CADDYWUMPUS

Check out this blog - She is having daily holiday giveaways!!
http://dejalarsen.blogspot.com/
Including one from
http://PoshPrincessCouture.etsy.com

GO LAUREN!!

Lauren's blog is broken - So I am going to comment on my own for her =) I think you should all go and read what she wrote - IT"S GREAT!! http://thetowersfamily.blogspot.com/
AMEN SISTA!!!

Dad's Getting Married

So I stole this picture off of Kennah's blog. For those of you who talk to me and not to Kennah (Karen) I thought it would be easier if I posted about the wedding as well. My dad is finally getting married again. They have decided to get married Thanksgiving weekend in Utah. I am not looking forward to piling into the car and making the eight hour drive but I am looking forward to meeting all of my new step siblings and step nieces and nephews - our family is going from 4 kids to 9 and from 5 grandkids to 16. WOW - holidays should be interesting. My mom kept things mild when she remarried - only adding 2 more kids to our four - much more our pace =) It's weird getting step siblings and step parents in my thirties - It's not like it would have been had either of them remarried when we were kids - Back then we wanted tons and tons of kids - we thought it would be cool to be like the Brady Bunch - Now it doesn't matter if we like who they marry or their kids - All that matters is that each of my parents are happy. Like I told Marlene (Dad's bride to be) I don't care if she turns out to be a step-monster - I don't have to live with her, all that matters is that Dad's happy. =)

Happy Halloween

SOOOO this is for you Kennah - I know I promised that I would post yesterday but it just didn't happen =) The boys had a great time picking out Halloween costumes this year. We decided to look online before we braved the Halloween store - I really didn't feel like wondering aimlessly through the store. I told them that they were going to have to decide on costumes before we got to the store. While we were looking online at Star Wars costumes - Obi-Won Kabobi - as Keaton likes to call him - Keaton busted out with " I think I just want to be John McCain" I said "Huh??? Why do you want to be John McCain?" (Not knowing that he even knew who was running for president) He responded with "Cause I don't like Obama" I asked "Why?" He replied " Cause he wants to raise gas prices" I asked " Who told you that?" He replied " Nickelodeon" There you have it!! The power of television.

So the boys finally decided on costumes - man boy costumes are tough if you don't want to be something dark or gory. Keaton decided on a policeman "Cause the costume came with a whistle" and Tanner decided on a caveman - he saw the wig at the Halloween store and we came home and made the outfit based on that. Luckily it was pretty warm here this year because he was fighting me tooth and nail about having to wear a long sleeve shirt with his costume.

Before we bought our house we used to trick or treat every year with our bestest friends, the Hiatts. This past summer they lost their home to a fire and are currently renting. We felt it fitting to trick or treat together like old times this year. Man the kids have grown and multiplied. When we started doing this we only had Tanner and some of the couples weren't even married or didn't have any kids yet. We had a great time. Thanks to Missy and Todd for throwing another awesome party in true Hiatt fashion!! Here are some picks of all of the kids.

Here are a few snap shots from trick or treating.

And for those of you really wanting to feel old. Here is a picture of Madison and Taylor. (The flower girls from our wedding) I took this picture after Tay got home from cheering at a football game and before she disappeared to a party. I had to track Maddy down out front with her friends. It's hard to catch these two in the same place these days.

Keaton's Birthdaty

Okay - So I am a lagger - I am going to do a few posts right now - One that I should have done about a month ago =)

Keaton turned the big 6 at the beginning of October. He was soooo excited. We had a family party a few days before his birthday. He couldn't wait for everyone to come and bring him presents. Aunt Laurie, Uncle Chad, Annelise and Alexander got him a Sponge Bob skateboard. I think he finally enjoys the wood floors =)

Thanks Aunt Laurie!!

Grandpa Shed got him a really cool Transformer set. He and Tanner disappeared to his room to play before everyone was even gone. Aunt Kennah and Uncle Adam sent cool Transformer stuff from Utah - but we couldn't get a picture with them because well... they were in Utah =) Uncle Aaron, Aund Ducky and Aiden sent 2000 Wii points - but we didn't get any pictures with them beacause well... they are in Oregon. Grandma Becky and Grandpa John got him more Transformer stuff and some clothes - we didn't get any pictures with them because I am a slacker =)

He loved all of the presents but his "most special" present was from his Uncle E. A few years ago Uncle E and Keaton made pancakes together for the first time. This was something that Keaton found to be very special and always asks Uncle if they can make pancakes if he is at his house in the early morning hours. This is extra special because Uncle E lets him flip the pancakes all by himself. Uncle E knew that this was special to Keaton and made his birthday extra special by getting Keaton his very own griddle and Costco size bag of pancake mix. A big thank you to Uncle E, Aunt Coco and Trayce -AKA Chuck - Who carried around that 10 lb bag of pancake mix all evening =)

Here are a few pictures from the morning of Keaton's actual birthday. We got up extra early and made pancakes before school. He was so excited. Funny story - When he arrived to Campus Club that morning they were making pancakes and offered him some. He told them "No thanks, I already had some on my "OWN" griddle." They thought it was so cute they had to tell me the story- they thought that he was implying that his mom made him pancakes and that they were better than Campus Club pancakes. I had to explain the whole story about him and Uncle E and that he really had had pancakes on his "OWN" griddle. =)

Now and Then

So I was cleaning house today and came accross this picture and I just had to share. I had it blown up out of a Magic Mountian key chain a few years back. I know that Lauren and Jill will really get a kick out of it =) As I sat and stared at it I realized that it was taken 16 years ago - HOLY COW!! Where have the years gone?? Don't ya just love Phil's crooked hat and tight rolled jeans??!! =)

I am adding a recent picture that Tanner took at while we were in Pismo this summer - Man - how times have changed!!!

Friday Night Football

So Friday was Keaton's birthday. He was super excited - as I mentioned earlier this week =) We decided that we would go to the High School Fooball game, as a family, on Friday night. I mean hey - it was number 1 playing number 2 - we had to go. Besides that Tanner's whole team was going and he was getting in for free. They were going to sit as a team. We arrived at 6:45 to drop Tanner off with his teammates - he quickly wanted nothing to do with us. We left him there and headed to the game. When we finally decided where we were going to sit we realized that we were sitting 1 row below the Martins. Keaton was so excited - He hadn't seen Justin in a while. Then the DiFuria's arrived- This is Keaton's bestest buddy Nick's family. So Keaton was feeling like he was having a pretty special birthday. Phil bought Keaton a foam finger on our way into the game- I knew things would get crazy with that finger. Once his friends saw that he had one they quickly talked their parents into getting one too. They had a great time!! We had a great family night out. Phil watched the game, I critiqued the cheerleaders, Keaton played with his buddies, and Tanner wandered with his friends and pretended that we didn't exist =)

We Were Featured!!

I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with Etsy.com - but that is who Laurie and I have our website through. If you are not familiar with the site it is kind of like a giant craft fair online. I love it because you can always find really unique gifts. On Etsy's home page they have various items and sellers that they feature throughout the day. Yesterday our little ghost was featured!!! We were so excited! It brought a lot of traffic through the site. We are having so much fun with this and are really enjoying coming up with new creations each day. I just had to share our excitement and some of our favorite creations.

http://www.poshprincesscouture.etsy.com/

Yellow Card

So I don't have a picture to go with this post, but felt I should share. Keaton's birthday is on Friday. I e-mailed his teacher to find out how many kids are in the class and to find out what treat would be best to send. She e-mailed me back letting me know that she was very aware that his birthday was this Friday. "He is so EXCITED!!!!! So excited that he can't stop talking about it and had to turn his card to yellow today" she informed me. Oops - what would you expect from Keaton. To top it off - he didn't even tell us about it - we had to pry it out of him. He had no problem telling Tanner as soon as he finished football practice. "Hey Tanner - I turned my card today" All proud - like it was a right of passage. Man - what are we going to do with this kid???!!!

Typical Keaton!!

So the real reason that I started posting this morning was because Keaton inspired me to do so. When he got up this morning he had a bowl of cereal and finished off the box. After he was finished eating he asked me if he could make a "project" with the box. I asked him what kind of project?? He said " I want to make a Star Wars ship out of the box." I told him that was fine. He disappeared into the kitchen to make his ship. I continued on with my morning chores. About a half hour later I found him on the couch watching T.V. in a hat and his underwear. I didn't think much of it - he is always doing random things like putting on a beanie and ski gloves in the middle of summer - "Cause he likes it" so I continued on with my morning. I called him in the laundry room to pick up his clean laundry and he was no longer wearing the hat. I said come here - a little closer - closer.... what happened to your hair???? "Oh I think it is from the haircut place yesterday" (he got a haircut yesterday) I said let me see that -- I was ready to call the lady - then he informed me that he decided to just cut it a little while he was doing his project earlier this morning. It was so hard not to laugh - I had to turn my back. Now the decision at hand is to shave the whole thing - or just let the spot grow back - We will have to wait for Dad to get home from work for the final decision.

Football Carnival

Tanner had football carnival yesterday. This is where the Clovis elementary schools get together and scrimmage each other. The teams play 12 minute scrimmages. Tanner loved every minute of it. He was so excited yesterday morning. While we were driving to Buchanan he said "Mom- I've got butterflies in my stomach. This is going to be so cool. I mean- we are going to play in the BIG stadium!! I can't wait!" We had a great time cheering him on. It was weird to be the parent in the stands cheering. It really makes you feel your age. Plus when I looked down the row from me, in the bleachers, who did I see.... Mr. Jeff LaBlue. His two girls were cheering. We discussed how it was really weird to be here how many years later - now cheering on our own kids. Man time flies.

Soccer Star

Keaton started soccer this week. He is loving it. He knew he was going to have practice on Thursday - so all week all we heard was "How many more days is it 'til Thursday??" This is his second year playing U-6's and there are some differences in his competitiveness, but some things never change.

Football Update

So Tanner had his first scrimmage Friday. He really enjoyed it. They didn't keep score and he liked that. He told me " Mom, it's just so we know what to do when we have a real game"

They have another scrimmage this Friday and then the real games will start the following week. He has sustained no injuries to date, a few bruises along the way but

that's about it. When I asked him how he was liking football he responded with " It's really cool - it's the only place where I am allowed to push people down!" We are all feeling like this is really good for him. As long as he is enjoying it we will continue to encourage it. Another added bonus is that he is on the "B" team - which is a really good thing - the guys on the "A" team look huge =)

First Day Of School

Well it has happened - both of my boys started school yesterday. Next year I will be done paying for daycare for good. Hooray!! Tanner was up and ready 30 minutes early. Keaton, on the other hand, took his own sweet time. He refused to eat breakfast - HE WASN'T HUNGRY! He made sure I knew. I tried to tell him he wasn't going to get to eat until snack, but he didn't seem to care. He ate breakfast this morning though- no argument - maybe he actually got hungry yesterday =) He gets to stay for afternoon campus club today - so he opted to have hot lunch - he was so excited for that. Tanner HAD to have hot lunch - he left his lunchbox at school - hopefully he finds it today. Tanner really likes his teacher, who is also the football coach. I asked how football practice went yesterday - he said "tiring". I said was it fun?? He repeated "tiring". We will see how it goes. He was up and ready again today, eager to take all of his gear to school. I will post more about football later when I get the pictures from the camcorder.

Keaton loves all of it. He told me about all of his new friends. Except none of them have names yet AND he let me know that Mrs. Smith said NO LOVE at school. He told me that this is a good thing because Skyler is in his class and she is from preschool and she wanted to marry him. SOOO he said that Mrs. Smith told the whole class NO LOVE so then it was okay to play with Skyler at recess because of the rule - they could just be friends =)














They both found their friends at school. Keaton's best buddy, Nick, is in 1st grade this year and he was soooo excited to see him at school. It was the best picture that I got of him all morning.






Tanner found his buds as well, all of them are playing football, except one of them. They were all in the same kindergarten class - it has been fun to watch them all grow throughout the years. Funny thing- all of their moms are teachers.

Crafty

So I spent the weekend getting the kids prepared for school. We did all of our last minute shopping - including shoes for football =) The rest of the time I spent at my sisters house. We (being the Simes that we are) were feeling the need to be crafty. So we had been tossing around the idea of combining our talents and posting our stuff in an online store. Laurie makes really cute tutu outfits and I have been doing the hair bow thing for a few years now so we thought hey - why not. (Cause I have nothing else going on RIGHT??!!) We were able to get a lot done this weekend and am happy to say that as I type this Laurie is at her house slowly uploading things to the store. We shall see how it goes. Feel free to stop by and check things out www.poshprincesscouture.etsy.com

Football??Huh???

Yesterday Keaton had his meet and greet with his kindergarten teacher. Tanner came with us so he could show Keaton around his old stompin grounds. While we were at school we ran into alot of people on campus. Many were trying to find out where they were supposed to be picking up there pads for football. Someone asked Tanner if he was going to play. He responded with "I've been thinkin about it" HUH - WHAT??? This was news to me - up until that moment he had been talking about running cross country. So after a long discussion and a lengthy permission slip, we picked up pads for football. This is going to be interesting. For those of you who know Tanner you know how athleticly inclined he is ;) Practice starts Monday, as does5th grade for Tanner and kindergarten for Keaton. I can't wait to see what I am going to post then. I will send Phil to practice with the camcorder - maybe he will catch something good to post. Phil is working all weekend so we are off with Uncle E today to get shoes for football -yes I said shoes - they can't wear cleats - I'm not that football ignorant =)

A little about us right now

So what has been happening in the Olmos world??

Tanner and Keaton are getting ready to start school on Monday - Keaton is sooo excited for kindergarten. He picked out his new Star Wars Clone Wars backback and had to wear it through Target (then we had to make a separate trip to Toy's R Us to find the matching lunchbox -because Target was out) Tanner will be starting 5th grade - Wow I can't believe that one - He is excited to show little bro the ropes. Phil is in nursing school (finally) and that is all consuming - but will be soooo worth it when he is finished. I am teaching fast track (reading intervention 4-6th grade) and loving every minute of it. With school and soccer/cross country season getting ready to start were are in for a busy season ahead. I look forward to sharing it with you all.

Today is the day

So I have finally done it - after much pushing from Jill (some things never change) here is our family blog. I have been meaning to do this for sometime, (since Lauren contacted me through hers) but kept finding a reason to put it off. I am looking forward to sharing with all of you the exciting things that we have happening in our lives.