Shelley's 30th Birthday Party!

So Saturday afternoon we loaded up my Mom's van and headed up north. It takes about an hour and 15 minutes to get to Shelley's house, but it was her 30th! I couldn't miss that for anything!

We had a blast! We got up there about 5pm and the kiddos played at the toy store, er...I mean Shelley's house. LOL! Then when the guests started to arrive we moved outside and hung out. The kids played with bubbles, giant balls, the swingset and lightsabers. They really enjoyed themselves. Shelley seemed to have a great time. It was a great turnout. She and made some amazing brautwursts! She was throwing the spices on the burgers just like Emeril Lagassi. I took a picture of her yelling "BAM"! It was hilarious! We all ended up sitting around the campfire reminiscing about highschool and wondering where the years went. It sure went fast. Shelley and I have known each other since Kindergarten and our friendship will last the test of time...it already has. I love you Shelley! Happy Birthday and I hope we have an amazing time with the next 30 years!

Pre-K Trike-A-Thon

It's that time of year again and Saturday morning we got up bright and early for a Trike-a-thon at Camden's school. This year's was so much more fun than last year. When we arrived we signed in and went to different stations set up around the cafeteria. First we painted Cohen's hand blue and placed it down on some fabric with the earth painted on it. Then they wrote his name next to it. Our next station was making "Dirt Cake". It was really cool. They had crumbled up oreos in a cup, then we covered it with chocolate pudding, more crumbled up oreos and tucked in a few gummi worms. They boys thought that was really cool. It was incredibly tasty too. Here are the boys creating their "Dirt Cakes":

Our last station was...I don't remember. LOL! They were too anxious to get outside and play on the playground. After breakfast was served (donuts and juice) we ventured outside to all the additional activities planned. They had face painting (the boys got snakes and spiders painted on their hands instead): stringing necklaces from froot loops, planting flowers (including the worms!) rubbing leafs on paper, sand table fun, trikes to ride, and the best part...cotton candy! They couldn't get enough of it!


We had a great time!

Earth Day Parade

Camden's school participated in the Earth Day Parade at the Mall today at 10am. It was very nice. The kids all seemed to really enjoy it. Pawpaw went with us too! Then after the parade around the mall all the Children gathered in the center and sang songs for us. How cute! Classroom art:

Camden's tissue paper rainbow:

Video of Camden in the parade

Camden seeing his brother!

Cohen joined the parade:

Camden's so proud to have his brother there:

The proud pair marching happily:

Pawpaw joined the parade:

Turning the corner, almost over!

I got to join in the fun!

Camden and I stop for a picture:

Video of the Earth Day Mall Concert! Camden's in the center next to the girl in pink and behind the boy in yellow.
Camden's entire class in front of their artwork: Earth Day Parade is over and it's time to get on the bus and go back to school:

Camden's New Haircut!

Recently Camden wants to be EXACTLY like his Daddy! So cute. When Lou gets home from work Camden changes clothes into what Lou is wearing. He wants to match him to a T. We were working in the yard and Lou was going to wear navy blue short and a Grey sweatshirt but Camden couldn't find his grey sweatshirt. So he begged and pleaded for Lou to change into a navy blue sweatshirt! Annoying, but super cute too. So the next step to looking like his Daddy was a haircut. I didn't want to do it because Camden has been begging me for months to allow him to grow his hair out. I agreed that he could grow it out all summer. So this was tough for me. I tried to talk him out of it, but ultimately he won the argument. So here are the pics of Camden's new hair cut!
Here's me cutting his hair with 1/8" guard on the clippers:

Cohen loves to feel Camden's head! "It's smooth going forward and rough going back" as Camden says

They pose for a pic, aren't they so cute together:

Earthquake

In the early hours of Friday morning, at around 4:37 am we had a 5.2 earthquake! It was quite scary. Lou woke up and quickly looked outside to see if there was a tornado, no trees blowing, so no. Then he rushed Camden out of bed and into a doorway and covered him up with a blanket and surrounded him with pillows. Cohen and I were asleep in the bedroom in the front of the house. When the shaking began I was paralized in fear. I must admit that I watch Paranormal State, Ghost Hunters and A Haunting and I let my fear get the better of me. For the first few seconds I was thinking "GHOST"! Then I heard the distant rhythmic pounding of a train. I was convinced that a train was about to come crashing right through the front door! The bed was shaking uncontrollably and the windows were rattling so loudly that I just knew they were all about to break! Luckily that didn't happen. It seemed to last minutes, but it was reported to last only about 10 seconds. I got up and turned on the TV to watch the news and there it was...and Earthquake originating from West Salem IL! I was shocked! I never remember experiencing anything like this before. I was so scared and shook up that I was up until almost 6:00 am. I just couldn't force myself to go back to sleep. The USGS says that there were 2 aftershocks in the following 3 hours. I didn't feel those.

First thing in the morning I called my Mom, who slept right through it! How on earth did that happen?!? I have no idea. Then I called my friend Shelley who thought the bed shaking was her husband getting out of bed to get ready for work. Now she realizes that it was the quake she was feeling.

Later in the morning I was in the kitchen unloading the dishwasher when the windows started to rattle again! It was indeed another earthquake. I instantly called Shelley and she felt it too! This time she was awake when it happened and scared! It is scary. I've been feeling uneasy all day.

So it looks like we've recently had 9 earthquakes including the first early morning one. All of this information came from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Maps/US2/37.39.-89.-87.php

Earthquake List for Map Centered at 38°N, 88°W
Update time = Sat Apr 19 5:00:03 UTC 2008

Here are the earthquakes in the Map Centered at 38°N, 88°W area, most recent at the top.

(Some early events may be obscured by later ones.)

MAG UTC DATE-TIME
y/m/d h:m:s LAT
deg LON
deg DEPTH
km LOCATION
MAP 2.7 2008/04/19 03:05:52 38.474 -87.795 2.9 7 km ( 4 mi) NNW of Mount Carmel, IL
MAP 4.6 2008/04/18 15:14:16 38.478 -87.869 10.0 11 km ( 7 mi) NNE of Bellmont, IL
MAP 2.6 2008/04/18 11:55:57 38.465 -87.854 10.0 9 km ( 6 mi) NW of Mount Carmel, IL
MAP 2.2 2008/04/18 10:46:24 38.440 -87.880 17.8 7 km ( 4 mi) NNE of Bellmont, IL
MAP 3.4 2008/04/18 10:36:33 38.460 -87.860 17.8 9 km ( 6 mi) NNE of Bellmont, IL
MAP 2.5 2008/04/18 10:15:31 38.464 -87.846 10.0 9 km ( 5 mi) NW of Mount Carmel, IL
MAP 2.5 2008/04/18 10:03:59 38.453 -87.805 10.0 5 km ( 3 mi) NW of Mount Carmel, IL
MAP 2.6 2008/04/18 09:59:31 38.469 -87.795 10.0 6 km ( 4 mi) NNW of Mount Carmel, IL
MAP 5.2 2008/04/18 09:37:00 38.450 -87.890 11.6 7 km ( 5 mi) NNE of Bellmont, IL

Send me a comment and share your Earthquake story!

Cohen in the Laundry Boat!

Tonight when I was folding laundry I sat the laundry basket down on the floor while I folded on the couch. Cohen climbed right in as he usally does. I don't know what it is about kids and laundry baskets, but they want to climb in, hide under or stand upon them! So Lou went into the bedroom and came out with a belt. He looped it over the end at the handle and created something he could hang on to. He dragged Cohen through the house round and round forever! Cohen absolutely loved it. It looked like he was boating across the sea of beige carpet. We was giggling and laughing saying "Again, again!" when Lou would pause to take a break. I didn't think he would ever get out. After a while of me chasing them around trying to film the fun he finally wanted out. Here is a short video of the Laundry Boat! I especially love the end when he's squeeling "wwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Some cuddling before School

Cohen gets upset every morning when Camden has to go to school. He spend the morning kissing and hugging his brother. The cuddle in the recliner and watch cartoons until we hear the horn honk.



He's so sad to see his brother go.

"Bye Bye Bub Bub"

Our new trampoline

Well today Lou put together the trampoline. I guess he couldn't wait. If it was up to me I would have waited a few weeks until the newness of the playground wore off. The boys were so excited! They couldn't wait! Cohen & Camden were walking around the perimeter haning the springs onto the hooks so we could go behind them and attach them to the frame. Here are some pics. They are blurry because I took them with my phone. Enjoy!
Cohen wearing a mask:

Camden jumping high:

Cohen wants to "jump high as the sky":

Having fun bouncing around:

Just Chillin':

Adventure Playset: Pathfinder

We recently purchased the Adventure Playset: Pathfinder from Wal-mart. All day Saturday my step-dad Joe and Lou began the daunting task of putting this beast together. I decided that the boys and I would be better off away from it all so none of us would end up in the way. I knew that if we stayed they would be underfoot wanting to play with it, so away in the car we went!

Well, today Lou finished up the playset! I helped a little, but he did most of the work! He was out there at 6:45 am getting a good start. It took about 10 hours on Sunday to complete it, but it was worth it! Here are some pics I took when everyone was napping.



Isn't it amazing? It was worth every penny!