Show Us Your Halloween

I am participating in "Kelly's Korner" carnival again this week.
Here is a walk down our kids' Halloween Memory Lane...


Jack at 4 weeks old in 2004.
Cutest.Stinker.Ever.


Jack (1) and Will (5 weeks) in 2005.
This started matching costumes. Goes right along with my campaign to dress them alike FOREVER! Cluck says the chicken and quack says the sleepy duck!


Sesame Street was a hit in our house with a 1 and 2 yr. old in 2006.
Jack as Elmo and Will as a not-so-sure-about-this-costume-
Big Bird.


Anyone who knew Andy in college knows his nickname was Goose.
What is more appropriate than Maverick (Jack) and Goose (Will)
for Halloween? Here they are with the Goshorn crew and neighbors in 2007.
We live in Cincy, hence the "Bengal Jailbird"; Aunt Leslie Kitty and,
yes, my Father-in-Law as "The King." A huge hit in the neighborhood.


With the addition of Cade and Brooke in 2008 the "matching" extended to 4!
We were "buggy" about our trick-or-treaters:
Jack as a spider, Cade as a caterpillar, Will as a bee and Brooke as a ladybug.

This year we are headed to Indy with our "Justice League" to enjoy the festivities.
I will upload pics this weekend of our "heroes" Batman, Superman, Spiderman and Wonder Woman.

Have a great Halloween Weekend and head on over to Kelly's Korner for more fun!

My Baby is Growing Up

I truly can't believe I have these in my possession...
Where did 5 years go?


Jack Goshorn
Age 5
Pre-Kindergarten '09-'10

Is he handsome or what?
Or, as Jack would ask,
"Do I look cool?"

The Words of a 4 Year Old...Again

Anyone who knows Peg Goshorn (My MIL and one of my BFFs)
knows she has to have a drink with her
AT. ALL. TIMES.

So this little comment proved to me today that
Will is truly a Goshorn.

We had just dropped Jack off at school.
It is approx. 918am:
"WWWHHOOO. I am thirsty. We need to go to McDonald's
and get me a drink. I need a juice box."

And tonight at the dinner table:
"Yeah. Chicken makes you nice and helfy."
I think he meant to say healthy.

But you get the point.

Home again, home again...

We got back from our nice, long vacation this afternoon.
I must say, my children did EXCELLENT!
With the exception of the "incident" on the way down, the kids did a lot better than I thought they would.
So here's to Spring Break '10 - Texas or Bust!
(To visit Uncle Jon and Aunt Molly)

We went to the beach, collected shells, played golf, had great meals, good times with good family and friends AND....
both boys learned to SWIM! No more floaties! YEAH!

A few pics I love...


Brooke enjoying her beach chair


This is Will "posing" for a picture


Jack "Too Cool for the Pool" Goshorn

The boys say...

...we're lovin' it here so much,

WE'RE STAYING!

Now we are at Grandma and Grandpa's house

in Port St. Lucie.

We'll be back...on Tuesday??

Florida Fun

Me and my girl


The crazy crew at the beach


Me and my clone...hair and all

Jack keeps saying "Wow! It's a beautiful day!"

Tiger and Phil going at it

Florida Pictures - Day 1 & 2

You got me up at 530am?
Think I will pay you back in about 3 hours by
vomiting everywhere...




Paul Azinger at the posh Quality Inn Valdosta

We are in Florida - YEAH!!

First Full Day in Florida

The kids all bunked together. All 3 of them slept all night - Alleluia!

The boys walked the beach this morning with Dad and met 2 little girls from Argentina. They all collected seashells together. Andy said Jack looked at the girls like they had 2 heads when they spoke Spanish to one another. Yeah, my kids are worldly.

The boys met a little boy named Ethan (6 yrs old) and he went on a walk with us. While looking at a yacht in the marina Ethan said to the boys:
"See that boat? A drug dealer owns it." Nice.

We took all the kids to the nature center to see some animals.
They all held a guinea pig.
Jack drops the guinea pig.
We leave the nature center.

Will comes out of the bedroom tonight:
"I can't sleep. I hear a guinea pig in my room!"
Ya think?!

More tomorrow!
Hopefully I can figure out how to upload some photos, too.
GO BENGALS!

Florida - The Trip Down

Here is a list of highlights Andy and I composed
regarding our trip down to Florida...

Left on time at 545am in the pouring rain.

Brooke vomits like a volcano erruption 3 hours into the trip.

The boys think headphones for their DVD player are AWESOME.

Mom and Dad think headphones for the boys' DVD player are AWESOME.

"I see a color you don't see..." is a fun game with Jack and Will.

The boys yelling like old men with hearing aids due to the headphones is hilarious.

Jack and Will are good at their job - making sure the "Turtle" does not fly off the top of the car.

Brooke is so tired she falls asleep in the hotel room with all the lights on, plus the TV and the rest of us awake.

Jack's body "wasn't quite tired yet" so he stays awake until the end of the UC Football game...while everyone else is asleep. He tells us the score of the game in the morning and we put 2 and 2 together.

Stars are just like us...Paul Azinger likes cheap hotels too. Met him at breakfast.

It pours THE ENTIRE DRIVE until we reach Ft. Myers. Seriously.

Finally getting to Captiva and the warm sun = happy kids.

More to come!

It's been a long time...

...since we have done this.


Almost 3 years to the date.

Tomorrow we embark on a 2 day car trip with 3 kids, 2 DVD players, Spiderman backpacks, a couple suitcases, a big box of food, and LOTS of sunscreen!

We are headed to one of our favorite places -
Captiva Island, Florida.

So wish us luck and say some prayers.
We're going to need 'em!

Brooke says...

I know what you are thinking.

Yes, it is leg warmer season again.
No, you may not have my collection.

Go get your own incredibly-talented Aunt Sandy to knit you some awesome stuff.
I am keeping mine!

You think these are nice...just wait til you see the sweater she knitted me.
A-MA-ZING!
My Mommy will post pictures of that soon.

Now stop bothering me...I am trying to keep up with my brothers.

What's that you hear?????

WHO DEY!

Love them Bengals!

Simply...

...scrumptious!

Our Teams

Kelly's Korner (you can find her blog on my list to the right) is one of my favorite blogs to read. She hosts a weekly carnival entitled "Show Us Your Life." Today's title is Tailgates and Favorite Teams. I had to get in on this one.

Goshorn Family = Sports Fanatics.
(I have a daughter who says "ball" all the time, remember?)
We show our team support all year 'round!

Spring is baseball and we love
THE CINCINNATI REDS


Summer is golf and we love
ANYONE WHO PLAYS GOLF!


Fall is football and we love
THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES

and
THE CINCINNATI BENGALS


Winter is basketball and we love
THE HANOVER PANTHERS


And, of course, we currently love
THE RED RHINOS


Head on over to Kelly's Korner to see more sports fanatics!
Good luck to your teams this weekend! You will hear us cheerin' from Ohio!

A History Lesson

This one is for all the sports folks out there...can't believe this is a "History 101" lesson...

A few weeks ago we turned on the TV and the Basketball Hall of Fame Inductions were being televised on ESPN. Andy was so excited because they were just starting to introduce Michael Jordan (you know....6'6" Andy...played basketball all his life...still wears his NCAA ring on occasion (just kidding)...had 13 posters of Michael Jordan on his bedroom wall...THAT Andy).

THE Michael Jordan. Number 23. Chicago Bulls.
GREATEST.PLAYER.EVER.

As we started to watch...

Jack - "Dad, who is that?"

Andy - "Jack, that is Michael Jordan."

Jack - "Who is Michael Jordan?"

I SERIOUSLY thought Andy was going to :
A. Start crying.
B. Have a fatal heart attack.
C. Send Jack to his room until he could give a 30 page dissertation on Michael Jordan's achievements.

So I kindly reminded my writhing-in-pain husband
"Honey, this is a legitimate question. He should not know who Michael Jordan is."

That's right, folks. We are THAT old.
History 101.

As a side note, we are still answering questions about Michael Jackson....

Thought this was cute...

Jack doesn't always want to share what went on in school when we pick him up...typical 5 year old boy (so I've heard - right, Lauren?!).

But today when asked "What did you do in school?" he was so excited to share that the class re-enacted Humpty Dumpty (I can also see on the wall what they do for the day - the teachers update it before the kids are picked up).

So what part did Mr. Goshorn play in the epic drama of
Humpty Dumpty?

"I was THE WALL!"

What a proud mother am I!
And don't worry...I already asked...no one sat on him.

Once we got home for lunch our typical routine began...
Kids play while Mom makes lunch.
ALWAYS a bologna sandwich for Will.

Once lunch is served we return to our normal programming -
The Young and The Restless, of course. I grew up on it...only fitting for my children to as well. Each of my kids knew the theme song by 9 months and would snap their head to the TV when they heard it.

Anyway...

I remind the kids every day that "It is just a show. Those people are pretending. It is not real."
But I thought it was cute today when Will said
"Mom, that is Victor laying there in that bed. He is not dead."

And Jack followed with
"Yeah. And that guy in the black coat - his name is Jack. Just like me."

And yes...they were correct.
My Grandma Hazel would be proud.
Just like me.

This Weekend...

...was a beautiful one! From the weather and the wins, to our family and fun, it was beautiful, any way you pick it!

We started off on Saturday having a nice fall morning to do some organizing while the kiddos were at Grandparents' Goshorn. Cleaning out the sandbox and garage for the winter were jobs this Organized Momma needed to get done!

The Red Rhinos improved again this week, with several goals scored by our team. Jack and Will were each sooooo close to scoring this week. I hope they get one more goal each before the season ends. We have team pictures this week so I will be sure to post the little cuties.

We headed to Indy after the game to spend time with The Austin Gang. It is so cute to hear Cade say "Ack!" and "Dill!" He knows who is cousins are! Getting all 4 of them in the tub is one wet mess!

Sunday morning we headed to Stoney Creek Farms with some of Stacy and Rob's friends for their annual Pumpkin Festival. The kiddos had a lot of fun, especially the boys with their friends Adam and Drew.


The boys loved the giant pillow



Brooke loves her Daddy


Will had a thumbs up for his horse "Diablo"


Fun on the Hayride


This one looks good...

All this... a UC win, an OSU win
AND ANOTHER BENGAL WIN!!
Life is GOOD!
Hope you had a beautiful weekend, too!

I would like to thank....

My in-laws, Bob and Peg, for taking my kids to their house overnight.

I got some organizing done last night, ran errands, ate Taco Bell, read my People Magazine cover to cover, did laundry, watched "Brothers and Sisters" and...

slept, UNINTERRUPTED, until 845am.

Alleluia!

Have a great Saturday! Can I get a shout out for a
Red Rhino Win??!!

Jack's Birthday Recap

Jack had a great 5th birthday. He took "5" and "J" cookies to school with green icing to celebrate. I think he liked having his classmates sing to him.

After school we met up with Miss Angela, Sam and Ben Markarian for lunch. Jack's pick - Cici's Pizza. Gotta love those brownies! Everyone had fun dancing to the good music while we ate.

We then headed to a new pumpkin patch for us all this year, Shaw's Farm. It was a great recommendation from our dear friend, Mrs. Carpenter (thanks Mary Kate!). All the kids ran and ran and ran! They loved the animals, all the play houses, and the mommies liked the craft store. A great time was had by all.

After a chilly soccer practice and a fun dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Goshorn, Jack declared he felt a little older and had a great birthday. And my, did all of them sleep well!

Here are some pics from our fun trip...

I am an experienced tractor driver...just ask Grandpa Bill.


Hey, did you see where the boys went??!!


Give us all your candy and the bear lives.


Hurry and take the picture so I can keep running!


Does this yellow brick road lead to food?