'Tis the Season

Happy Holidays! This time of year is so busy for all of us. With the hustle and bustle of the holidays it is difficult to find enough time to do all of the things we want to do. So, this blog post is serving as The Andrews Family Christmas Letter. Check out all the previous posts and see the stories and pictures of everything we have done all year.

As for recent news:

Kelsey has earned her red/black belt in karate. She will receive her new belt at graduation this Saturday. Nick has his brown belt and continues to do well learning new techniques.

We are very proud of their hard work at school also. For the fall marking period both Kelsey and Nick earned spots on the Honor Roll. Kelsey has also enjoyed singing in the chorus and Nick is finding his inner artist.

Hope you enjoy the blog. You can leave us a comment if you'd like.
Happy New Year! We wish you all the best for 2010!

Kris, Rob, Kelsey & Nick

Happy 15th Anniversary! October 1st

Yep, it's been 15 years since we said I do! Rob and I planned a trip to Florida for a 4 day getaway without the kids. Mom & Dad planned on driving out to babysit. Plans changed when Papa T needed heart surgery so Dad stayed home to handle things there and Mom flew out here to handle the babysitting. As many of you know we are big Disney fans so we decided to take a behind the scenes tour of the Magic Kingdom and then enjoy a day at the park without having to worry about kids. We had a great time! When we arrived home Mom, Kelsey & Nick suprised us with an anniversary cake. What chef's Kelsey & Nick are becoming. Thanks Mom & Dad for taking care of things to make this trip happen for us. And a huge thanks to my wonderful husband of 15 years! I love you!!

Halloween 10-31-2009

On Halloween we hosted our 3rd annual Halloween party. It included 15 families from our neighborhood and about 30 kids. Everyone had a blast!

Kelsey insisted we get a costume for Koda...she and I found the Devil Dog costume in XXL size so we had to make some modifications but it turned out ok.

Pumpkin Carving 10-30-09

The kids and Rob carved and decorated the pumpkins. Thanks Aunt Sharon for the great stick in decorations!

Pumpkin picking

So, I am finally catching up on my blog site. I had hand surgery on 9-25 to repair a torn UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) on my right thumb. All is healing as expected but the dr wants it to be immobolized until early November and by then it is gonna take some work to be fully functional again.

Anyway, here are the pictures from this past weekend at the pumpkin patch. We had a group of 8 families from the neighborhood.

Nick's Brown Belt Graduation

This past weekend Nick graduated from green belt to brown belt in karate. Way to go Nick!

Our karate studio had a tournament on 9-20-09. Kelsey and Nick both participated. Nick won a bronze medal for knowing his kada (routine).



Kelsey won a silver medal for sparring.

First Day of School

They are on their way!!! Kelsey & Nick start school today and they have already boarded that big yellow bus! Summer was great but it was definitely time to get back to school. This year Nick and Kelsey are at the same school. I can't believe they are going into 3rd and 5th grades. Where did my babies go???

Puppies, Puppies, Puppies!!!!!

Every year we take a trip to Pennsylvania with Koda to see his mother and the breeder where we got him. They currently have 17 five-week-old puppies! Kelsey & Nick had a blast holding all of them...I think between the two of them they literally held all 17. Then they played in the garden and visited with the other animals which included chickens, rabbits and a bunny that was just a few minutes old. Koda enjoyed running in the big back yard and was not a bit phased by the mud created by the thunderstorms last night. He even shook off and sprayed mud all over the side of the pool. When it was time to leave we had to check Kelsey's pockets and make sure they were empty!

Ocean City with the Morans 8-27-09

The kids had such a great time at the beach on Tuesday we returned on Thursday for another fun filled day. This time we were joined by the Moran family. Eric & Victoria are close to Kelsey & Nick's ages so they make a great foursome. Their older daughters Kayla & Rebecca are our babysitters and we all blend so well together. The kids had a blast Boogie Boarding again. Today the water was a bit calmer and much cleaner!!! After several hours on the beach we went to the boardwalk for an early dinner and window shopping and being silly! Check out the ice cream on the kids faces! And our best laugh of the day had to be when Kelsey got pooped on by a seagull!! What a relaxing week we had!!

One more week and the we head back to school. The kids are ready and I am looking forward to a little peace & quiet. I start back the same day they do but I only work mornings. That will give me a few hours to get things done before they get home. This year they will both be at the same school so that will be nice too.

Ocean City 8-25-09

After Kelsey's riding lesson we headed down the Shore for the day. Several of our friends joined us for a day at the beach and an evening on the Boardwalk rides. Kelsey & Nick had a blast riding their Boogie Boards on the waves. Hurricane Bill had come North in the Atlantic a few days earlier so the waves were a little rough and had lots of churned up ocean stuff in it. But that didn't stop the kids from having a great time. I was a bit reluctant to wade into all the seaweed, jellyfish and shells. This was our first trip to the beach this year. We are only an hour and half away but we just never seem to get there til the end of the summer.

Kelsey's Riding Lesson With Rush

Her are some pictures of Kelsey's riding lesson with Rush. This was her last lesson for this summer. She really enjoyed her riding once again this year.

Phillies Game Aug 8, 2009

Rob's boss treated the family to a Phillies game. The seats were awesome! Rob and I enjoyed watching the game but I think Kelsey and Nick's favorite part was buying cotton candy and popcorn from our seats. We can't seem to take Nick anywhere he doesn't find someone he knows. While he was playing in the fun zone kids park he ran into his friend Jack from down the street. Turns out Jack's family has season tickets and they sat one section over and down about 15 seats from where we were!!!

See Pictures You Like?

**Here's something Amy showed me. If you see a picture you like, double click on the picture and it will enlarge it and you can download it to your computer.

Illinois July 20-26, 2009

Last stop on our trip, Oak Forest, Illinois. Again we tried to squueeze in a ton of things in just a few days. There were so many pictures I had to break it into 2 slide shows.

The first few pics here are actually from the first day of our trip when we stopped over for the night on our way to Wisconsin. That night we managed to squeeze in an Oberweiss Dairy trip for milkshakes and a birthday cake for Nick even after 12 hours of driving. I think there was more cake worn than eaten.

Rob flew back home from Des Moines. This made it possible for Kelsey to make a ton of balloon animals without worrying about Rob's latex allergy. She made balloon creations for everyone. No trip would be complete without a visit to Brookfield Zoo. This year there is a special life size dinosaur exhibit. Nick loved it! Riley and Amy joined us for the day. The kids made the usual wax animals and got to see all of their favorite animals up close. After we finished at the zoo we took a side trip to see Bika and Smoke & Mason. Wednesday, Nana & Papa T took us out for lunch at our favorite Culver's restauraunt and Kelsey redeemed her prize tokens for a soccer ball. The great Grandparents got a little rowdy putting it on their heads! The next day we went to the Museum of Science & Industry with a quick stop-over across the street to see Lake Michigan. The kids would have loved to play in the sand all day but there was just enough time for a quick toe dipping in the lake. Kelsey & Nick were able to see an IMAX movie, visit their favorite U-505 Submarine, play with LEGO's at a new exhibit, watch the huge pinball machine, spend time watching the massive model train exhibit, and watch a big machine assemble toys just to name a few. Afterwards, Papa Bruce took us on a driving tour to see some of the big buildings downtown. He even detoured into Lincoln Park to drive us past Victory Gardens Theater (formerly The Biograph Theater) to see the location where John Dillinger was shot. When we were in Wisconsin we went to Little Bohemia restauraunt where there had been a big Dillinger shoot out. The kids got to see the preserved windows with bullet holes and some things he left behind there. Nick, Kelsey & Grammy spent time cooking in the kitchen making blueberry muffins from scratch and then delivered them to Nana & Papa T. Friday, Aunt Sharon & Uncle Gary invited us up for a swim in their pool. Sharon had a cake for the kids and the only time we saw the kids out of the pool was for lunch and cake. Uncle Mike stopped by for a visit too. Nick couldn't resist eyeing up his Harley so we had to get pics of the kids on it. Saturday Grammy made our family favorite beef stew & dumplings and the kids were going to have a sleep over with Riley but at the last minute she decided to go home. On Sunday Caryn, Joey, Mamerta & Alexander stopped by for a visit and that afternoon we had the whole Trauscht family over for dinner. It was a ton of fun to see all of our kids having such a great day. The kids enjoyed the slip & slide and water balloons and playing with Adrianne's dog Kinnick. Thanks Uncle Larry & Theresa for putting together the slip & Slide and the water balloons. The following day we got up early and hit the road for the drive back to New Jersey.



We had an awesome time and are glad we got to see so many people and do so many things. Thank you to everyone for sharing their time with us and for putting up with our crazy visits. It was definitely a full trip. Now we can relax & enjoy a few weeks before we go back to school. We don't start until September 8th! Hope you enjoy all these pics!

Iowa July 15-20, 2009

Next stop was Des Moines, Iowa. As usual we had more plans than time to do everything.

Thank you Tony, Tammy & Nathan for the great accomodations. Kelsey and Nick loved sleeping with Nathan in his room every night...except when they all went to Grammy Gloria's. Thanks for a night of peace for us Grammy! We were able to spend lots of quality time with family which included lunch with Great Grandma Grace, Aunt Dorthey and Uncle Vern & Aunt Gail who were in from Virginia. Cousin Angela came over for our first dinner in town and then stayed for a fun game of Apples to Apples game. Kelsey and Nick took on Uncle Josh, Uncle Joe & his girlfriend Alicia in games of Mario Kart on Wii. Rob golfed with his brothers and completed a few house projects for Grammy Gloria. Tammy, Gloria and I took the kids to the Iowa Science Center and we all joined up to see Ice Age 3. Then it was off to Culvers, again. Can you tell what my favorite midwest fast food is? I think it is a close tie with midwest pizza. We sang Happy Birthday to Aunt Tammy & Nick and even had trick candles. Poor Uncle Josh was ganged up on by the 3 kids but was able to hold his own. I hope he has recovered. Nathan, Kelsey & Nick also got to flex their muscles when we helped move a couch for Grammy Sharon (Tammy's Mom). We also had a chance to see Karen, Marc, Zach & Xander. It has been too long since our last visit. We had a blast seeing all of our Iowa family! Thanks to everyone for making it a great visit!

Here are some pics from the trip:

Wisconsin July 10-15, 2009

Well, we've made it back to New Jersey from our whirlwind Midwest Tour. We drove almost 3300 miles in 3 weeks and passed through 8 states! It was a great trip but we are exhausted. Thanks to all of you for making the trip so much fun.



Here are the pictures from our first destination....Manitowish Waters Wisconsin. Thanks Uncle Den & Aunt MaryJo for once again sharing your home and having us up for a visit. Amy, Mike & Riley joined us and it was a blast watching the cousins play together. We spent lots of time in the boat tubing and touring the chain of lakes. On a few occasions Uncle Den was even brave enough to let the kids all try to drive his boat. We ate at all the favorite northwoods restauraunts...Paul Bunyan's, Aberdeen, Little Bohemia, The Pea Patch & Culver's (we don't have them in NJ yet!). We saw the Min-aqua-bats water ski show and even got Nick on a horse for a trail ride! One day we were also able to head over to St Germain for a visit with our friends Louise & Ray. Rob and the kids caught several fish and we saw bald eagles, loons & deer close up. Uncle Den even headed up to the house roof after Nick launched his rocket towards the house. Kelsey had a blast swimming with Cosby & Charlie and Mike's arm is probably still sore from so much frisbee throwing for Charlie. We had a very fun and relaxing time! Hope you enjoy the pics. There were so many I had to set up two slide shows. There will be more to come from all the other destinations soon!

Happy 8th Birthday Nick!

Hapy 8th Birthday Nick! I can't believe my baby is so big. To celebrate he is having ice cream for breakfast and talking on the phone with his best friend Jake! What a great way to start his day!

Kelsey's Riding Lesson with Ty

Kelsey is once again taking riding lessons this summer. Here are a few pics from her recent lessons with Ty.

The Grande Luau June 20, 2009

Our neighborhood had a big Luau party of June 20th. Of course it rained almost the entire day. We had games for the kids, a dj and tons of food and fun. I think even with all the planning I did for the games, the favorite activity was dancing in the rain and puddle jumping! Kelsey even learned how to make balloon dogs for her friends. I think Rob's favorite part was the coconuts. Nick just loved being silly and wet and muddy for a whole day. What a fun day!

Sorry I have gotten so behind with blogging. Here are a few pictures of the kids end of the year school activities. Nick was in a program at school with his class. Kelsey had a science day complete with her own scientist Dad who came to class and did cool experiments with the kids.

Tony & Tammy & Nathan's visit

Tony & Tammy & Nathan came to New Jersey for a visit the first weekend of June. We traveled to Maryland for our cousin Meredith's high school graduation. While we were there Tony, Tammy, Rob & I were able to spend a day sight seeing in Washington DC and the cousins went to see the Disney movie "Up". Thanks for babysitting Grammy Gloria & Aunt Glenda. Thanks to Uncle Tom for doing the chauffeuring!!! Then we all joined up for dinner at Bucca di Beppo. The following day we were back in Jersey and the kids enjoyed playing in the pool and sprinkler. The kids can't wait to see Nathan again in Iowa in 2 weeks!

Spring Break 2009

Sorry for the delay in posting these pictures. Spring is such a crazy busy time with kids activities and Rob's travel schedule.

Here are some pictures from Grammy Pat & Papa Bruce's recent visit. It was a busy week. The kids had karate classes including Kelsey advancing to her brown/black belt (check out the video post), we visited historical sites in Philadelphia, Kelsey had a chorus concert, Nick had a flag football game, Mom assembled a quilt for Kelsey's honors class and of course a few trips to the ice cream store too. My parents dog Mac came along on the trip to NJ so Kelsey was in heaven trying to play with 2 dogs. We all had a great time and now we are looking forward to a busy weekend with Rob's family the beginning of June.

Kelsey's ACE Quilt

My mom hurt her thumb and has had a cast or splint on her right hand since February. While Grammy,Papa, and Mac (their black lab) were here for Spring Break, Grammy put together all the peices that the ACE kids signed in class. Didn't she do a great job putting it all together? Thanks so much Grammy! Love, Kelsey.

Congratulations Kelsey! Yesterday she earned her brown/black belt in karate. She really worked hard learning all the moves and did a great job on her test. Here is the video of her performing her kata. The camera clicking sound was Papa Bruce trying to get some cool pics. I'll be posting those later this week.

Easter Weekend

Saturday turned out to be a rainy day so we had to cancel our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. We busied ourselves in the house and as the evening approached the weather improved. After dinner we dyed our eggs and then waited for the sun to set. Once it got dark, Rob hid "glow in the dark" eggs in the yard for Kelsey & Nick. Not only did they find all 28 eggs but they also found the "Easter Slug"! Easter morning the kids helped Rob make a pot of spaghetti sauce and then headed outside for some fun in the yard with Koda. Now we are looking forward to Grammy Pat & Papa Bruce coming tomorrow for a 10 day visit.

Shrek on Broadway

Kelsey & Kris went to New York City to see Shrek on Broadway with Kelsey's honors class yesterday. We enjoyed lunch at Mars 2112 (a Mars themed restaurant) and then went to the Broadway Theater to see the show. The production was fabulous! We all had a great time.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

We celebrated with a dinner of green shamrock shaped panckes, sausage and green beer (green ginger ale for the kids)then topped it off with strawberries for dessert. Nick & Kelsey were quite impressed with the monster size strawberry and Koda enjoyed his green pancake.

Koda eats a snowman

The kids are addicted to AFV "America's Funniest Home Videos". One of the recent requests was to send in a video of your pet playing in the snow. Kelsey & Nick thought it would be funny to see Koda try to eat a snowman. Here is the filming of the event. They buried Koda's soccer ball in the body of the snowman and then decorated the snowman's face using dog treats. They are both very proud of how it turned out although we were all a bit disappointed he didn't dig out his ball.

More snow!

So we finally got enough snow to go sledding! Ok, so it was only 4 or 5 inches but that is our biggest snowfall this year! The kids had a blast but it was in the low 20's with alot of wind so they didn't last too long outside for anymore than an hour at a time. I think they were in and out 4 or 5 times today. And for those of you wondering, school was again cancelled for the expected 10-14 inches that never came.

Big Changes

Well, it has been busy here at the Andrews' House. We redecorated the master bedroom and had the whole house recarpeted. What a chaotic mess it has been. We finally have everything back together and can enjoy it! It feels like a completely different house! And as far as the kids doing the painting, that lasted for about 5 minutes!!!

More Snow

Wow we actually have measurable snow in inches rather than centimeters! About 3 inches fell today and that was enough to get out the sleds and shovels! Kelsey and Nick had fun playing with their friends Jake & Leah. Is it too much to hope for another snow day?

Playing in the Snow at 5 am

Hooray we got snow on January 28th! Ok, so it was less than 2 inches that melted in the rain a few hours later but at least the kids were able to play in it for a little while. Are we the meanest parents ever for getting the kids up at 5 in the morning to go out and play in the snow? Kelsey & Nick sure didn't think so! Besides, the schools are closed today in anticipation of the forecasted ice.

Amy's gonna teach me everything she knows!

I love the way she has done her blog so I am going to give it a try. This has more options than the shutterfly page I used for the holiday pictures. And Amy promised me it is easy!