different than both brothers and Madison. They all seem to resemble each other, but Joey sort of has his own look. He has light strawberry blonde hair, big beautiful blue eyes, and the best smile in the world. I love him so much..........

Summer Fun

The kids enjoying the pool. Madison was napping at the time, so I did not get a picture of her in the pool in her cute little bathing suit.....so stay tuned!!! Enjoy!

Happy Anniversary!!

June 1, 2008.....WOW! Josh and I have been married 6 years today. It's been everything I had hoped for and more. In a quick summary, we've managed 3 houses, ok 2 houses and a townhouse, 3 dogs, 4 kids, and lots of good times!!

It's funny how life happens....I couldnt imagine mine any other way. I remember being part of a conversation with someone a while back who said something you hear a lot of people say about marriage....."oh, just wait a couple years, when the honeymoon phase is over", or "oh, you guys are newlyweds, just wait"......when I first heard this 6 years ago, I wasn't sure what to think of that.....but of course I was too much in love with my husband to even worry about it. I sit here today and think, gosh I love my husband even more today than I did 6 years ago. I feel bad for people who feel like the honeymoon days are over. Do Josh and I have honeymoon days everyday......absolutely not, does he want to tear my head off sometimes......absolutely, but thats marriage. Josh and I make a pretty good team, we complement each other well.

Josh is one of the funniest people I have ever known, he can make me laugh even when I am trying really hard not too because I am pouting. He is a terrific father and takes great pride in caring for and loving his family. It's so wonderful having someone to share everything in life with, it just makes everything worth while. I know this may sound corny, but too bad, its my blog, its my anniversary, and I can do what I want!!!

I love you Josh!!!


I guess its my turn to write something gay, it has been a quick 6 yrs with all the bs in my life like the family, the houses, and the dogs. Also who can forget the 7 weddings we had to attend for my sister, that takes time too. However I do agree with sara on a few things like how awesome I am and what a great father i am. On a more serious note I love my family lots and couldn't wish for anything more. My wonderful loving wife of a very long 6 yrs and my 4 healthy children, what else could any man want? I'll admit things get stressful at times, but after a few minutes away at work or whatever is going on I can't wait to see my family. I do love my wife more than i ever have even when I want to tear her head off, which isn't as often as it used to be.
luv ya darlin
peace out

Craziness

Things have been a bit crazy, and haven't had a lot of time to post. Here is what we have been up to if anyone is interested.......

Justin and Jacob finished their last day of preschool last week Thursday. They each had a program and sang some songs to show what they have learned over the course of the year. Jacob's program was first, and of course listening to 3 year olds sing "eensy weensy spider" brings nothing but laughter and awww's from the crowd. Jacob did really well singing and actually faced forward for the entire program. He even managed to get the entire crowd to laugh, by announcing "all done, time to go" after they finished their last song!!! Justin's program was the same day in the afternoon. He also did very well, and showed off all that they had learned, and announced their soon to be journey to Kindergarten. The each got a certificate and walked over a bridge as they received their certificate. I have video footage, but I'm not sure how to get it on here, I'll keep working on it.

Justin is all signed up for t-ball which starts on June 24th. He is super excited and has been practicing since we signed up. He makes his brothers run after the balls for him, and they seem to willingly participate.

Jacob is glad to be done with school. He loves playing outside and going for walks. They went swimming over the holiday weekend and amazed us with their swimming skills. We have never gone for swimming lessons and they are doing great. Jacob loves jumping off the side and going under water.

Joseph is doing well, we are about a month away from his 2nd birthday, its hard to believe. He loves trying to keep up with his brothers, steal Madison's binky, and finds plenty of trouble to keep us all busy. Justin and Jake do a good job of letting us know what he is getting into, so that is helpful, otherwise we might be minus one of our boys.

Madison is also doing well, she goes for her 6 month check up on Monday. She is sitting up great, eating lots of new veggies and fruits and of course rice cereal. She loves to bounce in her jump-a-roo, and watch her big brothers. She has quite a little temper if she doesnt get her way.

We are doing good too, a little tired, but managing. We are getting ready to celebrate our 6 year anniversary on June 1st, we might break away for a nice, quiet, peaceful meal and maybe a movie, we will see. We have been working on putting together a garage sale this weekend to get rid of some of our stuff. For only being out of our parents houses for 6 years, we sure seem to have built quite a collection of stuff. We also have Kim's wedding coming up which is keeping us busy as well.

We have been going crazy with Detroit sports right now.....Wings are doing awesome, except for their loss tonight, but that's ok, we will let this one slide. Pistons are hanging on and trying to advance in their series. How rude of the NHL to plan the playoff series so that they are on the same night as the pistons......thank god for DVR's because without it, we would be running room to room trying to keep up with both games at the same time. We are extremely frustrated wiht our tigers, they keep us guessing day-to-day. They have got to be the only team to score 19 runs one game, then turn around and score 0 runs, and walk in the winning run for the other team........ahhhhhhhh!!!! Anyways, we keep watching and wishing for our "tri-fecta" as Josh calls it.......its happened a couple of times when the Wings, Pistons, and Tigers all win on the same night.......who could ask for anything more?????

Happy Mother's Day

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.Chewed on.Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests. Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.

Our Little Maddie!

Madison has been trying to sit up all her own for quite a while now. Whenever we would lay her on her back, she would fight us to try and sit up. She just hasn't been strong enough to accomplish her mission. Slowly but surely she has been working and trying, and today she sat up on her own for the first time.

What a big girl! Of course, she is still a little hunched, but regardless we of course are proud of her newest milestone. It's so much fun watching the kids grow, and feeling so much happiness for their little successes. Here are some pictures of her most recent accomplishment, and some with her brothers playing with her.

Sorry for always using slides, but its the easiest, quickest way to share lots of pictures.

The Kids!!!!

Don't Call It a Comeback!!!

Detroit Rocks.........

Wings are 2-0 in the series, and my boy McCarty scored the first goal of the game to help the mighty Wings take that lead in the series. It's the return of the MAC!!!!

We love you D-Mac, good to have you back!!!! :)

Josh's Birthday Party

We celebrated Josh's birthday at home on Thursday. We had a little Mexican Fiesta and then a wonderful ice cream cake from Coldstone. Friends and family joined us to make the day special.

Family Fun

It's funny how big families can become so quickly. When I was growing up I always had a lot of cousins, especially on my dad's side. My Dad has 3 brothers and a Sister, and between them, they had 12 kids. We were all fairly close, and holidays and birthdays were always lots of fun.

So years later, all the cousins are now starting to have families, and so far out of the 12 cousins, 5 of us have kids of our own. Those 5 families so far have produced 14 more children. So, you can imagine what the house was like having all the kids and adults together.

On Saturday we had 12 of the grandkids together ranging from the oldest at 12 to the youngest at 4 months. It was a little wild, but of course tons of fun to see the family together. Here are a couple pictures from the day.

This is Emma, Sydney, Jake and Madison


Here is Madison and Brady hanging out....notice they are holding hands, how sweet. Brady is about a month older than Madison.

Here is a group picture of all the kids. Alyssa, Emma, Sydney, Brianna, Harley, Brian, Max, Justin, Jacob, Joey, Brady, and Madison. Notice our son who is not cooperating for the picture...

Nothing was broken, and only a couple minor fights for the whole day. I was quite impressed.

Easter Eggs

Nothing like waiting until the last minute to get things done. Josh and I are famous for doing that to ourselves. So here we are Saturday night dying easter eggs.

It's kind of funny, but when you have a large family, sometimes the simplest tasks can seem daunting and truly test your patience. As you may have read in our Marshmallow Drop post, things aren't always picture perfect.

Daddy was preparing all the dye for the kids, and I was getting the kids ready and all set up at the kitchen table. I asked Josh to hand me a towel and in the split second that Josh reached for the towel, we had yellow easter egg dye everywhere. Sweet Joey had decided to grab the cup and dump it on himself and the kitchen floor. Needless to say, we did not have any yellow easter eggs. However, Joey's belly is still yellow.....

Please take notice of the yellow dye on Joey's shirt.

Marshmallow Drop

Good Friday was the annual Marshmallow Drop at Elizabeth Park. We debated taking the kids since it was kind of cold, and we knew it would be muddy. After some convincing, we decided to just take them. We rushed all four kids out the door to be there for the drop at 9am.

We probably should have stayed home......

First: We couldn't find parking. We got the first spot we could find, and literally ran with two kids who can pretty much fight for themselves, Joey who daddy was holding. Always fun running with an extra 30lbs. And then there is me, Madison and the stroller. Our stroller is not exactly made for muddy grounds.

But ok, we made it in time for the drop.....yeah!!!

Then came the drop.....

Wouldn't you know, we had kids run every which way......needless to say Jake was getting the marshmallows, Justin was crying, and Joey managed to stay with daddy. Madison and I were still getting cleaned off from the mud.

The kids got their marshmallows and we headed for our prize. Justin was quite thrilled with his coloring book and crayons. Jake however, wanted to keep the marshmallow, he didn't want the coloring book......this is pretty much where it really went downhill.

Jacob cried for a while over not getting to keep the marshmallow, and as we were making our hike back to the car, Justin decided he needed to join in on the tears. He saw an ice cream stand that was clearly boarded up for the winter. Justin didn't seem to care and insisted that he wanted an ice cream. So all the way back to the car we had one child screaming for ice cream, the other child screaming for a marshmallow. Oh fun times!!!

No, its not over yet......

So we get back to the car, get everyone loaded, and Josh and I look at each other and say...."We should have just stayed home"......well as we were pulling away and ready to head home.....our drama continues.

Apparently the soft muddy grounds had got the best of everyone.....he we are stuck in traffic behind hundreds of other people trying to get out of the 'one way in, one way out' park.......and cars everywhere are stuck in the mud. We just happened to be the lucky ones behind the ONE tow truck pulling them all out of the mud. So an hour later, we finally exit the park.

We figure we will stop on the way home and get McDonald's......also a nightmare. Took us 25 minutes to get our pancakes, so much for fast food......

All in all, it wasnt the best experience ever, but memories are forever!!!! Enjoy the pictures!!!

Kindergarten??? It can't be!

Ok, so on Wednesday Justin and I attended Kindergarten Roundup at Forest Elementary. This is the same elementary school I went to when I started school, however I don't think any of the teachers that I had still work there.....I must be getting old (ha ha)...... Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share of the event, I know I can't believe it myself, me who takes pictures of everything.

Josh and I have decided that we want to send our children to Riverview Schools. So next year our biggest guy Justin will be starting Kindergarten. Welcome class of 2021. The time has gone so fast, I cannot even believe it, I just know I am going to blink and we will be sitting at his high school graduation. Of course I did cry, and it wasn't even the first day of school...... but it was the superintendants fault. He brought a t-shirt of his son's when he started kindergarten and then a t-shirt of the same son from high school graduation. Wah Wah!!!

Justin got to go play with some of the kids from his class, play with some toys, and meet his teacher while I got to go listen to all the school rules, and fill out paperwork. The teacher brought all the kids back out and we then took a tour of the whole school. Then the most exciting part for Justin was that we got to take a ride on the school bus. All the kids thought this was the coolest thing ever.

In talking to the teacher, Ms. Gee, she already knew that they have Jacob following right behind Justin, then they get a year break, and then two more Shupe children will be joining the ranks. So Justin will be in 4th grade, Jacob in 3rd, Joey in 1st, and Madison starting kindergarten. We will have graduates in 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025...

It was so much fun going to roundup, I just can't believe it. Time goes by way too fast.......We are so lucky to have such wonderful, healthy children. It's so great to watch them grow and learn.

Autorama

Josh took Justin and Jacob to their first autorama today. The boys had lots of fun hanging out and doing their "boy" thing!! Josh was very excited to show the boys the City of Detroit. They rode the people mover, then went to Cobo Hall and saw all the cool cars at the Autorama.

Their first ride on the Detroit People Mover!

Jacob's favorite transformer - Bumblebee!!!

The boy's loved Lightning McQueen.......

Check out them dub's.....30 inch rims