Memorial Day As Planned.

By the time we had left the City Museum, the rained had stopped. I actually talked Heath into continuing our day be heading to the zoo. If you know Heath....too much fun can be too much in one day! (Hint of sarcasm) I explained that if we went,we wouldn't have to go back this summer when it was scorching hot and sweat is burning our
eyes! He graciously agreed to go. It ended up being perfect, because I think with the massive downpours it cleared out the zoo. We arrived around 4pm and still had 3 hours to explore the park. Although we only observed it in a matter of 2, we got to see plenty!

Corby was our tour guide since he had visited the day prior with my sister-in-law. I explained that the others were still interested in going and not to give us the "boredom" speech. He was in a great mood for it being his 2nd trip to the zoo in two days.



This year Conner was very into the animals. He wanted to know all about them.

We even got to see a tiger fight in action!

Our very own Monkeys!

We did miss one of our yearly highlights of our zoo trip, the Sea Lion Show. Maybe I can talk Heath into going back this year! (Not gonna happen!). Can you tell the day was about to knock Quin out!

Of course one final shot of the boys on the sea lion statue. Heath later tells me that I can't read and the sign said do not climb on. Oh Well...glad I captured it without the camera Nazi's attacking me!

Preston kept asking to go to his favorite place we had went to last year to eat, Fitz's. This has homemade root beer which you can watch them bottle right before your eyes. We weren't able to see it this year like we did last, probably due to the fact we were there later and that it was a holiday.

I'm not for sure how many mugs of cups we went through, but it was a lot!

Of course when Corby saw they had homemade chocolate shakes, he preferred that over homemade root beer.

Corby couldn't believe I was taking "a picture of a picture". I just thought it was fascinating the Rachel Ray had been to Fitz's!

We had a great Memorial Day after enduring all the rain. It was great to spend a family day together and enjoy some outside time. We do however realize the importance of our freedom and we talk to our boys often about the free country that they live in. We are very honored to have our service men in our lives. My cousin, Tim, leaves (or just left) for the Middle East this past week. We will keep him in our nightly prayers.

Memorial Day~Plan B.

We had planned on going to the St. Louis Zoo on Memorial Day to enjoy the day outdoors with the kids. Well, Mother Nature had better plans for Memorial Day with rain on and off all day! As we were driving to St. Louis it began to downpour. We didn't tell the kids where we were going, just that we were going to do something fun (in case the rain hit)! We had several people mention to us that we needed to take the kids to the City Museum. I had actually never heard of it and since we have really seen all the other "hot spots" in the city, we thought we would give it a try.

They have taken an old abandon shoe factory and have turned it into this amazing museum, which all of it is made from recyclable items.

There are many tunnels, caves, doors that you can crawl through.

This floor where Heath and Quin are standing is a that of an old time drug store. It had the old time juke box, pinball machines (which the kids had a blast playing), fortune telling machine, magic mirrors, and a whole bunch of other neat things.

This is just one of the many views outside with some of the items they have tried to restore.

One floor a place to swing across on ropes.

The boys had a great time and I would highly recommend this place!

Here is a view a couple streets over showing the top of the museum. I actually thought there was a carnival going on top of one of the buildings, not realizing it was the museum.

Hit the Green.

Sunday was a perfect day to hit the golf course! Preston could not stand the fact that his brother {Corbin} was gone for the weekend with my sister-in-law having a grand time in St. Louis enjoying a Cardinal baseball game, staying at a motel and swimming, and then off to the zoo! So being the good mother that I am, I told him that after mass on Sunday we would go eat lunch at one of his favorite hot spots, Subway, and then off to the course for the afternoon! It was the perfect day weather wise and fun was had by all...yes even I took in some golf!

It's amazing to me how well Conner at the age of 4 can hit the ball!

Quin and Grandma just enjoyed the outdoors driving on the cart! Luckily his legs were too short to reach the pedals!

Preston acts like he owns the course. He knows exactly where he can wash his balls off, what par each hole is, and of course where he can find an end of game snack at!

I have to admit that for the first time out this year, I did pretty well! We played a scramble, Heath, Conner, & I against my dad and Preston. Heath didn't like to admit that we used several of Conner & my shots!

Preston is gearing up for his 2nd golf tournament in June. He placed 3rd last year in his age division.

{Andi Marie} Turns 3!

Hard to believe my {Great}~Niece Andi Marie is the BIG 3!!! I remember 3 years ago we were headed to Disney World in the wee hours in the morning, and couldn't believe that we didn't get a call until 2am to let us know she had been born! We had waited all day to hear of her arrival! She is such a cutie pie and we are so glad we got to attend her "Mermaid" 3rd Birthday Party!

She's got a little help from her brother TJ on blowing out the candles....and digging into the icing!

Good Job Jessi on decorating the cakes...something I never mastered as a mom!

Quin wasn't so sure what to think when TJ dipped down to lick his cake! We heard a big scream from Quin on this one!

Mr. Independent had to feed himself his own!

They highlight of the day for Quin was being able to pour out the lemonade from the cooler! I don't know how much actually ended up in his cup!

And the best part of Andi's day...opening her presents!

The boys waiting for Andi to open hers from us...like they didn't know what it was!

Happy 3rd Birthday Andi Marie!

The Final Day...Awards Day.

We made it to the final day of the school year! Wow was it a fast one! I know we seem to say this each and every year, but I think it really was a super fast year. I have posted pictures of the boys 1st day of school and they were so gracious to let me take one today of their last day. As you can tell, Corby went from "Buzz", to "Fro"...no not really, but hopefully it is just a phase that he is going through.

Preston's top teeth seem to be finally deciding to come through. He still insists on his hair being shorter...at least that is what everyone else is doing in the 1st grade. I think they start to think like everyone else the older they get.

I couldn't have been more proud today as I was of Corbin and Preston. One of the first awards to be giving was the "Christian" award. Sr. Sue explained this is for the kids who are always lending a helping hand and going that extra mile to make someone's day. Preston was honored to receive this award for his class. I have a little story to go along with why he probably got this award. Earlier in the year, the janitor for the school, Darrel (who is handicap and works for the Sheltered Workshop), became ill at school and fell. Preston told us daily that even though Darrel was slow, he spoke and said hi to him daily and that he considered him his best friend. Well Preston later learned that Darrel did not have a winter coat and felt bad for him. He made my grandmother look through her closets and she found the perfect coat for Darrel. He took the coat and also a flannel shirt to Darrel at school, and we were so proud of his good deed. Preston also received an award for putting forward hard effort in everything he does, and also his Reading Circle Certificate.

We were also very excited today for Corbin because out of his class, only 4 students were chosen for the Academic Achievement Award. This is a very high honored award, and Corbin worked very hard this year at his school work making all A's.

The boys were very proud of their awards and are very excited for the upcoming summer season! Let the fun begin with swimming, baseball, vacations, and just relaxing (or just being lazy!)

3rd Grade Field Trip.

We officially made it through our final field trip of the year. Yesterday, Corby's class went to the boyhood home museum of Mark Twain. They had the perfect day for it and my dad was gracious enough to be one of the drivers for the class.

Luckily both Corby and my dad captured some pictures for me of the eventful day. I think from talking to my mom last night, my dad was completely whipped.

Corby with his buddy Brice.

The class walking on their nature hike. Thank goodness Corby did not bring home poison ivy with him.

And last but not least, what is a third grade field trip without a game of baseball!


Tomorrow we end our school year with the awards assembly. I swear each year gets faster and faster adding more activities to our already busy plate. We wouldn't have it any other way!

A FaNcY NaNcY BiRtHdAy PaRtY!

Our dear friends, the Youngbloods', invited us to their daughter, Carly's, Five & Fancy Birthday party on Sunday. Well I now know who Fancy Nancy is. In a house full of boys, we don't have much conversations about the character from the books, Fancy Nancy. Luckily for a change it was the perfect party weather and it was great to be outside!

Carly all dressed up in her birthday outfit enjoying her special birthday!

Dawn started out by reading one of the Fancy Nancy books and then had the kids decorate accessories (visors for the boys and crowns for the girls) to go along with the theme. If you will notice my boys are nowhere to be found....they could be found....

riding on one of the power vehicles which they had a fun time on....or

jumping on one of Carly's birthday presents, a trampoline.

The birthday girl ready to blow out her candles and make her wish.

Wow...can you believe we actually got them to stop for a minute for a group shot!

And what's a party without a pinata'!

The kids diving in for all the dropped candy!

Carly was then off to open her presents!

At least I am now familiar with Fancy Nancy! We were also treated to parfaits and some delicious "Fancy Food". Happy 5th Birthday Carly!

Conner's Preschool Program.

We had a very busy Friday! On Friday evening Conner participated in his preschool program held at Holy Rosary Gymnasium. He kept telling us he was going to sing his songs very loud....that is until he saw the massive amounts of people in the audience. He really did a great job and we were very proud of him for actually singing! We reminded Corby at this age at his first preschool program that he stood up on stage like a frozen fish not singing one word.

As you can tell...a little stage fright kicked in.

It got much better and he was all smiles by the time his songs were complete.

His teacher Mrs. Walker instructing them to the words and motions.

This picture is a little blurry because I was quick to snap. Conner was the last one to be announced to come off the rafters to receive his preschool certificate. We all noticed that he started to do the "dance"...you know the "pee pee dance" and was beginning to hold himself in the obvious spot. He whispered to his teacher he had to go to the bathroom. I then left the gym in a hurry to take him....luckily we made it just in time!

We are so proud of his 1st year of preschool! He grew up so much in this first year of preschool! The first day I didn't know how I was going to make it because he cried for several weeks while I dropped off. He later grew up and had no problems at all. He can count to 20, sing his

ABC's, write his name, knows his shapes, and lots of other stuff to mention! Hard to believe my Conner Bear only has one more year left of preschool and off to Kindergarten!

Fun Filled Fieldtrip.

On Friday, Preston's 1st grade class had their field trip. Heath was the lucky driver this time! If you recall I got to drive on the field trip in September, with the massive amount of rain we accumulated. Well this trip wasn't any different! By the time the trip was almost coming to an end, Heath drove back in pounding rain, hail, and possible tornado warnings surrounding our entire area! Luckily the field trip was a go and the kids had a great time. Their first stop was the Hunnewell Hatchery.

I sent my moms camera along so Heath could capture some photos for me. He said the boys were all about picking up the fish.

Preston came home with lots of knowledge on the fish he had seen and held during the day....he even smelled a little fishy!

His buddy Caden was even so brave as to pucker up to this one! I don't think Preston got that brave!

Luckily the bad weather held off for a good portion of the morning. They then headed back to the park for a picnic and lots of play time.

The day ended with a trip to the bowling alley and back to school. Preston said he had a great time on the trip and was glad that his dad could be a part of it!

{Holy Rosary Field Day}.

Yesterday Holy Rosary held their annual Field Day. Luckily the weather cooperated and it went off like a bang! I missed the first 30 minutes, but I'm glad to have gotten to attend my first field day. The boys didn't know I was coming so they were very surprised to see me! The first event I got to see was the golf ball spoon run. They had to walk down the entire length of the gym without dropping their ball on the floor...nope didn't win this event. Do you think Preston can walk at anything???

After both kids not winning at the shoe scramble and musical chairs, it was then onto group competition...the infamous "Tug of War"....neither of the boys teams won at this event either...you know how happy Preston was at this point. (I had to give him the mom/son talk about being a good sport and not always having to win...all I'm sure he heard was BLAH...BLAH...BLAH...)

Preston was even supporting a sore hand that was wrapped in tape and gauze but that didn't stop him from participating in Tug of War. He told me he was practicing for the wheel barrow race and ended up getting a huge blister that popped, so therefore he was unable to participate in that event.

Corby with his buddy Cole waiting in between events. Did I say how gorgeous it was!

Off him and Cole go for the the wheel barrow race...

Yet another ribbon not to be won....

At last they had all the kids from each grade that hadn't won a ribbon yet compete in the 50 yard dash.

As you can tell Corby is watching behind him to see his is going to beat him.

Yes, finally Corby ended up getting 2nd place and was all smiles for his one and only ribbon of the day. Preston ended up taking 1st in his class for the 50 yard dash....WHOoooo WHewwww....thank goodness or is would have been a long night at our house!

The boys showing off their ribbons of the day.

Conner had fun playing with his buddies on the playground, although this picture is supporting his pout look because one of the boys told him he couldn't get up there. Momma said differently!

All smiles once again as they had leftover push-ups that everyone got to enjoy!

Even Quin thought he was big stuff having his first push up. We need to fine tune it a little with a little more practice of how to eat one. He at one point tried to eat the stick.

And this tells all.....I think it was a successful Field Day!

Chalk Festival.

Seems like with the end of school, there is some activity the boys are taking part in each and every day. Today was the annual Chalk Festival. Grades 3rd-6th are paired up with partners and have to come up with a theme and decorate a slab of the sidewalk only using chalk. Corby, along with his buddies Jess & Brice decided to do the St. Louis Arch. Jess's mom, Tiffany, was gracious enough to forward me this picture she took of the finished product today. I think Corby was more excited that they got to bring a cooler filled with beverages of their choice, and he also had his "pretend" birthday today since he is a summer birthday. He decided to take his favorites, brownies and soda. The kids chalk drawings are then judged by the art council and the top winners are awarded prizes and awards the last day of school at the awards ceremony. With the end of school winding down the boys still have field day on Thursday, Preston has his field trip on Friday which Heath is driving, Corby's field trip on Monday which Grandy gets to drive, Tuesday they are out for teacher work day, and the final day on Wednesday which will be the awards ceremony. So as you can see we are keeping quite busy the next few days with lots to blog about....that is if I can con Heath and my dad to snap some pictures! We are just praying for no rain!

Mowing Helper.

You would think with 3 older brothers that Mr. Quinners would have something to play with outside. Well I realized that the only outside toys that the older boys really have to play with is their baseball equipment, the Gator or 4-Wheeler, or is way to many pieces for Quin to play with So while I was at Wal-mart I purchased his very own lawnmower that shoots out bubbles...well that is if he pushes down hard enough. Why do the commercials make it look so easy?? Bubbles or no bubbles he still has fun pushing this all over the yard like he is really doing something! At least now he has his very own toy. I guess I am glad he has a birthday coming up in a couple of months!

Straight From the Heart.

No this little red box is not from my husband! Today when I went to pick up the boys from school Preston came running out and handed me this box. I couldn't imagine what it was. As I opened it...this is what I found....

A little silver bracelet with a guardian angel. I asked Preston where he had gotten it and he said he bought it for me. I asked him if he had money and he said no he borrowed it. Oh my gosh I was about to rip into him because I couldn't imagine someone letting him borrow money for this beautiful bracelet. He told me he borrowed .25 to buy it for me but he promised the seventh grader he would pay him back tomorrow. Ahhh, my heart about melted and my eyes filled with tears. He said "Mom, I was going to buy you some earrings, but they were broken". Every year at the end of the school year the school sells basically "junk" items for the students to purchase and I'm pretty sure they use the money to send off to the missions. Preston didn't care about buying any toys today, but was thinking of me all by himself. He was so proud that he bought this for me and made sure I wore it all night! Wow, tears are coming to the eyes right now writing this. Preston can be bull headed as ever, but boy does he have a tender heart. He thumb promised me tonight that he would take a quarter back tomorrow and repay the boy back that let him borrow it.

The bracelet reads, "Keep Me Safe, Guardian Angel, Pray for Me, & Watch Over Me". I'm sure Preston has a guardian angel watching over him tonight for being such a sweetheart. I love you Preston!

Retirement Trip.

After 35 years of service to Ralls County Farm Bureau Insurance, my dad was honored by the company for an all paid vacation to England. My parents just returned from their trip last week and had a fabulous time. I have put together a slide show for them and for others who were interested in seeing their pictures. I am actually very proud of my mom capturing some wonderful shots! I have also included some songs from the famous "Englishman" himself, Elton John. Enjoy!

~London & Paris England Trip 2009~

{Mother's Day}.

I had a fantastic Mother's Day!!! Call me crazy but I decided to work during the day from 7:30~4. It is such a busy day at the restaurant I work at and let me tell you I benefited! My legs and back might be telling me different, but I absolutely had a fabulous day at work. I then met Heath and the boys at my parents house, and Heath surprised me with an entire day at the spa I like to go to, along with new running shorts and shirt. Corby's comment was "and when will you start using those?? " I do have it on my to do list to start running! Yes call me crazy on that one too!

I thought to top off my Mother's Day we would go out to eat at one of my all time favorite places, Gem City Pizzeria in Quincy. This has been one of our favorite places to eat since I was a toddler! They have the best pizza and margaritas I might add! We met Matt, Quinn, and the girls there for a nice supper! (Notice my grease worn hair from work all day! This is the look after it has been in a pony-tail all day...nice I know!)

Quinn with Chloe, Sydney, & Delaney. Chloe is supporting her new look of shorter hair and just sent her 12 in. she had cut off to Locks of Love, a place where hair can be donated to cancer patients).

I then heard on the radio that on Mother's Day at TCBY all moms could receive a free cone or cup of ice cream. Since there is one located directly across the street from our favorite pizza place we walked over to enjoy some!

What a crew!

I think they enjoyed TCBY!

I had a terrific Mother's Day and I'm so blessed to have a great mom to guide me to be the mom and I am today! I am so thankful and love my boys to pieces and I think they love their "momma" too!

4-H BBQ.

Sunday evening the boys had their 4-H BBQ at the Mark Twain State Park. It was a beautiful night for a BBQ and they had so much fun running and playing football.

Here we are trying to get a group shot and I thought it showed Preston's true expression of how much he likes to pose for pictures. I forgot to upload the group shot and I'm too tired to go back and upload it.

Conner fits right in and has so much fun playing with the other kids.....even if they aren't his age.

Quin being held by his cousin JT.

Preston getting the rules on football. I think he was liking what he was hearing.

I'm not for sure but it looks like maybe Preston was not liking what JT was telling him he was going to do.

I've heard this game called so many things...Hillbilly Golf, Redneck Horseshoes....whatever it is called the boys loved playing it.

And Mr. Quin had fun on the {muddy} playground.

Preston didn't stay clean for long. Boys will be boys!

Big Helpers.

Our weekends seem to never have enough hours to accomplish all of our "To Do" list!! Saturday we got a little checked off as we bought some flowers and were able to get them planted, Heath mowed the yard, purchased materials to add a front porch railing, got groceries, and it was finally nice to spend some time outside without the rain! The boys were big helpers as they used their John Deere Gator and helped us dump top soil to plant our flowers and they even swept the sidewalks for us. Preston managed to help just a little during his football playing time. Overall it was a great weekend and hoping to add a post soon of our "curb appeal" as Heath is calling it. He's been watching too much HGTV lately inside the house during the rain!

Quin thought he was big stuff when I put Conner's old boots on him. We definitely needed them with the mud that is still everywhere.

Conner was on sweeping duty.

3rd Grade Mass.

Has this school year flown or what??? Hard to believe there is only 11 1/2 days left of school and that I will soon have a 2nd & 4th grader! This morning was third grades final time to lead mass. Corby participated in the class skit and also read the communion prayer. He has really grown up this year and seems to be becoming quite mature. He told me yesterday that out of 10 boys in his class there were only 3 that did not get their names on the board, and that he was one of them. I asked him what the others were doing and said popping dandelions off and throwing them at each other. Although I am quite proud this is probably something boys do at this age. He is definitely ready for summer and all the fun that comes with it. This year will be his first year playing baseball with a real pitcher! Corby thinks that he wants to be the pitcher on the team and Heath (AKA Coach) have been working on 50 pitches a night....that is when it is not raining! Yes I mean continual rain, not just sprinkles. We have had the worst spring ever! It has rained for what seems like 40 days/nights! There seems to be no end in sight either! The 10 day forecast is calling for chances of rain each and every day with no relief! Our house projects and our yard have been put on hold until it decides to let up. We are thankful that we have not had any basement flooding unlike a lot of families (including my parents) have encountered.

Participating in the class skit.

Love the look of Austin (in the red).

Corby's entire 3rd grade class.