Happy Birthday Joe

Today is Joey's 6th Birthday!  

Our boy is still spunky, a little character, never wants to sit still, loves chocolate, still hates clothes, loves his siblings & still loves his daddy more than anything. As can be seen in the following photos Joey & his siblings are definitely a little crazy together. We love you Joey. Can't wait to see what this year brings us in your world.

Merry Christmas

from the Bolander Home!

Oh Christmas Tree

We have been so busy this year that we just recently put the tree up. Rick put the tree with lights up & then we let the kids (with daddy's help to reach the higher parts) decorate the tree.  
They all had so much fun. Johnnie is a pro at this point & picks out the perfect spot to place the ornaments.
 Joey wants to place all his homemade ornaments up high to avoid Holly's little fingers. Jimmy is still a little perfectionist & spends a lot of time trying to decide where to place his ornaments. Holly just enjoyed removing the ornaments & putting them back but she was smiling the whole time so that was okay. Once the tree was decorated I took a photo of it with our decorated mantle. And then I wanted a closeup of the tree but quick children bumping into mommy tends to create a blur (a pretty one, but still a blur).  
And last but not least I was able to capture what is now my favorite Christmas photo of my children. A peaceful moment of them admiring their handiwork. We're ready for Santa's visit now. Are you?

Engagement Party

Tonight Rick & I were given the opportunity to throw my sister & future brother in law an engagement party. We couldn't be more excited for them & we are so happy that she has found forever love. Everyone was happy to toast the future Mr & Mrs.Bebich. And even Holly had a great time dancing with her daddy at the party.

Tough Mudder

At the beginning of this year my knee was operated on. As soon as I started to heal I decided I needed to sign up for some type of race to train for...a 1/2 marathon, a mud run or better yet a combination of the two. Then my friend Heather made the suggestion that we should get a group of girls together & do the Tough Mudder. My decision to pick a race was made for me. So a group of 5 ladies set out to get ready for this run. We ran, did pushups, situps, stairs, pull-ups & of course the occasional happy hour was attended. The weekend had arrived. We donned our referee inspired outfits & took a picture to document that we started out clean.  

We ran 11 miles & completed 29 obstacles that included crawling through mud, jumping into freezing ice cold water, climbing up horrible sand dunes, scaling walls & the final obstacle of running through wires containing 10,000 volts of electricity. It will take a while for me to forget those wires that I expected to feel like bee stings but instead felt like baseball bats but overall it was a great race. And we may not look that muddy but I think our filthy, stained outfits speak for themselves.  

We were very proud of ourselves & headed south to check in to the San Diego W for an evening of drinking & dancing. It was a great weekend spent with girlfriends & it was all thanks to our husbands who stayed home with kiddos.

1st & Last Day of Soccer for Joey

This title holds true for many reasons.  The pictures here are from Joey's 1st & last day of the soccer season & quite possibly the 1st & last season of soccer he will ever play. He didn't really enjoy the game. He liked the kids, the oranges at half time, the water breaks & the snacks but when it actually came time to play, Joey was not at all thrilled with the game so unless he begs to play next year I'm not going to put him through this again.

Power Rangers

This year there was no family Halloween costume but just an adorable Bolander Bunch gathering of the Power Rangers. Holly was not interested in wearing the pink costume because it looked completely different than her brothers. She wanted muscles too but who can blame her for wanting to look tough. And because the boys look similar in height in this photo due to some kneeling & tippy toes...Joey is in blue refusing to wear his buckle, Jimmy is the red ranger happily smiling & Johnnie is of course hugging his baby sister which is usually right where she wants to be.

Costumes Encouraged...Kids are NOT!

That was the tag line on our Halloween party invitation. For the last 7 years we have spent Halloween catering to our children. Purchasing kid friendly family costumes, trick-or-treating & just enjoying the innocent aspects of Halloween. This year when I sat with the boys & discussed what they wanted to be we couldn't come with a family theme so we decided to let them be what they wanted to be which will be revealed on Halloween night. So that left us trying to figure out what we should be so we decided on a couple's adult costume. A convict & a police woman are the perfect costumes for us since Rick spends his day managing a business & I spend my days working in an office in a very conservative environment. So we donned our attire & headed out for the evening. We met up for drinks, food & an evening of fun with She-Ra & He-Man. 
 
The party was being thrown by some Star Trek folks in their new home & a party is not a party without Hef & a bunny.
 
I was there to keep everyone in control.
It was a pretty tame night but fun to be adults nonetheless & hanging with these girls is always a good time.  
And capturing photos of us together being goofy makes any party worth going to.

Sibling Rivalry

Every year if we are lucky our alma maters play each other so when it happens we put on our school tee shirts, our cheesy but oh so fun face tattoos & we watch the game together. So happy to live close enough to my sister to enjoy this tradition every year.

Family Engagement Party

Tonight we celebrated Kim & Joe's family engagement party. It was hosted by Joe's family at their house. There was good food, cake, lots of family, some speeches & with me around of course there were photos. The happy parents. 

Kim with her matron & maid of honor.

We dragged our dad into the photo. He may not admit it but he is so excited to be doing this again...throwing his daughter a wedding.

 

Kim & her bridal party.  

I think this group of girls is going to be a lot of fun

 

& I now this group of guys will. 

Rick & I love Joe & Kim & we can't wait to see them start their lives together. I hope they are as happy as we are. 

And last but not least the lovely bride & groom to be. I hope they have a lifetime of kisses.