Lots of "Hoopla!"

Drew is playing basketball this year, instead of soccer. He hasn't had much experience except in the driveway with Dad but he's very excited about it. We signed him up with Upward at a local church. It's a Christian based league and has been very positive with prayer before each game. They also promote good sportsmanship. So far Drew's team has played 2 games and won both! He's had several shots and assists and really seems to be enjoying it.

Singing and Santa and snow!

What a busy couple of weeks it has been! Gabe had a 2nd Grade Christmas production at his school on the 19th. All the second graders did a wonderful job and were so cute. We saw our friends there and their daughter Madison sat with "her Drew" for a few minutes.

How cute is she!!!

The lighting is terrible in the school gym so my pictures didn't turn out too well but you can see that Gabe was happy to be there. They had worked so hard for weeks on their songs and we were so proud of them.

Another night, just as we were putting Gabe to bed the doorbell rang. Jeff opened the door and look who was standing there with candy canes for everyone!

That was such a special treat! (Don't tell Gabe but it was Wayne, our neighbor from a few doors down! He had been playing Santa at his church and thought he would surprise the boys!) He came in and handed out his candy canes and even took Gabe's letter that we hadn't mailed yet. Gabe wasn't sure what to think of it all but he was so excited.

Then the boys got out of school for Christmas break. And then Gabe got the flu. Poor guy. He has to take meds that he can't stand. Can hardly get them down. He's finally getting better but he's been so pitiful.

And then it was Christmas Eve! The boys made Christmas cookies so they could leave some for Santa. Gabe got his own bowls of icing since he was sick.

After they finished making cookies, Drew and I went to my sister's house for dinner and exchanged gifts with family. Since Jeff and Gabe couldn't go, we Skyped them and opened gifts together. It was fun. The boys got a cool "Nerf"-type shot gun that cracks open and ejects the shells just like a real shot gun. Even Jeff has had fun playing with that one! We had a wonderful dinner of ham, mashed potatoes and lima beans. And of course the traditional birthday cake for Jesus for dessert!

Then everyone finally got to bed for the night only to get up at 6:00am to see what Santa brought.

Drew got an Ipod Touch! He thought he was getting a new Ipod Nano but Santa had other plans. His best friend got one too so they can use "Facetime" and watch movies.

Gabe got lots of Iron Man stuff including both movies.

Here was the Christmas aftermath.

And we got a white Christmas! Sorta. It started snowing late Christmas Day and this is what we woke up to on Sunday.

 We measured about 4 1/2 inches on the deck. The boys didn't play in it. They had gotten money and gift cards for Christmas that were burning a hole in their pockets (this includes Jeff!). Once we knew the roads were okay, we made our way to the mall and Lowe's Home Improvement. The little boys got new Lego sets at half off. And the big boy got a new set of drills with a free battery.

Here are me and the little boys putting together lots of Star Wars Lego sets.

I hope your Christmas has been all you wanted it to be and more.

No way!

Has it really been almost a month since I blogged about getting away for the weekend?! Yikes! I want time to slow down. It's moving way too fast for me to keep up. Speaking of time flying by, my oldest is about to turn 12. I can't believe it. I know that 12 is still so young but at the same time, how can he already be 12!?!?

Anyway, let's get caught up on the past month. When last we "spoke" I was at my sister's house in VA for a little "me time". I returned so refreshed and stress-free (other than a cold/sinus infection. Yuck!) Then it was time to begin thinking about Thanksgiving.

This year, Wendy decided to have Thanksgiving at her VA house with both sides of her family. It was a wonderful weekend. The food was amazing and the company was fun. We ate, played games, ate, stayed up late, ate, and shot guns. Oh, and we ate some really good food!

This past Friday night was the last crop night at my LSS. It will be closing soon. I'm so sad. I have known Traci, the owner since she opened 4 1/2 years ago. It's been such fun to work for her, teach classes, and make many new friends. I hope we don't all lose touch. We made the last crop night a party. Lots of people brought food. Several were there from the time she opened that morning until midnight. There was good food, drinks and lots of laughs. Oh, and we all got a little scrapbooking done! Thank you, Traci for all your hard work. It was truly a special time for me and a privilege to get to work for you and with you.


Now it's time to think about Drew's birthday. He will be turning 12 and he can't wait. I can't believe I will have a teenager in only one year. Scary. But he's a great kid, doing well in school and growing up everyday. For his birthday, we are going to take him and a few friends to see Harry Potter, then have cake and open presents at home. I'll be sure to post a few pictures.

After that will be Christmas. We decorated the house this past weekend and most of my shopping is done. Yay! I need to begin signing Christmas cards (handmade again this year) and wrap a few things. It certainly feels like winter around here. Temps are in the 40s.

On the 16th, Jeff will have knee surgery and then be home for 8 weeks. He's not one to sit around and do nothing. This should be interesting!

That about catches you up on the Patterson's. Hope you are having a wonderful Holiday Season!

The Big July 4th Guided Fishing Trip!

Wendy's husband, David had a wonderful idea. Since we were going to be at their house on the New River the weekend of July 4th, he wanted to take Drew on a guided fishing tour. This is where you drive to Tangent Outfitters, get on one of their boats with a fishing guide, and he takes you out on the river so you can fish. They know the best places to fish and provide tips and assistance if needed. It's an all day adventure.

Drew was very excited about this idea. They left the house at 7:30am. Wendy and I didn't hear from them all day. And it about drove us crazy! We couldn't wait to find out how it went! Well, finally they returned at 6:30pm. Drew had so much fun! He caught 16 fish, the longest being around 15 inches. I asked David if he thought Drew got bored at any point. He said that Drew was casting his line until they pulled the boat out of the water. And he's ready to do it again!

Drew got to sit in the front of the boat so the guide could help him.

Casting his line out. David bought him a nice fishing pole and his own fishing hat.

Here is the "master fisherman" with one of his prized catches! (Notice he won't touch it!)

And here is his Uncle David with his own catch of the day. All total, they caught around 43 fish. A great day!

We finished out our day with a ride in the Man Buggy down to the neighbor's house. They were having a huge party with lots of family and friends. We stayed to watch the fireworks and the boys got to play with sparklers. Drew even got to set off several Roman Candles. That scared me just a bit! Everyone had fun and are now safely tucked into bed. I hope you had a fabulous 4th, too!

Oh yes I did!

I don't like fish. That's not news to most of you. I don't like to eat fish or even the smell of fish. But when your oldest is off on a special fishing trip with his Uncle David and your youngest wants to go fishing too, what are you supposed to do?

"Don't go out too far, Gabe."

 

"But I need to go out to those rocks! Mom, I got my line twisted!" So out I go to fix his line.

Just a few short minutes later: "Wow! Gabe, you caught a fish!"

(in my head: ewww! ewww! ewww!) 

"EWWW! ACK! I can't believe I just did that!"

Seriously we had so much fun! Gabe even showed me how to use his fishing rod and I tried it out for a while. I didn't catch anything but it was fun. Gabe is really enjoying fishing but he also had fun just climbing around on the rocks and playing with his boats. Drew and Uncle David are on their way home now. I can't wait to find out how their big trip went. I'll post (hopefully with pics) soon!

3 Fish!!

Happy 3rd of July! Today we went to the Harrisburg 4th of July Parade. We had a wonderful time. It's always a great parade. The kids came away with lots of candy and goodies. More pics to follow.

As soon as the parade was over we hit the road and came to Wendy's house at the New River. Almost right away the boys wanted to go fishing. David took them down to the river and had to remind them how to use their rods.

Then they headed out into the river. It was a little deeper in some places so David had to carry Gabe.

But Gabe caught 3 fish! And he was the only one to catch anything. The first one got away and they released the other two. He was so excited!

Drew is getting pretty good at casting. Tomorrow, David is taking him to Pembroke where they will take a guided fishing trip on the New River. He's so excited. He should catch lots of fish then.