And the title goes to....

Joe just hit the all time score on the pinball machine... 222,000,000 and something! He even got to put his name into our machine! This is how we spend our New Year's Eve... playing pinball and drinking champagne (the real stuff)!

Might be a one and only!!!

Tonight I beat Joe at Pinball! It was 21 million (and something) to 4 million (and something).... the point is I beat him. I may never beat him again (as I am horrible)... but I did it!

Love ya, babe!

Finally... CHRISTmas!

A few pictures to capture the morning fun. The kids were great. Santa came and left a big surprise... a pinball machine. They didn't find it until they were done opening everything. They all took turns opening gifts and were polite to each other. Joey had been up until midnight and then woke up at 4:30a to tell me that Santa had been to our house. My response.... go back to bed!

Bliss

Here are the kids in front of the Christmas tree with the puppy, Jeep. This is the first year that they stood there... no crying, no screaming... just stood there. I have arrived!

Vossenkuhl Digital Christmas Card

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Aaaagh....

The boys just figured out that there is a football game on............. aaaaagh!

Christmas Buzz

The sights and sounds are here and the Vossenkuhl kids have come up with a new game. As we drive around in the evenings, we tend to take detours and look at Christmas lights. The kids now have their own rating system. If it has "Wow" factor it gets at least a 75. If it is simple, usually rates below 10. (Our own home doesn't rate very well according to the kids.

The boys were my special helpers in class today. They finished school for Winter Break yesterday. They love to come and help. Joey was in charge of a dice game and Stefan took charge of making Reindeer food. I was so impressed with Joey's ability to keep focused for the day. He read to the kids, got them involved with toys that they don't normally look at and all in all was a great help. Not to say that Stefan didn't do those things, but Stefan has made friends in my class and has a need to socialize with them!

Joe is traveling and the boys are still zinging footballs through the green room. They are calling plays and tackling each other... time to put a stop to that. I don't think that they realize that there is a game on tonight... otherwise they would be begging me to watch it!

Whew... Where have the weeks gone?

Happy Birthday Stefan Man!


It is sad that I haven't updated the blog. The last few weeks have been busy, but I'm sure (no, I know) that they are busy for everyone.

Stefan celebrated his 6th birthday! We had a nice celebration at home on his birthday. He requested steak with bones (lamb). That's our boy! Tante was able to come for the afternoon. He received a new big-kid bike helmet and a Melody Harp. He had his "real" birthday party (you know with all of the friends) a few days later. It was a soccer theme. He loves soccer. This was Stefan's classic pose for the evening.

Let's Race!

Daddy was in Phoenix for the Nascar race this last weekend. He took requests for shirts.... Joey - Kahne, Stefan - Gordan and Emmi - anything pink or a tank top. I'm proud to announce that he did well! All kids were very happy!

Our good friend, Race Car Roger, is always generous and again sent shirts for the kids. He knows the way to a kids heart... M&M's... they love their shirts... Thank you Race Car Roger.

In memoriam we say good bye to another good friend... Mr. Ike. Mr. Ike lost his battle with cancer Sunday. He was also a huge race car fan... Our thoughts, prayers and love go to his family; especially his beautiful wife Ms. Kacy. Thank you always for your love and friendship.

I'm giong to play football for the Ducks!

This was the quote from Stefan when he returned from the U of O / Arizona State game. He loved it... both boys loved it. They had a great day with Daddy and Tante. They got Duck hats, football cards (which Joey has already memorized names and numbers) good food and met one of Daddy's friends from childhood. Joe's friend, Gary Johnson, is the head trainer for the Arizona football team. He gave Joe the tickets for the game. They were able to see him briefly, but he was pretty busy working. I wish I could have watched the boys experience their first big football game... I remember mine. My dad took me to the University of WA. I don't remember who they played, but I remember loving it. I stayed behind with Emmi and we took in our first bazaar. I'm sure the first of many. Being a WA fan, I guess I'd better learn to say GO Oregon. Especially if the boys think that they may be there some day. Dream big boys.

Halloween Kids

Wow! What a night :) The excitement was contagious.... Time to trick-or-treat! But first, dinner. Homemade chicken noodle soup, bread and spicy pumpkin muffins for mom and dad. To our surprise, a red car pulled up the driveway. It was Auntie Deena and Auntie Allie with goodies! Auntie Deena had candy from Grandma, candy from she and Raj and homemade cupcakes in a darling Halloween box. What a way to start the excitement. With everyone dressed in many layers Daddy and the kids headed out. I was on dog and door duty. 30 minutes later they all returned hot with a tired Emmi. The boys peeled off layers and headed out again. Emmi was ready to eat candy and watch a kid-show. The boys continued for another hour... they came back with quite a haul. Now they are coming down off the ceiling before going to bed. I'm happy to report that the dogs did great. Molly barked at every knock and door bell (no surprise there), but Jeep just wanted out of the family room. So what does a puppy do, escape. I was worried as I was in the middle of opening the door when I discovered him, but he was fine. No barking, no leaving the house, just curious to what was going on. Another Halloween gone and we look forward to next year (especially, Daddy!).

3 Buds

On the pier at Lake Ripley, WI ~
These 3 guys have been friends for quite some time. Dave, Joe and Joe... still get together to play Jeopardy, call each other to wish Happy Birthday and genuinely care about each other's well being. Dave and Joe met in 2nd grade. Our son, Joey really thinks that is cool as he is in 2nd grade now. Dave & Joe met Joe in high school. They all played volleyball together, hung out and still remain friends. Something to be said this many years later.

Looks like a TEAM!

The soccer season has come to an end, but this may be my favorite picture of the season. After assisting his buddy to a goal, they celebrate with a simple high-5. To me this is priceless. No excessive celebrating, just true, proud friendship. The Dino's won the last soccer game (without any rain, I must add) 4 to 3. Not to brag to heavily, Joey scored 3 of the 4 goals... his game was solid. What proud parents:) We "partied" afterwards at Round Table Pizza and drank lots of pop. Below is the picture of the previous weekend in the MUD! This doesn't do it justice:)

Stefan's season finished with a high as well with he scoring 2 goals Friday night. He was elated and cannot wait to play again. We celebrated at Burgerville (yeah, my favorite!) with milkshakes and burgers. He was so proud to receive his trophy... can you believe I forgot my camera? Daddy grabbed the cell phone and got a shot. I'll have to try and get it off of his phone and get it on the blog.

Are you ready for some football?!?!?!

If it is Sunday in the fall you can catch us watching football. I should say you can catch the boys watching football. I will watch the Packers and I will cruise through to see what is going on when I hear excited screaming, however, I can not sit for the day and watch every game. My darling husband, on the other hand, lives for this. It starts at 7a with the Sports Reporters and continues until 11p with ESPN recounts the day. I have to equate it to my need to create... scrapbook, make cards, etc. How else can someone love something so much.

I Love ya Joe...

Miss Em

Emmi had her 4-year-old check-up today (yes, her birthday was almost 6 weeks ago). I'm happy to report that she is a very healthy and TALL 4 year-old. She chatted with the doctor and told him about her preschool. She was very relieved that she didn't have to have SHOTS! Since she has a late birthday (by 3 days) she won't get to go to Kindergarten next year, so they will do it next year. She left in all smiles and picked a Batman sticker as her reward.

She also had school today, with Miss Theresa, whom she adores. She had a good day especially when her aid, Miss Lesley, gave her a huge spin on the tire swing:) She also informed me, however, that a little boy had hit her outside... no worries... she took care of it... she told on him. That's my girl!

Wow! It's started :)

I can't believe I've become a blogger! Is that even the right term?!?! I'm very new to this, but I find it very intriguing... I have to give it a try.

Soccer Night...
Tonight was soccer practice for the boys. They love it and work very hard. I sit and entertain Emmi and chat with other moms. Right now we are trying to decide which trophies to order for the team. I can't believe we only have a few weeks to go.

The picture on the bottom is of Joey warming up before a soccer game. He has quite a LEFT foot. He is really fun to watch. The intensity and passion is amazing. Although he can be totally goofing around and then turn around and be completely serious and down to business.

The picture on the top is obviously Stefan. What a surprise it has been to not only watch him play but also enjoy it. He loves to score goals and gets dissappointed when the other team does. As Joey says, "He's pretty good... I taught him everything I know." Love these kids!

All for now...