Quick catch up!!

So um...hi!! How ya been? :-) Been a little crazy busy here...and to top it off, we're having phone trouble. See usually I connect with dial up at 19,000 kbs, on a great day 21,000...but lately I've been connecting at 4,800kbs. Um, yup, you thought 19,000 was slow, you don't know how good you have it until you connect at 4,000!!! UGH! So needless to to say, haven't been on the Internet.



So we'll pick up where we left off...last weekend? Honestly I don't remember exactly where the time went. So one weekend we had LOTS of company. Aunt Connie, Uncle Mo, and Hannah came up for a little while. They whooped up on Cody at Memory...poor baby. But then...Cody attacked! They played some KerPlunk...maybe my new favorite game. Lots of fun was had by all!!

They headed out and Grammy headed in!!! What a great weekend. She watched the kids while I went collecting more donations for Bingo Night. We did really good, can't wait for it to get here.

The week went by super fast. Lots and lots of basektball games, I think a snow storm too, ok technically an ice storm, but hey, we got out of school!! This last weekend we headed out and cleaned up the back pasture. Cut down a couple trees and collected lots and lots of limbs. Here's two of the workers!

And here are the main workers!!

Logan had his last basketball game on Wednesday. He was kind of sad, but really for baseball. Pappy came up and stayed for the day, Logan was glad to have another fan there besides me.

Rylee has been obsessed with her backpack lately. She got very jealous of the boys having one and she demanded one. Luckily, we had one!!

Thursday after Cody got home from school we played outside. It was beautiful!! How can it be 26 degrees in the morning and 72 in the afternoon???? Crazy weather.

I bet you've missed this precious face too!!

This fall Cody will start t-ball. OH MY GOSH, can you believe it?? Logan worked with him all night last night with batting and catching.

Rylee worked on putting the rest of the marbles from Grandma Lila down the hole in the deck...makes her super happy!!!

A little more ball practice.

Rylee got everything out of the barn and played with it.

Another obsession of Rylee's is finger painting...with a brush. She makes a HUGE mess, but it always brings lots of smiles.

I hope you guys have had a great two weeks and I hope I get back to you sooner than that! Love and miss you all!!

Last week

Well we ended up having another busy week. Games, games, games!! Thursday on the way to school Cody just HAD to take Rylee's puppy. If you pet it, it wags it's tail and barks. Very cute. Cody and Rylee giggled the whole way to school! We had a game Thursday night so after school I went up to help start the concession. Worked and watched Logan play. Did an ok job, no fouls so that's a plus!! :-)

Friday morning we woke up bright and early and got ready...that is after we played a little. I was blow drying my hair and when I got out I heard a bunch of noise. This is where it was coming from. She was jamming out on Cody's bed with a fireman's hat on and a big ol' grin!

And Cody was hunting for bears...this is his sneaking up pose.

And of course since I took a picture of Cody, Rylee had to get her time in the spotlight!!

Rylee has really enjoyed coloring lately. I bought her those color magic markers that only work on special paper...they are awesome. But of course, she likes Cody's markers better.

I moved Cody's old desk out of his room and brought in a new one. He was so super excited. His desk and dresser were from when Logan was 1...and I bought them at a garage sale, so who knows how old they were! Anyway, they finally pooped out. Desk broke one day and the next day the dresser started. Here's his "big boy" desk as he calls it. Makes him super happy!!

Finally got ready and headed out the door. The basketball game on Friday was during the school day so we were super busy and we were at the school from 8:30am until 2:30 pm!! LOONG day for Rylee, but she had lots of fun with everybody. Thank goodness for friends, they took her to play, let her sit with them to watch the game, fed her. Awesome!! Anyway, that's about it for last week. Gonna try to catch up from the weekend soon.

Love and miss you all!

Seriously...

Seriously? It's already Wednesday? Seems like just yesterday I was complaining that it was Monday! Well, Monday Rylee and I had a girls day while the boys were at school. She is positively, crazy. She makes me laugh more times during the day then I could count. What a wonderful blessing she turned into...who knew! :-) Tuesday the little ones and I stayed in our pajamas and did house work almost all day. Got more closets "space bagged," got more toys thrown away, rearranged Rylee's room again, rearranged the game closet...just lots of productivity!

After I take a picture of the group of them, she always wants a solo shot...and here's her "beauty shot" for the day!

And wasn't done...

Pretty soon it was time to go to Logan's game. And what a wonderful surprise...visitors!! Debbie, Gerald, and Christopher came to watch. It was so nice!! Logan fouled out of course, darn it. A couple I think were uncalled for, but he did earn a few. He made a couple baskets so was pleased with himself there but was very disappointed about fouling out. He didn't get to play as much as usual, so he was frustrated. However, he was very pleased to have fans! Thanks again Deb!! Love you guys!

Came home and got everybody in bed. I am seriously amazed at how much better Rylee is doing in bed...slept all night again! Woohoooooooooo! All right guys, I feel another productive day coming on. Love and miss you all!

Quiet Sunday

Started Sunday morning with craft time. Cody and Rylee painted while Logan ate, ate, and ate again. I let Justin sleep in to catch up on his resting...big ol' baby. Anyway... That was our morning.

We spent the rest of the day doing family things. It started to snow around noon and it kept it up the rest of the day. It stuck to the grass and porch, but not the roads and not near enough for my taste. Maybe today will bring more.

On a sad note, our friends lost their house Saturday night. The dad helped Justin coach the baseball team and the youngest is one of Cody's favorite people. They are thinking it was the fireplace that started the fire. Nothing could be saved. So incredibly sad. However, it's so neat to watch the community and friends pull together and help. We heard that someone donated a Wii, so Logan picked 5 of his games and donated them. 5. I was very proud, he also donated a couple games for gameboys. I just can't imagine. No clothes, furniture, pictures, toys, even a house. Ugh.

I hope you guys had a great weekend and appreciate everything you have. Not only your stuff, but your family and friends as well. I know I appreciate you all. Love and miss you too!

Quiet Saturday

Saturday started off very slowly for the McNeill's. Justin and I were putting our contacts in when I heard a noise in my room...this is what I found. I wish I could have gotten a video of the action. She kept putting on the deodorant and brushing her hair. So cute!

Logan and Cody were busy playing on Logan's new game...Sly Cooper!

We spent most of the day just hanging out. Logan and I went to Wal-mart and Logan spent the money he got from Granddaddy for Christmas. Got a target and some ammo for his air soft gun, VERY excited about that!! We came home and had dinner. This is a picture of lunch however...

The kids went to bed early and so did Justin. He is having a hard time recovering from his week of meetings. Hope you guys had a great Saturday. Love and miss you all!

Whew, what a week!

Oh my goodness, this has been one busy week!! Logan started back to school on Monday and we didn't stop moving. I got a lot of stuff done around the house. We put up Christmas, put up new toys and games, played with a lot of new toys and games, cleaned, laundry, etc...Busy, busy! Rylee and Cody have become pretty inseparable, she just adores him and I really think he enjoys playing with her too! Logan had games all week, and they were all away. Makes it hard because Justin was out of town all week too. He was in Georgia for business meetings. He said it was very boring, the total opposite of here! In the midst of all the other craziness I decided it was time to officially move Rylee to her big girl bed, you know her room isn't that big and it would really give her more space to play without the playpen. (Yup, she's been sleeping in a playpen at night b/c she kept getting her legs stuck in the crib.) So we said bye bye to her "baby bed" and hello to her "big girl bed." The first few days were...um...fun. After the first nap we rearranged her room, putting her toys away in her closet. Too much temptation. The second nap we put her air purifier on the dresser, not the floor and moved the night light behind the dresser. Too much temptation. At one point she was banging on the door calling for me and I turned around the corner to find little bitty fingers under the door. Made me laugh. That girl. The boys never even thought about getting out of their bed, they just sat there and called for me. This girl...this girl is up, going through everything, talking, turning things on and off, playing, whew, I needed a nap after all that work!! Good news however is...we've conquered it!!! Wohoooo. She's actually sleeping better in the bed then she has in her whole life!! She sleeps all night now! Oh my gosh, it's a miracle! So, yeah Rylee!

Cody was happy and sad to go back to school. He is really getting smart, it amazes me what he knows that I didn't know he knows. (kind of sounded like a Friends episode huh?) Anywho...His teacher said he's the most advanced one in her class and she just loves him, he always gives her a big hug when we get there and when we leave. When we walked in the first day back she came over and grabbed him and said, " Ooooh, I missed my Cody!" :-) So sweet.

Logan got his report card and once again, straight A's and S's. (S's are good. They go towards things like, "works well with others," "respectful," etc...) His teacher said "Logan is a joy to have in class. He is a respectful, thoughtful, and dependable student. I enjoy having him." He also had a pretty great game the other night. Started off kind of weak, but by the end of it was back to his normal aggressive self. Also made 7 points!!

The other picture I got this week...do they look like trouble or what?????
I had two really nice conversations with my cousin Debbie this week too. She not only picked up some donations for our Bingo Night, but also might have scored some more donations for our auction and Santa Shop. It was so nice to talk with her and catch up. So lucky to be close to my cousins! Love you Debbie!!

Anyway, Justin got back yesterday afternoon and the kiddos were happy to see him. We went and got firewood and unloaded it all before the cold front comes in. Heard it's supposed to snow and all I can say is...IT'S ABOUT DANG TIME!!! If it's going to be so crazy cold we might as well have snow!! :0)

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend. Love and miss you all!

Happy New Years!

Everyone slept in after a wonderful New Years Eve. They woke up ready to play however, and they didn't stop until bedtime!!Bo was still worn out by all the festivities New Years Eve...she stayed like this most of the day. Of course it could have also been all the flying dart guns and balls.

Logan continued to open his presents and play.

Cody got some moon-dough and they build a TON of puppies and treats!

And then...we broke out more games. This is maybe the craziest one we got! Cat in the Hat, we can do that!

You had to go around, skip, crawl under, jump with things on you. It was funny to watch. Thanks Amy...however I ALWAYS got the "crawl under the yellow thing" card...ugh!

At one point we lost Rylee. Found her in her bedroom with all her goodies on her bed. Precious!

And that's pretty much how we spent most of the day. Hanging out with family! Love it!! Hope you all had a great News Years Eve and Day. Love and miss you all!

Colorado trip...last day

The boys played in the snow and tubed and sledded again on their last day...however he only got pictures of them swimming. Still, happy boys! Hasn't seemed to figure out the camera yet, but hopefully we will soon!

When the boys got home you could hear the squeals from miles away I'm sure. Rylee was soooo excited! She went straight to Logan then Cody, then back to Logan, back to Cody. Justin made her come to him and give him a hug but she really just wanted to play with the boys. They seemed to really miss her too. Told her everything they did and just played and played. Finally got them to calm down a little for dinner!

My mom put the kids to bed so Justin and I could go on a date night...a New Years Eve dinner, even though it wasn't New Years Eve yet! We ate at Olive Garden and then saw a movie. It was very nice. Came home and were in bed by 10:15! :-) Woke up Friday and played with Grammy. We headed over to Justin's parents for our final Christmas.

Don't remember the story on these, but they thought they were pretty cool!

Here's the shirts they bought in Colorado. Logans says "Crested Butte," where they stayed and Cody's is a Star Wars type with "Let the forest be with you." (Justin let them pick out their own)

Rylee saw her pile of presents and went straight for them, definitely getting the hang of it now!

Cody is the best present opener, he always is so excited and it's "Just what he always wanted!"

Logan's first OSU book, know it killed Nanny to buy that one!!

More presents!!

Logan has always wanted an erector set but we've never been able to find one here in our dinky town!!

And FINALLY, mouse trap!!

Cody was most excited about this lego set...tanks!

Here's the rubber band gun that almost ruined Christmas. Everybody wanted a turn, so Justin just stole it and ran around the house chasing everyone...not fun!

Cody got a bow and arrow too, here's Papa trying to help him learn.

In the bottom left corner you can see the deer Cody's trying to shoot!

We loaded up the goodies and headed home. Ahhhh, home!!! We let the kids stay up a little late since it was New Years Eve...and they were just so excited to be home and play! We played game after game after game. It was a very fun night!

Rylee LOVES this nightgown. Going to have to buy her some more. She just pranced around the house and played with the ruffles. :-) Oh my, diva!

Justin and Logan finally gave her a turn with the ball game.

And Logan started his erector set.

It was a perfect New Years Eve. Got the little ones in bed by 9 and the rest of us went down at 10:30!! Ahhhh, it's good to be home. Love and miss you guys!