Housework

To say that cleaning is not a talent of mine is an understatement. Ed's either. Frankly, it's probably less about talent and more about interest. And neither of us have any.
Fortunately, there is hope for the next generation...

 I don't have a photo of TJ holding a broom for some reason, but the boys fight over who gets which broom/mop/swiffer. All.the.time. We just need to work on technique a little and I think we'll be set.

Ed is trying to trade Jojo the long and rather dangerous broom for the shorter and less-likely-to-do-damage duster. Jojo wasn't having it.

Wedding and Ironman Weekend

We wrapped up our last wedding weekend of the year in grand style: a trip to Madison for a wedding and some Ironman cheering!

We dropped the kids off with my parents and headed to the wedding: Devon, our former neighbor in St. Louis, and her new husband, Brad

 It was great to catch up with some old St. Louis friends. Here, Carrie, Devon, and me

A kid-free night!

Sunday morning dawned sunny and temperate, perfect for an Ironman. Our brother-in-law Pat was competing, and the race had been on--would he finish before Baby E arrived? (I'll spare you the suspense...yes. Baby E waited 2 more weeks to join the world.) What is the Ironman? Why only a 2.4 mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile run.
It was amazing to watch the race, and Pat did a phenomenal job. Jenn also did a fantastic job, organizing the fans and the Patrick viewing locations (Jenn & co. saw him 10 or so times? Ed and I came a little late due to our late night).

 Pat on the bike

 The boys cheering Uncle Pat on.

 Jenn watching for Pat to ride by. We chose this spot for watching the bikers go past because they'd be going slower since it was uphill. :)

 Jojo (and TJ) took naps on the fly.

 Love this sign!

 The group cheering on Pat and his two friends--pretty good turnout!

 Jojo, unsupervised, helping himself to some Chex Mix. I found out after the fact that Jenn saw this about to happen and sat back to photograph it rather than stop it. I would have done the exact same thing. :)

Pat often tells Thomas "Not in my house, Kemosabe!" so we made TJ a sign to hold.

Ed gave Pat some encouragement during the marathon. We set up camp right by Camp Randall and saw Pat a few times on the run (the course is a loop, twice).

Hands down my favorite photos of the entire day. Jenn had a spot against the finishing chute and Pat came over on his way to the finish line. His time: 11 hours, 16 minutes. Fantastic! And he looked like he could have run another lap. We were so impressed! Great job Pat!

Dancing with the Stars

Our Jersey/St. Louis group of friends was always a great mix for dancing social events. In each couple, one partner liked to get down and boogie with it on the dance floor, and the other partner did not (And it wasn't girls vs. guys). When we were together, this meant that both the dancers and non-dancers had people to hang out with, so everyone was happy.

I (no surprise here) am one of the non-dancers. Which means I was able to capture video of the dancers at Tucker and Katie's wedding.  (hooray!) Ed is normally in the mix here, but you can see him in the background chatting instead. Good thing, because I'm not sure how you could improve on the choreography, timing, and enthusiasm of Mo and Tom. Don't miss the less than graceful ending!

Wedding Weekend in St. Louis

We spent Labor Day weekend in St. Louis for Tucker and Katie's wedding, with the added bonus of visiting with some of our other friends there. The wedding was beautiful, and we were so happy to witness our very good friends tie the knot.

We spent the first night with the Lawrence family. Thomas, Coop, and Molly had a great time playing. 

 Macaroni and cheese picnic lunch outside

 Swing set fun

All 5 kids

Playing with Tobin and Corwin--lots of trucks and lots of running around and yelling excitedly!

Tucker and Katie at the rehearsal dinner--they look ready to get married!

Ed and Tucker

 World's Fair Pavilion--a gorgeous setting for a wedding. It drizzled throughout the ceremony, but it didn't dampen anyone's spirits...just added a few umbrellas to the photos!

The new Mr. and Mrs. Tucker

 Thomas was super excited to be at the wedding and never stopped running. This was one way Ed was able to slow him down for a few minutes!

 Me and the boys

 TJ loved these stone spheres.

Maureen got Thomas a Shirley Temple from the bar. He saw the cherry in the cup and wouldn't go near the drink. This was her reaction, rightly asking, "what kid doesn't like a Shirley Temple?!?!"

The four of us, right before our babysitter Courtney took the boys back to the hotel for bed 

(Thanks Courtney!)

 Former A-B folks who all lived in New Jersey at the same time. They all still live in St. Louis, so it was great to see them again!

 The gorgeous and glowing couple!

Tucker and Mr. Awesome!

Random fun pics

When you fall a month-plus behind on blogging day-to-day life, a "random fun pics" post seems the best way to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. And most of these photos really are random and not necessarily worth of their own post!

 TJ and his buddy Lyla in their Brewers/Tigers jerseys

 Thomas eats breakfast at his "yittle table" every morning. Some mornings, partially depending on what we're eating, I let Jojo join him. Jojo LOVES this. And he makes a huge mess. And tries to eat TJ's breakfast as well as his own. It is fun watching these two learn to play together and enjoy each other's company. That concept is still mostly overshadowed by Thomas beating on Josiah though.

 They were both sitting with their computers, so I joined in. If Ed hadn't been taking the photo, we could have been a 4-laptop family here.

 Some nights, Jojo LOVED corn on the cob.

 Cutting the grass. This is another toy that is more Jojo-sized than TJ, but after Jojo discovered it, it became TJ's new favorite. Coincidence? I think not.

 Where Thomas likes to spend as much time as possible: driving the boat in the garage.

 A monster zucchini at the farm stand down the road. This made a lot of zucchini bread! I wish I'd bought more then. Now they're just tiny.

 August (and September) was all about making forts in the sunroom.

 What a grin!

 I can't decide which I love more--this top action shot, or the one below, when he's trying to figure out what's going on. This toy is another rediscovered love of TJ's as well.

 Riding on daddy's back

 Shucking corn. For a few weeks in August, we had corn pretty much every night. Yum!

 Lyla, Jojo and Thomas watching the grass get cut.

Grandpa came to visit! The boys were thrilled to hang out with him and take him out on the boat.

Jenn's baby shower

The main reason the boys and I went to Milwaukee in August was for Jenn's baby shower. (Well, that was the main reason I went--the boys came to see Grammy and Buppa, and because Ed was out of town!).
Here are a few pics from the shower, thrown by a group of mom's friends who have created a cottage industry out of throwing showers, minus the getting paid part. They do a fantastic job!
You can read more about the shower here, on Jenn's blog.

 The ladies based the shower on Baby E's room (see pictures here--it's adorable!)

 Dinner, which continued the alphabet theme--each course started with a letter in B-A-B-Y-E

 Jenn and Mom with the quilt Mom made for Baby E. I love it!

 Jenn and Mom with the shower hostesses

No explanation necessary. Even if you don't know us (unlikely, if you're reading this blog!), you can tell we're just a tiny bit related.