He did it again!

Ross took another first place finish at a wrestling tournament in Rolla over the weekend. He won three matches (4-1, win by pin, 9-1). Again, I wasn't able to be there as it is now Elizabeth's turn to be sick with strep throat. I'm feeling like I may bring him bad luck since he has won the two tournaments that I have had to miss.

When Edward asked him if the win was worth having to get up at 6:00 a.m. for he replied, "Kind of." That's my boy.

Indians

Drew got a hold of a marker today. He decided to use "war paint" to turn himself & Mallory into "Indians." The cycle continues: Ross did these things to Elizabeth, she did them to Drew, and he now does them to Mallory. Joy of joys.

Babies

Mallory LOVES baby dolls. She loves to hold them and kiss them and carry/drag them around. I always think it's so neat to see how nurturing little girls are. It's just so natural. Amazing.

Baby Lauren's Blessing

Last weekend, some of the Felker clan gathered for baby Lauren's blessing. Unfortunately Drew had strep throat so the two little ones and I stayed home and sent the others up north. I hated missing out on the fun. Edward reported that the visit was so fun, and Andrew (Edward's brother - standing next to him) gave one of the most beautiful blessings he's ever heard. Thanks to Elizabeth, I have pictures of some of the fun.

Big sister Audrey and beautiful baby Lauren

Buddies Audrey and Kayley look darling in their coordinated attire!

Drew & Cade

Since Drew's best cousins, Sterling & Sam, live so far away, he has another best buddy, Cade. They go to preschool together and are forever joined at the hip. Their big brothers have been in the same classes since the first grade, so we already knew about Cade. We were so glad to hear he was going to Drew's preschool. Cade is such a funny little guy that constantly has something creative to say. When I asked Drew what he'd like to do on his birthday he replied, "have Cade over to play." So that's what we did, and they had a fun afternoon.

Cade gave Drew this Cranium Crazy Cap for his birthday. It's so fun! Everyone in the family has a fun time creating different designs. Here Drew is a friendly alien...

...and Cade is an angry alien.

Where a kid can be a PIG!

That is what Drew thinks is said on the Chuck E. Cheese commercial. After four kids we've learned NEVER to go there on a Saturday! Usually it's the restaurant they always choose for their birthday dinner, so off we went last Monday night. We had a pretty good time.

Enjoying the tiny carousel
Drew wanted to use most of his tokens on the racing games, but he needed his Daddy's help. Edward was very happy to be so helpful. Look at the concentration on his face.

We love skee ball!

Elizabeth and the big mouse himself

What once was lost now is found.

So, I accidentally deleted a PRICELESS picture from my digital camera. Dang it! I googled "recovering a deleted photo" and this site popped up:

www.ofzenandcomputing.com/zanswers/60

Lo and behold it worked! Yay!!!! I think you'll see why I was so thrilled to get it back...






Notice the Grip of Death Mallory has on me. Look at the rigid line of her body as she pulls away from Chuck E. As he began to approach, I felt her tighten up as her entire body squeezed mine. The whole ordeal only took about 10 seconds, so I don't think she'll be too traumatized. Funny!

Thank you American Family Insurance!

So, because Edward is such an awesome insurance agent, he racked up a bunch of points toward a campaign at American Family. You turn in your points and get to choose from a bunch of great products. The Sony Handycam is what I, I mean we chose. We have had our other video camera since I was pregnant with Ross nine years ago. It still works, but it won't keep a battery charged. We've tried several different batteries, so apparently it's the camera that is causing the trouble. Anyway, as I said, there were a lot of products to choose from. Edward really had his eye on some exercise equipment, but being the good man that he is, decided to use his points for something we both would use. ;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DREW!

Yesterday, our little Drew-boy turned 4! He woke with a gigantic smile. I said, "Happy 4 year-old birthday, big boy!" He replied, "but I'm still 3." I said, "No. Today is your real birthday. Now you're 4!" He squealed with excitement!

Happy Birthday, Grameo!

We just celebrated my great-grandma Rowe's 95th birthday! She is such a trooper. Two years ago she fell and broke her hip. We all asumed she wouldn't really recover. Thankfully we were wrong. After a hip replacement she resumed her life. Since her accident, she stays with her daughter during the week, but she stays at her own home (where she most definitely prefers) on the weekends. She has out-lived her husband by 35+ years and her son by 19+ years. Happy birthday, Grameo!

Daniel Son

Last night I saw The Karate Kid on TV. I decided to watch and reminisce. Ahhh... Ralph Macchio. When I was a kid, Ralph was my first crush. I dreamed of growing up and marrying him. I was in love. I can remember thinking he had a dorky name, but his cuteness certainly made up for it. Whenever I played "house" I was ALWAYS Mrs. Macchio (remember Kate?). I can remember finding out how much older than me he was, but age doesn't matter when it comes to love, right?

Watching the movie now as an adult, I found it quite cheesy. But, then again, it is an 80's flick.

Anyway, it was fun thinking back to that fun stage of my childhood.

After getting over Ralph, I moved onto Ricky Schroeder, then Rob & Fab from Milli Vanilli (Girl You Know It's True!), and finally to my true crush - the one and only Edward Felker. Yes, he became my crush at the age of 12.

Here's to you, Ralph Macchio!

Junie B. Jones

Our family loves the Junie B. Jones series of books, written by Barbara Park. If you've never heard of this, please, check some out at your library! They are so funny! I read them myself because they are so entertaining. Junie B. Jones is in Kindergarten and first grade in the series. She is an honest, forthcoming, mischievous, curious little character. Elizabeth was reading Shipwrecked at church last Sunday. I got a little distracted when I peeked over her shoulder and read the following. I was in tears as I read this:

I put down my pencil to think about this situation.

Only I didn't even have time to concentrate, hardly. 'Cause, all of a sudden, there was a noise on the other side of the room.

I turned my head to look.

And SPLATO!

A boy named Roger throwed up on the floor!

It was the disgustingest thing I ever saw. Also, the air did not smell delightful.

I quick held my nose and closed my eyes.

Only too bad for me. 'Cause my dumb-bunny eyes have a brain of their own. And they kept on sneaking peeks of the splat-o.

It was Cheerios, I believe.

Finally, I put my head on my desk. And I covered up with my arms.

Only just then, more trouble happened.

And it's called, a boy named Sheldon couldn't stand the splat-o.

And so he jumped up from his chair!

And he ran straight out of Room One!

And that was a surprise, I tell you!

Mr. Scary ran after him.

He brought Sheldon back in a jiffy.

Then he quick called the school nurse, Mrs. Weller, on the phone. And he told her that we need her help right now.

"Hurry!" he said. "Fast!"

And so, Mrs. Weller zoomed to Room One as fast as a speedy rocket.

And then she hurried over to Roger. And she talked to him in a calmy voice. And she said everything is going to be okay.

Roger hanged his head real embarrassed. I felt sorry for that guy. Also, he was making me ill.

Finally, Mrs. Weller helped him get up from his chair. And she held his hand. And she took him to her office.

After that, Room One could not do any work. On account of how can you do work with splat-o on the floor?

Only hurray, hurray!

'Cause pretty soon, our janitor named Gus Vallony cam rushing through the door.

I jumped right up when I saw him. "Gus Vallony! It's me? It's me! It's Junie B. Jones!" I hollered out. "Roger throwed up? Roger throwed up!"

Gus Vallony winked at me.

Then he went straight to Roger's desk. And he took out his important janitor equipment. And he sprinkled powder all over the splat-o.

And wowie wow wow! That stuff sweeped up like a miracle! We could not believe our eyeballs!

"Whoa!" said my friend named Lennie.

"Si...whoa!" said my other friend Jose. "That powder is like magic."

I sniffed the air. "Yes! It is like magic, Jose!" I said. "Plus now it smells lemony fresh in here!"

Other children sniffed, too.

"Mmm. It does smell lemony fresh," said a girl named Shirley. "I wish I had some of that stuff for my mother. She loves to clean up messes."

"Mine does, too," said my bestest friend named Herbert.

Then, all of a sudden, Herb springed out of his seat very excited.

"Wait! Hold it! My mother's birthday is on Sunday!" he said. "And so that's what I'll get her! I'll get her a tub of that magic powder! What's the name of it, Mr. Vallony? Huh? What's it called? What's it called."

Gus Vallony's face went kind of funny. He glanced his eyes at Mr. Scary, and then back at Herbert again.

Finally, he ran his fingers through his bald hair. And he said the name of it.

"Vomit absorbent," he said kind of quiet. "It's called vomit absorbent."

At first, Herbert just stood at his desk very frozen. He did not say any words.

Then, after a minute, he did a little shiver. And he sat back down.

"Maybe I'll just draw her a picture," he said.

Extreme Makeover

Elizabeth invited a friend to spend the night last weekend. They were very good to include Drew in their fun. Apparently, he volunteered to be their makeover client.

Our Little Mary's Growing Up!

We have another Felker wedding to anticipate! Mary Caroline, Edward's baby sister, is getting married to Tyson on May 17th in the St. Louis Temple. They made it official last week with a proposal in the mountains of Utah. We are very excited for a very excited "May-May." She seems quite smitten!

It's funny because Mary seems so young, but she's already older than I was when I got married (one week before my nineteenth birthday). Here's to The Andersons!

Two Little Razors

Mallory's first two teeth popped through a couple of weeks ago. The kids are infatuated with them. The first thing Elizabeth tells people is that she has teeth now. Drew keeps saying, "I thought babies only got one tooth." That is the image he sees in cartoons! I constantly have to tell the kids to keep their dirty little fingers out of her mouth. Mallory continues to amaze and entertain us.

Right On!

I LOVE this article! How funny is this! If only we had more "Jane Hambleton's" we'd probably have less "Britney Spears'."

‘Meanest mom’ sells car after finding liquor
Iowa woman shares teen son’s misdeed with the world via newspaper ad

DES MOINES, Iowa - Jane Hambleton has dubbed herself the "meanest mom on the planet."
After finding alcohol in her son's car, she decided to sell the car and share her 19-year-old's misdeed with everyone — by placing an ad in the local newspaper.
The ad reads: "OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet."
Hambleton has heard from people besides interested buyers since recently placing the ad in The Des Moines Register.
The 48-year-old from Fort Dodge says she has fielded more than 70 telephone calls from emergency room technicians, nurses, school counselors and even a Georgia man who wanted to congratulate her.
"The ad cost a fortune, but you know what? I'm telling people what happened here," Hambleton says. "I'm not just gonna put the car for resale when there's nothing wrong with it, except the driver made a dumb decision.
"It's overwhelming the number of calls I've gotten from people saying 'Thank you, it's nice to see a responsible parent.' So far there are no calls from anyone saying, 'You're really strict. You're real overboard, lady.'"
The only critic is her son, who Hambleton says is "very, very unhappy" with the ad and claims the alcohol was left by a passenger.
Hambleton said she believes her son but has decided mercy isn't the best policy in this case. She says she set two rules when she bought the car at Thanksgiving: No booze, and always keep it locked.
The car has been sold, but Hambleton says she will continue the ad for another week — just for the feedback.

The Champ

Ross won first place in his wrestling tournament this weekend. We were all very excited for him as this was his first time to take first place. He was SUPER excited to receive a trophy. He won his first match 3-2, he had a bye the second round, and he won 5-3 in the championship match. We didn't get pictures of him in action unfortunately. I missed the excitement because Elizabeth had two basketball games here that day. She also had an exciting day. She scored her first two goals.

Christmas with the Felker clan

Miscellaneous Christmas Pics

Peppermint Patty

Miss Mallory is crazy about candy canes! Well, actually, she's crazy about any candy she can get her hands on. This morning she was going to town on a wrapped Hershey's Kiss that fell out of one of the older kids' stockings. She was so broken-hearted that we put a stop to her fun!