The Grzemkowskis: Under Construction

A Snowy January

2011-01-31T19:06:00.020-06:00

The holidays flew by, but the month of January seemed to go even quicker. We have had a lot of snow in the month of January. Not a lot by Michigan standards, but a ton by Memphis, TN standards! Wesley has already had 3 snow days and has been excused early one day, because of snow.

The new year started out a little sad, because we had to say goodbye to Auntie and Uncle Mike.

It was also a disappointing day, because Michigan State lost to Alabama in the Capital One bowl. Here we are pre-game, ready to cheer for MSU!

Here's our house the morning after the first snowfall. I love how fresh and clean everything looks!

Evelyn is ready to go play in the snow. Do you see anything wrong with this picture?

Playtime!

Ready to warm up with hot cocoa, silly faces, and sleeping bags.

Back out in the snow, enjoying real snow cones!

Singing "Happy birthday" to Chloe. This first snow day was her 9th birthday.

Sleeping beauty!!!

Our second snowfall was smaller and much colder, so we didn't spend as much time outside. But, it was still fun!

Due to the cooler temps, we have had to improvise by bringing outdoor fun indoors.

Christmastime

2011-01-30T20:55:00.024-06:00

We had a wonderful, busy, activity-filled Christmas season. It just flew by! We were able to spend time with our extended families, friends, and were even able to Skype with Aunt Stacy. However, we tried to keep our focus on the real reason for the season...Happy birthday Jesus! Below are lots of pictures, so I will keep the commentary brief.

The kids modeling their new Christmas pajamas. They were store bought, but I added the Christmas presents on the tops.

Picking out our Christmas tree.

The kids "rockin' around the Christmas tree".

Decorating the tree.

Showing off the snowman we built indoors.

Wesley modeling his costume for our church Christmas program. All of the children dressed up as superheroes.

Drinking hot cocoa and looking at Christmas lights.

These pictures were taken at Alpine village. This is a free event at a local church where kids get to visit Santa, watch a puppet show, see a live nativity, play in snow, and go to about a dozen little "houses". In each house they do a different activity (decorate Christmas cookies, make a candle, etc.) or get a gift (a book, candy, etc.). We have gone for the past 3 years and it is such a fun and heart warming time for all of us!

Wesley made this shirt when he was a year and a half. He has worn it every year, but I think this may have been the last year. It used to go down to his knees!

The kids at their school Christmas parties.

Movie night!

Making Christmas cards!

Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus! The kids made baby Jesus a chocolate birthday pie.

The night before Christmas eve we went to the Botanical Gardens for "snowy activities".

My favorite thing at the Botanical Gardens that night was this giant "Lite Brite" made out of all recycled materials. I told Phil he had to build one for our backyard. :)

Before church Christmas eve. Wesley is wearing a sports coat that was Phil's when he was little.

Cookies for Santa!

Sprinkling the reindeer food!

Reading "The Night Before Christmas".

Christmas morning...

Christmas with Phil's parents...

Christmas with my parents, Cassie, and Mike...

Evelyn is big on painting nails right now!

Thanksgiving Trip to Michigan

2011-01-30T19:56:00.013-06:00

Behind again, of course!

The week of Thanksgiving we traveled to Michigan. We had a wonderful time, as usual. We spent time with family, went shopping, went to Bronner's (the world's largest Christmas store), painted fingernails, did hair, and played and played!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T18:51:00.010-05:00

Halloween in the Grzemkowski house meant a corn maze, lots of pumpkins, spooky decorations and food, costumes and candy. All four of us really got into the holiday and had a lot of fun this year!

The Smokies in the Fall

2010-11-01T17:46:00.008-05:00

We met Bella, Grandpa, Auntie, and Uncle Mike in Gatlinburg (in eastern Tennessee) during Wesley's fall break in October. It was fun to get to spend time with everyone! Unfortunately we had a few crummy things happen, including Auntie breaking her ankle, Wesley getting the stomach flu, and Evelyn not sleeping at night while we were there. However, there were many high points (as you can see in the pictures below), including, hiking, the aquarium, making a haunted gingerbread house, celebrating Bella's 35th :) birthday, and the Guesstures championship game, to name a few.

First Days of School

2010-11-01T17:27:00.002-05:00

Below are pictures of the first days of school for Evelyn and Wesley, back in August. Evelyn goes to "school" every Tuesday. She goes to the same school that Wesley went to when he was 3. Her teachers, Ms. Kathy and Ms. Jessica, are wonderful and her good friend, Chloe, is in her class. Wesley started first grade this year and is doing great. We all love his teacher, Mrs. Barber. He has already gotten his first report card and got excellent marks! He is becoming quite a good reader and especially likes to read comics and non-fiction, question and answer type books.

A Trip to Michigan to Celebrate Gram's 95th

2010-11-01T15:44:00.005-05:00

We went to Michigan in July to see our families and to celebrate my Grandma's 95th birthday. Below are a collection of pictures from our trip. The first group is from the day we spent in Detroit at my sister and brother-in-law's house, the zoo, and the Rainforest Cafe.

Wesley and my Gram in her apartment.

Evelyn getting a mani/pedi from Auntie and showing them off afterwards.

Wesley with Anna and Chase Winter. The Winters are our friends and old neighbors in Michigan.

Gram's Open House: Pictures of Gram seeing the Scrabble cake for the first time, Gram and Evelyn, and my Aunt Georgia ("Curious Georgia" as Wesley called her when he was little) chatting with Evelyn.

Various other pictures from the trip, including marshmallow shooting, finger plays with Grandpa, the Children's Museum, reading, and Grandad's garden.

Rest and Relaxation

2010-11-01T15:26:00.004-05:00

Phil and I went to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico to celebrate our 10th anniversary. The following pictures are kind of boring, because we did a whole lot of NOTHING on our vacation. We read, slept, ate, swam, and relaxed. It was a wonderful trip, but we missed the kiddos, of course!

Evelyn Turns 2!

2010-11-01T15:00:00.004-05:00

Below are some pictures from Evelyn's birthday. They are out of order, but include pictures from her party with friends, birthday donut, cookie cake, and using her two favorite gifts: a trampoline from Grandma and Grandad and a water table from Phil, Wesley, and I.

Catching Up...

2010-11-01T14:37:00.002-05:00

Well, I have no excuse for not posting for over 4 months, except that life is crazy busy! However, I have recently come to the conclusion that life will only continue to get busier as the kids get older. There will be no "down time" until they are adults and off on their own. But, I am going to miss this when that time comes. So, I will NOT wish it away! Besides, I love the crazy busyness of life with kids! All of that to say, I am once again WAY behind on posting pictures. In the past 4 1/2 months there has been summer vacation, Evelyn's 2nd birthday, Phil and my 10th anniversary trip, a trip to Michigan, Wesley's start of 1st grade, a trip to Gatlinburg, Halloween, and much more. Get ready for a LOT of pictures. Here we go!

Summertime and the Livin' is Easy!

2010-06-12T22:44:00.011-05:00

We have been really enjoying the lazy days of summer, despite quite a bit of illness in our house. Poor Wesley has been sick since before school got out...I finally took him to the doctor yesterday and found out that he has bad ear infections in both ears and a bad sinus infection. Hopefully he will be sleeping better soon!

Wesley has been wanting to put Evelyn's shoes on her lately and Evelyn sits so patiently for him while he's working on it. I was listening in on them the other day and heard Wesley say, "Evelyn, you have rocks in your shoe...Oh, that's not a rock, it's a raisin. Silly Evelyn, you are supposed to put your toes in your shoe, not raisins." Too cute!

Here's Evelyn enjoying a little chat with Bella on the phone, during her morning milk.

A picnic in the shade of the house on a HOT day!

Phew it is hot!!!

Wesley made his own raft for our wading pool. He enjoyed his apple juice popsicle while lounging on it.

This is how Wesley came down dressed for the first day of VBS. He said, "Mommy, I want to be extra handsome today."

At the Birds and Bees exhibit at the Memphis Zoo. Wesley has practiced a lot the last couple of years, holding very still so the birds won't fly away.

Evelyn, on the other hand, doesn't quite have the patience, yet, but Daddy helped her out.

I hope you all are enjoying your summer so far!

Turning 6 and the End of Kindergarten

2010-05-30T18:52:00.013-05:00

Wesley turned 6 this month and finished his first year of elementary school. Time is flying by WAY too fast! We are so proud of Wesley and the smart, sweet young man he has become.

Wesley and his friend Hamilton playing Mouse Trap.

Opening presents on Wesley's birthday...It was a crummy, stormy day, but he really enjoyed spending the day inside, playing with all of his new toys.

Birthday cake!!!

At Chuck E. Cheese with his friend Ethan, celebrating and playing games.

Trying to hang on to the monkey bars during Field Day at Tara Oaks.

Getting a "gold medal" at Olympic Night for gymnastics. This was a time for the kids to show off what they had learned this year in gymnastics. Wesley is doing really well in Acro Dunk and loves it!

Wesley showing off his Kindergarten diploma at his graduation.

Wesley's whole kindergarten class.

The end of the year program that Wesley's class did, called "The Three Piggy Opera".

Wesley played the stick peddlar and did a really good job reciting his lines.

With his kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Witt.

With his best bud, Ethan.

The soon-to-be 2 year old...

2010-05-30T18:24:00.004-05:00

A few pictures of our baby...It seems incredible that she'll be two in just a couple of weeks.

Sick baby sleepin' in the swing.

Laughin' with "Buddy".

Sleepin' (again) in the chair.

Helpin' Mommy clean the kitchen floor.

Sittin' with Wesley.

Dancin' with Bella.

Eatin' corn on the cob.

Snugglin' with Auntie.

Remember these cute faces?

2010-04-26T13:39:00.007-05:00

Okay, okay, I know it has been WAY too long since I have posted. Life has just been flying by and before I knew it, it was 3 months later. I just cleared the pictures off my camera and had nearly 500 on there. Of course there are so many adorable ones that I would love to post. However, since I don't have the time to do that right now, I'm just going to post a few recent pictures of the kiddos...

Visiting the pandas at the zoo.

Mr. Snaggletooth lying in the grass.

Evelyn feeding her kitty breakfast.

On the Collierville Town Square on Easter.

Looking at the flowering trees at the Botanical Gardens.

Twinkle Twinkle

2010-01-31T11:09:00.046-06:00

Wesley had a Nursery Rhyme program at his school on Thursday. Each child got up to the microphone and recited their full name and a nursery rhyme. His nursery rhyme was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. All of the children did an excellent job and it was so cute to watch!

Here's Wesley before school, in his costume...

Here's a video of our "little star"...

With the cooler winter weather, we have been looking for fun indoor activities. Evelyn and her buddy Jake enjoyed finger painting with pudding, the other day...

Okay, so maybe Evelyn painted her body a little more than she painted on the paper...

Evelyn eating a snack with Wesley's kitty...We had a winter storm this weekend, which meant no school for Wesley on Friday. So, Friday night, while the freezing rain and snow was coming down outside, we had a pizza picnic in the living room...
Evelyn's favorite indoor activity...STICKERS!!!
Well, we didn't have much snow to play in, but we had more than enough ice...So, we made up ice games to play, like sliding pieces of ice and looking for ice "fossils". Evelyn's favorite is swinging on ice.
Wesley's favorite is sledding on ice...Or sweet 10 year old neighbor boy, Jack, pulled Wesley around for a long time on our sled...
We saw a lot of twinkling outside this weekend...Our iced wonderland, despite being a bit dangerous (slick roads, losing power, huge branches falling, etc.), is absolutely beautiful!!!

As the sun was setting yesterday, it really looked like we had billions of twinkling lights in our backyard...

With the storm we did lose power for some of the first night, but it came back on in the early morning hours of Saturday and has stayed on, other than a few short outages, since. Also, some HUGE branches from the trees behind our house have fallen in our yard. Here's Wesley holding one of the smaller ones...

Here are a couple of pictures of the trees...You can see that there are a bunch of branches that are just barely hanging on...

As the ice melts today, we have already lost power once and know that we may lose it again. We also know that more of those big branches will be falling in our yard. However, we feel very blessed, because our problems are so minimal compared to most in this world! We also get a chance to look out our window at all of this beautiful twinkling that God created!

It's been 2 months already???

2010-01-17T14:13:00.086-06:00

Time sure goes by quickly these days! So much has happened in the past 2 months, since I last posted. So, I am going to post a bunch of pictures (Believe it or not, this is just a small sampling of what was on my camera!) and give you an overview of what has been going on in the Grzemkowski house.

Jumping in leaves, before Thanksgiving...

We had a Thanksgiving weekend visit from the whole Boyse clan, including the newest addition, my sister and brother-in-law's sweet rottweiler, Mercy.

The cousins became fast friends!

Grandpa and Evelyn sharing a little snack...

Evelyn "helping" Bella with the potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner...

Standing around, waiting to eat...

Enjoying the delicious food...

Picking out our Christmas tree, after Thanksgiving...

Evelyn learning to play the guitar...

The next weekend, we had a visit from Grandma and Grandad. Evelyn got really upset when Grandad tried to take his hat and coat back!

Singing "Jingle Bells" with Grandma...

The weekend that Grandma and Grandad visited I ran the St. Jude's marathon (26.2 miles). Here's Phil and I all bundled up before the race began. It was freezing! Phil was such a trooper...He rode is bike to various mile markers to cheer me on, throughout the race. Wesley and Phil's dad also came to cheer me on, for the second half...Seeing all of them really kept me motivated! Phil's mom was kind enough to stay home with Evelyn, who had the stomach flu.
Here I am crossing the finish line...I was so glad to finish, after getting the stomach flu 2 days before the race.

After the race, with my friend Amy...We did it!

Wesley decorating his gingerbread house at his school Christmas party...

Wesley dancing with his good friend, Ethan, at the Christmas party. They all had a LOT of sugar!

We made Santa pancakes one morning over Christmas vacation...

Wesley and Evelyn dressed up for Christmas Eve service...

Evelyn waking up Wesley on Christmas morning...

Wesley giving Evelyn the cat he made for her at Build a Bear...

"Thank you, brother!"

Wesley with his favorite present from Santa...

Evelyn concentrating on the task of opening a present...

We flew to Michigan the day after Christmas...Here's Evelyn with her favorite (only) uncle...

Evelyn with Pinocchio...This was Wesley's favorite when he was her age.

Look at the 3 beautiful Boyse sisters! :)

Evelyn reading with Great Gram Boyse...

Snuggling with Great Gram...Doesn't she look gorgeous for 94?
Walking in the snow with Grandpa...

Wesley playing in the snow...

We had Christmas with the extended Boyse family in Michigan. My cousin's daughter, Alita, was teaching Wesley some origami (Wesley has since become obsessed with paper folding!)...

After riding around in the snow on the four-wheeler with Grandad...
Playing Mouse Trap with Grandma and Grandad...

Snuggling with my friend (Evelyn's godmother) Mary...

Auntie Mary reading Wesley a story before bed...

Snuggling with Auntie and Uncle Mike...

Playing DS with Uncle Mike...

Evelyn was sick most of the time we were in Michigan...Here she is cuddled up with Elmo...

We spent New Year's Eve in Detroit with Mike and Cassie. Phil and Mike really enjoyed the dessert at dinner! :)

I love my sister!!!

Phil and I by Cassie and Mike's tree...

Grandma and Evelyn having a tea party...

Grandad and Wesley snuggling...

Saying our goodbyes at the Detroit airport...

"Love you Uncle Mike!"

Looking at the airplane...

One last group photo...

Wesley had his first Upwards basketball game last week...He is definitely not going pro anytime soon, but the goal of Upwards is to teach kids about the love of God, teach them about the game and how to be a team player, and to promote a positive self-image.

At least he LOOKS like he's paying attention to the game:)...
I love this picture of my sweet boy! Wesley has lost 2 teeth in the past month...Look closely and you can see that the bottom 2 middle baby teeth are gone and the adult teeth are growing in...

Chef Evelyn and her assistant, Kitty...

Going for a ride in her basket "car"...

Going for a ride on poor, sweet Chloe (Who turned 8 this month, by the way.)...

Enjoying the Beautiful Fall Weather!

2009-11-15T09:43:00.009-06:00

The weather has been gorgeous here in western Tennessee, so we have been spending a lot of time outside.

One of the kids' favorite things is to collect leaves...

We went to the park last week while Wesley was in school, to play with some of Evelyn's friends...

"Move out of the way, Evelyn, Chloe's trying to slide down..."

Evelyn enjoying a ride on the park swing...

Evelyn and her buddy Jake playing in the yard...

...And, hanging out on the bench...

"Wait up Jake, here I come..."

Dressing Up

2009-11-15T09:16:00.006-06:00

Here are a few pictures of the kids all dressed up for Halloween:

Optimus Prime and a bumblebee snuggling on our sofa...

The whole family out trick-or-treating...

Evelyn lounging in the wagon...

The highlight of the night for Evelyn was passing out candy...

We had a great time watching out the door for all of the kids...

Wesley back from trick-or-treating and ready to eat some candy...

Here's Wesley dressed up like a grandpa for Grandma/Grandpa day at his school...

...And, dressed up like a comboy for Western Day at his school...

Family, Friends, Fun, & Festivities

2009-10-27T18:11:00.031-05:00

I want to start out with a warning: This is a LONG post! I had too many good pictures to choose from this time.

We had a nice visit from my parents and sister a week ago. It was fun to spend some time with all of them and my mom, sister, and I were able to go away for a weekend, to celebrate my mom's birthday...It was my first kid-free weekend since we moved to Tennessee.

Daddy and his two "little girls" snuggling on the couch...

Cassie and I went and had lunch with Wesley at school one day.

Wesley got to wear a hat that day, because he had perfect attendance for the first 9 weeks of school. It is hard to believe that the first 9 weeks is over already, but Wesley is really thriving in kindergarten!

Auntie is teaching Wesley how to do a pirouette...

Wesley demonstrating his newly acquired skill...

Evelyn looking cute after a bath...

Evelyn reading a book...

Bella reading Evelyn a book...

Auntie reading Evelyn a book...

Evelyn listening to Wesley read her a story...

Wesley reading to Evelyn...He has become quite a reader already. He is asking to read to us all of the time and in a special reading program at school.

Wesley's other favorite hobby, as of late...Playing chess. Here he is playing Grandpa while Bella and Auntie watch on...

I had a Halloween playgroup at our house for some of Evelyn's toddler friends...Can you see my little princess hiding behind my leg?

Here are Evelyn and her buddy Jake, eating a snack...

...And, totally mesmerized by Elmo...

Evelyn's off to run errands...Oops...She left baby behind...

Tuckered out from the errands...Let's see, do I have any money left?

My 3 favorite people snuggling on the couch...

Wesley ran in a kids race about a week ago...Here he is coming through the chute at the end...

He looks really excited about getting that medal! :)

All of the kindergartners had to "disguise" a pumpkin to hang up at school. Wesley wanted to do a silly bat pumpkin, so Auntie drew one out for him on a scratch piece of paper. He did the rest of it himself...

Last Friday was Pirate/Princess Day at Tara Oaks...Ahoy Matey!

We went to the Memphis Zoo Boo on Saturday night and had so much fun! Wesley let a tarantula crawl on his hand...

Optimus Prime and a Storm Trooper...Or, Wesley and his friend Connor...

Optimus Prime usually rides a cow, doesn't he?

Our little bumblebee walking behind the wagon...

Very chilly at the end of the night...

All wiped out...

...Time for bed.

Fall Fun!

2009-10-12T19:10:00.007-05:00

Cooler air, pumpkin bread, apple cider...Fall has arrived!

My lil' pumpkin loves to put on a "pretty", as she calls it...

Evelyn and Bella playing with pumpkins and various other toys...

Wesley is quite into wooden puzzles these days...Here he is working on the one that Phil made...

And, here it is completed...Wesley is the only one, besides Phil, who can put this puzzle together.

Being goofy...

We went to the pumpkin patch this weekend. We went through a corn maze, went on a hay ride, and got lots of pumpkins!

Baby girl having a snack on the hay ride...

Picture with some of the pumpkins...

Our whole family...We were all muddy from the corn maze. Wesley insisted on wearing his motorcycle jacket that day and Evelyn insisted on wearing her sun hat, even though it wasn't sunny.

My parents came down to visit so my dad and I could run a race together, this past weekend...Here we are after our 10 mile race!

Phil ran in the race, too...You can tell by the way the 3 of us are dressed which one lives in Michigan. :)

Evelyn and Friends

2009-09-27T19:46:00.007-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures of Evelyn with her best bud, Jake, who lives down the street...

"Jake, you are so silly!"

Evelyn climbing over Mount Mommy!

Don't Evelyn and Daddy look handsome, all dressed up!?

Wesley and Evelyn working on their homework, after school...

Another picture of Evelyn with her best friend, her big brother. We had lunch with him at school, after the Tiger Walk (which is a school fundraiser), on Friday. Evelyn loved being around all of the big kids.

A couple more pictures of the Tiger Walk...Here is Wesley holding up the flag that he made to carry during the Tiger Walk.

Here's Wesley's class walking and cheering, "2, 4, 6, 8 Witt's Waffles are really great!" You can't see him, but Wesley is standing on the left side of the class banner, holding it up.

They just won't stop growing!

2009-09-16T14:40:00.014-05:00

I have been really bad about taking pictures, lately...However, the days just seem to pass by so quickly and I need to be taking more. My kiddos just keep getting bigger, smarter, and cuter. I would love for them just to slow down a bit so I could enjoy each moment a little longer, but I guess that's not going to happen. :)

Here are some pictures taken of the kids over the last few weeks:

Best friends Chloe and Evelyn, just hanging out...

"HELP! HELP! Let me out!"

Daddy and Evelyn all dressed up for church...

How many chopsticks does a 14 month old need at one time???

Even though Evelyn has a messy face in this picture, she looks so cute and you can see her cute curls a bit...

Phil, Wesley, and I had movie night a couple weekends ago. Here are Phil and our silly boy snuggling...

Wesley climbing the rock wall at the Germantown Festival last weekend...

He looks so little on the big wall!

Two weekends ago our friends, the Johnsons came to visit. They moved to Mississippi from Collierville a couple months ago...We miss them and were glad to have them come visit. Here are David, Rachel, and Wesley, still in their jammies, playing in the sandbox...

It was funny to see 3 "big kids" in such a little sandbox...

This past weekend Grandma and Granddad came to visit...

We celebrated Grandma's birthday while they were here. It was fun to see them...Everyone had a great time playing, going fishing, going to the Germantown Festival, and just hanging out!

Visit from Auntie and Bella

2009-08-24T14:29:00.007-05:00

This past week was Wesley's first full week of kindergarten and a we had a visit from Aunt Cassie and Bella...In other words, it was a fun, but tiring week! Here is our week in pictures:

Wesley running out of school on Monday afternoon...We were glad to see each other!

Here's Wesley with his teacher, Mrs. Witt. She was unable to be at school the first two days, because she was taking her daughter to college, so this picture was taken on Wednesday. Wesley really likes her and she seems very sweet and loving!

Auntie and Wesley making silly faces on the porch swing.

Bella and Wesley watching a video in their jammies...Wesley says he loves the weekends now, because it means he can stay in his pajamas for awhile.

Auntie and Evelyn bonded reading books while she was here.

...and more books.

Auntie giving Evelyn one last squeeze before they had to leave. :(

Bella and Evelyn playing...

One of Wesley and Evelyn's favorite games is to look through the window at each other and make faces.

Here's Evelyn trying to copy the face that Wesley made...

Here's Wesley making a silly face...Evelyn kept laughing at him and saying "more".

A Week of Firsts

2009-08-12T15:36:00.005-05:00

This past week we have many firsts...Evelyn had her first ear infection, which we are already on the second antibiotic for. Wesley went fishing for the first time with his friend Connor, Phil, and Connor's dad. They had a blast, but unfortunately I was unable to upload the pictures to the blog.

However, the most important "first" was Wesley's first day of kindergarten, yesterday. He just went the one day this week and next week he will start going everyday. He had a great time and was disappointed that he wasn't going today.

Here he is standing in the kindergarten hallway. (It is very hard to get a nice smile for pictures from him, these days.)

Here he is standing in our front yard, waiting for his friend Shanna to come over so we could walk to school.

Finally, a look back...This was the picture I took on his first day of preschool, two years ago...

Fun Times in the Wild Wild West

2009-08-02T18:40:00.027-05:00

Two weeks ago we travelled to Oregon for a long overdue vacation...It has been 2.5 years since we've been there, which is too long, if you ask me. So, we spent one day travelling on each end, 6 days at my parents' house in Redmond (in the middle of the state, in the desert), and one day visiting my cousins and our friend Randee, in Portland (We wish we could have seen more of our friends and family, but hopefully on the next trip.)...We were gone a total on 9 days and it has taken me this past week to dig out from suitcases, etc. Finally, I am able to post some pictures from our trip:

Wesley is the best traveler...We are so lucky that he is so patient and easy-going!

Both Phil and Evelyn were worn out and we had only been on the plane for an hour.

Wesley, Phil, and my brother-in-law Mike went putt-putt golfing the first day we were there...They had a blast!

Phil and the kids at the top of a beautiful waterfall...Definitely worth the hike up!

Wesley and Aunt Cassie outside a tepee at the Bend High Desert Museum.

Grandpa and Evelyn in the swimming pool at the resort where my parents' house is.

Cassie and Mike only overlapped us for a few days...This was taken on our last day together. They are a wonderful aunt and uncle!

Evelyn and Cassie looking like movie stars!

Evelyn and Uncle Mike cuddling. Evelyn always has to have a ball in her hand...It is her favorite word to say, too.

Wesley was really sad to say goodbye...He cried, which of course, made me cry! :(

Saying goodbye to Uncle Mike...

Evelyn lounging in the grass...

This was taken during our first hike at Smith Rocks...Good news, Wesley has no fear when it comes to rock climbing...Bad news, Wesley has no fear when it comes to rock climbing.

For part of his birthday present, my parents paid for Wesley to have a horseback riding lesson. He has ridden horses before, but this was a great experience, because Diane let him have all of the control in guiding the horse (Snickers), leading her back to the barn, etc.

Phil and I hiked around and over Smith Rocks by ourselves. It is a 4 mile hike and about 800 feet to the top...The view from the top of the mountains, etc. is awesome!

Almost to the top...

While we did our hike, grandpa and Wesley went on a 2 mile hike up a steep incline...My dad said that Wesley was a trooper without one complaint.

My mom and Evelyn hanging out on the front porch...

My mom and Wesley playing checkers...

Evelyn with our dear family friend, Randee...

Tuckered out after playing hard for a week. We were making the long drive back to Portland.

Both kids sleeping at the same time=a VERY quiet car!

Our last morning in Oregon, having breakfast with my cousin Trisha, at our favorite breakfast restaurant, the original Original Pancake House.

Evelyn became good friends with Trisha's cat, Oscar, when we stayed with her. Evelyn is definitely an animal-lover!

Looking out the window at the Portland airport...Goodbye Oregon!

One last look...We'll miss you!

Summertime=Playtime

2009-07-12T15:22:00.011-05:00

We've had a great summer, so far! It's hard to believe there is only about a month left before school starts. Here are a few pictures of what we have been up to. The kids have become the best of friends...

Their new favorite came is taking the cushions off the furniture so they can both climb up and down off of it.

Happy girl eating her peas...

Relaxin' in the swing...

Mommy, I'm in the toy box...look at my bling!

Just taking the baby for a walk...

On 4th of July weekend, Wesley and Phil camped out in the backyard one night. The kids had a lot of fun playing in the tent.

This is a picture I took of the kids on the 4th of July...It didn't turn out too great, because the sun was in their eyes, but look under it for the difference a year makes...

My babies are growing fast!

The Many Faces of Wesley

2009-07-12T13:31:00.007-05:00

Just a bunch of pictures of my sweet, silly boy...

Visits from the Grandparents

2009-06-28T17:37:00.014-05:00

Over the past couple of weeks we have been able to spend some time with both sets of grandparents, as they came into town for Evelyn's first birthday. We went to one of Collierville's splash parks with Grandma and Grandad Grzemkowski last week.

Here is Wesley all ready for the water!

Grandad and Evelyn enjoyed the sprinklers with an umbrella for a little water and sun protection.

Evelyn and Grandma also had a great time playing at the park!

Then, Bella and Grandpa Boyse came for a visit. We went to the weekly summer concert series at the town square on Thursday night.

Here are Bella and Wesley listening to the music.

Evelyn enjoyed bouncing on Grandpa's lap to the beat of the music!

Wesley was trying to hold Evelyn in his lap, but of course she wanted to be on the move!

At one point during the evening Wesley just climbed up into Grandpa's lap and snuggled him for a long time...Grandpa has always been a great snuggler!

Last Wednesday Phil and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary! It has been an awesome 9 years filled with challenges, but even more celebrations...I'm looking forward to the rest of our lives together!

Where did the past year go?

2009-06-21T14:22:00.013-05:00

My itty bitty baby girl has gone from this...

To this, in too little time.

We had lots of birthday celebrations this past week. Evelyn unwrapped her first gift.

She enjoyed her first cupcake, very daintily at first.

Then, she dug right in!

We had even more cake at her birthday party yesterday.

We were blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family come to Evelyn's birthday party, including both sets of grandparents and my cousin, Trisha, who came all the way from Oregon. Here is Evelyn playing with some of her baby buddies!

One of Evelyn's favorite gifts was her new swing...She could spend all day just lounging in it. Here she is all dressed up for the party, in her Polka Dot Market original outfit, made by my friend Sally. So cute!!!

And, after the party guests had gone, Evelyn got to do some more unwrapping...YEAH!!!

One Fish...Two Fish...

2009-06-14T20:20:00.008-05:00

Well, we knew that Wesley was a fish and happy to spend everyday in the pool...

But, recently we have discovered that sister Evelyn is too. Here is our little daredevil ready to jump into the pool (her favorite thing to do)...

Taking the plunge...

Once she wore herself out, she was content just to float around our dear neighbors' pool, holding onto their pool thermometer.

Remember Me?????

2009-06-10T14:20:00.051-05:00

I apologize for neglecting my blogging duties! I promise in the future to try to make more regular posts. Since it has been two months, I am going to just post a bunch of random pictures from the last couple of months...Here we go:

Us and our dear friends the Trombleys at Wesley's 5th birthday party in Michigan.

Wesley and Evelyn all dressed up on Easter.

Evelyn's first time in a swimming pool. We went to the Delta College pool by my parents' house.

Evelyn with her favorite (only) uncle...Evelyn and Uncle Mikey love to cuddle!

Wesley had a great t-ball season, this spring...He loved playing!

Wesley and Mr. Keith (his karate instructor), after he tested for a yellow belt.

Wesley's last day of 4-year old preschool with one of his teachers, Ms. Terri. My baby boy is going to kindergarten in August!

Wesley playing with his friends Mia and Jacob.

At the strawberry patch with Jacob.

Phil, after slicing the tip of his thumb off and coming home from the E.R.

Feeding the birds at the new "Birds and Bees" exhibit at the Memphis Zoo.

Wesley and Evelyn have become best buds lately!

So have Evelyn and Chloe!

Getting wet in the Mississippi River replica on Mud Island...

...And, in the rain...

...And, in the tub. (Evelyn has 8 teeth now. They all popped in after 9 months. You can see some of them in this picture.)

Evelyn loves to take off after bath in the buff.

Evelyn has become quite the independent drinker...

...And, eater.

Beautiful Weather=Trip to the Zoo

2009-04-05T19:36:00.018-05:00

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, here in Memphis. Wesley and Phil started out the day by going to Home Depot to do the free craft...It was a bird house to put on our window.

Then, Wesley had his first t-ball practice. We all went to watch. He seems to really like it, so far, and he was excited that his friend Connor is on his team. Go bulldogs! :)

The highlight of our Saturday was the trip to the zoo. Below are some pictures from our day.

Awake, playing hard, and ready to start the day!

Come on Mom and Dad, let's get going already!

We have arrived...Let's go see the animals!

Just relaxing on the farm porch, listening to music...

Tired out and ready to go home!

One more picture...Evelyn and I met Phil for lunch on Friday. Here is a picture from our date.

Monday Night Catch Up

2009-03-30T20:02:00.024-05:00

A couple weeks ago, while Phil was out of town for the week and Wesley was on spring break, we went to Chuck E. Cheese with Wesley's friend Avery.

Wesley spent about half of his tokens riding this clock ride over and over again.

Even though we had a really fun week, just the kids and I, we were really glad to have Daddy back home!

This past weekend we had a visit from Grandma and Grandad Grzemkowski. Evelyn enjoyed some playtime with both of them.

Wesley enjoyed playing with Daddy's fishing rods and tackle box that Grandma and Grandad brought down. He is really good at casting now, but we think him having the patience to wait for the fish will be the challenge.

One last thing...Evelyn is outgrowing her car seat and we are in the process of switching her to a new one. So, I wanted to take one last picture of her in her infant carrier. Below is a picture of her in it when she was 6 days old.

Here is a picture of her in it, taken this past weekend...Our baby girl is getting big!

Have a wonderful week!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2009-03-17T18:50:00.009-05:00

I hope everyone felt a little luck o' the Irish, today! We had a wonderful 70 degree day, here in Memphis. We enjoyed the sunshine by going to the zoo.

Our day started off with Wesley finding a a piece of leprechaun clothing, which had gotten stuck in one of the 4 leprechaun traps he made out of Legos. The leprechauns left Wesley a treasure hunt, and at the end he found a bag of goodies. He was very excited about it all!

Below are a couple of pictures from our day at the zoo. The perfect day for us and the animals to be out in the sun!

My Week in 2 Words...SICK BABY

2009-03-08T15:22:00.009-05:00

Well, not much got accomplished this week, besides snuggling Evelyn...That was SO nice, though. What started with a normal cold two weeks ago, turned into an awful cough and wheezing, then a high fever, and now we have moved onto vomiting (i.e. lots of laundry!). So far, the rest of us have escaped illness, which I am hoping continues. I am posting some pictures of my rosy-cheeked, sick baby girl...She sure is cute with those rosy cheeks! :)

And, of course one of big brother...He was so patient this week, when I had to give Evelyn extra attention. Since one of us had to stay with Evelyn all weekend, Wesley enjoyed some one-on-one time with me, going to the grocery store, playing, etc. And, with Daddy, going to the zoo, church, playing, etc.

Visitors and Other Stuff

2009-03-02T20:20:00.010-06:00

Not only did we have my parents visit this past week, but my Aunt Pat and Uncle Don came from Phoenix, AZ for a visit. It was so nice of them to make the trip and it was nice to be able to catch up. They hadn't seen Wesley in 2 years and this was their first time meeting Evelyn.

A lovely picture of Aunt Pat and Uncle Don...Of course, Wesley had to be silly, as usual!

So sweet! Wesley loves to cuddle up and read...Uncle Don was so accomodating!

Aunt Pat snuggling Evelyn in her Beavers sweatsuit.

All of the sudden, Evelyn is really on the move...rolling and scootching all over the place! As you can see, she leaves a trail of toys wherever she goes. She kicks, pokes, rolls over, and grabs at the dog, but Chloe just lays there and takes it...Sometimes she even snuggles in closer!

Evelyn holding her favorite bath toy...A crab squirter.

Evelyn is ready for Mardi Gras in a hat that Bella and Grandpa brought Wesley from New Orleans.

Saying goodbye to Grandpa! :( Time for a nap!

Snow Day!

2009-03-02T19:48:00.010-06:00

We had a "big" snow here in south-west Tennessee. We ended up with about 6 inches or so from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning, and it has stayed cold enough that we still have some snow on the ground. However, it is supposed to be 60 degrees by Wednesday and in the mid-70's by Friday, so the snow won't stick around for long!

Wesley, Bella, and Daddy had a lot of fun throwing snowballs at each other!

Evelyn and Mommy coming in from the cold!

3 Valentines & 1 Birthday Boy

2009-02-15T19:35:00.001-06:00

I hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day filled with lots of love! Our day started off with Wesley and I getting Daddy a birthday breakfast of chicken biscuits from Chic-Fil-A. Then we had lots of snuggles and kisses in bed.

For lunch we went to a park and had a picnic. We went for a walk around the pond while Wesley rode his bike. Then, we had some fun on the swings, including Evelyn's first time on a swing. She loved it!

Since we were so busy with valentine fun, yesterday, we decided to wait until today to celebrate Phil's birthday. He loved all of his presents (He especially enjoyed drinking Cassie and Mike's. :))! Wesley helped Phil blow out the candles on his cookie cake.

Even Evelyn wanted to be sure to wish Daddy a very Happy Birthday!!!

White Belt Black Stripe

2009-02-07T22:01:00.000-06:00

Wesley tested for and received his white belt with a black stripe in karate, today. He was very nervous, because it was in a different location than he is used to doing karate in, but he did a very good job! We are so proud of him! Here are a few pictures from the big event...

Playtime!

2009-02-07T21:48:00.000-06:00

Evelyn is enjoying playtime more and more these days. Here are a few recent pictures of her playing...

In the snow!

With her food!

With Wesley!

With her buddies Jake and Riley!