Slacker Jessie

Slacker mom here... we are not officially under construction. There is simply too much I want to record here and must begin soon! Pictures coming from the last few months as well, I promise!

Pictures from our trip to Ohio

As promised, here are a few pictures from our fun trip to Ohio for the Roth family reunion.

The entire clan...

Grammie in the reading chair with her favorite boys.

At the aquarium...
(maybe one day we'll have a family picture with everyone actually smiling and looking at the camera at one time)

This little one does not pose sweetly for the camera like his big brother! This is total Ethan personality coming through!

Snuggling with Grammie at lunch.

Because they are so funny...

Yesterday...
Colin: I really hope I catch a giant musky at the cottage.
(Really? A musky?)

This morning...
Ethan: Mom? I would really like a jackhammer. Can I have a jackhammer?
(A jackhammer? Are you kidding? You are the loudest child imaginable--you have us saying "inside voice" on a daily basis!)

It's official...

...we are new homeowners! And in classic Dugan fashion there was drama right up to the end because of underwriting holdups and appraisers. We were forced to push back our closing, which caused an unpleasant domino effect... but never fear, thanks to amazing family, neighbors, and friends, we pulled it off (yes, even in the steam heat)! Pictures coming soon we promise. And rest assured, as Mike and I were signing the 119 pages of our documents, I announced we will live here until we retire! Look out Whitewater!

Early Summer 2009

Getting ready to "rock out" with his big brother's guitar!

A trip to the park when Mimi & Bubba were visiting at the end of May.

One of our favorite bicycles from this year's Whitewater Community Art Project. There are bicycle sculptures hanging all over Main Street! We love them and hope to participate in next year's project as a family.

The boys hanging out with their Bubba down by Cravath Lake on a sunny Wendesday afternoon in early June. Dad was in Minnesota playing with the orchestra and Mom was teaching!

Colin before his last baseball session. Bubba took him and said he's a fairly good hitter! (Please note he does have the glove on the right hand... this boy is 100% lefty in all he does!)

Mr. Joe Cool.

Whirlwind!

We just returned from a whirlwind trip to Ohio for a fantastic family reunion. We arrived in Cincinnati on Thursday, having spent Wednesday evening at the halfway point in Champaign. The boys were ecstatic... for days, no for weeks, they'd been talking about their trip to Grammie and Pop's house. They couldn't wait to see them and to spend some time with Nala. We visited the Aquarium, had a fabulous lunch at the Hofbrauhaus, walked across a bit of the Purple People bridge, and then spent the rest of our time visiting with the extended Roth family. The boys loved seeing "BeeBee" and Mike's cousins Will and Jake--and of course the baby in Aunt Jenna's tummy! We returned after a long day in the car Sunday and have been packing for our move ever since. Hopefully we'll have pictures from Pop's camera to share soon from our trip. And certainly, once we've settled in a bit, pictures from the new house!

Finally, an update!

Can it be that it's been since May 8th since I've updated this blog? My, oh my, how the last few weeks have flown by. All of my boys have been home since May 15th--Mike and Colin's last day of school. We have spent the last few weeks transitioning to being a real family again... or at least our version of a normal family! We have also been preparing for our move to our new home--in exactly two weeks. That coupled with a trip up north to the cottage over Memorial Day weekend and another trip to St. Charles while Mike headed to Minnesota for a week, means we've really been on the move.

Ethan at the park during Colin's end of school celebration on May 14th.

Colin and one of his best buddies Nicholas. They are cut from the same cloth these too!

Ethan, Nicholas, Calvin (another good buddy from school), and Colin.

Finally, the last day of school! Of course, this occasion calls for the use of the "Red Plate." That, and a bowl of extra special, lucky to eat them, Fruit Loops. Breakfast of champions.

Last day of preschool--2009.

"I have do do a superhero one!" (When did my little boy grow so tall?)

Ethan wanted to pose for his last day too....

Our last double decker ride to school. This jogger logged many miles this year to and from school with these boys--through rain, sleet, snow and sunshine too.

What Mom? Everyone reads in the hallway in a laundry basket.

The king of cuddling.... Charlie.

Mom, of course I'm eating dinner in my costume!

No, I won't smile in my new Buzz Lightyear costume.

This has been our best garage sale find yet this year--a working $5 telescope for our obsessed with star gazing sons. Colin spotted it during a drive by from the car! (Great eyes for spotting the deals already!)

The Dugan Boys

Thanks go to Grammie for the wonderful matching t-shirts!

That's our Colin...

Colin is Mr. Imagination these days. He brings "inventions" to school daily, discusses invisible beings and creatures, and is full of ideas about how things work. He'll also talk your ear off about his latest interest--the praying mantis? Check. Pluto? Check. The way the Ice Man uses mutation to be a superhero? Check.

Here's a photo I took this morning--he needed to shave before school--just like Dad.

And one from yesterday afternoon.... because you always want to combine riding and reading. And yes, he was actually riding and reading for quite awhile!

Tumblin' Tots

Monday was Ethan's last tumbling class--and all in all he loved the experience. Especially getting to play with bean bags he was actually allowed to throw willy-nilly! And he's not half bad on the balance beam either.

Outdoor Lovin' Boys

Another glorious morning spent amongst the trees on the John Muir trail... the boys now can name at least two bird calls accurately. We need the fresh air now like fish need water. Sunday found us back in the park, this time across the road doing the Nordic trials with Mimi & Bubba. Nothing better.

Bonk!

Well, we always joked that Ethan would be our first child to take us to the ER for a non-asthma related reason... and that was the truth! Last Friday, as we were wrapping up Colin's karate class, Ethan took off out of the waiting area, tripped and smacked his head into the doorjam. Smacked isn't even a term that accurately desribes the sound of his forehead hitting the wood, the audible gasp from the other parents, and his split second silence... then screaming. We spent 20 minutes there stopping the bleeding and icing (thank goodness for the mommy-triage) then went to our local doctor who then sent us to the ER. Because who doesn't want to spend a Friday evening in the ER with two young children? There was a concern about internal bleeding due to the force of the impact, as well as some behavior he had in the two hours folloiwng the incident. There was talk about having a CT scan, but thankfully, after a few hours, he was fine. He looked awful, was hungry and off the wall exhausted, but overall fine. We had to wake him up that night every few hours, but the next morning he was reading and willing to tackle a hike with Aunt Mandy, who was visiting from Minneapolis! The photo is from the trail that morning... Today you can see just the lovely, post bruising yellow....Thank goodness for the thick skull! (And yes, we will now invest in extra bandaids and ice packs!)

A Rainy Saturday

A rainy Saturday, especially after a glorious spring Friday, makes everyone a little stir crazy! This morning I walked out of the bathroom and asked where Ethan was.... Colin simply said, oh he went outside. Yes, indeed. Later after a batch of gingersnap cookies, a round of playdough and a game of Trouble, the fort bulding commenced. By that point (given that Mike worked all day and I was flying solo), I didn't mind a bit!

Saturn

We have a placemat with the planets listed on it... I think I picked it up at Wal-Mart two years ago for around fifty cents. Both boys love space and anything and everything related to the planets. We are forever playing space ship at dinner, with Colin being the captain of the ship. Last week, I even created our own Pandora radio station containing the music of Star Wars so we eat "on board" while driving through the asteroid belt. Ethan is just as enthusaistic, as you'll see in this first video clip. I had no idea he was able to correctly name some of the planets! Later the same day, Colin came over to give him some instruction. I asked Colin to do it again so I could capture his teaching!

Kung Fu Master

Colin started karate six weeks ago and loves it. We think it's a good fit for his temperament too! His coach is great--very patient and encouraging. Since he started karate, he is forever practicing his "moves". Here he was caught practicing his stance! (What was even better was that Ethan was copying his every move and was on the other bed, also on a laundry basket, in a stance.... but entirely naked!) That picture, while even more hysterical, is obviously not appropriate for the blogosphere!

Easter 2009

It's SUPERMAN!

1st Annual Easter Bunny Cake

Nordic Trail, La Grange, WI

Grammie and her Colin

Counting rings in an old tree stump

We welcomed Grammie and Pop for Easter this year and the boys couldn't have been happier. The cuddles, tons of attention, loads of candy and Superman/Superdog for their Bat Cave made it a weekend to remember. Mike and I were thrilled that the sunshine decided to make an appearance!

We started Saturday morning off with an almost 2 mile hike at the state park--found some new trails that were fantastic for the jogging stroller--although Ethan really wanted to RUN! And we began a new tradition, that Mike and Jenna enjoyed growing up... the creation of the infamous bunny cake. The pictures speak for themselves. We also enjoyed hearing Mike play with the UWW brass quintet during church on Sunday!

Starin Park Playdate

Warm weather means we can have picnic playdates at the park down the street. Recently we spent a great early afternoon with Jaime, Emma, Isaac, Jo, Calvin, Silas, and baby Malcolm.

Check out those cheeks on Malcolm!

Isaac on the move!

Some of the crew on the infamous purple dinosaur!