Noodle fights

Ethan and Ryan invented a new sport...noodle fighting.

Love Ryan's face here! Take it like a man.

I often have to remind Ethan that Ryan is only 3, but then again, Ryan is all boy and loves to play rough.

Caleb enjoying the fight from ringside.

Blog Template

My sister-in-law Stephanie changed my blog template for me. Thanks! I love it! She only charged me $100. Nice huh?

JUST KIDDING.

Happy Birthday Ireland!

Ireland is 8 years old today! She is such a sweet girl! We wish we had 5 more like her!

Could she be any cuter?

Ireland at 5 years old (first day of kindergarten)

Ireland at 4 years old

Ireland at 3 years old

Ireland at 1 year

Soccer

Today was Ireland and Ethan's last soccer game of the season. We love watching them play!

Ireland's team was called the Grape Apes (yeah, not my favorite choice of names), but they had a great season! They only lost one game and Ireland scored several goals.
(from left to right: Emily, Megan, Olivia, Ireland, Jane, Sean, Kellsie, Becca, Reagan, and Katie)

Here's a few more pictures of Ireland in action...

Ethan's team also had an incredible season! They were undefeated and beat every team by at least 10 goals! His team, Blue Thunder, dominated the field. It was great to watch. Even at 5 years old you can see the more competitive and aggressive behavior that boys have compared to girls (in general). Ethan had some real firecrackers on his team that were so entertaining to watch! Ethan did a great job and gets so much better each season! He scored one goal this season!

(Left to Right back row: Anthony, Andrew, Ethan, Conner, Michael, Grady, Adam, Will, John Front: Shawn and Ian)

More pictures of Ethan...

And here's what Ryan does during the 2 hours of soccer every Saturday... finds himself a cute girl to play with.

Sophie and Ryan

Happy Father's Day!

We love you! You are an amazing dad and hubby!

Love, Megan, Ireland, Ethan, Ryan and Caleb

P.S. I also want to add how much I (we) love my dad (who passed away almost 8 years ago) and Scott's dad. Thanks for being such incredible fathers!

Flag Day

Yes, today is flag day. I never knew there was such a day until we moved here. Each year the elementary school has a big flag day celebration. Let me just tell you, I dread flag day. This is the 3rd year I've gone to it. The festivities take place outside and include singing, speakers, singing, speakers...for about an hour. Normally the weather here in June is not hot, but on flag day it always is scorching hot. So this is how it went down today...I rushed around all morning getting everyone ready, digging through clothes for red, white or blue clothing (the school sends home a note saying wear flag colors), rushed over to the school, parked 3 miles away and walked with Ryan and Caleb, stood outside in 90 degree humid weather for an hour chasing down Caleb and Ryan who ran in opposite directions several times during the hour. Finally found a spot of dirt that they could eat and throw and completely cover their clean, bathed bodies in (at least they are entertained). Then 2 different neighbors find me and say that Ireland is upset because she can't see me. So while I'm trying to keep an eye on Ryan and Caleb eating dirt, I am waving down Ireland every 10 minutes so she knows I'm there (and having a blast!). Following the joyous festivities, we have a lunch on the grass (in the scorching sun). I couldn't find Ethan, Ryan of course drops his food on the ground, Caleb somehow gets a hold of the mustard and squirts it all over him (mustard, dirt--he's looking great), finally find Ethan with his teacher--they've been looking for me. We find Ireland, have a less than desirable hot dog, Caleb and Ryan get watermelon all over their clothes, and we are done. I think I need the "mom of the year award" for even attempting flag day again! But I know you've all had days like this, so there would be some stiff competition. Ahhh, I feel better venting all this. Thanks. BTW, by the time I got the camera out to get a picture of Ireland or Ethan, they were long gone. The back of Ethan is barely visible in this picture (navy shirt, 4th in line). Nice.

P.S. I'm liking the snowflake template today. Anyone have a good blog template site to share? I realize it's June and snowflakes don't really go.

Video games...

Why do boys love video games? Does Ethan look a little in the zone? Can't be good. I put my foot down on video games, can you tell? Scott overrided my efforts. Don't even think about it Caleb.

Serious bloomage!

Check out this plant growing in our backyard! Our backyard is a forest of foliage. Everything grows so well here in the Northeast! It's a full time job pulling out the pleuthera of bushes and plants growing out of control in our yard.

Timber!

Yesterday we had crazy weather here!! It was sunny, raining sheets of water, major thunder, 70 mile/hr winds, and back to sunny. So when I felt what seemed to be an earthquake, I wasn't too shocked, except for the fact that it was sunny and the winds were calm (at that moment). Ryan pointed out the window to the backyard, so we went outside and found a huge (we're talking 4 story) tree had toppled right in our neighbors yard (about 10 feet from our yard). It took all the power lines down with it. Nice. Luckily it didn't fall on their house, our house, anyone. It even missed the fence dividing our yards. Crazy. There were live wires on the ground. Not good. Anyway, it took a while for them to untangle and cut the tree from the wires and get the power up and going again. Here's a picture of the wreckage (although it's hard to see because of all the branches and foliage). Take my word for it, it was a sight to see.

Cardiology Fellowship Graduation

Last night marked a monumental occasion in our lives. Scott completed his Cardiology training. Yeah! It has been 10 years of training! It truly has been a great 10 years and well worth it! We've enjoyed the journey and although the road ahead looked daunting that first year of medical school, it has been a huge blessing for our family. A wife could not be more proud of her husband than I am of Scott. He is a great physician who is loved by all those he works with and most especially by his patients. Scott will be starting one last year of specialized training next month to become an interventional cardiologist.

The graduating cardiologists...(left to right) Steve Minor, Joe Gomez, Matt Funderburk, Rich Pomerantz (program director), Dave Kim, Scott, and Memhet Atkas

Scott and me at the graduation dinner. Since Scott was the chief this past year, they jokingly gave him some medals for his performance.

Just some more pictures of the family...

Is this a great dad or what? Love those boys!

Scott and Cale--total daddy's boy! If Scott is home, he's holding Caleb.

Little Caleb--love him!

Ryan with orange lips

Ethan and Ireland

Do you think they are sick of me taking pictures?

Memorial Day Weekend

Chad and Bren came to visit this past week since Bren's dad was playing in the Senior PGA Tour here. We had a fun time with them as usual! We all went to the park on Saturday.

Cale's cute little behind, Ryan and Ethan

Aden showing Caleb how it's done. Love the little Chinese squat by Caleb.

My handsome hubcap at the park--Aden, Ryan, and Ethan in the background

Caleb piloting the plane

Ryan in his element--oblivious to anything else going on

Ireland and Cale

Chad and mini-Chad. Chad's looking a little more excited about the slide than Aden.

Scott and car wax...

I think this is blog worthy...We all know that Scott has an obsession with keeping our cars clean. If I ever can't find him in the house, I go out to the garage and sure enough I'll find him wiping down the car after it's been in the rain, vacuuming out the smashed bits of crackers, or windexing the car windows. Well, today I found him waxing the shower tiles with car wax. Only Scott would think of that! It looks great and the water beads up nicely!

Love the Spring!

The weather is warming up and we've been outside as much as we can.

Glad Ryan's got his helmet on in case he crashes because he can't see anything.

Scott doing a little surgery on our yard

Scott's putting Ethan to work...hate for his hands to get dirty while he's standing in the mulch.

Ireland is great at soccer! She scored the winning goal with just a few minutes left to play in the game last Saturday.

Ryan relaxing in the swing

Houston, we have success!

In case you are all dying to know (and I'm sure you are), Ryan is officially potty trained! He has not had an accident for 7 days (including at night)! All it took was 6 days of torture, and there you have it.

A few random pictures...

With Mother's Day coming up this Sunday, I just have to say how much I love my kids! There are times I've considered selling them on ebay (I think I could get a lot for them!)...but most of the time I know how lucky Scott and I are to be their parents.

Ireland and her cheesy grin!

Does Caleb even have a chance at not being tortured by his brothers?

Anytime Caleb goes missing...here is where we find him. He's a climber and loves the toothbrushes! At least he has been distracted away from the toilet!

Caleb loves being outside. He's happy if he can just look outside.