Skatin'

Nevin, especially, and Nolan have picked up a new hobby in recent weeks: skateboarding. Now that the weather has been consistently nice they've been able to get up to the local skate park a couple of times.

The first time they went Nevin learned how to go off the half-pipe

Nolan kept trying... he'll get it soon.

The girls had fun using the pipes for slides. Their bottoms were covered with black dust.

One morning earlier this week Aliza found two old pictures, one of Ashlee when she was about 3 and one of Angela a little over a year old. She asked Ashlee who each girl was, and Ashlee told her. "Why are you always bigger?" Aliza wanted to know. "Because I'm older." "O... so were you and sis best friends?" Ashlee smiled, "We were. And we still are!" Now Aliza smiled. "Hm. Just like me and Annie."

Forever friends.

FiFtEEn

We have two birthdays in March, and I most certainly never meant to over look the second, simply because he's not quite as sweet and adorable as Anna Sophia.

Nate turned 15 on the 24th of March. Nolan was the photographer for this great day, but unfortunately, the pictures never made it to the computer and have vanished. If you could see them, there would be decadent chocolate lava cake with french vanilla ice cream (because that's what Nathan likes best) and strawberries. Spankin' new clothes, new white Puma's, and lots of smiling faces.

Instead, of the few pictures I have on my computer, here is his life in fast-forward:

 He was the cutest, chubbiest little guy ever. He's about a year in this photo.

 

Here he is at 10 with his little "Rosebud" Aliza

 

And the very brief country-boy stage at 11 :)

By 13 he had progressed to silent and debonair.

 And, now he's our solider-boy. Destined for the Navy by 18 if Mom'll let him, and Nick doesn't drag him into an Ivy League school first.

But what most people do not know, is that behind the quiet, charming, stereo-typical solider is a hilarious boy who loves, loves, loves to be silly. See?

Some Awesome Facts about Nathan Thomas:

His two favorite pairs of shoes are purple converse and bright orange loafers.

He knows more history than the rest of the Willeke children combined.

He doesn't like to get dressed.

He has ALWAYS wanted to join the military.

He's very close to getting his black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do

and he always can make us laugh.

3's Quite Charming

A picture worth a thousand words. These little ladies have become the best of friends in the last year.

Mom has always loved to make a favorite cake or dinner for each birthday child, and Anna's birthday was no exception.
Anna LOVES animals, especially dogs, and when Mom asked her what she wanted for her birthday she said "A doggie cake." So the search began for the perfect doggie cake, which was never found. As a replacement we made this adorable (and delicious) barnyard scene. We had a blast making each cupcake, and the children especially enjoyed sneaking marshmallows,  chocolate chips and gum drops off of animal faces while Mom wasn't looking. (Notice this sheep's wool is rather sparse on his left side ;-))

Sheep: marshmallow wool, white gumdrop ears, chocolate chip eyes, red hot nose.
Pigs: dollop of pink extra pink frosting and side ways red hot noses, chocolate eyes, fruit-roll-up triangle piece ears. Chicks: Coconut dyed yellow feathers, orange gum drop nose, chocolate eyes.

And the much-loved doggie cup cakes (our compromise): brown sugar butter cream frosting (don't ask), cornflake ears, malt-ball noses and chocolate chip eyes. 

The kitchen was a MESS. But nearly everyone helped and we had a lot of fun.

I'm late with these pictures. Her real birthday is March 6th.

She managed perfectly well all on her own. :)

Habitual nail-biter.

A larger-than-life doggie to make up for the cake. :) She accidentally saw this several days before her birthday in the back of the suburban, and cried and cried and cried when Daddy said she couldn't have it. She was so excited to finally get it, that she wrapped her little arms around his neck and squeeeeezed.

The fluffy dog-in-a-purse from Uncle Joe, Aunt Kristin and our cousins was a favorite too.

So, she's three now, though she still says she's two. And she's growing into quite a pretty little girl. Besides animals, she also loves babies and her blankets. Rarely will she leave the house without some animal or dolly tucked under her arm. A smile is almost always on her face-- though she is rather strong-willed, and certainly has her grumpy days. She still lets us pick out her clothes most mornings, but refuses to allow anyone to even help her brush her teeth. 

She has a sweet melodious voice that never sings the right tune-- her favorites are "You are My Sunshine" "This is the Day" and anything her little mind can think up right on the spot.

Happy Birthday Anna Sophia!

Saying Goodbye

After a long, undiagnosed sickness, our sweet, hilarious Saint Bernard is gone. Lucy kept us all entertained, and drove us all nuts-- sometimes at the same time, and we all do miss her. These are the highlights of her life.

We like to say she was a family dog, so long as she wasn't doing anything naughty or making a mess with the garbage, or getting all muddied in the neighbor's lake-- when she did those things she quickly became "Angela's puppy." But she always was Angela's 100%.

One of the things Dad promised when we moved out of the development and into the country was that Angela could get a big dog, like she always wanted. Saint Bernard was at the top of the list, and highly recommended by our Aunt Judy, the dog expert. So the search began. And the "real asking" started. Dad told Angela if she could find some for sale she was allowed to call, and get information. Little did he expect that the very next evening he'd be coming home to a 6 week old Saint in the mudroom.

Angela had found an ad for Saint Bernard puppies, and when she called, she found only two were left-- one long-haired, and one short-haired, both females. She told the owner she would talk to her dad and get back to him soon. He told us when we picked Lucy up he never expected her to call back, let alone buy one of the pups.

The house was a hub of excitement all the next morning. Names were being tossed around, but the little ones jumped on Lucy, and Angela lost her chance at getting a more elegant name like "Mercedes."

So, within 24 hours we had a Saint Bernard puppy, and we were all smitten at first site.

Aliza was just about 6 months and 12 pounds when we got Lucy, who was 6 weeks and 10 pounds.

At 3 months she was the size of our Basset hound mutt, Lexie, and a fluffy little fur ball.

The after school activity became watching our new in-home entertainment. Lucy and Lexie would romp around for hours on the back porch. Lexie is affectionately called, "The sausage" and she would roll half way across the back deck, with Lucy pushing her onward. Our stomachs ached for laughing so hard some days.

Once spring came, she was putting some meat on, and trying to learn to be obedient. She never quite understood that obedience isn't obedience unless it's immediate... but we did have fun chasing her down (well, we laughed AFTER we caught her).

When we took family photos late spring 2006, we had to include her. I've cropped this photo down so you can see two things: 1) her tongue hanging down to her "elbows" and 2) Yes, she is sitting in Angela's lap.

She always thought she was a poodle. A teacup poodle, that is.

By her first birthday, October 26th, she had become quite a pretty dog.

Aliza givin' Luc some lovin's

Until Lucy's appetite became a real threat to Lexie's meals, these two made the best dog-friends. And they loved being free to roam until neighbors started complaining of missing cat food, and dogs in their garages.

She was always in her element in the snow. She LOVED it.

When we got our kittens Fitzwilliam and Georgianna (affectionately Fitzy and Georgie) Lucy was keenly observant. She never got along with these two much, but she did like Alice.

Her sweet brown eyes were always so expressive.

:-D

pretty girl, ain't she?

She had an exciting outing to Hudson Spring Park last summer for our church's annual picnic. Tyler loved her.

She had a good life, and we have lots of fun memories because of her. What kid doesn't want to grow up with a Saint Bernard? She was the best.

Christmastime has come and gone. Here's our holiday in pictures.

The pictures do not do this Christmas Eve's dinner justice. The Beef Tenderloin was phenomenal. The boys were eating it as Mom cut it. :)

Nevin doesn't like to see his presents until they're completely unwrapped.

Nicholas's most prized possession. :-P

Nolan (7)

Aliza (4)

Angela bought Nick Dante's Inferno-- he was ecstatic. Nick bought Nathan a book on his (Nicholas's) reading list. Note the difference in expression.

Noah was thrilled to get a Ferrari t-shirt. He's Dad's car buddy.

Christmastime smile.

Helping Sis open a present. :)

Hugs for Daddy!