Still Kickin at the Shipman's

Well it's been a while since I last blogged. So much has been going on and I just haven't taken the time to update this. We have a huge praise! Stan got on a day run with the trucking company he works for. He is now home in the evenings by 5:00 in the evening. He is helping coach Trevor's baseball team and it looked so wonderful to see him in that dugout at Trevor's first game.

The boys are beginning summer baseball, Tyler doesn't start games till next week but Trevor has been playing for a week. Tyler is hoping to get some jobs umping games for baseball at the park. Taylor is planning to do some babysitting this summer, she is also preparing for volleyball tryouts this August. School is out next Thursday, the pool is open for swimming, and we are READY for summer to begin!

We have been in between sports right now. Trevor is playing basketball only in weekend tournaments, so that keeps our weekends full. His team does not win very many games, but I think they have a good time playing. Trevor helps out with the 5 & 6 yr olds (who are probably taller than him) at church each Sunday. The teacher of the class tells me that she just loves having him help her and that he keeps some of the ornery boys occupied!


Taylor recently had Science Fair at school. She got an excellent on her project which we were really thankful for! She had I think 25 eggs that she blew the yokes out of and stained them with different types of food items such as coffee, jello, blueberry syrup, and grape juice. Then she took each and had five different brands of toothpaste to see which one whitened the egg shells the best. Through the study it showed that Aim whitened teeth the best. She did a really great job! She has been doing some babysitting on occasion and helping out at church with some of the preschoolers.






Tyler recently celebrated his 15th birthday! I know one more year and he'll be driving! UGH! He has a huge interest in playing baseball, so for his birthday we got him his own catchers gear. He is looking forward to putting it to use this baseball season. He will start playing games the last week in March and he will probably be playing through July. Tyler also has been helping out with the preschoolers at church and those little kids just LOVE him! He is becoming quite a great young man!

Winter Time Fun!

Not much going on here lately. Every fourth Sunday of the month we have Family Night with my parents and brother's family. This time we had it at our house since Tyler was babysitting two boys from our church. Of course we always include Kelly and Fred. I told Tyler to take some pictures of us playing scrabble, because I have seen some really neat stickers and paper to scrapbook at page for scrabble, but have never done one! NOW I CAN!

Tyler attended his first Homecoming Dance a few weeks ago. Kelly is only in the 8th grade so she could not attend with him. He said he had an okay time, but they didn't have any food there! HOW COULD THEY??!! A TEENAGE BOY WITH NO FOOD??? They are like babies, eat every 2 hours! HA HA My cousin Ashlyn was the sophomore attendant, so we got a pic of her and Tyler together. Also, our friends little girl and one that I use to babysit for was the flower girl. Everyone looked so great!

We had the VanArsdalen's and Geis's over at the last minute for Superbowl Sunday. Everyone was gone right after half-time, we weren't partying hard enough! HA HA No, everyone had school and the little ones needed to get to bed, or was it the big ones? Anyway, we had a great game of TWISTER going on in the living room. The kids wanted Rhonda and I to join them, but there was NO WAY we were doing that, we'd never get up!

In the last set of pictures is Trevor and Malorie playing singstar on the ps2. We got this game and they LOVE it! Those two looked so bored sitting there, but they sang off and on all evening. I told them to get up and pose, well Trev hams it up, but Malorie is more modest! They are so close and I hope they can stay close friends!


Taylor looks like she is going to HURT someone!



The little guy is Carter and he LOVES Tyler! He LOVES it on the Sundays that Tyler is in his Sunday School class to help! Check out our messy basement in the background! YIKES! They had fun playing though, that's all that matters!



The INTENSE game of scrabble!
















Tyler with two of his best friends, Travis and Derek




Tyler with Arleigh at Homecoming




Tyler and Ashlyn

Well it's been a few weeks since I last blogged. We've been just hanging out at home lately. With all the snow and cold weather I just want to stay home at night. Stan is still making his drive to WI every weeknight and lately, he has been running out of hours, due to traffic backed up. We have been so thankful though that God has kept him safe so far! He does not like leaving when he knows bad weather awaits him, especially on his way out, his trailer is empty and that makes driving in bad weather extra hard. He has a birthday this coming Sunday, not quite 40 yet!

Tyler is mid-way through the basketball season. He is doing a little better, one game his attitude got the best of him and "MOM" had to have a heart to heart with him. It must have worked because the next game he had 25 points and only 1 foul! He is still counting down the days to baseball season though. Tyler is still with Kelly, she has been hurt the past few weeks. She was practicing with the high school girls basketball team and went up for a lay up, the girl blocking her hit Kelly in the forehead with her teeth! Kelly ended up with I think four stitches right in the center of her forehead. It ended up getting infected even after treatments and she's had to sit out her basketball for two weeks. She has been so disappointed about it, because she really likes basketball. I have felt so bad for her.

Trevor starts his basketball this Saturday. He will only play a few tournaments and some Saturday games. Unlike his brother Trev LOVES basketball! He can not WAIT! He has been taking piano lessons for the past two months and starts guitar lessons in February. He loves music so much and is looking forward to learning some things on his guitar.

Taylor is not playing any sports, but has been helping me with the little kids. She is still with Fred and they hang out here or at his house. She is looking forward to starting some conditioning for volleyball. She just enjoys hanging with her friends and listening to music. She has been working some on her Science Fair project. It is going to be here before we know it. This is a huge thing for her grade and I really hope she does well.


This past weekend my Step Grandma Throne, Aunt Margaret, and her youngest son Cody who is Trevor's age came for a few days. Trevor and Cody are pretty close, so Cody hung with us most of the time. While they were here we got all that snow and we went sledding the one afternoon. Here are some pics from the sledding and the snow we just got.

Christmas

Well another Christmas has come and gone already! WHAT A WEEK! Stan was put on everything opposite this past week and with the weather and everything that was crazy, he was frustrated by the end of the week! I kept telling him as we would talk on the phone while he was gone that we needed to be thankful he has a job right now and to try and think of the positive!

We had a nice Christmas, Stan's parents came down Christmas Eve afternoon and spent the night. Stan left for work as they arrived and the poor guy had to wait on his trailer for over 2 hours and didn't make it back home till around 9:00 Christmas morning. The kids were not allowed to open any gifts till he got home. By the time he got home we unwrapped gifts, had breakfast it was almost time to head for my parents house. I felt bad rushing Stan's parents out the door, but it all worked out. We spent Christmas Day with my parents, just hanging out. We played a few games, then came home and just laid around the rest of the night. Poor Stan was so exhausted after being up for over 24 hours.

We sure did miss Holger this year. After those boys (Trev and Holger) staying up almost all night last year and waking us up around 5 am to open gifts! That was one I'll never forget!



Taylor opening her ipod shuffle, she wanted the better one of course, but says this one is great anyways..







Grandpa Shipman watching the boys play air hockey




Stan opened one of his gifts Christmas Eve before he left, so he could use it. It was a bluetooth for his cell phone, but then he couldn't get it to work right that night



Easton


Malorie


Aunt Melanie got Taylor the "COOL" boots she wanted! BOY was she HAPPY!



This jacket was a gift from Dia our exchange student we had from Japan. Trev just LOVED this jacket! It is really nice and warm




OH GOOD GRIEF! This is a pillow that Tyler got and he put the dumb thing on his head! WHAT A DORK!

Decorating the Tree

We spent today doing some baking, decorating, and then lastly we put the tree up. The kids pretty much do all the decorating of the tree, Stan and I just sit and watch. Obviously I am not picky about how my tree looks. I figure that I will have many years to do it my way when they are out of the house.

I mixed up some cut out cookie dough and then Taylor cut them out and baked them. We are going to frost them another day. We made hot chocolate to drink while we did the tree. It was nice, a little crazy at times though!!!



Tyler and Taylor




Trevor


Yes they really do love each other!




YUMO! HOT CHOCOLATE with Hershey chocolate mint candy canes




Taylor had more flour on herself than under the cookies



Stan and Trevor putting a few lights on the evergreen tree. That tree was given to us when my Grandpa Bobby passed away by my Aunt and it's gotten big enough to finally put a few lights on. Grandpa always spent Christmas Eve with us, and we dearly miss him.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We spent our Thanksgiving Day a little different than we have in past years. Stan, a friend Tyson, Tyler, and Trevor spent it in Detroit at the Lions game. It was a surprise for the boys. Tyler was so mad that morning because we had told him that Stan wanted to take Tyson (who attends Bluffton college) out for breakfast at Denny's. Well, Tyler thinking there is only one Denny's that he knows of and that is in Dundee, MI. He was having a FIT! "Why are we driving all that way for breakfast?" I told him that is what Dad wanted, so just do it, so he did. They got to Dundee and the Denny's was no longer there. You can imagine what Tyler was doing by this point! He had gotten up before 7:00 am to drive over an hour to eat breakfast and now the place was closed! They ended up at a McDonalds and a VERY GRUMBLING teenager! So as Tyler was grouching about driving so far when they could have eaten in Montpelier, Stan put the Lions tickets in front of him. When he turned around to see them and realized he'd been set up, he freaked out! Even though the Lions stink (as usual), Stan has always been a loyal fan and has dreamed of going on Thanksgiving Day to the game.


Ford Field... Stan did say it was nice to yell at the actual people rather than the TV!! LIKE THEY HEAR HIM EITHER WAY!!! LOL

Taylor and I spent the day with the Youngs and we had a GREAT time. Sabine and I played the Wii, which I had never played before and it was SO MUCH FUN!!


We were racing cows! IT WAS HILARIOUS!


Grandpa Dave (Tom's Dad) waiting on the meal


Taylor and Shawna showing off the silver from France!


Then later that weekend we had the Shipman Thanksgiving and on Sunday I took the kids to Kalahari water park for the night.



This is Taylor going down the big bowl (we called it the toilet bowl!)


In our room later that night, Stan stayed home, so it was just the four of us



Our parents.... our Dad's share the same birthday, however there is a 30 year difference



Stan's siblings