Sunny Friday!

 Last Friday, February 5th, was the most gorgeous winter day!  The sun was shining and it actually felt warm--I think it got to 62 degrees or a little higher??  It felt great and we spent as much time outdoors as we could.  While Ronan was at school, Griffin rode his bike then played some basketball with his neighbor/cousin, Cohen!  Then, with Griffin in the BOB, we left our house early to pick up Ronan so that I could get a run in.  Once we got Ronan we went to a little park by our house and played until it was time for Josh to come home.

  

  

 

boys in the kitchen

 2/2/10~Josh likes to cook (sometimes)...he almost always makes breakfast for us on the weekends (I love that!!), but I don't think I've ever seen him bake cookies before. (:  He got the idea when he found butterscotch chips in the cupboard and asked if we had all the ingredients to make his favorite oatmeal butterscotch cookies.  We did (thanks for the butter, Becca!), so the kids pulled up chairs to help Daddy.

  

Dinner with Friends

 On Saturday, January 30th, we went to Mezza Luna pizza with the Turanski family.  I was supposed to be bringing them dinner that night (because Kelly is going through chemotherapy), but she was feeling so great that day that she wanted to get out of the house and asked if we could do that instead.  We joked throughout the evening that she just didn't want me to cook for her...and I tried not to take it personally. (:  Ha ha!  I was fine not making dinner, especially if it meant getting to go out to eat with them!  We had such a fun time visiting and laughing together.  It was a good thing for all of us! 

The pizza was sooo yummy!

  

 the boys

  

A blurry picture of Alan tickling Griffin & Eli.

  

Me & Kelly

 

5 and a 1/2

January 29th was Ronan's half-birthday (celebrating half bdays is one of our family traditions).  I thought it would be fun to wait until that day to tell Ronan that it was his half birthday, because he loves surprises!  The day started off great because Ronan realized that it was a no school day--Yay!  Then, I told the kids that we would be going out for a few surprises for Ronan's special day.  First we went to Bounce, where we had two free passes to the open gym.  They were both so excited when we pulled into the parking lot and realized where we were!  It was a crowded day at the gym (because of the no school day), but it didn't bother us.  We found plenty to do to keep busy during the hour+ we were there.

Playing on the big mats 

(It looks like they are stuck between the trampolines, but there is a net separating them from the trampoline area.)

  

 jumping beans

  

After Bounce we picked up Josh for lunch and to take Ronan to his next surprise...Toys R Us!  We rarely take the kids there because one or both of them usually leaves in tears because they wanted to buy something.(:  Ronan had been asking for & dreaming about getting an army playset that he saw there around Christmas time.  He didn't get it for Christmas (what was Santa thinking??), so we thought it would be a fun thing to get for his half birthday.  It was a huge hit...he was beyond excited.

  

 For lunch we stopped at Little Caesar's Pizza for a $5 pepperoni pizza--Ronan's favorite food. (:  The rest of the day Ronan kept saying to me, "Mom, thank you for surprising me today." (:  "Thank you for my army stuff."  We all had fun celebrating our five and a halfer!

Bowling

 My friend, Melissa, and I took our boys bowling last Tuesday afternoon.  It was her idea and it ended up being such a fun thing to do!  Ronan & Griffin could hardly contain their excitement when we got there.  We had just picked Ronan up from school, so he was a little bit off until he settled into the game.  (He is so well-behaved and mellow at school that when he gets home he really needs to let it all out.) 

Christian, Kaiser, & Melissa discussing the game. (:

  

Ronan & Kaiser 

(not sure what Kaiser is doing on the floor...)

  

Ronan got the high score (;

  

Griffin was able to bowl all by himself, and he did a great job!  He liked giving high fives to everyone each time.

  

 Thanks, guys, for the fun afternoon!

Happy Birthday, Grammie!

We celebrated Josh's Grammie's 85th Birthday with all the family last Sunday, January 24th.  We had fun hanging out, playing the Wii, and eating yummy cake!
Ronan & Lydia~such a family resemblance!

Griffin was right next to Great Grammie, so he got to help blow out the candles. (:

 

Happy Birthday!

 

All of the grandkids with Gr Grammie & Gr Grandpa. 

 

January 21st

While Kelly was at her first chemotherapy appointment I watched her boys for part of the day.  Our boys get along really well and have a lot of fun together, so it worked out really well!  When it was time to pick up Ronan from school, I put Griffin & Eli in the double stroller and John walked with me.  It was a beautiful, sunny day (somewhat abnormal for this time of year) so I decided to let the kids play on the playground for awhile after we got Ronan.  Once we got home the kids played until Alan and Kelly got done.  At one point John asked me when his mom would be coming back, and I told him that she would be back soon, and he said, "Wow, she must be having a lot of fun there." (:  I thought it was such a sweet and innocent response. (:

Darth Griffin + Captain Eli 

John + Ronan

 

 silly faces

 

 One treatment down and only five to go--you can do it, Kelly!

We wanted to take a few pictures to remember this time--before the inevitable hair loss.. ):

 

  This is such a hard thing to go through, but I am amazed at Kelly's strength and attitude through it all!