jingle jingle jingle

yes...a quick pic of the kids, proudly donning the salvation army apron and bell outside a neighborhood grocery store for our one hour slot one sunday afternoon! we were amazed by the generosity of those who chose to fill the red bucket. hampton proudly rang the bell and danced, while singing "jingle bells" over, and over, and over again. one lady, who had dropped someone off, apparently sat in a parking space and watched us for a long while. she later got out of her car, explaining that she had been watching us, and thought the kids were the cutest ever...and just had to give money! wow! our church offers the bell ringing slots every year...and each year, it becomes more and more meaningful. we are so blessed!

and this is why

our sweet dodger doodle will not be pictured in our annual christmas card. it is unfortunate, as we made several attempts to include his large furry body...but in the end, gave up. although our sweet 80 pound, 11 month old puppy (aka party pony) is as cute as can be, he just can't hold still long enough to pose for a pic! sorry! perhaps next year we can catch him!

gobble gobble

this thanksgiving we are grateful for an abundance of blessings! three happy, healthy and wonderful kids are at the top of that list. two of our little blessings celebrated with thanksgiving feasts at school. hampton entered the party room wearing a handmade paper pilgrim bonnet, before feasting on a large collection of kid-friendly foods. coleman celebrated the following day with a progressive luncheon where he was able to construct his own sandwich with a variety of toppings. he stuck with ham and turkey, plain. that is, so he would have more time to select his desserts! we enjoyed a quiet thanksgiving at our home, with mema and papa morris. we all ate enough to sustain us for hibernation. uggh!

happy turkey day all! hoping this holiday season is stuffed with endless blessings for you!

cyclone celebration

today we celebrated the end of the cyclone football season with coleman and his team. we enjoyed a fun barbeque with his teammates and their families...complete with an awesome video presentation, football fun outside, and the collection of a trophy, bronze medal, and framed picture. they had a great 6-3 season...with a tough loss in the final bowl. coleman played incredibly well! we are so proud of him, and look forward to another year with the cyclones!

warrior princess

upon picking hampton up from preschool last week, she greeted me with full "warrior princess" makeup, necklace and headband! she later asked what a "warrior" was. the princess part, she has all to well figured out! hampton is having such fun in school, surprising me with artwork daily! she has taken a great liking to coloring (in the lines) and puzzles (without help)...if only she would sleep in her own bed at night!

hoopin' singin' bee

austin has been super busy this past month with a variety of activities. first of all, he made the starting five players on the "a" team in 7th grade basketball (top ten of 60 who tried out). woo hoo! he has been practicing either before or after school for 2 hours, in addition to keeping up with school work. austin also tried out and made honor choir (one of three 7th graders to make the 7th & 8th grade choir). they recently traveled to ark city to participate in an all day training session with a guest director, followed by a concert. finally, he made it into the geography bee at school among 6th, 7th & 8th graders (go figure...not sure where he inherited those skills). luckily, he made it through round three, before exiting. the fifth round discovered a winner. we are extremely proud of austin and his accomplishments this semester!

halloween treats

we had sooo much fun this halloween, as we were able to celebrate with family and our dear friends from st. louis! coleman had fun scaring everyone in sight, with his mummy costume, while hampton was ready to break out in cheer (both good & bad) all night long! uncle rich, aunt ney-ney & baby sallie grace the ghost spent the evening with us, along with papa & me-ma, and uncle t, aunt ju-ju & evie doodle poodle! the behlmann kiddos, donned their fav costumes, including emily as the football player, brett and his co-hort austin, as crazy clowns, abby as a friendly candy corn witch, and hannah, as gabriella from high school musical. halloween is such a treat, in that the holiday allows each child to transform into exactly what they wish (even a crazy clown with a mask)! can't wait to see what next year holds. as always, the costume selections began early, but were altered many times before the final decisions were made (that is, except austin's...which was honestly decided as he walked out the door)! happy halloween friends...both spooky and cute!

bowling buddies

 

we enjoyed the annual visit from our friends, the behlmann family over the weekend! as always, the kids picked up right where they left off, and had an absolute blast! for the second year in a row, we have been able to celebrate halloween together as well! what fun! on friday, we took four of the seven kiddos bowling (the tradition). hampton held the top score spot until the last game of three, when coleman came from behind to clench the title! drama, drama, drama. all in all, they had fun bowling, eating pizza and french fries, while the moms chit-chatted. it was a win-win all around!

oink

 

and two little piggies stayed home. the piggy flu (aka h1n1) unfortunately made its way into our home last week...infecting both coleman and hampton. coleman is finally all better today, but hampton is still battling a horrible cough. they have officially seen nearly every i carly episode...with spongebob running a close second. late one night, hampton said, "this isn't really fun, mom...i think we need god to fix me." each night seemed longer than the previous, but we are thankful that our sweet little piggies survived!

tiny tutu

just had to share some pics from hampton's first tiny tutu and tap observation class of the year! it was such fun to see what the cute little four year old girls have been learning for the last two months. i must say i was amazed at the many new forms and steps! as you can see, i inadvertently chose a seat facing the window, which explains the shadowesque images, but i think i kinda like 'em that way! hampton thoroughly loves dance, despite the LONG hour and a half class time. she only complains a little bit! following class, we enjoyed lunch with friends, and though i planned on a little "happy nappy"...we both plowed through to conquer the domestic tasks that beckoned.

football freeze

 
 
 
 
the whole fam endured a bitterly cold morning to watch coleman and the cyclones play football! with the windchill, the temperature was barely 20 degrees. we sat, snuggled together layer upon layer, under blankets, teeth chattering for the duration of the game! uncle t, aunt ju-ju and evie joined the frigid football fest as well! coleman had fun dancing around the field with heavy duty ski gear under his uniform, and extra sticky gloves to catch the fairly frozen football! we finally thawed out after lunch, and enjoyed the remainder of a fun family day! by the way, the first pic was taken pre-game, at which time hampton said she was "hot" and didn't need to wear a coat. hmmm...it was merely a few seconds into the game that she decided bundling up would be best!

happy fall all

 

 

 

 

hampton celebrated the arrival of fall at a preschool party complete with cookies, pumpkin shaped cheese, crackers and fruit. it was fun to meet her new friends...including her "boyfriend," jaxon! it will be fun to see her friendships grow as the seasons change this year! happy fall to you!

cyclone touchdown

coleman played his second football game this weekend, and did absolutely fantastic! he scored his first touchdown of the season...and was so excited to call and share the news! too cute! it is such a joy to watch him play, though i typically cringe at the sight of him getting plowed by boys twice his size! just the mom in me, not sure that will ever change! congrats to coleman & the cyclones on a big win!

home depot happenings

hampton spent the morning with mom, while the boys did boy things...football & basketball! we made a stop at home depot for a few miscellaneous items, and upon our return to the car, we were invited to join the fun in the parking lot. we started off constructing (yes, with hammer & nails) a wooden firehouse bank, followed by visits to the builder and firedog characters (hugs & high fives), as well as visits to the k9 unit, state troopers, and my favorite, the firefighters. hampton was picked up and plopped right in the driver's seat, by a friendly fireman. he allowed her to honk the horn twice ("to scare the boys away"). perhaps that will work later in life too! we had lots of fun...considering the spontaneity of it all! we left with a final bonus of hot dogs and chips for the ride home! oh...and later received a call that i won a smoke detector! woo hoo! just what i've always wanted!

aloha...from maui

happy greetings from the tropical paradise of maui, hawaii...our favorite place on earth, as of yet! our third trip to this magical island was nothing short of pure bliss! it was even more enjoyable, because we were able to enjoy it on our own...no planned events, no one we knew, no schedule, etc. we stayed at our favorite hotel on the island in wailea, the fairmont kea lani. though the hotel has aged a bit since our last trip there, it is still magnificent, with superb service and suites. there is nothing quite like having a cute boy deliver chilled towels or pineapple on a whim! we thoroughly enjoyed the "adult" pool daily, only after a scrumptious breakfast at seawatch (overlooking the gold course at wailea cc) or the kihei cafe on the strip in kihei. we both took a liking to coffee during our trip, though i favor a diet coke first thing in the morning! it was fun to awaken early, and start the day. our days consisted of breakfast, a bit of sight-seeing, pool or beach time, spa time, lunch time, shopping time, cocktail time, dinner time, late night cocktail/music time. i am typically a night owl (1 am-ish, is my bedtime)...but in hawaii, i arose early...and dozed off by 10 every night! (still struggling with that tendency now!) since we had travelled to maui previously, we did not feel a strong urge to see all of the sights, snorkel, whale/dolphin watch...we simply relaxed. ahhh! it was dreamy, i must say! we were lucky enough to score one night, at tommy bahama's in wailea, as our fav musician on maui, jamie lawrence performed. a perfect evening...as always. we LOVE him! according to the great number of pics i took, the trip was unbelievably wonderful (i posted more on facebook), i can merely provide a sampling of our adventures (most of which involved food)! unfortunately, i missed the puzzled look that appeared on garry's face after day 5, when he asked if i missed the kids (i said, "not yet") which is still fresh in my mind. this was truly a much needed vacation for the soul. just so you all know, i finally missed them by the time we headed home! thanks garry, for making it so special! i look forward to many more trips to magical maui with you! how many more years till we retire?