Beneath An October Sky

He's handsome and handy!!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:02:00 +0000

Over the winter break I decided what I really needed in our master bedroom was built in bookshelves. I have a serious book addiction and now the boys are following suit. We just LIKE print media!! Anyways, I showed Jason this beautiful spot that would be perfect for built in bookshevles.....

And this is what he made me! Isn't he the best?

There's a new blogger in town!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 22:10:00 +0000

Hi everyone! Sorry about the lapse in posts. This blog was created and managed by my super husband, Jason, who as of lately is just to busy to keep it up! Since his spare time is being used to make him project at work a success, I am hoping to make this project "his blog" a success while he works. So if you are one of the 2 followers he has -- you know who you are (Shannon!) I'm going to try my best not to let you down. If you are new to the blog, we hope you like it!

Here is my current project. Moms just doesn't get behind the camera enough, so I am hoping for 1 picture a week with my kids. Here is week 1/52 and 2/52. Weeks 3 and 4 are taken but still on the camera!

Week #1

Week #2

Owen’s First Camping Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 03:20:00 +0000

I just made it back from Owen’s first camping trip. Owen was super excited to find out that he was going camping. Friday night I packed up the explorer O went to sleep and Saturday we left to the park. We went up to Chain O Lakes state park.

I had a great time with Owen, he helped me set up the tent (which was also a dog that he pretended to walk). We put out our food and for lunch made some soup with the backpacking stove and pot that I have. After lunch we walked down one of the trails to the boat ramp. There were a lot of boats putting in for the day when we arrived and we both were interested so we went to a concession stand bought some ice cream and watched the boats for a little over an hour. After that we headed back read books, placed soccer and before we knew it it was time to start the fire for dinner time. Of course we had hot dogs and chips (that is what you eat while camping) followed by roasted marshmallows and smores. Owen was not a fan of the sticky gooey marshmallows, he told me he just wanted uncooked once, which he ate 5 more of. By 8:30, without his normal afternoon nap, he conked out in his “favorite” sleeping bag (Amanda’s green sleeping bag (his favorite color, it matched my shirt)).

In the morning we woke up, ate some oatmeal and went down to the lake to watch the birds and fishermen. Then we headed back, cleaned up the tent and came back from our trip. I have to admit I had a great time. It was a great way to forget about work, and Owen is the coolest kid. I had a great time playing with him, explaining things, and having him all to myself.

Oh also, Owen wanted me to thank Uncle Philip for his super awesome glow stick which he used all through the night and that had “magic.” So thanks Philip for going to Iraq, bringing back a glow stick that you gave to us that I remembered to take camping with us 2 years later.

Aidric’s Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:57:00 +0000

I cannot believe that Aidric is 1 year old. I thought that time flew since we had Owen, but both of them time has moved even faster.

Saturday, the day of the party, went well. Though the grass was wet in the back yard the weather allowed us to still have the party in the front of the house. Amanda did a really good job of organizing everything. Timing was perfect and everyone seemed to have a really good time, especially the birthday boy. I was surprised that Aidric did not tear into his cupcake right away, but as you seen in the pictures below he was not afraid to get dirty.

Back from the Ike

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 02:56:00 +0000

This last week I had the opportunity to fly to Florida and meet my brother in Jacksonville and then ride aboard the USS Eisenhower as it sailed its last 2 days of its 7 month tour. We stayed about 70 miles off the shoreline the whole trip. It was a great experience to see a working nuclear aircraft carrier up close while the sailors were carrying out their duties. I am so thankful that I was able to go. The timing worked, Amanda is such a great mom, she watched kids and did so much around the house.

While aboard Jon took me to see a lot of the ship. The hangar bay is huge. I couldn't believe how big it was. The elevators for the planes are impressive as well. In fact the planes in general are amazing. They had 20 or more planes on the flight deck and the ability of the sailors to maneuver them around in order to allow them to take off was fantastic. And though the carrier is huge, 4 acres of space on the flight deck, it did actually rock to some degree.

While their the F18 squadron (c,e, and f class) did a air power demo. They did things I had never seen before. First of all we were allowed to stay on the deck while the planes took off and landed 25 feet from us. It was amazing to see the planes and feel the power so close. Other than the take offs and landings my favorite in air parts of the show was the sonic boom that they setup to happen right over the deck of the carrier and that one pilot basically hovered the plane mid air by turning the engines on full and pointing the nose almost straight up.

The rest of our time we spent touring the ship. The rooms used to monitor the radar and ships and planes in the area were very interesting. These areas were now the primary information centers for the boat, where in the past the flag bridge was used to do things visually.

I would relate my brother’s living quarters and surroundings to living in a dorm, but cleaner. The rooms are all very small, furnished with heavy duty furniture and minimalistic. It is interesting to see how updated fiber optics had been retrofitted on the 1970’s built ship.

Food

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:43:00 +0000

We had several problems for the first few weeks, but now our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is in full swing. We had mint again this week which means of course more mojitos. We did get more beets though, yuck. Amanda and I both tried them last week and my stomach gets queasy just thinking about them. The vegetables are fantastic though. this week we also got squash, cucumber, and carrots.

We also made a beer can chicken last week. I highly recommend making it, super easy. The $2.99 wire rack to hold the chicken is a worthwhile purchase.

Finally, but certainly not least. Amanda had a great idea for Owen. On Monday nights we usually have to run pretty quick after dinner to go to spin class. In order to allow Owen to try many foods and for us to get his dinner ready easily Amanda made 9 unique foods in a muffin tin. Amanda did a great job with it and he loved his dinner. He thanked her 10 times I think and asked for the same meal the next 3 nights.

4th of July

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:17:00 +0000

For the 4th of July we went to Branson, MO. That’s right, the home of old country music, Dolly Parton, and Shoji Tabuchi (sp?). We had a great time with Amanda’s cousin Shannon, her family, and Amanda’s mom. The trip both ways was long (9 hours driving, more with stops), but it went pretty quickly. It helped a lot to have Amanda’s mom to help with the kids as well and apparently the car is the only place Aidric will sleep. He slept forever in the car.

While in Branson we went to Dixie Stamped, outback (but not the steak house another one), and a lot of swimming.

Popsicles

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 01:21:00 +0000

Amanda got a Zoku popsicle maker. It is pretty cool, you freeze the whole thing for 24 hours initially then you put any juice, chocolate milk, etc and wait only 7-10 minutes when whala popsicles. They turn out really good, as with anything Owen was able to make a mess though.

Getting dirty always means bath time though

Aidric has teeth!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 01:24:00 +0000

Their in and being put to use on teething rings, toys, and sometimes us (ouch!).

Baby Talk

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Thu, 27 May 2010 03:01:00 +0000

First it started with Aidric saying “Dada” on mother’s day. Now he is saying “MaMa!” The kid is learning fast.

Last weekend we went down to see the grandparents and to take Philip home from his job interview (yes, he is now employed!). Owen spent a lot of time outside with everyone watering plants, riding in wheelbarrows, playing on his scooter, etc.

Look how big he is getting

Owen riding the dog at the firehouse

Zoo

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Wed, 19 May 2010 03:16:00 +0000

We went to the zoo this weekend and the weather was great. Both Amanda and I thought Owen was going to want to see the lions the most since he always talks about them, but he really wanted to see the elephant which at the end of the day was his favorite animal as well.

Easter is here

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 03:12:00 +0000

We had a great Easter this year. Amanda made a really good breakfast wit frittatas (sp?) and fruit cups.

Owen is old enough this year for an Easter egg hunt so we put out at least 40 eggs. Owen had a blast finding them. To much fun I guess, he ended up being sick with a fever this afternoon. Oh, he also got a dragon kite from his grandma and grandpa. He tells me it is a scary dragon. A scary dragon that says “roar, C is for cookie.”

Fishing

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 03:39:00 +0000

This weekend we, well I went ice fishing with Jim and some others out in the wilderness of central IL. Ice fishing as I found out was not like you see on movies, most of the time you don’t have those cool looking little ice sheds, but like you might imagine cheap beer is the favored drink over cran-tinis (as I found out). Ice fishing takes a whole new perspective of a ~~sport~~ activity in which not much work is done (blue gill fishing that is, not bass etc) by not even holding your pole. That's right you just set it there on the ice and wait for it…. watch it. It is also pretty safe, the ice was almost a foot thick, and was quite relaxing to drink a cold beer on a cold windblown lake. I’m actually ready to go fish/sit again. Oh yeah, I didn't catch anything :(

Yeah!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:37:00 +0000

So I guess I’m not supposed to know about it yet, but how else would I get a bike for my birthday without testing it and choosing it? I had looked at quite a few brands in the last couple of weeks and I finally decided on Specialized. It had the best frame to component makeup and was at the right price. Amanda and I went and bought it today and got an awesome deal. Jan/Feb is supposed to be the best time to buy bikes because new models are out and not many buy in the north when it is snowing. So without further ado here it is the Specialized Allez Elite (oddly pronounced Alle versus alleys as I thought).

Pics

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:12:00 +0000

Making Dinner

Hanging Around

Who’s Excited?

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 03:46:00 +0000

Aidric Update

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:57:00 +0000

Aidric is on day 2 of sleeping in his own crib. That's right, the kid turns 5 mo and we kick him out. Last night he was a rock star, tonight not as much. Seemed to be over tired, but did nod off eventually. Our little moosey.

Mr. Independent

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:55:00 +0000

Owen has always been very independent. You tell him that you made him chicken nuggets and he tells you that he only wants fish sticks. Always very decisive. Reminds me of when we bought our dog Remington and I read (ok perused) a book that said that when buying a dog dont buy the one that runs away (to independent) or the one that cowers (too unindependent). Remington is the dog that is neither, he is a good mix of both. Owen is the dog that runs away to explore. In fact the other night he told us he was going to go downstairs “by myself,” but 2 seconds later recanted and said “come with me.” Tonight though he went upstairs all by himself. He was fine once he remembered that he could turn on lights all by himself.

Favorites

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:07:00 +0000

Today Owen tried the gorgonzola cheese on my salad and liked it. He has the following sophisticated tastes:

Likes to eat

gorgonzola cheese
shrimp

says is his favorite:

coffee
cheeseburgers

An attempt at Christmas Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:54:00 +0000

I think we got quite a few good ones to choose from for the Holiday card!

Asleep at the Table

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:13:00 +0000

Owen fell asleep while eating on Thanksgiving. Poor monkey.

Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:38:00 +0000

We are back from thanksgiving in Arkansas. The drive went a lot better then I expected, both boys did really well. Owen really liked his dvd player which he calls his “Puutter.” He is so smart he learned to pause it within 20 minutes of using it. He cracked us up when Amanda told him to put it away because it was time for lunch he said, “hold on momma I pause it.” His potty training went really well too, he stayed pee free pretty much the whole ride both ways.

It was really nice to see everyone again, unfortunately Tori was sick Monday through Wednesday and Kendall had a bad cough the entire time. Thanksgiving dinner was really good, I deep fried a turkey and we also had a smoked ham. It was probably the best ham I have ever had. Amanda also made her delicious sweet potato bake which Owen and I love. On our last day everyone got sick and we are still fighting through it so sorry for the short post.

Here are some awesome rock band videos of Owen.

It’s Official

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:04:00 +0000

For the last 3 weeks Owen has been an all star on the potty. He tells us every time when he has to go poop or pee and he can now tell the difference. He has also been perfect at naptime, even though he was in a pull-up he was not peeing in it at all. Now he is in underwear all the time except for through the night. We are so proud of him, he just turned 2 1/2 and we can officially say that he is potty trained.

Camping Night

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:02:00 +0000

Owen and I had camping night last weekend. I really wanted to go camping with him this summer, but it just did not work out. Luckily for us and our fireplace though we were able to toast marshmallows over a fire. We even turned out the lights and used my lantern which of course is way better than normal house lights. Owen is actually really good at turning the marshmallows in the fire. He must have been an expert turner in a previous life or something.

Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:57:00 +0000

Owen and Aidric got their costumes! Owen is going as a fireman and Aidric is going to be a Dalmatian. Aidric’s costume is a little bit big, but with the way Amanda has been feeding him he is growing in to it quite well.