Adventures of The Childless Newlyweds

Basketball Season

2009-12-20T15:01:00.003-05:00

So it's the start of our favorite season, no not the Holiday season, Basketball season! Lutheran West played rival Fairview for the season opener and I am happy to report that all three teams won! Chris & James both played very VERY well. This past Friday Kirk and I had to miss the game for my company Christmas party but thought it was worth noting that James scored 24 points! HOLY COW! I can't wait to watch the rest of what should be a very exciting season!

Happy 30th Birthday Kirk!

2009-12-20T14:42:00.004-05:00

Oh no Kirk has turned the big 3-0! Haha we had a great time celebrating Kirk's 30th Birthday. Thanks to every one for joining us!

See how much Kirk loved his cake?

A close up of that stunning cake!

Every one having a great time.

Mmmmm look at all those yummy appetizers.

Thank goodness for my Mom's, being pregnant and throwing a party don't go hand in hand. The Mom's did most of the cooking!

We're Pregnant!!!

2009-11-15T21:21:00.004-05:00

So Kirk and I found out this weekend that we are pregnant. Needless to say we are overjoyed! We are 4 weeks pregnant today. We got our first positive test on Friday and I took another one Saturday and another today, I just couldn't believe it!!! So after we knew for sure today we decided to tell everyone else. My Mom of course knew on Saturday because I just couldn't hold it in!! Below is the positive test from today and some footage we got of us telling Kirk's Papa and then the boys. Little baby Mueller is due 7-25-2010. Obviously since we aren't so childless any more we will be taking suggestions for a new blog name.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-14T09:25:00.005-05:00

This year Halloween was very fun, since Josh was a little less than crazy about going trick-or-treating because in his words "it's kind of childish". SO to show him it could still be fun James, Chris, and I dressed up & went with him. We had an absolute blast! I managed to get the crap scared out of me at one of the houses by the most obvious ghost person ever... Here are some pictures from all our fun!

The trick-or-treaters...

The Family

Totally wiped out...

Kitty & Doggy were wiped out too...

Yeah that's right, I am not too grown up to run & scream like a little girl.

Hale Farm

2009-10-25T22:53:00.006-04:00

Our trip to Hale Farm for Mom's birthday was completely awesome! We all had such a great time, and it was the perfect activity to get everyone ready for Fall. We got to see some really interesting buildings and demonstrations. It was definitely a trip that everyone enjoyed!

The boys trying out the old fashioned stilts.

I was going NUTS when we saw this. It was sitting on the hall table of this GORGEOUS old mansion. I couldn't believe it!

Dad and Chris "creeping" as the kids call it these days.

Look at how awesome this place is!

This tree was gorgeous. We seriously had the best time.

At the blacksmith. They make everything the Farm needs including any new hinges for doors. They are are total working farm so everything is done at the Farm. It was VERY cool.

Could you imagine how hot this guy gets in the summer??

The kettle had flowers in it that they were boiling to make yellow wool to be spun into yarn to make blankets and other things needed at the Farm. So cool.

We were trying to take a picture of ourselves, you can't really tell but there were cows in the background. They were special cows with short horns, we found it very fitting but couldn't manage to get a good picture of it.

Cooking a chicken in the open fire, it smelled SO good!

The boys love their mommy!

SO CUTE!

Chris finally figured out the stilts, I thought it was totally amazing!

Lutheran West Homecoming 2009

2009-10-25T11:54:00.004-04:00

These pictures are also long over due. Jamie & Chris both looked great this year for homecoming and of course their dates looked amazing too! Jamie's girlfriend Jamie won Homecoming Queen (hence the tiara). They both had an awesome time, and apparently Jamie managed to do an ok job of dancing with his brace. Check out the adorable couples.

Are they adorable or what!?

Seriously, adorable right??

Don't worry Chris has warned Brenna about my picture taking on more than one occasion. She doesn't think I'm crazy, just predictable...

The flowers were just so pretty!

The beautiful couple.

You can't tell but it was a treacherous journey to get to this awesome picture taking spot. Mom and I thought it would be nice to pick Jamie up and carry her given how tiny she is we thought "no problem!". Well let's just say Mom and I almost took out the Homecoming Queen...

Too cute!

The flowers were so pretty I had to include them...

Congratulations Sean!

2009-10-25T11:28:00.004-04:00

So I am WAAAY behind on updating the blog. Sean graduated from Air Force basic training over a month ago. We are all SO proud of him and he has now moved on to Mississippi for tech school. I can't wait to see him at Christmas time and to have him home for good in March. Here are some pictures from Mom, Dad, and Josh's trip down to the graduation. CONGRATULATIONS SEAN!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-09-28T19:49:00.006-04:00

This year Mom's birthday lasted for over a week, it started with Jamie's girlfriend Jamie and her friend Caitlyn coming and decorating the front door and ended this Sunday with a scrumptious dinner and the gormet cake you see pictured below. The boys and I have already been asked to start our own cake show on TLC so no need to suggest it! In a couple of weeks we are going to Hale Farm & Village for Harvest Fest (Mom's gift), we hope it was a great fall birthday!

That guy from cake boss called me to tell me how jealous he was of our cake!

Good job Jamie & Caitlyn!

Congratulations Andy and Chelsey!

2009-09-28T19:36:00.003-04:00

This weekend Kirk and I had the pleasure of attending our friends' wedding. They are a beautiful couple and their wedding was the most gorgeous wedding I've ever been too. We were so happy for them and so glad we got to share in their special day!

The boys, or as they were called in high school "The Family".

The beautiful couple.

The gorgeous centerpieces.

Awwww, so cute.

How amazing was this place?

Fall Fun

2009-09-20T21:20:00.012-04:00

This fall hasn't been all broken bones and bad football weather, the boys are managing to have a GREAT time too! Chris is loving his freshman year at Lutheran West and James is having a great time as a Junior. Josh couldn't be happier at St. Paul and Mom inspects his locker every Sunday after Church so far so good! Chris & James had some friends over yesterday for a fire and aside from Mom leaving the lighter next to the fire pit and almost blowing them all up it seems like they had a lot of fun. In super awesome and totally non-embarrassing older sister fashion I stopped over to take some pictures. Apparently James & Chris both warned their girlfriends and friends that I do this a lot... someday they will thank me!

They humored me...

They were intensely into catch phrase.

Jamie was showing his girlfriend Jamie how he could still dance with her at homecoming on his crutches.

The girls were totally blowing the boys minds at how fast & loud they could talk. The tall skinny one standing on the left is Chris' girlfriend Brenna.

Jamie & Jamie, I said "make a funny face" but I think girl Jamie made more of a "what a huge dork" face.

Jamie & Jamie, she tried a new fashion in jersey wearing: the jersey dress. I think she really pulls it off.

Josh & the 5th graders singing at Church today, he strategically hid himself in the far back row. You can see him at the end reaching over every one's heads.

Labor Day '09

2009-09-20T20:48:00.004-04:00

This Labor Day weekend we took a trip up to Port Clinton to the Mueller family trailer. Port Clinton is gorgeous and their trailer is right on the water. Lexie went for a little dip, this time completely of her own free will! We also took a trip to the local taxidermy shop with Uncle Eric that can only be described as interesting... The entire day was wonderful, Aunt Beth did a clam bake and it was absolutely delicious, clam broth and all. I got some great shots of one of my favorite men too: Papa! He was thoroughly enjoying the weather and the views, it was one of those days that you will always remember as truly enjoyable and peaceful. I'm glad that I managed to hold off on being totally sick until the next day, unfortunately I spent the whole Monday lying in Mom & Dad's recliner blowing my nose.... GROSS! Don't worry I didn't take any pictures of that!

Uncle Chuck & Uncle Eric manning the grill.

Austin, Carl, and Ali being good sports about my picture taking.

Aunt Beth & Papa enjoying the sun set.

Carl, Dad, Kirk, Mom, & Uncle Eric also enjoying the sun set.

Aunt Beth & Papa enjoying the lake view.

Football, Football, Football

2009-09-19T14:17:00.007-04:00

So I've been sincerely spoken to about my lack of recent updates, and I apologize. As everyone is well aware fall is here and that means one thing and one thing only in the Ranc/Mueller households. FOOTBALL! With the high school season in full swing, mini horns on Thursday, not to mention multiple fantasy leagues and college football all day Saturday it's amazing that we get anything else done around here. So far this season isn't exactly working out the way we have all hoped. Jamie was tearing it up on the varsity field as the starting quarterback and making almost EVERY single tackle on defense as the safety (which isn't the way it's supposed to be). UNTIL the lack of O & D lines led to his demise, he unfortunately took a NASTY hit and a helmet to the knee and wound up with a broken tibia which has officially ended his season. So far the count is 15 players out due to injuries and things are a little bleak... one of the back up quarterbacks ended up with a broken collar bone just last night. Needless to say it hasn't been that fun for the varsity team.

The JV season has been a whole different story, no wins reported yet but it's been a season of incredibly close games and it's been a TON of fun! Chris has been a maniac on the field! He is just kicking butt & taking names. He has laid more people out than any one could possibly keep track of. Everyone is constantly telling us how fun it is to watch him, he is a serious defensive force to be reckoned with. He has also scored his fair share of touchdowns this season, and to think he's only a freshman!

Josh is playing for the mini horns this season and while they are awesome little football playing dudes, I would be lying to myself if I didn't say that he is adorable in his mini horns uniform & pads, see for yourself below. It's amazing how that "my older sister puts me out" look really loses nothing in a picture... Josh also seems to have the Ranc family "we kick butt at defense" thing going, his tackling skills have been finely honed by years of front yard football games, and it REALLY shows! I think the Lutheran football programs won't be forgetting the Ranc boys anytime soon!

Anyways, below are some of the photos I've take so far this season, I've decided with all the games ahead of us I'm going to need a fancier camera so I've recently invested in lottery tickets. haha

Chris the freight train Ranc.

The freight train is #25.

That's our quarterback!

James was thrilled that after a game of being pummeled his sister insisted on a picture...

Josh has a much more sarcastic way of showing his displeasure at my need for pictures.

The broken leg before we knew it was a broken leg, it was originally diagnosed as a torn mcl until the MRI proved different.

Dog Days of Summer

2009-08-16T20:49:00.015-04:00

So the past few weekends have been SCORCHING hot, last weekend we took Riley to the lake to watch him swim. He is an amazing swimmer and he just LOVES being at the lake. Even when he's tired from fetching (which takes a lot...) he still likes to walk around in the water. I've always wanted Lexie to follow in his foot steps because I think it's so fun when dogs like to swim, and let's be honest I love almost anything that has to do with water. So today we decided to take Lexie down to the lake with Riley and see if she might chase him into the water. She didn't. She just isn't so fond of water. To our amazement though after being forced against her will on several occasions she actually started fetching a stick in the water! It seriously made my day! My little baby can swim! Check her out:

Family Reunion

2009-08-02T21:28:00.004-04:00

As always the family reunion was a BLAST! Kirk & I were not able to defend our egg toss championship, but James & Chris won so that's ok. Dad managed to soak me in the water balloon toss but Kirk & Chris won, and I managed to nail Dad after so that's ok too!

Chris' failed attempt at the splash log. OUCH!

Josh's failed attempt at the splash log.

Jamie having a great old time!

The Beach Boys

AFTER we got Jamie out of the way.

Jamie just can't help himself...

I HAD to get a picture of Dad's amazing egg toss technique.

The boys after Kirk & Chris' water balloon win.

Jamie & Chris after their egg toss victory.

The Family Tree

Happy Birthday Paul

2009-08-02T21:05:00.004-04:00

So a few weeks ago we celebrated Paul's 25th birthday, and of course it's take me forever to get some pictures up! It was a fun get together at Katie & Paul's gorgeous house, I always get house envy when we go over there. Anyways, happy birthday Paul!

My First Golfing Experience!

2009-07-18T12:51:00.005-04:00

So Dad made the brilliant suggestion to go golfing on the morning of the wedding, and since my brothers wouldn't ever take me when we were younger (no I'm not bitter...) I was THRILLED! I have always had a hunch that I would LOVE golf and boy was I right! I had the BEST time!!! I had to use men's clubs and we figured out if I was right or left handed Friday when we got down there.... so needless to say it wasn't the most organized experience ever but that's what made it so perfect! We golfed on Crockett Ridge and it was a tough course from what I am told. Believe it or not Dad and I did NOT fight, I listened to him and apparently he says I have potential. I have officially found my calling, watch out LPGA here I come! LOL Just kidding, but I do LOVE golf, and just this week I found a STEAL and got some AWESOME golf clubs, they have pink details which just makes my day! hahaha

Take a look at the gorgeous view! Dad & Sean watching my mad skills!
Sean & Kirk on the 9th.

Kirk & I on the 9th. Don't I just LOOK like a golfer! haha

Just a shot of the amazing golf course.

Molly's Wedding

2009-07-18T11:47:00.009-04:00

Molly's wedding was by far one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever been to. It was on a GORGEOUS farm and it was just very intimate and personal. Her husband and his family seem like genuinely good people and it was just SUCH a great time! It was hard to pick which pictures I was going to put up because I took like a MILLION for Mom since she had to miss it... I finally narrowed it down to 8 haha.

Awwwww, the siblings.

The beautiful bride, and the always handsome uncle Tod.

The wedding party lined the front porch, the pictures just don't do this place justice!

I was OBSESSED with little Vivi, she just walked around with her little bare feet all throughout the ceremony and it was just WAY too adorable! This is my favorite picture of her.

The happy couple!

A picture of the gorgeous farm where this all took place, it was just so beautiful!

I finally got my wedding dance with Uncle Choppers, and I managed not to cry!

Sean and the glowing bride and the family tradition the dollar dance!

The End of Little League Season

2009-07-18T11:23:00.005-04:00

So sadly our little league season has come to an end, but not without some end of season excitement! Josh's team won their first playoff game in a very close game that was very exciting for everyone! Josh had some amazing hits and it was just a really great night. Unfortunately the second playoff game didn't end the same way... but all in all it was a really fun season!

The guys were so excited after their big win!

The playoff victory!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-05T17:41:00.007-04:00

I hope everyone had a GREAT 4th of July weekend! We had a BLAST this year, instead of Kirk & I splitting our day between families we just had the party at our place and got to spend the whole day with the people we love. Thanks to our parents for donating tables and chairs, and for everyone bringing all the delicious side dishes. I think we've started a tradition that will last for many years to come! We definitely had beautiful weather and I think everyone had a really good time, we even have footage of Papa getting in on the cornhole action! We even found a new and improved place to watch the fireworks! I can't wait to do this again next year!

The guys enjoying some cornhole.

Josh was annoyed by my need to take pictures mid-game.

My beautiful decorations; something about Chinese lanterns really said 4th of July to me.

Ahhh, much more patriotic!

Everyone enjoying the gorgeous weather, good food, and great company.

A Year of Love..

2009-07-05T17:04:00.005-04:00

Last weekend Kirk and I celebrated our one year anniversary, this has been an incredible year full of living together as husband and wife. We have learned a TON about one another; such as Kirk's inability to keep his clothes of the laundry room floor, and my inability to take the clean folded clothes out of the clothes basket in our room and put them away. We've also learned that Kirk is patient about having to kill anything that I deem doesn't belong in the house, and that I am more patient about Lexie not being able to stay away from the smell of food. We've had the joy of working on our new home together (Kirk disagrees that there is any joy to be found in painting) and some sorrows too. We've started a business together, and added another little girl to our family (just the cat). All of this craziness has undoubtedly brought us closer together, and I can't wait to spend another year growing in love with the man of my dreams!

Our cake survived an entire year in the freezer and still tasted great!

Our newest house project, the living room!

Evidence of my inability to put away clothes. Believe it or not these clothes are all clean!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-07-05T15:43:00.007-04:00

So in keeping with being WAY behind on the blog I am just now posting the Father's Day pictures. Father's Day was twice as fun this year now that I have 2 Father's in my life and an AWESOME Papa too! Happy belated Father's Day to all the Father's out there!

More clothes for Dad... he's hard to shop for.

Papa always gets mad that we buy him presents, and I finally caught it on camera!

Kirk & I got Dad another year of the Plain Dealer and a bag full of Reese's!

Summer Birthdays!

2009-06-20T10:30:00.017-04:00

I am one lucky, lucky girl! This year I got to share my birthday with two of my favorite people! My birthday this year felt like it lasted for a whole week! Kirk took me horse back riding on my actual birthday and then to a birthing seminar and out to dinner. NO I am NOT pregnant, we are just starting to soak up the information in preparations for when we decide it's time. Then I got to celebrate with Papa Ewing and the Mueller's and it was just awesome to blow out the candles with my Papa! Then come Sunday James & I celebrated what may have been one of the most hilarious birthdays ever! I may be a little biased but I think my brothers are the funniest people I've ever met. Sean made the mistake of getting me exactly what I wanted for my b-day, MAD GAB! Coolest game of all time, check out the clips you won't be able to resist laughing! Thank you to everyone in my life for making this the best birthday EVER!

Chris' Graduation

2009-06-20T09:30:00.006-04:00

Sorry everyone I am WAY behind on updating the blog! Chris has been an official graduate of St. Paul Lutheran School for weeks now but I still wanted to post this for all to see! He was the co-salutatorian of his class and received so many recognitions it's almost hard to remember them all! He was recognized as part of the National Junior Honor Society and he also received some scholarships for his academic excellence and his leadership. Needless to say there are a whole lot of people who are very impressed with him, but I can guarantee that NO ONE is prouder of him than we are! CONGRATULATIONS CHRIS!

Little League

2009-05-30T13:06:00.001-04:00

Little League has officially started, and it's GREAT! I love everything about little league from the cheese burgers to the tokens and especially the new adorable uniforms this year! Minors now have sponsors just like the Majors so there are all new uniforms this year and they have done a really great job. Josh is on Once Upon A Time Toys which isn't exactly the easiest thing to yell out! LOL Josh is making us all proud with his great pitching and fielding skills, and lets not forgot that big bat!!! He's definitely a super star! These pictures below though are the best, Dad was umping and Josh had just finished his game, moments like these are what Little League is all about.

Chris' Confirmation

2009-05-30T11:39:00.000-04:00

So Chris is an officially confirmed member of St. Paul Lutheran Church. It was a BIG day for the whole family and I know we are all super proud of him. Chris played a little camera shy, but thanks to Aunt Beth we got plenty of photos!!

Congrats Kevin Mueller BGSU Grad '09!!

2009-05-29T19:37:00.001-04:00

Ok so I'm a little bit behind in updating the blog, since my last post there has been a LOT of very exciting things going on. Kevin graduated from college which is OBVIOUSLY huge! It was a really fun weekend and a really nice commencement, I just can't wait until it's my turn! Here are some pictures from the weekend and a video, yes I followed the wrong kid for a while! Congrats Kevin! We are SO proud of you!!

Statement of Faith

2009-05-04T22:20:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday Christopher had to give his Statement of Faith as part of his preparation for confirmation Sunday on May 17th. Chris was assigned a bible verse and he had to create a visual aid to express that verse. He also had to give a 2-3 minute speech about what his faith means to him. He did such a GREAT job, no nervous cracking of the voice or anything! We'll forgive him for thinking we've only been members for a year and a half instead of the 3 and a half years we've actually been members for. LOL I guess that just goes to show that time really does fly when you are having fun!It has been so wonderful to be a part of all of this, and I can't wait to see him confirmed in a few weeks. Way to go Chris!

Cavs Playoff Game

2009-04-19T20:33:00.001-04:00

Kirk & I were lucky enough to get Dad's work tickets to the Cav's first playoff game this Saturday. While it totally screwed up the 8million things I had planned to do that day it was totally worth it!! Here are some pictures, it was just a CRAZY experience we had a TON of fun!!!

Happy 10th Birthday Josh!!

2009-04-12T21:26:00.000-04:00

So long single digits, the last child in the Ranc household is 10! Josh turned 10 on March 31st, and we celebrated his birthday tonight. Now as we all know 10 is a HUGE birthday and I think we made it a day to remember. I do believe he got almost everything on his list! Perhaps the highlight of birthday gifts was the insane Nerf gun that Mom & Dad bought him. Jamie & Chris are in BIG trouble, I mean this thing has scope & everything!! Not to mention Mom got him some crazy belt with extra ammo so he can run around like Rambo and not worry about having to re-load... Good Luck to Jamie & Chris! Happy Birthday Josh!! Oh, and he also got so many presents that I had to do it in 3 clips...

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-12T19:23:00.000-04:00

The Lord is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!!! I hope everyone is having a great Easter!! Our Easter has been truly blessed, everyone is here and Mom made us all Easter Baskets! SO HAPPY! Mom & I ventured out to the old fashioned candy store and bought some great stuff, I bought the boys all dog bowls, and they were awesome enough to want to eat out of them like dogs! SO FUNNY! We dyed Easter eggs yesterday and in true teenage form there are phrases such as "Jamie needs a hug" and "Jamie's PMSing" and Mom tried her best but her egg really does look like it says "Mom is #2" LOL. It's been a great family holiday and Bobbo has even been in a good

mood for most of the day! Happy Easter!

BFF's

2009-04-12T19:12:00.001-04:00

So after only one day Lily decided that maybe Lexie wasn't so bad after all... after two days she was down right curious, and on the third day they had decided to be BFF's. This couldn't have turned out any better! I was hoping that Lily would be Lexie's buddy so she wouldn't have to spend her days alone anymore and sure enough they chase each other around the house, wrestle, and as you can see they even cuddle! Even more unbelievable, Kirk actually really likes her!

All-Star Game

2009-04-06T23:05:00.000-04:00

As stated before Chris Ranc is a pretty bid deal around here! He of course was asked to be in the All-Star game this evening. He played well and even blocked a dunk by Lebron James wannabe "Mo" from St. John Nottingham, which made me SO happy because everyone was yelling "let him dunk!" from the stands. Honestly? What planet do these people live on? Who wants to see someone dunk when they don't even have to work for it? I don't care if he's 14 and it's awesome, he should still have to dunk it OVER the defender like everyone else! lol intense much? well maybe... All kidding aside this boy is really good, and seems very nice, but I would NEVER encourage any one of my brothers to step aside and LET someone dunk! Here's the clip so you can see how sweet it was for yourself. Congrats Chris on an awesome season!!

Chris & Josh's Baptism!

2009-04-06T22:45:00.000-04:00

Palm Sunday was extra special for the Ranc family this year. Chris & Josh were baptized and it was SO great! It was incredibly special for me because Kirk & I are their God Parents! While it may not have been ideal that they hadn't been baptized yet it was extremely cool to hear them express their wish to be baptized and it was a wonderfully intimate experience for our whole family. Hey, I even managed not to cry!

Welcome Home Lily!!

2009-04-05T20:48:00.001-04:00

Well, I convinced the husband to let me get a kitten a few months ago (I think he thought I would stop bugging him to have kids for a while...) and the wait is finally over, little Lily came home this weekend and I don't think it's possible for her to be any cuter, crazier, or sweeter!! Luckily for Kirk she is going to be quite the little handful for a little while so it should distract me from the kids thing for a while, what a smart man!! LOL She will be 9wks old tomorrow and already loves her Mommy! Smart girl! Her big sister was VERY excited to see her, but Lily had never seen a dog before so she wasn't sharing those feelings of excitement. She is slowly realizing that her sister is not something to worry about and I'm sure they will be the best of friends before we know it!

Ohio State Graduation

2009-04-05T20:33:00.000-04:00

CONGRATULATIONS CHUCK EWING III!!!! Recent graduate from THE Ohio State University, among his graduating class were James Laurinitis and Brian Robiskie, how cool! This was my second Ohio State graduation now, and they were both equally awesome! Although I must say Summer graduation was much hotter, having it in the horse shoe is an incredible sight! Ohio State definitely knows how to do a graduation ceremony, their speakers are always incredibly funny yet pertinent. Kirk & I wish you nothing but the best in the future, it was a HUGE day and we were so happy to get to be a part of it!

Lutheran West's Season Comes to an End...

2009-04-05T18:18:00.000-04:00

Well the end of the Lutheran West basketball season was about as impressive as the beginning was in terms of coaching, Coach Durbin hands down lost the final game for us. It came down to the last 10 seconds and James' response to the question "What was the plan that Coach Durbin gave you?" was "He didn't really give us a plan, he just said to take a good shot if we had one..." WOW what coach doesn't have a solid plan for the last 10 seconds of the game when your team has a chance to win? I'm pretty sure that even Lebron looks to Brown for the plan at the end of a tight game.... as Maxwell would say "that guy...". Anyways, James played great, he was one of 3 players to score for Lutheran West scoring 13. Unfortunately they were incredibly out coached and ended their season in the district semi-finals against Cuyahoga Heights. It looks like Coach Durbin will be making a return appearance next year, lets hope he takes the off-season to work on his coaching!

Josh's End of Season Tournament

2009-04-05T17:57:00.000-04:00

Apparently James & Chris have made such a name for the Ranc family in the Lutheran Basketball world, that a Bethany coach approached Mom at the All-Ohio tournament to see how old Josh was and asked if he would want to play in a tournament the following weekend. Mom said sure, but then realized that this guy had never seen Josh play when she asked him how he knew Josh would be any good he replied "Chris & James are his older brothers right?" and when Mom said "yes" he said "then I'm not really worried about it..." LOL too funny!! Josh would prove him right, he OBVIOUSLY had nothing to worry about. Not only did Josh play SUPER amazing he was given the honor of being chosen as one of six players to make the All Tournament Team AND his team finished second!! They lost to a team who has been playing together for YEARS and year round, so I'm pretty sure they had nothing to feel bad about!

All-Ohio Tournament Play

2009-04-05T17:23:00.000-04:00

The All-Ohio Tournament was an INSANE weekend, why they held it at a Church in the middle of no where Ohio is beyond me, every one's hotels were about 30min or more away from this place... oh well. St. Paul played great, they finished 3rd and although it wasn't where they wanted to end up it was a great experience and exposure to great basketball!

Chris played to amazing, I'm sure the Lutheran West coaches can't wait to get their hands on him!

All-Ohio Tournament Weekend

2009-04-05T15:30:00.000-04:00

Ok, so let me start by apologizing that this has taken me SO long...the All-Ohio weekend was SO MUCH FUN!! It started with an all school pep rally at St. Paul, this was by far the best 1/2 day vacation I've ever taken. St. Paul was going nuts because they had never done something like that before. Mr. Lehrke (school principal) was so excited he did a cart wheel (see below). LOL Not only was this pep rally in honor of both the boys & girls 8th grade teams making it to the State Tourny it was also to celebrate the Junior National Honor Society Inductees, and OF COURSE our little brianiac Chris was inducted, AND not only that but he is so adorable that he brought Mom his carnation and gave her a kiss, you should have heard the collective "Awwwww" coming from the other Moms... I should also mention that since then Chris was named salutatorian of his 8th grade class and will receive a partial scholarship to Lutheran West! Way To Go Chris!!!

Chris & Mom, what a nice boy!

The pep rally was during Lutheran Schools week, the younger kids at St. Paul were asked to make a top 10 list of the reasons why they love St. Paul Lutheran School and Chris Ranc was #4. No joke, he's a pretty big deal around here! LOL

The Pep Rally was a great start to a great weekend!!

Happy 14th Birthday Chris!!

2009-02-23T12:47:00.000-05:00

I'm a little slow in getting this up here but I thought everyone would want a glimpse of Chris' 14th birthday celebration!

2/14/2009 Nuggets v. Suns, 24-22

2009-02-18T16:06:00.000-05:00

WOW, most exciting Rec game so far this season!!! Josh played amazing as always!! The final basket was scored as a buzzer beater with the assist from Josh Ranc! What a great game! I also find it note worthy to mention that this was just an INSANE weekend of basketball as Chris scored his final 2 foul shots at his game against Bethany to win the game 41-40!!!! I missed it and spent half the night pouting over it, the whole having in-laws thing really complicated my life sometimes! LOL All kidding aside, I really did pout half the night because I missed it, WAY TO GO RANC BOYS!!! Thanks for an exciting weekend, I am so proud of all three of you!!!!!

2/13/2009 LW v. Brooklyn, 82-44

2009-02-18T15:16:00.000-05:00

By far the BEST game of the season, James was the man of the evening scoring 24pts!! He was inssane, he literally just couldn't miss! Coach Durbin is finally getting his act together and playing his best players. James was the high scorer of the game and even had his first news paper interview! He also caught the eye of the BW scout who asked Steffon to introduce him! Finally, all that hard work paying off in a BIG way!

1/24/2009 Nuggests v. Sixers, 38-32

2009-02-18T15:08:00.000-05:00

I missed this game because of a program that I'm in at the gym so Kirk took some footage, what a good guy! LOL Here's a nice little clip of a great shot by Josh!

1/23/2009 LW v. Brookside, 82-51

2009-02-18T14:27:00.000-05:00

Ok, lets be honest, Brookside wasn't exactly a worthy opponent; BUT James scored so many points I lost count, and regardless of the fact that the other team wasn't that good he still had to make all those shots! Probably one of the more quiet games I've ever been to, maybe because Dad wasn't there LOL but watching your brother score a million points is ALWAYS a good time!

1/17/2009 Nuggets v. Mavericks, 30-26

2009-02-18T14:04:00.001-05:00

Josh as always played an excellent game, there was however some tension with one particular ref whom he didn't seem to agree with. If you can watch my footage with out throwing up from the bouncing you'll see him not so silently protest some calls being made. The older brother reffing with the younger brother playing dynamic is probably one of the more hilarious things you'll ever watch. Hilarity aside, GREAT GAME JOSH!

1/16/2009 LW v. Keystone, 54-50

2009-02-18T13:51:00.000-05:00

I've decided to post games individually from now on because loading one video at a time and waiting until it's done to move on to the next game takes FOREVER! James played AMAZING against Keystone, I don't remember how many points he ended up scoring but it was just a total break out game! Coach Durbin stumbled and bumbled his way until he found the right 5 guys to have out on the floor and HOLY COW look at that, we won against one of the best teams in the conference!! Don't be fooled by the clips from the game, they aren't the same clip Jamie just happened to make back to back three's from the same spot! SWEEEEEETTTT!!!!

Basketball Updates!

2009-02-17T17:28:00.000-05:00

I have been catching a LOT of heat at home for not staying on top of the blog as of late. In my defense I have started school and was recently sick, but I know what everyone will say... excuses, excuses. There is a LOT of basketball to catch up with so without further ado here it is:

Lutheran West v. Buckeye, 49-57

Honestly, we NEVER should have lost this game, the boys played hard but Coach Durbin often leaves something left to be desired from his coaching performance... some how you go from 47-47 with 4:00 minutes left in the 4th to the final... you tell me!

St. Paul @ S. Euclid Tournament, 3rd Place Finish

St. Paul played their hearts out in the tournament they unfortunately keep getting the first game match up against tournament winner St. John Nottingham and can't seem to quite get past 'em. Chris played some excellent basketball and took home the honor of making the all-tournament team!

St. Paul v. St. John Nottingham, 22-43

St. Paul v. St. John S. Euclid, 55-43

All Tournament Team Ceremony:

Happy New Year 2009! Snow & Basketball!!

2009-01-14T15:26:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! So far 2009 has consisted of 2 things: snow & basketball!! It's been snowing everyday for about 7 days straight now and we've officially had our first big snow storm of the year. I'm not going to lie the older I get the more I enjoy the snow, I think it might be because winter doesn't feel like it lasts a decade anymore! It could also be because my wonderful husband gets up every morning to shovel if necessary and brush of my car & start it for me so it's nice in warm when I leave for work! Lexie I think has mixed feelings about the snow, she won't go into the back yard to pee (she walks out the door, goes, and then wants right back in) but she didn't seem to mind chasing Mommy around in the snow that was taller than she is!!

The other thing that we've had plenty of since the start of the new year is BASKETBALL! I do admit that I have been somewhat lax in my taping duties, but I got back on the ball this weekend so here's some updates from the weekend:

Lutheran West v. Brooklyn, 62-43

James played a great game unfortunately I forgot to charge the camera so this is the only footage I got before the battery died. Luckily I was able to grab a shot of the final score!

Nuggets v. Suns, 28-26

Basically all that we can say about Josh's game is that he's pretty much a rock star! I of course was not filming during the most amazing moment of the game when Josh launched a buzzer beater from almost half court and... NOTHING BUT NET!!! You would have thought we were at the Q the way that people were freaking out, it was totally awesome! I did however get some great film of his left handed layup, who has a left handed layup in 4th grade????

I also thought it might be fun to give you a glimpse of Dad at Josh's game, this is a particularly funny clip because he is calling the little boy from Africa by his twin brothers name and so the kid is totally ignoring him and Dad is getting so irritated, then the twin comes back from getting a drink and tells Dad he's calling his brother by the wrong name and Dad argues with him for a minute! Classic Bobbo! Totally hilarious! I will say this about Josh's games, they are never short on the entertainment factor!

Last but not least,

St. Paul V. St. John Nottingham

Unfortunately St. Paul lost by a couple of points, this was a VERY close game between the 2 best teams in the conference. I don't know the final score because Kirk & I had to leave a few minutes before the game ended for a wake. Chris played a GREAT game despite being double teamed at all times, we were actually sitting behind Bethany's coach who told his players that he didn't want Chris to get a shot off all game. Well he still got some great shots off, but not much was falling; well Chris was falling, please see the very scary video below where you can watch as Chris goes up for a shot as the boys from Bethany double team him and he comes down and slams into the court flat on his back. He has some serious bruising from this fall! All in all it was a great game and St. Paul just came up a little short.

Well that's all for now sports fans, check back on Monday for more Basketball!

Merry Christmas 2008!!

2008-12-29T14:24:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone! This years Christmas like all the others was absolutely wonderful, Joshy had a BLOW out Christmas (we LOVE Ollie's) and got some awesome toys, video games, and of course the biggest reaction of the morning an MP3 player! Everyone had a great Christmas and the new tradition of Dollar Store shopping has begun! HILARIOUS! Best dollar store combo award goes to Josh, he got Kirk super glue & mouth wash, PRICELESS! No Christmas would be complete in the Mueller family without all the doggies, yes there were 5 of them! Lexie loved her moose from Mommy & Daddy and she loved her gift from Grandma Mueller even better, she of course was the only dog to take her treat and run & hide somewhere to open it! We hope our family in California had a very Merry Christmas as well & we hope to see pictures soon!

Basketball Updates

2008-12-17T16:00:00.000-05:00

Sorry this took me so long this week, lets get down to business:

Friday night: We missed Chris' game because we were at Jamie's the Lutheran school system really needs to re-think doing middle school & high school games on the same night, this is one fan who is pretty discontent with the current situation! St. Paul KILLED Bethany and from what I am told Chris played very well, no shock there.

Lutheran West played Oberlin, coach Durbin and the team seem to really be finding their rhythm, James played an AMAZING game, I was fortunate enough to catch some awesome footage of some of his best moments and also a little bobble all in the same clip, sorry Jamie, but you recover very well! Lutheran West looked like the dominating team they should be and it was a really fun game to watch. Final score 79-45 Lutheran West! Also noteworthy I believe Jamie had about 13 or so points...

Saturday brought us to Josh's game he's on the Nuggets and they played the Raptors they killed them and Josh scored almost every point, Mom actually told him that he had to go every other quarter that he was in the game alternating, passing for a quarter and shooting for a quarter. BUT there was one time during his first passing quarter after Mom told him this at half time that he drained a three out of sheer habit and he looked right up at Mom and yelled "sorry but no one was open!" I about pee'd myself, and unfortunately I wasn't rolling at the time! He then proceeded to stare at her the whole way down the court to see if she was mad, CLASSIC! We laughed most of the game, poor Josh he was so conflicted! Here is some excellent footage! Josh is also a celebrity already he had Dad's coming up to him to shake his hand after the game and one Dad came up to Mom & us and said something about "he's en fuego! he's on fire!" to tell you the truth that guy was kinda creepy, but he was seriously impressed with Josh's mad skills! Ah, the benefits of having older siblings!

Well that's all from this past weekend, I am hoping Mom can play fill-in videographer Friday night because Kirk & I have to attend our company Christmas party BOO!

Christmas Decorations

2008-12-12T09:18:00.001-05:00

So Kirk & I had decided not to get a Christmas tree this year in the interest of saving money, his Aunt Beth had bought us a gorgeous wreath as a house warming present and we were just going to hang that in the front window, but everyone thought that was sad, so Kirk's parents went out and bought us a wonderful pre-lit tree from Walmart, they have some GREAT deals! Anyways, they brought it over last night and we set it up & Kirk & I decorated it and I have to say it's VERY exciting for me! Our very first Christmas tree! Mom was wonderful enough to donate our old tree skirt, which I was almost more excited about than the tree LOL, and I bought a beautiful angel from K-Mart. Here are some pictures of our pretty tree and wreath, and little Lexie pretending to be a present! I'm SO excited for Christmas and this makes it even better. Mom & I are having a baking day on Saturday and she's bringing over all the decorations & stuff that she no longer uses, I can't wait to see what I want to take, our house is going to be so festive, YAY!!!!

Basketball, Basketball, Basketball

2008-12-09T15:12:00.000-05:00

So the Basketball season is officially underway and I thought Bobby might like to have some updates, I will be posting scores and info of as many games as possible, between James, Chris, and Josh there are about 8 million so my apologies as I know I'll miss a few here and there. Conference play starts this Friday for West. Here's what I have so far.

Lutheran West v. Fairview (BOOOOOOO!!!!) Friday 12/5/08 Final: LW-35 F-38

This was a TOUGH game, Fairview's defense was pretty good and Lutheran West seemed to have some first game of the season jitters. James started and played VERY solid ball. Coach Durbin could have done a little better in my opinion but I'll reserve my judgements about him for a little while. The game was won by Fairview with a 3pt shot at the buzzer, I dislike them so much it made me want to cry; and they are just as white trash as always Bobby... I honestly didn't know who was worse, the parents or the kids...

St. Paul v. Redeemer Saturday 12/6/08 Final: St. Paul- 37 Redeemer- 16

I only got to see the second half of this game (no I was not slacking, I was helping at Building Hope In the City) but the picture of the score board says it all it was just a BLOW OUT. Chris of course played well & I'll be sure to not be late ever again, I could barely see standing in the hallway!

Josh's game was unfortunately the first game of the season that I missed, Kirk was there, but again I was downtown at Building Hope In The City. Kirk said Josh played AWESOME, minus some attitude towards one of James penalty calls on him, that had to be so funny! His team won also which is AWESOME! We'll have some pictures next weekend.

Lutheran West v. Wickliffe 12/8/08 Final: LW- 45 Wickliffe- 38

This was again another tough game. Lutheran West played better, but man Coach Durbin is KILLIN' me! Every time we start scoring he puts subs in and changes the line up, WHY!?? James played GREAT he had some good steals on the defensive side, and some good shots offensively as well (of course I caught none of his best moments on film), nothings falling yet, but he'll find his groove. #34 for Wickliffe was a "Punk" as Mom put it, and the fat referee was TERRIBLE, he even commented to a LW parent that "it isn't Christmas yet, and he won't be giving our boys any presents" I am attaching some excellent footage of his blindness; watch as he stands in the lower left of the screen as #34 bush whacks Steffon, and then he proceeds to watch poor Steffon struggle to get up as he runs down the court, again not paying attention to what's going on. I'm not one to complain about officiating, but he was BAD! Anyways, when all was said & done we won, so it was a good night!

Stay tuned, I'll have more soon!

Happy Birthday Kirk!

2008-12-08T10:23:00.000-05:00

Kirk's birthday was on Saturday, the big 2-9! He was not at all happy about this, but it did mean yummy food, and presents all weekend so I think he got over it. His actual birthday was Saturday and his AWESOME wife forgot to say Happy Birthday until later in the afternoon because she was rushing to get out the door as usual; at least it was for a good cause and I did later get him Chipotle for lunch so all was forgiven. Mom made tacos Saturday night and Kirk's family had a get together on Sunday. Here are some pictures from his family get together, his Dad turned 60 on the 3rd, they always celebrate together so that's pretty fun! Also, Lexie seems to think she should get to sit at the adult table, she didn't seem to understand why I kept making her get down, and why she wasn't allowed to have cake too!

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-01T12:16:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving this year was great, we had such a wonderful time visiting with Bobby, Rachelle, Addie, & Carter; I can't believe how big they've gotten! As always there were plenty of good jokes and LOTS of good food, and Bobby & I went the whole long weekend without fighting! LOL Black Friday was a success as well, and it was great to go out and have some fun with just girls! Here are some great pictures from the weekend.

Addie cuddling with Uncle Tirt.

Qaulity time with Uncle Sean.

Addie's new favorite toy; Lexie's dog cage.

Teaching Lexie valuable lessons about sharing.

Carter & Uncle Josh

It's Begining to Look a LOT Like Winter!!

2008-11-21T12:55:00.000-05:00

So it's officially FREEZING here, and I am speaking literally. It starting snowing last week and it started sticking this week! I thought I'd take some pictures to show our southern dwelling family members what they have to look forward to this coming week as the head north for Thanksgiving. Pack warm, we can't wait to see you!!!

Poor Kirk's hard work raking leaves, ruined by the first snow!

My attempt to take Lexie's picture in the snow, for some reason she didn't want to "sit"?

Beautiful pictures of the metro parks from my balcony at work.

Happy Halloween 2008!

2008-11-06T13:25:00.000-05:00

Our very first holiday at the new house!!! How exciting! The number of kids we got trick-or-treating was a little underwhelming but we still had a GREAT time and I loved getting to host the holiday at our house! Josh & Chris looked awesome in their costumes and there were some people who are SERIOUSLY into Halloween in the development across the street from us. The evening ended with a drive to this house on Westwood that sets up a maze in their front yard, it was SO COOL! I also can't leave out that Sean snuck up and scared Jamie and poor James spilled pop ALL over himself, and Josh hid behind a bush and scared Mom and she screamed like that kid in Accepted. HILARIOUS! Here are some pictures from the festivities.

Housewarming Party!

2008-10-28T14:12:00.000-04:00

So it's finally over, the house turned out great and it's super clean! YAY! I really started to doubt we would get everything done in time but we did, and the party was a HUGE success, mostly because Kirk was SUPER smart and got a projector so everyone could hang out in the basement and watch the game like it was on a big screen TV. There is nothing better than good food (thanks to our Mom's!), good friends, and well the football is better left unmentioned this time. Here are some pictures, the day of was a little hectic so they aren't quite as cute but you get the idea!

House Updates

2008-10-20T11:25:00.000-04:00

As promised here are some updated pictures of what we've gotten done on the house. We officially have no more hideous floral wallpaper, and unfortunately for him the Mikey Mouse room is officially gone too. We still have a lot of work to do to get the house pulled back together for the party this weekend, but at least all the big painting is out of the way. Oh, and Bobby, the bathroom is more of a copper than a brown, it's not as dark as it looks in this picture. I'll make sure to post more pictures after the party this weekend so you can see the finished product!

Under Construction

2008-10-14T09:09:00.000-04:00

So with the housewarming party only a few weeks away, Kirk and I decided it's time to get serious about getting the house ready. We started tearing all the hideous wallpaper down in the kitchen about a month ago and hadn't done anything more since. This weekend we accomplished A TON; thanks to the help of both families! The Mickey Mouse room is now painted with just the trim left to finish and the floral upstairs bathroom is now a nice woodsie brown also with trim left to be done. Of course the kitchen, the one room we really need to finish because we are gaining weight from all the take out dinners, is still not done, we are hoping after another long weekend of work it will be; it kind of has to be given the party is next weekend! I forgot to take before pictures of the office and bathroom but here are some before pictures of the kitchen and I'll be posting all the after pictures Monday!

Weekend at Mama Jo's

2008-09-30T10:07:00.000-04:00

This past weekend Kirk and I went to BG with his sister and her boyfriend to visit his brother. It was a lot of fun to hang out with Kevin and remeber what it's like to be off at school, I got to see where Kirk lived when he was there and listen to all his college stories, we had a lot of fun. Since Kirk and I were gone all weekend Lexie got to stay at Mama Jo's house and play with her uncle's and Riley and sleep out of her cage and everything! I almost think she might like it at Mama Jo's house better than at our house, and I blame this entirely on Kirk for not letting her sleep in our bed! LOL

Spooky Saturday Poster Contest

2008-09-22T17:05:00.000-04:00

So on Sunday Josh asked me to help him design a poster for the beloved Kensington Spooky Saturday event poster contest; he was so excited to do it, and with a little help from my scrapbooking tools and my wonderful gluing abilities Josh's creative genius turned out a REALLY cool poster. I promised I would post it for all to see, I definitely think his poster deserves first prize! Josh also informed me that it was really cool to be the boss and tell me how he wanted it done and where to glue my shapes and asked if I like being the boss at work and telling people what to do... LOL TOO CUTE!

Diary of a Newlywed - Messy House

2008-09-18T17:17:00.000-04:00

So Kirk and I have been married for almost 3 months now, and we are starting to notice those little things we never knew about one another before. One major thing we have in common is not wanting to do anything past a certain time in the evening, what this results in is a lot of things left undone and one MAJOR mess! We started tearing down the wall paper in the kitchen on Saturday and haven't gone back to that yet and the evidence of our unfinished job is strewn EVERYWHERE. The storm on Sunday messed up our security lights and those have now made their way from the stove to the kitchen counter with shreds of wallpaper. Perhaps even funnier than that is the fact that I can't seem to adjust to being a grown up and not having my Mommy to cook for me, last night Kirk and I had queso and chips for dinner... yeah, wife of the year is NOT going to me... it's not helping the figure either! I am sure Kirk is trying very hard to figure out why I seem to leave water bottles and pop cans everywhere, the bathroom, the laundry area, the living room, the bedroom, etc... I will admit that they do show up in some pretty weird places, but eventually he will come to understand that I just forget where I set them and get a new one to leave somewhere else, Mom seemed to be especially fond of this habit when I lived at home! I on the other hand am trying hard to understand why he has to line the empty beer bottles on the side of the sink when the garbage can is 3 steps to the left... I am pretty sure this is remnants of some kind of college guy thing... As you can see we each have various habits that contribute to our messy home who knows who's worse, although last night he spilled some cheese on the table (note the full role of paper towels on the same table) and didn't wipe it up, I took a picture at lunch today to prove that it's still there! I vote he has to clean it up since he spilled it, but you can vote for yourself. I have attached some pictures of our various messes because apparently Mom says this is hilarious! She loves hearing about my struggles to grow up and thought I should share them with everyone... I know this will get easier, but I gotta tell ya I think there should be some sort of class for this wife thing! YIKES!

Lexie's New Trick - Down

2008-09-11T19:19:00.000-04:00

This past weekend Kirk and I attended his Church picnic, we took Lexie, and she met a new lab/shepherd mix named Willow who if I do say so myself is one of the smartest dogs I have ever seen. Willow is so smart her owners gave us a demonstration of her ability to perform all her standard sit, stay, come, down commands using hand signals and she obeys them from quite a distance. ANYWAYS, I was impressed and also a little humbled by their dogs superior talent and I got it in my head that Lexie needed to become a dog who has lots of fun tricks I can show off to other people too. The problem is we gave up on teaching Lexie these things when she was a puppy because she couldn't seem to get past sit. Sit she could, but then came down and it has since then been beyond her intelligence level (so we thought) but today I made it my mission (yes i know I should be working at work, but I get easily side tracked) to find another method we had not tried yet to teach Lexie down. Behold! Lexie is WAY smarter than I thought, it was me her terribly inept teacher this whole time. I am hoping to teach her something new next week so stay tuned...

McGowan Prom '08

2008-09-11T17:18:00.000-04:00

For those of you who have ever heard me talk about where I work you know it's pretty much the loony bin! To prove that this wacky place really does exist and that we really do do the things I talk about please view exhibit A. Every year we do something crazy for Mr. McGowan's b-day, last years theme was cats because he hates them, so we covered his entire office in cat stuff & pictures and everyone dressed like a cat. For some reason our shenanigans make him feel special... SO this year was Under The Sea Prom theme. Apparently Mr. IV never went to his high school prom (not so shocking if you know him) so we decorated our office lobby like a cheaply done 1980's prom & dressed accordingly. While some of the girls were concerned with looking all cute in their prom outfits (apparently graduating from high school doesn't exempt some people from still acting like they are high schoolers) I was much more concerned with being as dumb as possible. SO I borrowed and suit and some dress shoes from Sean and a dress shirt and tie from James and even bought a flower for my date! Needless to say, Mr. IV loved the whole thing, but he especially loved my confusion over where to put my hands while posing for a photo op with my date because "I totally get freshman boys now, where do the hands go!!!???" was all I could think to say. I have a new respect for how awkward these situations can be. Oh, and of course I should mention Kirk chickened out of dressing like a girl at the last moment, I think it would have been much funnier if we could have been dates!

Labor Day '08

2008-09-09T15:03:00.001-04:00

This labor day was awesome! The weather was perfect and we managed to climb rocks and hike without breaking anything! What more could you ask for? We went to this amazing park in Olmsted Falls that Mom found; it has real water falls and it's just gorgeous there, the boys pushed Lexie & I to our limits with rock climbing, Lexie just LOVES it, me? I'm a little wobbly sometimes! The whole family had a great day complete with a cook out at the end. The only thing that could have gone better was Lexie's swimming lessons, how is it that I have a dog that hates water!?

The Honeymoon

2008-09-08T12:24:00.001-04:00

Kirk & I had a great time on our honeymoon, other than that part where I broke my foot! Las Vegas was cool to see, but WAY TOO HOT!!! I don't know for sure that I would ever have any interest in going back again but it was really awesome to see everything. My favorite part was MGM, their pools were incredible! Here are a few pictures from the honeymoon, they aren't very good, but that's what you get when you ask people on the street to take pictures for you!

The Wedding

2008-09-05T16:30:00.000-04:00

I am going to start our blog by going back in time a little; our wedding was such an amazing moment for us, we were surrounded by everyone that is important in our lives and I want to thank everyone for being such an important part of that. Bobby & Rachelle this posting is especially for you, I don't think you've seen pictures yet so I wanted to post some of my favorites from that day so you could see them, Addie was the perfect flower girl!

Welcome to Our Blog!

2008-09-05T16:13:00.000-04:00

Welcome to our blog, this blog was inspired by Bobby & Rachelle's blog. I think having these blogs might be an excellent way for us all to stay up to date on each other's lives, I personally loved seeing the pictures of Bobby, Rachelle, & mischief & mayhem, and I would love to see updated pictures of them as often as possible. Kirk & I may not have any super adorable & fun to read about children (other than Lexie of course) but I think the idea is still great and this way everyone can see what we are up to & Addie & Carter can see updated pictures of Aunt D.D. & Uncle Tirt. Hopefully this will become an avenue for us all to feel connected to each other since we can't see each other as much as we'd all like. I would also like to clarify that while this is a posting about Kirk & I and our lives the postings will be done by me and anything I might say that is worth making fun of should in no way be a reflection of him as he as informed me that "he doesn't blog". I hope everyone enjoys our blog!