Tan and Park playing hockey on the pond

Last week before Christmas (I know, Christmas will eventually get posted) it was really cold for quite some time. That means... POND HOCKEY!!! The boys love when it's cold enough they can take their skates and go skate on the pond. They had a great time and all their friends who were just trying to run on the ice were jealous that the boys had skates and were skating. It was cause for some serious brother-on-brother brawling, but they had a good time. Tanner didn't want to take his nice sticks so he just took one Chris' extra ones.

Parker chasing the puck.
Tanner is in gray and Parker is in the 33 jacket.

Nice little brotherly contest.

Parker on a mission...

At the end of the day, they can still stand side by side (the next picture I didn't post was Tanner pushing Parker out of the way... so much love :) Until next time....

Mason and TUBES!

So before you all are in shock that you haven't heard from me in a bit, I'm going to try to get you updated. Let me start with one of the more recent events... Mason getting tubes.
Mason has had over 8 ear infections and at least 4 ruptured eardrums all in less than year resulting in every drug given to the poor the kid from the easy "pink stuff" amoxocillin, to a shot with over a 90% rate of getting his ears cleared up called Rocefin?. Anway, for only being one, it seems like he's been sick as much as he's been well. So when he got his last ear infection, mean mommy came out and said, "I'M DONE!" (i really didn't, but doing tubes with Parker, I knew i wasn't going to do this any longer... and went proactive!) So I called the ENT, Dr. Park (not to be confused with my son, Park) and got him an appointment the next day. Sure enough, he agreed to tubes and a week later, we went for tubes.
This past Thursday, December 18th, we took our 14 month old for MINOR surgery. We had Evan sleepover a friends house (Thanks, Carlton's) and figured Tan and Park were big enough to get up and to the bus on their own. We had to be there by 6:30a.m. so we were out the door by 6. We got there, filled out the paper work and then went back to get ready. The following pictures are OUT OF ORDER, but i wasn't going to try to fix it (sorry).
Mason and I walking laps. He was all rigged up with what he needed, but is like his mom in that he doesn't want to just sit in one place to long...always has to be on the go! Plus you can tell it's an early morning as he's still in jammies and I'm sporting the glasses and hat.... before 6 is just too early!!!

I love this shot! We just kept lapping the nurses station and the poor kid had all these wires poking out everywhere that we were trying to hide them so they were "out of sight, out of mind." That is the true joy of a 14 month old. Easily distracted.

One of his favorite toys was the bell. They had a bell in there in case we would need a nurse for something, but he just loved it!!! He would concentrate so hard on getting his cute litte finger on just the littlest part...PRICELESS!

This is a pic where you can see a few of cords poking out and one he kept tripping on (that we had to hide). They also put his ID badge on his ankle so he wouldn't fidget with it.

Trying to keep him occupied and not bored while we wait.... and wait.... and wait!!!

More cords! He had 3 pads taped to his chest, a pulse monitor taped to his toe, and a blood pressure cuff on his arm by the time he left... too much confinment for a Condiff boy!!!

His pulse monitor taped to one of his toes. We put the sock on it to cover help keep it off his mind.

As you can see he did really good and the surgery was successful. He cried and cried when he was done, but after we took off the sheet, the two blankets, the BP cuff, the toe monitor and chest pads, he was happy to go to sleep, slept about 2 hours and been great ever since! We are so glad we have this over with now!!! We hope for a much easier winter and happy, happy baby!!!

Thanksgiving Weekend...a little late

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is over and Christmas will be here in 25 days?!! Where does the time go?!!! We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. As unusual as this might sound... I did not take ONE PICTURE :(. So I will just quickly recap the weekend in a summary.

The kids were out of school on Tuesday which allowed for a yep you guessed it.... sleepover. Tanner and Parker each had a friend spend the night (Josh and Nick) and then woke up to a pancake breakfast. Wednesday was just a lot of playing outside and enjoying the day "off".

Thursday was Thanksgiving and allowed us a moment to become grounded and really think of things we are grateful for and all the bounteous blessings we have. Our family was able to enjoy a meal that was warm, fresh, in a warm home, in clean clothes (mostly :) ) and with friends. What more could you ask for? (Don't answer that...those that know me are answering family, but I told you not to answer!)

We had some friends, Les and Kenny Wamsley come over for dinner. Their 2 oldest kids were in Michigan with family and so they brought their other 2 daughters, Nikki and Britney. Dinner was FABULOUS and then while the kids were all being good and entertained we were able to play Boxers and Briefs and just hangout and talk. We had some good laughs, were very full, and ate some yummy desserts!

Friday posed as Beck's annual "I don't know why I do this, but I love it!" day. Chris always makes fun of me staying up until 2am online shopping and then getting up at 4a.m. to hit the stores. His comment is "it's worth my extra $10 to sleep and I'll get it later". Well not this year! I tried to tell Tanner I would pay him to come be "cart boy". He was all over that, but Chris reminded me that then the surprises would be ruined. Although I could have gone with Lauri, or Brooke, or Holt, or anyone, HE volunteered to come! He said "I can get up early to duck hunt, what's the difference?" Well he learned the difference :) It was major chaos.... and I LOVED IT! I love bobbing and weaving in and out of people and most importantly I love to people watch. I like watching to see who's just really not going to have this be a positive experience no matter what. So Chris hit Walmart and Target with me and then he came back home for a quick nap and up with kids. I continued on.... Kohl's, Home Depot, Toys R us and made the mistake of hooking up with a friend to go to the mall..... WOW can this girl shop!!! It was the longest Black Friday in history, but only comes once a year and I loved it!

Even though I was gone, Chris took ALL the boys (even Mason) up to the ice rink to go ice skating. He had promised them and I was suppose to be back, but because I drove with a friend to the mall, I wasn't. Friday night was of course hockey and of course... another sleepover. However, this one ended in a ride back home around 11pm as Kyle took a hockey puck from Parker to the face. :( They were playing shinny's and using a real puck and Parker did a slap shot and nailed Kyle in the lip. Busted lip, loose tooth, sad kid. So he went home, but was fine and hooked back up with us on Saturday.

Saturday was sleeping in and the big boys going to a Blues hockey game. It was Chris, Tan, Park, Ev, and Tan and Park's hockey friend, Kyle Holt. They had a great time and got some souvenirs. Came home played some more and then Chris took all of them that night to the ice rink for a couple of hours to skate.

Sunday was just another Sunday.... church :). The best part was we did wake up to our first snowfall of the year. The grass was covered, but it wasn't cold enough to stick to the streets. My kids asked if church would be canceled (they have canceled church before because of snow) and yes, we had church. That was about it for our Thanksgiving weekend end. Thanks Chris, for all your time taking care of the boys and spending time with them. It was truly something to be thankful for!

Hockey Champs Fall 2008

Tanner Condiff #3 (after his mom's favorite number haha)

Parker Condiff #1 (because he really thinks this! haha)

Back row: Coach Kevin, Coach Derek, Braden, Tanner, Parker, Brad, Marlon

Middle row: Kevin, Kyle, Drake

Laying down: Riley and our goalie, Noah

They did it again! I can't believe I didn't post this, but the boys and their hockey team won their division again this past month. They did a really good job and both boys got goals. Chris had ordered their jerseys for the from Nike and they love them! They are in a middle of a session right now, but they have BOTH been asked to play up this next session in December and play on the 12 and under advance team. That's really good news especially for Parker since he just turned 9 and should be on a 10 and under team. The boys have really improved over the past few months and really are putting their everything into it which makes it easier for us as parents. So this won't be the end of pictures and more info to come as we get it. We're really proud of them and can't wait to see what this advanced level can do for them!!!

All about MOMMY!

My sister, Tam, had this on her blog and I thought it was a great idea. I thought it would be fun to see the kid's response about their mom! I asked them 25 questions at individual times so that they wouldn’t say what the other one was saying. It was so fun to see the things that they think of this old mom of theirs :). The responses are from T-Tanner who is 11 ½, P-Parker who is 9, E-Evan who is 5 ½, and the M is for “Mom” in this case, not Mason. I thought were applicable, I’d give the right answer. This is a long post, but was interesting for me to find out what I do as a mom and what my kids think I do as a mom!

1. What is something Mom always says to you?
T. Do your chores, T!
P. See Parker, “Easily distracted”
E. Like you and Love you!
M. Everyday….Everyday I will tell them each how much I love them in one way or another and try to give them something positive for the day.

2. What makes Mom happy?
T. chocolate
P. when I’m good and do my chores and homework
E. be good and stuff
M. They’re ALL right! I am happy with all of that and I’m most happy when they’re happy!

3. What makes Mom sad?
T. disobeying
P. when I don’t do chores and pout and get mad about it
E. don’t be good
M. Again, good answers! I try not to get sad, but make sure they know I care when they’re sad!

4. How does your Mom make you laugh?
T. by messing with me
P. when she puts those curly things in her hair (I did this ONCE and he hasn’t forgotten since… he really did laugh hard!)
E. tickles me and my neck
M. I am a nut! I make a fool out of myself and I’m really good at just down right being a dork! It’s a talent I have!

5. What was your Mom like as a child?
T. weird- you have this scar thing on your face
P. she was smart and good and funny
E. like me cuz I be good
M. Tan was referring to my birthmark and I can see how he thinks that classifies me as a “weird” child. I tried to be good and smart and funny, but I do know that I adored my brothers and everything they did. I played sports because of them and loved being with them.

6. How old is your Mom?
T. 34
P. 34
E. 14 (oh I wish!)
M. Yep, 34!

7. How tall is your Mom?
T. 5’6”
P. my guess is 5’9”?
E. 14
M. I think I’m shrinking, so I’m going with 5’7”ish

8. What is Mom’s favorite thing to do?
T. playing with Mason and us
P. eating chocolate
E. play games
M. all the above! Anything with kids and family is great! I will admit I do love my kids, but a good GNO is fun too! Gotta get the estrogen in sometime!

9. What does your Mom do when you're not around?
T. clean and watch mason
P. clean up what mason makes a mess of
E. make stuff like food and stuff for mason
M. Sadly, that is my life. I clean and watch Mason. (and talk on the phone)

10. If your Mom became famous, what would it be for?
T. dancing and cheerleading (oh I love you!)
P. being the smartest person in all of the world. I know for sure it wouldn’t be a bikini model! (Thanks, Park! I know that for sure too!)
E. cuz hers eats cake
M. FBI’s most wanted??? Hawaiian Tropics Bikini contest winner??? Woman folds her 10.000.000th pair of jeans before 35! I don’t know, not planning on being famous, sorry!

11. What is your Mom good at?
T. athletic sports like basketball, volleyball and soccer and dodgeball with me and friends. Just not hockey, she’s not good at hockey!
P. math, cleaning and volleyball
E. soccer
M. I take the compliment and go with sports/athletics. I used to be a pretty dancer too! (don’t be too shocked, I have proof!)

12. What is your Mom not good at?
T. cooking meat (he means grilling… that’s Chris’ job)
P. hockey
E. kickball (what? I rock at kickball!)
M. I can’t believe they didn’t say SINGING! I am not a good singer!

13. What does your Mom do for her job?
T. cleaning
P. cleans the house and takes care of us
E. spidergirl
M. I’m spidergirl who cleans the house and takes care of kids! That sums it up!

14. What is your Mommy's favorite food?
T. chocolate
P. candy and chocolate
E. chocolate
M. Ok, ya got me! I love chocolate!

15. What makes you proud of your Mom?
T. winning National dance stuff- that’s Nationals and that’s cool
P. that she’s always nice to me all the time and my friends
E. she feed my dog for me everyday
M. I need to get tougher on these kids! Doing THEIR chores!

16. If your Mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
T. Minnie Mouse
P. Minnie Mouse
E. Batman
M. really? Goofy!

17. What do you and Mom do together?
T. we talk and stuff
P. we watch movies together and play sports
E. plays a game
M. Yes, Yes and Yes! As long as we’re together…love it!

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
T. we’re both athletic
P. both good at math
E. red, red and black, black (we both had black track pants and red t-shirts on)
M. All the above! I guess cuz they all did come from me, it’s only appropriate that they are something like me!

19. How are you different?
T. she barely eats anything to me… I can eat a lot!
P. she does contacts, and I don’t do contacts
E. she has long hair and I have short hair
M. I a girl who wears contacts and I eat just fine! The biggest difference… I’m a girl!

20. How do you know your Mom loves you?
T. she says she loves me everyday and gives me easy chores sometimes just to be nice
P. she cleans my room and makes my bed a lot and she says I love you a lot.
E. cuz you do my chores for me.
M. Dang! I gotta stop being nice! Haha I do love my kids a lot and try to help them out when I can.

21. What does Mom like most about Dad?
T. he’s a football player
P. that he’s handsome
E. he ride tractors
M. okay…what?!! Dad’s not a football player, he doesn’t ride tractors and everyone says the kids look just like him, so it must be handsome!

22. Where is your Moms favorite place to go?
T. mall
P. hockey
E. playground
M. Yep! Actually all time favorite place… the shower! I love to just “get away!” it’s my time where no boys are allowed!

23. What does mommy say to you everyday?
T. “I love you! You’re a special kid, T!”
P. “Good job! Nice work, Park!”
E. “Good job, Ev!”
M. I guess my kids are good and I love them. I hope they know this!

24. What’s mommy’s favorite color?
T. green
P. green
E. green
M. yep! Green!

25. What’s mommy’s favorite restaurant?
T. Chili’s
P. Chili’s
E. Red Robin’s
M. I love anything with a good steak…. Stony Rivers has the best steak, but for overall and quick fix…Outback.

So I guess all in all there a few things to know about me: I love chocolate, I clean to much, my kids have chores that I guess I do to often :(, and I love them A LOT!

Leaves are falling all around....

The joy of backing up to trees in the fall time is taking some time to rake them and play. Parker, decided on his own one day, that it was time to start raking. Bless his heart, he raked and raked and raked until he got a decent sized pile of leaves. It was just too much fun not to share and have fun with them. He was a little sad when everyone started throwing them because "I worked really hard, mom and now they're everywhere!" So the next day, I went out, raked (only 1/2 the yard, it's a workout!) and got smart and got out the leave blower and made some huge piles for him..... to earn some money by picking up! He and Tanner worked hard and was happy he found out that you can work hard and play and sometimes even get rewarded! I think they ended up with something like 15 of those huge black trash bags full! (Not to mention we could do it all again today).

Parker in his pile of leaves!
Parker and Evan

Parker and Mason (who didn't like this at all!)

L-R Nick, Parker, Josh, Evan, Tanner
The boys enjoying some of Parker's hard work!!

Fall Weather that is CRAZY!!!

We have started quite a few trends in the neighborhood. First, it was everyone came over for the tramp, then the basketball hoop or the Foosball table, but now we have most boys aged 5-12 playing hockey! We have one of those outdoor hockey nets where the guy stands in front of it. They love it!

Kids L-R Parker, Austin, Tyler, Tanner, Ryan, Nick, Evan, and Miles.

The boys on a "Beck Break". Snow cones for everyone...Yeah! It was so nice, I pulled the snow cone maker out we had snow cones.



K, I had to share this pic (and cut as much of me out as possible), but Mason looks like he has hair and it looks like it's curly. But, 1. He doesn't and 2. It's not curly, but I thought it was adorable that it looked like he has hair :)

My snow cone helper. Luckily everyone had one. He loved feeling the shaved ice and had a few brain freezes!

SLAM DUNK! He's getting ready for some basketball with the brothers!

Mason as the goalie for the boys....NOT! He kept walking in front of it and standing right here just like this every time. I hope he's not trying to tell me he wants to be a goalie!

The weather has gone from BEAUTIFUL in low-mid 70's to highs of mid 40's. It's definitely fall and is no longer shorts and t-shirt weather. Just wanted to share some fun outdoor shots!