Month: October 2012

Ninjas & Destroyers

October 23, 2012 admin 1 Comment

Fall soccer has come and gone. Wasn’t that fast! Ben coached both teams again this year and we had a lot of fun. Wednesday evenings we’d eat pancakes and then hurry to the practice field at 5:30. Packer’s team practiced for 45 minutes and then Benji’s team for an hour. I liked being at the practices. Cali will be old enough to play next fall. Do we dare let Ben try to coach a third team? The kids have been able to be on the same team as their cousins so that makes it extra fun.

Braden, Packer, Sam, Calista, Trevor, Luca, Eli. Jake wasn’t there. Packer loved the treats the most, practices second, and games the least. He is still a very timid player but he did come through with 2 goals. There are lot of standouts on his team and they went undefeated. Good Job Green Ninjas!

The Destroyers were also green this year. Benji switched to all boys ( no cousins). Bigger field. Bigger goals. They have goalies now and throw ins. His team was all the boys that he played with for the last three years and combined with a new set of boys. Benji, Cannon, Seth, Tua, Abe, Austin, Kael, Gabe, Hayden. Connor was gone.

Benji has decided that he likes defence. He is on the far left. He has improved but still has a tendency to get out of the way instead of taking it and away. The Destroyers had 3 wins, 3 losses, and 1 tie game.

Categories: Benji, Packer

Collage Fun

October 18, 2012 admin 1 Comment

what to do with lots of pictures – make lots of picture collages 🙂

Cali LOVES my phone. She loves to play games on it and she LOVES to use the camera on it. She takes lots of self portraits and some good ones of her little friends. Once in a while I will find fun random pictures from her point of view and this last week she was showing Packer the joys of taking your own picture.

Fall is in the air. It’s cool and beautiful and exciting. The kids were so excited for October 1st and the Fall festivities. We are planning our Great Pumpkin Party for the last Friday night of the month – Be Here.

We have tried on lots of costumes! We went through our box and the girls went through a box at their cousins house. Dress up is so much fun!

My brothers and their people come over most Sundays. I love that they live close enough to do that and we all look forward to that time together. I just love the picture of Ray raising his hand – cute. And Ben had the boys sporting Mozy Head Bands most of the night.

That night we got to celebrate Taylee’s 12th birthday! She is so fun and smart and pretty and I love that she takes time to play with my kids even though she is older. And yes, she talked on purpose so that everyone could eat their cake under the table with her.

Rose is getting so big. She is communicating a lot. She has a fun and feisty personality. She decided to pose for some pics on Sunday so here she is with her hair combed – the bow lasted almost an hour this time! unfortunately she was ready for church 2 hours before so no one got to see her cuteness.

One of the reasons the kids get excited for October is for the Caramel Apples. Ben is Mr. Tradition and Mr. Fun so the kids really look forward to fun traditions with their dad. We rolled them in butterfinger, andes mints and heath chips.

Categories: General, Nettesheim

Fall Break

October 18, 2012 admin No Comments

First, cute pictures of my kids that had a fun time with cousins while I had a rejuvenating break in Florida: Cali stayed with 3 older girl cousins while we were gone. She got her hair curled cute one of the days. She also decided the day before I left that she would be a big girl and wear her underwear while I was gone. I sent her with diapers but she brought them all back home. I am THRILLED to report that she is doing great. Very few accidents this last week!

The Boys had crazy hair day while I was gone. Packer wanted spikes and Benji wanted to do his own bed head 🙂 I was glad to see them doing just fine without me. And I don’t have a Rose picture when we were gone but we skyped with her a few of the days and when we got home I asked if she wanted to go back and sleep at Christians – I assumed she would give me a strong NO, but I was wrong and had to spend the next 10 minutes convincing her to sleep in her bed 🙂 She has picked up strongly on the phrase “no nap” and is very against napping. Why do my 2 year olds think they can do that 🙁 (I’m still pushing the nap).

I got home from Florida late wednesday/thursday morning and the kids started Fall Break on that same Thursday! So we had 5 days of no school and no plan. We didn’t go anywhere or do much but we had fun just being home and being together. Raymond turned 8 months.

Did I mention that Packer scored 2 goals in his soccer game!! Of course he did it while Ben and I were in Florida but he did it. My sister in law has video proof! So we got to take the family to ice cream. Love his smile. He chose bubblegum with bubblegum.

Thurday and Friday we got out some of the Halloween boxes and just played and enjoyed being home. Ben has had a never ending cold congestion thing that won’t go away so we have been a little lazy fighting that and trying to keep the kids healthy. The Fall weather arrived with fall break – another reason for our chillness.

Benji and Packer got to go to Taylee’s birthday party Friday night. They loved painting pumpkins and staying up LATE. The rest of us hung out at Pete’s and visited with Ben’s parents.

Ben brought home Harry Potter Jelly Beans one of the nights so we all had to try the nasty flavors:

I got Flowers Just Because:

Or maybe my husband knew that I had been trying to get the house clean and needed flowers for the clean kitchen. Cali is a major camera-a-holic and got this shot of me sweeping.

Other fall break highlights were our Sunday Evening dinner and games. A Green Bay Packer win. Visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Johnson. And our annual caramel apple night.

Real life is back in full swing. School, scouts, schedules. Grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning. Going on walks, playing out front with friends, trying to get organized. Homework, reading, bedtimes. And the Last night of soccer practice is tonight. We will miss watching and coaching the boys but we will be glad to take our Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings back. That should bring you up to date on the J and B Netty’s. I have a thousand more pictures so I will need to post more but for now we’ll leave you with a shot of our little Rosie Monkey…

Categories: General, Robertson

8 Months

October 14, 2012 admin No Comments

Ray Ray is 8 months. Rose calls him Rway Rway so it is starting to stick for me to. He is a mover. As soon as I put him down he is off looking for something to shove in his mouth or he heads straight for the stairs to do a little pulling up and climbing. Last week he learned to sit up from crawling position. Now he is pulling himself up to his knees. I think feet will come soon. He cut his 3rd tooth last week. He goes to bed at 8:30, wakes up one time during the morning hours and then stays in bed until 9am. He takes 2 naps a day. He is pretty much done with baby toys and plays with whatever the other kids leave within reach. He loves real food, loves the bottle, and still nurses but that doesn’t seem to be his go to food source anymore. He loves to sit in the booster seat at the table. I am packing up the bumbo and swing that he hasn’t used for months. Cali still mothers and smothers him. And he is just the cutest little guy when he sucks his thumb and smiles behind it.

Categories: Raymond

Florida Vacation

October 11, 2012 admin 1 Comment

Ben had a work trip to Florida so I invited myself to come with him. My sister in laws in PG all said they were willing to help with the kids so I got to go! I am not ready to be done nursing yet and middle of the night babysitting is a lot harder to ask for so Raymond got to come with. We flew out on Saturday morning and barely made our flight! We Were THE last ones to board. We changed planes in Houston and I was happy to get to sit next to Ben for the 2nd flight instead of squished between 2 grown men in the very last row. If you are a frequent flyer you KNOW that is the last place you want to be. But, again, I was happy to be on the plane at that point. Anywhere on the plane. We checked in to one of the beach hotels in Ft Lauderdale that night.

our beach and our hotel – Bahia Mar

We ate at a really nice Brazilian restaurant. The most authentic we’ve found to date but Raymond decided to cut a tooth right then and got super grouchy. We left in a hurry and decided not to eat out any more during our trip. We enjoyed the warm ocean water and looked at the beach while watching conference and looked at the beach while Raymond napped. We went on a couple of walks. We bought our food and snacks at 7-eleven where they were affordable. The bridges and waterways were fascinating.

Raymond testing out the water

Ray liked his cage for playing NOT for sleeping.

waiting for the bridge to lower

warm waveless water – that has been my florida ocean experience

Monday we woke up to rain but it was warm rain. We checked out of the hotel and headed to the State Park that we had passed earlier. We went on a walk through the park and passed some amazing waterfront homes. Then we punched in the next location on our GPS and went to the FLORIDA EVERGLADES. We went on an air boat! Air boats are fun! and gliding over the grassy swamp was fun. We had a fun tour guide and saw one wild Gator, and lots of gators in their exhibit. We got back in our rental and found the SawGrass Shopping which was a HUGE mall and TONS of people were there. We people watched and window shopped and enjoyed spending the afternoon together.

trying to capture the beauty behind us at John Birch State Park (?)

should I take my boat or car in to town?

Ready to go on the air boat – Ray would suck his thumb whenever he was a little worried or scared or tired.

cutting through the grass, wind whipping through your hair, warm sun shining down…

They call it Gator Chasing and we did find one gator and he came right up to our boat.

Coming back in from our boat ride. About 30 minutes. 20$ per person. Raymond did not like it but finally fell asleep.

Monday night we checked in to a new hotel where Ben had his conference. It was a little inland from the beach – the Bonaventure. We tried Lucille’s Diner and waited FOREVER for Monday night football to start – East Coast time is crazy! and parking in Florida is meant for cars not vans and SUV’s and every where we went Raymond was the star attraction. I maybe saw 10 other kids the whole time we were gone! Ben was in classes on Tuesday and Wednesday so Ray and I went on long walks around the resorts and golf course and we hung out by the pool and listened to my audio book and did a little shopping and eating.

the new hotel pond

the water was a little cool and Ray was nervous about the water fall.

eating cheerios – i’m still amazed when its so warm that you don’t need a towel… weird

The reason we ate in most nights and were glad we had two beds… the crib was a great play area but Ray DID NOT sleep in it.

these little lizards were EVERYWHERE

I picked Ben up at the hotel right after his last Class and we headed straight for the airport. We experienced the 9:00 hour 3 different times with the time changes but we eventually got back to SLC and home to our beds and Raymond finally slept without me! I enjoyed my vacation. It was fun to try new things and new places and be the minority and take a break from cooking and cleaning and have more time with Ben. I didn’t hear the word mom for 5 days! that was weird. We missed the kids and were excited to pick them up Thursday morning!

Categories: Ben, Jana, Raymond

End of September

October 5, 2012 admin 1 Comment

We are over due for a cute picture of this guy! He is so snuggly and fun. He has been sleeping through the night and as much as I love my sleep I miss that half hour with my baby before the daily chaos begins. He still takes 2 good naps per day. He loves his bath. And he LOVES to eat real food.

Cali has mastered the self portrait on my phone. I get about 1 of these close ups of her on my phone each day. She has been happy wearing diapers until today. She decided to wear panties and she DID keep them dry… what will tomorrow bring on the potty training front??

Fun in a box with our fun neighbor!

Did I mention that this guy loves to eat?

I am enjoying my 5 hours a week when Cali, Pack and Benji are at school and I can concentrate on these two. Those smiles just make everything else not matter so much.

We did our first Manila Fun Run! The kids enjoyed it. I thought I was going to get a 2 mile jog in but ROSE decided that she was going to run instead of ride. Her little legs do not go fast BUT she was so determined and she did walk/run almost the entire route! Packer was our fastest, Benji found his friends and played along the way, and Cali ran a bit and rode a bit. Ben and Raymond waited for us at the finish line.

Categories: General

2 Year Old ROSIE!

October 3, 2012 admin No Comments

Happy Birthday to Rosie! Two years old is so fun. You are such a cutie and we love you like crazy. (that was to the tune of Happy Birthday in my head) We started Rose’s Birthday early on Sunday night when the Robertson cousins and Aunt and Uncles were here. We let her open her gifts From Grandma and Grandpa Robertson and we had her DIEGO birthday cake.

Dora and Backpack from my parents!

Look at all those cute Girly Smiles!

THE CAKE! Rose went back and forth between a Dora Cake and a Spiderman cake. I had already done spiderman for Packer so I was pushing for Dora and then she decided that she really wanted Diego! so I decided to try Fondant for the first time. I like it. Not perfect but another option for future cakes. AND 2 year olds love EVERYTHING so I had no pressure.

Turning 2 is exciting!

Monday morning we opened presents before Dad and Benji left for the day…

CHoo Choo Train!

Siblings all get excited too!

Ray Ray enjoyed the wrapping paper mess.

And at 10:00 we had a birthday party with the youngest cousins!! We played Doggy Doggy where’s your Bone? and Cheep Cheep. Then Rose decided she was starving so we had a gogurt break but she was still hungry so we brought out the cupcakes and let the kids do their own sprinkles. We opened presents and fought over who got to play with them 🙂 We played Duck Duck goose and then came in for a Hot Dog lunch – another Rose favorite.

Packer, Sam, Luca, Mia, Cali, Rose, Anna, Christian – Playing Doggy Doggy.

cheep cheep

Pulling her new dora set in her new wagon while she talks on her new phone wearing her new outfit! score

2 years old like Christian!! Yipee!

Monday Night I was exhausted! Birthday weekend, extended through Party Monday wore me out. We had family home evening and gave Rosie one last present before calling it a day.

Every 2 year old needs their very own baby doll. She shushed and cuddle her the rest of the night. Big sister helped too.

Rose is a big girl. She is talking a lot and keeps repeating until you figure out what she wants. She plays really well but she also throws fits really well when she doesn’t get her way. She EATS a ton. Mostly yogurt and hot dogs and treats and whatever mom or dad are eating. She will not drink milk so she is making up for it in yogurt. She is still a momma’s girl often throwing fits in the morning if I am not able to get her out of her bed. She is our curly haired cutie and just makes us smile a lot. A week or so ago she got her birthday pillow from Grandma and Grandpa Netteshiem. SHE LOVED IT. She showed it to everyone all night and had a perm-a-grin. She was literally bouncing off the walls with excitement. Our goal for this year is to KEEP TAKING NAPS so that we can be happy. My kids try to give up naps when they turn 2 but I am fighting her on this one.

Rose Kristine Nettesheim – October 1, 2012

Categories: Rose

My Birthday!

October 3, 2012 admin 2 Comments

I am One Year Older and One Year Wiser! 🙂 yipee. I need that right about now. I had a fun birthday Saturday. We had a chill sleep in morning and woke up to Ben’s Delicious Cinnamon Rolls. I received some awesome gifts, watched my big boys play soccer, did my birthday puzzle, got to eat Green Curry and Cold Stone Ice Cream Cake. We went to the park, I received many phone calls and I fell asleep to a chick flick.

Happy Birthday! (Benji was laying on the couch with a tummy ache)

Life goes way to fast! I remember very well when my mom turned 35 and I thought she was SOOO old. I’m not quite 35 but I can say that 35 isn’t soo old… I can still do back flips on the trampoline! and I scored 3 goals in my soccer game against younger fast girls! and in my mind I still relate perfectly well to 21 year olds.

Birthday with the Nettesheim’s!

My mother in law’s birthday is the day before mine so we celebrated last Sunday before they went out of town. And remember how I wanted to have a kid to share my birthday with and then I was due with Rose on my bday but she came 2 days later?? well I’m glad that she doesn’t have to share with me cause it was fun to give her the spotlight. I think when we are both old it’ll be fun to celebrate together but for now she needs her own day and she has it and I will blog it ASAP 🙂

Birthday Girls!

Categories: Jana, Rose