3 boys

i love these 3 little guys in my life. i am happy to have them. but it is so difficult to get a picture of the 3 of them together. here are a couple of my attempts.

letter to santa

ok, so it is september, but yesterday jonas was working on his christmas list. he then put his list in an envelope and put a school bus stamp on it. he asked me to dictate a note to santa for him. i had to post what it said.

dear santa claus,

did you have a nice summer? how's your wife? i hope you bring me lots of presents. i've been a very good boy.

love,
jonas

my name is jonas....

jonas' first day of school was great! i woke up at 7:30 am and found him sitting on the couch, dressed in school clothes, with his hat on, all ready to go! he was all smiles and insisted on riding the bus. i had wanted to drop him off to which he replied, "you can drop me off at the bus stop, mommy." so, we all made the trek (1 block away) to the bus stop. the bus was 25 minutes late! but it came and jonas happily jumped on. he was so excited and totally hamming up for the camera too. such a cutie. it was weird not having him home during the day, but after school, we picked him up at the bus stop and headed to max and erma's for a celebratory dinner. when i asked him how his day went, he replied, "good. i didn't go to the principal's office." and he had a green smiley sticker for today. all is well! here is my big boy! i can't believe i have a kindergartener!



all smiles leaving the house



doing a dance



proud daddy



proud mommy



cheesin'



the bus finally arrives



off to school

orientation

jonas had kindergarten orientation this morning at forbes elementary. ben and i both went, thanks to my friend, anna, who watched gryffie and porter. we had the chance to see the school, meet jomi's teacher, mrs. yohe, and meet the principal, mrs. brown. both seemed FABULOUS! ben and i were impressed. jonas has his own little desk, which he was able to pick on his own. mrs. yohe seems to have a very structured and fun learning environment. i think jonas is excited, although nervous. probably his favorite part of the day was riding the bus. ben and i are excited to be involved in the pta and assist as able. jonas will have his first day tomorrow, and is insistent that he ride the bus, so we will be taking him to the bus stop at 7:55 am. tomorrow, neither ben nor i have class or work, so after school we are taking jonas and the other boys out to dinner. jonas picked subway. crazy kid.

i have to mention the rest of my day, which was great. after orientation, i dropped ben and the younger boys off at home. jonas and i went shopping at the children's place for some school clothes. then we went to baskin robbins for ice cream and then to the library. jonas picked out some movies and books, and i already read two of them to him (we are asked to read with him 1 book per day). also, ben had requested the new arctic monkeys' cd- humbug- which is awesome. i listened to it on my way to work. after getting home, the boys watched barney's halloween (1 of the movies jomi picked out) and i made chocolate chip cookies. it was a good day!

a freakin' dorable

one of the best sights to behold. my boys (jonas and gryffie) walking up the stairs at the ymca. jonas is holding my i-pod and each have a headphone in their ear. both are singing "what is this feeling," from wicked, quite loudly, i may add. it made me smile and made my day!

camping

we went camping this past month for 4 days at the river's edge. let me tell you, camping with 3 little guys is crazy, but fun. we enjoyed the campground as well as our new tent which is roomy enough for the whole family. george (our beagle) came along with us as well as many of our friends and family. we enjoyed campfires and swimming, biking (not me), and lots of delicious food. we did not love the rain, however, and ended up driving home friday just to avoid it for part of the day. (we drove back that night).

jonas loved being able to ride his back around the campground and gryffie took to running laps around the loop. he would run multiple times per day, and loved it so much that we think we are going to sign him up for a kid's run in october. cute boys. i enjoyed trying to get george to swim in the river and playing at the pool. i loved watching the guys do their frisbee pass off while jumping in the pool- they were able to have all 6 of them throw and catch while jumping in- impressive. i think ben enjoyed this, too, as well as swimming the river with chrissypoo. here are some of my favorite pictures.

be of good cheer

this was our lesson in relief society yesterday at church. i admit, i have been struggling lately to do so. these last couple weeks have been rough- in multiple ways. i won't go into detail, but i have been having a difficult time keeping a smile on my face. i have seen the impact on the boys as well. i can tell they are acting out a bit more, most likely due to the fact that i have been stressed and impatient with them. so tomorrow, i am going to the temple. i haven't been in a while and i really felt the overwhelming desire to go. i am dragging my wonderful brother-in-law, chris, with me. we both work tomorrow evening, so we are leaving at 5:00 am. early, i know, but necessary.

i also heard a very good quote today. it was actually on ellen (i watch it on mute while at the gym). "resentment is like drinking poison." this was said by nelson mandela. i am trying to do this and feel better already. i definitely needed to hear that today- and i need to work on doing that as well. ah, life. sometimes all you can say is "it sucks." but we can't know joy if we don't know sorrow, right?

web albums and sleep...

i am addicted to both of these.

i have a couple albums to add from the county fair and also from our camping trip this summer. but it has not been working today or yesterday and i am going crazy! anyone else having an issue?

i worked night shift tuesday and wednesday night. last night, i went to bed at 9:30 pm and slept until 8:00 am. it was FABULOUS! the boys are fed, and we are off to the gym. it's amazing what sleep can do! i feel happy and refreshed!

portie on the go

portie has been a bit of a late bloomer. he just started crawling about 2 weeks ago. i forgot what it was like to have a mobile baby... the grabby hands, the dislike of being confined (as seen above with jomi), and for me, feeling obligated to vacuum more than once per month... but i love that he is interested in exploring the world. if i could just get him to stop eating grass and dirt!

washington county fair

one of our yearly traditions is to go to the washington county fair each summer. the fair opened last saturday and we were there for opening day. the clarks played that night, too, although we were too busy riding rides to stop and listen (and the boys would not let us anyway). jonas especially has been enjoying rides and he even went on the "fire ball" with ben, although it was not his favorite ride. if you don't know what the fire ball is, here's a picture. i didn't ride it.



i like going to the fair for so many reasons- spending time with family, seeing all the animals, looking at the entries for the different prize winners, enjoying the delicious food, specifically gyros and lemonade, and riding the rides. if you haven't gone to the washington county fair before, i would definitely recommend it. so much fun!

duckies

i think most of you know that we lived in jacksonville fl for a year. it was a rough year for our family- ben didn't really care for law school, i wasn't used to being home with 2 crazy kids, and we were in a new place, trying to meet new people, etc. but the one thing that was fabulous about being in florida (other than meeting new friends and falling in love with the lunts) was where we lived. campfield condos. we had a fabulous swimming pool, which the boys still talk about, and a beautiful pond with a sidewalk around it. we would often take walks as a family around the pond in the evening. various animals would frequent the pond, specifically ducks and other birds, although we did see some otters at one time. one of our favorite things to do was to feed the ducks. and we have continued that tradition back here in pittsburgh. we enjoy going to highland park, near the swimming pool, to feed the duckies. there are geese there, too. the boys love it. and it is nice to walk around the park and enjoy the sun.



the duckies



gryffie fishin'



brotherly love-jonas and portie

kennywood

it's summertime. and summer would not be complete without a day at kennywood. we enjoyed the annual kelly family day at kennywood, complete with potato patch fries, and cotton candy, and fudge, and lemonade. this year was a bit more stressful as we were the only kellers there and did not have family that we felt comfortable passing our children off to. however, the boys are enjoying the rides more and more. jonas is almost too big for kiddieland. he wanted to ride some of the big boy rides. so after dinner, ben took gryffie and porter home and i stayed with jonas. thank you to aunt sue for the ride home! i loved having some date time with jomi (and getting to ride some rides). he told me his favorite ride was the exterminator!! that's one of my favorites too. i think next year's trip will be even more fun! hooray for kennywood, and grandma and grandpa for organizing our kelly fun day!

pictures? of course!

what did they say???

i had to post two things the boys have said in the last two days.

gryffin, at dinner last night, for no reason, said, "that's what she said."

jonas, in the car home from the children's festival said, "that's crackalackin!"

what???

wild animals

we went to a children's festival today, thanks to sadie and mom, where the boys got their faces painted. jonas wanted to be a tiger, gryffie, of all things, wanted to be a skunk. so dang cute. here are a couple pictures of my wild animals.



scary tiger



are skunks scary?



who is the scariest?

"pittsburgh day"

i have absolutely been loving my time off of work, and of course, am not looking forward to going back monday evening, but whatever, one has to work, right? right now we are at home taking a break from camping in the rain. what do you do during the day when it is pouring down rain? you can't stay in the tent, can you? so we opted for coming home, showering, and i had to check my e-mail, facebook, and update the blog.

monday ben and i had a "pittsburgh day" with the boys. this consisted of getting jimmy john's for lunch and having a picnic at the point. we dipped our feet in the fountain, walked by the river, and then took the duquesne incline to mt. washington to look at the stunning views of our city. ben keeps trying to convince me to move away, but i LOVE this city. here are some of my favorite pictures of the day (i know, i am a picture fiend) and then a slide show.



the city i love



benji and port



cute brothers



me and da boys

irwin family reunion

on thursday, we headed to portsmouth, ohio to shawnee national park for the irwin family reunion. the reunion was from thursday until sunday. we stayed at the shawnee resort and lodge and had much fun with our family. some of the highlights included: swimming at the pool, late night singalongs, pina coladas (non-alcoholic, of course), "hiking" with the boys, the awesome dinner and slide show, and huge beer bottle in the woods. here are a few of my favorite pics, and one of my slide shows... special thanks to gma and gma for our room and gma and gpa kelly for the yummy food!



getting rowdy when gma got the bar to re-open



off the diving board



touch my toes



me and gryff



up to mischief

holiday!

celebrate! christabel, our nanny/babysitter/au pair is from england and has the coolest british accent. when i was serving in young women's, i would always make her read the longest quotes! silly, i know. well, we were chatting at church and she said, "you're going on holiday next week, right?" love it- holiday, sounds so much more festive than vacation.

we are heading to shawnee national park in ohio for a family reunion from thur-sun. then monday and tuesday is family time at home and going to kennywood. then next wed-sun we are heading down to ohio pyle for some camping with friends and family. i have 11days off of work! and so does ben! woo-hoo! can you tell i am happy? happy summer!

happy birthday!!!

ben's birthday was 7/16. we had a wonderful day- full of food and fun, really. we started the am by going to the ymca to work out. then we headed out to homestead for the new seafood buffet, hokkaidos. it is more of a "chinese" buffet, similar to the one out in cranberry. it was surprisingly not so bad... i am not a fan of buffets. after lunch, we headed home for nap time and i stayed home with port, while ben took the older boys to the pool. following the pool, we hit up red robin for dinner. then off to bed went the boys, beth beth came over, and ben and i met colin and rachel to go see harry potter, which completely ROCKED!!! i am jealous of ben's birthdays- it's a day just to himself. i share mine with jesus, which really doesn't seem fair.

anyway, enough about me, more about ben. he's 28 now, and as awesome and sexy as ever. some things i love about him:

he is my best friend
he is so darn thoughtful
he lets me nap when porter sleeps
he is so good to the boys
he mellows me out
he has a wonderful sense of humor
he is 100% devoted to me and our kids
he loves jesus
he works hard
he is starting his m.ed in the fall at carlow, way to go!
he cooks, well!
he is handy around the house, and motivated!
he is a talented musician
he is an amazing teacher
he rocks my world
he buys me godiva truffles, a lot!
he lets me embarrass him by writing these blog posts

love you, benji!

addendum: pictures from ben's b-day dinner with the kellers

songs

the boys love to write their own songs. some of them are cute, some of them are funny, some of them are highly inappropriate. i think they get that from their dad. the boys have there own "penis song" which they sing frequently in the bath and even do a little dance. another song they sing is basicallly just the refrain "poopin' in the water, poopin' in the water." my boys are weird, i know it. but yesterday at work, i was singing this song to myself as i walked to the bathroom. it seemed to be good timing, but then today jonas was singing this at the grocery store... he was thrilled when i told him i was singing it to myself yesterday.

giggles

i love this video of gryffie making portie giggle. port is pretty reserved when it comes to his giggles. he is very smiley, but rarely laughs out loud. and really, only jonas and gryffin have the ability to get him laughing.

pictures

please check out the updated posts for father's day and the 4th. i added some pictures.

two random thoughts

mallo cups and the 13th floor

i love mallo cups and am eating some now as part of my lunch. i love reese's peanut butter cups, too, but one thing i have realized, pb cups are now much smaller in size than they used to be. mallo cups aren't! they are still as big as normal. and for that reason, mallo cups, i love you! nice!

i have been having some training today and yesterday at a different building than i usually work. the training is on the 17th floor. i have noticed in the elevator that there is no "13th" floor listed, but... there still is a 13th floor, right? it is just called the "14th" floor. superstitions get the best of people. i know at western psych there were 15 floors, and the 13th floor was just the 13th floor. it was also the floor where all the borderlines went... anyway, why not have 13th floors if hospitals continue to have rooms such as 666. just a thought.

happy 4th of july

a couple days late! yet another weekend of fun! friday was a big day! especially for jomi. we finally bought him shoes with ties and he learned to tie his shoes. he also road a bike without training wheels! hooray! friday night, we had a bbq at church with friends. betsy ross made a surprise visit to the kids and educated them on the importance of celebrating the 4th of july.

saturday we went to colin's and had a bbq- much fun, especially the fireworks! i'm actually quite surprised no one got hurt, specifically colin as ben wailed numerous amounts of fireworks at his feet. saturday night we went to oakmont to see the fireworks. usually we get the boys home to bed, but we decided to go. we didn't want to head downtown, and i think oakmont was perfect for us- plus there was NO traffic on the way home. even port stayed awake.

sunday, church, of course. then a brunch at gma and gpa kelly's for gpa's b-day celebration! happy birthday, grandpa! last night was another bbq, at our house, with friends and family, and more fireworks!

happy 4th of july! hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

my favs

here are a couple recent pics of the boys that i love...

happy father's day!

happy father's day to all you great fathers out there. i have to take a moment to talk about our weekend. first, saturday we went out to cranberry to celebrate father's day with my dad and mom. sunday was spent at church. both pa and dustin spoke in church so we attended sacrament and then went to our ward for the last 2 hours. we enjoyed a bbq with the kellers in the evening and lit some fireworks after. the boys enjoyed the fireworks, although gryffie insists on being held the whole time. i have noticed that both ben and chris are pyromaniacs. but i love it.



my dad is wonderful! he has been such a great example of hard work and perseverance. he is loving and kind, and always so happy when we visit. i love seeing him hold portie. for those of you who don't know, my dad just had his 84th birthday last month and still works full time. i don't think he has ever taken a sick day from work in his life. he is truly an amazing man who i am thankful to have as my dad. i love you, dad!



now on to papa keller. pa is also a wonderful example of fatherhood. perhaps what i appreciate the most about him is the spirit he invites into his home, his love for exercising the priesthood righteously, and his humor. pa is also reliable and is always there when needed. i love you, pa.



finally, my wonderful sweet husband, ben. ben is so frickin' awesome! i love and appreciate all he does. he is the best dad. and he is hot... did i mention i love ben and that he's hot? i even got to take a nap on father's day. some how that doesn't seem fair... but i appreciate it. i love how thoughtful ben is, how he is such an active role in our boys' lives. i really do see us as equal partners. it is amazing to me how much we have grown similiar over the years and really compliment one another. i am lucky to have you, benji. happy father's day.

another crazy weekend

so i started my new job last week and so far, so good. i am now a care manager for community care behavioral health on the pre-cert team. this essentially means that i provide insurance authorizations to providers who call in requesting drug and alcohol or mental health treatment for patients. part of me feels like i have sold out, but hey, everyone deserves a break once in a while. i begin my computer training this week and will be on my own doing pre-certs next week. it's a change, and i like it.

this past week went well, but i really did not have much down time this weekend to recoup. friday night we hung out together as a family. saturday ben took the praxis 2 english/literature content so that he can begin his master in education in the fall at carlow. i had a baby shower and then we went to sam's club for shopping. ben did yard work and i organized all the cabinets, fridge and freezer, and food storage. later, ben took the boys to the pool and i went and had a pedicure. i am spoiled!

sunday was another crazy day. we went to 1st ward with the gardners for baby grayson's blessing. he is such a cutie and was very well behaved. after church, we went back to care and steve's for a luncheon. we went home so port could get a nap (me too, again, i'm spoiled) and then headed to the kellys' for megan's graduation party. it was lots of fun- good food, including a chocolate fountain, a wicked awesome game of badminton, and a ton of people i love. after, everyone came back to our house for chris' birthday cake. happy birthday, chrissypoo, you 25 year old menace to society. get a ring on kate's finger already... did i say that out loud? anyway, what a great but busy weekend!

bbt

i just wanted to include some pictures of argyll's revenge at the bbt. this event occurred on friday, may 29th, but life has been so crazy busy that i have not yet had a chance to post it. freudian hips opened for argyll's revenge and there was a fabulous turnout. i still love being a groupie!

celebration

friday through sunday was filled with celebrating colin and rachel's wedding. friday am, ben, kate, the boys, and i drove down to dc to the temple to see colin and rachel get sealed. (chris joined us on the way back). the weather was rainy, but we still were able to get some good pictures. on the way home, we stopped at the macaroni grill for lunch- yum! saturday was a reception at highland park, where both argyll's revenge and courderoy rebellion (add david and aaron, subtract colin, it was his wedding, you know) played. and sunday, my favorite part, was the ring ceremony and luncheon. the boys were with babysitters, so ben and i were able to enjoy some time with just adults! woohoo, but let me tell you, i did feel bad for poor greg, the random guy whom we did not know, that sat at our table. it was hilarious- everyone was in such a mood! ben was so excited to see the bride and groom kiss that he broke his water glass. there is no other way to describe it than just fun! here are a couple of my favorite pictures of the weekend, as well as a slide show. congrats, colin and rach! we love you guys!

porter

here are a couple newer pics of the port. he is so much fun. he is about 19 pounds, 8 ounces now and will be 8 most old on june 15. he's still pretty lazy, really showing little desire to crawl or stand up. i'm hoping he takes after gryffie and doesn't walk until he is 1 (jonas walked at 8 1/2 months).





and i had to include a pic of the boys all together in the bath. port is bathing with the big boys now. i love both port and gryff's faces. he he.

change

i always saw myself as someone that thrived under stress. in college, i procrastinated and would write my papers the night before or even the day they were due. i told myself i did better because of the added stress. i love working at st. margaret hospital, but over the last few months i have been asking myself if i get everything i need from my job. so, i applied for a couple different positions in the upmc system and have had 2 interviews. i was offered and accepted a job as a care manager for ccbho (community care behavioral health organization) and will begin my new position on june 8. i am excited, nervous, stressing out over my change in schedule and location of employment, but happy. i will be working evening shifts and rotating weekends and i will now be working downtown. but i feel good about it, and i am getting a pretty significant raise, so really, i can't complain. ben is also going back to his job on tuesday- he has been off on an fmla since january. i have been spoiled by having my husband be a "stay at home dad/rock star musician" and am nervous but happy with the upcoming changes. my friend angela will be watching the boys while i wrap up my old position and orient on daylights for 1 month. cross your fingers for me that all will go well.

signs of summer

this weather has been a bit unpredictable, however, i must say today was beautiful. you can always tell when summer is a coming in the keller household. this means it is time to shave the boys' heads. porter was exempt, of course, but the older boys love to look like their daddy. here are some pictures of the boys with their new summer dos. yum, i could totally go for a cinnamon roll right now.







and, i couldn't leave out my portie, so here are a few of him as well. he is now sitting up like a champ.

late night practice

i'm pretty sure i have mentioned how much i love it when argyll's revenge practices at our house. of course, it is acoustic only, hence why the boys don't wake up. this is often when they write new songs. here are a couple pics of the boys rehearsing together at our house. don't forget to come to the bloomfield bridge tavern friday night, may 29, 2009 at 8:00 pm to see 2 opening bands and then argyll's revenge play. $5 to get in, and cds will be on sale for $5 as well. i promise you will enjoy!

i'm a pilgrim, i'm a stranger

this was my first year attending the midwest pilgrims' retreat near chicago. paula, sadie, beth and i left at 6:30 am on friday and drove to chicago. the retreat was in rockford, a town about 1 hour outside of chicago. the ride was long, but definitely worth it. i don't think i can put into words what an amazing experience it was for me. many of these ladies have since moved to places like new york, minnesota, new jersey, massachusetts, alaska, and utah, but it was so amazing to have the opportunity to be surrounded by old friends and reconnect as well as make new ones.



some highlights of the weekend

~journeys
~belief-o-matic
~claudia bushman
~heavenly mother
~when the journey gets dark
~finding our own personal relationship with our heavenly parents
~the squishy toilet
~yummy food and snacks
~a handsome priest
~rooming with sarah
~pittsburgh reunited
~good sex with jennifer
~caramel popcorn
~sitting by the lake with a good friend
~feeling peace
~singing in the choir
~did i mention awesome friends???
~a safe enviroment
~happiness
~growth
~laughter
~joy
~forgiveness

for those that attended, i am interested to know what you have gained. feel free to add to the list. and for those of you who would like to know more, feel free to ask-i encourage everyone to be involved in an experience like this. i know i have emerged a better saint, a better person, a better friend, a better wife, a better mother. thank you again benji. and thanks to all you amazing women who put so much time and effort into making this retreat possible.

more pictures:

chicago bound

i should be sleeping- or at least packing- in preparation for my trip to chicago tomorrow for the retreat! i am so excited. i have wanted to go for the last couple years and just never felt able to spend the time away from the boys. but now, ben is a pro at home, so i am running off for the weekend. paula, sadie, beth and i are driving out to chi town to join 70 others for a wonderful weekend! did i mention i was going without the boys? ben has a weekend planned too, with chris, colin, and pa-going to cec with the boys tomorrow and the chinese buffet in cranberry on sat. have fun and thanks honey! you're the best!

my new workout

i joined the gym in december when i was on leave from work. i was very dedicated at going for approximately 2 weeks. i have not worked out until last night. the boys and i played the wii together. jonas totally kicked my butt at wii boxing. i am sore. i also golfed and played tennis. really, i was sweating like crazy. it was awesome! we played for about 1 hour- hey, if i do this every day, maybe i can lose the last 10 pounds of baby weight!

happy mother's day!

i know i am a day late, but i wanted to say happy mother's day to all you wonderful mothers out there. we had a wonderful weekend of celebration. friday night we went to dinner with the kellers and then had a bonanza fun night at our house (after the boys went to sleep!!!) saturday we went to the deere's for dinner for my dad's b-day and for mother's day. happy birthday, dad! sunday was FABULOUS!!! i slept in until 9:30 am and then ben made me eggies and toast for breakfast. we went to church and then after had our big dinner for a late lunch- bbq chicken, corn on the cob, and spinach salad. delicious!!! this was much to ben's chagrin. he had planned a "fancy" dinner, but i wanted to grill. anyway, after our lunch, portie and i took a 2 hour nap. then we went to the park to play and feed the ducks. then we went to coldstone for dessert. i got my usual cheesecake ice cream with raspberries. yum! after, we spent time at gma and gpa kellys and the kellers. it was a full day, but wonderful!

i am amazed at the joys that motherhood brings- and the sorrows, too. i do feel extremely blessed in my life to have these 3 little guys that absolutely adore me and whom i adore. but honestly, i am the mother i am because of my hubby. he completely rocks- in multiple ways! motherhood is difficult at times, but when partnered with a spouse that is so willing to help and take an active role, it makes it so much more enjoyable. i love that ben and i have such a full partnership in raising our children. i love looking at these little boys, seeing them smile, and giggle, and dance, and sing. i can not imagine how my life would be different if these boys were not in my life. i am grateful. happy mother's day!

the duet of jonas and george

what's up

not too much here. the band is down in the basement practicing. all the boys are sleeping. i have been uber cranky today, so i thought i would add some random pics of the boys to make me happy.

gryffie is cute- he lost his sweatshirt at ross park mall this past week, so if you are there and see it, let me know!



ben is very talented at balancing port stuff.



jonas is flat out crazy...



port is beginning to understand this whole "sitting up" thing. my baby is lazy...or just so voluptuous that he has a difficult time holding all of himself up. you decide.



and as way of a small announcement, care and steve had their baby. grayson michael gardner was born on tuesday morning, weighing in at 7 pounds 15 oz. i spent a couple hours with care, steve, and little grayson tuesday. he is absolutely wonderful! congrats to care, steve, and lochlan!

rachel's shower

i know this could be confusing, but this is a shower for rachel clark. i do shower daily though, just so you know. this past friday we went over to leslie's house for rach's wedding shower. rach tried on her dress for us- i won't post a picture of that as then it would be bad luck if colin sees it... anyway, she also tried on her sexxxxy lingerie. ow, ow! the food was delicious, and the company even better! here are some pictures! i can't wait to join colin and rachel in all the celebration june 5-7!

100 posts and 13 miles

wow, today was quite the day. first, this is my 100th post on our blog. well, i think ben did make 1 post, so technically it is my 99th, but still we know have 100 posts on our blog! i am proud of myself for being so diligent.

today was the pittsburgh marathon. it was the first time in 6 years that the marathon has come back to pittsburgh. ben of course wanted to participate. he has been in numerous 5ks and even a mini-triathalon, but this was his first marathon. my day was lovely. ben woke up at 6:00 am and headed down to the strip. the boys slept in until 8:30 am. woo hoo, and port didn't wake up until 10:30 am!!! ben completed the half-marathon! i am SO proud of him. (and gosh, you have to know i am proud because i used caps!) here is a picture of my awesome man with his shirt and medal.

after ben came home, we headed over to gma and gpa kelly's for lunch. delicious. this evening we had many of our friends over for a bbq. it was quite fun. there was only 1 bloody nose- poor lochlan. thanks everyone for coming over. we used our new grill and picnic table. ben bought quite a fancy grill cover. and in the spirit of pittsburgh and the marathon, i thought i would include a picture.

the rex and shootz

here are a bunch of photos of argyll's revenge playing at the rex last friday and shootz this past wednesday. the rex was a benefit concert for the lymphoma and leukemia society. the boys were awesome! then, at shootz, the band had their first gig in which they were headliners- and got some money! woo-hoo! 55 people came and the band sold all of their cds as well. (side note, they have 2 cds, each with 6 songs each, and sell for $5 a piece. if you are interested, let me know.) anyway, we had so much fun at both the rex and shootz. here is a video clip of "third floor window," played live at the rex. if you can, please join us on friday may 29th at the bloomfield bridge tavern. the show starts at 8:30- 2 bands will be opening and then the boys will take the stage. cost is $5 to get in the door and have your ears did- you won't regret it!

wii like to box

the boys love playing the wii, and i think it is hilarious to see them fight one another- in boxing. the fighting in real life, i do not like, but this kind, i can handle. ahh... it will be nice when jomi is off to kindergarten so they will be separated a bit more from one another. although, i have a feeling they will miss each other. sorry, i'm being a bit tangential. here's the video. oh, and my favorite line- "mommy, i knocked gryffie out again." ben replies, "momma will be so proud."

fun in the sun

last weekend was so beautiful. our weekend was spent doing some home repairs outside. ben worked diligently to fix our rock wall that had toppled over and i cleaned up a whole lot of pine needles. that was the not so fun stuff. however, we bought the boys a sprinkler and let them play outside. they were out for a couple hours. george even decided to join in the fun. here are some pictures of our sprinkler fun.

could life be better?

i don't think it is possible. i am here at home, laying on the couch, watching the thursday night line up on nbc (30 rock currently), drinking lemonade and eating godiva truffles. and all three children are sleeping. hooray. life is good...

more b-day fun

sunday we had a small celebration at the kellers for jomi's b-day. sadie and dustin were not there as they were still on their honeymoon, however, kate joined us. hooray for kate! she puts up with chris and now the rest of our family, too.