The dog, a cat and a drawer...

2 weeks ago my brilliant daughter was screaming her head off in the little boys room. The cat was also in there screaming his head off. I went in to see Jilliann sitting on the floor holding her arm and the cat half stuck in a drawer flailing around. It was actually quite funny. I assumed Jilliann must have tried to stick him in the drawer and he bit her. I got the cat unstuck and picked up Jilly. She laid her head down on me and cried for a while. When I pulled her back to see what happened to her we were both covered in blood. I eventually realized her finger as barely hanging on and off to the ER we went. She broke the tip of her finger bone and almost severed her finger. The nail has since fallen off and we are keeping it bandaged as much as possible. I took her last week to a hand specialist and he thinks it will heal fine though I cannot imagine how because it looks so mangled and nasty. She loves to show everyone her "owie" but it hasn't stopped her one bit from being a little daredevil. She was on the trampoline within a few hours of being home from the ER and is her usual crazy self. Just one day of peace and quiet is all I really want.....

A walk in the park

We had amazing weather today. It is the first day it hasn't been in the 100's since May. There is some freak storm coming from the west that brought lots of clouds and a little rain here and there. Yeah. So, we spent all day outside playing and working in the yard. It was so nice. We took the kids to the park. They are all getting so big. It blows my mind. I actually got a few pictures of Jilliann with both her eyes open. See, she does have 2 eyes.

Hugs, bugs and just plain old knuckleheads!

Here is a picture of Jilly and her daddy just because. Of course, she is winking. Notice how she is holding his face still with her hand. She is already very "Motherly" or bossy...or both.

Justin found a praying mantis on our fence in the backyard so we captured it. Tonight we are trying to feed it 2 crickets but it hasn't eaten so far. We are going to "try" to keep it alive so Justin can take it to school to show his class then donate it to the science room. Jilliann thinks it is great and wants to sleep with it in her bed. I don't think so!!

And, now that we are supposed to stay out of the 100's and only reach a high of 98 this week we have set back up the trampoline. Yeah. The pool is actually a little cold now. Like usual I cannot get a picture of the 2 little boys where they are not wearing just underwear. Even their poor friends are used to it. They have no shame. It doesn't matter who is here...boys, girls, family, friends, strangers. You can always count on them to be in their underwear.

Happy Birthday Alys the Great

Alys the Great turned 89 on September 19th. Can you imagine?? She was born in 1919. The world sure has changed a lot since then. So, here they are (with Christian jumping in the photo). Grandpa is 92 and Grandma is 89. They have been married 69 years. Geez. That is amazing. She is hanging in there rather well after the trauma we had with her last year. She is fairly unaware and had no clue it was her birthday or how old she was....maybe that isnt so bad!

Finished Floor

I took time out of my busy schedule to clean my house so I could take some stupid pictures of the floor. John thanks all of my blog followers! So, here is the floor finished and with all the furniture put back. When I chose the colors I just asked what was closest to dirt. Same with the grout...you know, they should name a grout color "dirt". I picked earth...which I assumed was close to dirt. I cannot tell you how much I love love love it!! Easy to clean, fabulous to look at but hard on the heads when they fall. Oh well!!

Construction!

Doesn't Justin look happy with all the mess!


I removed the carpet by myself and all the tile too. Such fun!


Ugg...I forgot how much I hate to have my house torn up. It is one thing for it to be messy with toys and such but quite another when it is at the mercy of construction. However, after a long 10 days of chaos my beautiful floor is done. I LOVE it. The pictures do not do it justice. I need to add some pictures with the room put back together with furniture. It is so fabulous I cannot even tell you. Gone is the stained white carpet. John and I busted our butts getting the old tile, all the carpet and the linoleum (and glue) out of there for the workers. But, the end product was worth it....Now I think the carpet on the stairs needs to be removed! John says I have to wait. We shall see.../:-)

Talented Grandma

John's mother can do it all....cook a whole meal with just chicken, flour and milk, grow a garden and sew. She sent Jilliann this beautiful dress she made and also made me a matching shirt to go with it. Anyone who knows me well knows that matching with Jilliann is the highlight of my life. I would wear matching clothes all the time...too bad I cant get the boys to agree to that any more. They are older now and throw fits. Anyway, thank you Katherine for these amazing matching outfits!!

Where did August go???

School began in early August (whooooo!!!!) much to the kids dismay. I will not say that I was happy but....I was!!!

Austin is in 8th grade. It blows my mind to think he is in his last year of junior high. He is going to be in High School next year. Where did the time go??

Justin is in 4th grade this year. He is a great student and makes tons of friends easily so I have no worries or issues with him. He is excelling in math and they want to put him in the accelerated program for that. Wish he behaved half as well at home as he does at school. Oh well, I cant have it all.

Christian...oh Christian!! He is in 1st grade this year. He hates getting up and getting ready for school each day. He would rather sleep in and play video games. Hmmm...sounds like Johnny's clone! But, once there he does well and so far hasn't gotten in too much trouble. Thank God he is so darn cute...it makes his spastic hyper activity easier to forgive. For now, he has his looks!

I am gonna be a MOTHER-IN-LAW!!!

Doesn't this freak you out! Andrew is getting married. The boy I didn't think would ever graduate high school let alone get a job, a house and a wife. Time does change all!! He has grown into a fabulous man! He bought a beautiful house in Wasilla, Alaska and will be married in July 2009. Adrienne is a fabulous girl who seems to complement Andrew well. She is laid back and quiet... opposites attract. I love her already and am super excited about the wedding. Welcome to this crazy Fueller Family Adrienne!!

Big Bear 2008

We spent a week in Big Bear this July. The weather was fabulous...it rained each day enough to satisfy my desire to have some need for a fire but not too much that we couldn't get out and enjoy the outdoors. We went hiking and explored different things we haven't done there yet. We went to a zoo and a petting farm. The kids loved it. Of course, Jilliann played with the local cat the whole time. We have one at home but she preferred to play with the one we spent $20 to go see!! We played lots of board games and just enjoyed some real quality family time. It was one of the best trips we have had.

4th of July...on the 3rd

Our community celebrates the 4th of July on the 3rd (so families can still get together on the 4th). They had lots of fun things for the kids to do and a huge fireworks show at the end of the evening. It was only 103 out too!! Yikes. Luckily they had water slides and bouncy things for the kids. It was a great evening and lots of fun. The 4th will be spent lounging by the pool enjoying some wonderful drinks and a barbecue with my parents (and countless neighborhood kids that show up!). Happy 4th to all...

Johnny

He actually let me photograph him!! Here he is with his favorite bunch of kids!! He insisted we go to Chinese food for his birthday. He knows all those buffets freak me out so we compromised on a regular Chinese restaurant. We are very proud of him!! He is an excellent big brother and an even better son!! The kids miss him terribly but they are looking forward to sleepovers and Johnny's house!!!

Just....Can't...Make...It.....

After a day of party after party she just couldnt make it. A chicken patty sounded good but after 2 bites she was down for the count. Poor thing!

Party Party Party

June and July bring massive birthday's so I threw one big party to celebrate it all. Robert the Great turned 92, Grandpa George turned 71, Austin turned 14, Johnny turned 24 and Christian will be 6 at the end of July. All the family came and we shared in good food and lots of laughter. We are blessed to be able to get together and have Alys and Robert the Great still attend!!

CHCHCHCHC Changes....

Johnny has left the building!! A bittersweet day has come...Johnny has moved into his own apartment. Christian cried for days! Poor guy. But, with Johnny gone we rearranged some rooms. We put Austin upstairs in Johnny's old room and then created a playroom for Jilliann full of play house items and baby dolls. It is a work in progress but so far she likes it. Jilliann also moved into a big girl bed. Down came the beautiful crib (thanks to Auntie DeeDee) and up went a castle bed fit for a princess!! I will post pictures of Austin's new room and Johnny's apartment soon!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Daddy turned 43 this year. We celebrated at Logan's Steak House...his favorite!! We made sure they yelled loudly to announce his birthday just to extra embarrass him!! He got some clothes, flip flops and a GPS for his car!! We love you Babe!! Happy Birthday!

Note to Self...

Note to self....Do NOT leave butt cream where Jilliann can reach it!!