Wordless Wednesday...

Brrr.

A Little Baller...

Jack's basketball season has begun! I enjoy watching the kiddos. Most are out there just having a good time and enjoying when they get a pass or the chance to dribble down the floor. It's even so much more exciting for these "little" ones when they make a basket and they immediately look over at their families with those HUGE grins!

So, off we go to the game.

 

This picture cracks me up! He has a pull over non, shorts, not pants, flip flops on because his shoes are in his bag along with his basketball...just like Sam! Who else squints on a cloudy day?

 A little warm up! Checking out were his bigest fan, ME, is sitting. Well, he is probably looking for Sam and Jason, too.

 Matching up to guard the other team. Will need to get those hands out of his pockets!! Some of Jack's teammates get super excited!

Let the game began! 

Jack made a basket and immediately looked over at us!  Gave him a huge thumbs up!!

Love that!!

Brrr...

On Monday, we got about 7" of snow in our town. I picked up Jack from school and it was really coming down at that time!

Jack and his friend came out of school and trudged across the great tundras AKA the playground.  It was a rough walk, but they made it. It's one that he will be able to share with his kids, "When I was your age I had to walk for miles to get to the car in a snowstorm that lasted for hours!!"

 

Yep.

"Hey, Mom! Would you like me to show you how to play Little Big Planet 3? (a video game he got for Christmas) It's really easy!" said Jack to me one afternoon. 

"Well, sure." I was flattered I got invited to play!!

So off we went and played for about an hour. I didn't do that bad. I had a good time. I was definately a little rusty.

Later...

"Jack, are you going to have mom play Little Big Planet with you again?" asked Sam.

His answer:

 "AH!! What is that?" I asked him.

"You just weren't that good. You couldn't jump and you didn't' stay put when I asked you to." he told me.

So being the adult that I am, I replies, "Well, you never stay put when I ask you to and you jump when you aren't supposed to. And I am talking about real life."

Yea. That got him. 

Later I found out that Jack had told Sam, "Mental note to self. Don't try to teach mom how to play video games."

Trying!!

I am soooo trying to get back in the swing of things after having everyone around for two weeks. I just haven't been able to get going or inspired!! I guess the relaxing, hanging out, reading, playing games was just to wonderful!!

Plus, my blogging progam has NOT made things easy once again, along with my photo organizer! Everything keeps putting pictures in places I don't want them along with not letting me load photos..UGH!! So I get frustrated and call the whole blogging thing off!

Anyway...

We did get one thing done that we have been meaning to do since...mmm..spring...when I bought a vintage red bike for the top of our shelving unit. After a little polishing up, Jason hauled the bike up a ladder and muscled it to the top. Believe me, vintage bikes are not light weight!

I took this picture right after we got the bike all set up. Then Jason and I both had panic attacks about the bike falling down and take out anything/killing anyone or anything that might be under it! We gave the boys strict instructions NOT to run or walk heavy anywhere near the book shelf!

The next day Jason got some brackets to secure the bike to the wall. A secure success! And happy to report the boys can once again walk normally.

 Wanted to show how my mantel was decorated for the holiday. A friend's daughter makes these wonderful holiday signs and I couldn't pass up the red sign with the old wooden frame. I really don't want to take it down and isn't every time of the year the most wonderful time of the year? See. I can make it work!

Intagrams...

I love instagram! 

Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to print or copy from instagram, so I take screen shot of things I come across that bring a smile to my face. Here are two of the latest thing that made me smile!

I am sure everyone has a day or two like this!

 

This one made me laugh out loud!! I may just do this next year!!

Hope these brought a smile to your face today!

Throw Back Thursday!

Happy New Year!! 

 

(Oh, I just miss Jack wearing those jammies!!)

What I've been Reading...

Well, I have been reading, but I decided to pick up an 800 page book, which took me some time. Now, I don't often pick up a book that is 800+, so I do have high expectations of the story. It's got to be good...my word it's 800 pages...must have lots of twist and turns and flips and flops...and I must say, Natchez Burning by Greg Iles does contain all these "requirements."

From Amazon:

Growing up in the rural Southern hamlet of Natchez, Mississippi, Penn Cage learned everything he knows about honor and duty from his father, Tom Cage. But now the beloved family doctor and pillar of the community is accused of murdering Viola Turner, the beautiful nurse with whom he worked in the dark days of the early 1960s. A fighter who has always stood for justice, Penn is determined to save his father, even though Tom, stubbornly evoking doctor-patient privilege, refuses to speak up in his own defense.

The quest for answers sends Penn deep into the past—into the heart of a conspiracy of greed and murder involving the Double Eagles, a vicious KKK crew headed by one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the state. With the aid of a local friend and reporter privy to some of Natchez's oldest and deadliest secrets, Penn follows a bloody trail that stretches back forty years, to one undeniable fact: no one—black or white, young or old, brave or not—is ever truly safe.

With everything on the line, including his own life, Penn must decide how far he will go to protect those he loves . . . and see justice done, once and for all.

When I first started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. It was that good. About half way through, I started to think this book could be just as good with less pages. Some scenes just go on and on and on! But I stuck with it, because I wanted to know how this one was going to play out. In the last "big" scene in the book, I looked at Jason and said, "My word. I just wish someone would get killed and get on with this story!"  I then finished it about 30 minutes later and wanted to take it out to our fire pit and burn it. THERE WAS NO ENDING! THERE WAS NO WRAP UP! 

Now, I have read books that have squeals and trilogies, but each book has wrapped up the story, but you know they could have a second or third book. But, you are left with an ending. Not here! One character is walking up a hill with a gun on two other characters...and that's it! UGH!!

So I immediately got on line and found out I wasn't the only one that felt the same...the book is just so long and could have had 200-300 pages cut out and still be an amazing story. Then I realized it was the first book in a trilogy. Oh. Hmmm...STILL DOESN'T"T MEAN YOU CAN"T WRAP UP THE FIRST BOOK!!!

Will I read the second book? I would love to, but if it 800 pages and has no ending, than no thank you!

The last time I felt this strongly disappointed about a book, was when I read A Song in Ordinary Times, an Oprah book club choice. It had NO ENDING!! I actually threw this book away. 

So, I am off to read a new book, which takes me about 2-3 days to decide what I am going to read next. 

I will let you know how my next book goes...is it s keeper or a burner!!

Phew!

Phew...what a couple of weeks!

 We have been on the go, go, go! 

So much so, that even Jason (who loves to be on the go) said no more to the go! 

Phew!

I have loads to share, that it is almost overwhelming, so I will give you a quick overview of the last two weeks (in no particular order!)

 I volunteered to photograph Jack's winter party at school.

The boys practiced their photo-bombing!

(I needed to get some sleep!)

We went to an ISU basketball game.

Watched movies in the basement.

Went to a new movie theater in our area!

 Moose and I took selfies!

Sam ROCKED his guitar solo in his recital!

Jack wore an ugly Christmas tee to school.

I walked out one evening and the boys were laying on the balcony looking down at the Christmas tree. They weren't saying a thing...just looking at the tree.

Had my Memory Bound Christmas party. The theme was from the movie  "National Lampoo's Christmas Vacation." Jason and I dressed up as the boss and the boss's wife!

 My sister thought my coat was the bomb! So does Sammy!!

Cousin Christmas...a favorite night of ours!!

Christmas Eve family photo!

 

Enjoying pepperoni sticks for dinner!

Enjoying juice from our Christmas Vacation Reindeer glasses!

Drank a lot of hot chocolate!

And finally...the boys seeing their gifts from Santa!!

PHEW!! 

Now to get this all in my December Daily album...someday!

 

The Look of Success...

Sam has been obsessed with the Rubik's Cube lately. A couple of kids at school can solve the cubes and this has intrigued Sam for sometime. How do they do that?

Well,  Sam was on a mission and started watching  you tube videos that showed step by step directions on how to solve the cube. He became determined to figure that thing our!  I would find him up early in the morning working on that cube before going to school, laying in his bed working on the cube and instead of reading at night, he was working on that cube!

This morning was no different. He was working on that cube even before he had eaten his breakfast. Notice the box sitting to the side.

I was taking a few pictures because he was SO intense!!

he actually "SHUSHED" me!  Oh!

I just happened to click this picture as he looked up and yelled. "AHHHH!! I DID IT!!"

He was over the moon about solving that cube! It was great and so much fun to see him so happy about his success! His next comment was, "My hands are totally sweating!"

He has since then written down step by step directions on paper on how to solve the Rubik's cube. He completes it as far as he can, until he needs to check his "cheat sheet." I am proud to say that he has solved it two times without looking at his cheat sheet once!! Yea, Sam!

He gets this from his mom! :)

I am talking about his detailed note taking!!