May the Force be With You...

The boys got light sabers for Christmas. Who knew that you could train to be a Jedi in Granny's kitchen?

Merry Christmas

We hope that everyone had a peaceful and joyous Christmas and that all of your Christmas wishes came true! We want to thank our family and friends for their generous hearts, warm hospitality, and most of all for the love and laughter that is shared when we are together! We love you! Click here to enjoy some of our Christmas pictures.

Silent Night, Holy Night

I believe the next line says something about "all is calm...". Looking at this picture one would believe that our holiday was one of quiet and calm. Then again pictures can be deceiving. Don't get me wrong, our family had a wonderful and joyous Christmas filled with family, food and fun, but it was far from calm and quiet and I wouldn't want it any other way! The week started with the boys decorating cookies for Santa. They did a beautiful job and I think Santa appreciated the snack. All he left on the plate was a few crumbs! Oh yeah, and a few gifts for 2 little boys who swore they had been good ALL year.

Along with the cookies, we had to make sure to leave a few treats for the reindeer.

All smiles on Christmas morning and wondering if their hearts' desires are hidden beneath Santa's wrapping paper.

I know Matthew doesn't look excited in this picture, but it's the best one I had of him opening his new Nintendo D.S. His reaction..."LOOK STEPHEN! NOW WE CAN D.S. DOWNLOAD!" I'm glad Stephen knows what it means because Michael and I sure don't!

Stephen's face says it all. This was one happy little boy! He had a grin on his face all morning! Thanks Santa!!!!!!

Let it Snow!

What would a Michigan winter be without white as far as the eye can see? Well, mother nature delivered last night. As I groggily answered my phone this morning around 5:00am the voice on the other end of the line said those magical words all teachers long to hear about this time of year...."Snow day, you can go back to bed". Woo! Hoo! I only stayed up long enough to find out that Stephen and Michael were home due to school closings as well. It was nice to start our Christmas vacation with all 4 of us home. The boys stayed in their PJ's pretty much the whole day while Michael and I drank a pot of coffee and puttered around the house reveling in our "free" day to get caught up on a few things. Stephen was supposed to have a "Polar Express" party today and Matthew had not only his daycare party, but his preschool party as well. So, in light of having to miss them, we had our own little party at home. After dinner, we turned out all of the lights, popped some popcorn, poured ourselves some steaming mugs of hot cocoa and settled in to watch the Polar Express. The best part was that I recently discovered a 3-D version of the movie on DVD, complete with 4 pairs of glasses. You haven't truly experienced this new holiday classic until you have done so with 3-D vision! Check out the pics of my little cherubs enjoying their cinematic experience. All Aboard!!!!!!!

A Time to Give Thanks...

Thanksgiving day has come and gone, but I find myself quietly reflecting on all of the things that I am grateful for this holiday season. I am so truly blessed to have a husband who loves and supports me, 2 healthy and happy children, loving friends and family, a warm bed to sleep in each night, food on our table and a job that I love. Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and may this holiday season fill you with peace, love and joy!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Excited does not even begin to explain how my 2 boys were feeling when they woke up Halloween morning. Matthew was super excited to finally get to wear his new Power Rangers costume with the "real" muscles and Stephen couldn't wait to hit the streets to strike the mother lode of chocolate! School parties and parades made it much easier to get through the day. Once the sun went down then the true fun began....begging for candy! Oh yeah, I guess they call that trick or treating. The boys had great fun trick or treating throughout the neighborhood. Matthew set out with daddy and Stephen went around the neighborhood with his buddy, Chase. All in all, the boys made out with more candy than we will ever be able to eat and enjoyed every minute of their Halloween holiday!

Here is Matthew in his preschool parade. He's the very buff white Power Ranger!

Matthew showing off his Power Ranger costume and flexing the muscles that were included!

Yes, this is Stephen. He has obviously outgrown cute and moved on to hideously, creepy. Actually, I thought he looked great. The official title of his costume was zombie skeleton. He really got into the part. You will also notice that there are no pictures with Stephen and Matthew together. That's due to the fact that Matthew wouldn't come within 3 feet of Stephen once he put his mask on!

Here are Stephen and his best buddy, Chase hamming it up for the camera. They were really getting into it!

Daddy and Matthew heading out to score some Halloween loot!

All of the Halloween pictures can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/MMeister326/HappyHalloween.

Getting Ready for Halloween!

The Halloween decorations have been up for a while and the only thing left to do was to carve the pumpkins. Stephen and Matthew were so excited they could hardly make it through dinner! Once Michael got the tops cut off, the boys got to work scraping out the insides of their pumpkins. I traced the stencil on to Stephen's pumpkin, but he did all of the carving on his own. Matthew carved his pumpkin with a little, well ok, a lot of help from mommy. Both boys had a ball and the end result was great! Check out all of the pictures in our Meister Family Gallery at http://picasaweb.google.com/MMeister326/CarvingPumpkins.

Preschool Adventures

Matthew went on his first field trip today! He and approximately 36 other preschoolers braved the weather and visited Nottawa Fruit Farms in Sturgis. Now I have to tell you, visiting the pumpkin patch in the rain on a 40 degree day is not typically my idea of fun, but getting to spend the day with Matthew made up for it! He has been so excited about the trip but not for the reasons you may think. Has he been talking about how fun it will be to pick out his very own pumpkin? Nope! How about going on a hayride in a covered wagon? Nada! Maybe getting to explore hay tunnels using his very own flashlight? Not even close! This sweet child of mine has been talking about one thing and one thing only.....getting to ride on a school bus!!!!! We could have just ridden around the block 3 times and he would have been on cloud nine. We did have fun at the farm, even with all of the rain, but his favorite part by far was riding on the bus. When I asked him why he liked the bus ride so much his answer was simple - "Now I'm big like Stephen!"

Check out the pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/MMeister326/NottowaFruitFarms

Apples and Pumpkins

Fall is my favorite time of year. Being surrounded by all of the beautiful fall colors, sipping mugs of warm apple cider, all while rocking in the rocking chair on my front porch, well, it doesn't get much better than that. Unless of course, I am with my guys on our annual fall trek to the cider mill and pumpkin patch! While today wasn't your typical crisp fall day, since it was a balmy 80 degrees, we still managed to have fun. Our annual trek began at VerHage's Cider Mill for a hayride, cider, apples and of course, a doughnut or two. Then we were off to visit Gene the Pumpkin Man. As always, the selection was incredible and we ended up buying more pumpkins than we knew what to do with! I guess now is the time to learn how to make pumpkin pie from scratch, rather than from the canned stuff. To finish out the day, we zipped over to Wedel's Nursery to grab some of their gorgeous mums for our front porch. Aside from Stephen being stung by a bee at the cider mill, we had a wonderful day! Happy Fall Y'all!!!!!!!!! :)

I have tried to embed a video here, but have had no luck! Soooooooo...... click the following link, and it should take you there. Once you click slideshow, it will play the video. Make sure you have the sound on. I added music this time!

http://picasaweb.google.com/MMeister326/ApplesNPumpkins#

I have also included an album of still pictures in my public gallery. For some reason, the video became a little blurry when I copied it to my web albums. Just click on Meister's Public Gallery to access the still album.

...And Yet Another Rib Tickler From Matthew!

As I have said time and time again, my kids crack me up! I just love when their spontaneous innocence is perfectly timed to the point that I am laughing until my sides hurt. Case in point...bathtime on Tuesday night. Matthew had been playing in the tub for quite awhile and starting to look quite prunish, when he called me into the bathroom. Don't worry, I was in my bedroom which is just a stone's throw away from the bathroom. He was laying on his back, and laughing because everything sounded funny from under the water and had decided that he wanted me to take his picture. The reason being then he could see what he looked like under water. Well, at least most of him! As I readied my camera I told him to say "Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious"! He looked at me for a moment and in true Matthew style, gave me that beautiful, toothy grin and said "Pizza"! Priceless, I'm telling you! This boy already knows how to think on his feet at the ripe old age of 4. Just think how good he'll be at 40!!!!! I have often said that Stephen will create something amazing one of these days. Matthew on the other hand, well I can already see Matthew's name in lights as the starring role in a blockbuster, romantic comedy! Any way you look at, both of my boys are pretty phenomenal, in their own unique and wonderful ways!!!!!!

Sweet Conversations!

Matthew: "Mommy I NEVER get to play with my play-dough! It's been sooo long!"

Mommy: "It's too late to get the play dough out tonight."

Matthew: "PLEEEEEASE mommy. My play dough misses me!"

Mommy: "You can play with the play dough tomorrow after school."

Matthew: "Thanks mom! My play dough will be soooo happy!"


Granted he's a teensy bit on the dramatic side, but sometimes he's just too cute for words!

Gotta love those chubby little hands!!!!

Soccer Time - Take 2

Stephen had his second soccer game last Thursday and got to sample the sweet taste of victory! He was very excited and nervous because he was appointed the task of goalie for the second quarter of the game. He did a nice job of protecting the team's goalie box and was very assertive with his plays.

The last half of the game, he played the position of forward and blew me away. I'll say one thing, that kid is not afraid to get right in there in order to go after the ball. It was hard to watch at times when the boys all ran together trying to gain control for their team. Feet were flying everywhere and I just kept waiting for a foot to connect with a stomach or worse yet, someone's head. Thankfully, everyone came out unscathed and the Blue Dragons won with a score of 1-0. I have to tell you, even though the weekly schedule is grueling, I really enjoy watching Stephen play. I hope that he will stick with it because I think he has the potential to really excel at the sport. Besides, high school soccer is a lot easier to stomach than having Stephen come home and reveal that he is trying out for the football team!!!!

The following clip is funny because his first kick wasn't all that great since it went straight up in the air instead of down field. It was his first block and I think his nerves got the better of him. Thankfully he does manage to redeem himself!

The next couple of clips show him in action as a forward!

Proud Preschooler

Today was a day of so many emotions - joy, pride, anxiety, sadness, excitement. Matthew started preschool this morning. I am so excited for him because I know that he is going to love it, but at the same time my heart is breaking. It's so hard to see him growing up. I know it's inevitable that he will go to school, but it doesn't make it any easier! I am looking forward to hearing about all of the wonderful things that he will learn about and discover and I know that he will fall in love with his preschool teacher, as most little boys do. It also helps to ease my worries knowing that he already knows one other little boy in his class. This first day was set up like an open house and since I was pretty sure the powers that be would frown greatly on my having a sub the 5th day of school, Michael took Matthew today. That's probably just as well. My sobbing in a corner probably would have scared the other children in the room! Just kidding! Matthew was ready, but cautious, as he always is in new situations. Michael said that Matthew held his hand walking in, but within a few minutes was fleeting around the room having a grand time. I'm sure that a lot of his confidence in the room stems from the fact that the preschool room is in the same building as his daycare. I hope that Matthew loves school and never forgets that no matter how big he gets that his mommy loves him more than all the moon and stars!

Soccer Time!

Stephen has started playing soccer and is absolutely loving it! He is on the Blue Dragons and has a game every Thursday night through October. The season will then pick up again in the spring, sometime after spring break. His first game was this past Thursday and to say that he was excited is the understatement of the year. The child could not stand still. He was a bundle of energy and talking nonstop (must get that from his dad) wanting to know when the game was going to start. Once it did start, his focus was amazing. He listened to his teammates and coach as they ran the ball up and down the field. I don't know much about soccer, but he's pretty darn good. Then again, I guess I'm a little biased. He had some great passes and steals and had very good control of the ball when he was dribbling down the field. He assisted with one goal and then fed one into the net himself. He was soooooo geeked! Even with all of the hard work put forth by he and his teammates, they lost the game 4-3. The wonderful part for me was that it didn't bother Stephen in the least that they didn't win. Once the game was over his main goal was to snag some cotton candy from the concession stand!

I will have some game pictures in future entries. It was raining off and on during his first game and I didn't want to chance getting my camera wet. Stephen, however, was gracious enough to pose for a few indoor shots. Enjoy!

GOALIES FEAR ME!!!!!!!!

This has got to be the cutest soccer player on the planet!

Third Grade Here I Come!

Well, Stephen is an official 3rd grader. He started school Sept. 2nd and is in Mr. Sumonvic's classroom. He came home pretty excited about the upcoming year. When asked about what he was going to be doing in 3rd grade, I expected to hear about learning multiplication, division, how to write in cursive, etc. Instead I was bombarded with his overwhelming anticipation of getting to make popcorn, snow cones and maybe even ice cream. Holy cow! My teachers were never that much fun. It's hard to believe that he's in 3rd in grade. Before you know it, he'll be graduating! The first day was only a 1/2 day, so Stephen and Michael spent their annual back to school day going out to lunch and putt putt golfing. The day was then topped off with ice cream and few video games. Next year, Matthew will be joining in on the fun since he will be entering Kindergarten. Boy, oh boy, where does the time go?

Lazy Summer Days

Wow, it's hard to believe that summer vacation has come to an end. Every year it seems to go by faster and faster. Keeping this in mind, we decided to end summer with a bang and rented a cottage in Sutton's Bay. We had a great time! The cottage was a home away from home complete with 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, a full kitchen and much to all 3 of my boys delight, a TV!!!!! The very best part was that we were practically sitting in Grand Traverse Bay. We could see the water from our front door and with just a hop, skip and a jump across a narrow country road, we were frolicking on the beach. Stephen and Matthew had a great time playing in the sand and discovered the art of sandcastle making with the steady guidance of Michael. They were also thrilled to find out that the water was shallow. Fortunately there was no major drop off so they could walk out for what seemed like miles. There were some jet skis moored a ways out, and the boys thought they were hot stuff due to the fact that they could walk out to them and not be in over their heads (with Michael or I not far behind of course!). Aside from swimming and playing in the sand, we did manage a couple of day trips into Traverse City. While there, we visited Pirate's Cove to partake in a game of miniature golf, drive some go-carts and race down the water coaster. Afterwards, to tame the rumblings in our tummies, we had lunch at Don's Drive-In. It was a very cool retro diner with lots of chrome, red vinyl and pictures of famous icons from the 50's and 60's. The kids meals were served in cardboard basket replicas of a 1955 Ford Fairlane Hot Rod and I had a hand-dipped chocolate milkshake that was out of this world! We also wandered around the marinas in Traverse City and Sutton's Bay. Stephen was really impressed with the "Tall Ships" that were docked there. He and Matthew thought they were cool because they looked like pirate ships. Maybe next year, we'll try and reserve a sailing venture on one. Michael and I also took the boys to visit Michael's grandfather in Kewadin. We had a very nice time visiting and the boys had a good time walking on the beach with Aunt Nancy. Stephen was extra excited because he found a Petosky Stone and has been proudly showing it to everyone he knows. Overall we had a wonderful time. It was nice to have my family all to myself for a week with no outside interruptions and we could just focus on each other. The boys were thrilled to find out that we have made arrangements to return next summer. Hopefully each visit will create special memories that they can file away and share with their own children some day!


Here are the boys driving the kiddie go-carts at Pirate's Cove.






Stephen loved sliding down the water coaster!





More pictures of our trip are in an album posted at: http://picasaweb.google.com/MMeister326/TraverseCityTrip#

Wilderness Men!

Well, Stephen and Michael survived their 3 day, 2 night trek into the woods for the summer Cub Scout camp out. Stephen loved every minute of it and Michael called on the cell from time to time so that I could stay abreast of all of the wonderful things that Stephen was experiencing. While he was involved with a bevy of activities, his favorites were archery, whittling, wood crafts and learning how to shoot a B.B. gun. I'm glad I was not there! I would have been a nervous wreck watching my baby handle knives, guns and arrows! UGH! Michael was so proud of him and seemed to enjoy the experience as well. From what he has told me, everything was very organized and well thought out. Although, neither one of my happy campers were very pleased with the 7:00 am wake up calls via a bull horn. Meanwhile back at the ranch, Matthew and I were snoozing soundly each morning until roughly 9:00am. Not to mention my wake up call of "Mama, let's go downstairs and get me breakfast" was much more pleasant and bullhorn free!!!!! :) I'm glad that Stephen is enjoying his adventures in Cub Scouts and that Michael is such an involved dad sharing every moment with him. Again, as I have said before, what a lucky girl I am for having such a wonderful bunch of boys to call my own! Yes, even my 41 year old!:) Enjoy the pictures of Stephen in action at Cub scout camp.

Cub Scout Stephen

Stephen is starting his second year of Cub Scouts and really seems to be enjoying it. Michael is very involved as a sort of "co-leader" for his den, although it's not an official title. They started the new year with a weekend of fun at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo. He and Michael have spent the weekend rotating around stations in order to earn a variety of badges and beads to add to Stephen's uniform. I have to admit that Michael looks pretty cute in his scout shirt as well!! I'll have to get a picture of him as well to post. Next weekend they are off for 3 days of camping. If the outside temps continue to rise I don't envy their sleeping in a tent at all! I'll stay inside and enjoy the central air! I wonder if they have a badge for that. Just kidding. Even if it is hot, Stephen is very excited about the trip. This is a pretty big deal with things such as fishing and archery among other male bonding type of activities. Matthew and I have big plans for that weekend as well, most of which revolve around shopping and eating out. Now that's what I call a bonding experience! I'm sure, at some point, there will be an ice cream stop as well. We'll think of Stephen and Daddy baking in the sun as we're sitting in the air conditioned ice cream shop sharing a chocolate shake! :)

Water Babies!!!

Boy oh boy have the swimming lessons paid off! I think both boys have grown gills and I'm sure webbed feet will soon follow! While Stephen's lessons have mostly helped him to hone his swimming strokes, Matthew's lessons have really helped him to develop more independence and confidence in the water. On the last day of his lessons, he finally put his face in the water and has been doing it every chance he gets since then! He thinks he is hot stuff and I have to say that his daddy and I agree. It is so much fun to watch the boys hanging out in the pool and having a good time. Here's a clip so that you can share in the fun!





It's hard to believe that the boys are as big as they are and that another summer is almost over. At least we'll have clips like these to keep as memories!

Official Welcome

Ok, since I figured out how to embed the slideshow in the last entry I had to try embedding a video. Check this out!!!!




This is way too cool!!!!!! :)

I Couldn't Resist

Ok, ok, I know. I tend to get a little carried away when I start something, but this blogging thing is sooooooo much fun! I get to show off my babies and I can't think of a better way to spend my time! This one is just for fun. Matthew had just gotten out of the pool and was showing me his very cool Power Ranger moves! Some of the poses are priceless. Of course I had to add a little commentary to the some of the pictures just to give you the full effect of his overall attitude while he was "showin' me his moves". I just wish I knew how to add music!

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Amateur Gardeners

This summer, we decided to give gardening a try. I have been wanting to put a garden in since we moved into the house, and we finally got around to it. Stephen was especially excited and picked out most of the plants that were planted. We put in carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach, romaine lettuce, bell peppers, broccoli and cantaloupe. Everything is growing like crazy with the exception of the spinach. For one reason or another, the spinach plants never really did anything. I also put in some cilantro, parsley and basil in a planter and they are doing great as well. Stephen goes out every day to check for something he can pick. We are already planning to put another garden in next year, but with even more. We will be adding green beans, peas and maybe even try some corn. I took some pictures of the garden if you want to check them out.

Beautiful Butterfly

Stephen has become quite the little backyard naturalist. He is quite intrigued by all of the little creatures that live in our yard. It is not uncommon to have 2 or 3 make-shift bug boxes hanging out on the deck full of his latest finds. Believe it or not, I actually helped to contribute to his latest discovery. I found a caterpillar on one of the carrot plants in our garden. I made Stephen pick it up because I of course choose not to directly interact with the creepy crawly things. I simply admire them from afar. However, I do encourage Stephen's curiosity of such things. I have wonderful memories of sitting outside at dusk with my father and watching spiders spin webs in the doorway of our garage. It was one of the most fascinating things I had ever seen. I want Stephen to have memories like these to look back on when he is grown and raising his own children. Anyhow, back to the caterpillar. He collected the caterpillar and then we of course went right to the computer to find out what kind it was. (The caterpillar picture above is from the internet.) We found out that he had collected a Black Swallowtail Caterpillar. He kept the caterpillar in a Gladware tub and made sure to keep the fresh carrot tops coming. After about 2 weeks, he went out to feed the caterpillar and found instead a bright green chrysalis. I cannot even put into words the excitement that went through that child's body! I'm glad that something so simple can bring him such joy. The hard part now, was waiting to see what the butterfly that would emerge was going to look like. Yesterday afternoon (Thursday) as Stephen was getting his bike out of the garage, I heard a loud squeal and was afraid that something had happened. Stephen came running into the house, box in hand screaming "IT'S OUT! IT'S OUT!" Lo and behold, there was a beautiful butterfly in the gladware container. We let her go in the backyard and watched as she flew away in the bright blue sky. When I looked at Stephen, he had the biggest smile on his face and said, "There she goes. Maybe she'll come back to visit." It's moments like these that I am so full of love for this child that I could absolutely burst. Just the pure and simple joy that he is able to find in the tiniest of creatures reminds me that no matter how ugly the world around us gets, you can always find little bits of beauty somewhere. I hope that as Stephen gets older and things get a little tough, that he will remember moments like these and be inspired!

Fun in the Sun!

Boy oh boy today was a hot one! Michael took the day off and the 4 of us headed off to Rocky Gap Beach in St. Joe. Believe it or not, Lake Michigan was actually pretty warm and clean. The boys had a fabulous time splashing in all of the waves and daddy even got in on the action splashing around with them. The boys and I spent quite a bit of time at this beach last summer, so it was especially nice for Michael to go with us today and share in the fun! We of course had to pack lots of snacks and spent quite a bit of time playing in the sand. We didn't have much luck with a sandcastle this visit...maybe next time. After much fun in the sand and surf, we packed up our gear and met Granny and Grandpa for an early dinner. It was a nice way to wrap up the day! Check out some pictures of our great day at: http://picasaweb.google.com/MMeister326

John Ball Park Zoo

Michael was finally able to sneak away from work for a day so we took full advantage and spent the day at the zoo. All of us had a great time. If you ever get over to the Grand Rapids area I highly recommend you visit the zoo. We enjoyed petting and feeding stingrays, riding a camel, watching the lions and hanging out with the wallabies. It was great watching the boys react to everything. At one point Stephen said "Look at me. I'm petting a cow!" I cherish days like these because I know that the boys will be grown before I know it. I have also come to realize during days like this that I am truly blessed. I have a beautiful family that I love spending time with and a job that allows me to do so! Check out some of our pictures at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/MMeister326/JohnBallParkZoo

Happy 4th of July!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful and relaxing holiday weekend. We spent Friday night in St. Joe with my mom and then came home early Saturday morning. Friday night we went down to Lake Michigan to watch the fireworks. Even though the water was beyond cold, the boys still had a great time splashing in the waves and building moats in the sand. Matthew was quite taken with the sunset and kept saying "OOOH mommy look at all of the pretty colors on the water". Right after the sun went down Matthew ran out of steam. Once he was still and wrapped up in a blanket, he fell asleep about 5 minutes before the fireworks started. I had bought some fountains and sparklers at Meijer, so we did those Saturday night. Matthew was awake for those and he and Stephen had a good time with the sparklers.

Swimming Lessons

Hello all! I am going to give this blogging thing a try. I figure this will help keep in touch with everyone and let you know what's going on with us and the boys in our little part of the world. The boys have been very excited because they got to take swimming lessons this past week. Our neighbor that lives behind us was just certified through the Red Cross to teach swimming lessons. The boys had a great time and can't wait to continue next week. It's been amazing to watch how much they have both improved with their swimming skills just in 4 days.