Funny kids

Gabe called out, "Oh, you kicked me in the Virginia!"

Then Annabelle tried to butt-bump me, but after several failed attempts she says, "Jeez, Dad, your butt is really high!"

Love these kids!!

Dash McKenzie Architecture

Well, it's been decided...Gabe & Declan will become architects together & open up their own firm, which will be called Dash McKenzie Architecture, & they will have lunch together three times a week.

Declan Writes a Story

Declan had to write a story about how to help a lady get her cat off the roof. He wrote that he'd get a ladder and lean it against a nearby tree. When the fire truck shows up, he'd throw the firehose around a tree limb, climb the ladder, and swing from the tree to the roof using the hose. Then he'd throw a spider toward the ground and it would make an instant web he could use to climb safely down with the cat.

I asked him why he wouldn't just lean the ladder against the house to get to the roof and rescue the cat, and he said "This is way funner!"

Funny Declan

Declan wrote me a note asking if I'd go get nachos for dinner. I wrote back, "You know it!" and he responded with "You passed the test! A+!"

New Car!!!!

Just bought a brand new red 2013 Dodge Durango! My amazing wife has worked her hot booty off and absolutely deserves this incredible blessing!

Kites!

Mommy had the awesome idea to buy some kites to enjoy our beautiful Saturday. All the kids did so well!!

Party in Declan's Room!

This is what the boys were up to last night, LOL

School Picture Day!

I had fun getting the kids' clothes picked out and hair done. Getting them to smile early in the morning was a challenge, but I have my ways ;) Unfortunately, Dash ruined his sweet hairdo before we left the house.

Tattoo!!

Charlene got an infinity symbol tattoo ring months ago as it's difficult to wear a wedding ring as a nurse taking gloves on and off a hundred times a day. Now I finally have my infinity ring tattoo, too! Didn't hurt at all, looking forward to more tattoos!

Charli's in Kansas City

My wonderful wife is training in Kansas City a few days this week. I was doing okay until it was time to curl up in bed and watch TV, usually my favorite part of each day when she's next to me. Maybe I'll skip TV and just sleep...

Winter Storms "Q" and "Rocky"

We had a record 21" of snow Thu-Tue, so I worked from home a lot to stay with the kids. Charli had a blast playing with them outside while I worked :)

Date Night

Amber and Nate came over so we could have a date night (yes!). We saw the super cheesy and cliched Nicholas Sparks movie Safe Haven, which was actually pretty enjoyable (and emotional). But restaurants were packed for Valentine's weekend, so we enjoyed a cozy dinner at Chipotle and it was perfect.

We're going to be building a new master suite on the back of the house, so we also checked out deep soaker tubs to see if Charli's incredibly long legs can fit in a normal 60" tub...sure enough, she's too tall for a normal tub and we need to redesign our bathroom to accommodate her amazing legs! ;)

When we got home early, Amber was playing musical chairs with the kids and letting Declan play his guitar to start/stop the music...we loved watching from the window outside. Then we hung out with the Bielers for another hour and everyone went to bed happy.

Waking up Graycie

Love my super cute beast!

Vaulting Dash

Charli caught Declan vaulting over the back of the couch and gave him a look, to which he responded, "Mommy, someday I'm gonna be a spy and I'll have to know how to do that. Really, I will!"

Gabe's Turn

Today Gabe wanted to sit in Graycie's car seat, LOL. He's GIANT in that thing!

My smarty pants Graycie

Graycie put 2 plates facing each other and said they look like a turtle, then held them up and said they look like a driver, then flat again and said they look like a sandwich. Creative genius at work ;)

Good Friday

Poor Gabe was up coughing a lot Thursday night, so I only got about 2 hours of sleep, but I wished my brother Wes a happy bday, got fed up with Spotify not streaming, went to work on mission critical projects, took my wife a yummy Subway lunch, and napped. Then Charli took us all to get Graycie from daycare and we grabbed Great Harvest cinnamon rolls on the way (mmmm). We jammed on the way home for family dinner, then Gabe built a tower taller than himself, Papa tried to teach the kids how to blow across the top of an empty bottle to make a musical note (which none of our kids could do, LOL), and we learned how to use the new weight equipment Papa setup for everyone (Graycie just did jumping jacks). We ended the day watching a good movie (People Like Us) with Charli's folks.

Good day :)

I slept really well last night, nice change! Even Graycie left me alone :) Kicked booty on several projects at work while jamming to a great band called Plain White T's, and kept to my commitment to have a bag of steam veggies and a liter of water for lunch (been pretty good about this new year's resolution, go me! down 8 pounds in 3 weeks). Meanwhile my incredible wife worked out and made the kids yogurt smoothie pops to put in their lunch packs tomorrow, how awesome is she? It snowed off and on today (it was 75 just 3 days ago, what the heck), so when i picked up Graycie she was doing a great job dribbling a bouncy ball in the gym and I had to grab a pic! Then we got home and I surprised Mommy by taking all the kids to Annabelle's gymnastics class and grabbing Arby's and Sonic drinks (the boys wanted 2 sandwiches each, but only Gabe actually ate the second one AND the special order tots he wanted). Now kids are off to bed, and we had several good shows record tonight, that I'm looking forward to cuddling with my love to watch, and I'm reading a great book (Gone Girl), so great day overall!

Morning jam

We like to jam and get crazy while waiting for the bus each morning <3

Teasing Annabelle

Bella ate all her dinner so she asked what she could have for a treat. Teasingly I told her, "Um, half a cookie" and this is the look I got, LOL

Body Venture Science Exhibit

Charli had the pleasure of exploring a cool setup at the kids' elementary school with walk-in tents decorated to show what our insides are like. They had limited space for parents, so the pics are just of Annabelle's adventures, but the boys got to go, too.

Happy Monday!

Great day today! Let the kids sleep in (school starts an hour late every Monday), so they were well behaved and we even got to say good-bye to Mommy! Then I kicked major butt at work today, and my wife treated me to an intimate lunch at Adrian's :) It's another 75-degree day, so we're letting the kids put off homework a little while to play outside before dinner. Then Mommy's totally awesome beef barley dinner was served, but Gabe wasn't so sure. He tried it and said, "Hmm, this is actually kinda good." Another bite and he said, "This is really delicious!" LOL Then we all laughed at an Ellen video of all the guest stars she's scared by having someone in a costume sneak up on them while on air with her, hilarious! Now the kids are peacefully enjoying a good book and I'm just happy.

Beautiful Sunday

Charli and I had a difficult time last night going to sleep and staying asleep, so our morning, like the frozen temps outside, wasn't warm and cuddly...it was groggy and the kids did not get along, and I was back to having zero appetite (I thought I'd been healed yesterday ;). But after my beautiful bride and Graycie got a nice long nap while I kept the kids trapped in their room watching a movie and I read (for fun!), everyone felt better and Charli had the brilliant idea we should go for a walk because the temp outside had risen to where you didn't need a jacket - in January! That was a wonderful pick me up and I really enjoyed watching the kids enjoy themselves while my wife held my hand and talked. Declan rode his bike, of course, but he was so good about only riding ahead to the next mailbox, so proud of our kids. When we got back, we felt reenergized and cleaned the backyard and pool area. Declan and Bella helped me put together a bike rack, and they were so happy about the clean patio table they insisted we have dinner out there. Gabe even brought down Grandma's vase with a single silk red rose for the table and carried our drinks out on a cutting board turned serving tray. Then after kids went down I had the ultimate privilege of cuddling with my beloved for hours watching shows, reading and holding hands. The day had turned completely around, and I'm blessed as usual. :)