The Cullen Crew

NofD

2011-09-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

Night of Destruction!

It's been a long time...

2009-08-30T20:01:00.001-07:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated this blog. Life just happened then I felt intimidated that I hadn't written anything for a few months but I'm just going to get over it.

I last blogged in Nov. Well, in Dec I quit my part-time job as a graphic designer to be a stay-at-home mom full time. Thomas and I were able to take a wonderful trip to Hawaii as well, returning Christmas Eve. My parents drove up from warm TX to blizzard MI and watched my kids for the whole week. We went with my sister, Marie and her hubby, Dennis. They had both been there before so they showed up the ropes. We did some amazing snorkeling, swimming, and exploring the Big Island. One of our favorite parts was Waimea Bay, where the undertow was extremely strong. And we stood by the king (I think) statue on Waikiki Beach and called my sister in MI who was at my house with the kids and we looked into the camera and she could see us on the computer. That was cool, too! There is a lot more about Hawaii but seeing as how I've got about 8 more months to write about I won't go on and on.

Jan. seemed like one big vacation to me. I was adjusting to staying at home and not having to think about going to work two days a week. I had lots of play date and we had lots of snow.

Feb. mmmmmm....I can't really remember much about it. I know I got more use to being at home.

Mar. ummm...same a Feb...lol but I had the goal to study up about homeschooling. So I know I did lots of "interviews" with people who were homeschooled and mothers who homeschool (hs) or did hs. We also took a trip to Ohio and Great Wolf Lodge. The kids absolutely loved it. We stayed two nights and of course I packed all the important things but I forgot the camera. Shoot, next time! =)

April - it just seemed to not want to warm up this year. It was still cool and we prepared to get ready for Tulip Time.

May - Tulip Time was a huge success. The "Queen" of the festival showed up in grand style. The "Queen" is the tulip! In fact they were so nice this year that after the festivities were over there were still plenty around. Kristen, my sister, and I took my kids to get picture with the tulip and we didn't have to fight any crowds, they had all gone home! My parents came back up right before Memorial weekend and stayed with us off and on for about a month. They stayed with my sister, Emma, for most of the time though.

June - This brings us to Melia's birthday month. She turned 3 on the 12th. Tom took the day off and we took the Jeep up to Silver Lake and rode the dunes. We really had a great time doing this. We also spent some time at the beach up there. Elijah also took two weeks of swimming lessons. He now doggie paddles with a life jacket!

July - The weather finally warmed up mid-July and Lake MI somewhat warmed up. We enjoyed going to the beach almost everyday starting mid-July. We took a day trip to Ludington at the end of July and froze trying to tube down the river. When we returned home, right away we noticed someone drove through our yard and took out one of our matching (15ft) lilac trees. We were grateful we weren't home but later learned that the neighbors all came out and had a "party" to watch all the excitement. Basically a 17yr old boy, who had two friends in his mom's vw bug, took the corner two fast, he was inexperienced and plowed through the yard across our driveway and our lilac stopped them. Our neighbor explained he heard the tires squeal and by the time he looked out his windows, the car was in our bush. He said the boys got out and tried to get the car out and leave, however one tire was blown and the car was hung up on the branches. So the police, the parents and a wrecker all hung out in our yard for a while straighten it all out. The mother of the driver had her son come back and take out the rest of the branches and plan a new lilac for us. That was some excitement for July!

August - YEAH AUGUST! Thomas and I celebrated our 8th anniversary!

An Email from Kristen

2008-11-14T16:57:00.000-08:00

Hey Tom and Jennifer
You have one funny kid. Elijah was asking me why I didn't have any kids. I told him I don't have any right now but someday I will. Then I went into how I would have to have a baby in my belly like Mrs. Shanna and that would be my kid. Then your Elijah said I had a big belly. Then I explained that no the only things that are in my belly right now is a stomach, intestines, bladder, and kidney. Elijah said yes you have a kid in there. I was like no. Then he said "but you said you have kidneys." The things kids say.

Kristen

Ouch!

2008-10-08T08:26:00.001-07:00

Everyone that knows our daughter, knows she is a mover. She just doesn't stop. So today I took the kids to a story time that we had not been to before. So Melia is moving all over the place and not sitting for the story and then at one point she fell backwards and hit her head. I think "Ok, she does this all the time. She'll be ok." I picked her up and she started crying and I notice blood coming out of her mouth. I think "Ok, this is normal. She bites her lip almost every week." I take her to the bathroom and notice it is bleeding really bad. There was blood getting on her shirt and it looked bruised on her lip on the outside. So I pull back her lip and realize she busted it pretty good and the bleeding was not stopping. Thank goodness our friend Kim from church (who is a nurse) was also at story time. I stepped out of the bathroom and ask her to help. She follows me to the bathroom and helps me stop the bleeding. She said it would be ok. But I was almost thinking that I would have to take her in and get stitches. Kim said they wouldn't do anything unless it wouldn't stop bleeding and she would be ok. Just give her ice or popsicles to suck on. I am so grateful for friends in times like this. Melia seems fine and she really liked her popsicle. Here are some pictures of the injury. I really don't like looking at it. Ouch!

No, Daddy Drive!

2008-10-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

Melia is so funny about when we go places with dad. Once I drove and she freaked out. So now when we go as a family she always says "Daddy drive." Now we tease her and tell her mommy is driving and she says "No, Daddy drive" if we let it go to far she will start crying that she wants daddy to drive. It is to funny. So the other day we were at the family fun place (where Melia go to go with me in the go carts!) and I just happened to have the camera in car so we tired to record her actions. However we were not thinking that the candy would preoccupy her and she wouldn't get so upset. This video is still funny. I'll have to try again when she doesn't have anything to occupy herself.

282

2008-10-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

Elijah did it! In Saugatuck there is a place called Mt Baldy. It has 282 step to the top and Elijah climbed all of them!

He did stop once because dad found a cool spider. Check it out.

At the top he sits proudly.

At the top Melia and Elijah ran around. I baby wore Melia up the steps she only made it up about 50 then she wanted to be carried.

At the top the view was beautiful. We could see the fall colors starting.

Peek-A-Boo

2008-10-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

Melia playing peek-a-boo!

On the roof top!

2008-10-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

My sister Kristen and I were hanging out and I asked her to help me while I go up on the roof and clean the gutters. I don't mind the height and anyone that really knows Tom knows he does not like heights.

Before

After

Here is a different angle of our firepit area.

Kristen checking on the kids.

I took these while I was on the roof and the kids were on the ground. What a fun perspective!

Making Mei Tai - for babywearing

2008-10-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

So my sister, Kristen and I spend 3 days making mei tai's for some friends. We made a total of 5. I donated one to the local chapter of the Right to Life office for their annual auction.

Here Kristen is showing off the one we made for her with Melia in it. And Elijah wanted to be in the photo!

These are just some of the different fabrics we used.

I had fun making them and more enjoyment out of seeing our friends wear their babies!

Birthday

2008-08-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

Did I mention Tom will be celebrating his 33rd birthday this Friday, Aug 29? Also, my Dad is celebrating his 67th birthday on Saturday, Aug 30!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUYS!!!

Biking

2008-08-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

So before we went camping we bought Elijah a bike. It has a 16" wheel and was $14 at a garage sale!!! We took it camping with us and he really enjoyed riding it all around the campground and to the bathrooms.

Well, tonight when Tom came home from work we decided to take a nice bike ride. We have a seat on the back of Tom's bike to put Melia in and we let Elijah ride his new bike. So off we set down the bike path. Tom & Melia, Elijah then me. Elijah wanted to go all the way to the beach and I was thinking that was not a great idea but Dad said that was ok. So we continued on and Elijah had no problem making it all the way! I couldn't believe it. My little boy can ride his bike all the way to the beach (with training wheels!). Once there we pushed the kids on the swings then walked down the pier. Being at the end makes me a little nervous with Melia. She is little miss independent and wants to walk around with out holding anyones hand, but she doesn't always watch what she is doing and fall sometimes. Anyway, we headed home on the bikes and only had one time where Elijah had a hard time - there is a small part of the bike path that you have to go next to the road and he did not like that. But we managed through that and he biked the whole way home. I was so proud of him. I think that is a total of about 3-4 miles! I do have pictures I'll post later of him on his bike.

So this biking thing has me thinking... you can learn so much as a kid learning to ride a bike. As a parent you have to teach your child to really be aware of their surroundings and to pay attention to where they are. They need to think outside themselves. Good listening skills are a must. I talked with Elijah and explained that he has to listen to Mommy and Daddy. If we say STOP he has to stop right away. It is a little intense to think he could get hurt if I don't teach him all the rules of riding - like stopping when you get to a cross road and checking for cars. So what are your thoughts on helping children learning to ride bikes? You are welcome to leave comments!

Camping

2008-08-25T18:42:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went camping with my sister, Kristen and her hubby Aron in Ludington. Camping went ok - it is a lot of work with two small kids. Next time I think we will go longer than two nights. The first night was awful. The kids were up a total of five times. I had to take Melia potty in the woods twice. Not fun. The second night they were a lot better but Melia ended up in bed with us at 4am until Elijah woke us all up at 7:10. Saturday morning it rained until about 1pm then it turned out to be a beautiful weekend. We went to AJ's Family Fun Center and played video games. The kids and I do mean all of us really enjoyed playing. Kris and I played each other in air hockey [I think I won both times, not that that matters =)].

But Ludington was amazing again. We tubed down the whole Sable River. We started at the dam and went all the way to Lake MI. The kids did great. At the end there was a lot of shallow water less than ankle deep and a lot of little fish swimming around. Elijah wanted us to catch them so Tom and I tried and tried. Just when we were about to give up, I quickly scooped my hands down around a group of the fish and picked up the sand and water and caught one! Then Aron tried my way and he caught one. Tom never figured it out but I caught another one too and let Eman hold it. He thought that was cool. Pictures to come!

Insect Fun!

2008-07-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

My friend, Shanna, was over the other day and she found an inch worm hanging from our garage door. Even though it was working hard to climb up, she decide to take it down off the string and see it walk. They are very interesting insects. Have you ever seen one up close? It was amazing watching it walk. It had six legs up front by its head and four legs in the back. The kids loved to check it out. Later in the day when Dad came home from work, Elijah found the worm in virtually the same place we left it. I am not sure if it was tired and took a long break or that they just don't get far fast.

Raspberries

2008-07-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

My sister, Kristen, the kids and I went raspberry picking. We made fresh jam the same day. Yum it is so good! The kids like picking.

Elijah showing off what he has picked (and stolen from my pint!).

We did have to watch Melia - she liked to pick then dump! Not good. So she mostly played around - like any two year old does!

Check this out! If you are bored.

2008-07-20T19:19:00.000-07:00

As a 1930s wife, I am
Superior

Take the test!

Mud Running

2008-07-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

On a warm Sunday afternoon we headed south to watch mud running. I know this is a VERY redneck thing to do but Elijah is really into cars and monster trucks and we thought he would enjoy it. It was a good time. We met my sister Marie, her hubby Dennis and my D-O-R-K, oopse I mean SAM! The actually make the trophies for the event! (You can check out crowntrophy.com if you would like to see what they do for a living - they own the store in Kalamazoo!)

The best part of this video is the last couple of minutes!

Blueberries

2008-07-18T18:55:00.000-07:00

Well, it is blueberry season in Michigan and we love cheap entertainment. It is only $1.35 a lb to pick yourself so we have gone out several time. What fun!

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

Aunt Kristen helped the kids make 4th of July hats! How fun!

Family Fun

2008-06-20T19:39:00.000-07:00

Today after work, Tom and I took the kids to Craig's Cruisers. Elijah is finally old enough to ride the go-carts. Oh boy did he ever have fun! Tom took him once and then we "played" mini-golf and fed the fish in the pond. The I took him on the go-cart. He absolutely love it. Poor Melia thought she could go but she has to wait until next year. She was quite bummed. Sorry no pictures. I did not want to bring my camera and have to keep track of it the whole time. Just picture Elijah smiling!

Jennifer

If you have a blog - you have to check this out...

2008-06-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

You can totally change what it looks like. It is easy too! Enjoy! Jennifer

http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com/index.php

6 weeks

2008-06-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

Oh my its been six weeks since I last updated. I don't know where to start.

May
Tulip Time comes around once a year for those who live in Holland. We love it. The kids had their costumes I borrowed from a friend and this year I made my own. For adults they cost about $200 to buy the stuff and have it made but I spent about $60 on the material and made it myself! It has to pass inspection before you are allowed to wear it on the street to dance. I only had a few tucks to take in and I was good to go! It was a challenge to make and later I learned it is the hardest of all the costumes to make! Anyway, the week was busy. My sister Kristen and I danced a total of 6 times. In the evenings along the main street we joined over 600 other people dancing our "Dutch Dance".

The following week I went on vacation with my friend and combined all four of our kids. We drove 7-8 hrs away to Pittsburgh to the Children's Festival. We attended 3 shows and participated in some of the free stuff. The kids got to dig through the dirt and identify bugs, they played marbles, and enjoyed the petting zoo. We stayed with my friends aunt for three nights and spent one night in a hotel. Over all the trip went well. We had lots of fun - but with 2 three year olds, a 2 year old and a one year old it was lots of work too.

My parents made it up from Texas the following week. They are still up here until the end of June. I actually worked a full week of work last week which I commend all full time working moms. It was really hard but with my parents staying here and cleaning it was nice to come home to a clean kitchen!

Now I need to prepare for my babies second birthday. It is coming right up this Thursday. I'll post pictures soon.

Jennifer

Franky the Turtle

2008-04-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

Oh what fun having children. Elijah and I were over at our next door neighbors and walking back, I was watching where I was going and almost stepped on a baby turtle. I couldn't believe it. I called to my neighbor and Elijah. My neighbor picked it up for us and I carried it home. We put it in a cool whip container and have been having a Science lesson for the past two days. I put in a few twigs, grass and some water. They eat worms so dad and Elijah went out back and found a small worm and put it in with Franky. I told Elijah from the beginning that we could only keep him for a couple of days then we would have to release him. He seems ok with that. So I have been taking lots of photos so we can remember back to when we had Franky the Turtle.

Dad & Elijah checking out Franky

Elijah so proud of our new (temporary) pet!

Franky is so tiny - Tom is holding him in the photo. If I had stepped on him it would not have been good for Franky.

Elijah trying to pick up Franky after Dad set him on my jeans.

Franky enjoyed a little freedom on our new deck today. Tomorrow he goes free!

Days gone by...

2008-04-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

The kids in their car seats.

With the warmer weather now, I find myself going more places with the kids. We go to a couple of storytimes and lots of parks. I officially started "training" for a 5k. I AM NOT A RUNNER - however I would like to complete a 5k jogging this year. Right now I am running about .5 a mile - I know I have a long way to go. When Thomas gets home from work I usually have the kids ready and we go to some park where the kids can play and we take turns jogging. The kids love it because we are outdoors. In the picture below Melia is on a big swing - one of her first times. Of course I watch her closely and she only swings a little. I am also constantly reminding her to "hold on".

These kids are such a blessing. Four years ago today, we found out we were pregnant with Elijah. What happy memories.

Potty Training...

2008-03-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I have know for several weeks Melia was ready to potty train but we got sick (she had runny poop for several days after) and I did not want to train her until she was better. So, a week ago Monday I officially started training her. She has done so awesome. I am so proud of her. We are officially a diaper free family!!! The first day she went in her pants several times but on the second day no accidents! The third was a little harder as we went to "The Play Place" and the fourth she was at Aunt Kristen's and had a really hard time. I reminded Aunt Kristen to read her books and the fifth day (with Aunt Kristen again) she did great! When we go out she tells me and sometimes she doesn't like to go on the public potties but she will hold it until we get home or until I take her and she really has to go.

I potty trained Elijah the same way. I started with him one week before his second birthday. The trick - I learned this from a friend. You have to make up your mind that you are not going back to diapers (and NO pull-ups). So you just make a total switch and the first three days you stay home and give the toddler lots of drinks. They will go in there underwear but that is the point, they need to feel they are wet and how to control it. Usually by the third day they understand. It is quite a lot of work in the beginning but it is totally worth it.

Not good...

2008-03-29T18:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I did end up getting sick two days after Elijah. Tuesday, I thought we are all doing well so we went grocery shopping. After shopping I was pretty tired (which is unusual for me). I put the kids down for a nap and took one myself. The when I woke up...oh boy. I knew I was sick. I called my sister to see if she could come over to help with the kids but she did not answer. So I called Tom. By this time he has already put in 10 hours so I knew he could leave. He tried to get a hold of his mom but no success. So he left work to come home and help. By the time he got home I was in really bad shape. I could not keep anything down. About 5:30pm I layed down in our room. Then about 20 min later I heard Melia cough and Tom exclaim "Oh boy". She was standing right by the bathroom so he wisked her into the tub clothes and all. I mustered up the energy to check on them. I gave her a quick cleanup bath, Tom cleaned up the mess and I took her back to bed with me. It was another long night. Thank goodness she did ok sleeping with me. But every time she woke up I would think she was going to get sick and put the bucket to her mouth but she would push it away and say "No". Thankfully this only lasted one day but it took about 4 days to feel 100% again. Tom ended up with a different version of it - headache and stomach hurting. It is amazing how we take for granted feeling healthy. "Thank you, Lord, for our over all good health."

My kids...

2008-03-03T19:26:00.001-08:00

We took these pictures Sunday night.

I just thought my kids were being extra cuddly - little did I know...

Elijah and I had a nice talk before he went to bed about not waking up and if he did to stay in bed and go right back to sleep. He fell asleep about 9pm and I went to bed at 9:30pm. At 10pm we heard him crying and I thought hopefully he will go back to sleep. Tom nudged me and said I should go check on him because he sounded like something was wrong. So I got up and opened his door - I was greeted with a horrible smell. I went back and got my glasses and went into his room again. Oh yuck, he had thrown up all over himself and the bed. I called Tom and together we were able to clean up the mess and give Elijah a shower. So I knew it would be a long night. I slept next to him on the couch waiting for his cue (coughing) that he was going to vomit. I'll spare you the rest of the details but we were up and down until 3am. I felt so bad for him. But now it makes sense how cuddly he was the night before. I am grateful that this is only the second time in his short 3 years, he has experienced this. So for now I pray that no one else in the family get sick. (Especially tonight!)

Smelling Feet!

2008-02-17T19:22:00.000-08:00

Elijah wanted to play in Melia's crib with her. This was a great brother-sister moment I caught on tape. Enjoy!

Part of the family.

2008-01-29T19:15:00.000-08:00

We had a nice fire in the woodstove and Maverick was enjoying sleeping by it. Elijah loves "our pet" and cuddled up with him. Of course Melia could not be left out!

Texas

2008-01-29T19:08:00.000-08:00

Here we are in the airport before leaving for Texas. Both Kristen and I wearing a child in the mei tai.

Arriving at Grandma and Grandpa's, we visited with my niece and nephew.

We found some old cars (from when my brothers were little and they are in their forty's!). Elijah had lots of fun playing with them.

Texas

2008-01-29T19:00:00.000-08:00

Grandpa is known for playing with the kids a game called swing-a-ling-a-ling. He sings a song and rocks them back and forth. It is always a hit. Thank you Grandpa!

Here are Elijah and his cousin Zachary, who is just 20 mth older.

Melia is eating lunch with Lindsey, her cousin who is 6-1/2.

We also visited my friend from high school. Her daughter and Melia played outside on the swingset.

Babywearing

2008-01-29T18:31:00.001-08:00

I made a mei tai for Melia to carry around her baby dolls. She loves it and now Elijah wants one too! For anyone who is wondering what a mei tai is check out the website http://www.babywearer.com. I originally found out about babywearing from a group that had meetings at the library. There are all kinds of carriers out there, but most come with a nice price tag. So I borrowed one from the "babywearing library" and for $35 bought enough fabric to make 2 mei tai's. It makes going places so easy, I just put Melia in it on my back and Elijah walks. Melia goes crazy whenever she sees the mei tai and is not happy until I put her in it. It is also nice for when she is tired and I have shopping to do. I can put her in the front and she can sleep. What a sweetie!

Elijah's First "E"

2008-01-12T19:14:00.000-08:00

I was playing with the kids and Elijah's chalk board and I decided to help him draw the letter "E". I tell him "down, over, over, over". He likes that so I helped him by holding his hand. Then I asked him to try it on his own. HE DID IT! We were all so excited. I ran and grabbed the camera and took pictures. I even videoed some of him writing it again and again. We are so proud of him!

Elijah's first "E"

The board after he was done practicing.

Maverick

2008-01-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

Maverick is getting so big so fast! He is doing great on house training. It is only when I am really distracted that he goes inside. He pretty much knows what to do when we take him out. The kids really enjoy him and Melia has had more than one "make-out" session with him. (YUCK!)

Christmas Day!

2008-01-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning, Thomas and I were getting ready so I put both the kids on the counter and gave them one of their new books. What sweeties!

Playing Games

2007-12-26T18:39:00.000-08:00

Uncle Aron started it. He picked up Elijah in a blanket and swung him.

Of course you can't swing one with out the other wanting to have a turn.

We played "Swing-a-ling-a-ling" with the kids and Aunt Kristen and Uncle Aron until we (the adults) were tired. Of course we ALL had our turn. The three of us, Kristen, Aron, and I even lifted Tom off the ground. I was laughing so hard I had little strength. Oh yes, at one point we had Aron and both kids in the blanket off the ground and swinging. What a blast.

Maverick's photos finally

2007-12-26T18:34:00.000-08:00

Well here is our newest family member.

What a cute face. I'll have to say it is going better than I though with house training. And he is doing well not getting up onto the couches.

The kids adore him and we are happy to have him in our family.

Christmas Moments

2007-12-26T18:24:00.000-08:00

Sweet Melia touching an ornament. What a doll.

Elijah and Melia checking out our tree.

Tom cheesing it showing off one of his gifts.

Melia and Aunt Kristen with the gift Melia got from her.

The long awaited surprise gift. A boxer pup! Wow the kids were so surprised and excited. It was a kodak moment.

Maverick

2007-12-22T13:36:00.000-08:00

Today we welcomed Maverick to our family. I'll post pictures once I find the cord that allows me to download them. Until then. Jennifer

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! = )

2007-12-10T04:46:00.001-08:00

Yesterday afternoon we all got dressed in our snowsuits and played in our front yard. Melia LOVED the sled and being pulled around. She looked like the younger boy in "The Christmas Story" that could hardly move when he was all bundled up, he tipped over and couldn't get up. Yeah, well that was Melia. She is so adorable. Elijah loved throwing the snowballs that daddy made and going down the small hill by himself. This is winter fun at its best!

2007-12-01T17:36:00.000-08:00

Elijah loves the tape that Aunt Marie and cousin Sam used for my party, he even fell asleep playing with it!

Our babies. Well, Elijah will be three in 16 DAYS, I guess he is not a baby anymore. Melia will be 18 months in 11 days, she will always be our baby.

Well, the snow is finally coming today and tonight. We already have about one inch so the Cullen's started a fire in the woodstove and cozyed up in the downstairs. We don't have big plans for this weekend. Elijah helped me make cookies and we all enjoyed them with a big glasses of milk!

Party

2007-11-18T20:08:00.001-08:00

Thanks for the boxers Sam!

If you don't know the story you'll have to read my August post about Chicago!

Fall clean up!

2007-10-23T09:58:00.001-07:00

I think these photos say it all. The kids worked hard and love being outside!

Mackinaw Island

2007-10-23T09:47:00.000-07:00

Elijah checking out the small waterfall.

Melia as a butterfly flies right by!
The butterflies were amazing.
This is my ultimate favorite. It makes me laugh!
Elijah is looking at the iguana.

Well, we made it back from the Island. We had a fun short vacation up north with my sister Marie, Dennis and my niece Sam (Aka D-O-R-K). We stayed in a hotel with a small water park and we went to the Island with our bikes. Sam took more photos but I tooks some of the butterfly house.

Chicago

2007-10-23T09:20:00.001-07:00

Well, I know this is a late post but I wanted to share our experience of visiting Chicago with everyone. Our friend's Jeff and Heidi invited us to go with them while Jeff ran the Chicago marathon on Oct. 6. If you watched the news at all that weekend you know how unseasonably hot it was. 45,000 people pre-registered to run but only 35,000 picked up their running pack. Only approx. 24,000 actually crossed the finish line. If you were running in the back of the pack the water stations were out of water by the time you got to them and by the end the ambulances could not keep up with taking people to the hospital. People were being treated right there on the streets with iv's. That part I heard was an unbelievable scene. Anyway, Jeff stopped between the 10 and 11 mile mark. We were waiting at the 13 mile mark for him. He called Heidi from an aide station workers personal cell phone. He did not train to run in the heat and in the end he said he could have finished but did not want come away with not wanting to run a marathon again. We were happy that he stayed safe and stopped when he did. Heidi and Jeff went back to the hotel so Jeff could shower and Tom and I stayed downtown. We heard sirens non-stop the whole time. I'll have to say though that it was an amazing sight watching everyone starting to run. People as far as you can see both directions on the street.

One...two...three strikes your out!
Ok, so now on to what happened to me throughout the day. After Jeff returned to us, Tom and I really wanted to see the finish line. So we made our way. Once there we really could not see anything because of the mass of people. There were kiosk handing out free stuff all over and as we were walking there was a kiosk on my right. Heidi was next to me and I looked over to see what they were giving away right as this lady walked right in front of me. She was elderly and was looking at the kiosk and just stepped right in front of me. She fell down and the people she was with yelled "GRANDMA". She was ok but shook up. I apologized but the lady said it was not my fault. That was really weird. STRIKE ONE.

Now, Jeff and Heidi had returned from the hotel and we were eating at Giordanos. Tom and I walked to use the restroom and he walked into the men's and I started to walk into the women's. Well, there was a male worker walking out of one of the stalls - he just finished cleaning it. And asked me to giving him a minute he was almost done. I initially did not think anything of seeing a guy in the ladies room. Then it hit me - oh that is not right. So I waited out side until he was done. Weirder. STRIKE TWO!

Ok, so later we went shopping and walking into the Hershey's Factory store. I was on the phone with my niece (the D-O-R-K) and there was a guy passing out free samples. So I go to by a candy bar for my niece and I am waiting in line. The rest of the gang waited outside for me. I was bored so I thought it would be funny to ask the guy handing out the candy "So, do you tell the girls you're a 'factory worker'?" Because he works at the Hershey's Factory? He just kind of laughed a little and did not say much. Then like literally two minutes later he said to me "No, I am a student at (he used some initials for some university I had no clue where it is)." Then he paused and said "And actually it's boyfriends not girlfriends". STRIKE THREE - I'M OUT!

Craig's Cruisers is Family Fun!

2007-09-29T19:30:00.000-07:00

We spend our Friday night at Craig's Cruisers playing video games and we watch some go-kart races. Melia loves all the lights and games with buttons. Elijah rode a motorcycle with a mean face. Fun!! Fun!!

Clowning around...

2007-09-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

What funny little noses you have...

11 years gone by...

2007-09-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

Well, 11 years ago Sunday, Tom and I meet for the first time. Wow! I can hardly believe it. How it happened you might ask? Well, here is the shorted version. I was living with my sister Marie and her family and Tom was living with his sister Jody and her family. Jody's son and Marie's children all went to the same private school. One day a few weeks prior I was with Marie waiting for the kids to get out of school and a lady came up and asked if I was one of the "Larkin girls". Long story short...she told me that she had a little brother and that "we would look so cute together!" Now keep in mind I was 18 and this lady looked at least 30ish. I was wondering how "old" is this "little brother"? Turns out he had just turned 21. Anyway, a few weeks past and on a Sunday evening I got a call from Jody and she said "Don't you just want to talk to him?" She put him on the phone and we agreed to meet at the mall. I got there first and sat and waited watch ever guy that was by himself. We had told each other what we were wearing and next thing I know I see Tom walking up through the food court. We introduced ourselves and decided to grab a bit to eat. To this day we have not returned that resturaunt in St. Joe. Well, the rest is history! We just celebrated our 6th Anniversary in August and as you can see from the pic have two little gifts from God!

UGLY BLUE!

2007-09-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

Now if you know us we always say "GO BLUE". But this case it was not a good idea. We choose a blue to paint the basement and thought it would be a little more slate. It was not good. I just spend the past two days painting over it brown and tan. It looks much better. AND...good news we now have the carpet in. We are almost back in business! Yeah!

Every Kid Gets One

2007-09-20T16:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it was bound to happen. Elijah got in a fight and the end result is a black eye. Ok I'm kidding but seriously he was jumping and running around the house and fell. He hit the ottoman just below his eye. Ouch! I am late posting this, it happened Sept 3. He is doing better now.

We are a circus family!

2007-09-16T17:28:00.000-07:00

We loaded up our clown moblie and headed to the circus Friday. I won tickets from Talsma's Furniture! Tom got to see his long lost family...just kidding. Anyway, we had an extra ticket so we invited my niece, Patty, who is attending GVSU to join us. She remembered (I forgot mine) her camera. We got to the Van Andel and were ushered back to an open space where a couple of clowns entertained us. They were quite funny. Long story short they called Tom the "Beast" and me "Bella" (from beauty and the beast). It was so fun watching Melia when the different acts came out, especially the animals. Both of the kids loved the Elephants! Now to explain the pot head photo. Elijah and I were standing watching the clowns (before the actual circus started) and this guy in the pic was getting ready to perform next. He took a liking to Elijah and offered for him to hold the pot on his head but Elijah was not so sure about it. So I stepped up and let him put it on my head and Patty took our pic. It was amazing watching the guy perform. He would throw the pot up in the air and catch it in the crook of his neck. Anyway, the next exciting thing for the Cullen Crew...the first weekend in Oct. Tom and I are going with friends to the Chicago Marathon and my sister and her hubby are watching the kiddies for THREE DAYS!!! J

Chicago Aug 19

2007-08-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

Well, we went to Chicago on probably one of the day with the most rain. My sister and brother-in-law went as well. The thought was to hang out outside and check out Millinium Park. There was also an air and boat show going on. The plane were cool and Daddy spoiled Elijah with some cotton candy. As you can see from the picture - cotton candy, a two-year-old, and rain do not mix well. But Elijah enjoyed it just the same. Our plan B was to visit the Science and Industry Museum. So we drove south and entered the parking garage. Melia was getting fussy so I took her out of the car seat and was holding her while we circled around the parking garage looking for a spot. Well, no sooner than we pulled in to the spot than Melia threw up all over my pants! YUCK (not to mention the smell)!!! SO - this part of Chicago does not have any shops except the gift shop. Well if you remember from an earlier post my niece, the D-O-R-K (aka Sam) was with us and volunteered to sit with Elijah (who fell asleep) and give me her pants so I could see what the gift shop had. Short story - Sam ended up wearing CSI boxers the rest of the day and I wore her capri's. Check out the photo of us with Melia on my back! We did end up in Millinium Park for a short time and let Elijah play in the water. He was so cute and had a blast. In the end we now have a great story to tell about going to Chicago!

For those wondering... our downstairs is still a mess. They repair guy is coming Sept 10. Insurance is covering everything we just have to pay the deductible. But we will be getting a new futon, recliner, carpet, laminate, TV, DVD/VHS player, among other thing.

Oh my at 4am!

2007-08-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

What a day! Tom woke up at 4 am so he could start work at 5. He hear what he thought was rain and after going downstairs realized our whole ceiling had water pouring (and I mean pouring) out of it. He quickly woke me up and he turned off the main water supply and started with phone calls. To make the "Reader Digest" version Service Master came out and fixed us up. The carpet was soaked and the TV, DVD/VCR player, futon, and recliner will probably all need replacment. Thank you God, it did not get to the computers corner. The water soaking into the carpet stopped short of the computer desk. Needless to say I am now standing on straight concrete and we have a dumpster in our driveway. The plumber found the problem - the line to the ice maker had a slice in it (see new copper line in photo one). He ended up replacing the plastic line with a copper one. Just a reminder to the neat freaks out there who like to clean under their refrigerator more than once a year. If you have an ice maker, the line does not hold up well to being moved all the time. Thank goodness that was not our problem when the plumber pulled out our refridgerator from the looks of it, it has been at least 2 years since I cleaned under it. YUCK! I think it will take about 2 weeks before we are back to somewhat normal downstairs. But the kids are doing great!

Beach Days of Summer

2007-07-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

Ahh, what fun at the beach. Living close to Lake Michigan we can pick up and head to the beach about any time we want. It was a bit windy this past Sunday but still warm enough to hang out with the babies and play in the sand. Melia once again took over my chair. I went to the beach last week with a friend and Melia decided to climb, sandy and all, into my chair and not get out. So when we went Sunday she decided the chair was brough for her! She is walking all over although she does crawl faster than walk but I am sure that is soon to change. More later. J

Critter Barn

2007-07-16T19:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I went with my mother-in-law and the kiddies to the Critter Barn (critterbarn.org). It is a barn with hands on for kids. Elijah was able to feed a baby goat but did not want to milk the mama. They played with kittens, chicks, and baby bunnies. It was entertaining. The kids loved it. They had everything from small animals to BIG ones. The sheeps were amazingly big. The county fair is next week so I am sure we will see more of those type of animals. We are also going to the beach Monday and back to the zoo on Tuesday. Summer fun! J

D-O-R-K-S

2007-07-06T18:47:00.001-07:00

Ok, Sam, my niece, spend most of this week with us. Elijah is now repeating words we say all the time, so we resorted to spelling...and one of Tom's favorite words to spell is D-O-R-K. And I am offically declaring Sam and Tom the biggest D-O-R-K-S (see above picture!) HA! HA!

Vacation!

2007-06-28T18:28:00.001-07:00

Wow! What a fun time. We went on a mini vacation for 3 days 2 nights. We stayed in a cabin at a campground in the middle of Michigan. It was right on the Pine River. Tom and Elijah fished and I read a book. Melia is still not walking much so she just crawled around everywhere and got really dirty! They had a swimming pool, which the kids loved. Elijah learned to doggie paddle and Melia wants nothing to do with being outside of the pool - they are all water babies! What fun! The people were nice and the setting perfect. Definately a place we will go back to.

1st Birthday

2007-06-19T19:49:00.000-07:00

Melia turned one last Tuesday. We had grandparents over for dinner and cake. Her party for the rest of the family was Saturday. What a year. She has really started to say words and is walking somewhat. She will say "mamamama", "hot", nighnigh", and she said once "ut oh". She will walk about 4 to 5 steps before plopping down on her bottom or reaching her destination. She had a cupcake for the party (see picture). The next day we had one cupcake leftover on the counter and she was eyeing it, she knew exactly what it was and wanted it. What a fun age. She is such a joy in our lives. Later, J.

Graduating Class of 07

2007-06-10T19:24:00.001-07:00

Well, two graduations are over this year. My nephew, James graduated on Friday night and my niece, Veronica, graduated today. We went to both and are very proud of them. Veronica received 6 scholarship and will be going to Grand Valley in the fall. James will be working with the church full time (I think). So they pass from the land of school to "Adulthood". I hope they are able to achieve all they set out to do. More later. J

The wedding is over!

2007-06-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well, my younger sister was married June 2 and it is done and over. It was a very time consuming week for me. I was the matron of honor and my children were the ring bearer and flower girl. At the rehersal my son did not want to walk so we were not sure how it would turn out on Saturday. But Thomas and I had a plan!!! We made sure he napped on time and he was well fed. My sister, Patty, would be at the back of the church and help to get him to pull the wagon with Melia in it. So here I was ready to walk down with my escort and Elijah lets out a LOUD CRY. I though "Oh no" but what I did not know was that he just got hit in the head with the handle from the wagon. So plan "B" was my niece, Jessica, would pull the wagon. It ended up being the other flower girl, Alexia, and Jessica pulling the wagon with Melia in it. Then my brilliant sister, Patty, told Elijah he could push the wagon and he jumped at that idea! It turned out perfect! The girls pulling and Elijah pushing and everyone thought it was so cute. Not to mention Thomas and I were both ready to cry seeing them both come down and being good! The ceremony went well and a thunderstorm rolled in and cooled off the building (it has no air). The recepition went well and the dancing was a blast! Melia loves any type of music so she loved the dancing and Elijah enjoyed the limbo! I almost won. My competition was tough though because my niece, Theresa, who is about 3" shorter is just a flexable. She beat me. Oh well. More later.

The Cullen's

2007-05-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

Hello! We are a family of four in Western Michigan. We live by the lake and love to visit it often. My husband and I have been married for 5-1/2 years and we have 2 beautiful children. Elijah is 2-1/2 and Melia is almost 1. We have been very busy this past year becoming adjusted to being a family of four. We are blessed both of our children are health and growing like weeds. More later.

J