monday weekend recap

papa murphys pizza.
football.
lunch at sonic.
mojitos.
sarahs plucker run.
monkey bread.
troy won at poker.
church.
bee-movie party at noahs.
grape kool-aid & chocolate cupcakes.
tennis.
walks & bluebonnets.
cheeseburgers/steaks on the grill and sunday night sippel stories.
homework.
entourage reruns.

happy bday uncle eddie

{ed, erin, bridget, conor & finn - crescent beach - july 2007 - picture taken by lisa}

happy birthday ed !
go.live.celebrate.

1+1+1+2=a win

one football field +

one colts football team +

one great flag dad +

two touchdowns by the sippel brothers =

a winning colts team !

30 to 26

panthers R U ready...

we practiced...and practiced some more...
we set-up the panther plays...
we had great dads coaching, encouraging & flagging us on...

and we won our first game of the season!

heres to a great panther 'path' season !!

way to go noah, riley & colin!

we {heart} high school musical

we dance to it at the houston space center...
we persuade dad to go up front at the concert & answer trivia questions
about the movie to win us this cool poster...
we grow our hair long just like zac...
we listen to the soundtrack constantly...
we have it recorded on the dvr 'until i erase' setting...
we compare it to grease and oliva newton john and john travolta...
we read us & people to catch up on zac and vanessa...
we download the soundtrack into our mp3 players...
we own and play the dvd board game...
we watch it on the way to & from houston (thanks sarah!)...
we anxiously await for number three...

happy first finn!

{baby finn - summer 2007 - crescent beach}

look whos one today!

happy first birthday finn

may your day be filled with cake and ice cream

can't wait to see you this summer

i have a new mailbox

look what colin created for me today when he came home from school...my very own mailbox complete with a love letter inside saying 'i love you'...can't wait to see whats in it tomorrow...

more signs of spring

spring is nature’s way of saying, “let’s party!”

-robin williams

whats new at school today...

#1) "if i ran to the zoo my animal woud be part hors and part loin."
#2) nathan passed the reading portion of the TAKS test. he was very concerned about this test and lost a lot of sleep over this.

#3) guess what sounds fill our house these days?

blue sky + green bud = spring air

And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

-anais nin

manic monday

working today...crunching numbers...using two phones...for a paperless office looks pretty paper filled...one easter basket filled with peeps to keep me company...happy monday!

hoppy easter

the easter bunny is getting smart, practical and apparently ran out of candy/chocolate/sugar high producing stuff by the time he hit our house last night...instead he left tennis balls for games with ms. nikki...football cards for sharing & trading...water bomb balls for this season at the pool...bubbles because you can never have enough bubbles and/or champagne on the path...the boys all found their baskets BEFORE church this year...went to church with the hudsons today...enjoyed starbucks coffee while a helicopter delivered a candy drop for the boys during sunday school...brunch here today with the hudsons, hensons and smiths...no pictures from today...always forget about that filled memory card thing...still learning about life with a digital camera...confetti filled eggs, homework and leftovers filled the rest of our day...long distance phone calls filled our evening...wishing you all a blessed easter day!

saturdays to-do list

• tacos from rudys for breakfast
• grocery shopping for brunch tomorrow
• cut grass/clean house
• cocktails by the pool
• playground/basketball/tennis fun in the evening
• papa murphys pizza for dinner
• prepare for the easter bunny

one fun filled day for all...love productive sunny saturdays with the boys!

tgif

{our llbean library bag}
"a home without books is like a body without a soul."
marcus cicero
the library trip today yielded many special treasures...i love watching the boys using the computer to find their topic of choice and then searching the shelves until they find the correct matching numbers...i love finding them sitting on the floor in an aisle just pondering over a pile of possible choices...i love it that they love going to the library...todays bag was filled with books about stingrays, space shuttles and c.w.lewis...we have picture books, joke books and chapter books...we have wonderful words to read, savor and enJOY.

thursdays deep thoughts

does anyone really have time to make such things as these or this? honestly, i love marthas ideas but i bought a box of peeps and a bag of easter grass for $1.00 and i'm happy and i just gained two hours to my day! heres to keeping it real simple....

bono?

{hannah 6 months old - spring break - march 2008}

hannah doing her bono impression...

"its a beautiful day..."

enJOY it !

gratitute journal now

• la madeleine just opened up in walking distance from our house
• playing crazy eights everyday with colin
• watching american gangster with steve
• finished rereading the pact by jodi picoult
• surprise lunch dates with steve
• spring everywhere - flowering trees & green grass & open windows
• reading roll of thunder, hear my cry with nathan
• justins obsession with turkey sandwiches & blue bell vanilla ice cream
• kite flying on the path - thank you noah and cooper for the great kites!
• flag football season in full swing for all three boys
• easter sunday & plastic filled eggs

go.live.today

happy birthday jayne

{jayne & bridget claire - crescent beach - july 2007 - photo taken by lisa}

happy birthday jayne
sending you warm birthday wishes your way
wishing you a special day
missing you and your great smile
enJOY

happy saint pats day

{steve and i - ashford castle, ireland - june 2001}

Never iron a four-leaf clover, because you don't want to press your luck.
— Author Unknown

good irish mom...sent all the boys to school with absolutely no green on...no handmade wool cable knit sweaters purchased in ireland...no shamrock cut out cookies in their lunch...no cute green napkins with leprechauns on them...no lucky charms for breakfast...no corn beef for dinner...oh well, theres always next year...happy saint patricks day y'all!

saturday/sunday (aka spring vacation wind down)

houston space center today...educational day for all...space stations traveling at 17,500 mph...failure is not an option speeches...touring the actual astronaut training center - they must have off on the weekends...visiting the actual mission control center from apollo 13 with real rotary phones...walking alongside apollo 18 - it never launched due to lack of funds...attempted to land an almost real space shuttle...one extra long tram ride...one extra long flight of stairs -87 in all...one high school musical poster - not sure what was space related about that dance performance...one small step for man, one big museum for us! our second time here and we still have not made it through all the exhibits...we'll be back soon...

friday (aka spring vacation day 5)

sunny day at kemah with some jail birds

walked the boardwalk

fed the stingrays

took a train ride

cocktails on the waterfront

dinner with the fish & a marine biologist

thursday (aka spring vacation day 4)

make rice krispie treats -check. return books to the library - check. pick up dry cleaning - check. grocery shop -check. post office - check. three loads of wash - check. pay the bills - check. telling the boys we are packing for a surprise mini vacation tomorrow - priceless!

random nate remarks

nathan: 'mom, now that sex and the city is all over, do you watch lipstick jungle?'
mom: 'nathan, you watch too many commercials.'

nathan: 'mom, how do american idol contestants make money while they are on the show? do they get to take 12 weeks off from work while they are on the show? do they get 12 weeks off from school? do they get their job back after they get voted off? who pays for their meals? how old do you have to be to be on american idol? '
mom: 'i'll have to google that nathan...'

nathan: 'mom, what is the value of pi?'
mom: '.0314? .314? maybe 3.14....why do you need to know?'
nathan: 'no reason. just wondering....'
{only nathan would wonder something like that...}

wednesday (aka spring vacation day 3)

{picture from day 2 but totally interchangeable with day 3...please note that the only difference between the two days would be about 5 degrees and nikkis rum runners}

sunburned faces...warm breezes...sunny skies...spring break...baseball games...sidewalk fun...

acorn hunts...playground trips...dirty faces...stealing bases...all good...all fun

author + photos = one safe book

Bus Safety

By Colin Sippel

if you find you bus driver slumped over the steering wheel,

pick up the radio, push the special button

and tell them your bus number.

if the bus falls over, be quiet - listen to your bus driver

& get out of the bus through

the windows or doors.

if your bus gets hit, be still and wait for the replacement bus
to take you to school or home.

if your bus breaks down on the train tracks, be quiet
and listen to the bus driver for directions.

so much information.

pictures of the actual book to follow.

all words by colin.

all information provided by "a movie i saw at school"

watch out john grisham.

tuesdays author

7:36 am today...."mom i'm going to write a book today"...
7:37 am today..."ummm, ok hon - let me know how it turns out"...
7:38 am today...one mom documenting her future author/illustrator in progress...maybe i should let him paint the solar system on his bedroom walls and ceiling this afternoon...(remember randy pauschs moving speech on oprah)
7:39 am today...one great book to follow - stay tuned....

tuesday (aka spring vacation day 2)

no movies 2day...
no pajama day 2day...
no popcorn popped here 2day...
lots and lots of cleaning, throwing and organizing 2day...
5 bags of garbage 2day...
1 bin to recycle 2day...
1 bag for goodwill 2day...
3 clean closets...
2 clean desks...
1 clean game room...
heres to a productive day 2day....
heres to finding lost treasures 2day...
heres to spring cleaning 2day...

monday (aka spring vacation day 1)

{nathans handmade movie tickets for today}

rainy day today

pajama day today

afternoon movie - the iron giant - on hbo today

popcorn & pop & candy today

made fudge chocolate brownies today

lazy day today

great day today

happy birthday charlie

{crystal beach - july 2007}

it seems like just yesterday charlie was born and look at our handsome nephew now

can't believe how fast time flies by

happy birthday charlie

one more year till those car keys are yours!!

enJOY.

enJOYing sundays

love the new grill.

love the return of sunday night family dinners.

love dads world famous cheeseburgers on the grill.

love sunday night sippel stories.

love sundays.

enJOY today

{flag football practice - 9am today}

saturdays are for flag football practices

saturdays are for birthday parties at the main event

saturdays are for papa murphys pizza

saturdays are for hanging outside & riding bikes

saturdays are for watching ice age on dvd

saturdays are for watching american gangster on dvd

saturdays are for enJOYing

enJOY

{colins journal entry from school - dated 2/15/2008}

"wen we movd down her are godfish did i was sad wen it did"

translation

'when we moved down here, our goldfish died. i was sad when it died.'

love these journal pages that colin brings home from school

in his thursday folder.

love sifting through all of his hard school work pages on thursday

afternoons.

enJOYing life from a six year olds perspective.

enJOY

one cowboy hat (borrowed from taggert) +

one pair of cowboy boots (borrowed from riley) +

one bandanna (borrowed from daddy) +

one plaid shirt (borrowed from nathan)

= one fun kindergarten hoe down at school tonite.

enJOYing some good olde fashioned boot stomping dancing -

priceless

92 candles today

{grandmas early party february 2008 - photo taken by ryan and julie}

happy birthday grandma

heres to -

cereal in the drawer

tupperware animals in the bag

hard candy in the dish

funny (rotary dial) phone on the table

kitchen window to the porch

hand crank card shuffler

bathroom upstairs only

when the boys were little, they used to get their two great grandmas and their great great aunt ellie mixed up, so i would use some of the above key words when we were heading over to grandma zangs house to help them out.

wishing you a special day grandma!

birthday wishes

happy birthday dad

from your fan club

wishing you a warm and sunny day

filled with handmade colorful wishes.

enJOY.

enJOY

enJOYing sugar free fudgesicles...
enJOYing latest issue of domino magazine...
enJOYing falling slowly song from the movie once...
enJOYing pears and blue cheese...
enJOYing the handmade jewelry by lisa...

enJOY

{lake travis - january 2008}

"life is all about enjoying the joy of the journey"

unknown

no mother of the year award here...

the story behind joy...
so steve & i go to pick up nathan and justin from sunday school a couple weeks ago and in the midst of going from one classroom to the next, nathan is talking to me but i'm not paying attention...too busy looking for my pickup sticker...too busy chatting away...meanwhile nathan is asking me about my word - whats my word?...whats my new word?...what is he talking about? something from church? something i was supposed to do for sunday school? the answer to a riddle?...finally in desperation to get my attention, he says what is my new word FOR THE BLOG for this year??! oh...ummm...its "live" this year nathan, why?...because i thought it was "joy" and i bought this for you at the sunday school store (carefully hands over the beautiful joy cross as noted above...) - {insert loser mom moment here}...thank you nathan - it was so thoughtful of you that i'm going to change my word for this month to JOY...so here we are now...a great detour from live to joy...it doesn't get any better than this...enJOY!

top ten weekend recap

#10) wearing burnt orange on campus

#9) hanging out with engine #2

#8) climbing courtyard stairs

#7) spiderman tatoos (and a cold beer)

#6) dual piggyback rides

#5) hanging with friends & state capitals

#4) blue skies & ut towers

#3) buffalo burgers & cocktails

#2) justin reading because its a good book

#1) silly smiling ketchup faces and the return of sunday night sippel stories with dads world famous cheeseburgers (love the new grill steve!)

happy weekend memories.