The Lagestee Lowdown

FALL FUN-PART TWO

2008-10-24T11:39:00.004-06:00

I love Leah's face while she's in jail!!

Nice pic of us squinting!
Dana picked out the perfect one for her dorm room while Cameron picked out the weirdest pumpkin!

FALL FUN -PART ONE

2008-10-24T11:23:00.006-06:00

We have had alot of fun fall activities this season so far. My favorite was going out to the Buckley homestead's corn maze. We really couldn't have made it thru the maze without Dana's guidance. It must be because she's in college :) and so smart! It still took us 1 1/2 hrs to complete. At the end a somewhat dorky guy who works there asked us what we learned and I said (thinking I was so funny) "I learned not to drink your water"!! (since they provided gross well water 1/2 way thru the course) I proceeded to crack my whole family up to the point of tears in our eyes but the guy just sat there with a straight face and stared at me. OOPS, I offended corn maze guy! From there we went to Ryan and Aimee's to a pumpkin patch for more fall activities. We had a great time with them, got some pumpkins and went on home!

Dana and Cams navigating their way thru the maze in search of nasty water!

Happy Birthday Paulie!!

2008-09-22T10:46:00.003-06:00

I didn't have time to post anything for a while, and in the meantime Paul celebrated his 40th birthday! So Happy Birthday to my awesome husband!! You are quite a blessing to us and you look just as good as you did when I met you 25 years ago!

Flo'Rida Part Two

2008-06-27T12:28:00.006-06:00

Us at Universal

Cams at Blizzard Beach!
Cams and Leah at our resort pool, there were 3 differant pools and this was their fav! There was a shell thing in the middle where they would flip off of. Would've made Gramma Kathy nervous!
I love this pic with their ears on, they wore those scratchy things all day!

We then meet up with Aimee and Ryan and Grandma Betty for a nite at Universal, fun! Next day, Blizzard Beach, more fun and sun! We then checked into the Hilton and suddenly felt very spoiied! Ice Cream Sundaes were brought out everyday at 1:30 by the poolside! One day we almost missed them and we were a little shaken up a bit (haha) Then on to Disney World! I personally feel that the money is not quite worth it but the kids really enjoyed it. It did bring back a lot of childhood memores though! Now back to reality, no more waking up to palm tress and lizards! Why did my parents move up here-I was born to live in Florida!!

Flo' Rida !!

2008-06-27T12:06:00.008-06:00

The first part of our trip was spent at the Laquinta In with all the North people. We had a blast hanging out at the pool with everyone! Then there was the beautiful wedding of our niece Melissa, I only have a few pics my memory stick was running low! then New Smyrna Beach, we had so much fun there chasing waves all day! Thanks Keith and Leanne!

Graduation!

2008-06-25T08:09:00.005-06:00

She graduated!!! On May 21st Dana graduated from high school! Finally!! It was really a nice ceramony and I didn't cry once! I think I had a lot of time to think about it! The day of her party could not have been any better. The weather could not have been any better! I think we counted around 96 people that came! We could not have fit them in our house! We had so much fun with bean bas and volleyball! Good times as good ole' Ryan would say!

Dana's Senior Pics

2008-05-16T08:07:00.006-06:00

I can't believe that Dana only has 4 more days left of high school!!! Where did all those years go? I remember her first day of Kindergarten with her little Gymboree back pack (still stylin'even back then :) ) Recently our friend Michelle Hamstra took her Senior Pics. Here is just a few; there were so many great ones, she did an awesome job!!

We Did It!! We Did It!!!

2008-05-05T13:08:00.002-06:00

This past Saturday Cameron and I ran our race for the Lan-Oak Fun Run!! Cameron ran the 1 mile run and came in 3rd in his age group! He even got a medal, we were so proud of him. That is the first sport he actually likes besides WII playing. I ran the 4 mile run and came in 4th in my age group, needless to say, no medal. But I came in 16th for the women's. I ran it in 43 min. Not my best time but I started out really slow not wanting to finish by walking, but I still did it! I wish I took my camera but I was so nervous I didn't even think of it!

My next race is the 17th of May at Faith Church and that's only a 5k so I hope to speed it up. It's really addicting competing. I just wanted to finish but now I want a ribbon or medal or something. Maybe the Olympics.......dream on!!

2008-03-31T08:49:00.002-06:00

I recently posted about Leah's friend Sharon who was waiting for a heart for a transplant. Unfortunately Sharon passed away on Friday. It really hit Leah hard last nite and this morning going back to school. She had the saddest dream about her last night. How do you explain why God didn't heal her? Leah was so sad that Sharon never got to grow up and be married and have kids. Please pray for Sharon's family and her little friends who all went to school with her as they have the memorial service on Tues, and the days ahead!

Thanks!

Isn't She Lovely?

2008-02-21T09:00:00.004-06:00

Last Saturday was Dana's Winter ball for school. She had the nicest date, her friend Jay. She looked amazing-my only regret is that I didn't get a picture of her by herself (we were hurrying) I won't worry too much b/c Prom is only a few months away (wow-I guess I should just plant a money tree in my backyard with all these dances! ;)

I Double Dog Dare Ya!!

2008-02-13T11:17:00.004-06:00

Just when you think your kids are really smart.......

Leah went outside to go ice skating at the park across the street on Monday nite. Paul was watching her from our front window having a great time. The next thing he knows she is crying and blood is streaming from her face. His first reaction is that she knocked out her teeth (does the story of Cameron sound familiar here?), no, that's not the case!!!

Leah decided the "lick" the frost off of a metal pole, panicked, and proceed to rip her tongue off the pole. We just went over the results of doing such a dumb thing last week while watching America's Funniest Home Videos when someone else did that!!!

Needless to say her tongue is quite raw and painful!! We now call her "Flick"!!

Leah's Friend Needs Your Prayers

2008-02-08T10:22:00.000-06:00

Leah came home this week and told me that a friend at her school (who was always so little and sickly) was at Children's Memorial Hospital. I guess she was bumped to the top of the list for a heart transplant. Her mom emailed me last night and told me she almost didn't make it thru the night. Today she is going thru a 12 hour surgery for a heart bridge (?). You can visit her website at Carepages.com The user name is Memorialfamily and the password is mustangs. Then it brings you to another password and that is Sharebearreed.

It's pretty sad since I know that I take healthy children for granted everyday. It makes you realize how good you really have it. Leah has always had a heart for this girl, her dad tragically died while cleaning out his gutters and fell. We are also thinking of ways we can raise money for her family so if you can think of anything, requests would be great!

So prayers for the family would be great also!! Thanks!!

Happy Birthday to my Legal Adult !!!

2008-01-11T13:51:00.001-06:00

Wow-Dana is turning 18 tomorrow!! I can't believe how fast that went!! I also can't believe all the fun and great times she has brought us!! Yes, she had her share of being a "teen" but over all I think she turned out awesome!! Happy Birthday Dana!! And I can't wait to see what you do with the next 18 years!!! Love you!!

Tulip's First Christmas

2007-12-05T08:49:00.001-06:00

It seems that Tulip loves Christmas trees! I have a little tree in my kitchen and she loves to cozy up by it. Then when we put up our official tree, she adopted that one as her own!! Look how cute she is all snuggled under our tree, like a little present!! What you don't see is her trying to eat my tree skirt and lunging at me when I try to get her out of her favorite spot!!

Happy Turkey Day~Part Two

2007-11-23T10:54:00.000-06:00

This year we had Thanksgiving at my sister in law's church-it was great because they had alot of things to do for the kids. So we didn't have to worry about them getting into trouble! We had a great time and great food!

Dana and and her fav Uncle Ryan having a heart to heart in-depth conversation. By the way, Dana cut her own hair, at least 5 inches-she did a pretty nice job! I love this picture! You really can't tell they are brothers!
At one point, Dana and I started taking pics of each other!
I know these are all of Dana but Leah and Cams were playing most of the time and I never saw them! Here's Dana and cutie Brett playing a tough game of air hockey-I think Brett won!

Happy Turkey Day~Part One

2007-11-23T10:40:00.000-06:00

It was time once again for our annual Thanksgiving Day Hike-I thought it was a wash out b/c it was so cold and rainy the nite before, but it was beautiful out in the woods. Dana had to work and make the big bucks so we went without her :( Please don't look at our mismatched outfits, I haven't had time to coordinate winter wear yet!
This picture speaks for itself!
I took this great nature picture-so cool!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BOY!!!

2007-11-23T10:27:00.001-06:00

Cameron James Lagestee turns "9" today!!! Cameron has been such a blessing to our family-he adds the sweetness and thoughtfulness to our family!! We thank God for him today (and every day :) !! We are celebrating with a kids party today. We will have a pinata and we are going bowling!!

2007-11-20T12:05:00.001-06:00

My kids decided to make a leaf fort on Saturday. Do you see all the leaves in my backyard? Those weren't enough they decided-so they actually carried piles from our neighbor's yard and brought them over to our yard in gargbage cans!!Here's the finished product!! Pretty cool!
The pics don't really do justice on how big the fort actually was!

Christmas!

2007-11-13T14:18:00.000-06:00

I officially started Christmas season!! I wrapped my first gift! I hope to finish wrapping the rest this week! I also am 90 % done with my shopping! I need to buy the rest of my kids stocking stuff, but I can't get myself to actually buy candy yet! Let the holidays begin!!!

It's all over!!

2007-11-09T09:21:00.001-06:00

Well, it's officially over-Dana is no longer a Rebel Volleyball player. We wrapped up her season with a banquet on Tuesday. She made All-Conference which is quite an honor, area coaches vote for certain girls in the district. So that was cool-here's a few pics from the night. The good new is for us that Dana might decide to be a walk on player at Olivet (we are hoping since we love the game so much!)

I put this picture in for Cameron who had quite a crush on this girl, Kelly. He flirted endlessly with her! Of course Dana and Kalli, this will be the last time they are ever on a team together! So Sad!
The Whole Team one last time!

TULIP TUESDAY ON FRIDAY

2007-11-09T09:15:00.001-06:00

I didn't have time to post on Tuesday, so all of you who wrote-here's TuTu! She was a witchbunny for Halloween-scary!
Everytime I open the frig-she comes right in-I was actually organizing the pop (yes,I take every can out and line them up)!

TULIP TUESDAY

2007-10-30T08:15:00.000-06:00

I have decided to make up my own day "Tulip Tuesday" where I will show random pictures of our beloved Tu-tu! I'm sure it will bore everyone but me and Leah! You can tell where she chews on our woodwork-real nice!

Thanks for the memories!

2007-10-30T08:04:00.000-06:00

These have got to be the worst pictures! Anyhow-Dana's last game ever was Saturday and unfortunately she was soooo sick with the flu. She was actually still throwing up an hour before her game. What a rotten way to end her last season !! We will really miss her playing and are trying to talk her into trying out for college ball. We have been watching her and her best friend Kalli play since they were 8 years old. It's weird to think they will never be on the same team again, so sad! I have a hard time seeing things end! ( Well, there's alway Leah :) :)

PRE HALLOWEEN FUN

2007-10-30T07:53:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we started our Halloween fun by carving our pumpkins, this was the first year that Paul didn't have to help with the knives. Cameron made his a cyclop and Leah's has a surprised look. Dana will be carving hers tonight. Even Tulip got in on the action! (I almost burned her tail by putting her so close to the lit pumpkins!)

Seniors Night

2007-10-19T08:35:00.000-06:00

Some clever mom made all these banners-cute!!
This is the blurry picture of us escorting Dana thru the arch-good thing it's dark and blurry-no one can see me bawling!! (I think Paul even got choked up)
Dana and the gang!! These girls made an awesome scrapbook for each senior girl!
I love this picture!!

Here are the pics from Dana's volleyball Seniors Night. This is a night where the school honors the Seniors on their last home volleyball game. Paul and I got to escort Dana out on the court to accept her flowers and stuff. I lost it the minute I got to the high school and saw all Dana's coplayers with these really cool shirts on that they had made. The shirts said nice things about missing the Seniors. These girls have gotten really close over the past 2 years. Then I really lost it when they introduced Dana and us, I think Mel has a video of it, which she is probably going to blackmail me with it. :) Over all it was a great nite to honor Dana and her 4 years of volleyball!! One week left of playoffs, then it's all done!! Boo-hoo!

p.s. Thanks to Melanie,Aimee, Todd and Pam & family, and of course Grandma Kathy to coming out to share the special night! It really means a lot to us!!

HOMECOMING 2007

2007-10-14T20:21:00.001-06:00

Last night was Dana's Senior Homecoming~I have to say that she looked awesome~especially after playing 7 games of volleyball! She said it was the best homecoming she ever went to~she was even home 2 hours earlier than her curfew, even better she got up and went to church,what a good girl! Dana and her friend Mike
Ahh-Dana and her Pops! How cute! Nice pose Dana!!

I can't believe how old she is already~time goes so fast!!

Lady Rebels Tournament

2007-10-14T20:12:00.000-06:00

Dana and Kalli waiting for the block!

This weekend was crazy-we started off with a Friday night volleyball game at Lincoln Way Central in New Lenox. We were at church at 6:00 am Sauturday for something then back at the tournament at 9 am. Straight from there-Homecoming! Here some pics from the tournament! Tuesday is Dana's last home game and they do a special thing where the players walk out with their parents~I have been crying for weeks thinking about it. Wait until Tues!! I'll be sure to post some pics of me bawling on Tues!!

Fun Fall Days

2007-10-05T13:06:00.000-06:00

My kids got out early today so this is what they choose to do: Bobbing For Apples!! Hey-whatever floats their boat (or should I say~apples!!)

2007-10-05T12:59:00.000-06:00

On Oct 2nd Leah celebrated her 12th birthday! Here are a few pics from her big day~We are going to have a sleepover for her in a few weeks, so we didn't do anything big on the actual day except watch Dana's game then went to Sanfratellos. She got a new skateboard and a bunch of other little things. Happy Birthday Leah! We can't believe how old you are!! Next year a teenager!! Yikes!

2007-09-29T15:33:00.000-06:00

Cams took this pic of us-he did a pretty good job!

Paul,Cameron, and I all took a little fall drive up to Michigan today. We were going to pick apples but ended up eating lunch at the neatest little hamburger joint called Redamak's. We then went to New Buffalo and walked around the shops and then walked to the beach. It was so beautiful out!! Leah was too busy skateboarding to come with us and Dana was working of course!!

2007-09-29T15:32:00.000-06:00

GOD ROCKS!!

2007-09-29T15:27:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure how many public schools (or private schools for that matter) have this out in the front of their school. My heart just felt so full when I saw this in front of TF South. I think the students painted it for the "See You At The Pole" Day, it's awesome!!

When Mom's Away!!!

2007-09-25T12:08:00.000-06:00

So this is what happens when Paul and I are away. We went away Saturday to Dana's VB Tournament and left Leah and Cameron alone (with the bunny and the camera!! The worst part is that the bunny is actually on my kitchen table~my worst nightmare!! I love hearing the kids talking in the background!!

College Time!!

2007-09-20T07:20:00.000-06:00

Well, Dana was accepted into two colleges she applied to, so the big decision is hanging over her head! One was a little (not tuition little!) college called Monmouth, which is 3 hours away and Olivet Nazarene (same price tag) but close by. The expenses are already a lot before we even send her there! The deposit is due and not cheap! I wish for the days again where all I had to do was buy diapers and jars of baby food!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAULIE!!

2007-09-19T11:36:00.001-06:00

It's Paul's birthday today and I just want to say what a great husband and awesome dad he is! He takes a lot of interest in what our kids are doing and always has time for them!! Whether it's playing Gamecube with Cams, going to Dana's games (even without me) or showing Leah how to play something on the guitar, he's always involved. So here's to Paul on his birthday!!

I MUST BE BORED!

2007-09-07T10:31:00.000-06:00

I've had a few friends ask me what I do with my time now that the kids are back at school. Here is how my time is spent-I am Tulip's official photographer and activities director. Half of Tulip's day was trying to get in the living room, so now that the floors are done, she can come in.
I thought she would have fun with the pop box and guess what-I was right, it's her favorite thing to do. Some times I hook two up together and it's a little obstacle course for her!

This is Tulip's favorite spot to hang out, right behind the porcelain throne! Don't worry it's very clean back there!

Pasta Night!!

2007-08-28T20:32:00.000-06:00

It's a tradition for the Varsity volleyball team to get together the night before home games for Pasta Nite-last nite was our turn to host it! I fed 12 girls and couldn't believe how much they ate-1 13.9 pan of lasagna, 6 loaves of garlic bread, 2 loaves of french bread, 3 lbs of spaghetti and meatballs! Did I mention a 10x 15 pan of Texas brownies! They had a great time and practiced their introductions and other things! By the way, they won tonight's game-must have been all the great food! :)

First Day of School!

2007-08-28T20:25:00.001-06:00

Leah started her first day as a Junior Higher at Memorial!!
Cameron went to Coolidge as a 3rd grader-can you believe,a 3rd grader?!
Dana on her first day of her last year of high school-the tears are certainly flowing!!

Where were you when the storm hit?

2007-08-28T20:05:00.000-06:00

Cams playing nicely in the sand, notice the beautiful blue skies!
Paul enjoying the sun, again notice the skies!
An hour later!Notice the dark blue-black skies

That seems to be the question when I got back to work today!! People were pretty surprised to hear me say-the beach!! The weather was great until around 3, 3:30pm then I noticed the sky getting a little darker! Being the alarmist I am,when there's bad weather a-comin', I am a-runnin'. So the life guard walks up to me (of course!) and tells me that there's a Severe Thunderstorm Warning and a Tornado Warning for Illinois. Great, just where we are headed! So Cams and I start bookin' for the car while Paul and Leah slowly meander their way! Dana calls me crying that there's sirens in Lansing and they are making all the kids at school line up in the hallways! And her phone goes dead!!! Again Great!! I am bawling and the kids are silently freaking out in the backseat~Cam suggested praying, why didn't I think of that? Anyhow, we made it home with only heavy rain and none of the high winds that blew thru-I was actually surprised when we got home and saw the damage in the neighborhood! God listened to Cameron's little voice!!

White Sox Fun!!

2007-08-22T10:51:00.000-06:00

Last nite we went to the White Sox game and had a blast. It was the first fun thing we did since Paul's been on vacation. For once it didn't rain, the weather was perfect, and our seats were awesome! Leah got her glove signed by Paul Konerko so she was thrilled! Cameron stayed home and had fun with Grandma Kathy, so we brought Dana's friend with us. We got to met Minnie Monoso first and got some free tshirts! And the best part-Sox won!!

Meet Tulip Lagestee

2007-08-07T20:54:00.000-06:00

Call me crazy!!! We officially have a pet bunny! Her name is Tulip (because she's a Holland Lop of course!) I don't know what came over me. All I know is that we were having a great time at Lake Co.Fair in the 95 degree heat and Leah asked for a bunny in the 4-H tent and before I knew it we were walking out the fair with a rabbit! Not a funnel cake, a giant Scooby Doo stuffed animal, not Hot Wisconsin Cheese but a real live barn animal. I insist that she stays outside but it's so hot, even I can't stand to see her out sweating! Dana loved it until it chewed a hole in her brand new Hollister shirt that was for school. Leah is beside herself with joy since she is a huge animal lover so I am putting my selfishness aside for her! She really is a cutie. I already bought her a leash so we can walk her around the yard!

Holland Trip Part Three (the end, I promise!)

2007-07-25T22:03:00.000-06:00

We went after waiting all day for the rain to stop to go on these Sand Dune Riders. It was well worth the wait, we had a riot. Of course Leah snagged the bag seat and we were flying! At the top of the dunes, the driver let us stop and run down the dunes. They were SO big and then we had to climb UP! Leah talked heself into the drivers seat! :)

Holland Trip Part Two

2007-07-25T21:52:00.001-06:00

Most of these pics I took at Holland State Park Beach. My mom and I starting talking to this family sitting next to us and it turns out they know people from our church and a lady I work with. How weird is that? They were from Mokena.

This pic was taken at a little drug store soda fountain, it was so cool,like the 50's. Cameron got a real Green River (they added the syrup and seltzer water, and I got a chocolate Coke.

Holland Trip Part One

2007-07-25T21:38:00.000-06:00

My mom and I took the kids to Holland MI this week for a few days. It was great to get away for a little bit. We did a lot of things in a few days.
Leah tries out some wooden shoes, not exactly her size. We did get Cameron his own pair, he said he would wear them for special occasions, like Christmas! :) They also loved the hats!

We ate lunch at the Dutch village and had, of course, raisin buns and Eidam cheese. Yummy!

LEAH AT CAMP! HER EMAIL ADDRESS

2007-07-08T18:11:00.000-06:00

This is for Grandma's and Grandpa's and all other relatives. If you aren't a relative and want to send her an email, go right ahead. I just posted this so everyone had her email and I wouldn't have to read it over and over to people! Leah is at camp, we dropped her off today! She wants us to send her emails because the camper has to stand up and sing when they receive an email. If you want to send an email, the address is clbcc@cedarlakeministries.org and put her name in the subject. She loves getting emails!!! Thanks everyone! By the way, she's there until Friday am,July 13th.

2007-07-08T17:40:00.000-06:00

I, believe it or not, am having my 20th high school reunion this year!! So I needed to submit a family photo for the book. We went right after church on a 96 degree day! I had to do it today b/c we are never all together! I think that the pics turned out pretty good for a quick photo shoot.

Part 2

2007-07-07T11:02:00.000-06:00

Dana and Chloe clicked for the day, they both love fashion, purses, and nail polish :) ! Dana was having a great day until she really hurt herself getting out of the boat. We thought she broke her knee, but it looks like it's ok. All she thought about was being able to play volleyball and soccer.

A Boating We Will Go! Part 1

2007-07-07T10:54:00.001-06:00

We went to Ryan and Aimee's to pick up Leah and spent the day on the water! We had a great time, the water was awesme and the kids got to go tubing and hang with their cousins.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

2007-07-05T09:22:00.000-06:00

We had quite a different 4th of July than we had planned but it was still fun! We were supposed to spend the day in Michigan but due to rain threats we stayed home! We were graciously invited to Jon and Mel's where we had a great time! Cameron is a little pyromaniac! Happy Independance Day!!

VB TIME!!!

2007-07-03T20:24:00.001-06:00

Just when Leah's season ended, here comes Dana's! This is TF South's summer league and they looked awesome tonite! They beat Lincoln Way in 2 games. I have to say without bragging that Dana's jump serves were great. It must the fact that her braces are off and not weighing her down! :) I have a video of one of them but can't figure out how to work it! Let the season begin!

THE AMAZING CAMERON

2007-07-02T11:55:00.001-06:00

Cameron and I went to the park so I decided to take some pics of him doing his tricks! There were 2 girls there so I think he was really hot-dogging it for them! Leah is away for the week with Ryan and Aimee at their trailer so Cameron and I are pal-ing around! It's really great to have him all to myself, he's really funny and tells interesting stories!

I'm Back!

2007-06-29T11:16:00.000-06:00

I finally got a new camera so I tested it out yesterday and today,here are the samples! I had the wrong setting on for Leah playing VB so it's a little blurry! Nonetheless, it looks like Leah is following in her big sister's footsteps playing VB!
Dana got her braces off yesterday finally-so here's a smiling picture of both!

Cams sitting on some equipment at Munster Park. The town of Munster had their equipment out for kids to sit and play on so we met Mel and Aimee and Grandma Betty there. The kids loved the trucks and ambulances!

Leah and the Bee!

2007-05-25T07:46:00.000-06:00

I will have a boring page to look without pictures for a while. Some thug stole my digital camera so until I replace it, everyone will have to use their imagination!

On a nicer note-Leah won her school district Spelling Bee last night! She is so excited and so proud of her accomplishment! She was competing against the other 2 schools in our district. I could barely look at her when she was spelling so I missed it when she won b/c I had my eyes closed! Leah gets a plaque with her name on it-no Jan Brady syndrome for her! Ha,ha!

Yesterday was also a big day for Dana also, she had her soccer banquet and received an award for being All Conference Honorable Mention, which means she's recognized in the area conference league as being one of the best players! And she received the award for having the ugliest toes since 3 out of 7 nails have fallen off from her soccer shoes! That was a fun award! So all in all it was a great day for us! I would be just as proud if they didn't receive any awards-they both work hard!!

Tomorrow we get to see Blue Man Group in honor of Len's 40th b-d-I can't take pics so just imagine Blue Men!! :) Should be fun!

Last Annual Picnic!

2007-05-07T08:10:00.000-06:00

Pam and Brooke fight for the ball!
It looks like Todd is throwing Cams in this one!
Quite the server!
Paul and Sharon throwing bags! They came back from a 17-0 score to win!

This Saturday, we had our last annual Good Neighbor Day picnic, since we probably won't be in Lansing next year! The weather held out for us and we had a perfect day! We had a ton of great food and lots of volleyball games and bean bag games! We wrapped up the night with a bonfire and the kids played Ghost in the Graveyard! We will really miss our Lansing house!

Prom Night!

2007-05-07T07:58:00.000-06:00

Last Friday, Dana had her prom. They had a great time at the dance, then they all went to the Hard Rock Restaurant. They went in a 25 person Hummer Limo-Fun! Her flowers were beautiful and so was she!

Soccer!

2007-04-27T13:07:00.000-06:00

Here are some long awaited soccer pics! It's hard to find Dana when all she does is run back and forth for 80 minutes! It looks like the same picture, but it's not. I'll try to get more action shots at the next game, maybe she'll head hit it!

Easter

2007-04-16T11:54:00.000-06:00

Leah coloring eggs!
Dana trying to wake up to see what the Easter Bunny brought her! This year I bought edible Easter grass! Yummy!
Leah at Uncle John and Aunt Judy's looking for eggs! Too bad that I put her special gold egg with $ in it in a tube leading to the furnace! And they had to pay $80 to get it out! Oops!
Cam's also searching for eggs!

The gang coloring eggs with Josh, our cousin!

Awww, they Do like each other! Leah checking out her loot!

Cams, too! What kid requests Altoids above any other candy for Easter-Cameron does! Weird!
Dana found her Gold egg we think her other egg with McDonalds $ in it was in the other pipe also leading to the furnace-never got that one out, we hope it blew out when the furnace went on! Let's hope it's outside somewhere!

SPRING BREAK!

2007-04-16T11:33:00.000-06:00

This year we went to Wisconsin Dells for Spring Break, kind of a last minute idea since we didn't go to Florida. Dana couldn't go because of soccer but I think she liked having the house to herself for a few days (and this time no patio furniture went into a bonfire). We missed her but managed to have fun anyways! Paul and the kids can always find arcade games!
Us at Moosejaw, Leah's favorite place to eat!

Cam's splashing down!

Paul and Leah goofing around!

While Paul was in this wave pool (major waves!) he managed to save 2 people from drowning, some how the lifeguards missed them! One was a grown man and then a little girl later on! I think he needs the Wilderness trophy! He didn't even get a thank you!

Leah before the waves started!

A Dream Come True!

2007-04-02T12:01:00.000-06:00

Scratch another thing I want to do in my lifetime off my list~I got tickets for The Police when they come to Wrigley Field!! I am so excited! I went thru a little crush on Sting back in my day-Actually it's not over yet! I used to have a guest appearance in my dreams by Sting asking me to marry him, this went on for a few weeks. Now what if he sees me in the crowd and remembers he used to ask me to marry him? :) Paul will be there and it will be so awkward! I know, I being silly but I am a little giddy at the moment!!

On a more realistic note-Dana is kicking some soccer booty this season. Her team is 4-0 with all wins being shut-outs! It's alot of fun to watch her play so well ( and to cut out the clips of her name in the papers)! Watch out Mia Hamm! I'll take some pics this week!

Crazy Hair Day!

2007-03-21T16:10:00.000-06:00

Last week our school had spirit week with fun things to do on each day of the week. This day was crazy hair day-so we spray painted Cam's hair with red stripes and Leah's was put in all pony tails!

Ed Debevics Again!

2007-03-19T11:08:00.000-06:00

Leah is so talented!

Us with Grandma

We thought we would try Ed D's again last Sunday-it was so nice out and we wanted to go downtown! Leah suggested Eds again which sounded good to us except Cameron! He just doesn't get the humor there! But after he sufffered thru his meal we went to his favorite store-The Lego Store! Then to Garrett's popcorn-yum! We had a great day (with no bathroom needs this time on the way home!) The only bad part is that Dana couldn't join us, boo!

GO COOLIDGE COUGARS!!!

2007-03-02T13:05:00.000-06:00

Leah had her 1st basketball game yesterday! I was so proud of her! She got to start off the game with the jump ball! Then she made a basket when we had 2 secs left! I think she found her sport! She played great defense! Very aggressive! They won 14-10! Way to go Leah and the Cougars! P.s. Notice her shoes, they match her uniform (of course) :)

Prizes Galore!

2007-02-23T20:05:00.000-06:00

Last nite was the TF South Fashion Show and some of you will remember that I won our trip to Florida at it last year. So this year I entered the raffle again and won a boat load of stuff! The Florida trip was not a prize this year, too bad. but I won a bunch of valuable gifts! Actually, After the sixth basket was brought to me I got a little embarassed! No really I did! One of my prizes was a basket filled with dog treats and stuff to give your dog a bath. A great prize if you own a dog, which we don't! I guess I should have bought a dog so I could use the stuff but instead I gave it to my good friend, Maggie Seufert, a golden retriever! Enjoy, Maggie! I love raffles!

Workout Update

2007-02-15T11:32:00.000-06:00

No, there will be no pictures of me working out ever! I will spare everyone the grossness. But I just have to say that I found the key to working out!
I bought an Ipod (no,that's not the secret, I think everyone knows that) but I put Chris Tomlin's cd on it. I had to stop myself from singing and shouting out loud while on the treadmill! It made the time go so fast and relieves my boredom. Iwas a little sick of watching the man in front of me on the bike. I almost had to raise my hands, and I would have but I haven't mastered the treadmill without hanging on yet! I have no coordination! Today I loaded Sting on it so we'll see if that's just as good as Chris Tomlin!

2007-02-15T09:05:00.000-06:00

I had to laugh at Dana yesterday digging out her car! She had her Coach purse on her arm the whole time! And the way she was holding her shovel was hilarious! She better marry a man who knows how to shovel! She finally got her car out! We had a fun snow day around here! Leah was outside the whole entire day! She has a snowball maker and a snow brick maker to make igloos! She made an awesome fort! I took the kids sledding the nite before so I was in for the day! Dana also surprised me with a gorgeous bouqet of flowers! The kids also got me candy and some lotion! My mom took the kids to Beggars Pizza for a heart shaped pizza while Paul and I went to our favorite-Hi-Fi! It's pretty sad when the waitresses know you and bring out a cafe of Diet Coke right away for you!I think the waitress has a little crush on Paul! We don't usually go out for V-day but I have working Midnights this weekend!

Watch out for the new Heidi Klum!

2007-01-31T11:34:00.000-06:00

Not really, I will never look like Heidi Klum, but I did join the Eisenhower Fitness Center today! Paul, Dana, and I all joined so now we have to keep each other accountable! I am way to cheap to not go now that I spent the $ to join! Now I all need is new cute workout clothes! Maybe a new bag, and a new water bottle to match my work out outfit, a new towel, new shoes,etc,etc,etc!! This will be fun!!

GO BEARS! GO FREE TICKETS!

2007-01-31T11:25:00.000-06:00

This is my last ditch effort to go to the Super Bowl! I sent this pic into the Ellen show to win tics for Sunday! I didn't realize what Dana looked like until I uploaded the image! Paul last week decided to call his 2nd or 3rd cousin who just happens to own the Miami Dolphins (not to drop any names or anything) and ask for tickets! They wanted $700 for each ticket and with 5 people in our family we decided that $3500 was alot for one day and one short weekend! I know, we are real cheapskates! So I am hoping that my entry will be drawn this week for Ellen's show! We aren't the most creative people but I am desperate enough to get out of these single digits weather days! Plus a chance to see the Bears kick the Colts bootys! Go Bears!

Now I've been tagged!

2007-01-29T09:05:00.000-06:00

A- Available or married? Married- 16 Years
B- Best Friend? Paul
C- Cake or Pie? Wolf's Bakery Lemon Fluff Cake (otherwise known as Dutch funeral cake, even when we are sad, we still need to eat something with our coffee! :)
D-Drink of choice-Diet Coke (does it come in a IV form!)
E-Essential Item-Duh, Diet Coke !
F-Favorite Color- Red
G-Gummi Bears or Worms? Both! and lots of them!
H- Hometown? West Palm Beach,Fl
I- Indulgence? My mother in law's 10x15 pan of apple slices!
J- January or February? February
K- Kids & names? Dana -17, Leah-11, and Cameron- 8
L- Life is incomplete without? Family (and a tan :)
M- Marriage Date? Sep 1st,1990
N- Number of Siblings? 2
O- Oranges or apples? Apples (as long as they are covered with a pie crust drowning in cinnamon and sugar!
P- Phobias/Fears? Clowns, and any person with a mask on
Q-Favorite Quote? If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much! (actually I hate that saying, I just had to put it!) Really it's-"Dad's down there"-by Arnie Grape
R- Reason to Smile? Summer is almost 4 months away!
S-Season? Summer
T- Tag three people! I will spare three people this time!
U- Unknown fact about me: Sometimes at work when no one is looking I dance down the hallways to the overhead music! (It's usually to Love Train)
What happened to V?
W- Worst habit? Nagging (per Dana) the kids about their room.
Y- Your favorite food? Right now, Jimmy John's subs
Z- Zodiac? Stupid!

Crazy Ed Debevics and Deelicious!

2007-01-28T11:19:00.000-06:00

For Dana's birthday we took some of her friends to Ed Debevics! Our waiter was named Ralphie! He was pretty funny until he called Cam a midget. Cam did not think that was so funny and proceeded not to talk or even look at "Ralphie" all nite! Dana assumed the name of "Deelicious" So when they sang to her, the waiter yelled out her new name! Quite hilarious-only Dana would think of changing her name! We had a great time (except a member of our family had to have an emergency number Two stop on the side of the Dan Ryan in the pouring rain on the way home!) I sent Paul out to handle that one! Always eventful! Sorry no pictures of that, I am sure everyone's disappointed!

THE PRINCESS IS 17!!

2007-01-12T08:45:00.000-06:00

It's true-our little girl is 17 today! I can't believe how fast the last 17 years went. That makes me old!
Dana has been such a blessing to have as a daughter (yes,even in her teen years). She has such a great sense of humor and finds the good in everything! Not only is she smart, athletic, fun,(should I go on?:)) she has a great love for Christ! Enough bragging-have a great Birthday Dana!!

p.s. I looked for better pics but somehow my files are gone! hmm!

I forgot something!

2007-01-06T10:18:00.000-06:00

I forgot to tell about my wonderful husband's tradition! A few years ago we noticed that Leah gets a little sad around 7 or 8 pm on Christmas night! She feels bad that Christmas is over in just 1 day. So Paul started a tradition of giving the kids one last gift when we get home from our Christmas parties right before they go to bed~sort of the last hurrah!
He bought and wrapped the presents without me even knowing! Now they really look forward to that every year. This year Cam and Leah got baseball mitts and Dana got her Step Up movie (I think that's my new favorite movie, so that was a gift for me too!)

WICKED! FINALLY!

2007-01-05T17:29:00.000-06:00

My mom and I finally bought our tickets to see Wicked! I can't wait! I need some other opinons of the show! We are going March 25th! Whoee!
I hope I don't get scared with all the witches around! :)

CHRISTMAS PICS

2007-01-05T17:12:00.000-06:00

For some reason, Blogger wouldn't load these under my Christmas story, so here they are now!

CHRISTMAS~ PART THREE

2007-01-05T16:33:00.000-06:00

Christmas did not end on the 25th~We went to celebrate with Paul's dad in Pennsylvania the Friday after! We all enjoyed the warm weather riding this really cool go-kart they had. The scenery was beautiful and we all had fun! Paul took me for a ride out there so I could do some spying on the Amish people. I only saw a group of little Amish kids! That's it! If I could I would have peered into their little houses (except I think they have guns!) I'm sort of intriqued by their traditions~Maybe we'll turn Amish-Can amish wear Hollister, if not Dana might be out :)!

CHRISTMAS PART TWO

2007-01-05T13:03:00.000-06:00

Then the real fun started-On Christmas Eve we had nothing to do for the first time ever. We went to Connie's Pizza downtown and had the coolest waiter ever-Carl! I wish I had a picture of him-he was a rocker dude so Leah liked him, Dana was embarassed that we were talking to him-but he was so cool! He even drew a guitar on our receipt, I think it was for a big tip-it worked! Then we went to Macy's to see the windows. It was so festive down there. My tender-hearted Dana saw a homeless lady and fell apart emotionally. She decided to go give her a little token and gave her everything in her pocket-$19.00! She didn't realize how much she had in her pocket until later! She didn't regret it at all! We were so proud of her! We were glad to see her break out of her moody teenager ways for a moment!
Then we came home and opened our Christmas pj's. On Christmas, we opened our family gifts! Leah got her Red Ryder BB gun, Dana mostly clothes, Cam-mostly Star War Legos and DS games. Dana on her first try shot a bird right out of the sky with Leah's gun-don't worry we immediately banned her from the gun ! Then to Gramma Bettys-more gifts and fun! Then on to my brother's house, where we told there was a ping pong tournament! I was out the first round of course with Leah being in the last round-she came in second! My nephews also got BB guns so there was a lot of ammunition being shot for the holiday!

CHRISTMAS PART ONE

2007-01-05T12:55:00.000-06:00

Finally, a post~ our computer has been acting up so I can finally post! Our Christmas season started with a parade in Crete where we watched it from our car~fun! Cam and Leah petted actual reindeer! It was so cold! But a great way to start the holidays!
Then we made our first gingerbread house~it was so cool~we sprinkled powdered sugar over it when we were done to look like fresh fallen snow!

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

2006-11-25T21:52:00.000-06:00

Every Thanksgiving morning we go on our annual hike thru a forest preserve. This year the weather was perfect!! Paul and Leah didn't even wear a coat! Dana didn't join us due to a football game with about 25 kids. We missed her but when you are a teenager, almost everything is more fun with friends! When we get to end of the trail, we stop and have something to drink! This year it was so warm we really didn't need the hot apple cider I packed-lemonade would have been better but not as festive!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BOY!

2006-11-24T12:21:00.000-06:00

Cameron turned 8 on Thanksgiving Day. What a perfect day to give thanks for such a blessing. He had a great b-d, he got his GameBoy Ds lite and some Star Wars Legos! Then we went on our annual Thanksgiving Day hike, then on to dinner where everyone sang Happy Birthday twie (thanks Auntie Mel!). He loved that! He even got sang to on Wed. at Bakers Square, he leaned over to Leah and whispered "that was awesome!"

Even Huggie got in on the birthday wishes (thanks to Leah who arranged that and decorated awesomely for the occasion!) Happy Birthday Cameron, We love you so much!

Christmas is coming!

2006-11-21T09:13:00.000-06:00

I can't believe that Christmas season is here! As a tradition, I always mail my Christmas cards out the day before Thanksgiving! I know, a little crazy! Here is a preview of my pics for the cards! What a gorgeous family, if I do say so myself! For those of you rolling your eyes about the fact that my cards are done, I only took the pictures already because all my kids were home last week at the same time, so I loaded them in the car before Dana had some place to go! She's a hard one to find at home! p.s I don't think I'll be ready to mail them tomorrow though, a break in traditon!

Leah the Voyager

2006-11-21T09:02:00.000-06:00

Leah decided to go on a voyage on Saturday! She took all her stuff and sat on the shed roof. She camped out for a few hours! Notice the hat in the tree and the American flag in the tree! She has some imagination! Some kids were walking by and asked what she was doing! I think they thought she was a little bananas! Some people don't know creativity when they see it! It also looks a little white trashy, I know!

I've Got Nothing!

2006-11-13T10:17:00.000-06:00

I have absolutely nothing to post! I've had a few people mention to me that I haven't updated for awhile, but there's nothing to share! Except that my two year old oven broke this weekend! Is that interesting or what? Let me see......Dana went to a "White Trash Bash" party this weekend, dressed in a wife beater and fake tattoos, Leah's been singing "yo, shorty, it's your birthday" nonstop for a week now, and Cameron sleeps in his Halloween costume every nite. So, are you glad you asked me to update? I am feeling the blogging pressure, I don't think I can deal with it!

TRICK OR TREAT ! PART TWO

2006-11-01T07:20:00.000-06:00

We started out our day with a parade at the kids school and then classroom parties following. Then, time for the big stuff-Trick or Treating!! The kids got so much candy! Paul and I can't wait to dig in!! Yes, we will eat the goodies that our kids walked miles and miles for-isn't that how it's supposed to be? This year, we went Trick or Treating with Mark and Pam Pals. Then Todd joined us for pizza. It was a fun (and dry!) nite!

TRICK OR TREAT !! PART ONE

2006-11-01T07:03:00.000-06:00

We all were in the Halloween spirit yesterday! Leah was an old lady, Cameron was a Ninja, I was a kitty, and Paul was a Rebel football player! Dana and her friend Emalee were Catwoman and Batman! Sorry, no pics of them, they went trick or treating somewhere else. Yes, I said trick or treating at the age of 17!

2006-10-27T21:03:00.000-06:00

I don't even know what to write about this picture, I just had to put it on my blog!

2006-10-27T13:45:00.000-06:00

Dana had her last vb game this week,unfortunately they did not make the play offs which is really stinks. But the nite before their play off game they had pasta nite (which they do before every game) and they painted the rock in front of South. It is completely legal and no cops will be on my deck! It's sort of sad around here now that there is no games to go to. Every weekend and week since August we were going to Dana's games, now it's all over and we are pretty much bored (and it's only been 2 days!).
Anyway it was a great season and we will miss the Seniors! They
become part of your family! There is always next year!

2006-10-19T16:35:00.000-06:00

LEAH'S MASTERPIECE

hey fans out there!this is Leah E Lagestee.this is my plane!Well,all i have to say is i hope you like it because i like it alot.In the backround there is the library,if you are looking for me i wont be there . l.o.l. I crack my self up.let me guess,you probably forgot to laugh!well back to the subject,anyway my tri-motor is a little puppy with puppy power thats the name of it.cool huh!i just found out that my mom already put this picture up.dang it!!!!I know you can't really see the plane but if you saw it up close you would like it more.but i hope you like my masterpiece!!enough about me cause i could go on 4 ever!!!!!STAY COOL PEEPS!!!!Lagestee over and out!!!!see yah!

CLEVER CAMERON

2006-10-19T16:23:00.000-06:00

I always knew that Cameron was a genius with quick mind (can you tell he's the only boy?).
Last week Cameron came home from school telling me that a girl next to him always cheats off his paper. So he purposely wrote down the wrong answer on his paper, waited until the girl copied off of him, then when she was done and not looking, erased the wrong and put in the right answer. I didn't know it that was morally right or wrong but I thought it was very clever! So I didn't show any response but inside I was like "all right Cam, serves her right" :)

Mr. Dusty Orchid

2006-10-17T11:02:00.000-06:00

I was at Target today (what a surprise!) and I was minding my own business in the cosmetic section. A man around 40 or 45 was in the same aisle I was the whole time, buying and looking at makeup. He was particular about his selections. Do you think it was for him? Do men buy makeup for their wives? I thought it was so funny I kept watching him. He probably thinks I was the weirdo! I would never send Paul to buy my makeup-I would end up looking like a hooker! Not really! I just hope that the man's Dusty Orchid works out for him ok! Sorry no pictures of the man-someone might recognize him, then his secret would be out! (Out of the makeup bag)! :)

A Visit From the Police

2006-10-08T21:59:00.000-06:00

So I was on the computer tonight when Dana came up saying I had to go downstairs. The police were on my deck waiting to talk to me. Great!! I guess Dana and her friends went
to Erfert park tonight and were rolling down the big sledding hill. There was no naughty stuff just innocent rolling down the hill. The worse part was this is what they were dressed like. I had no idea they went out loking like that, so when the cop was talking to me, I could barely keep from cracking up looking at them. Dana had written "Hill Queen" on her forehead backwards since she wrote it looking in a mirror!
She should be given a ticket for being such a dork. He was just warning us that girls shouldn't be out at 10pm. The worse part for Dana was that he kept calling them little girls and she was 3 inches taller than him! Ha,ha-I guess if that's the worst they are out doing, I can't be too upset! Still will the worrying about your children ever stop.

"Be Nice To Her"

2006-10-08T19:56:00.000-06:00

On a sad note, my mom's best friend of almost 40 years died last Thursday. We couldn't make the trip for the funeral (she lived in New Jersey) because my mom broke her leg. I was also very close to her and her family. We grew up together when I lived in Florida (they lived in Florida at the same time). I miss her already. It's so weird not being able to pick up the phone and call someone when you are used to doing it for the past 20+ years.

The real tear jerker came when Cameron said his prayers the night we found out she passed away. Now, Cameron prays the same prayer every meal and every night all the time. Except this night he added at the end-"And please help Sheryl" I told Cameron that she didn't need help anymore because her cancer ended and she was with Jesus now. So then he prayed with tears in his eyes "Then be nice to her" Oh, out of the mouths and hearts of small children.

Will Leah's Birthday Ever End?!!

2006-10-08T19:46:00.000-06:00

Leah had a small party on Friday for her birthday. I took her and her friends to Art4Soul in Homewood to paint pottery. We had a great time. Leah painted a penguin, it looks so cute. We can't wait to pick up the finished work!! On the 22nd, we will have a combined family birthday party for her and Cameron. His birthday lands on Thanksgiving this year, Bummer for him!
I hope the weather holds out nice since we are doing an outdoor/Halloween theme with pumpkins and fall stuff. We'll see-I heard snow this week! :( Then we are done with birthdays for a month or two!

Oh, What A Day!

2006-10-04T13:11:00.000-06:00

Did you ever have a day where you thought you were on Candid Camera? My whole night last night was that. It started at work when I was walking to the hospital gift shop to buy a ten cent package of lemon-heads (that's all the money I had on me). Our gift shop is all glass walls with a sliding glass door. I was minding my own business (walking a little too fast), turned the corner and ran right into the glass door. The lady who worked there had locked up to take a break. A break, who needs a break from working in a gift shop at a hospital?!! I hit the glass so hard I left a complete face print (glasses included) on the glass. I also injured my left knee and arm! I was so embarassed because everyone in the lobby saw and heard the loud banging! I started laughing and crying at the same time while wiping my nose prints off the door! How embarassing! All I could hear in my head was Paul laughing (even though he wasn't there)!
My whole department heard the noise and ran down to Public Safety to ask for the tape to send to Funniest Home Videos to win the $10,000 off of my making a *** of myself!

If that wasn't bad enough, when I got home from work, I was watching Oprah at nite, again minding my own business. I heard a loud truck sitting by our house, so I watched it. The truck barrelled around the corner and circled the park, again stopping across from our house. By now I was certain that they were up to no good.Again they pulled away, except after they left, not 3 seconds later a huge flash of light appeared and a huge shooting noise sounded. I thought they shot me thru my window. I crawl yelling into our room to which Paul said calmly "what was that?" He then proceeded to tell me that it was just a M-80 firecracker. I still don't know what it was, but I was up all nite playing Barney Fife to protect my neighborhood. I didn't sleep a wink.

Do these things only happen to me or what?!!

Go,Go White Sox

2006-10-03T09:23:00.000-06:00

Dad C-These are for you to enjoy (and others,of course) We went to the White Sox game a few weeks ago. We were 12 rows up from the Sox dugout. They were awesome seats. Paul and I were shown on the Kiss-Cam, and so was Leah. I think we ate all the junk there more than we watched the game! By the way, Melanie-that is a giant pickle Leah is eating. Off all the food she had to pick from, she chose a smelly pickle. I chose Cotton Candy, of course!!

2006-10-03T09:13:00.000-06:00

I couldn't let the girls steal the show on my first day of blogging, so here are some pics of Cameron, looking cute as ever.

2006-10-02T11:31:00.000-06:00

While I'm at it, here are some pictures of Dana Volleyball tournament. They played over two days and won 1st place!! GO REBELS!!!!
And by the way, your eyes aren't going bad, some of the pics are blurry!

2006-10-02T11:13:00.000-06:00

It was Homecoming Weekend for TF South this weekend. Here is Dana and her date,Derrick!
She looked gorgeous and way to old (that means that I'm old and I can't accept that!!

2006-10-02T10:26:00.000-06:00

It's Leah Elisabeth's 11th birthday today. She woke up at 6:30 am. Usually I have to drag her out of bed, not today! Here is Leah on her gift, a Schwinn Stringray bike !