topsy-turvy

i just realized it's not friday, my stupid glasses have been missing for a month, zach dropped his new ipod touch in the toilet, we've been out of cottonballs and q-tips all week, cameron lost his homework...twice, i left john's dry cleaning at the house this morning and i had to go all the way back to get it, i forgot i had a 9:00 am meeting, the coke machine just ate my quarter, i slipped down the stairs...my elbow hurts, ashley hates reading, i still need to mail my dad his razor charger he left in my bathroom...4 weeks ago, i haven't checked the mailbox since friday, my boss who is in peru this week keeps sending me weather updates, i accidently used body wash instead of shampoo and my hair has been frizzy all week, our lizard died

i bet you're feeling much better about your day...aren't you?

A tale of seven boys...

On Friday night after basketball practice Zach had six of his buddies over for a little birthday party sleepover.

(Tyler, Glenn, Zach, Ryan, Max, James and Carter)

Here's a recap of the event...

We had Zach's favorite chocolate cake complete with 12 sweet candles...the cake made it most of the night unharmed...enough said. Please note my fun party decorations that I'm fairly sure not one boy really noticed.
The boys watched the X-games, played games on the Playstation and the Wii, and hung out in the kitchen while eating ridiculous amounts of food.
Here is a list of what was consumed:
1 family size box of hot wings
2 family size boxes of steak and chicken TaQuitos
1 family size box of bagel bites
1 family size box of mozzarella sticks
1 large bag of pizza rolls
1 family size bag of Doritos
2 bags of microwave popcorn
3 (12) packs of soda (actually about half of these I found all over the house half empty)

Their stories were cracking us up!
Around 10:00 John and I headed up stairs to watch a movie... I prefer to remain in the dark about what was going on downstairs, all I know is that it was very loud.

At 12:30pm they started winding down and a game of Monopoly was started...I put in my earplugs and went to bed. The rumor in the morning was that they all fell asleep around 2:30am...yeah right.
There was also some talk regarding an incident involving Glenn and mustard...I decided I didn't want to know the details.

By 8:30am everyone was slowly getting up while I started breakfast.
That's when I over heard this strange conversation between Zach and Glenn...

Glenn: "I think I must have slept on a TaQuito."
Zach: "Why"
Glenn: "Because I smelled my leg and it smells like salsa and TaQuito"
Zach: "Um Glenn...why were you smelling your leg?"

Food Consumed at Breakfast:
22 eggs
26 pancakes
2 packages of bacon
2 packages of sausage links
1 half-gallon of orange juice
1 half-gallon of milk

We have a Tween in the house!

Yesterday was Zach's birthday, he turned 12 years old, officially becoming a pre-teen…

or as referred to in our family as a 'Tween'.

We finally managed to track down a Wii Fit for him, which he was super excited about. (Can’t you tell by his big smile?)

We went to one of his favorite places for dinner…Dave & Busters where we ate too much, introduced the kids to Shuffleboard and won lots of tickets playing Deal or No Deal.

Courtney and Andra going for the big pay out on Deal or No Deal.

Poor Ashley had a couple teeth pulled last week (getting ready for braces) and is still feeling sore...but thankful we got her a giant ice cream sundae to help ease the pain.
Cameron was the champ at Shuffleboard...first bowling then this...maybe he should look into a career in leisure sports!
Here are a few observations we’ve noticed about having a Tween and his friends in our house:

They love texting…all the time…day or night.
They listen to music…all the time…day or night.
They smell…especially the boy ones.
They think they’re the coolest, funniest, smartest people ever born.
They eat a lot!
They don’t get us…even though we’re super smart, way cool and extremely funny.
They don’t smile but if they do they won’t show their teeth.
They have messy hair and wear a lot of hats.
They only help out if they think they’re getting paid.
They can be the sweetest kids ever…as long as no one is looking!

Happy Bithday TJ

My adorable nephew TJ turned 6 years old this weekend. TJ is offically the coolest kid ever...he plays football, baseball and wrestles...this little man is all about sports. He also has some serious Rockband skills and gives the best tight-tight hugs around!!

TJ's party was at the Arapahoe Bowling Center.

The party was great...we bowled (watching little kids bowl is the best), visited with family and friends, ate pizza and cake and had an overall super fun time.

Cameron had the high score for all the kids with a big 124...he even beat the big kids...Zach, Trevor and Tylor, who were trying their hardest to pass him.

The big winner of our group was Courtney with an impressive 203!

That guy can put some sick curve on the ball.

Random side note: This bowling alley was where John took me on our first date 14 years ago. We hadn't been back there until yesterday so it brought back a bunch of great memories. We did manage to sneak in a couple nice moments together in honor of that day. I only wish I had thought to take a picture of us...that would have been a fun thing to look back on in another 14 years.

Basketball on the brain.

Can you believe it...3 date nights in one month

and it's only the 16th!

John and I went to the Nuggets vs Suns game last night. It was a fantastic night and a great game (our favorite moment was the sick dunk by JR Smith). But boy was it late...the game didn't start until almost 9:00 and with the score tied up at 103-103 at the end of the 4th quarter it went into overtime so we didn't get home until after 12:30 but it was a great night none the less...the Nuggets won and I spent the evening with my most favorite person!

Speaking of basketball...here are a few more pictures from Zach's first game last weekend. (Thanks again for the photos Cheryl!)
Picture #1 is of Zach's first ever tip-off...look at those hops!
Picture #2 is Zach with 3 guys guarding him.
Picture #3 is the team on the sideline during a timeout...go Bulls!

Zach's 1st basketball game & Princess Rylee turns 4.

Saturday was a super fun day...it started out bright and early with me seeing John off to work, (still rocking those resolutions). Ok so it wasn't actually a SUPER fun day because like I said John had to work...we only have SUPER fun days when he's around.

I made a yummy breakfast. Then put the finishing touches on the pretty pink princess cupcakes Cam and Ashley helped me make for Rylee's birthday party. Well the cupcakes were actually going to accompany a beautiful doll cake that I was making late Friday night but it decided to crumble in half...and I cried.

We did some minor cleaning up around the house then headed out for Zach's very first basketball game. It was SOOO fun and such a nice change after so many years of just soccer.

The boys played great and had an amazing defense, especially considering they had only had one team practice the night before the game. They led the entire game but the other team tied it up then hit a 3 pointer to win the game 24-21. We may have lost but those boys were so happy and had such a great time playing together. I can't wait to see how well they play with a few more practices under their belts.

After the game we headed straight over to Chuck E Cheese's for Rylee's princess party.

Look who's 4!
Zach taking a well deserved rest after the game.
Cameron and Ashley stayed busy running around playing games with Rylee. Boy does that little lady have some energy!
She loved all her presents and ended the night with a hot pink smile from her cupcakes!

My head is full of ideas!

The start of a new year always signals one thing for me, projects...lots of projects. I love a fresh start and I'm just dying to get somethings going around the house.

I LOVE this print I saw on Oh Happy Day last year...but for the life of me I can't remember who painted it. I guess I'll have to go through her archives to find it because boy do I want it.

I also would love to have this desk for my office,

and these crown moldings in every room of my house,

and these counter tops in my kitchen.

I would love this bedroom set for my own room but it's a little young so I will have to settle on wanting it for Ashley's room.

Our master bathroom is in serious need of a makeover...so far I've found lots of inspiration from my girl Martha (the following pictures are from marthastewart.com)

Like these hotel towel racks...a perfect solutions to ease my over-flowing linen closet.

Wall cubbies for added storage.

I'm also trying to come up with a creative storage solution for the waisted space under my bathroom counter where there should be a vanity chair.

Does anyone ever really sit in the bathroom anymore while getting ready?

I think the idea of a vanity area is very 80's / 90's and personally I would prefer more storage space. I'm just not sure how to go about it.I also LOVE this recycle center for my garage. We currently do not recycle...I know shame on us but we really want to and I think this idea would work perfectly for us!