Baby Lucy Is Here!

Baby Lucy arrived this afternoon! What a wonderful Halloween present! She is 6lbs. 7 oz. and 18 inches long. Just a little peanut. I think she is simply wonderful. Mom and Dad are great. I'll have more info and pictures soon!

Trick or Treating in Downtown Plymouth

Tonight we had fun Trick or Treating in Downtown Plymouth for the annual Great Pumpkin Caper. We have been doing this since we moved here 6 years ago and it is very fun. All of the businesses in downtown give out candy to the kids and there are activities in the park. The roads are closed so it is safe. We went this year with our best pals, the Heiners. All of our crew's costumes looked awesome!

Spencer the Superman.

Calvin the Pikachu

Christopher the Zombie Football Player

Emily as Hannah Montana

Cameron the Bunny/Lamb

The Whole Vos Crew

With Heiners. Jamison is Link from Zelda and Gavin is Basil the Bat Lord. Way Cool!

Pumpkin Carving

Sloth and two happies

vampire and pretty lady

Last night we carved our pumpkins for FHE. It was super fun! We ended up with a vampire, Spongebob that evolved into a pretty girl, Frankenstein's monster that evolved into Sloth, a 2 happy pumpkins.

Pumpkin Changes

Weekly Top Five 10/29/2007

Favorite Halloween Costumes I Have Worn

1. Dracula: Fourth Grade. I had the cape, the widows peak, the white face. I looked awesome!

2. Little Orphan Annie: Second Grade. My mom spray painted a wig she had bright red and made me the cutest orphan dress.

3. Pat from SNL: 19. I can do a spot-on Pat impression.

4. California Raisin: Fifth Grade. My friend and I did this one together. It was really fun.

5. Baby Leopard: 3. My grandma made it for me. It was adorable!

Ward Halloween Party

On Friday night we attended the Plymouth Ward Halloween Party. We were minus 2 Vos' because Emily was babysitting and Christopher was at the Steelers Pizza Party. Calvin attended as Pikachu, Spencer was an elephant and Cameron was a bunny or lamb. The kids had a fun time. We ate chili, they did some Halloween crafts, went for a Halloween Parade and went Trunk or Treating. They filled their buckets with candy and were so happy about it! Some of my favorite costumes there were Stacie and Matt as the rocker couple, the B. Bensons as the cast of "Annie," and Calvin Rogers as a Mad Scientist. Have fun looking at the pictures and also the video of Cameron. I especially enjoyed where he bonked the baby on the head. Luckily she didn't seem hurt. Another 10 points for correctly identifying the movie that I took the music from.

Spencer as the Elephant whose skin doesn't quite fit.

Pikachu

Cameron as a very cute bunny/lamb.

a very pretty Tinkerbell

Mad Scientist

I don't think your parents will ever ask me to babysit again.

Emily babysat last night until around midnight. This morning I asked her how it went and she said fine but she was embarrassed because she feel asleep and the parents had to wake her up when they got home. She was so worried that the mom was mad at her for falling asleep. I was quickly reminded of an experience of my own babysitting and falling asleep. I was probably 14 or 15 and I was babysitting on a Friday night for a family. I was getting ready and trying to decide whether or not to wear a certain light yellow sweater. I decided against it and left. I babysat for their three monsters (they really were) and it got late and I dozed off. I was awakened by the parents when they returned home. I got up a little disoriented and gathered my stuff, including a yellow sweater that I was certain was mine. The parents kept trying to take it away from me, but I insisted and I left with it. I guess I was still half asleep. When I woke up in my own bed in the morning, I arose and saw this unfamiliar yellow sweater laying on my floor. I couldn't place it for a moment and then uh-oh, I knew. I had taken home the husband's sweater from babysitting the night before. I was absolutely humiliated. I had to return the sweater to them at church on Sunday and they snickered. They thought it was hilarious and I do too, now. At the time, I was horrified that this had happened to me. My children are so lucky to have a mom with an unending supply of embarrassing experiences to make them feel better through their growing up years.

Yeeeee Haaaaa!

My friend, Jodi, turned me on to a great stunt you can do in your car on Lilley Road. Apparantly, this stunt was performed by her mother in their 12-passenger van many years prior and Jodi passed the secret on to me. Today I gave the trick a try on our way home from Ikea, where Emily bought a desk for her room with her babysitting money. Here's how to do the trick: Approach from the south on Lilley Road headed north towards Joy. When you take the curve around the airport, you need to notice what the stoplight at Joy is doing. Today it was red upon approach, so we put on the flashers and waited for green by the side of the road. When the light goes green, pull back into traffic and floor it to 90. Actually just 40 unless you want to get pulled over. But, it will feel like 90. Then go through the light going 40 and wham! you'll hit a small bump in the road. Makes you feel like you are airborne. I think Calvin in the last seat of the van actually left his seat. It was better than any Cedar Point ride. I felt like I was in "The Dukes of Hazzard" and should have been singing the General Lee song. The kids loved it and were all clapping and cheering. It gives a great rush and I recommend everyone run out and try it. I don't know if it works as well in a smaller vehicle. If we are ever together and you want the thrill of your life, we'll head down to Lilley and Joy.

Thankful Thursday 10/25/2007

1. Katherine Coakwell for teaching me how to sew.

2. Whomever invented the internet...unless it really was Al Gore.

3. Having all my family live within 5 minutes of me.

4. The Bishop's talk on Sunday

5. Cider and Doughnuts

The Only Good Cat Is Not A Dead Cat

I love cats. I have been loving them since as long as I can remember. As a little girl, my grandma had barn cats that lived on her farm. I loved them and cuddled them and named them all. Since I was the only city girl in the family, I'm certain that all my farming aunts and cousins thought I was nuts loving the grungy barn cats like I did. I named most of them Pearls. I had a Pearls I and a Pearls II. There were also several Cream Puffs. Once there was a Tiger. I loved those cats with all my heart. I remember one time when I visited Grandma's house, one of my favorites was gone. They told me it "ran away." Now that I am an adult, I know that "ran away" is code for probably dead. I would look for it on every successive visit. You never know when it might return. Sad.

The first talk that I ever gave in Primary was about cats. My parents weren't even members of the Church yet and I volunteered to give a talk. I was 6. My teacher said I could talk about anything I wanted. Little did I know she meant I could talk about anything I wanted to from the scriptures. I wanted to talk about cats and talk about cats I did. I even took a picture of me with a cat as a prop. I can remember how frightened I was standing there in front of all those children's staring eyes. I wish I had a video of that talk. I'm sure it would be hilarious.

My parents bought me very unique stuffed cats every year at the Ann Arbor Art Fair. They were large--maybe 18 in. high--and beautiful and signed by someone named "Nancy." I had 4 and slept with them every night. There was a Pearls and a Cream Puff and Nancy I and Nancy II. I don't know what happened to them as I got older. I have googled "nancy" and stuffed cats but to no avail. The mystery cat crafter is no where to be found.

When my Grandpa retired and moved from the farm to a city house, he left the cats at the farm. I was very upset about this. You don't just leave pets! I remember being slightly mad at he and my Grandmother and my Aunt Tina for being so cavalier about their family pets.

My best friend growing up had a beautiful cat named, Eli. Eli had the most beautiful blue eyes. Eli was a shy cat and he wouldn't often allow you to hold him. I would try though and stare at the mesmerizing cat's eyes. Eli met with a tragic end in a frozen lake. There is only one cat that I have known that I did not like. It was the pet of a family that I babysat for and it was mean. It would attack my legs and skulk around the house waiting to pounce. I would take a water bottle with me to their house and squirt it whenever it came near.

I would love to have a pet cat now, but my dear husband is seriously allergic. It is pretty sad. I joke that when he dies, first thing I'm going to do is get a cat. He took this one step further to say that he'll arrange to have whomever gives me the news of his death (policeman, doctor, etc...) give me a cat when they give me the news. I'll name it Chris in his honor. Chris Cream Puff Pearls Vos.

Baby Shower Part Deux

On Saturday, my Aunt Katie hosted a baby shower for Anna. All of my aunts attended except Annie and Diane. Many cousins were also there as well. Anna's friend Wendy from Lansing attended as well as our friend Jodi, who lives somewhere is Washtenaw County. Some of Tony's family also attended including his mother, grandmother, aunt and several cousins. Aunt Katie and her daughters Renee and Maria had lovely decorations and wonderful food! Aunt Annie made great lasagna. There was a yummy spaghetti salad, awesome bread pudding, great dip with chips...and much more but I'm running out of adjectives. All the food was wonderful! We played two games and Anna opened another mountain of presents. We made a pink beaded bracelet for Anna to match her necklace. Some of my favorite gifts she received at this shower are: the Barbie clothes from Nana Boner, the book for Lucy from Emily, and the Frogpod tub toy storage system from Carrie, Mary, Carrie, Annie, Carrie and Carrie and I know Chad has a Dawn.

I'm going to have to post a separate post later about my amazing family and how much they mean to me.

On the way home we drove through Westphalia to see that all the store windows were painted with the likenesses of Catholic saints. Including the bar(s). I have included the pictures of those as well. Anna, Emily and I got a good laugh over
them.

Life's just a game of inches -- and so is football

Christopher played a valiant game against the Lakes Area Hawks. The Steelers came up short and lost by 1 stinkin' point. Christopher gave it his all with his offensive line blocking, opening holes for the ball carrier to get through. The Steelers still have a chance of going to the playoffs if the Redskins lose next Saturday. Go Steelers! No Quit!

Buffalo Stance

Getting instruction from Coach Mazuca

Blocking

Cameron likes the football hotdogs!

Seinfeld - Kramer (the Merv Griffin set)

Weekly Top Five 10/22/2007

Top Five Favorite Episodes of Seinfeld

1. The Merv Griffin Show: "It's our good friend, George Costanza!!"

2. The Jimmy: "George likes his chicken spicy!"

3. The Hamptons: "Yo-Yo Ma"

4. The Marine Biologist: "Now are you just saying you want to have fun, or do you really want to have fun?"

5. The Outing: "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

Plymouth Orchard

On Friday, I went with Spencer and his class to the Plymouth Orchard for a field trip. We had a super fun time. Spencer enjoyed riding on the cart pulled by a tractor into the orchard to pick an apple. He had fun pretending to be a bee and pollinate the tree. Spencer looked at many pumpkins in the field before he chose the perfect one. Spencer and I were happy to welcome Mrs. Lloyd back to school. She went on an extended vacation and has been absent these first few weeks of school. Spencer is our third boy to go to preschool with her special influence. It's great to have her back, but we will miss Mrs. Zambon.

Spencer, Gavin and Nicholas on the fence.

Mrs. Lloyd showing Spence how to polish his apple.

Kids on the trailer.

Gavin picked a great pumpkin.

Enjoying donuts and cider.

Christopher in the local paper

Christopher made the local paper today. It is the sports section of the Plymouth Observer dated Thursday, October 18. He was credited with good o-line blocking. Way to go, Christopher!! Here's a link to the online article: Plymouth Observer.

Sedulous Spelling

On Wednesday, I took part in the 17th annual Spelling Bee sponsored by the Plymouth Community Literacy Council. This is the 4th year that I have competed on the team sponsored by the Plymouth Rotary Club. This year our team members were myself, Art Butler, Russ Jones and our coach was Don Morgan. Competing in the competition were 21 teams from all over the Plymouth area. We spelled our way through 2 rounds and found ourselves in the final round facing a formidable National Honor Society team from Salem HS. Unfortunately, they had the spelling upperhand and took first place. We took second. It is the farthest the Rotary team has ever gotten in the competition. Our cheering section, led by Emily, was superb as usual. Maybe next year we can take 1st!

Conferring on a word.

Breathlessly waiting to hear if we spelled the word correctly.

#1 Cheerleader!

Thankful Thursday 10/18/2007

1. Plymouth Library

2. Papertowel

3. Q-tips

4. Babies

5. Dyson

I believe I can fly...maybe

I am probably the worst housekeeper there is. I am disorganized and crazy busy. I start projects and leave them halfway done. I get too tired at night to pick up so I start each day facing the same mess. There are some areas in my house that I would rather die than let other people see. I have been thinking about my messes and my lack of housekeeping skills for several months. Just thinking, not acting yet. Then, I heard Sis. Julie Beck's talk at General Conference this month. Here's a little portion of what she said:

"Homemaking includes cooking, washing clothes and dishes, and keeping an orderly home. Home is where women have the most power and influence; therefore, Latter-day Saint women should be the best homemakers in the world. Working beside children in homemaking tasks creates opportunities to teach and model qualities children should emulate. Nurturing mothers are knowledgeable, but all the education women attain will avail them nothing if they do not have the skill to make a home that creates a climate for spiritual growth. Growth happens best in a "house of order," and women should pattern their homes after the Lord's house. Nurturing requires organization, patience, love, and work."

Ugh. I heard her say that I should be the best homemaker in the world and I felt AWFUL! I was actually angry at her at first. What right did she have to say this? But then her words ruminated in my head for several days. I kept looking around my home and was reminded of my inadequacy in this area. I came to a realization: I am not happy with things like they are. I want to be a better housekeeper. Not just because a church leader says I should, but because I am sure that I will be happier if I am. Who doesn't want to be happier? I do. I don't want to have to tell my friends that they can't go down to my toy room to see their children. I don't want to have to search for two matching clean socks everyday in my giant sock bucket. I don't want to have to say a prayer of hope each time my husband asks me to find a screwdriver or drillbit. I am tired of having to wade my way through the toys in the basement. All these things are standing in the way of my happiness.

So what am I going to do? Right now, I am so far behind that I am discouraged. I see how far I need to go and I want to quit before I start. I am going to try the Flylady method. I have done it before and was successful. If you have never heard of the Flylady, go to www.flylady.com. I am going to start her babysteps program. Today is day 1. I am going to shine my sink. I hope I can do this because I really need to make this change for me. If you have any suggestions, let me know. I am open to anything.

Weekly Top Five 10/15/2007

Top Five Favorite Beverages

1. Club Soda with or without lime. Love it, Love it, Love it.

2. Caulder's Dairy Egg Nog. After drinking this, no other egg nog can compare.

3. Izze Pop. Basically fizzy juice and so yummy.

4. New York Seltzer. The old kind before they put Sucralose in it and ruined it.

5. Coke. I haven't had a coke since 7/2002 and I miss it. It is so refreshing and great. Caffeine free doesn't come close but it's better than nothing.

I Love Lucy!!

Saturday, the 13th, we had a baby shower for Anna and baby Lucy. It was wonderful! It was hosted at Kristen Gough's home in Canton. Everyone wore pink to honor baby Lucy. So many people, special to Anna and Lucy, attended including: many of her co-workers from Baby Baby, many friends from Plymouth Ward, special high school friends, three special Toledo friends and family including Marta--Anna's mother-in-law and Carol, Jamie and Morgan. I was so touched that our friends from Toledo came all the way to be there. Jenni McKarns, Debbie Short and Diana McVicker were special friends of our mother and touched both of our lives in one way or another. When they entered the house, a warm feeling came over me and I knew that our mother was there with us too. I am so thankful they came.

We had some light refreshements. Thank you to everyone who contributed! We played two games. I just love shower games and had a hard time narrowing down the choices. I finally settled on a purse scavenger hunt. Everyone had to dig through their purses to find items from a specific list. Points were awarded based on what they had. It was really funny! Someone had a foil ball in her purse! Next we played a game identifying TV shows based on the names of the children from the show. That was fun too!

Anna literally had a mountain of presents to open! She got so many cute outfits and pink things. Some of my favorite things she got were: the crawling pants from Kristen Gough, the outfit from Debbie Short, the outfit from Esther Rogers, the travel system from Carol and the homemade blankets from Margie Freeman.

When she was opening presents, we assembled a beaded necklace full of pink beads for her to remember the day by. Everyone put on two beads and made a wish for Anna and Lucy. The necklace turned out to be very beautiful.

This is one of the best events I have ever been to. The only low spot was that Emily was sick and unable to attend. Luckily, our aunts are throwing a shower for Anna next weekend and I'm sure Emily will be fully recovered by then.

I am thankful for this day. I love Anna and Lucy with my whole heart!!

You can view more photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/PCNMSF0708/2007_10_13PlymouthShower

Anna and the monkey blanket

Anna and her friends from Baby Baby

Anna opening presents, Me, Jamie, Morgan and Marta looking on

Anna and her necklace

Me and Anna

Give me a break, even the duck is a princess!!!

Never seen Anna so happy.

She's surrounded!!

Christopher's Football Game

Christopher had his 2nd football game this Saturday. Their team played against the Lincoln Railsplitters. Incidentally, the Lincoln Railsplitters get their mascot, the Railsplitter, from Abraham Lincoln. I found this interesting. Christopher's team, the Plymouth-Canton Steelers, beat the Railsplitters 21 to 0. Way to go, CV and Steelers!!

Nothing worse than...

There's nothing worse than the sound of a child puking on the carpet from their bed all the way to the bathroom at 3am...

Leslie Science Center Field Trip

Yesterday, I went with Spencer's class to the Leslie Science Center in Ann Arbor. It was very fun and interesting. The children listened to a presentation on what animals do in the fall and winter. We learned which ones hibernate, which ones migrate and which ones tough out the Michigan winters. We went on a cool nature walk and saw all kinds of foliage and a woodpecker. After that, we saw a neat presentation with several cool animals that the children were able to touch including: Mocha the bunny, Charlie the Turtle and a bird with a strange name that I can't remember. Lastly, we went outside to see some really cool birds including a bald eagle, a very cute spotted bird called "American Kestrel" and the original Pigwidgeon. It was a cool field trip!

Bonus! Mark Ruffalo is our tour guide!

Our guide Erin was very enthusiastic about nature.

Spencer and Gavin headed into the wild

Clare is pondering nature's majesty.

A very cool turtle.

The flash on my camera made Clare's shoes look really cool

Spencer touching the turtle.

Pigwidgeon