My 8 year old!!!!!!!

Can you believe that he is *8*???????!?!?!?!?!!?!!? I can't! It blows my mind! He's such an amazing kid! Mikey turned 8 on the 21st. We had a little "family" party. I find them so much nicer than having a house full of 7-9 year olds going nuts. It was so fun. This year he kept changing his mind on what he wanted for his birthday, he couldn't really stick to what he was asking for, it changed every 2 minutes, so Jon and I thought a Walmart gift card would be fun, and He loved the idea! He got to carry it around the store while looking at toys and trying to add them up differently to get as close to his $30.00 limit. It was neat to see his brain working, picking out toys, prioritizing them, and putting other back until he got just the correct combination. He picked out a nerf gun that makes a hideous buzzsaw sound..goodie...lol...a giant bionicle that I helped him make, and a board game combo of Battle Ship and Connect Four. We then went to the bakery department and he could either A) pick a cake mix that I would make with him B) let Cody and Matthew and I pick one out to surprise him with and make or C) pick a premade cake from the bakery.....he saw Scoobey doo and went nuts! So he got a cake and then picked out Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream with hot fudge ..lol..what a combo! But it was pretty good. He is just such a sweetie! He was shooting his nerf gun around the house and one of the balls went astray and hit the cake....can you tell from the picture of his face "DOH!" and then I turned the cake to myself and took a picture of it. Mom took the ball off the cake the wash and and attacked Mikey with the bright blue and green frosting. He really got a giggle out of that. The first picture was after he went sledding that morning and was WORN out! A cup of hot Cocoa and some marshmallows fully rejuvenated him for his party later though.lol

I have an amazing boy in this one! He is so smart, and is very emotional, he loves everyone so much! He has a very gentle spirit. My Amazing 8 year old Mikey!!!!

Birthday Cake in a Jar

A good friend of mine named Dana turned me onto this, and it's a really fun idea, I use it to send homemade cakes to the Soldier's Jon serves with. It's important to use the WIDE STRAIGHT ( added pics of the difference between the ones you need and the ones that won't work.lol..cuase I know..I tried..lol, so use the one on the LEFT) mouth canning jars to ensure the cake can come straight out. Just preheat your oven to 350, grease the inside of the jar with crisco, not pam. Pour in appox. 1 cup cake mix. Some times you have to experiament with that. Some times a certian cake mix only takes 3/4 a cup others needs 1 cup and two tblsps. You want the cake to rise ALMOST to the top, not above the rings, so that it doesn't interfer with the lid sealing. I do four jars at a time, to ensure I get at least one or two good ones when I am fiddleing with how much mix I put in. Place them on a baking sheet to keep the level in the oven and bake for about 30 mins. I check mine around 25 with a toothpick.. if it's done on top use a butter knife all the way down into the bottom to see if thebottom half is done. If it's not, cover the top with foil loosely and bake another 5-10 minutes. While it's baking, boil the lids. As soon as you pull out the cakes set them on a rack to cool with out moving them too much and immdiatly place on the lids after you dry them completly. Let them seal and cool. It make sure they are sealed or by the time you send them to Iraq they will get moldy. Sealed it can last up to 6 months I am told, I only know for certian that 2 months works since thats the longest I have had one in the cabinet without my kids eating it..lol. Let me know how it goes! If you have questions give me a call! It's a fun surprise! I send a jar of frosting along with it, and a paper plate and silverware, a candle that when you twist the bottom plays happy birthday.

JUPITER my crazy great dane

I have decided to write a blog on each person of our family just for fun, sort of a get to know you thing, and I decided to start with our funny dog, Jupiter. YES he is a GREAT DANE. He's just in disguise! He's very confused and thinks he is a Dalmatian. He is a Harlequin Great Dane. They were breed with Dalmatians for their amazing color centuries ago . If you haven't noticed he has two different colored eyes one blue one brown.

He is just an awesome dog! Yes he is HUGE but that gives me a great deal of comfort sleeping alone every night knowing that my 150lbs dog is sleeping on the floor outside my bedroom door protecting us. He's a great watch dog and when strangers come to the door it's nice to see their faces when they look in past me and see my dog sitting nicely beside me, his head at my elbow. Gives me a great sense of safety. Some one will think twice before coming in.. he is a huge baby though! He sleeps most of the day away, or plays with his enormous puppy toys, he is such a good sport and great the kids, especially the baby! As you can see from the pictures he lets Matthew sit and hang on him and just sits there... he also takes orders well from the kids. We have taught him hand signals as well as verbal commands and Matthew loves to say "..PUTER....sit!" and then giggles nonstop when he does. I took some funny pictures of Jupiter running around in the back yard. for some reason he loves being outside late at night and running around in the snow like a race horse...lol..he's such fun!

New Years pictures

I know I am a little....late..lol..posting these, I've been busy making a second blog to help me unite the wives of Jon's team members. It's been fun but I noticed I was neglecting our family blog too.

New years was fun. I hadn't made any plans and to be honest I was planning on acting like it was just any other day and get the kids off to bed at a reasonable hour and catch up on my sleep after the wild holiday week. At the last minutes Amy called and told me I was to host the new years eve party at my house..so I wouldn't be alone. lol..It was sweet. I did however have to run out and get food for an all nighter for 8 people.

We munched, and the kids all took turns playing the xbox, while Mom, Amy, and David Lee and I played phase ten, and did a puzzle. At midnight we had some sparkleing cider for drinks, and went out and did streamers and poppers. Since it was so bitter cold we stood in my garage and shot them out the door..lol...but the kids loved it. ....I didn't so much love the mess the next morning but My Mom sweetly helped out. Amy and her boys all crashed on the air matress and couches my living room, Mom took Codys bottom bunk so she could have a "sleep over" with Mikey and Cody slept with me. Matthew was so tired when he went down he woke up over and over crying becuase he was so tired he didn't know what to do with himself...lol..it was so cute.

Well...that in a nutshell was our WILD new years! I didn't get a chance to talk to Jon on the phone an the boys were so dissappointed they couldn't share the day with him but we took pictures to show him!! So enjoy!.....

PS. WE LOVE YOU JON!!!!!!!