OSU vs. USC

Ahhh! OSU vs. USC, perhaps the biggest game of the season with Michigan coming in a close second. The mood is somber in Columbus Ohio today, following the comeback of USC last night to overcome our Buckeyes. Our Buckeyes played well in front of a National audience and hats off to our defense! We just ran out of time last night. Today I think the fans can hold their heads high, as it was a great game last night.

We "tailgated" again at our house and had a great time! I think I'm becoming a picture fanatic, I'm always taking pictures! I think my family is getting tired of it!? Here were the festivities:

Mom getting drinks for the kids.

Again with the blurry pictures, it's
driving me nuts! It tends to happen more
when others are shooting with my camera
and don't know its quirks.

Braden was an excellent fan last night.
He hung out, ate, then went right to bed.
Even with all the noise he slept right through it! And I am very happy
to say he slept through the night last night. Two nights in a row, woohoo!

Chad hanging out before he went up to campus.

Uncle Tony and Mason playing.

Colt in his Penn State jammies!

Classic Aaron with a thumbs up.

He and Clair stopped by on their way to another

party. Good to see you guys again this week!

And the card game...

Keith & I taking pictures!

Love you babe! Another successful tailgate

under our belt.

1st Day of Pre-School

Yesterday was Mason's first day of Pre-School! He woke up in a very good mood and was ready to go! Keith and I took him and got him settled in his classroom. He hugged us goodbye and it didn't even phase him. I guess this is better than him hanging on my leg crying for me not to leave! I surprised myself and DIDN'T CRY! I did tear up when he was walking up the steps with his backpack on. Then when I picked him up ... the class was walking from the school across the parking lot back to the parish where their classroom is and I started tearing up then ... seeing him in "school mode." The teacher said he had fun and was very good ... sigh of relief! He told me he played trains, they read a monkey book and that their snack was goldfish and water. I'm happy to report he's ready to go back tomorrow!

Ready to go!

Trying to get a picture of us before we left!
And Mason of course with his goofy faces.

He found the trains!

This is how Braden spent his time while
Big Brother was away ... taking a QUIET nap!

Home from school waiting on Mommy

to fix lunch.

Later that evening my friends AnnMarie & Karen came over to visit and drop off my Birthday gift. Thanks girls for coming over after a long day at the office! And THANK YOU to them and Vanessa for my gift! It will be put to good use!

Mason has a new girlfriend ... and her name is AnnMarie!
He had fun taking MULTIPLE pictures with her.

And they made silly faces too!

Karen loving on Braden.

More love from AnnMarie!

Braden was zonked after the girls left, he ate, and his

brother went to bed!

O-H-I-O

Today was like Christmas Day in Columbus, OH. It was the OSU season opener vs. Navy. Keith and I held a "tailgate" party for the game and to celebrate my birthday. It was so fun having everyone over and the food was delicious ... yummy snack food and birthday cake. Can't wait 'til next week ~ USC and we'll do it again!

My birthday gift from Keith ~ 7 piece patio set.

We don't have a patio, but we do have a back porch.

We've been getting our house ready for fall.

This is our side door.

Lots of mums!

Buckeye Birthday Cake = YUM!

Chocolate Cake w/Chocolate-Peanut Butter Icing ...

Heavenly.

Colton showed up wearing a Penn State jersey,

(my brother is a Penn State fan). I put Mason's

jersey from last year on him ... he he he!

Go Bucks Colton!

Aaron & Clair

The guest of honor was "Lou Seal!"

Lou Seal is the mascot for the Columbus Clippers,

and also happens to be my cousin :)

Mason, Keith, and Allan (my other cousin).

Aww, me and my hubby.

Go Bucks Braden!

So blurry? Everyone's favorite ... Aunt Tee Tee!

Austin, Kaitlyn, Mason

The Ohio State jersey didn't last after

my brother arrived.

Aww, Me and Nikki.

Nikki and her husband Kevin.

Kevin just had shoulder surgery

3 days ago :(

There's always a Texas Holdem game.

Dad teaching Kaitlyn how to play poker ... Nice.

Mom wanted a picture of the 3 grandsons.

This is as good as it gets!

Pre-School Open House

This evening I attended Mason's Pre-School Open House. He will go two mornings a week at Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) Pre-School. OLPH is a Catholic School which houses grades K-8. However, they just started a Pre-School program this year. The best part is that our street dead ends into the School/Church. When the weather is nice we can walk ... right to the end of our street! Nice!

So we walked up to the school this evening. Let's start with the fact that Mason went down for a late nap this afternoon because I had a doctor's appointment. He only slept for about 45-50 minutes and I had to wake him up to get ready to go. This was the unfortunate start of the evening. He didn't want to wake up and was SUPER crabby, crying, the whole nine yards. Great! We finally get out the door and are walking to the school. Well, we have to walk past the school playground before we get there. Mason knows this playground quite well, we frequent it several times per week! So he wanted to go play. I explain to him we can play after the Open House ... more crying. Then he doesn't want to go in the school. The school he's been talking about for months! I get him into the classroom and he sees all the toys and activities. Now he's in Heaven! They have dinosaurs, Thomas the Train, and all sorts of fun stuff to do. Well, needless to say, when it was time to leave he didn't want to go. He didn't even want to go to the playground now, he wanted to "stay at school and play." Now he's crying once again as everyone is staring. Seriously! Embarassing!

After we left he settled down and has been a gem since we got home. Though he does have his moments, I know he is super excited to go to Pre-School and I think lack of a good nap played a strong role in this afternoon's melt downs.

Afternoon At The Playground

Yesterday we took advantage of the beautiful weather and the fact that Colton was over and all went to a playground! This weather has been AWESOME! Thank you Mother Nature. So it was nice to be outside and let the kids wear themselves out. After the playground we also took a long walk.

Braden has enjoyed wearing the new outfits that Aunt Sheila sent him for the past two days. It has been cooler and they fit now! Here are some pics Aunt Sheila!

Chad & I played too!

Chad took this picture. I'm laughing ... he's

cracking me up as usual!