Life recap.....

Yes, I know Patrick....i have not updated the blog. Been a little busy with school, but here are 4 months in a snapshot! We took our trip to Chicago (thanks Gma/pa Jill and Don).

We did the Shedd Aquarium, a lake tour, and the Willis Tower. We had a beautiful day!!!

 Jamison .., our adrenaline junky, wanted to do push-ups at the window.

 We had to bribe Peter to stand there....cost us 5$, he drives a hard bargin.

We all enjoyed Chicago-style deep dish pizza!! Thanks again Don and Jill!!

 We celebrated Jamison Day with pizza and ice cream!

and we gave Jamison a panda hat....his nickname for his new soccer team.

We found a new troll in town....had to capture him. He was spotted at the library! The boys are getting sick of capturing trolls....i am not. I am a mean mom.

 and there was another holiday...Halloween. The boy's costumes were designed by them...and were based on the comfort...could not stop or hinder them in the candy collecting. They made a haul!! but made money with our buy back program. I think they came out WAY ahead!.

Winter...no stop for soccer. Futsal season began. The first tournament....the championship round...Peter's White (Red) team against Jamison's Silver (white) Team. Brother against brother...who does a parent cheer for?? she sits in the middle and does not say a word! The winner....

 Peter's team,,,,but it was a good match.

The together photo...sweaty and all.

Thanksgiving....the only time we have had snow...it is all gone now. We are waiting for some more.

This is our tree this year!!! We only used the top 1/3....tree farm owners hoped we would pick this one..otherwise it would be cut and burned next summer. So we "saved" it. It can die in our living room...but it fulfilled its dream of being a holiday tree.

Jamison cutting the tree. It was really big!

 and snowball fight at Gma Van's

I will try to update this more. I know i have said this in the past. It is tricky to get the pictures off of my phone, and honestly...the boys are not as cute as they were in the past (only kidding). Keep watching for more soccer photos...because that is all we really do.

First Day of 5th Grade! and another soccer tourney

 That's right. 5th Grade! I cant believe it either. The boys are getting bigger and bigger.

Peter decided to go bright and bold for the first day of school outfit.

He picked out the Paris Saint Germain Soccer Jersey...this is for you Keiko!

Jamison went Brazil and Ivory Coast.

 I will be able to spot them in a crowd! They sure like their bright colors.

 They are now the " big men on campus" Next year, Middle school. I am so not ready for that!

We also had another soccer tournament. Boys did pretty well. Jamison is #30. Working hard and having fun!

 Love Peter's expression....he is focused!

a couple more soccer pics from last spring

You gotta zoom in on Peter's face....it is a hoot!

Who does his hair??

Jamison getting a bit more aggressive!

End of Summer check in

 End of summer check in....we really need school to start soon!

I finally loaded some pictured off of our big camera....some of the spring Mount Horeb Black's last soccer. I love how the boys are protecting themselves from the penalty kick!

and the whole group together....they have been together for a long time!

July brought more World Cup and Mallard's Baseball. I do not know who these two are!

But these kids i know!...at the Chivas game at Miller Park (while I sadly sat in class). They had a blast!

 And BIRTHDAYS...you cant forget those. This was the big 10! double digits. The theme was World Cup...Jamison Brazil.

And Peter England. Do you know how hard it is to put 3 griffins on a cake!?

Thanks Heike and Alex for the Duetschland scarfs! they will look in their collection!

And the Birthday weekend with the ladies brought us to MN and a trip to Valley Fair. The many years we lived there we never went. Peter is still not a fan of roller coasters....so Pat Jamison and Stacey hit the big ones and the rest of us found more manageable ones to do.

 Can you believe 9 and 10 years old?!

and yet...the boys are so exhausted every time after a weekend with the ladies.

there was a new troll in town, hanging at the library....had to capture.

 And sleepaway camp!!! Jamison said his cuddlefriends were going to hang out by the window for the week waiting for him to come home. so cute

Drop off day....they look clean and well rested. Here they are with a couple buddies from home that are there the same week.

 I still have the pick up photos on my phone....a much different picture. But they reported they had a blast!!

 Cousin camp...we were able to stay a couple more days. This was during the treasure hunt.

Lots of kids, lots of fun. Thanks Heck Family for organizing it!

Another birthday present....this one from Keiko! Thanks! we love the snacks and the boys like filling the bowls up with ice cream.

And the new excitement....the first tournament for their new soccer team, Madison 56ers. They did alright for only having a couple practices...

First game they were slaughtered...second and third they did the slaughtering.

The boys are on different teams...but Peter's team was short a couple players so they recruited Jamison to play with them. They all played really hard.

 and at one point the Cullen Boys were the back defense...and believe it or not they worked together! (now if they could do that at home....)

One more weekend until school starts, they decorated their notebooks with stickers from Aunt Kt.
oh...and there will be more soccer.