Shaw Family Stories

Stay at home Working Mom!!!!

2012-01-28T13:54:00.002-06:00

Crazy as it sounds and I can hardly believe it myself, but both of my kids will be in school next year full time! Campbell goes off to Kindergarten next year which leaves me at home all alone. In thinking about this and preparing for this I decided to look into opportunities to work from home. Of course I still have my cookie business and that is definitely my creative outlet and I will continue to do that as well! My new adventure involves Herbalife. I became an Herbalife distributor a while back and I love the company and their products. They are one of the leading companies in the Health and Nutrition industry and have been an established company for the past 30 years. Not only are their weight loss programs amazing and healthy for you, but we also have fabulous digestive health, heart health, men and women's nutrition supplements, children's nutritional products as well as a new sports nutrition line. You can check out their products at www.herbalife.com, I've been on them a while and I LOVE them! I also have my personal websites all which can be accessed through www.stlouis.herbalhub.com . So go check them out!

So basically I can decorate and sell you some fabulous cookies and then sell you a wonderful weight loss program that will drop the weight and get you healthy! So There you have it, that is what is going on at the Shaw house! Figuring out the working mom thing is fun and crazy but at least I don't go further than Jason's office to work!

All About Christmas.....

2012-01-03T12:44:00.001-06:00

We had a great Christmas Season!!!

We went to Wild Lights at the Zoo with Grammy and Paw Paw!

Breakfast with Santa at Austin's School

Of Course there were many Christmas cookie orders for me to fill my time with!

Christmas Eve! Rice Krispy treats for Santa!

Kids got a basketball hoop for outside!

Campbell playing in her "make-up" and wig!

Playing and singing Christmas carols with Paw Paw on Christmas!

Celebrating with Aunt Doty, Uncle Jon and Lydia and Leah!

Off To Celebrate after Christmas in Atlanta with the other side!

The kids put on the Christmas Story play... Our 3 Shepards

Mary and Joseph

The whole Cast!

Finished up celebrating Jason's birthday (so small because that was his 3rd cake!)

Breakfast with Santa

2011-12-03T20:52:00.001-06:00

Our annual breakfast with Santa at Shaw's Garden.........

Thanksgiving weekend

2011-11-29T13:09:00.001-06:00

Weekend in Kansas City

2011-11-14T17:00:00.001-06:00

We had a great weekend in Kansas City. We started off with some ice skating at Crowne Center!

It is so much fun to have an uncle who owns a chick-fil-A. We took the kids up to the store on Sunday to play while Doty got ready for Leah's birthday Party!

Happy Birthday Leah!!!

Great Grandma and (some) of her great grand kids!!

3,2,1, Candy!!!!

2011-11-02T17:13:00.002-05:00

our little astronaut and bride!!

With it being chilly outside, she turned herself into a rocker bride!!

Disney Adventure!!!!

2011-10-30T21:18:00.002-05:00

Well we had a fabulous time in Disney World last week! The pictures kind of got out of order but here is a brief overview of our week!

Going to the Magic Kingdom, the girls all had on their matching minnie dresses

waiting for the fireworks!

breakfast with the princesses in Norway at Epcot! We had our own princesses with us!

waiting to ride Mission Space

Test track!! Campbell has a new found love for anything fast! She worries me a bit!

riding tower of terror

We took Austin to Kennedy Space center along with Jason's Aunt Mary and his cousin, Brian who live in Titusville. had a great day!

getting ready to ride expedition everest!

Go Dawgs.......

2011-10-16T19:02:00.001-05:00

Jason and I went to Nashville this weekend to watch Georgia play Vanderbilt! We had a great time!

This one is for Jon!!

Go Dawgs!!

We were surrounded by the Vanderbilt season ticket holders!! Although we did have 2 bulldog fans right next to us!

This is Russ, the interim mascot for Georgia, Uga VIII died on Feb. 4th so Russ is filling in until Uga IX is chosen!

The next few pictures are what I like to call, "what a fan really should not wear".....

This guy was the vanderbilt commador, I just wonder what went through his head that made him think this was a good idea? He literally just stood there and held his plastic sword the whole time!

On a side note, these were last weeks cookies I did.

Get ready for Disney cookies

cookies for Jon's staff meeting at his store

AHHH Fall!!

2011-10-07T21:12:00.001-05:00

Well it's time for festivals, fieldtrips and pumpkin carving......

Shaw's Garden's made in Missouri festival

decorating pumpkins

she picked an acorn for her cheek!

cookies for a baby shower

Campbell's school fieldtrip to the pumpkin patch

carving pumpkins

Yep it's clean!

Back from the Beach!!!

2011-09-30T18:12:00.000-05:00

The stats.....
1 house on the beach
7 bedrooms
4 bathrooms
1 1/2 kitchens
2 living rooms
15 kids (only 3 families :) )
11 adults
ridiculous amount of snacks
lots of sand
So Much Fun!!!!

We spent last week in Holden Beach , NC with Jason's family! We had such a great time! I finally got to meet Jason's cousin, Kim. Her and her husband have 10 amazing kids and my kids had so much fun playing with them and getting to know them! And of course we always love getting to spend time with Jason's brother and his crew!!

On our way!

He is the model flyer! Always reading the directions on what to do if we crash!

We spent friday night in Raleigh with David and Kristen and then drove to the beach on Saturday

Cam's ready!

The downstairs family room and 1/2 kitchen

of course not all of us fit at the table so usually it was taken up by the kids!

grandma and Andrew

Gideon, the Burke's 2nd youngest

Cam and Emmaline

some of the kids playing a game on a rainy morning

taking a walk on the pier

convinced she can surf!

Andrew and Elijah just hanging out

our close-up

grandma's project - bag signing

Kim (Jason's cousing) with her oldest, Maggie and youngest, Carolina

The whole Burke family!

All the kids lines up from oldest to youngest

The cousins!

Balloon Race

2011-09-20T17:58:00.001-05:00

Headed down to the Forest Park Balloon Race, The rain stayed away and we were able to enjoy the race!

The sad part is, Scoggins have lived here for 11 years and this was their first trip to Ted Drewes!! Shameful!!!

Austin and Jason going to the game tonight! This is big People, Jason in a Cardinals shirt!!! He said he would wear it because Austin was born in St. Louis. Have no fear though, he is still a loyal Braves fan. He had to buy this shirt for a work thing, and then dig it out from his closet for tonight!

Shaw's Garden

2011-09-16T16:40:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we had visitors from Kansas and we took the day to walk around Shaw's Garden

Grandma and her 3 daughters, granddaughter and great-granddaughter

Cookies I made today to send to a friend I have not seen in a while, hope she likes them!!

2011-09-05T19:31:00.000-05:00

We started off the weekend with a great lunch on Friday at the Boat House in Forest Park with Grammy and Paw Paw. This is also the weekend of crazy weather! Friday afternoon it was 101 degrees and today on Monday it was 73 in the afternoon!

Campbell feeding the fish her french fries at lunch! Then Friday night Jason and I surprised the kids with ice cream sundae night!

Saturday night the Scoggins came over because GEORGIA FOOTBALL started!!!! Go Dawgs!! Amy made cake pops for the occasion and all the kids loved them!!

We rounded out the weekend today with some bike riding and kite flying!!!! Austin is learning to ride his bike without his training wheels and he has almost mastered it!

Both Kids off to School.......

2011-08-23T11:41:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I have both my kids in school all day today! Campbell will be gone on Tuesday's and Thursday's ,which is good for a momma, ease into things!!! She was so excited to go today! Armed with her new super sparkley backpack we took Austin to school first and then she was off to her school!

Meet the teacher day last week!

signing in!!

off to first grade!

2011-08-15T14:39:00.000-05:00

Austin started first grade today and was totally excited! Campbell and I got use to it just being us once again!!

Making first day of school cookies for Austin.

closing out summer.....

2011-08-15T14:34:00.000-05:00

We spent the last weekend of the summer in Lawrence, KS. We went to the Vinland Fair on Friday night and had a great time, eating wonderful homemade pie and watching our first ever tractor pull!

We spent saturday at Jon and doty's playing and having a great dinner! Then we got to eat these wonderful cupcakes that doty made! Oreo cupcakes!!!

clown cookies

2011-08-11T12:46:00.000-05:00

clown cookies that I did for a first birthday party!

Six Flags

2011-08-05T20:21:00.000-05:00

With summer coming to an end, we needed to hit Six Flags!! So we braved the heat and hit the park! The kids had a great time and hardly noticed the sweltering heat! It was worth the heat though to have no lines! While everyone else stayed indoors or headed to the water park we got to go on the rides over and over again!

our bake shop

2011-07-27T15:56:00.000-05:00

It is just so hot outside, we ended up spending the day inside baking and making ice cream. I had some cookies to bake so the kids decided they wanted in on the fun. I have future Mason Hill Cookie employees! Later in the day I decided to break out the ice cream maker and make an ice cream recipe I saw on another blog. We had a great day beating the heat!

cooking class.....

2011-07-11T12:27:00.003-05:00

So Austin is completely addicted to the Next Food Network Star! He loves watching them cook so I thought he might enjoy getting a kids cookbook. We went to the store and picked one out and I let him pick a dessert to cook for after dinner! The kids had so much fun.... this is what it looked like!

Yes!! They washed their hands!!

4th of july

2011-07-08T09:15:00.006-05:00

We headed down south to celebrate the 4th! We had a wonderful time all piling into John and Ann's house! The kids had a blast playing with their cousins and getting to all sleep in the basement together!!

breakfast at Louise's our first morning!

shopping for peaches with grandma

Jason and Luke

ready for some fun with the slip n' slide

ready for church

at the marietta parade!

one, two, three, four.......and dance!

2011-06-19T09:41:00.004-05:00

Cambpell did a wonderful job in her first dance recital last night!!

getting some flowers from her cousin Lydia!!

campbell and molly!!

ready for the stage!!

she loved all her flowers!!!

graduating and celebrating....

2011-06-03T20:25:00.004-05:00

from kindergarten that is!!!

kindergarten graduation!

Austin (after he ate a blue cookie) and his teacher, Mrs. Hale

graduation lunch at bread co.

River City Rascals game!

picture by Campbell, our budding photographer

a must have at the ball park

Back to Camp!

2011-05-30T11:56:00.005-05:00

Some of my best memories of childhood have come from church camp. We started going to camp with our church when I was 5 and continued every summer up until about midway through highschool. Those weeks and people that we shared them with hold a very special place in my heart and I will always love the weeks spent at camp and the countless memories that came from those weeks! This past weekend we had the opportunity to go to our camp reunion! Many of the families (along with new spouses and children) that use to go to camp got together and spent this weekend remembering the good old days and making new memories.

Austin and his new friend Andrew

A night of fun games!

Can't believe he did this one!

go aunt doty go!!!

catch up

2011-05-19T19:45:00.004-05:00

campbell and Jason planting a tree the kids got from Shaw's garden. The wonder has since worn off when after a week it still looked like a stick in the ground. She was expecting a full grown tree in a matter of days!

flowers and new planters for mother's day!

before the big preschool performance!

After the big show

picture night at dance, (The girls can't wait until their big recital!!!)

2011-04-25T13:58:00.002-05:00

We had a great weekend, Jon & Doty and the girls were in town to celebrate Dad's birthday and Easter with us!. Saturday we had a day long birthday party for my dad! Started off with build a bear then a great miniature golf outing and then dying Easter eggs!! We had a great day and hope Paw Paw had a great birthday! Easter was a great day filled with church and family!

And people wonder if I really have to blow dry her hair every morning!! Yes I do!

Firsts for Campbell!

2011-04-03T20:24:00.004-05:00

Campbell has been waiting a long time to play soccer like her big brother! I suspect she is more excited for the snack after the game but a close second is her excitement to actually play! Last This past Thursday was her first practice and then her first game was on Saturday! She had a blast and did a really good job, she is definitely not afraid to get in there and mix it up with those boys!

Campbell and Molly After the game in the morning Campbell and I went to my cousin's daughters 10th birthday party! Campbell was super excited to go to a big girl party. We went out for pizza and then went to the mall for a scavenger hunt! Campbell highlight though was going to Charming Charlies and accessorizing! She would put together a look then put it all back and start all over again with all new things!

Campbell and the girls!

One of many looks!

5 minutes after we got into the car to come home!!

She's 4!!!!

2011-03-26T19:21:00.003-05:00

It was the perfect SNOWY spring day for a penguin princess birthday party. We had Campbell's little party today at the Oberweis store. They got to make their own ice cream sundaes, which was a big hit and they had a great time!

campbell in her annual birthday hat picture! I can't believe this is the 4th time I have taken this picture!

to bad about the black teeth!

The pinguin princess!

Spring Break

2011-03-26T18:46:00.007-05:00

We had a wonderful Spring break this year, we threw together a last minute trip to the south. We started by heading down to Auburn, Alabama and stayed with some friends who run this beautiful bed and breakfast in Auburn. The house is called Fountainview mansion and it is SO beautiful. We had a wonderful relaxing time just enjoying the beauty of the house. Then we headed a little north to Lake Martin. We have wonderful friends, The Lee's, who so graciously let us stay at their beautiful lake house. We are so blessed with such wonderful and gracious friends, we had a wonderful time with my parents and Jason's parents!

It was a bit chilly but the kids were deternimed to swim!

just enjoying spring break!

sitting by the lake!

try, try and try again! No luck:(

bringing out the smores goodies!

Making her birthday cupcakes with grandma!

took many rides in the golf cart!

We were driving back home on Campbell's birthday so the poor girl spent 11 hours in the car, but she opened her presents before we hit the road!

St. Patty's Parade!

2011-03-14T10:00:00.003-05:00

Well today is Campbell first day of spring break and Austin is home from school because of a Snow Day! That is just March in St. Louis! At least we can fondly remember 2 days ago when we were enjoying the nice warm weather having fun at the St. Patricks day parade in Cottleville.

Melanie and Jill enjoying the parade

The girls begging for more candy!!

dylan is loaded down with beads!!

Hitching a ride on the long walk back to the car!

Ending the day with some drinks by the lake!

What's for breakfast???

2011-03-08T16:33:00.004-06:00

So.... I hate the morning dilemma of what is for breakfast. We need something fast but I want it to be good for them too. Austin lately has been into granola bars, but I did not just want to rip open a bar and hand it too him that seemed more like a snack than an actual breakfast. So I got on the computer and searched healthy breakfast bars. This is what I came up with.... Homemade granola bars! I needed to start with something I know they will like and then I can sneak some different (healthy) ingredients into them. This time I added almonds and of course chocolate chips (I know not healthy, but it was a selling point for the kids!)

Campbell and I got all our ingredients out!

mixed it all up!

The pan on the left was just almond/chocolate chip but with the second pan I added peanutbutter. The one with the peanutbutter turned out better, chewier.

The kids had them for breakfast this morning and it was fast and healthy!

Last Basketball game

2011-03-06T17:03:00.003-06:00

Austin and Coach Jason had a great upward basketball season! On to the sport.... Campbell and soccer!

Cmapbell's photography skills

Campbell and Addy playing at the game

getting ready to start

it's hard to keep her off the court!

valentines cookies

2011-02-14T11:10:00.002-06:00

just some of the cookies I did for valentine's orders.
Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Birthday and Welcome to the Family

2011-01-30T18:29:00.004-06:00

Well it is official, Austin is a 6 year old! We had a great week. Jason's parents were in town and we ended the week celebrating Austin's birthday. He had a birthday party at Pump it up and then topped off the week today by welcoming home his new hampster, smokey.

birthday morning

opening his new air hockey table

even grammy and Aunt Doty got in on the action

The whole gang!

picking Smokey up at the store.

Hello Smokey!!

Another Snow Day!

2011-01-20T13:38:00.004-06:00

We find ourselves with yet another snow day!! The kids of course were super excited especially because this time we had at least 8 inches of snow! So the kids and I bundled up again and hit the snow! This was the first time we really went sledding. There is a perfect hill for the kids, which means it is not to steep for them to climb back up with out complaining! First we had to make a stop to play on our playground.

This is the worst part! dragging it back up!

Playing Catch up!

2011-01-13T19:38:00.005-06:00

Christmas Eve picture

Christmas morning!!

Loves her baby doll from grandma and granddad!

Leah on Christmas day

Lydia and her uncle Jason!

dress up clothes were a big hit this year, the girls in their minnie dresses

ah the princesses!

New Year's Eve! We made it to 10:00 and pretended it was midnight

The Taylors came over on New years day to help celebrate Jason's birthday. The kids had a great time.

traveled to Kansas last weekend to celebrate lydia's 3rd birthday. She had a be themed party!

Took some time with Grammy, Aunt Doty and Lydia and got our nails done!

Cam and lydia showing off their nails!

We had snow again this week! Campbell doing her favorite thing... eating snow!

we love making snow angels!

Latest batch of cookies!

Christmas Eve Snow!!

2010-12-24T11:19:00.004-06:00

Making cookies for Santa! Chocolate Chip!

We woke up this morning on Christmas Eve to snow!! The kids were super excited so we got all bundled up and ready to go! I bought those pants and coat for austin when he was 2, it had snowed and so I ran up to walmart and they were the smallest I could find! He finally fits in them! Campbell is wearing her 18month snow bibs! Thinking we are going to have to get new stuff this year!

playground is more fun in the snow!

They went suprisingly fast down this tiny hill! With help from dad!

Hot chocolate to finish the adventure!

Here comes Santa Clause!!

2010-12-04T19:45:00.004-06:00

Ann got this little wrap at the Gap and Campbell just fell in love with it! It was the perfect time to wear it!

We seriously love Santa!!

It is our tradition every year to go to breakfast with Santa at Shaw's Garden. The kids love this day and they were super excited this year. The conversation around our house this morning heavily centered around the naughty and nice list. Austin needed to know for sure if he was on the nice list or not!! Campbell had an earfull for Santa telling him all the things that she needed, but Austin kept pretty quiet only sharing one thing with him. A few minutes after talking with Santa, Austin was concerned that he would only get the one thing that he asked for so his very outgoing sister took it upon herself to return to santa and ask for other things that Austin wanted! With everything squared away with Santa we had a great breakfast and then walked through the wonderful train show they have every year.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-29T14:51:00.004-06:00

I love the week of Thanksgiving because we get to relax and have fun the whole week. We made our yearly journey down to Atlanta for Thanksgiving this year! We had a wonderful time with family and ate until our hearts were content and then some!

of course when your granddad is the organist at church you get to play it after the service!

Campbell had her first trip to the American Girl store! She fell in love with the babies!

Jason spent Thanksgiving morning burning leaves! It was a beautiful day and the kids loved playing in and then burning the leaves!

They have so many trees in their yard. John and a friend spent 5 hours raking leaves the day before we got there and 4 days later there were just as many on the ground as there was before!

Thanksgiving family pic!

Ann get the kids P.J's every year. They are always matching and the kids love it!

This is basicly what Andrew and Campbell did all day. They just wrestled each other and then would laugh about it!

New PJ'

The first of many....

2010-11-19T20:00:00.003-06:00

Austin came home from school today with one less tooth in his mouth than when I sent him this morning! The tooth has been loose for a few weeks now and today his teacher at school pulled it out! I was so suprised because I checked it last night and it was loose but I did not think it was ready! Apparently his teacher pulls out alot of teeth! He told me last week that he wanted Mrs. Hale to pull out his tooth, I laughed and thought no way!

Girls weekend

2010-11-15T19:35:00.003-06:00

It was a minor miracle but all 7 of us from our caregroup at church found a weekend to get away to the lake. Jill and Chris have a wonderful condo at the lake so all of us girls headed down on Friday for some food and shopping!! A big thanks to all the dads who stayed home with all the kids!.

Bags in the car after the first store!

Amy in her cute new hat

This is what happens with 7 girls and 5 hours at the outlets!!

in the last week or so....

2010-11-10T14:53:00.002-06:00

Just enjoying some Halloween candy after dinner

Nothing like a distracting sister when your trying to do your homework

Cam "helping" me make some cookies, (she is usually always naked around the house)

This weekend we had the whole family in town. The church that I grew up in was celebrating their 125th anniversary. My grandma has gone to this church since she was 3 and they honored her this weekend. All of my mom's sisters were in town and we just had a great weekend. (Doty has great pics on her blog of the weekend). My kids especially loved that their cousins got to stay with us here at the house!

Lydia, leah, campbell and Austin!

Fall pictures

2010-11-01T16:30:00.005-05:00

We have had a fun and full last week. Here are some pictures!!

Campbell ready to go to the grogery store(seriously just the grocery store and she wore this the whole time!!)

We went to Silver Dollar City this past weekend and we of course had a wonderful time. The weahter was perfect fall weather and the kids had a blast riding all the rides they love so much!

Doing what she does best! Snacking!!

Of course we had a great time trick-or-treating last night. We had a Tinkerbell and Batman!

The scoggin boys came over along with The Taylors and Cunios! We all had a great time watching the kids get all their candy! We had piles upon piles of candy!!

Last couple of Weeks

2010-10-21T12:55:00.004-05:00

Just a few things that have been going on the last few weeks.....
pumpkin carving or watching!

Austin's class fieldtrip to the pumpkin patch

Campbell getting ready for her trip to the pumpkin patch with her class

Dance Class

2010-09-30T07:59:00.002-05:00

last night was our first parent watch at dance class. The girls absolutely love their dance class together and it was fun to watch what they have been doing these past few weeks.

princess Campbell and Molly. They use their wands and crowns for their warm-up

Balloon Glow

2010-09-18T15:07:00.003-05:00

We have gone down to the balloon race for many years now, but we had never gone to the glow the night before. So last night we met the scoggins at Seamus McDaniels (yumm) and then headed down to forest park. Thanks to my wonderful husband's knowledge of the back streets around Barnes hospital we were able to side step the massive amounts of traffic and find pretty good parking.

Bad picture of all of us walking!!!

walking up the hill to the glow!

It was really cool! They let you walk right up to the baskets and every 5-10 minutes or so they blow a horn and all the balloons light their fires! There were so many people and it was kind of stressful trying not to loose the kids, but it was really cool!!

Austin sitting on one of the baskets!!

family skate night

2010-09-09T21:01:00.002-05:00

We went to Austin's school family skate night tonight, the kids have never been roller skating it was hilarious in the beginning, but they both did really well

First Dance Class!!!

2010-09-08T19:29:00.002-05:00

Well she finally got what she has been asking for for the last 9 months!! Dance class!! She started her ballet/tap/tumbling class tonight. She was so excited all day to put on her dancing outfit.

campbell and as she says..."my best friend" Molly before their class

getting ready to go in

Day at the Lake

2010-08-28T20:28:00.004-05:00

We had a great time today on the Lake! We did a little swimming off the dock and then some tubing on the lake and some attempts at water skiing!

All the kids ready for the water!

Jill and Chris have this really cool huge raft for the water. It is tied to the dock so the kids can bounce all over it and then slide into the water.

The boys up in front!

A rare family pic

Austin and Quinn ready to take off!

This tubing thing is hard work!

alright so the last time I tried to water ski I was in like 10th grade and I was not successful, so of course today I thought I would try again. I was a bit more successful this time but not really! I think I got up for about 1.2 seconds!! And then this......

somewhere beneath the water is me!

but Amy did really well!! Chuck and Jason also tried but the women were on kid duty back at the dock so that was not documented!!

First Bus and First day of Preschool!!

2010-08-24T15:14:00.004-05:00

Well it is official, Austin is a big kid riding the school bus! To say the least he loves it!

waiting for the bus for the first time!

He is the 3rd kid on the bus each morning!

Like a crazy mom I followed the bus the first time, i just wanted to see where it went!

gettting off the bus, all smiles!

Today was Campbell's first day of preschool! She was so excited and she had a great day! I don't think she really wanted me to pick her up.

coming out to meet the moms!

lunch at mcdonalds, celebrating the first day of school!

Meet the teacher Day!

2010-08-19T14:11:00.003-05:00

Campbell is starting preschool next Tuesday! Today we went and met her teacher, Mrs. launer! She is wonderfully nice and Cam is so excited to go to school! Both my babies in school, CRAZY!

already playing dress up!

just exploring the room!

First Day Cookies!!

2010-08-17T18:25:00.003-05:00

I remember my friend Amy baking cookies for her son on his first day of school last year and I could not wait to do the same thing. So on Monday afternoon campbell and I made Austin his first day of school chocolate chip m&m cookies!!! The dough was a big hit with Cam!

picking Austin up his first day. He had a wonderful day and was very excited to go back today!

Thanks Amy! Great idea!!!

On a side note, this is what Cam and I did while we are all by ourselves!! Purple Nails!!!

First Day of School

2010-08-16T10:42:00.002-05:00

Well we are off to Kindergarten! He is at a brand new school and his teacher is Mrs. Hale! He was very excited this morning and when we left him in his classroom he was sitting at his desk coloring away. He was also very excited because one of his T-ball teammates is also in his class, Ben and also a little girl that we go to church with, Ally. Since we moved schools the bus does not start picking him up until next week, so don't worry there will be more school bus pictures to come....

His friend Ben, they were so excited to be in class together!

Summer Storms

2010-08-10T17:33:00.003-05:00

Just the effects from a pop up summer T-storm .

grill is suppose to be on the other side of the patio.

Gatlinburg Trip

2010-08-07T09:05:00.007-05:00

We had a great time in Gatlinburg this past weekend with the family! It was Hot Hot Hot in the mountains but we made the best of it with lots of swimming! Here is the weekend in review!

our Cabin!

Kids helping grandma get breakfast!!

A little art time out on the back porch!

settin up for our picnic lunch by the river!

our river adventure! The kids (and adults) had a great time splashing in the river!

Sarah just sittig in the middle of the stream. We really did not come prepared with bathing suits!
The kids did not seem to mind. The boys kept on "falling" in the water!

back at the pool by the cabin! Jason launching Austin

Its so hard to get them all looking at once!!

Jason and uncle David did a great job at grilling!

Ahh Dollywood on a really hot day!

Slushy break!

towards the end of the day, waiting for the big kids to get off a ride!!!

Eating at the Old Mill, YUUUUUM. Good ole southern cooking!!1

Campbell in her dream world!!!

Eating ice cream in Gatlinburg!

My two loves!

Thank you Grandma and Granddad for a wonderful vacation filled with lots of great memories!!!

Austin on Powder Keg!!

2010-07-26T09:45:00.000-05:00

Silver Dollar City Adventure!!

2010-07-25T16:03:00.005-05:00

My parents and I took the kids to Branson this past week for a quick trip to Silver Dollar City. We missed having daddy with us, but the kids had a great time and Austin has discovered his love for roller coasters!!!

Down at Branson Landing our first night.

watching the fire and water show!

Austin has talked about riding Powder Keg since they went in June. It was our first stop and he loved every minute of it. It was the first of many rides on it the next two days.

He was little scared, but decided that he still wanted to try it.

Campbell was just pretending that she was tall enough.

Trying to beat the heat!

Campbell and Paw Paw had lots of quality time while the rest of us rode the big rides. They were working on their tower when we caught up with them.

watching the pottery man!

just waiting in line for the big swings!!

We wore them out!!!

cupcake outing!!1

2010-07-21T16:07:00.002-05:00

my cousin, Jen and I took the kids on a little fieldtrip today down to the Central West End to the Cupcakery!! They have the most wonderful cupcakes and we had a great time eating them!! Mmmmmmm..........

Last white room!!!

2010-07-14T08:43:00.005-05:00

About 6 months ago I got these two wonderful pieces of furniture from my aunt Susie, but on the transport from her house to ours the top drawer of this dresser fell out and was never found. I was very sad because I love this furniture! So my broken piece sat in my very undecorated and white guest bedroom for several months. I finally decided that I needed to decorate and I need to fix my dresser! So I nailed some wood in along the back and I put those wooded cross pieces in so I could set some baskets in their and fill in the massive missing drawer space and this is what I got......

I think it turned out pretty good and I like the new look of it

Once my drawer was fixed I moved on to the room, it is no suprise to anyone that I like to paint and I like color, so blue it is for this room!!

I had these metal things from the last house so I decided to paint them red and put them on the wall, Jason wanted black but no no red they must be!!!

It is still lacking some picures on the wall and a few accessories, but I really like the way it turned out.

Ready for guests...... So come on.....

A bunch of Summer!!

2010-07-05T18:02:00.004-05:00

So here is a mix of the things we have been doing the past few weeks......

Austin is back playing T-ball this year. It's amazing how much taller he is this year, he now towers over the 4 year olds, just like the 5 year olds did to him last year!!

Our new invention. The kids love going down the slide into their pool!!

of course we are at grammy and Paw Paw's pool this year. They both have just taken off in the swimming department this year.

Jon, Doty and the girls came over this past weekend to spend the 4th with us. We had a great time swimming, eating and watching fireworks!!

Mom and my babies watching the dads shoot of fireworks!

The kids killing time with a little football until it got dark enough for fireworks, Austing was dominated by the girls!

Saturday we all headed down to St. Louis for the parade and Air show.

More swimming on the 4th! Even Leah loved the water!!

waiting for Chesterfields fireworks to start!! By the time it was over, Austin was the only kid standing. All the girls fell asleep as the fireworks exploded above our heads!!

Austin took a big swimming step this weekend also! He jumped off the board without his vest or a noodle!!! Now he is swimming all over the pool!

Date Night!!

2010-06-23T19:35:00.004-05:00

Jason and Campbell had their very first daddy/campbell date night tonight. She was very excited all day and kept asking when daddy was going to be home! They went to McDonalds for dinner (her choice!!) It was between St. louis Bread Co., White Castle, McDonalds and Red Robin!! Mcdonalds won which it does most times with her! Then they went to Old Navy to buy a new dress!

Before Date pictures!!

Her new dress and her new flip flops!! Very exciting stuff!!

Fathers Day!!

2010-06-21T12:08:00.002-05:00

We had a great Fathers day celebrating in the morning with Jason. We had a good breakfast and some gifts and then off to church. Then we spent the afternoon swimming, eating and having fun with friends!

The kids taking a snack break!

Austin jumping off the board, he got quit daring yesterday. He even taught himself how to do flips under the water!!

Quinn just chillin!

Having a picnic dinner after a hard day of swimming!!

vacation!!!

2010-06-14T09:56:00.005-05:00

Good Friends, lots of laughs, great food and beautiful islands all make for a WONDERFUL vacation!!! We had so much fun on our cruise with Aaron and Michelle!! Although we all missed our kids some time during our trip it was so wonderful to just relax and enjoy being together again. Here are some of the highlights from our trip.....

Our first of many many meals/snacks together!! Everywhere you look there is always food!!

our first day we went to Princess Cay which is the cruise lines private island. We basicly just relaxed in the ocean and enjoyed the beautiful scenery!! That is our boat!

Michelle and I enjoying our breakfast. We ate in the same place everyday!

On our second day we were at sea all day. Aaron and Michelle participated in the pool games. Aaron's team won and Michelle lost!! But at least they both got cool medals!!

Jason and I before dinner!

The boys getting off the boat in Jamaica!

We climbed Dunn River Falls!

Watching the boat leave Jamaica!

Yes! I kissed a sting Ray! We went to Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman!

Jason on his ATV in Cozumel! This was so much Fun and really really dirty! After the ride they took us to a fabulous beach for the afternoon!

After the ride!!

Last night on the boat!

Soccer Game

2010-06-03T17:04:00.004-05:00

Campbell doing a dance!!!

Quinn, John and Austin

Austin has loved soccer so much more this year, possibly because he is actually running and can keep up and has experienced the glory of scoring goals. Here are some pictures from last nights game. Campbell just likes to prance around and do her dancing!!

Memorial Day weekend

2010-05-31T19:33:00.002-05:00

I thought both of my kids would just be instant fish in the water, well it has taken Austin a few years to warm up to the water and realize all the fun things that playing in the pool can offer. He discovered them this weekend! He is doing a great job with his swimming and loves it when jason throws him around!

Trip to Kansas

2010-05-31T19:17:00.003-05:00

My parents and I took the kids to Kansas this past week. We packed alot into our 3 days there. We played at Great grandma's with my cousin and her kids, We went to uncle Jon's Chick-fil-A, went swimming in lydia's neighborhood pool, had dinner out at aunt chicks, and just had a wonderful time all week. Here are some pics.....

Campbell trying to make baby Leah smile. (not working really well)

finding treasures at Great grandmas.

snack at chick-fil-A before some shopping and then back for Lunch!!!!

lounging at the pool with some really cool suckers aunt Doty bought!!!

Saturday morning we went to a farmers market in Lawrence, yummy treats and beautiful flowers.

Attempting a picture with all the grandkids!!!

It's pool time again!!

2010-05-23T19:30:00.002-05:00

Well it is that time of year again!!! Swimming at Grammy and Paw Paw's. It feels like we went from rainy 60 degree weather to the low 90's of today overnight. The kids have been dying to get their suits on and try out the water. It was a little chilly and torture for the adults to sit in the hot sun and know that the water is way to cold to actually get in!!! Austin was the first to brave the frigid water but he did and he had a blast. Campbell played on the stairs and my dad actually made it in also! I enjoyed reading on the sidelines and working on getting some sort of color on my white skin!! We even had an added benefit of Jon and Doty and the girls stopping by on their way home from Nashville. Lydia stripped down for a bit to play in the water with the kids! Yay summer is here!!

This is how the day ended in the car ride home!

We are back!!

2010-05-12T16:56:00.003-05:00

Well we have been cameraless for about a month now, but I'm back in business!! Austin had his preschool end of the year program last night. It was a little rough when I dropped him off in his room, the boy is suprisingly strong when he does not want you to leave, but I did what any good mother should do, hand him to his teacher and run out the door! But whatever Mrs. Fletcher told him worked because he was out on the stage (minus the bandana) and singing and dancing his little heart out!!

Austin and Molly!!

Austin and his favorite teacher, Mrs. Fletcher.

I can't believe he is off to kindergarten next year!!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T18:28:00.003-05:00

When you are late to church and your kids are not cooperating this is the Easter morning picture you end up with!!

Easter egg hunt at Aunt Susie's! Always fun!

just checking to see if it is real candy or not!

Birthday Traditions

2010-03-28T18:10:00.002-05:00

Before Austin was born, someone told me how they took their son's picture every year on their birthday in one of their dads dress shirts and tie. I thought it was a fun tradition and then you would have a cool little journey of their growth. When Campbell came along I wanted to do it with her but my clothes did not seem to be a cool idea so I just found a really fun hat and decided to take her picture in that every year. So she just turned 3 last Thursday and here is her 3 year old picture. I don't think I ever posted Austin 5 year in his shirt and tie so here that is also. By the way this is the first year Austin was not in tears!! The first 5 pictures are pretty funny!

A week in Atlanta!

2010-03-22T16:16:00.002-05:00

I took the kids last week to Atlanta for the week to see grandma and granddad. The kids and I had a wonderful time, but i think their highlight was the trip to Stone Mountain and playing on the "Big Rock". Here are some pictures from that day! Thanks grandma and grandad for a great week! We love you!

Campbell trying to scale the mountain!!

Yay!! Spring is here!!

2010-03-07T16:07:00.002-06:00

Ahhhh! turning in the heavy coats, hats and mittens for bikes,baseball and running around outside. I love when spring finally comes and this weekend we were finally able to get back outside!! We got out yesterday and did a little bike riding. Austin got to try out his new bike he got for his birthday and Campbell, well she got Austin's old bike but it is new to her!! Today the kids and Jason played a little ball outside and just ran around. Now we are going to do a little grilling for dinner!!

She Finally Fell In!!

2010-02-19T16:16:00.002-06:00

Campbell has been potty trained for about 6 weeks now and just recently she has given up the potty seat that fits on the big potty and she just holds herself up, but I guess she just could not hold herself up today because she finally fell in. We had just walked in the door from a trip to target and then I heard her screaming in the bathroom and Austin laughing!! Of course the camera was right there so before rescuing her I snapped a picture!! After I pulled her out she said, "Mommy I just so little".

Gotta Love it!!!

2010-02-12T14:05:00.003-06:00

This is what my kids were doing when I came back down stairs after my shower this morning. It was so cute! They were both reading their books to each other!! You have to love Campbell's animal towel on her head, you never know what she is going to find to dress up in!!

Austin's Birthday! Cake Cake and more Cake!!

2010-02-01T16:15:00.002-06:00

Well it seems we managed to stretch out the celebration of Austin's 5th birthday all weekend long. Jason's parents got in last Thursday and that night we celebrated Jason's dad's 65th Birthday! On Friday we went out to breakfast for Austin's birthday and then he went to the car show(heaven for Austin) with Jason, my dad and Jason's dad. We celebrated that night at my parents with Jon and Doty and the girls. Then Saturday night we had a little birthday party at our house for Austin with some of his friends. He had a wonderful weekend and he loves being 5! I'm sure I only have about 1 week until he starts talking about being 6!!

My New Dishwasher!!!

2010-01-25T14:32:00.002-06:00

AHHHH I knew these kids would come in handy if I just waited long enough!! It is so cute Austin can not wait to finish dinner so he can clear and wash the dishes!! We just leave him in there and he goes to town! I was in the living room last night and I heard him say, "Mom this is your last chance to finish your dinner because I'm throwing it away!" Amazing how they pick up all the things I say to them!!

Our Massachusetts Story

2010-01-13T14:05:00.007-06:00

I have decided that this story in its entirerty needed to be posted! It is certainly not everyday that you ask someone what has been going on and they respond well, We might be moving to Massachusetts. Since this summer this has been the response many of our friends and family have gotten from us! Yes that is right I a wholehearted midwestern girl and my southern husband very well might find themselves in Western Massachusetts along with my parents! The story is pretty long so I will begin......

The actual journey began this past June, but in reality it started a long time ago. At the church I grew up attending we had a wonderful music director, Gary and his wife Julie. Well Gary was also a florist and there were many times my dad and brother helped Gary deliver flowers and my parents were also in the choir so they knew Gary and Julie pretty well. Gary and Julie moved away from St. Louis in the early 90's and as things go we all kind of lost track of each others lives. Gary and Julie ended up in Auburn, Alabama where he is still a music director but more importantly they also own and manage a beautiful bed and breakfast and event venue down there. If you have a chance you should check out their website, http://www.fountainviewmansion.com/ Anyway they do beautiful weddings and large events. So a year or two ago my parents on their way to Atlanta stopped by fountainview to see and catch up with Gary and Julie. As Gary was showing them around my dad expressed interest in that type of business and how it had always been somewhat of a dream of his to do that himself one day.

So forward a year or two and Gary was going through a closet at the mansion and ran across a poster of all the Vanderbilt mansions around the country. Well somehow he came to find out that one of them which is in the Berkshires of Massachusetts was for sale. He was very interested and he and his family went up to take a look at it and fell in love with it. As he tells the story he was thinking of someone who would be interested in running something like this and my parents popped into his head.

So one day this past June my dad received and email from Gary telling him about this property and his vision for it and asking him if he thought this might be something he was interested in going in on together. Of course later that weekend my parents showed me the email and pictures of the property and I thought sure lets move to Massachusetts, not really ever believing we would actually do something like that. Of course the 3 of us started dreaming and brainstorming. Then we kind of snapped out of it and remembered Jason, (the voice of reason) would probably never go for something like this (I mean it is crazy!!) It just so happened that we were all going out to dinner that night for my moms birthday. So as we were all sitting at the table, (Jason had met us there from work) I just asked Jason, So what do you think about moving to a really cool place and running an Inn and Wedding venue? And to my HUGE suprise he did not laugh in my face. He actually thought about it and that is where it all began.....

Gary and my dad started to talk and started to talk with the real estate guy. A few weeks later we all planned to take a trip up there and see exactly what it was we were getting into. As it turned out we could not get a babysitter at such last minute notice so Jason stayed home and the 3 of us went.

So basicly we loved the cottage and all the other buildings, there was definitly some need for improvements, but we decided that we would continue with the process. Our whole thinking throughout this process was that we would continue to proceed for as long as we felt God was leading us that way and that he was opening these doors for us. Well negotiations continued through July and August. Dad and Gary were working on the business plan and securing investor money for the project. Jason and I were scheduled to go back up at the end of Ausgust to really look into the area and see if it was where we wanted to raise the kids. Then about 3 days before we were ready to leave the whole deal just stopped. The owners of the home backed out and took the property off the market.

We saw this as a definite sign from God that this was not in the plan or that the timing was just not right. So as quickly as this all started it all came to an end. We went about our normal lives and we left our Massachusettes dream alone.... for a while!

In the middle of December the owners of the property contacted my dad and Gary and said that they were interested in selling again. Again it was obviously important to get Jason up there so that we could make a decision about actually moving there, so my parents and Jason and I headed up there last Wednesday along with Gary. We met with the owners on Thusday and toured the house and really got to know them and see their vision for the house. On Friday Jason and I visited some schools in the area and just drove around trying to get a feel for the area! It is a wonderful part of the country and we are really excited about the adventure of moving to a new place and experiencing things that we never have.

About the Actual Property.....Elm Court

The "Cottage" as it is called was build in 1886 by Emily Vanderbilt and her husband William Douglas Sloan. Emily is the granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt (the main guy, the railroad guy). So they built it as a summer home, they lived in New York and would summer in the Birkshires. The house was used as a summer home for many years and then Emily's granddaughter and husband ran it as an Inn for many years. They stopped the Inn in the 50's and then it sat vacant for about 45 years and fell into disrepair and there was extensive looting and vandalism. Then in 1999 Bob and his wife Sonya purchased the propery from his mother. Bob would be the great-great grandson of Emily and William. When they purchased the house they spent years renovating it and bringing it back. As of today there are still large portions that are unrenovated but the most important parts are all restored and they are beautiful! And that is where we come it......

We have many many ideas for this property but for the most part it will be an Inn and a special events (mainly weddings) venue!

So as of now we are drawing up the contracts and hope to have those completed in the next few weeks. After they are signed we have 90 days to close. In that time the inspections need to go well and we have to finalize and secure our investor money.

Practical Matters!!.....

My parents will live in the cottage and then on the other side of the property (about 1/4 to 1/2 mile walk) there are 3 other homes and Jason and I will renovate one of those homes and that is where we will live. So there it is! This is what has been going on the past few months, i'm sure it will bring up many questions, so ask away and believe me there are many many more details!! We are all so excited to see how God will walk us through this new adventure and we strongly believe that he has given us this unbelievable opportunity for a reason and we are excited to be a part of it!! I also hope everyone who wants to will come and visit us!! Please!!

You can check out the website, the owners put it together when they had done weddings there. It has some good pictures of the house and the surrounding area. http://www.elmcourt.com/

This is the main house

This will be our house. Some nights I still can't wrap my mind around moving into a house that was build in the 1800's. The fact that they are all still standing and standing strong means they really use to build them right!

Anyway there you go, the whole story! I'm sure I will be back with updates, but updates seemed to be pointless if I did not post the whole story!

I Will now take questions......:)

Christmas

2009-12-26T22:09:00.003-06:00

The kids after church and dinner on Christmas eve!

I started a new tradition this year, so I guess when I do it again next year I can then call it a tradition, We let the kids open one gift from us and I decided every year to give them new jammies so they would have new ones for christmas morning.

Making cookies for santa before we went to bed

playing farkel at grammies and waiting for uncle Jon and Aunt Doty to get in

opening gifts at grammy's (whew that was crazy)!!

Weekend fun!

2009-12-21T11:28:00.001-06:00

We had a wonderful Weekend. Jon and Doty came over and we finally got to meet Leah! The kids had a wonderful time playing. Saturday night we had the annual Hoffman family Christmas party!

Silver Dollar City

2009-12-12T20:45:00.003-06:00

It is well worth braving the cold to go to Silver Dollar City in Branson and see all the amazing Christmas lights. Mom and Dad took the kids down on Wednesday and Jason and I drove down Thursday night. We did a little shopping on Friday morning and then headed to Silver Dollar City Friday afternoon and evening! It reached 35 degrees so the kids rides were running and the kids had a blast riding all the rides! I can't even explain how many Christmas lights they hang in that park it is just something you have to see!! We had a great time!

Breakfast With Santa!

2009-12-06T21:24:00.004-06:00

We went to Shaw's garden for our annual breakfast with Santa! It was wonderful and the kids loved getting to see santa and the train show! Austin asked for a crane and Campbell just wants presents!!

some times she cooperates and I love it!

Austin reading in the gift shope! So Sweet!!

Thanksgiving Fun!!

2009-11-30T18:23:00.006-06:00

We had a wonderful trip to Atlanta for Thanksgiving. We love going to grandma's and granddads!! We got to spend so much time with Aunt Kristen and Uncle David and the kids!!! Here are some pictures!

Going out to eat after church! All the cousins

Eating yummy things at grandmas!

Baking brownies with grandma

On Tuesday we went to a new science museum and the kids had a blast! Austin even walked on the moon!

digging for bones!!

oops!! but he's panning for jewels!!

our fam!

Being silly!!

Is it possible to get them both looking happy??

Campbell holding the hampster!!

Big Bed for Campbell

2009-11-09T16:14:00.002-06:00

We got Campbell's bed all set up last night and she slept great! I can't believe that we don't have a crib up anymore! Now I need to work on finding some cute bedding!