Finally, Christmas 2008!  We had a wonderful time.  The boys were excited to start the day with new stockings from Santa that he himself placed in their rooms, and then to find that he enjoyed the cookies!  He was also kind enough to leave a thank you note, and reminding the boys to take care of their Mommy that day, that she would probably be pretty tired.  He is so considerate!

The boys got some great things, Michael has been wanting a "T-Rex Rampage", which Santa remembered.  He also got a new robe, some jackets, puzzle, new V-smile game, and some special pins from Disney World courtesy of Mom.  

Nathan got some new games for his Nintendo, puzzle, bathrobe, superman t-shirt, and also got some special pins from Disney.  

I recieved some awesome "Aquaglobes" from Nathan.  They are these beautiful stained glass bulbs that you fill up with water and stick in your plants.  I have always wanted some!  I am always too lazy to water my plant.  Now I can get another one, as I have two globes!  Michael got me a cute pillow that says "Our Home Sweet Home", as well as making me a cute snowman in school.  

Tony and his girls came over in the afternoon, and we had lots of great food.  The girls got a Wii for Christmas, so I bough them the Guitar Hero for it.  Needless to say, they were pretty siked about it.  The boys got some great toys that you build from Tony, and an electronic dartboard.  I made a nice photo book for Tony of our past trip this summer to Disney World, and got him some tickets to a show downtown.  He bought me some beautiful pearls, along with a cozy down bathrobe and slippers.  We had a great time, and stuffed ourselves silly while the kids all competed with the Guitar Hero in the living room!

Last night all of us went up to the Christmas Ranch.  It is a 5 acre ranch a local dentist owns not far from here.  He goes crazy with his lights every year, and takes donations for the Ronald McDonald House.  You can see their website at thechristmasranch.com.  

Merry Christmas to everyone, we hope you have a safe New Years!  We wish you happiness, health and good fortune in 2009!

Love, Christine, Nathan and Michael

Michael was VIP!

Michael was VIP for the week in his class!  He and  I sat down, and made a posterboard that talked all about his favorite things, his family, etc.  We decorated it with glue and pictures.  It was a fun little project.  He got up in front of the class and talked about his family, and all his favorite activities.  The last day of the week, his brother and I came in with some treats for everyone, as well as a craft project.  (I don't think the teacher was pleased with my project-24 kids, lots of messy glue, glitter, you do the math).   We had fun just the same.  They all sang a VIP song to him, and he got to pick out a prize at the end.  It was a great time, and my little helper, Nathan was the best.  He has really matured a lot lately, and enjoys having responsibilites.  

Christine

A lesson in giving...

Lately we (the boys and I) have been discussing over dinner what we're thankful for.  We are so blessed to have our health, a warm roof over our head, nice toys, a job, etc.  I am thankful for my loved ones, and that my boys are happy and healthy.  The paper came out with the annual wish list, showing many people less fortunate than us.  I talked it over with the boys, and we decided we wanted to help one of the families.  We decided to help a little boy named Idrise, who lives with his Grandmother.  He is battling sickle cell anemia, and recently lost his Father to the disease.  His Mother is dying of thyroid cancer.   I was really proud of the boys.  Michael needed a little convincing when I told him we were going to make some cards for Idrise, and send him some money.  I could see the little wheels turning around in his head for a minute, but he finally saw the light!  The boys sat down, and made some nice pictures for Idrise, and I wrote him a little card as well.  They were very proud of themselves in the end, and it was a nice little lesson in giving.  

I'm not perfect.  I've spent a lot of time on myself over the past years, I've spoiled myself as well as my boys.  But I hope I can at least raise two young men who know they were lucky, loved, and know the meaning of giving, and gratitude.  

To our friends and family; thank you for your support over the years.  We are thankful to have you in our hearts and in our lives.  

Merry Christmas,

Christine, Nathan, and Michael

Gigi 2008

Gigi (short for Great-Grandmother) came to town!  We got to spend some quality time with her while she was here.  She is my Grandmother (boys Great-Grandmother), and she lives in Arizona.  Before I had kids, we used to get together about once a year for a trip together.  We went on some great cruises!  She is very dear to me, and I am grateful to have her in my life.  The boys love it when she comes to town!  We had beautiful weather the whole time she was here, and got hte chance to go out to lunch, take in some parks with Michael, and do a little shopping!

Pumpkinfest!

Fall is here!  My favorite time of the year.  We enjoyed this beautiful weather today by going to one of our local neighborhoods and volunteering at their Pumpkinfest.  I have never been so impressed with my older one, Nathan.  We (my boyfriend and myself) put him in charge of a kids booth.  He started off just being responsible for restocking the prizes into little cubbies after kids redeemed their ticket and claimed their prize.  Soon after that, he was steering people towards our booth ("come on up!  One ticket, open a barn door and get a prize!  One ticket!").  Then he took over taking the tickets, telling kids how to do it, and restocking the little cubbies after a prize was taken.  I have never seen him so focused, so excited, and multitasking like he did.  He had lines of people, and was moving them through faster than you could imagine!  I was so impressed.  It was so great to see my little guy get so excited about something, and he was so proud of himself!  What a great confidence booster!  Then he walked around and handed out glowsticks to kids, along with whistles.  My little guy helped out quite a bit too, he doesn't tend to last as long, but he did pretty darn good for a 5 year old!  They had such a great time, and can't wait to host another booth.  My boyfriend, Tony helped organize this Pumpkinfest for his town, and did a great job.  They had great food, music, haunted hayrides, and all sorts of games, as well as pumpkins and mums for sale.  It was a great evening!

My Baby is off to school!

Well, my youngest is off to school!  He started his first day of kindergarden today.  He was soooo excited.  He got to wear his new Buzz Lightyear backpack.  He practically raced out to the bus.  His Daddy came and also wished him off.  We got lots of pictures!  Mom was pretty emotional when the bus rode away.  :)  He proudly told me he is going to make 12 new friends, and he wants to learn to color!  

Disney, 2008

We are back!  We arrived back at 2am (yes, I said 2am) this morning from Disney World.  Our flight got delayed.  Anywho, the boys slept most of the trip home, but we were still exhausted this morning.  Poor Nathan had to get up early to go to his first day of school today.  

We spent the last week in Disney World.  We went to the Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, and Disney studios.  All were out of this world.  We also got to visit with hurricane Fay, who was downgraded (thankfully) to a tropical storm by the time we visited, but gave us a lot of windy rain none the less!  It made for an eventful trip.  We rode just about everything, I think.  Nathan sat out a lot of rides (he's not much of a daredevil).  Michael, my younger one, rode the "Tower of Terror", where they drop you 13 floors in an elevator.  He also was in the front on Space Mountain, the indoor/in the dark roller coaster (he wanted to ride that one again).  He also rode on Mount Everest.  That's my wild child!  Nathan overcame some fears by the end of the week and tried some new things, for which I was very proud of him.  We had a great time, and plan to go back next year, and spend some more time.  We didn't plan any time for relaxing by the pool on this trip.  The boys and I even stayed late at the Magic Kingdom one night, until 1am! 
Michael got to dance in a parade with his hero Woody, and even got his autograph. Nathan bought a Goofy hat which he proudly displayed all week, and got noticed wherever he went!

Nathans first tooth!

Nathan finally lost his first tooth, at the ripe old age of 7 1/2!  He got a whole $5 for it!  He was even kind enough to leave the tooth fairy a penny.  He is saving his money for our trip.  We leave next week for Disneyworld.  We have been doing a lot of last minute running around, laundry, cleaning, packing etc.  The day after we get back they start school.  I figured it was a great way to end the summer!

Kings Island 2008

The boys and I have gotten a lot of Kings Island time in this summer!  We absolutely love to go up there.  When it's really hot we head on over to the waterpark.  It feels so good to jump on into that wavepool.  They have a really nice kids area that I have a hard time getting the boys out of.   We have so many favorite things over there, from the train, to the dippin dots (a kind of ice cream-you've got to try it), to the frozen lemonade.  Sometimes we head on back in the evening to see the fireworks that they shoot off every night.  I think we'll probably be having some season passes for many years to come!  As you can see from the second pic, Michael is very good with the map to let us know where we need to go... :)

Michael goes to art camp!

Michael got to go to his first summer camp.  It was a week long art camp, where they learned how to draw all sorts of animals.  The last day they got some cute white hats that they got to paint or color anyway they wanted.  He had a ball.  Myself or Mom would drop him off, and he would take off running for the classroom.   They both had such a great summer in their camps.  They are the light of my life, and bring new joy to me every day.  They start school in about a month, and we'll take our Disney trip before they go back.  Nathan will be going into the second grade, and Michael will start Kindergarden.  I know Michael will have a ball in school!

Extreme Makeover, Home Edition comes to town!

Extreme Makeover Home Edition came to our town!  I dragged the boys over there to witness the great event!  It was the first time Michael got to ride a schoolbus, he was really siked about that.  You had to park a ways away, and take a shuttle over.  It was hotter than blazes that day, we made sure we took plenty of water and an umbrella for shade.  We got to see a bunch of fancy RV's where the crew stays, and the makings of it.  They made the house for a family with 3 children.  The boy has a chronic digestive disease, and the two girls both are dependent on wheelchairs d/t a spinal disease.  They say it will be aired in October.  Stay tuned and watch for the Akers family!

Our old neighbor came to town...

Mr. Taylor, our neighbor from our old neighborhood came to town and we went out to dinner.  He and his family recently moved to Switzerland for a few years for a job assignment.  They have a little guy that the boys really miss.  We still keep in touch, and can't wait for them to move back.  The boys love Mr. Taylor, and look at him like just another big kid (If the shoe fits...)!  

Nathan had golf camp!

Nathan just finished a week at golf camp.  He had a great time, and hopefully he'll be the next Tiger and buy his favorite Mom a nice, comfortable lifestyle when he gets older.  (We can only dream!)  Anywho, he had a lot of fun, and made a lot of new friends.  I'm thinking of signing him up in some more golf camps.  At the end of the camp, they all got a t-shirt, and all the coaches signed it.  He thought that was pretty cool!  Michael and I came on his last day and got to watch the little pro in action!   He is in the back row of the group photo, far right with the navy blue baseball cap.

We celebrated our 4th of July!  Nathan marched in the local parade with his boy scout troop, and passed out candy.  I know I'm partial, but he really was the cutest scout there!  I even got to sneak in a kiss-I don't know if that embarrassed him or not :)  I got in some big coaster time at Kings Island, while the boys spent time with their Dad that day.  It sprinkled off and on most of the day, but it was worth it!  I also saw a tightrope walker cross International Street at Kings Island.  That was exciting.  He broke a world record that day!

Our new house...

We moved into our new house last May.  We are just around the corner from our old one, and a short walk from the park.  We have a nice fenced in backyard with a swingset.  On any given day that is where you will find Michael.  Nathan didn't even have to change school buses!  

New Years, 2008

The boys celebrated our last New Years in our old house.  They were so excited!  I made them hot chocolate, and settled them in the chairs on the back deck for some fireworks.  The weather didn't cooperate, however.  The wind kept blowing out our fireworks before they had a chance to blow!  We didn't let that spoil our fun, though.  We stayed up late and played games.  They still had a great time!

Halloween, 2007

Last Halloween, I invited the entire playgroup over for a party!  I dressed up as a witch, and got out the chocolate fountain.  The fountain is always a huge hit with all the kids.  It proved to be a mess, but it was worth it!  The kids loved getting all dressed up for the event.  Michael was batman, and Nathan was spiderman.  

Trip to see Grandmother....

Last September, I flew out to see my beloved Grandmother in Arizona.  I had not been out to her house for quite some time, so it was very special.  We had a lot of good food, and did a little ghosthunting in her town while we were at it.   We had a wonderful time, and I'm so thankful I was able to fly out there to spend time with her.  

Gatlinburg, spring break 2008

The boys and myself took our first vacation together by ourselves.  I took them to Gatlinburg, Tennessee on spring break.  We had lots of good food, went to some fun shows, had some good ice cream.  The boys had an awesome time.  We had the most beautiful weather, we had the top down the whole time on the beetle!  We also got to go to an indoor waterpark.  It was a special trip for us.  We plan to go to Disneyworld this August.  The boys are really looking forward to it!

Welcome to the Hassert family blog...

I am finally trying to move into the modern world!  The boys and I are doing great, settling into our new house.  We moved around the corner from our old one, downsizing by half.  We have a beautiful little 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home, with a nice little fenced in backyard.  They even have their own little playset.  They have made a new friend in Zachary next door, who is younger, but they love teaching him new things.  (I don't know if that's good or bad).