"I Scream, You Scream..."

No Strike Zone

Ok. There may have been one or two strikes, but, even with the bumpers, that was it. It had been a couple of years since we had been bowling as a family. Reed asked to go on his birthday and the rest of the kids were equally excited about going too. The birthday boy managed to win the first game. A string of spares gave Cole a one point victory in game two. Despite a clear lack of bowling skills in the family, a good time was had by all. All that bowling built up quite an appetite. Next stop, Dairy Queen!

You've Come A Long Way Baby!

Reed has always been our "wild child". He has so much energy

and is always on the go. A while back, Reed said that when he

was made, God put sugar on his brain! It was his way of explaining

why he is always so full of life. With all this extra energy, Reed usually

did not want to take the time to sit and read with us or spend a lot of

time on educational activities. He was way too interested in what game

he was going to play next or what mischief he could get into to worry

about such trivial matters!

In August, Reed began kindergarten. About a month after school began,

Reed was recommended for the Extended Day Kindergarten Program

to help him catch up with kindergarten skills. And catch up he did!

Reed has done so well. He has received a green light every day so far this school year. A green light means that he has been on his best behavior. In December, Reed received the Citizen of the Month award for his Kindergarten class. This award goes to a student that the teacher wants to recognize as being a good role model.Reed recently received his report card for the first semester. He had all 3s,which is the highest rating he could have achieved. Reed's teacher reports that he is always polite and respects others and the school rules and is right on track. Reed is starting to read and write now and doing very well. We are so proud of Reed. More importantly, he is proud of himself. And, believe me, Reed is still having plenty of fun along the way!

The Simpsons

Remember when Trent spent several years completely obsessed with the Power Rangers? He watched Power Ranger videos, played with Power Ranger toys, and wore his Power Ranger costumes ALL THE TIME. Steve and I never really understood what it was with the Power Rangers that fascinated him so much. Quite frankly, we couldn't wait for the phase to pass. But when it finally did, it made us a little sad because it meant that Trent was growing up.

Since then, we have learned that Trent goes "head over heels" with any new interest that he develops and we have been through several of them (Lilo and Stitch, GooseBumps, WWE, ...). Trent's current favorite thing is "The Simpsons". Over the past several months, we have heard about the Simpsons constantly. Trent asked for Simpsons' items for Christmas. He checks out Simpsons' books from the library. He draws the Simpsons' characters. He even wants a Simpsons' birthday cake. And as much as it drives us crazy, we know that we will miss the Simpsons' phase when it too eventually comes to an end. So, we let Trent enjoy his newest interest and make sure that we take time to enjoy our boy. Trent is an original, and we wouldn't have it any other way!

Smiley Riley

Flyer Faithful

Our family loves the University of Dayton especially Dayton Flyer Basketball. We have gone to a couple of games each of the past few seasons. As the kids get older, the experience keeps getting better and better. This year, we got tickets to five games. Cole and Trent love to watch the game and Reed loves the popcorn! The kids each have their favorite players and I have mine too (Chris Wright). The Flyers are doing great. Right now, they have a 30 home game winning streak that began last season. The pictures above are from an overtime win over Duquesne that Cole and Trent decided was their best UD experience yet. And, yes, that is a picture of Reed sleeping through 13,000+ fans screaming in overtime. He definitely gets that from his Dad!

My 38th Birthday

My 38th birthday started off like most other January days. Snow was in the forecast but not until later in the day. It was a Thursday, so I went to work as usual. Because of the pending snowstorm, Steve stayed home with Riley while the boys went to school. Steve and Riley decided to bake me a birthday cake. Although Steve gets me a birthday cake every year, this was the first time he ever made a cake himself. It was a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. I think Steve was pretty proud of himself because he texted me a picture of the finished product. I have to admit, it looked pretty good. By mid morning, the snow was really coming down. I came home from work early because the roads were getting bad. After dinner, Steve and the boys took their four wheelers out in the snow. We ended the day with birthday cake and ice cream. Yum!