KAREL BROS.

Mason Turns 3 and takes off

2009-08-27T22:02:00.002-07:00

The boyzz get a new toy

Too Cute not to Share

2008-10-17T22:02:00.003-07:00

Look at my precious precious nieces and nephew! I haven't seen Charlie since he was just a week old! Look how gorgeous my nieces, Betsy and Hailey, are! They are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside. Can't wait to get to know Charlie and can't wait for him to start taking all my brothers "stuff" apart! My mom (the Geeg) went to Grandparent day at Hailey's school and had a photo shoot of the fam as well!

Fat Ass

2008-10-05T20:21:00.004-07:00

My B-day was a couple weeks ago. Thirty something...
I asked to go running by myself in the morning. I came home from my run at 7 am to find 2-wait 3 boys icing a giant double batch cookie cake for me! So much for the run.
Too many candles later that night...
I'll take 'em while I can still get 'em!
Thanks Luke and Mase!

B is for BATCHELDER! Argh...

2008-10-02T21:35:00.002-07:00

The story I am about to post is from a dear friend of mine from a long time ago. Not telling how long ago, but quite a while. This story is from "The Batchelders" specifically Chris Batchelder. Chris, Steven, Annie, myself, and my brother all grew up on Georgetown in Bartlesville, OK. We have LOTS of stories, some that still have not met the statute of limitations. This story is about Chris' son Brady. Yes, I am still very proud to call Oklahoma my home state. By the way, Brady's father once thought it was a good idea when he was babysitting his baby sister Annie to put her on his shoulders while roller-skating. Yeah, she broke her arm. Anyways...here goes.

So, 9:30 on Tuesday night, Brady decides he wants a corndog. Why he is still up at 9:30 and hungry is a topic for another email. After some debating, we agree to cook him his corndog...he goes running gleefully out to the garage freezer, opens the door and WHAM! gets hit in the head, blade-first, with a four-inch scraping blade (usually used to scrape old wallpaper off walls) that had been sitting on top of the freezer.

He has about a one-inch gash across his forehead that pretty much goes all the way to the skull. There is blood everywhere. Chris, who had made it to the doorway just in time to see the whole thing happen in slow motion, grabs the kid, grabs a towel, reminds me to stay calm whilst screaming for Emily (not Abbey mind you, because we all know why), Emily. Incredibly, she doesn't wake.

I am tossing shoes, grabbing keys, manage to find one of the four phones that are missing from their chargers and call Gallen and yell into the phone that he needs to come over because there's been and accident. He arrives in record time.

We leave oblivious, sleeping girls in his care and head out to the emergency room by 9:50. Now, this is Stillwater, Oklahoma mind you....

We arrive to discover there are no less than 30 people in the ER waiting for treatment...on a Tuesday. Since our child is hemorraging, we naturally expect to go to the front of the line. However, we are quickly informed that ours is not the worst injured child in the waiting room, as there is another boy there (Brady's age) from Ripley who has been attacked in the face by a dog.

Oddly, this poor mauled boy is ALSO waiting because some idiot college kid got injured in a flag football game and separated his shoulder (sorry Robyn, but really there are two bleeding children in the waiting room). Meanwhile, flag football guy's entire team are all there to help comfort each other and over-inflate the drama.

We, on our own, without being given so much as a piece of gauze or a paper towel, manage to get Brady cleaned up. He's wrapped in a blanket with no pants or shoes on. (BTW, dog-bite kid is in diaper only and soaking wet.) And we start distracting him with "name that shape" and "name that color."

It is about this time, 10:30, that we start to notice some of the other folks in addition to dog-bite kid that have found their way to the ER:

1. Pregnant teen, age 15 (and that's pushing it), and her mullet-haired mother, both reeking of smoke.
2. Unwed mother, at least twice MY size, with newborn, cussing out "baby daddy," who I call Jack Sprat because he is half my size, because they have "done been waiting" since 9:30 to see the "effin doctor."
3. Strung-out Native American man in wheelchair, long black mullet, also reeks of "funny" smoke. Staff call him him by his first name, Prentiss, as if they are familiar. He is wheeled back and forth many different times but only moans in response.
4. Bi-racial, lesbian couple within unknown ailment. They are sitting next to us (also reek of smoke), and it takes me awhile to figure out the one isn't a dude because it had shaved it's head and was wearing a baggy hooded sweatshirt.
5. I'll be generous and call them "common law" husband (also sporting mullet) and wife who enter ER and explain to nurse "we ain't got no 'lectrics, so we use oil lamps, and when I done blown one out it took all her breath away." To which she responded, as she is filling out her OWN paper work, "yeah, I can't breathe. I aint breathing." These folks were dismissed fairly quickly.
6. Old man with no teeth, also smokey, gumming a bag of Funyons. His son(?), with teeth plus multiple piercings and tatts, "funny" smoke. Another man, missing teeth, mullet (of course), badly in need of a belt.
7. Middle-aged lady with pink hair (I swear, I can't make this stuff up), seemingly healthy and quite friendly. Reeks of smoke...and "funny" smoke.
8. Pop Warner football player, still in full pads, with broken nose...and his father, in full coaching gear.
9. At least three other elderly couples, who are called back before us, looking completely healthy, but I'm not going to judge because maybe there were having heart attacks or something.

So just for the record, that's four mullets in one ER...but, we can talk about that later.

Finally, at 11:30 we are called to CHECK-IN, and told by the triage nurse yes, Brady definitely needs stitches, but there is still no room for us, as they have a DIFFERENT flag football injury in the back that is about to clear out. And hopefully we will get that room.

Only we don't.

One of the mullets goes instead, followed by dog-bite kid...which I am actually OK with, since I'm thinking he needs a shot before the rabbies actually sets in.

During this time it hits us that the irony is...we don't even HAVE any wallpaper that would ever need to be scraped.

At 12:10, we are shown to our room, where the only staff member who seems eager to wait on us is the admin in charge of getting our co-pay and insurance card. (Tip: Always take your insurance card to the ER. I have learned this willl cut your total wait time in half.)

Sure enough, instead of waiting two more hours for a doctor, it is only 45 minutes, during which time dog-bite kid next door is either getting multiple stitches or is giving birth to a real live alien judging by the screams.

Brady, by this time, has forgotten about his head wound and really wants to jump on the hospital bed and play with the little TV clicker thing that makes the "ding" noise for the nurse. Still, Dr. Olsen (who looks about ready to take a scalpel to his own jugular) makes it to our room and informs us that glue won't do and that our kid needs stitches too and that he'll go get the orderlies.

Two of the strongest guys I've seen and one poor girl nurse enter and proceed to wrap Brady like a human burrito into a sheet. All three hold him down while Dr. Olsen tries to stick the "deadening" needle in the precise spot that will numb the area. This is harder than it seems as human burritos are harder to manhandle than regular burritos.

Brady screams "mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama."

"Mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama."

Four very precise stitches and a bandage the size of Canada. The orderlies are actually sweating they are so worn out. Me too, since they have me down under the towel covering Brady's head, trying to get him to look at me and calm down. At one point I send Chris into a fit of laughter by telling my child: "Brady, he's not an Amish quilter, OK? He's going as fast as he can!" Of course this doesn't work...some strange guy is sewing a wire into his head!

"Mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, OK I ready go home."

Anyway we're done.

Nurse: Wow, he's strong.
Me: Yeah, we know.
Nurse: No, I mean he's *really* strong.
Me: You aren't the first medical professional to tell us that.
Nurse: Well, he's *unusually* strong.
Me: Thank you. We're very proud.

Brady is fully calmed downed now, and into full-on flirt mode. Dad is carrying him out of the ER and he gives everybody a wave. He is blowing kisses to the nurses like a celebrity. He yells at the doctor "Later GUY!"

We are home by 1:30, asleep by 1:40.

And this morning he's totally fine.

There are several morals to this this story. I could go the serious route and talk about how God must have been really watching over us and how lucky we are that Brady didn't lose an eye intead of just have cut his forehead open. Or I could warn to stay away from the Stillwater ER if you are in immediate need of medical help. Or I could make a serious case AGAINST a publically funded healthcare system. But, I think I will just go with the generic "keep your children away from sharp objects" moral and be thankful that I don't wear a mullet and and that I still have all my teeth...and that I always carry my insurance card.

Angie

Instant Boob Job...boy, I wish!

2008-09-14T20:54:00.004-07:00

Me in our butterfly top and E in the "instant boob job dress." I will leave it at that, don't want E to get mad. (Hence, if you have no girls up top, this is the dress for you! Or if you have big, perky, fake ta tas this is the dress for you. Sorry no big saggy girls. It just doesn't work.

Me, frisking one of our manequins before the party. Not sure which of the 3 we have-if this is Kelly, Kris, or Jill. I named them after Charlies Angels. My favorite.
This is my business partner and friend Michelle! She is the "treasurer." She tells me how much money I can spend, and then I spend more... I refer to myself as the Prez. I keep forgeting to tell Michelle that! You can't see it well but Michelle has on what I named the "skird." It's a skirt and a dress. Fits skinny bitches and the rounder larger wholesome woman.

So I started my own company and we launched August 21st. It has been non-stop ever since. It allows me to be a stay at home mom with my human garbage disposals and have a little somethin of my own to run, create, escape, whatever you want to call it! This is one of our first BIG events at E's house. Thanks E! I was a huge success with more to come!

Kids Will Make a Liar Out of You...

2008-09-08T19:19:00.005-07:00

So this fall I signed up Luke and Mason for "Little Dribblers." Basketball for little ones. The absolute minimum age is 3. Mason just turned 2 in July but is beyond the size of a 3 year old and is completely totally obsessed with BALLS-yes, even his own. Man does that stuff start young! Anyways, I lied. I signed Mason up and put his birthdate down as a year earlier than it was. He passed easily for a 3 year old and I thought he would be completely obsessed. He would barely leave my side at our first basketball practice today. He went out with the other tots at first and then just kept saying Mama mama mama! He then saw some fountains, stripped down, and ran naked all over the place. No surprise there with my boys. They actually prefer to not have any clothes on at all...ever I just don't know where they get it? hmmmmmm... then Mason went into the flowerbeds at this nice community center place we were at and continued to bring me flowers from their garden and kiss me every time. He was a hit with the other moms. So yes, I am already lieing for my kids, and feel a bit bad about it. OK, not anymore, I'm over it. Hopefully next week he will participate. If not, he can pick their flowers and kiss me all he wants because someday he will want nothing to do with me and my kisses will embaress him! I'll take it while I can get it.

2008-08-27T21:41:00.003-07:00

This summer in Colorado at the North Pole! Luke, Hailey, Betsy, and Mason. What fun we had, and have! It's so fun to see them grow up together! Little Charlie has some catching up to do!

PaPa and Partner

2008-08-27T12:44:00.002-07:00

This summer we went four-wheelin in CO. This is one of my favorite pics from the trip. Mason thought he was all that and drove the Razr while pimpin in MaMas shades. Thanks PaPa!

My Babies Go To School- WAHHHHHHHHHH!

2008-08-22T20:50:00.005-07:00

Masons first day! Luke was excited Mason was coming with him!

Mason isn't quite sure what is going on.
Lukes first day of school.

precious...don't the haircuts look nice. Sally (aka mommy) bought some shears and did it herself! Sorry boys, its a disease.

Luke is going to preschool T, W, Th, this year and Mason is going only on W mornings. I am VERY hesitant to send my baby Mason because he JUST turned 2. He isn't talking much so "they" think being around more kids and other people will help his talking, or lack there of. Last Tuesday was Lukes last, first day of preschool. I cried the week before about all of this, a lot. I had last Wednesday morning to myself and stopped crying. It was simply amazing how much I got done without ANY interuptions. I was quite worried about my Mason but he did fine.

A little behind

2008-08-05T20:06:00.003-07:00

I have been a bit busy lately-starting my own business. Check it out- www.thesassycloset.com Needless to say I am behind in my pics and stories and to be quite honest, I will never truly catch up. This is a picture of my grandparents from about a month ago when we had the Mason Family Reunion in Colorado. We had so much fun and this with my bro and I's monkeys. I will slowly but surely post more pics from our fun filled summer! By the way my Grandfather, Pops, turned 90 last year and my Grandmother, Mamaw, is 88. Wow...

Nebraskaland

2008-07-16T13:59:00.006-07:00

The boys went to Nebraska in June to visit MeMe and Go while Ben and I had a "romantic" weekend away at a wedding in Indiana. Remember that "romantic" "puking" weekend? Well, the boys absolutely had a blast in Nebraska doing all sorts of fun things. MeMe and GO said they were VERY well behaved! So, what am I doing wrong? Naaa, my boys are well behaved for the most part, well for today, well for this hour and this minute. Thats because Luke is watching Scooby Doo and Mason is asleep. We have lots to catch up on with the Karel Bros. Arriving at the Big O running to MeMe.
Mason being Mason

Playing in the yard with Bella and lots and lots of trucks and sand

Playing with fun antiques

Giggling and posponing bedtime as long as possible

Delivering toads to MeMe
Lots of laughter
Playing at the river cabing with our friend Josie
Cooking hot dogs with Go- my little pyromaniac

Had some sand delivered to play with- another excuse for MeMe to do MORE laundry

Went to the Childrens Museum in Lincoln. Go finally took the sticker off his DVD player in his car for the boys to watch a show on the way-it only took him what...4 years?
Diggin for fossils at the museum
Catching toads
more toads and teaching bro

Getting ready to give to MeMe as a "surprise!"

Go and Luke built a birdhouse and painted it.
Went fishing and caught a "6 foot fish." This fish story keeps getting better and better!
They did catch about 15 fish but kepts one, cleaned it, and ate it.

Building the bird house with Go.

Thanks MeMe and GO for your help and love for our boys! They had so much fun! Hope you are still resting!

A few random June pics...

2008-06-30T21:53:00.003-07:00

What happens when...

2008-06-27T06:26:00.004-07:00

mom puts lots of bubbles in her spa tub,,,yes, on purpose? Let me show you! Mason got out before the fun really started!

And sometimes its fun to pick your nose in the tub

Charles Matthew Van Auken

2008-06-25T13:33:00.003-07:00

Bro hugging Kimberly's sister!
Charlie holding Daddy's finger
Just before starting to push

A son....
Oh my gosh...

My nephew

Dad and Bro while nurse checks out Charlie.

Kimberly looking immediately after seeing penis and Matt hiding his tears of joy!
What do I do with that?

Kimberly's sister, the girls second favorite aunt.

YEAH! It's a boy! My brother and sister gave birth to a sweet healthy baby boy yesterday! I have 2 nieces and they did not find out the sex of #3 but we were all REALLY hoping they would have a boy. Charlie was 7 lbs and 19 3/4 inches long. He was 3 weeks early too! Boy, do I have a lot of advice. I hope Charlie gives Matt a run for his money-or his mind-what goes around comes around. I really hope he doesn't use his two sisters as his guinea pig like shocking them or experimenting with batteries, spying on them with his friends, you get my drift! Congratulations Matt and Kimberly- we will get to meet him this Tuesday! Of course, my mom was there for the whole thing camera in hand. Nice work Geeg.

A Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-16T08:09:00.008-07:00

Darren and Laura

2008-06-11T20:16:00.003-07:00

Ben and I have been looking forward to this past weekend for months. We had a huge master plan on how to attend one of our best friends wedding in Indiana, sans kids. This would be the 3rd weekend we have ever been alone together without kids since we had our first. Crazy to even think about and those of you that know me won't believe this. Trust me, we have lots and lots of family that helps us all the time when they visit or we visit them but they all live 1000+ miles away. So, a night away, all night, just doesn't happen. Yes, we have spent a fortune on sitters and nanny's but only for evenings out. Ok, enough on that. I left last Thursday at 5 am with a soon to be 2 year old and 4 year old to venture on a 3 hour flight to Omaha. In Omaha I met the in-laws, MeMe and GO, and turned around at the baggage claim and hopped on a flight to Chicago and then on a flight to Indianapolis. Even with the tornados I was only 2 hours late-not bad. Ben then got on got on a 6pm flight in Phoenix direct to Indianapolis. He was supposed to get in at midnight but instead got in at 2 am. Who cares? I didn't have children to get up with the next morning. Little did I know what was in store for me. I had literally mapquested malls, favorite shopping spots, etc. Ben would play golf and do the groomsman thing and I would play BY MYSELF! We were all weary of Mason being dropped off because he has been an extension of my hip lately. He would scream when I would leave the room or even if moved 2 feet from him. He grunted for me (for those of you that know Mason, you know what I am referring to), I told him again that he was staying, mommy was leaving, Luke will be with you, and he kissed me, turned around, and strutted out of the airport pulling his little frog suitcase. The best part was seeing MeMe and Go turn and immediately start running after my boys. Ahhhhh, the story of my life. Anyways, more on their trip later.

I was bound and determined to take naps, shop, relax, maybe have a massage, etc. I shopped on Friday and rushed home to fit a nap in. I knew I wouldn't see much of Ben on Friday but we planned to at least spend Saturday morning together in Indiana. I woke up from my nap and didn't feel great. I thought something was wrong but I had my eye on the prize and I was going out for a night out without kids, and without kids to wake up to on Saturday am. I did have quite a bit of fun on Friday, but ended up throwing up ALL NIGHT. I remember at the Rehearsal Dinner everyone saying that it was one of the best meals they had ever had. I remember thinking, huh, I'm just not that hungry. All I wanted to eat was the bread. I again, ignored this and moved on. Needless to say I didn't move on Saturday, couldn't even turn the TV on in bed, couldn't bathe myself, nothing. I was a mess. I finally got in the shower at 2 to get ready for the wedding, and my ride picked me up at 2:30. I wasn't looking too good, nor did I care. I was proud of myself for even making it to the 3:00 wedding. (Ben went early for pictures, etc.) I ate some salad and bread and a bit of cake and made it until 11:00 that night. I finally DRUG my husband home-meaning the Marriott. I then had a fever and chills all night and didn't keep anything down until Sunday night-after I had slept15 hours straight. So, the romantic weekend we were hoping for didn't turn out exactly like we had planned BUT even through all of this we had an absolutely fantastic time! We met some great great new friends, only wish they lived closer! Laura was the most beautiful bride-perfect dress, perfect hair, and the glow of an angel. The wedding was sincere and intimate, the reception an absolute class act and a lot of fun. If this girl can reel in a guy like Darren, she is set for life. He is an unbelievable catch, as is she, and they really and truly are perfect for each other. You know what I am talking about. Have you ever gone to a wedding and think "Oh no, this isn't going to last?" It is horrible to say, think, or write, but you know you have thought that a time or two. And, you probably have found out that you were right! I have no doubt that Laura and Darren will truly live happily ever after. Darren and Laura are off to the Almalfi coast of Italy and the Greek Islands. I hope they aren't puking. I hope they are doing something else. Thanks for including us in your special weekend!

I promise we are great parents...

2008-06-01T21:47:00.007-07:00

Over Memorial Day we decided to take our bikes, double stroller, cooler, dog, camera, and phones on a picnic. We had no idea what kind of adventure we were about to endure. This kind of stuff, I KNOW, doesn't happen to everyone. This isn't normal. I realize I usually plan too much, take risks, and push my kids to be adventurous. A VERY long story as short as possible-

Throw in all the above stuff. We don't have a seat on the back of my bike yet for Mason so I decide to run beside Ben and Luke, who are on their bikes, with Mason in the double stroller and the dog tied to the stroller. I am also carrying all the food, drinks, camera, etc. Now Nelli and I had already gotten our run in for that day but a little extra exercise can only help especially the amount of bbq's we have been to lately with chips, dip, cookies, ribs, beer, more chips and dips, is exponential. So we load up the truck and go to a park close by and take a bike/running path to a pond. We get to the pond and I'm in front, then Ben, then Luke. I hear Ben say "Luke make sure you are going slow enough for the fast turn-don't ride into the pond." I look back immediately and I just see Luke ride straight into the pond, head submerged, bike sinking to the bottom, and my heart stopped. MY BABY! Now, I have Mason locked into the stroller with the dog tied on. Ben jumped off his bike and pulled Luke out of the pond. He came up and immediately swam to the edge-all those swimming lessons paid off! He is hysterically crying and COVERED in some sort of neon green seaweed. I untie the dog, put the brake on the stroller, and run over to him and just hold him. Before I even get to him the dog has fallen into the pond and is now swimming in this pool of neon seaweed. I have to pull her out as well. So, we are all covered in seaweed. I'm just glad the stroller didn't go into the pond, yet. So Luke calms down fairly quickly- Ben and I are just looking at each other not knowing what to say. I grab the camera and let Mason out of the stroller. Ben and Luke fished out Lukes bicycle. Now, a week later and it is still in the garage covered in seaweed... So Luke is of course soaking wet. We are walking around the pond and find some nice huge dead catfish and you can only imagine how cool my boys thought that was. All of a sudden, Ben just points and grunts at me. I look over and the stroller that was parked on the hill, in the shade, where we thought would be a good place to have our picnic, is flying down the hill headed towards the pond. Camera, cooler, phones, etc. I bolt, I was running as fast as I ever have to try and stop the stroller from going into the green seaweed. LUCKILY, Lukes bike stopped it. Knocked over the bike, stroller and everything else flying out. I grab the camera again. I just said, we need to eat quick, get home safely, and not leave the house for the rest of the day. Ben took his shirt off so Luke could wear it because he was cold. Of course Mason then wanted his shirt off like Daddy. Hence, the pictures. We made it home with only Lukes training wheel coming off but no major injuries. Yes, we all went straight to the shower!

God Bless Home Depot

2008-05-20T20:35:00.009-07:00

What a day, what a fun day, really. Some of you won't understand how I find the day I had today "fun." Here is my day:
5:30- wake up and cycle 12 miles, take dog running 1.5 miles (hey, I'm taking all the credit I can get)
7:00- come home to 2 boys eating breakfast, Ben leaves, we play choo choos. Boys fight over who gets the engine train but they both agree mommy gets the caboose. Go figure.
7:45- shower, dress, dress kids. Negotiate snacks for boys, pack swimsuits, towels,drinks, extra clothes, monster trucks, retrieve all the tools in the garage the boys have gotten out while I am getting ready, feed dog, pick up all shoes so dog doesn't chew, track down boys and lasso them into the car(this is the hardest and most aggravating part of my day). All of you parents with more than one kid understand the amount of energy it takes to get 2 kids locked and in their car seat.
8:45-arrive at park with play fountains,etc. Play, get really wet then cover with sand, climb trees, chase lizards up trees, chase birds, eat snacks, and we made some new friends.
10:30- clean up boys, put Mason in dry clothes, load up and head to Lukes swimming lesson.
11-11:45- Lukes swimming lesson. Mason and mom socialize with friends, eat popcorn, and watch Luke. Get Luke showered while chasing Mason- he loves to leave the main room to watch the big fish tank. Make Luke go potty as it is inevitable that he will have an "emergency" 2 minutes after we leave which means pulling over, unbuckling, etc. I'm not the most patient person in the world but I am still learning. Kids and husbands are the best teachers!
12:00-put Mason down for a nap,feed Luke lunch, grab a bowl of Lucky Charms for me, switch laundry,unload dishwasher, and place clean laundry in basket next to couch to pretend to fold and put away. Thinking, I'll do it tonight while I watch American Idol. Guess what, I'm watching Idol, writing this, and laundry is still there. Whatever...so house is in order, Mason is sleeping, and I think I need to just sit for a bit. I help Luke pick out a movie- Peter Pan Return to Neverland-which we "accidentally" bought because when we rented it from Blockbuster we lost it and didn't find it for 3 months. So, now it is ours. Great. I curl up in my soft leaopard blanket, Luke is sitting next to me. We get to Chapter 18 of the movie and the DVD player gets all *$#@#$#$%. It might have something to do with the fact that last week I caught Mason feeding the DVD player with all of his Baby Einstein CD's. No kidding, I pulled out 10 DVD's one at a time. Everytime the opener would go back in it popped back out another DVD. There is still one jammed in there that is stuck, I can hear it, BUT I got the DVD working otherwise. We just can't use #3. This will all be news to Ben BTW. So after turning off all electrecity to the DVD player, ejecting, turning, and all but shaking the DVD player-did this routine at least 6 times- Peter Pan is back on. Well, in the meantime when I fired Luke from trying to help-he tends to think the more buttons you push, the more likely it is to work- I get back on the couch, snuggle up, and hope for more time before the Masonator wakes up. Luke turns around and says "mommy, look, I handcuffed my hands together!" I immediately know he doesn't have the keys. He has been playing with these handcuffs the last 2 days but this morning Ben asked him where the keys were and said if he didn't know then he shouldn't play with them. The past 2 days I had visions that this was going to happen and I even thought about what I was going to do when it did. Why didn't I take the cuffs away? And endure the tears of sadness, the negotiating tactics to try and get them back, or was I secretly hoping he would do it and all I had to decide was what to handcuff him to? Ok, not really. I'm not that mean. So, he says "mommy, I can just slide my hand out." Well, he got one of his hands out but the other was VERY tight. I just started laughing...and I couldn't stop. In my mind I was trying to keep it light for him so he didn't panic. I laid back on the couch and said "well, you better go find the keys." Of couse I eventually got up and we searched the house for keys. At one point we sat back down and I told him he at least had a really pretty bracelet. He didn't think that was very funny. At first, Luke was sort of laughing, because I was definitely laughing. Why in the world do we have so many "mystery" keys. We have more random keys that I have NO idea what they are for. It is sort of like socks-there is always one but never a pair- I'm convinced the dryer eats them. So, we try all sorts of keys, we go to the work bench and the ridiculous amount of tools my husband has for lord knows what, (he probably doesn't really know what, but they are cool tools) and we try to pick the lock. I have actually gotten really good at picking locks because Luke sometimes locks his door, falls asleep into his deep sleep coma, and then I pick the lock. We even keep a long skinny screwdriver above his door, it happens that often. So, I don't really want to go to the police station. I decide that when Mason gets up, we will go to Home Depot. They know me there-mostly the guys in the painting department or rental tools (ie shit happens). I'm not known at the latest fashionista Scottsdale boutique or the hottest new club in town, or the philanthropic volunteer BUT the boys at Home Depot know me, or shall I say men.
Now, Luke is starting to get upset and wants to wait for Daddy to get home, he wants to swim in his cuffs, sleep in his cuffs, etc. He is just nervous it is going to hurt. Mason wakes up, we head to Home Depot with lots of tears from Luke. 7 handHome Depot "volunteers" later, many tears, many tours of Home Depot, much drama and many laughs later, the cuffs are off. All this time Mason is somewhat following us, because Luke won't let go of my hand, and Mason is carrying my car keys trying to unlock everything he can get his hands on. The cuffs were cut and then eventually 2 guys picked the lock. We had in our some giant bolt cutters to take home for Daddy to do. He got scared so I just said we could buy some and cut them at home. We had to take the cutters back to the shelf when they got the lock picked. I said "my gosh, I thought I stumped the men of Home Depot!" They said "almost!" I said "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be back."As we are waling out Luke says "mommy, next time can we buy the cool tool cutters to cut them off?" Next time? I said "sure." OH MY GOSH! We go home, put back on our wet swimsuits, sunscreen, etc. Then, Ben walks in. He has some work to finish in the office so I say have a cocktail with me and when you are done with work come out and swim. Great! He finishes work, jumps in the pool, boys are winding up, and his phone rings (which it does 1000498472394759387498725 times a day) but he got called in to size a case. He was gone as fast as he jumped in the pool. I did get to finish his cocktail for him though. So, swimming, dinner, dance party, teeth brushed, pj;s, books, and bedtime for Luke. Ben got home about 7-just in time to put Mason to bed.

Now, I have shared this story with many people today and the first question that is asked is "where did the handcuffs come from?" That, my friends, is for another day, another time, and probably another blog. You will wish you hadn't asked.

UPDATE: It is now Wed. am and I am adding pictures and posting. BUT- we found the cuff keys last night but I can't tell you where. Luke asked if we could dig them out of the trash. Of course, I said no...

Another Day at the Park

2008-05-18T11:24:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

South of the Border

2008-05-15T15:45:00.000-07:00

The "boys" of Mexico or shall we call them the flip cup champions? I demand a rematch!
We had promised a bonfire on the beach roasting marshmallows but the adults were too tired and ready to put the kids to bed. They instead roasted marshmallows on a gas stove in the kitchen. We'll show em how its dun later.

Water gun champion.

Mason, I don't want to get in the ocean, Karel. Plus, some hot mom I found to pose with him.

Ridin the waves dude. Lukes new favorite word. I don't have the slightest idea where he picked that one up. :)

Mexico

2008-05-14T18:04:00.005-07:00

We survived our trip to Rocky Point with 14 adults and 13 kids all 4 years old and under- no not ALL the parents, just the kids and husbands. Well, not really the husbands, they just acted like they were 4, better yet 21. We had a great time and all of the kids got along really really well. So did the parents. We ate, drank, ate, drank, and ate some more. I still seem to think that I am still on vacation since I am still eating and drinking like I did. Theres always tomorrow, right? Here are some pics!

1-2-3

2008-05-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH...how cute! The little clone! We are off to Mexico with 14 adults and 13 kids all under the age of 4! Wish us luck!

Got Crack?

2008-05-01T20:24:00.000-07:00

We got lots-o crack-o at the Karel household. And...we don't care one little bit. Trucks, dirt, mud, swimming, sand, and anything else messy, is more important than crack. I hope this mentality continues for the rest of their life. My boys LUV to be nakie. Why is it only cute to have fat thighs and cellulite when you are little? So not fair. I would be SO HOT if that were the case. That also goes along with the whole nap struggle. Seriously, if ANYONE in this entire universe said "you need to take a nap, you must take a nap, it's naptime" I would run run run to my bed. Let alone, any bribery that goes along with "naptime." No bribery needed.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

2008-04-29T13:04:00.005-07:00

The first swim of the year in our pool! You won't catch me in there for about another month.
These pics were actually taken about 2 weeks ago. The first "swim" of the year. Luke was in for a very short time and as you can see got quite cold.

Mason did not get in. He would have sunk straight to the bottom because he doesn't know how to swim and he weighs 35 lbs at 1 1/2- thats 21 months for you month counters.

Lizards and Lips

2008-04-27T21:38:00.003-07:00

I originally started this "blog" to use it as a digital scrapbook for my boys. I thought it would be a great way for them to see some of our outings, how crazy their parents were, how completely over-the-top their mom is, etc. Now, I think I am using the blog more as therapy for myself. Whatever, it works, I'll take it. I titled the blog Adventures With Boys. We have had plenty of adventures good and bad but I think we have barely touched the surface with what will happen with these boys. For example, my day today.

Sunday morning, laundry started, clean sheets on the beds, scrambled eggs for breakfast, Mason slept til 7 (this is late people), Luke woke up without a leaky diaper and no bloody nose (allergies), its 70 degrees outside, and I am sitting on the back patio by the pool talking to my mom-imagine that! Yes, the GG and I are known to have fabulous communication. It's only because I have 100% morphed into my mother. I take this as a compliment, except my derier is still larger than hers but my stomach is flatter than hers. Anyways, who cares.

So I'm sitting on the back patio talking to mom about politics, stock market, housing trends, etc. You know, the usual. Nelli comes up and has something in her mouth. I slowly just glance at her and start screaming, now I am screaming and running. Mason is wandering outside somewhere with screwdrivers in his hand trying to "fix" stuff and comes running up. Yes, running with screwdrivers-OH MY! I'm learning to pick my battles. Ben and Luke are inside watching "How It's Made" on the Discovery Channel (I'm pretty sure Ben was learning more than Luke because Luke probably already understands how stuff is made-sorry honey). So, why am I screaming? Nelli has a dead lizard in her mouth. Where does she take it? Right inside the back door. It's 70 outside so every door in our house is open. I run to the side of the house like the lizard is going to get up and chase me and now my mom and I are both just screaming to each other on the phone. I now hear all 3 of my boys laughing. Then Ben and Luke yell "Mommy, did Nelli eat the head?" My mom heard what they asked and once again we are both just screaming into the phone. Quite an intellectual converesation. I'm jumping around, screaming, and hiding from... I'm not quite sure. All I can think about is how Nelli is going to puke up a lizard head in the middle of the night. I can't put her in her kennel because she has such anxiety and will "shit" all over her kennel, so looks like I will be finding a lizard head. (The dog needs some Prozac, maybe she can share with me). Hopefully I don't step on it when I stagger into the bathroom in the middle of the night. So, what's the big deal, its only a lizard? I can watch lizards, chase lizards with the boys, poke (little) lizards, etc. but when it comes to dead lizards in my dogs mouth, in my house, without a head.......see ya latah. I just say to my mom, I have 2 boys, really 3, and it is my right as a mother of 2 boys and only 2 boys to NEVER have to deal with this kind of instance. Yes, I realize I am inserting my foot in my mouth because there will be a time when Ben is gone and the boys pull pranks on dear old mommy. By the way, I can deal with birds flying into our fireplace and then into our house and having to "shoo" them out. White girl can't jump though and those birds are pretty fast.

Now I will move on to the lip part of this post. We have lots of little traditions in our house that we all love. Some gentle but really most, not so gentle. We had a family wrestling match today. It isn't anything that is planned, it just happens. Mason is, of course, kicking his soccer ball around the house, the inside of the house, and Luke and Daddy are wrestling. Then comes tickle monster, then comes battery man (I'll explain another time), then comes pillow fights, then comes crazy Nelli doing circles around us all, then comes dog pile mommy. It really is a lot of fun and it truly is amazing how many close calls one can have until somebody gets hurt. Well, dogpile mommy and mommy got a head bonk to the mouth and a bloody lip. So big deal, my millionth bloody lip, but this is big fat bruised lip. I look like Goldie Hawn at the end of the movie The First Wives Club, just the lips, not the bod. So, on my way to the bathroom in the morning to put on my hot pink lip gloss (gotta live up the fat lip thing) please pray that I don't step on lizard head. Once again, no pictures to show for this day. Your welcome.

Shit Happens

2008-04-23T13:51:00.003-07:00

And when it happens at the Karel Household, we call it a shitastrophe.
Boy, have I had a shitty day. Warning: if you don’t have children or have a weak stomach, do not read this post. There, I warned you.

My day started way before the kids and I drove to Sun City to pick fruit off of my Grandparents citrus trees but that is where I will begin my story. I debated about taking Nelli (our new chocolate lab) with us because we would be going straight to swimming lessons after picking fruit. I thought I would just find a shady parking spot and she could sit in the car for 30 minutes during swimming lessons. No big deal, right? Nelli had gotten plenty of exercise while I was climbing trees hunting for fruit-something I haven’t done in years and don’t plan on doing anytime soon. We met all the neighbors, Tilly, Art, all the neighborhood dogs, who takes what for their arthritis, who broke their ankle last week, and what band is playing at the Sun Bowl this week. The boys had a blast as did Nelli. So off to swimming lessons. After swimming lessons I am trying to lasso the boys into the car, just like I do every other stop we make, and Luke finally gets into the car only to start yelling “mommy, nelli pooped all over the gator!” The gator being my Navigator. There is diarrhea all over my car. The only thing I can think to do is to get the kids in their seat and get home as fast as I can. As I am driving home, texting Ben to tell him what happened, Luke starts yelling again, “mommy she is pooping again!” I look in my rear view mirror and Nelli is squatting and pooping while I am driving down the road. Of course, she is then stepping in it and well…you get the picture. I get home and back the gator into the driveway. I send Luke inside to lock the doggie door so Nelli can’t escape and drag poop through our house. You will soon understand the irony of this thought of mine. The car is still running and I take Nelli around the side gate to the back yard. I then get back in my car to reverse into the garage so I can clean up the poop in my car. Oops, my back door on my gator is still up. CRASH! Glass everywhere-dangling windshield wipers. I thought I had completely torn off my entire back door. All I can think about is how much it is going to be to replace the entire electric door. Of course, my boys are ok. Luke was crying because it scared him. A lady who was running, who I noticed before driving in because she had a cute little running skirt on blah blah blah, and she runs into my driveway and says “I’ve done that, I’ve done that. Are you ok? Can I help? I’ve done that! If this is the worst thing that happens, then this is good!” I explain to her why I was backing my car in the first place. All she did was hug me and then turned around to continue her run. Dang, I forgot to ask her where she got her cute running skirt. So, I am looking at 100000000000000000000 pieces of glass, my entire driveway and garage are literally covered in glass. I finally turn the car off, get Luke calm, take Mason inside to put down for a nap, change my clothes, grab different shoes for Luke, and start vacuuming. Luke and I vacuumed for 2 ½ hours. No joke. He kept saying “mommy the glass is in the poop now, how are we gonna attack the poop. That is going to be disgusting mommy. Mommy I told you so. Mommy I told you to stop. Mommy you didn’t listen to me.” I don’t have a clue where he as ever heard that before. So, Ben isn’t home yet and I know he has to come home, change clothes, and go to a “work” dinner. I HAVE to get my car to the car wash to have it shampooed and I know this is going to take a while. I have no ride home. So, I load the kids into the ghetto car stained with poop with no back window and wipers dangling to the side and off we go to the car wash. I tell the guy my dog made a mess and bargain down the price, of course. I then whipped out the double mountain buggy stroller and ran 3 miles home. That triathlon “training” is really coming in handy now. So we get home and I have to start juicing the oranges we picked. We do this for quite a while, long enough to make a huge sticky mess. Uncle Me (known as my second husband-no we aren't swingers)decides to drop by on his way home from work. Perfect, just in time for Ben to drop me off to pick up my car while Uncle Me stays with the boys for 10 minutes. Now we can avoid switching the car seats, cleaning off the boys, etc. We get to the car wash and my car isn’t finished. They let me know that they didn’t realize what was in the back of the car. They thought it was dirt or spilled milk. What? So, Ben drops me off at home and he goes off to his “work” dinner. Mason apparently got upset when I left and Uncle Me gave him some milk and Mason spilled it all over the floor. FYI- Mason doesn’t like milk. So, while I am catching up with Uncle Me I start to smell more poop. I finally find more diahhrea on my oriental rug. It was unbelievably disgusting. It was quite difficult to find all the spots on the rug and I can still smell it. While my butternut squash ravioli is boiling over (dinner for the boys) I clean up more poop. I strip down the boys because they are now covered in sticky juice and milk. (and the fact that they are about to eat ravioli in red sauce and why create more stains on top of the stains that are already on their clothes) In the meantime, Uncle Me has left. I would have too if I could. So, more poop cleaned up, time to feed the boys. My little human garbage disposals polish off the meal and then polish off the cake that I made myself after the triathlon. Correction- I made myself cake batter to eat then baked what was left. Off to the bath. “Do not touch anything and get in the bathtub.” More bubbles, more scrubs, another water fight, another dance party, etc. Mason busts a bean and I say “wow somebody has their motor goin.” I am getting ready to do our night time regime when I find MORE poop in the family room. I ask Luke to lock the doggy door again because I am putting Nelli outside until her stomach settles down. He informs me that the doggy door is already locked. OF COURSE IT IS! From earlier in the day with round 1 shitastrophe. Poor dog. So, I walk Nelli outside and the boys follow, naked and all. We have been letting Mason not wear a diaper after bath and he has been peeing on the toilet at night. So he informs me in his own little way that he needs to potty. I asked Luke to show Mason how to pee in the rocks. Now, some of you may not understand, but this is a HUGE moment for the Karel Household. Mason and Luke are standing their naked both peeing on the rocks just giggling at each other. So back inside where…… I find MORE poop. Not kidding. I can not make this stuff up. So, as I am cleaning that up (now I have already taken out the trash, stepped over the glass in the garage, restocked the paper towels, and ran out of cleaning supplies) I hear Luke say “somebody’s got their motor running.” I’m thinking to myself, gosh he is such a parrot. Then I hear Mason scream. I look over in the play area off of our family room and Mason is at the end of a long trail of poop foot tracks. There is a giant dump of poop by the train table, 2 soccer balls with poop on them, and poop ALL over Mason. I am talking in between his toes, down his leg, you get the point. At this point I don’t know if the poop is from the dog or him. I discover it is from Mason. He pooped on the floor. At least he pooped on the hard wood floors, he then just stepped in it and walked on my front rug. I pick him up and throw him back in the tub. Get him clean, DIAPER ON, and then go and clean up the poop. It is WAY past bedtime now and Luke is begging for books, chillos, tuck in, anything he can possible negotiate out of me. I just said mommy is closed. Mommy is done. Mommy has had a crazy day. What is weird is that I am still in a great mood. Several calls to the insurance, body shop, later, my little reverse incident isn’t going to cost us a thing. We have a $0 deductible for glass repair and they said they could fix the windshield wipers too. YEAH! OK, quick remember to call the babysitter for Saturday! Mommy needs a night off. Now my gator is still at the car wash. Ben should be home around 9 and we are going to lock the house up, say a prayer, let the kids keep sleeping, and drive 3 miles to pick it up.

Update: Just got a call from my new friend Tilly in Sun City and she found Nelli's dog tags when she was walking her little white fluffy thing she calls a dog. "It must have been when your dog escaped from the leash you had tied to the tree to chase after the golfers." My grandparents home is on a golf course. Nelli is everybodys best friend. She'll learn. Tilly called the number on Nellis tag-my husbands. My husband is now afraid to answer the phone when he sees I am calling. I don't blame him. I just called Home Depot and have a steam cleaner on hold to rent tomorrow when I will be cleaning our carpet. I am sure I'll have another story after our trip to Home Depot. The boys have to chase after all the tractors in Home Depot and then we always go and look at the "motor tools." You do know that Home Depot allows dogs. I'm seriously debating that one. My car will be fixed tomorrow between 12-5- you know I have NOTHING better to do for 5 hours than to wait for a glass for my car. Perhaps I shouldn't be driving in this state of mind anyways. For all of our benefit I have NO pictures of my escapades today. I know you are disappointed. I know when the sun rises and I can see better, I will be finding more... What can I say, shit happens.

FYI- Tilly is mailing Nellis tags back so I don't have to take the dog and two boys to Pet Smart to replace them. THANK GOODNESS!

ENOUGH about my kids...lets talk about...ME!

2008-04-21T12:47:00.009-07:00

The End Yes, a mountain bike for a road race

Off to the bike! Get me out of this freekin pool!!
What did my mom just do? She beat EVERYONE? Wow, my mom is the coolest!
Here goes nuttin!

In honor of Ruth Mason, Rick Mason, Bob & Jan Craig, Uncle Dick Crain, Emma Wragge, Melinda Evans, and Megan Franz.

My peeps came to watch!
My good friend who came with her 3 month old baby boy Luke and nursed up until race time. She still beat me by 8 minutes! Liz, the fitness guru, and Becky the triathlon Chief- she came in 8th overall, yes overall the ENTIRE race, not just the 8 of us!

Liz and Perry's cute baby girls Avery and Allison!

On a beer chugging, vodka shots, out of my mind evening, I checked my email...and a friend of mine, Becky, had sent an email asking if anyone wanted to join her in a sprint triathlon. I really was in my PJ's being a lame dork that I am surfing the internet probably reading Perez or something. I like to think that I was out of my mind because of what I did next. After I was through laughing out loud at the thought of me competing in a triathlon I emailed her back and said "I'm in." I then went to the website and registered- AND these competitions aren't exactly cheap. I registered immediately because being the cheap ass that I am I knew I wouldn't want to waste the money. So, that pretty much meant I was locked in. WTF? I had gained 10 lbs throughout the holidays and I thought this might really help get that extra LB's off. (FYI- I gained another 5 training for this event!) This particular event was to raise money for Breast Cancer and that holds a special place in my heart for many reasons. None of which i am going to share with you now. I did wear a shirt close to my heart with all the names of people I know that have battled cancer. Some have won, some have lost, and some are currently battling cancer. Those people were recognized during this race and helped to motivate many people.

So, since January I have been "training" for the triathlon. I like to use the word "training" pretty loose. My mountain bike had seriously been hanging upside down for 9 years. I rode it twice when we live in Wisconsin and had NEVER even ridden it in AZ. I couldn't even remember if mine was the red or the green one. (obviously Ben hasn't ridden his either) I went on 4 short rides, sort of figured out the gears on my bike. I went swimming twice- one really doesn't count because I couldn't keep my swimsuit on. I guess you aren't supposed to "train" in a string bikini. What I did do is run, a lot. At least a lot for me. I built up my endurance, not necessarily my speed, just so that I could finish the race. My goal in the event was to just not drown. I could care less if they timed me or not. I didn't really even think about timing until one day talking to our "Chief" Becky. Oh well, I just hoped to cross the line.

So, I finished. I had a lot of fun. I made some new friends and got to know other friends better. I challenged myself, got a lot of laughs, and learned a few things. The best part was knowing that my efforts, money, etc. were going to a fantastic cause.

10. 8 lbs of pasta, PB&J, banana, eggs, cheese, toast, isn't necessary to eat before a sprint triathlon. Boy it was fun though. (+ a bag of hot tamales-I thought it would bring me good luck!

9. there are some age 55+ women that kicked my rear in this event- there is plenty of time to improve!

8. spandex doesn't look good on me. I spent as much time training as I did on what I was going to wear, what I needed for my transitions, and if they matched. WTF? Seriously, I need to get a life.

7. spanx don't work under spandex

6. test out your "race suit" before the race- something I learned.

5. need to increase the speed of my dog paddle

4. Bathroom management is of the utmost importance

3. swimming in spandex, then riding a mountain bike in wet spandex, then running in wet spandex, creates the most horrific chaffing in all the wrong spots-sorry folks, just keepin it real

2. "gels" are some sort of goo that athletes use to "refuel" and they are supposed to have a "higher-octane carb blend" to speed more energy to muscles. I took some 10 minutes prior to my start time and I ended up burping sour apple gel the entire race-just looking for the full triathlon experience. (one never knows if this will happen again) In my opinion, for a sprint triathlon, no gels are needed for this length of race.

1. I'm going to do it again.

You won't see me in many of the pictures. I'm a brunette now and I don't like it. Why would I want to post pics of me I don't like? I am slowly going back to blonde. In face, I've spent too much money on professional hair color during this little brunette phase of mine, that I bought a frost and tip kit today to try at home. I haven't done one in several years. I used to do it all the time-thanks mom- until the last time my hair fell out. I'm sure next year in the race as a blonde, I'll be faster. Don't ya think? I finished #287. No, I'm not going to tell you how many people were in the race. Let's just say I did really well. :)

My favorite part of this post is the music! Enjoy!

Are their lifeguards on duty?

Run Forest RUN! (going to transition to bike- yeah wet spandex!)

The Hat

2008-04-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

This is Luke
This is Luke

This is Mason

This is Mason...don't you love "the hat?"

Studmuffins

2008-04-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

Another day, another round of dirt. I have come to accept this, and I love it, most of the time.

Chubby paws.

I'm having a really good time with my new camera!
I think I am getting kind of good at photography.
I bet if I take 10 shots of the same thing, I can get at least 1 good one.

I do have the cutest subjects!

I knew what I was doing...

2008-04-14T19:18:00.002-07:00

This was last Thursday afternoon when I thought it would be a good idea to pull out all the paints and make the grandparents some pretty pictures, wrap them in some cute little box, have luke write their name and his on it, maybe some hand prints or foot prints and mail it with a giant bow on top.
That happens slim and never. These pics were taken before my kitchen was splattered with paint- the color you get when you combine green, red, blue, yellow along with some snot and buggers (Luke can not keep his finger out of his nose- a phase, I know).
These pictures were taken before I was covered in this paint from head to toe.
These pictures were taken before Luke had to go potty "RIGHT NOW" and needed help unbuttoning his pants which then led to both of us leaving a trail of paint from the kitchen to the bathroom

These pictures were taken before I got really dirty and I couldn't gather any more evidence for fear of getting my beautiful new camera dirty. It's going to happen, I'm sure. We had so much fun and really, who cares, its just paint and its just a house I had just CLEANED. Sorry, Grandparents, no pictures this round. We had some beautiful body paint though!

Bada Boom Baptized!

2008-04-13T11:01:00.006-07:00

The top pictures are of Luke when he was baptized. He wore my Great Great Grandfathers christening gown- he was so fat he ripped it-nothing that wasn't fixable. The other baby is my niece Hailey. They were baptized together in Kansas City. It was a special day together.

My best friend from college, Allison- aka aunt Alli- is Lukes God Mother. She was there to take part in the ceremony. Uncle Peter is Lukes God Father but I can't find a picture of him. I think he was sleeping when the pictures were being taken. GG, Pa Pa, MeMe, Go, aunts, uncles, cousins nad great grandparents were all there to witness.

Cute brother Matt.

Precious niece Hailey with her favorite aunt Sue Sue.

Poor Mason had brother, Mom and Dad at his baptism. We didn't exactly give the family time to come in for this occasion. Masons God Parents are E and Chance Cozby. I have known E for, well, FOREVER, since 1st grade really. Chance and Ben are great friends now and their oldest son Campbell is Lukes best friend "in the entire planet" as Luke would say. They live here in AZ but were unable to attend the event.

I have no idea where bada boom came from- it was just wandering around in my head so there you go. A couple weeks ago my sweet, precious, baby Mason was baptized. Luke was baptized as a baby with his cousing Hailey. 2nd child, took us a bit longer. Luke is wearing a white suit that my brother wore when he was in my Aunts wedding when he was 5 or so. It is a 3 piece suit and guess what? MY PARENTS HADN'T THROWN IT AWAY- I know, no surprise if you know my parents, they really don't throw much of anything away. Thanks mom and dad but NO I don't want Grandmother Normas blah blah blah. Luke looks like he hopped right out of Saturday Night Fever- pink shirt, vest and all. He looked so stinkin cute!

Mason is wearing another one of my brothers outfits from his childhood. Luke wore this too-can't remember for what but he looked precious in it too. My mom had a matching outfit for me except a skirt and bow. This is what Mason was baptized in-precious sweet baby boy! (no, he isn't a baby but really he will always be my baby)

Nellitime

2008-04-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

This is one of our days this past week at the park in our neighborhood. Yes, Lukes hand is in her mouth but no, Luke did not get hurt. This is what we call Crazy Nelli. It is really quite funny, most of the time. We made a river for El Torro Loco (Lukes new favorite monster truck) and for El Torro Blue (Masons truck) to go four-wheelin through. I sware they could play this game for hours. If only I had a mudpit in the middle of my house I could get something done- oh wait, my house is a mud pit with these two monkeys!

All I have to say is...

2008-04-09T11:06:00.002-07:00

SWEET DADDY! We did it!

For those of you that went to KU, this is a familiar street. For those of you that didn't this is Mass Street the night the Jayhawks won the National Championship. For those of you that didn't or don't believe in Kansas basketball, quit reading my blog!

We watched the game at Upper Deck, a KU bar in Old Town Scottsdale. I went early to "save a table." When I say early, I mean over 2 hours before tip off. Needless to say, I was a bit tipsy. I made lots of new KU friends and, if I do say so myself, saved the best lounge area for our KU gang. The only people in the bar who didn't have on a KU shirt were the waitstaff. Seriously. We had so much fun! Thank goodness for babysitters! Maybe next year Luke can go with us. Mason will have to wait a few more years! Now lets hope Bill Self doesn't head down to Stillwater!

2008-04-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

BEAK EM HAWKS!

I Want to Be Like My Brother

2008-04-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

This is from one of our bathtub floods this past week. I'm not sure what else to say except...help!

Would You Eat This?

2008-04-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do is to bake. Cookies, cakes, pies, bread, etc. Maybe this is why I keep running and exercising and the bootie is still following me! Anyways, the boys and I have a great time cooking and baking together. This week we baked Ben a b-day cake, banana bread, and chocolate chip cookies. This is from the banana bread evening. Believe it or not, it turned out pretty well BUT would you eat it? Thats what I thought!

Shower time!

2008-03-31T13:25:00.000-07:00

Mason LOVES family shower time and he likes to stay in as long as possible! At this age, water is one of his favorite things to play with.

Look at my belly!

Easter Extravaganza!

2008-03-31T12:45:00.000-07:00

My little bunnies...

Racing after the eggs but not without my truck!

Easter at our house and decorating Easter eggs- notice the white shirts. I planned that well,huh?

An Easter egg hunt at the train park with friends!

Masons shoe fell off and big brother stopped to help put it back on! How sweet!

Big brother got impatient and left Mason with only 1 shoe! Oh well, at least he tried!

Living on the Wild Side- boy I need to get a life...

2008-03-25T21:32:00.000-07:00

Totally illegal? Yep!

This is a picture of our new F-250 bad-ass tough, fast, get out of my way before I crush you truck. Notice- 4 CARSEATS! Ben was out of town last week, yes again, and he took my ride to the airport because the boys and I like to drive the new ride! My friend called me 45 minutes before she had an OB appointment (she is pregnant with her 3rd boy- if you want to have boys, just move to Arizona- there is something in the water). Of course taking a 1 1/2 year old to an OB apt. is basically like saying "come on sweetie, put your shoes on, mommy wants to pull her hair out by trying to make you sit still for more than five minutes. Oh yeah, don't mind what the doctor is doing to mommy, for the third time!" So, her two boys, Christopher and Danny came with us to our playdate at the park. Everyone acted fantastic. I was definitely busy but the boys minded, used their manners, and LOVE playing together. The best part was driving this big ole Diesel humming huge truck with 3 carseats across the backseat and my son Luke, in a booster seat in the front. Totally illegal? Yep. Livin on the wild side I tell ya. For a 4 year old just climbing into this truck must feel like climbing Mt. Everest. Ok, a little extreme but nonetheless. The park wasn't that far away- unless one would get lost on the way to the park. Um...nevermind! We had a wonderful time and I feel like ass kickin get out my way super mom drivin my truck!

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

2008-03-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

So This Is What Girls Do...

2008-03-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

And so there are girls and there are boys. Boys come with trucks in their hands and motors on their brains. Girls? Girls come with lots of pink, nurturing, and especially as princesses!

These costumes were ones I actually wore growing up at all my dance recitals. I'm glad someone is enjoying them, and I'm glad its not my boys...

These two beautful girls are my nieces. Hailey is 4 and Betsy- aka Elizabeth SUZANNE- is 2 1/2. They live in Colorado but we get to see them often, but not often enough. There is another little VanAuken on its way due this summer! We don't know if it will be a sweet, gentle, pink girl or a crazy busy dirt-digging, mud slinging, curious little boy. For those of you that know my brother Matt, he should have a boy for some sort of payback for when he was growing up. He wasn't bad at all, just took things apart, used me as his guinea pig for lots of electricity "experiments," and tormented my parents with his curious little mind. (gosh...I wonder where Luke gets it!) Another little girl would truly be wonderful! Of course, we just want a healthy baby! My sister-in-law, Kimberly, is the best mom in the world. She has the patience of God, puts up with my brothers weird antics, and she is the sister I always wanted. Seriously.

My Life IS A Zoo!

2008-03-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

Last week was Spring Break for Luke so we had all week to play together! I was a little anxious about the time but I planned LOTS of activities, too many in fact, and we really had a great week. I was a little sad to see him go back to school this morning...I got over it pretty fast. He only goes to school 3 days a week from 9-1 and he loves it.
These are pictures from our trip to the zoo with a bunch of friends last Wednesday. Luke was absolutely wonderful and Mason acted like one of the monkeys. He even tried to climb over the fence to join the monkeys in their pin. No kidding. He was absolutely all over the place. I stopped at one point to look at a map (trying to find the lions and tigers for Luke) and I turned around and Mason was gone, and I mean GONE! I looked and looked, tapped my friends we were with and we all stopped everything. I started running-trying to get into 20 month old head and figure out which direction he would have gone. I was successful and another mom had picked him up, she saw me running and probably the frantic look on my face, and she yelled we've got him. He of course, had no clue and just kept RUNNING! You can see one of the pictures I took. I never really thought I would use one of those leash things for kids but I will NEVER, and I mean NEVER, go back to the zoo at Masons age without one!

So, we took a picnic lunch with PB & J's, fruit, chips, juice, milk, cookies, etc. My children are human garbage disposals and they also wanted hot dogs, kettle corn, lemonade freezes, and of course Luke had ICE CREAM. I was so proud that I had pushed a stroller (empty), carried my huge camera, carried my backpack with all the necessary gear, and chased Mason all around the zoo. I thought I had gotten some great exercise, which I did, and then I realized all the food we ate. Gross. It was so good though! If that wasn't enough, we stopped at Sonic on the way home. There are VERY few Sonics in AZ and none in Scottsdale. If I know one is in my vicinity, I'm stopping, no matter how much I have eaten. So, Luke gets an orange slush, Mason has juice. After a very long day at the zoo, Mason thinks its funny if he just pours the juice all over himself. Luke then says "Mommy, there are holes in the bottom of my orange slushie." Great. Just great... At this point all I can think about is how much wine I am going to be drinking and how early is too early to start the cocktail hour. So, the plan is to strip the boys down at the door and throw them into the tub immediately. I walk in the house, naked boys and all, and smell something AWFUL, I mean vomit in your mouth AWFUL! Apparently Nelli has some sort of anxiety about her kennel. A lot of the time we leave her outside when we are gone but today she was in her kennel. FULL BLOWN RUNS! She is covered from head to toe in poop. All over her kennel and the entire house is gagalicious. I pull the kennel outside through the back of the house, with Nelli still in the kennel. Scrub down the kennel, wash Nelli. Then, I am covered in poop. OK, now lets throw the boys in the tub- remember they have been running outside naked, sticky, stinky, popcorn, hot dog, lemonade, ice cream covered! So, now I get them out of the bath, put some nice lotion on, smelling good, the day is calming down and BAM- explosion. Mason has a shitastrophe. Now I really am covered in poop. Get him cleaned up and put him down for a nap. I finally make it to the shower, get cleaned up, just in time to figure out whats for dinner. But, you know what that means? Happy hour has begun. Yes, drinking does help me get through some days, but some days, drinking isn't enough! Did I mention my day started with Mason having an asthma attack at 5 am? So, needless to say, my life is a zoo. Thats just a little hint at these crazy curious monkeys we are raising. Spring Break was a great week and I didn't go crazy- probably because I already am. All in all my boys are very charming, well-mannered, respectful little people. If you don't believe me, then quit reading my blog. Here is what we did last week- I admit a little too much.

Monday-Train Park

Tuesday-a day of baking and cooking, play date

Wednesday-zoo, shitastrophes all around

Thursday-mommy school, park, making jets, airplanes, and helicopters, Costco run (yet another story)

Friday-Horton Hears a Who- another great story of taking Mason to a movie theater, and paint a thon

Good thing Spring Break is only a week! We had lots of fun with all our friends! Now my husband is off to drink yummy green beer and go to some crazy concert and I am going to put the babies to bed and hop in a bubble bath. Then, get ready for another day with the Karel Brothers.

Soccer Boys!

2008-03-14T07:52:00.000-07:00

Luke has been playing soccer since October 2007 and loves it. His little brother wants to be playing SO BAD! I spend the entire time at Lukes soccer chasing Mason off of the field. He will get to play next year! Of course, I must brag but they just moved my sweet 4 year old up to play with the 5, 6, and 7 year olds. What a stud...and it is already begining!

BIG STRONG BOYS!

Seriously, aren't they cute? 1-2-3 ahhhhhhh!!

ACTION!

If you are sick of reading how cute my boys are then stop looking at my blog! It's not going to stop! (You know you want to)

GO and MeMe

2008-03-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

This is Luke and Masons GO and MeMe-Bens parents!!!! They live in Schuyler, Nebraska but we get to see them fairly often! These pictures were taken over a year ago when we all went to Belize to celebrate Go and MeMe's (*#$*&$#% birthday!

DADDY TIME!

2008-03-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

I've known forever that I definitely wanted to have kids. Although Ben and I were "young" when we got married, having babies was definitely something we spent a lot of time talking about. I remember even discussing our beliefs in disciplining children and how many we thought we would like to have. Finding someone who I knew would make a great father was something I didn't take lightly. I succeeded!!!! I found someone that not only makes a great father but an INCREDIBLE father and a wonderful husband. Luke and Mason adore their Dad. He is a great role model in many ways- especially helping mommy!

Grandparents Are For Spoiling...among other things

2008-03-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

GG and PaPa were here for a week and spoiled the boys rotten! You can see a new bunkbed and a new "little" house for the boys. They also had a picnic in Ben's truck, trips to the park, soccer, walks to school, lots of storytimes, dance parties and much more!

Thank you so much GG and PaPa! We miss you!

This Picture Just Screams Boy!

2008-03-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

Need I say more? This was on a recent trip to the Dog Park with our newest baby Nelli.

Boys Will Be Boys

2008-03-06T15:17:00.000-07:00

All I need is...
dirt...

trucks, lots and lots of trucks,
water...
rocks...

and a brother!

My parents, GG and PaPa were recently here for a week. On their last day they took the boys, WITHOUT ME, to a park. As you can see, they had lots of fun together and I had a bath waiting for them at home! Thanks GG and PaPa!

Who Knew Popcorn Could Buy Me Time?

2008-03-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

So why haven't I ever tried to feed my kids popcorn? Luke and I have had it at the movies before and he loves it but Mason???? Ben and I traveled to San Francisco a couple weeks ago to visit my brother-in-law and girlfriend for the weekend. My in-laws were in town, MeMe and GO and stayed to watch the boys while we escaped. It was a rainy day so they decided to go where..........Wal Mart of course. MeMe and GO bought a popcorn machine and the boys have been obsessed with it ever since. They can even make it by themselves (if I want 5 gallons at a time-but hey I'm not complaining)! They each have their own little buckets AND the best part is that Mason sits down for 15 minutes and eats. Thank you MeMe and GO!

You can see him actually sitting on the couch stuffing his face and pointing to the TV. I have tried to get this kid to sit and watch a "show" for months. Of course, with Luke, I was anti-TV and then I realized a shower by myself would be nice and thought if I could just get them to watch 10 minutes of TV- I could get so much done! Well, John Deere Tractor video does the trick. Mason loves it and will sit and watch it. I have pretty much finally learned that anything having to do with trucks, tractors, basically anything that has a motor, both boys will be interested. The problem is that it is so cute that I just sit and watch them eat popcorn and don't get anything done, not even a shower. We have had popcorn everyday for the past 2 weeks and don't plan on stopping anytime soon! So, if you have little kids and need a diversion- get a popcorn popper-no more microwave stuff!

2008-03-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

Luke is now 4 and Mason is 20 months. I promise to stop counting his age in months as soon as he turns 2! Ok, maybe, he is my baby and have I mentioned our LAST baby?!

2008-03-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

So... "Everybody's doing it, right?" So, here goes. I created this blog back in September of 2007 but never quite got it up and running. With two of the cutest little boys in the world, why wouldn't I want to show them off to everyone? This is a picture of the boys from almost a year ago. Now look and see how much they have grown!