In our house everyone picks and chooses their own team. We don't have a "family" team in any sport and usually everyone roots for someone different. For example, Roman is a Jeff Gordon, Ravens, Marlins fan while James is a Kevin Harvick, Steelers, Orioles fan. Hope roots for Junior and loves the Redskins, while Bethany is all about those "Rothlisbergers"! So this weekend Hope comes across her old Redskins cheerleader costume and talks about how Catherine/Kathryn will wear it someday. Bethany comments that perhaps she'll be a "Rotherlisberger" fan instead. I casually mention that she may not like either.... "Maybe she'll be a Cowboys fan!"
Hope - "C-c-cowboys??" "Maybe I could just train her from birth and make her a Redskins fan."
Bethany - "Yeah, if she's gonna be a Cowboys fan, maybe we could just give her back!"
Monday, November 03, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Happy Birthday B & Happy Halloween!!!
Just wanted to wish my FIVE year old a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY today. And a Happy Halloween to everyone else. I will be trick or treating tonight with Captain Rex of the Storm Troopers, Gabriella from High School Musical, and a very special little BEE!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Today we celebrated Bethany's 5th birthday at Build-a-Bear Workshop. Our leader, Darbi, was fantastic. Bethany had a blast! She was joined by Roman, Hope, Abby, Megan, Emma, Abby C, Sam, Rebecca, Elijah, Makayla, and Austin. BAB was doing a Toys for Tots drive, so each child got to build a bear to donate and one to take home. They had a treasure hunt, stuffed their bears, did the heart thing - Bethany's got a birthday wish heart from each person, that's a LOT of hearts! We then headed over to Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro for ice cream sundays, cheesecake, and of course baby plates and Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker drinks - B's favorite! All in all it was a great day and we have one super happy birthday B!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
No living with him now!
Roman was on fire at this weekend's football game, as was his whole team. They won by 2 touchdowns. Roman played a fair amount today and of course... it's all because of HIM. LOL He bragged to his coaches after the game on what the season would have been like if hadn't been injured. Yup, definitely no living with him now!
It wasn't a completely perfect day though. During the Junior game, Roman and Eric got into a fight and Roman got caught off guard and fell and hit his head really hard. He went hysterical and confused and for a moment we thought we were headed back to the ER with a concussion, but in the end he was just THAT hysterical. We've had no problems with Eric this season, but last year he and Roman got into it a couple of times on the field leaving small scars on both of them. They get to playing too rough and it just gets out of control and turns ugly in the blink of an eye. Fortunately it's the last game and Eric does not attend Roman's school, so we won't have to deal with him again till next year.
We calmed him down with an unexpected visit to the Gendron's. Thank you Tracey!!! That Elijah time was just what my boy needed!
It wasn't a completely perfect day though. During the Junior game, Roman and Eric got into a fight and Roman got caught off guard and fell and hit his head really hard. He went hysterical and confused and for a moment we thought we were headed back to the ER with a concussion, but in the end he was just THAT hysterical. We've had no problems with Eric this season, but last year he and Roman got into it a couple of times on the field leaving small scars on both of them. They get to playing too rough and it just gets out of control and turns ugly in the blink of an eye. Fortunately it's the last game and Eric does not attend Roman's school, so we won't have to deal with him again till next year.
We calmed him down with an unexpected visit to the Gendron's. Thank you Tracey!!! That Elijah time was just what my boy needed!
Friday, October 17, 2008
How did that happen???
Today I had my appointment with Dr. Stone and a growth scan to make sure Catherine/Kathryn is growing on target. She is just perfect. BUT, that's not the shocker. When we ran through the vitals, my blood pressure, which has been averaging 145/89 throughout this entire pregnancy DROPPED to normal levels! Seriously!!!! Heading into the 3rd trimester it is natural for blood pressure to raise, not drop. What the heck?? We'll take it though! Instead of moving forward with weekly appointments and growth scans, doc has decided we can wait and see how it goes. I go back in 3 weeks for a regular OB check, then 2 weeks later for a checkup and growth scan. That takes up to Thanksgiving. WOW!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Not even a shadow
When someone breaks a bone there is almost always a shadow of the fracture left from where the bone fuses back together. When they went to xray Roman this week, they could find nothing, no fracture, no sign of a fracture, not even a shadow remains. He's been released of care for his broken finger, and no more need for the buddy tape or splint, and he will not require any physical therapy or prolonged care from this injury. That is one HAPPY BOY!!!! We were advised to go ahead and tape his first 2 fingers together for this week's game, but that it was total precaution as he has completely healed, but may have weaker muscles from being splinted for nearly 6 weeks.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Tie in Double OverTime
Roman got to play his first real game of the season! We put on his splint and wrapped it with sports wrap (yellow to match his uniform!) and off he went. His first play out and he jumped the start and coach took him right back out. He beat himself up on the sidelines for a bit, had a quick talk with dad and finally approached coach and asked to go in. That's exactly what Coach West was waiting for! He knew he was finally ready, really ready to head back out, because this time Roman WANTED to play. At the end of the game they were tied and into overtime they went. At the end of overtime they were still tied, so into double overtime they went.... once OT started, Roman never came off the field switching between offensive and defensive lines with more determination than probably any other player on the field. At the end of the second overtime they were still tied and the game ended in a draw. Roman's response.... it wasn't a total win, but I told you we wouldn't lose if I was on that field!
Yup, there'll be no living with him now!
Yup, there'll be no living with him now!
Friday, October 10, 2008
NAME OUR GIRL!!!!!
Okay, so we have finally decided on a name, but need help with the spelling and middle name. So, look over the choices, and weigh in in the comments section on what you think would be best. We've decided to go with Catherine/Kathryn for our newest little lady.
Soooooooooooooooooo,
Do you prefer Catherine or Kathryn??
And for a middle name, we've narrowed it down to 2 also - Ann or Alexis??
Catherine Ann Trettel
Kathryn Ann Trettel
Catherine Alexis Trettel
Kathryn Alexis Trettel
Which one would you choose?? James and I like both of these spellings and have elliminated other spelling variations, so no need to add Katherine or Katharine or Catharine or anything else to the list, these are the 2 we like. Catherine is the traditional Greek spelling while Kathryn is the traditional English spelling of the name. We may or may not use a nickname, all depends on her personality once we actually meet her. And no adding an "e" to Ann either, it's like that on purpose, after Aunt Philly and Aunt Kari!
EDIT BY JAMES: Roman threw a curveball this morning on us and came up with Rachael as a middle name. Julie and I both gave the "not bad" nod so I reckon it is on the list too.
Soooooooooooooooooo,
Do you prefer Catherine or Kathryn??
And for a middle name, we've narrowed it down to 2 also - Ann or Alexis??
Catherine Ann Trettel
Kathryn Ann Trettel
Catherine Alexis Trettel
Kathryn Alexis Trettel
Which one would you choose?? James and I like both of these spellings and have elliminated other spelling variations, so no need to add Katherine or Katharine or Catharine or anything else to the list, these are the 2 we like. Catherine is the traditional Greek spelling while Kathryn is the traditional English spelling of the name. We may or may not use a nickname, all depends on her personality once we actually meet her. And no adding an "e" to Ann either, it's like that on purpose, after Aunt Philly and Aunt Kari!
EDIT BY JAMES: Roman threw a curveball this morning on us and came up with Rachael as a middle name. Julie and I both gave the "not bad" nod so I reckon it is on the list too.
Catch Up
Man, it's been awhile since I was last here with an update. Soooooooooooooooo much has been going on with us! Yeah, i know that happens a lot lately! I guess with the baby on the way it's only gonna get crazier! I'll try to highlight the big things.....
1. Baby Update!!! Looking back through it looks like I haven't posted since we found out we're expecting another baby GIRL!!! I've had 2 u/s's already confirming this. She may have been stubborn to show her heart and major organs, but was definitely not shy about mooning the camera! LOL Yup, she's DEFINITELY a GIRL!!! Perhaps even more stubborn and ornery than Bethany.... is that possible?? After the initial shock of yet "another sister", even Roman has gotten on board with the excitement as we begin to prepare for her arrival.... in just a little over NINE weeks! Yikes!!!!
2. Bible School - All 3 kids attending VBS at Celebration Center in August. They had the BEST time. It was an awesome program. They are still singing all the songs they learned there. Roman found he knew several kids his age that go there and we are now attending on occassion while still trying to figure out where we need to be. Trinity also got a new pastor that we like a lot and look forward to getting to know better. For the time being we're bouncing primarily between these two.
3. Football and Cheerleading - James is coaching flags this year while Roman is playing in minor's and the girls are cheering for flags. James team started off with a bunch of 5 year old riff-raff. About 95% of the team are newbies that have never played football. It was a rough start as they headed into their first scrimmage game matched against a team on almost entirely 7 and young 8 year olds. The size difference alone in the teams was ridiculous and his little ones folded quickly. Many ran off the field crying, most everyone else stood around dazed and confused and not listening at all as they picked their noses, their wedges, or blades of grass on the field and let the other team literally run all over them! It wasn't a pretty site and the coaching staff was more than a little frustrated. Somewhere in the mix everything just came together though! His little team of riff-raff is currently UNDEFEATED!!!! LOL How that happened we don't know, but after a 31-6 stomping last week we stopped wondering and just accepted it. They are on fire! The girls have been enjoying cheering for them too and look so cute out there shaking their booties! Poor Roman's team though has had the exact opposite season. They kicked butt in their scrimmage game, and have not won a single season game yet. Roman has been benched all season (see below) and has been blaming himself. It's been a looooooooooong season where he's concerned! Poor kid!
4. Broken Finger! - Yup, you read right, the night before the first official game of the season Roman was playing basketball before practice and fell and jammed his finger, or so we all thought. As we arrived home it kept swelling more and more and started turning black and blue all down through his hand too. I didn't like the look of it and my mommy sense told me I couldn't let him play the next morning without knowing for sure the extent of damage. Expecting to be told it was a bad jam and all was fine, Roman and I headed to the ER. The ER is never fun on a Friday night, BUT even though we were there for almost 4 hours, I must say the staff was fantastic. Getting through the paperwork crap took the majority of that. Once we were fully in the system the ped on site sent him straight to Xrays before being seen saving us a ton of time! Once we got back to Xrays we were home in less than an hour! And the news was official.... his left index finger was broke just above his lower nuckle and overtop his growth plate. NO FOOTBALL. We went the next week expecting to be casted and hoping he could play then, but the break was into his growth plate, though does not appear to have done any permanent damage, and so they opted to hard splint/soft cast him. NO FOOTBALL. He took on the role of waterboy and did it with a smile despite the joking he got from friends and feeling miserable everytime they lost as the coaches bit their tongues with every urge to put him in. Poor kid. He's really been beating himself up over it. Oh, and despite it being his lefthand (he IS lefthanded of course!) he has not slowed one single bit with writing or usuage. Actually, this break has had the opposite affect as he now feels invincible! LOL The kid who has been scared of height since birth is now climbing to the tops of trees, walking across the TOP of the monkey bars like a balance beam, and generally taking on the persona of spiderman scaling and jumping off everything! It's like the last 8 years he's been hestitant to do these things for fear of breaking something. Now he's broke something, it wasn't so bad, so no more worries! HE'S DRIVING US CRAZY!!!!!!! The good news is that everything is healing quickly. He was upgraded to buddy tape last week and only uses his splint for PE, Recess, and FOOTBALL! He was cleared to practice this week and depending on what the CQL officials say regarding his splint, he may get to play this weekend. Not psyching him up too much, just in case they say no, but he will come in full gear this weekend just in case. Of course, if he plays and they win, and there's a good chance they will, they'll be no living with him!
5. School - Roman and Hope headed back to school last month. Hope is doing fantastic, straight A's as usual, no worries at all. She did not get the teacher she wanted, but didn't take more than a few seconds to wrap the one she did get about that cute little finger! Hope has Mrs. Kroll this year. Roman has Mrs. Thomas, and for some reason I just really really liked her from the second I met her. I don't know what it is, but I was jsut 100% confident with her and her ability to teach my child from the moment we met. We've had a few issues already this year, but overall it's been a smooth transition. He has been talking more than usual, which I find funny since past teachers comment on how quiet he is - but also a great sign of his comfort with Mrs. Thomas too! Then 2 weeks ago he came home with an F on a science quiz. Note Science is his BEST subject! We grounded him for a week, or rather, until his test came back to which he got an A! We had a looooooooong talk about grades and expectations. While I do not believe in pressuring a kid too much, or expecting all A's from him, I do expect a lot more than an F! It didn't help that part was a graph related and he did all the graph work correctly and just wrote down the wrong answers not paying attention! He has a high C in science right now as his midterm grades just came in, but I know he'll pull that up to a B before report cards. It was a tough lesson, but I think we are at an understanding now and hopefully he'll stop screwing around so much. Apparently it's very much a 3rd grade BOY issue as all his friends parents are complaining of the same things! LOL
6. Daisies - Daisies is the only other activity we're involved in right now. Both Hope and Bethany are in the girl scout program and loving it. Last year Hope's troop was 7 girls big, this year it's more than doubled that! We went on a field trip to the firehouse on Monday and had a fantastic time! Our fireman was a young kid who was just awesome with the kids. Roman went begrudgingly and admitted afterwards it was the best firestation tour ever!
Okay, that's the short of what we're up to these days.
1. Baby Update!!! Looking back through it looks like I haven't posted since we found out we're expecting another baby GIRL!!! I've had 2 u/s's already confirming this. She may have been stubborn to show her heart and major organs, but was definitely not shy about mooning the camera! LOL Yup, she's DEFINITELY a GIRL!!! Perhaps even more stubborn and ornery than Bethany.... is that possible?? After the initial shock of yet "another sister", even Roman has gotten on board with the excitement as we begin to prepare for her arrival.... in just a little over NINE weeks! Yikes!!!!
2. Bible School - All 3 kids attending VBS at Celebration Center in August. They had the BEST time. It was an awesome program. They are still singing all the songs they learned there. Roman found he knew several kids his age that go there and we are now attending on occassion while still trying to figure out where we need to be. Trinity also got a new pastor that we like a lot and look forward to getting to know better. For the time being we're bouncing primarily between these two.
3. Football and Cheerleading - James is coaching flags this year while Roman is playing in minor's and the girls are cheering for flags. James team started off with a bunch of 5 year old riff-raff. About 95% of the team are newbies that have never played football. It was a rough start as they headed into their first scrimmage game matched against a team on almost entirely 7 and young 8 year olds. The size difference alone in the teams was ridiculous and his little ones folded quickly. Many ran off the field crying, most everyone else stood around dazed and confused and not listening at all as they picked their noses, their wedges, or blades of grass on the field and let the other team literally run all over them! It wasn't a pretty site and the coaching staff was more than a little frustrated. Somewhere in the mix everything just came together though! His little team of riff-raff is currently UNDEFEATED!!!! LOL How that happened we don't know, but after a 31-6 stomping last week we stopped wondering and just accepted it. They are on fire! The girls have been enjoying cheering for them too and look so cute out there shaking their booties! Poor Roman's team though has had the exact opposite season. They kicked butt in their scrimmage game, and have not won a single season game yet. Roman has been benched all season (see below) and has been blaming himself. It's been a looooooooooong season where he's concerned! Poor kid!
4. Broken Finger! - Yup, you read right, the night before the first official game of the season Roman was playing basketball before practice and fell and jammed his finger, or so we all thought. As we arrived home it kept swelling more and more and started turning black and blue all down through his hand too. I didn't like the look of it and my mommy sense told me I couldn't let him play the next morning without knowing for sure the extent of damage. Expecting to be told it was a bad jam and all was fine, Roman and I headed to the ER. The ER is never fun on a Friday night, BUT even though we were there for almost 4 hours, I must say the staff was fantastic. Getting through the paperwork crap took the majority of that. Once we were fully in the system the ped on site sent him straight to Xrays before being seen saving us a ton of time! Once we got back to Xrays we were home in less than an hour! And the news was official.... his left index finger was broke just above his lower nuckle and overtop his growth plate. NO FOOTBALL. We went the next week expecting to be casted and hoping he could play then, but the break was into his growth plate, though does not appear to have done any permanent damage, and so they opted to hard splint/soft cast him. NO FOOTBALL. He took on the role of waterboy and did it with a smile despite the joking he got from friends and feeling miserable everytime they lost as the coaches bit their tongues with every urge to put him in. Poor kid. He's really been beating himself up over it. Oh, and despite it being his lefthand (he IS lefthanded of course!) he has not slowed one single bit with writing or usuage. Actually, this break has had the opposite affect as he now feels invincible! LOL The kid who has been scared of height since birth is now climbing to the tops of trees, walking across the TOP of the monkey bars like a balance beam, and generally taking on the persona of spiderman scaling and jumping off everything! It's like the last 8 years he's been hestitant to do these things for fear of breaking something. Now he's broke something, it wasn't so bad, so no more worries! HE'S DRIVING US CRAZY!!!!!!! The good news is that everything is healing quickly. He was upgraded to buddy tape last week and only uses his splint for PE, Recess, and FOOTBALL! He was cleared to practice this week and depending on what the CQL officials say regarding his splint, he may get to play this weekend. Not psyching him up too much, just in case they say no, but he will come in full gear this weekend just in case. Of course, if he plays and they win, and there's a good chance they will, they'll be no living with him!
5. School - Roman and Hope headed back to school last month. Hope is doing fantastic, straight A's as usual, no worries at all. She did not get the teacher she wanted, but didn't take more than a few seconds to wrap the one she did get about that cute little finger! Hope has Mrs. Kroll this year. Roman has Mrs. Thomas, and for some reason I just really really liked her from the second I met her. I don't know what it is, but I was jsut 100% confident with her and her ability to teach my child from the moment we met. We've had a few issues already this year, but overall it's been a smooth transition. He has been talking more than usual, which I find funny since past teachers comment on how quiet he is - but also a great sign of his comfort with Mrs. Thomas too! Then 2 weeks ago he came home with an F on a science quiz. Note Science is his BEST subject! We grounded him for a week, or rather, until his test came back to which he got an A! We had a looooooooong talk about grades and expectations. While I do not believe in pressuring a kid too much, or expecting all A's from him, I do expect a lot more than an F! It didn't help that part was a graph related and he did all the graph work correctly and just wrote down the wrong answers not paying attention! He has a high C in science right now as his midterm grades just came in, but I know he'll pull that up to a B before report cards. It was a tough lesson, but I think we are at an understanding now and hopefully he'll stop screwing around so much. Apparently it's very much a 3rd grade BOY issue as all his friends parents are complaining of the same things! LOL
6. Daisies - Daisies is the only other activity we're involved in right now. Both Hope and Bethany are in the girl scout program and loving it. Last year Hope's troop was 7 girls big, this year it's more than doubled that! We went on a field trip to the firehouse on Monday and had a fantastic time! Our fireman was a young kid who was just awesome with the kids. Roman went begrudgingly and admitted afterwards it was the best firestation tour ever!
Okay, that's the short of what we're up to these days.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Time just flies by
I have several things I want to post and just no time to do it these days! Here's a quick highlight of our summer......
1. Swim Team was a HUGE hit with Roman! He did fantastic placing 2nd several times in individual freestyle and backstroke and swimming his relay team to 1st place in their final meet. He even made it to Champs his first summer out in both Relay Medley and Freestyle Relay. At the awards ceremony he was given the Coaches Award which goes to the kid with the best attitude, a role model, spirited and encouraging, and always willing to work. They mentioned how every morning he's right on time running into the pool, kicking off his shoes and shirt and diving right in eager to get started despite the early 8 am hour. Now, anyone who knows us knows we are never on time for anything! LOL This was 100% all Roman! He got sick of waiting for daddy and the girls to drag out of bed and early on began getting himself up and out the door riding his scooter to the pool to ensure he wasn't late. He is also not typically a morning person at all. Getting him up for school and out the door by 9:20 is a tiring task which just goes to further show just how much Roman loved swim team!!!
2. Teeth are falling out everywhere!!! Hopey lost 2 more teeth this summer and just last night Bethany lost her very first tooth! She was soooooooooooooo excited! She fell on Friday and busted her mouth knocking the tooth loose. Upon further inspection we quickly noticed that her permanent tooth was already in placed and surfaced, so she would have lost it in the next few weeks anyway. We left it be for a few days to let the pain dull and the gum heal some, but last night it was poking her and just barely hanging on and for the first time she let me touch it without screaming and that's about all it took to fall out. She squealed with excitement and nearly missed the toothfairy as it was pushing midnight before she finally settled down and drifted off to sleep.
3. Baby appears to be doing well and growing so far. Our big u/s is coming up later this month!
4. Cheerleading and football season are kicking off. WOW, already??
5. Bike riding - The girls are enjoying learning to ride their bikes and Roman just took off one day on his.... which he has refused to ride or even try since we refused to put training wheels on it! AS usual with him, when he was ready off he went with full confidence!
Okay, there's a lot more, just little time these days!
1. Swim Team was a HUGE hit with Roman! He did fantastic placing 2nd several times in individual freestyle and backstroke and swimming his relay team to 1st place in their final meet. He even made it to Champs his first summer out in both Relay Medley and Freestyle Relay. At the awards ceremony he was given the Coaches Award which goes to the kid with the best attitude, a role model, spirited and encouraging, and always willing to work. They mentioned how every morning he's right on time running into the pool, kicking off his shoes and shirt and diving right in eager to get started despite the early 8 am hour. Now, anyone who knows us knows we are never on time for anything! LOL This was 100% all Roman! He got sick of waiting for daddy and the girls to drag out of bed and early on began getting himself up and out the door riding his scooter to the pool to ensure he wasn't late. He is also not typically a morning person at all. Getting him up for school and out the door by 9:20 is a tiring task which just goes to further show just how much Roman loved swim team!!!
2. Teeth are falling out everywhere!!! Hopey lost 2 more teeth this summer and just last night Bethany lost her very first tooth! She was soooooooooooooo excited! She fell on Friday and busted her mouth knocking the tooth loose. Upon further inspection we quickly noticed that her permanent tooth was already in placed and surfaced, so she would have lost it in the next few weeks anyway. We left it be for a few days to let the pain dull and the gum heal some, but last night it was poking her and just barely hanging on and for the first time she let me touch it without screaming and that's about all it took to fall out. She squealed with excitement and nearly missed the toothfairy as it was pushing midnight before she finally settled down and drifted off to sleep.
3. Baby appears to be doing well and growing so far. Our big u/s is coming up later this month!
4. Cheerleading and football season are kicking off. WOW, already??
5. Bike riding - The girls are enjoying learning to ride their bikes and Roman just took off one day on his.... which he has refused to ride or even try since we refused to put training wheels on it! AS usual with him, when he was ready off he went with full confidence!
Okay, there's a lot more, just little time these days!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Swim Team
This summer Roman has been enjoying Swim Team! It's a big commitment (for James! hehe) with daily practices at 8am. I can not tell you how proud we are of this kid. He gets up every morning with a smile, throws on his suit and heads to the pool by scooter while James struggles to get him and the girls caught up to him. He is loving and thriving on swim team. Two great coaches, Coach Ally and Coach Brian. This is his first non-team sport and it's taken awhile to sink in that yeah, he's part of a team, but more importantly he needs to concentrate on HIS strokes, HIS times, it's really about HIM. Once he got that through his thick skull he's been thriving. He is doing great on all 4 strokes and mastering his freestyle. In fact he was awarded the Coaches Award for model behavior (lol who'd have thought THAT! LOL) AND swam his relay team to a 1st place finish earning himself a spot on relay for Champs! That's a BIG deal in swimming, but especially as a first year!
Coach Brian has been recruiting Hope all summer who we informed had to swim the length of the pool unassisted before joining. Of course by mid summer she did and B was right behind her, so looking like we'll have 3 on swim team for next summer!
Coach Brian has been recruiting Hope all summer who we informed had to swim the length of the pool unassisted before joining. Of course by mid summer she did and B was right behind her, so looking like we'll have 3 on swim team for next summer!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Roman as an Only Child
This week the girls are at Aunt Kari and Uncle Kermit's attending VBS with Abby and Megan. While Roman is home with us enjoying his time as an only child! Here's a few things we did...
- WallE - hated it! All 3 of us really disliked this movie. I don't know why all the great reviews, we thought it stunk!
- Laser Tag - a first for dad and the boy and they are now addicted!!
- shopping - yeah, he scored several new toys and stuff he really didn't need, it's a lot harder to say no when there's only one! LOL
- spoiled - yup, spoiled spoiled spoiled with days of video games, hanging out with dad, eating at his fav restaurants, you name it, we did it and we all enjoyed every second!
Yes we missed the girls tremendously, but they had a great time and appear to have missed us very little! LOL
- WallE - hated it! All 3 of us really disliked this movie. I don't know why all the great reviews, we thought it stunk!
- Laser Tag - a first for dad and the boy and they are now addicted!!
- shopping - yeah, he scored several new toys and stuff he really didn't need, it's a lot harder to say no when there's only one! LOL
- spoiled - yup, spoiled spoiled spoiled with days of video games, hanging out with dad, eating at his fav restaurants, you name it, we did it and we all enjoyed every second!
Yes we missed the girls tremendously, but they had a great time and appear to have missed us very little! LOL
Thursday, June 26, 2008
What happened to June?!?
WOW!!! What the heck happened to the month of June?? For me it's been 60 hour work weeks and little free time. Insanity at it's highest! School has let out for the summer. Roman has finished up baseball season and rolled full swing into swimming. And he's LOVING it!!! That boy rocks! Two 5th place finishes and a 4th in his first meet. He finished 4th and 5th again in his second meet this past Tuesday, but shave over a full second off both times in freestyle and backstroke. The girls are loving easy summer life spent lounging around the pool with all their friends. And this week they are visiting Abby, Megan and Emma and having a great time. It is VBS week at their church so Aunt Kari and Uncle Kermit invited the girls up for the week. We pick them up on Sunday. Boy do I miss those 2! Life is certainly QUIET without my girls around and I have been seriously outnumbered for the first time in ages! Roman is thoroughly loving being an only child for the week too.
Well since I don't have much time to catch up on here right this sec, I am going to go ahead and tag this in officially for anyone who reads and has not yet heard our great news. Pandemonium in the Trettel house is reaching an all-time high come 2009 as we increase our family by one more. The kids are ecstatic. Roman is praying hard for a baby brother this time. I am officially due January 4th, but assuming all goes well he or she will arrive the week before Christmas... Roman's birthday week! Yikes! Two Christmas babies!!! My next doctor's appointment is in a week, July 3rd. I will officially be in the 2nd trimester and ready to relax and begin to prepare for this little one's upcoming arrival. I just need to hear that heartbeat one more time, and outside the 1st trimester to really feel confident this one's a keeper!
Well since I don't have much time to catch up on here right this sec, I am going to go ahead and tag this in officially for anyone who reads and has not yet heard our great news. Pandemonium in the Trettel house is reaching an all-time high come 2009 as we increase our family by one more. The kids are ecstatic. Roman is praying hard for a baby brother this time. I am officially due January 4th, but assuming all goes well he or she will arrive the week before Christmas... Roman's birthday week! Yikes! Two Christmas babies!!! My next doctor's appointment is in a week, July 3rd. I will officially be in the 2nd trimester and ready to relax and begin to prepare for this little one's upcoming arrival. I just need to hear that heartbeat one more time, and outside the 1st trimester to really feel confident this one's a keeper!
Monday, June 02, 2008
The trip that just didn't want to end!
I'll keep it short.....
Got to the airport plenty early, checked in without a hitch, found our flight deck, went for breakfast, flight deck moved. Then flight deck moved AGAIN. About 10 minutes to boarding the "delayed" sign began to flash. A guesstimated 1 hour delay, which turned into 3. Nothing more assuring than watching a bunch of technicians working on the ENGINE just before take off!!! We board and get settled in. Oops, there's an electrical failure! Everyone must get back off. BONUS.... we each get a $10 dinner voucher, a $25 off coupon for future flight or upgrade, AND a free round trip ticket to use anytime in the next year. We are SUPER excited about that! Let's face it, flying is NEVER cheap with a family of 5! I lucked out and grabbed up these tickets for less than $600 for all 5 of us which is insanely cheap, but to know we're getting TWO flights out of it... now THAT's a BARGAIN!!!! We spent out meal vouchers at Outback for a nice meal that made me nauseous as everyone ordered rare steak... yuck! And poor Hopey was so exhausted she fell asleep sitting straight up with her fork still in her hand. Finally boarded the plane around 6:45 for a 2 hour flight that took a little longer even due to storms over Richmond which rerouted us west, but we DID arrive back to Baltimore safe and sound. AS it was so late and we were all so exhausted we opted to spend the night with Jim and Gail and take our time getting home on Monday.
So that's the short of our return that never wanted to end! Yeah, I know, I could have done better, but I'm exhausted! LOL
Got to the airport plenty early, checked in without a hitch, found our flight deck, went for breakfast, flight deck moved. Then flight deck moved AGAIN. About 10 minutes to boarding the "delayed" sign began to flash. A guesstimated 1 hour delay, which turned into 3. Nothing more assuring than watching a bunch of technicians working on the ENGINE just before take off!!! We board and get settled in. Oops, there's an electrical failure! Everyone must get back off. BONUS.... we each get a $10 dinner voucher, a $25 off coupon for future flight or upgrade, AND a free round trip ticket to use anytime in the next year. We are SUPER excited about that! Let's face it, flying is NEVER cheap with a family of 5! I lucked out and grabbed up these tickets for less than $600 for all 5 of us which is insanely cheap, but to know we're getting TWO flights out of it... now THAT's a BARGAIN!!!! We spent out meal vouchers at Outback for a nice meal that made me nauseous as everyone ordered rare steak... yuck! And poor Hopey was so exhausted she fell asleep sitting straight up with her fork still in her hand. Finally boarded the plane around 6:45 for a 2 hour flight that took a little longer even due to storms over Richmond which rerouted us west, but we DID arrive back to Baltimore safe and sound. AS it was so late and we were all so exhausted we opted to spend the night with Jim and Gail and take our time getting home on Monday.
So that's the short of our return that never wanted to end! Yeah, I know, I could have done better, but I'm exhausted! LOL
Saturday, May 31, 2008
5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 Party Time!!
Today was Andrew's graduation party. Ronda, Kari, Renee and I spent most of the morning prepping food and decorating the pool area. Everything went off without a hitch and we all enjoyed a great party. As usually it was difficult getting the kids out of the pool. They're addicted to that thing! In the middle of the party the shuttle went up without a hitch. We watched the preparation and count down on the TV then ran out to the yard to watch the shuttle take off. Roman was in awe!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Graduation Day - Congratulations Andrew!!!!
Today was Andrew's graduation. So hard to believe this kid is out of high school! Wow. Am I really getting THAT old?? Or rather is Ronda, cause let's face it I was only 12 when he was born! LOL It was a gorgeous sunny evening as we all headed to his school's footfield to watch the ceremony. And it actually wasn't half bad either. The speakers were almost entertaining even. The kids also enjoyed seeing another big cousin walk down the aisle to except that most important piece of paper! It's important to me that they know WHY we're there and what it all means and the significance of a high school graduation. I know because of the example set by their big cousins, my kids too will someday walk across a similar stage to except theirs!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
More KSC and beach fun!
Since Abby and Megan were at Aunt Ronda's, Bethany did NOT want to leave. So, she stayed with them and James, Roman, Hope and I headed back to Kennedy Space Center for more fun. It was strange not having the Bmonster with us, but we all had a fantastic time! We started with the Shuttle Launch Experience and this time Hope didn't chicken out. In fact, she loved it!! Then we toured Explorer and caught the Launch status report. We had to exit that a bit premature in hunt for a bathroom. James and Roman then headed to the rocket garden while Hope and I went to the playground. We had a quick space dots break then caught "Mad Mission to Mars", a fun children's skit. It was partially 3-D and also had audience participation. My kids are very leary of volunteering for such things, well, maybe not B, but Hope and Roman definitely are! So, when the first 4 volunteers were called up they sat on their hands with heads down to avoid notice. LOL All the kids had to do was hold a ball so show the solar system... no big deal. So the next time a volunteer was called, Professor Hope Von Braun hesitantly raised her hand. She got to go up, they were VERY excited to meet her and then she got to demonstrate gravity by shooting off a rocket across the stage. Way cool! She was very proud of herself! Next up..... a wacky space chair?? The possibilities alone sent Roman's hand flying up into the air before he could think straight. Much to my amazement he ran on up too, AND was not disappointed. The new captains chair was decked out with boosters that raised him to the roof. As he grinned, the two astronauts started a cheer.... R-O-M-A-N Roman Roman!!! He pumped his arms in the air in triumph and just totally played into it. It was too cute! After the show we headed to see the robots and called it a day. There was soooooooooooooooooooooo much more to see, but Sarah was getting out of school early and we all wanted to head to the beach too.
We made it back to Ronda's in time for lunch, then packed everyone.... Kari, Kermit, Abby, Megan, Emma, Sarah, James, Roman, Hope, Bethany and me .... into cars and headed for the beach! The kids swore they saw lots of dolphins and manatees while crossing the river. I'm not too sure they weren't imagining them, but I can say for certain that we saw plenty more sting rays once at the beach! A whole group of about 8 that twice swam past us. The last time they passed Kermit yells, "Kari, STOP!" What does she do?? She takes off running as fast as she can to get out of that water! LOL It was a little rainy while we were at the beach and quite windy. Still we hung out for a good hour or more before heading home for a dip in the pool and dinner before attempting to settle in a baby and 5 excited kids ages 3-8 for the night, all in one adult free room! After a busy day in the sun, they surprisingly began dropping like flies with little fuss!
We made it back to Ronda's in time for lunch, then packed everyone.... Kari, Kermit, Abby, Megan, Emma, Sarah, James, Roman, Hope, Bethany and me .... into cars and headed for the beach! The kids swore they saw lots of dolphins and manatees while crossing the river. I'm not too sure they weren't imagining them, but I can say for certain that we saw plenty more sting rays once at the beach! A whole group of about 8 that twice swam past us. The last time they passed Kermit yells, "Kari, STOP!" What does she do?? She takes off running as fast as she can to get out of that water! LOL It was a little rainy while we were at the beach and quite windy. Still we hung out for a good hour or more before heading home for a dip in the pool and dinner before attempting to settle in a baby and 5 excited kids ages 3-8 for the night, all in one adult free room! After a busy day in the sun, they surprisingly began dropping like flies with little fuss!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Kennedy Space Center
Today we slept in, then got up and headed off to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. I used to work out at Kennedy and James worked as needed on as an ultra-sonic tester for the rockets out of Canaveral Air Force base. We loved being a part of the space program while we lived there and looked forward to passing this onto our kids. They didn't disappoint! Roman was fascinated by everything. Hope and Bethany enjoyed it too. We decided to start off with the tour. Our 3 hour tour was closer to 5, but hey, we saw EVERYTHING! Of course, with a launch just a few days away they got to see the shuttle on pad A from the observation deck. It was a bit hot out there so we treated ourselves to some space dots. Man are those things addictive! Roman loved the little astronaut helmet they served it in and washed it out in the bathroom and carried it with him the rest of the day. After the tour we went into the gift shop, he set it down and walked away! Later we stopped for nachos and ice cream and he convinced the cashier to give him another. We ended our day at Kennedy for the new Shuttle Launch Experience! Man was that awesome!!!! Bethany was too short so we had to do a parent swap with her. Hope just barely made the cut, but when the noise and smoke and cautions during the video prior to simulation scared her enough that she was NOT going near that thing! LOL James, Hope, and Bethany were escorted to a live feed room to watch. They saw the same video, and us in the simulator, they just didn't feel the motions. Basically it starts by putting you on your back feeling as if you're in a shuttle ready for lift off. The count down begins, you feel the rumbles as the boosters fire and the vibrations of lift off. You're walked through every step of the way, as the engines die down, then back up again before entering orbit where they simulate a feeling of weightlessness and open the doors overhead with an aerial shot of earth. It was amazing! When we came off James got to go on while I stayed with the girls. Roman loved it so much he snuck on with James for a second ride! During their ride and listening to me explain it to another mom on kid swap, Hope decided it wasn't so scary, but it was too late. The park was closing and we were late for dinner!
Of course Ronda was also late for dinner, so we missed our reservation and had to wait. On the way over she called and said it was a reservation for 15 that she had invited some friends. Doing the math, with 5 additional people, our suspicions were confirmed.... Kari and Kermit surprised us by arriving a day early! We all met at Dixie Crossroads, a family favorite and the most amazing rock shrimp ever!!! You just can't get seafood like that in Richmond! The kids were really surprised and so excited to see Abby, Megan and Emma. Once we finally got our table everything went perfectly. We had a great waitress, the service and food were excellent, and everyone was in great spirits. The perfect ending to a great day!!
Of course Ronda was also late for dinner, so we missed our reservation and had to wait. On the way over she called and said it was a reservation for 15 that she had invited some friends. Doing the math, with 5 additional people, our suspicions were confirmed.... Kari and Kermit surprised us by arriving a day early! We all met at Dixie Crossroads, a family favorite and the most amazing rock shrimp ever!!! You just can't get seafood like that in Richmond! The kids were really surprised and so excited to see Abby, Megan and Emma. Once we finally got our table everything went perfectly. We had a great waitress, the service and food were excellent, and everyone was in great spirits. The perfect ending to a great day!!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Big Day for Animals
In coming to Florida the kids learned a lot about the local wildlife. We saw alligators at the zoo yesterday. Hope's biggest wish was to see a real dolphin. So, in crossing Banana River to head to the beach today I reminded them to keep an eye out for dolphins and Sarah saw one! It was hanging out next to the bridge. We quickly stopped and when he surfaced the first time we could have reached out and touched him he was so close! We watched for a good 15 minutes in awe. As we were preparing to the leave, not more than 15 feet away this giant tail came out of nowhere and we all recognized the classic manatee! He sat in the water within view for awhile, but never resurfaced for us. Still it was quite exciting!
We then headed off for a fun day at the beach! We spent several hours there, just our little family and Sarah. The water was great! However, our neighbors, well, let's just say shocking!!! The 2 ladies next to us were sun bathing in the buff, or nearly. They at least had the decency to keep their bottoms on, though there were little left to the imagination with their tiny string bikinis. And yes, they were topless, and NO Cape Canaveral is NOT a nudist beach! The shock on several of the men's faces walking by was priceless! Sarah and I couldn't stop laughing at one in particular. He was kinda creepy and kept walking back and forth pacing in front of them. He would openly gawk, then sit and just stare at them, get up and pace, the sit on the other side of them and stare. It was crazy!!!
There were also 2 fisherman just past the bathing nudies and one of them caught a large sting ray. He was probably a good 3 foot in wing span. The kids enjoyed watching him real him in, then set him loose again. We spent the rest of the time building sand castles so Bethany could destroy them and catching minnows. Roman and Sarah also did some boogie boarding.
After that we headed back to the house for a swim in the pool and dinner. After dinner we kidnapped Andrew (he was finishing a final!) and headed back to the beach for an evening walk. This time to Cocoa Beach as Andrew wanted to show us where he works. He works at an Inn in Cocoa Beach about a mile from the pier. We met the two dogs that live at the Inn and headed for the beach. We started towards the pier, not expecting to actually make it. Roman and Bethany of course headed straight for the water and wasn't long before they were drenched, despite numerous threats and attempts to keep them from the water. They didn't grasp the concept of walking on the beach. Why go to the beach and not get wet?? Kids! About 3/4ths of the way to the pier Sarah remembered it was karaoke night there, so we set off to join the fun. Of course we all arrive in bare feet, covered in sand, no money, and 2 dripping kids, but hey, it's the beach! No one even gave us a second look. After 1 fantastic singer, and too many horrific ones to count, much griping from Andrew about wasting so much time there, and 2 sleeping kids, Sarah's turn finally came. She same Redneck Woman by Gretchen Wilson and did fantastic!!! It was great and lots of fun.
On the way back to the Inn Hope announced she had to pee.... NOW. Andrew weighed the options, grabbed her and ran back to the pier. We saw her riding on his back as he ran thinking, what an idiot! LOL NO WAY would have put her on my back! LOL We knew all was fine when they returned later the same way. Once back at the Inn Andrew gave us a tour of the hotel. It was neat for the kids to see what goes on behind the scenes. He also took us back to meet his birds. Andrew was hired on 2 years ago primarily to maintain 2 Macaws that live on the property. Although he does many other things for them now, he still also take cares of the birds. One red, one blue, they are absolutely gorgeous! They are too big and their claws too sharp for the kids to handle, but they did get to pet them and we got pictures (again, if Sarah will send them to me, I'll post some!).
After a dolphin, a manatee, a sting ray, 2 macaws, a full day in the sun and water, plus a 2 mile walk on the beach, the kids crashed hard!
We then headed off for a fun day at the beach! We spent several hours there, just our little family and Sarah. The water was great! However, our neighbors, well, let's just say shocking!!! The 2 ladies next to us were sun bathing in the buff, or nearly. They at least had the decency to keep their bottoms on, though there were little left to the imagination with their tiny string bikinis. And yes, they were topless, and NO Cape Canaveral is NOT a nudist beach! The shock on several of the men's faces walking by was priceless! Sarah and I couldn't stop laughing at one in particular. He was kinda creepy and kept walking back and forth pacing in front of them. He would openly gawk, then sit and just stare at them, get up and pace, the sit on the other side of them and stare. It was crazy!!!
There were also 2 fisherman just past the bathing nudies and one of them caught a large sting ray. He was probably a good 3 foot in wing span. The kids enjoyed watching him real him in, then set him loose again. We spent the rest of the time building sand castles so Bethany could destroy them and catching minnows. Roman and Sarah also did some boogie boarding.
After that we headed back to the house for a swim in the pool and dinner. After dinner we kidnapped Andrew (he was finishing a final!) and headed back to the beach for an evening walk. This time to Cocoa Beach as Andrew wanted to show us where he works. He works at an Inn in Cocoa Beach about a mile from the pier. We met the two dogs that live at the Inn and headed for the beach. We started towards the pier, not expecting to actually make it. Roman and Bethany of course headed straight for the water and wasn't long before they were drenched, despite numerous threats and attempts to keep them from the water. They didn't grasp the concept of walking on the beach. Why go to the beach and not get wet?? Kids! About 3/4ths of the way to the pier Sarah remembered it was karaoke night there, so we set off to join the fun. Of course we all arrive in bare feet, covered in sand, no money, and 2 dripping kids, but hey, it's the beach! No one even gave us a second look. After 1 fantastic singer, and too many horrific ones to count, much griping from Andrew about wasting so much time there, and 2 sleeping kids, Sarah's turn finally came. She same Redneck Woman by Gretchen Wilson and did fantastic!!! It was great and lots of fun.
On the way back to the Inn Hope announced she had to pee.... NOW. Andrew weighed the options, grabbed her and ran back to the pier. We saw her riding on his back as he ran thinking, what an idiot! LOL NO WAY would have put her on my back! LOL We knew all was fine when they returned later the same way. Once back at the Inn Andrew gave us a tour of the hotel. It was neat for the kids to see what goes on behind the scenes. He also took us back to meet his birds. Andrew was hired on 2 years ago primarily to maintain 2 Macaws that live on the property. Although he does many other things for them now, he still also take cares of the birds. One red, one blue, they are absolutely gorgeous! They are too big and their claws too sharp for the kids to handle, but they did get to pet them and we got pictures (again, if Sarah will send them to me, I'll post some!).
After a dolphin, a manatee, a sting ray, 2 macaws, a full day in the sun and water, plus a 2 mile walk on the beach, the kids crashed hard!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Happy Memorial Day!!
Today Ronda, Andrew, Sarah, James, Roman, Hope, Bethany and I headed to the zoo, well, after Ronda took us for a detour! Yup, she got lost on the way!! We're following behind her with James in the passenger seat... "Where does she think she's going?" "It's off Wickham, I'm telling you, it's off the Wickham!" "The woman couldn't get herself out of a brown paper bag!" "Does she ever come off the island?" "I'm telling you, she missed the exit." "She's wrong!" Of course we get off the next exit, which is a good 10 minutes up the road and my cell rings.... "Julie, where's the zoo?? Andrew thinks we passed it and should have gotten off at the last exit! I thought it was this one." hahahahahahahaha, yup, James's "I told you so's" were enough to drive even the sanest person mad!
In route back to the zoo, we stopped at RJ Gators for lunch where all 3 of my kids actually ate alligator tail! AND, they LIKED it!!!
Finally we arrived at the zoo. We toured La Selva, then quickly made our way around the Florida wildlife exhibit to get back around in time to see the alligator feedings, which about 15 minutes after what should have been the start, we read the small print that says, "Wednesdays and Saturdays only" Ooops! Roman was disappointed to miss the feeding, but loved seeing the alligators up close like that. Next we went on the train. It sucked! We didn't really see much on the train ride itself, and the conductor was all kinds of rude, but seeing James get in and out of the tiny kid sized train was worth the laugh! Sorry hon, but it was funny!!! After the train nightmare we stopped for cold drinks and headed to Australia. Several years ago when Andrew and Joey were maybe 12/13 years old, we took them to this same zoo and in the middle of the Australia exhibit they got their first real up close and personal lesson on the birds and the bees as we had to explain just what exactly these 2 Kangaroos were doing! Andrew couldn't stop giggling through the exhibit just thinking about it, and fortunately, my kids were spared this life lesson!!! They did however, thoroughly enjoy feeling the Lorey's. They were beautiful and fun. I'll post pics if Sarah sends me some. There were tons of them everywhere and the kids got to hold, pet and feed them. Can't say as much for the giraffes though. When we got to Africa the only animal in sight was the white rhino. While he was awesome to watch, we were disappointed to learn the giraffes were not out and our tickets to feed them were worthless. Oh well! Overall it was a really nice day!
Oh yeah, and later in the evening, Sarah pulled Hope's tooth #9 out! Hope was thrilled!!!
In route back to the zoo, we stopped at RJ Gators for lunch where all 3 of my kids actually ate alligator tail! AND, they LIKED it!!!
Finally we arrived at the zoo. We toured La Selva, then quickly made our way around the Florida wildlife exhibit to get back around in time to see the alligator feedings, which about 15 minutes after what should have been the start, we read the small print that says, "Wednesdays and Saturdays only" Ooops! Roman was disappointed to miss the feeding, but loved seeing the alligators up close like that. Next we went on the train. It sucked! We didn't really see much on the train ride itself, and the conductor was all kinds of rude, but seeing James get in and out of the tiny kid sized train was worth the laugh! Sorry hon, but it was funny!!! After the train nightmare we stopped for cold drinks and headed to Australia. Several years ago when Andrew and Joey were maybe 12/13 years old, we took them to this same zoo and in the middle of the Australia exhibit they got their first real up close and personal lesson on the birds and the bees as we had to explain just what exactly these 2 Kangaroos were doing! Andrew couldn't stop giggling through the exhibit just thinking about it, and fortunately, my kids were spared this life lesson!!! They did however, thoroughly enjoy feeling the Lorey's. They were beautiful and fun. I'll post pics if Sarah sends me some. There were tons of them everywhere and the kids got to hold, pet and feed them. Can't say as much for the giraffes though. When we got to Africa the only animal in sight was the white rhino. While he was awesome to watch, we were disappointed to learn the giraffes were not out and our tickets to feed them were worthless. Oh well! Overall it was a really nice day!
Oh yeah, and later in the evening, Sarah pulled Hope's tooth #9 out! Hope was thrilled!!!
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