The Fortner Four

Hot fun in the summer time!

2010-07-21T21:56:00.000-05:00

First rule of golf? Safety first.

The boys putting army men in a green slime. Parents kept telling them they couldn't play with the slime. Well, today was their lucky day. Slime time! Then, after the soldiers were stuck in the goo, attack with air soft guns!

Earlier in the summer Joel thought it would be funny to "be an alien" and wear numerous swimming goggles. I have to admit....it was funny!

Fun with Grandpa

2010-07-21T21:51:00.000-05:00

Spent the day with the grandparents last Saturday. For the boys it was: we-get-to-do-whatever-we-want-cause-we-are-at-grandma & grandpa's house. And that's the way it supposed to be. It was a chance for Jason to get another air soft gun (cue Tim Allen grunt).

This is them with airsoft guns.

The look of determination on Jeffrey's face. THAT COKE CAN IS GOING DOWN!

July 4th

2010-07-21T21:47:00.000-05:00

Some pictures of the July 4th fun. I know I have more somewhere on this computer. Let me see if I can get the hamster to move the wheel faster to find them....

Joel's first (and I think he last) firework. It was a smoke bomb. Lots of smoke, not a lot of pop.

High School Graduation

2010-06-01T21:54:00.000-05:00

After celebrating his own graduation, Joel couldn't make it through High School graduation

Graduation Pics

2010-06-01T21:49:00.000-05:00

Getting Ready for Grad

Got my Game Face on!

Game Face is gone...trying not to fall asleep while principal rambles on!

World's best Pre-K teacher: Mrs. Gruhlkey

Joel and his awards

Jeffrey and his awards

Brothers always

Accelerated Reader Award

2010-06-01T21:19:00.000-05:00

Jeffrey won a chair. Each year the reading teacher challenges students to get 200 points in Accelerated Reading, if they do they get a chair. Each book in the library is worth points depending on its reading level etc. Anyway, he won a chair last year and he wanted to do it again this year. He got 202 points. We are proud of him because he was able to do this while reading books at near a fourth grade reading level and keeping straight A's and being a good kid! He does enjoy reading and what really helped was the Wimpy Kid series books. He tore through them in a couple of weeks and wanted more.....unfortunately....there ain't no more! So we took him to see the movie instead!

Pre-K Grad and Awards

2010-06-01T21:14:00.000-05:00

Joel graduated from Pre-K...We found out he can spell his name and color good! Whoo Hoo! Kidding aside, he received the two highest awards you can get. One of them was Citizenship Award (meaning overall great kid) the other award was Character Counts (only a handful of kids in the whole school got this). With Character Counts he received a Wal-Mart gift card with five bucks on it. When he saw the card he said, "I GOT A CARD!" We told him it had money on it and then he said, "I GOT A CARD WITH MONEY ON IT!" Jeffrey racked up with four awards in the assembly: Near Perfect Attendance (he missed one day! We tried so hard to take him that day but puke and everything wouldn't allow it) All 'A' Honor Roll. (Very Proud of him) Citizenship award (again...good kid!) and Music Award (who knew?!). We later found out that his teacher gave him Handwriting award and Math Facts award! We found those awards in his backpack and asked him about it and he said, "Oh yeah, my teacher gave me two more awards." (He didn't get communication award)

Joel's Pre-K Graduation and Awards assembly

2010-06-01T20:53:00.003-05:00

Hey Soul Sister!

2010-04-13T20:53:00.000-05:00

Can you guess where this child is from?

If you can't see the video then go to: http://fortner4.blogspot.com/

EASTER!

2010-04-04T22:06:00.000-05:00

Some pics of Easter weekend spent at my parent's house in Midland!

Leanna, The Queen of Cakes, made this cake for Easter. I can't seem to flip the pic so you gonna have to flip your head.

Boys getting ready to decorate

Grandma showing 'em how it's done. She's the pro!

We dipped Eric in yellow dye and this is how he turned out.

Forget using the tool, use your hands!

Jeffrey being careful

Perfection!

CHEESE

Hold the egg holder and use your hands.

Not sure why "the face" but for some reason he is giving it to me.

Didn't get too dirty.

Are you looking at me? Are you looking at me? You must be looking at me because I'm the only one here.

Decorating done, let's hunt!

One more pic with the grandparents

Did we get 'em all?

What about Jeffrey?

2010-04-02T22:55:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I haven't posted too much of Jeffrey's stuff! Anyway, he has been playing Little Dribblers basketball and here are a couple of pics for you to enjoy.

Tip-off! (unfortunately we didn't get the tip)

Jeffrey is a defensive machine. I'm not lying. His offense....well....that is just a time that he isn't on defense. In fact, in his last game he was guarding one of his friends so well that the kid stopped dribbling and shoved Jeffrey and yelled, "STOP IT!" It made Jeffrey's parent's proud.

GO RAIDERS!

Game 2

2010-04-02T22:40:00.003-05:00

Joel playing 3rd base and being pestered by a big blue bug that kept circling around him.

1st base and heading to second.

Looking to score from 3rd. (what happened to 2nd?)

You make the call! Did he touch Home Plate or not? The answer after this commercial break.

He did, this picture was taken a moment after his back foot came off the plate.

They don't give you chaw till you get to the bigs, until then we chew double bubble.

This groundhog was just outside the fence behind homeplate. He was not afraid of anything. A kid tried whacking him with a bat. He was successful only at annoying us and kicking up dirt.

Easter at school?!

2010-04-02T22:22:00.000-05:00

Joel's class hunting eggs at school. I should point out that some of these kids are in kindergarten. This is a mix of Joel's Pre-K class and the Kindergarten class. The weather was awesome. I think it hit 90.

Joel concentrating

Ah...nothing says Easter like filling up a hole in Spiderman's head!

(someone needs to tell this kid it is Easter not Halloween!)

Joel's buddy Trent.

How can you say "no" to this face?

Jeffrey and his buddies Lane (left) Brent (right)

Joel and Trent playing quietly (notice destruction of room)

Poor kids ain't got nothin' to play with.

T-ball action!

2010-04-01T23:44:00.001-05:00

Some current video! Here is Joel's first game. A clump of a hit, some fielding action and another hit.

Christmas on the Pecos

2010-04-01T23:24:00.001-05:00

More Christmas video for you. This is a brief look at Christmas on the Pecos. Every year in Carlsbad NM, you can ride in a boat down the Pecos River looking at these massive houses that have been decorated for Christmas. The boys really had a great time!

Blog site

2010-04-01T22:49:00.000-05:00

Too look at any video just go to: http://fortner4.blogspot.com/ There you can see video and pics of what is going on.

Wii fish!

2010-04-01T22:47:00.001-05:00

Some video from Christmas. The boys got a wii and a bass fishing game came with it. Here is a clip of Jeffrey fishing. He really gets into it!

Tee-ing off!

2010-03-30T23:56:00.000-05:00

T-ball started tonight. Joel's first game of the season. He is the youngest and smallest on the team, but he did great! I'm attaching some pics of the game and I hope to get a little bit of video on here. The best way to see any video is by visiting: http://fortner4.blogspot.com/

Pregame warrior face!

Riding the pine! (this is just waiting on his turn to bat)

Making contact! He said later that he "knocked the fire out of the ball!"

Trotting to second base.

Ready for action!

Beating out the throw!

After game posing

His pic for the Ol School baseball card

Pretending to be asleep going home

Both boys hamming it up!

New Family member

2010-03-28T23:32:00.000-05:00

I don't know how many times I've said to other people that we didn't need a dog, would never have a dog, we already have 2 kids, we don't need no stinkin' dog! Well, we got a dog. A stray walked up to the house over Valentine's weekend and I asked Leanna if we could keep her. What a dope I am!

She is not as scruffy, she has been groomed but I don't have a recent pic

Her name is Molly, she's a mutt. But she is our mutt now.

Signs were posted around town for anyone who might have lost a dog, but nobody claimed her. Then I spent 180 bucks at the vet so now if anyone wants her back they need to cough up 180 bucks plus the cost of food if they want her back! She is housebroken. I don't know how that happened, she just came that way! Stories around town were that some truck was passing through town and stopped long enough to drop her and another dog off then they left. At least that is what the guy at the town store says. Just on our street alone it is like Wild Kingdom with all the cats and dogs running around. At first, we ignored her, but then I (Jason) gave her water, food, and a blanket and she slept in the shed for a couple of days until I convinced Leanna to let her in.

More at Cowboy Stadium

2010-03-28T23:19:00.000-05:00

Floating silver helmets? Is this Heaven? No, its Arlington!

I liked this wall, it "speaks" for itself!

The entrance into the holy of holies, the Cowboy locker room.

Jeffrey in front of his favorite player's locker (Tony Romo). At a cost of around 9,000 per locker they wouldn't let us touch it, sit in it or even smell it.

Joel's neck is going to be so sore!

Walking into the cheerleader locker room, no cheerleaders, just lockers. Joel didn't want to have anything to do with it. He didn't want to look at the grills (girls)!

Joel isn't asleep, he crammed his cap down so he wouldn't see the girls.

It's March! You just gotta fly a kite!

2010-03-28T23:01:00.000-05:00

On this day that we flew kites, the weather wasn't windy, but somehow we were able to fly some kites. Joel, at first, freaked that it was going to fly away, but when he realized it was going to stay attached to the string, he calmed down.

Jeffrey flying like an old pro

There's a smile

Wal-mart special but totally worth it, didn't tear up even after getting caught in a tree while dad tried to yank it out.

This is as high as it gets for Joel.

Spring Break at the Holy Land

2010-03-28T22:52:00.000-05:00

This past week we traveled to Dallas and toured the Cowboy stadium. The boys loved it, Jason loved the world's biggest TV and the cheerleader lockerrooms.

We were able to park right next to the stadium, for FREE! First time and last time ever!

The Boys decked out in their "boys" gear.

Stare in awe at the wonder that is THE BIGGEST HD TV IN THE WORLD! Tour guide said the TV cost 40 million and that the old stadium was built for a cost of 35 million. He also said that the only thing Jerry Jones loves more than the Cowboys is his TV.....smart man.

Where have you been?

2010-03-28T16:14:00.001-05:00

September! Really? The last post was in September? Man, I have fallen down on the job. I plan on posting more. They won't be in order (that bugs me) but I guess that's the way I do things....in order they won't be.

Donut Shop=Donut Pumpkin Patch=Pumpkin Corn Maze= WHAT NO CORN???????

2009-09-24T10:59:00.008-05:00

We went on Joel's very first field trip on Wednesday. He was so excited. I think he was as excited about riding on the bus as he was about anything else. The day started with being assigned a partner. Joel was assigned to his princess, Summer. They have been the prince and princess since the first week of school. So after the partner assignment, they boarded the bus and headed to Krispy Kremes in Lubbock. The donuts were a hit. After the donuts, we headed to the corn maze north of Lubbock. They ate lunch and got ready for the journey thru the maze. After the maze, (we only did half) we went to the pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkins. They kids were to find a pumpkin and stand by it and raise their hand until the ONE guy ran to each kid to cut their pumpkins free. After everyone had their pumpkin, we boarded the hay ride again and headed back to the main area and to the "cow train". The kids had a blast. After several more picture opportunities and visiting the animal area, they boarded the bus and headed back to Whiteface. Mrs. Gruhlkey said that all of her Pre-K kids slept on the way home. They were exhausted. We had a beautiful day and everyone had a GREAT TIME!!!!!

After we got home, Joel kept running thru the events of the day and was concerned with why we didn't get corn at the corn maze. He said "mom.....we went to the donut place and got a donut, we went to the pumpkin orchard and got a pumpkin and we went to the corn maze and didn't get any corn." He was obsessed with that. We ended up having to go to the grocery store and buy some corn like what we saw at the corn maze.

As you can see, we had a blast.

JH Football In Full Swing

2009-09-24T10:27:00.003-05:00

Well, we have had 2 games now for the JH Antelopes and a victory for both. The boys have definitely suprised everyone. They are looking good and things are going well. We continue to pray for success and no injuries. God has really blessed our little JH team with both so far. Jason is a GREAT coach with priorities in the correct order. He expects his boys to focus on their school work when it is school time and focus on team work when it is team time. Some people are just not built to be a JrHigh coach, but Jason is. He loves this age and loves his job.

The boys love Trevor being around.

GAME #2

1st Day of School 2009-2010

2009-08-24T22:11:00.005-05:00

Well, I just realized that it has been quite some time since we posted last. Oh well, mainly we have just been getting ready for school. Jason started football several weeks and has been going nonstop.

So, Joel and Jeffrey started school today. They both were very excited. Joel started off the day when I woke up them up to get ready. His first words were, "Is it finally the day to go to school today?" I told him yes and he hopped out of bed and got dressed. When we got to the school, he said, "Mom, is this the day that you leave me at school?" I said yes it is Joel and he said "This is my happiest day ever." We have 2 LONG weeks before the 1st break. The little ones will be exhausted.

Vacation 2009

2009-07-28T11:01:00.020-05:00

Vacation 2009 was a simple, but good one. We started our vacation on July 18th. What a good day. This was also mine and Jason's 11th anniversary. We picked the boys up at my mom's house and headed out to the lake. We were gonna stop there and turn the a/c on and then on to Dallas on Sunday. We got to the lake with just enough time to eat supper, buy a few groceries for the week and then swim for a little bit. We headed to Dallas the next day. Our mission was to visit the newly opening Lego store in one of the many malls in the Dallas area. Well, we made it. The boys were able to "help" build the 8ft tall Yoda. The guy hadn't finished it when we were leaving, but it was already pretty impressive. He has a small replica and it was cool itself. We met some of our friends there and they also helped with the Yoda project. Anyway, we were planning on taking a look around the Lego store, but we did not want to stand in line for 2 hours just to get in the tiny little store.

The next thing we did was visit the Build A Bear Workshop. The boys love this. You get to take the "skin" of the animal you want then you help fill them up. You have to put a little heart inside and stitch them up. Joel wasn't a huge fan of doing all the little things that they were asking him to do with the heart before placing it in the bear, so it took a little getting used to for him. After the stuffing of the bear, you get to give them a "shower" and pick out their clothes. After dressing them you get to make a birth certificate and then you are done with a new furry friend.

Jason's trip was made when our friend, Jon Townsend, tipped him off to the fact that Darth Vader was just a few stores down and he was REAL!!!!! Just down the way from the Build a Bear Workshop was some kind of a puzzle store, and sure enough, Darth Vader was walking around. So, Jason has seen a soon to be 8ft tall Yoda and then got his picture taken with Darth Vader. Jason could have gone home right then and been the happiest person in the world.

Joel wasn't a fan of the "real" Vader, so it took some conviencing to get him to even be held in the presence of him. Anyway, the single Batman picture was taken with Uncle Trevor in mind.

After the Star Wars mall trip, we went to an outlet mall at Grapevine to do some much needed school shopping. This year EVERYONE get new school clothes. Joel starts pre-K and is very excited about getting all his stuff for that. Anyway, we got a lot of good deals and had a great time. I was able to meet up with my best friend from high school. She was in my wedding, but I haven't seen her since I was pregnant with Joel. It has been almost 5yrs since I have seen her. Anyway, it was very good to see Terry and hopefully it won't be 5yrs before I see her again.

One of the best things about going on vacation is the motel. They love this. As long as they don't go completely crazy, they are allowed to do pretty much anything. We had a pretty good motel and it wasn't all that expensive.

On Monday, we headed to the Dallas World Aquarium. It was awesome. It was a beautiful (not miserably hot and humid) day in Dallas. The aquaruim starts with kind of a rain forest theme. It was great. We met the Townsends there and had a great time. We saw everything under the sun, I mean water. Both boys had a great time. Jeffrey's favorite part was the shark tunnel. We were able to watch the sharks being fed. Joel's favorite part was the "pink flying mingos". Translation, Pink flamingo. As you can see by the pictures, we had a great time and saw lots of underwater creatures.

As you can see, we had a good time at the aquarium. After the aquarium, we went back to the outlet mall and did more shopping. The boys did extremely well considering they don't care for shopping. We were told that the mall is 1 mile if you walk the entire thing. Well we did it. The boys were EXHAUSTED on the way back to the lake.

After Dallas, we spent the rest of the time at the lake. We had a great time swimming, sleeping, reading and just hanging out. We did a few little projects, but nothing major. We made stepping stones for Grandma and Grandpa and Nana. The boys were very proud of these. Then the boys made a sand castle with Daddy. They also made little boats and in full little boy fashion, they threw rocks at them in the water to "blow them up." We were able to catch a few fish and Jason actually caught 2 himself. In the 11yrs that we have been married, he has yet to catch a fish. Well, that streak was broken when he caught a catfish and then a bass. He likes fishing now. I caught an aligator gar and Jason made me pull it onto the doc so he could take a picture of it. Anyway, we ended up the vacation by swinging by to see Grandma and Grandpa. With football season and school starting, it might be a while before we are able to go to Midland for a while.

I did get a suprise while we were at the lake as well. I was able to meet up with another good friend that I haven't seen in like 9 yrs. Tiffne used to be my youth minister when I was in High School and she was a very important person in my life. We were very good friends. She and her family live in Spain as missionaries. They were back in the states for some medical reasons and her parents live in Breckenridge, TX where the lake is. I called her and she and her little family were able to swing by the house and visit for a little bit. It was very good to see her and what all God is doing in their lives and in the lives of the people that they minister to. I didn't get a picture of her husband, but Joel and Tiffne Whitley and their children. Meagan is 7yrs old and Cade and Dylan are 4yr old twins. They are beautiful children and have great parents.

Miscellaneous Pics from the Weekend

2009-07-07T17:15:00.004-05:00

Here are some pics from the 4th of July Weekend.

I have no idea what Joel is doing here. Apparently he plays golf like his dad and needs to wear a safety helmet. No, his dad doesn't golf in pajamas!
The boys doing the robot.

Uncle Nate with the guys!
Aunt Susan putting on a smile while holding the monkeys!
Boys playing Nintendo DS....Notice Joel is all about safety first.

Cousin Julie comforting Joel. Joel isn't a fan of the loud fireworks!

Jeffrey and buddy Katy
Joel asleep. He had enough of the weekend.

The Fourth continues!

2009-07-07T17:04:00.005-05:00

Yes, even though the 4th passed, the festivities did not! The Townsends brought over a plethera of fireworks on the 5th that didn't get a chance to explode. We couldn't just let them sit there! We had to do something! So we did!

Kathy and Katy spinning sparklers

Jeffrey....the Pyro

John imitating Zeus.

Yeah Fireworks!

The Grand Finale!
Wait! Just one more sparkler!

Brothers and Others Bash

2009-07-07T17:00:00.003-05:00

The night before the 4th, the Brothers and their Significant Others got together to play games, tell lies, and visit. Good times, good times!

Fourth at the Fortners!

2009-07-07T16:32:00.009-05:00

Oh me, oh my! These pictures don't even give you a clue as to what kind of destruction took place in the backyard at 411 N. Tyler! It was a good thing it was raining, or no telling what would have happened to the yard.

Above are a couple of pictures of how many fireworks we had. This is just a little taste. The OM (Ol Man), Uncle Jerry, Brothers: Nathan, Eric, and Trevor all contributed to the festivities. Forecast called for 40% chance of rain-showers and 100% chance of fire-showers!

Of course we couldn't wait until it was dark. Here are some pictures of Jeffrey blowing up some fireworks.
Uncle Eric providing a steady hand. Eric always lets you know that "Ya got time!"

Uncle Nate providing tips to Joel

The fans grow restless waiting with anticipation!

And here is the brain trust. The group responsible for most of the fireworks.

A picture is worth a 1000 words.

Finally night time! A few shots of the fun.

The PlannerThe Lighter
The results!

The Aftermath!

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST.....

2009-06-17T10:46:00.002-05:00

Ok, so we bought the boys both fish at the end of the school year. We told them it was for having a good year. For Jeffrey, it was for holding on to all A's the entire year even while playing basketball and baseball. For Joel, it was for learning lots of stuff at Miss Debbie's house. Anyway, they both wanted a puppy, but I can't afford to buy food for the dog AND for the kids, so I chose to feed children. Well, they both got to pick out their own fish and aquarium decorations. We have had these for like 3 wks or so. Jeffrey's fish is strong. Joel's fish, well.......the 4th fish is dead right now. I wish Wal-Mart had a "dead fish policy". Oh well, I guess we will go back for the 5th fish soon. Say a little prayer for Joel's next fish. May he have a long life.

Summertime fun

2009-06-15T17:11:00.005-05:00

We took the boys to the Whiteface pool today. We weren't really sure how Joel would do, but as you can see in the pictures, he did great. We put his life jacket on and away he went. He still won't JUMP off the side, but he isn't scared of the water. Jeffrey found his water legs and branched out to the slides. He wanted to go down with his life jacket, but that is strictly against the rules. He also did great. He did slides the rest of the time. We are so thankful that they like the water.

Even thought baseball season is over, Daddy says anytime is a good time for a game of catch.

After a long day of playing, nap time and bed time are always welcome. (especially welcomed by MOM!!!)

Ace Of Cakes

2009-06-10T16:12:00.002-05:00

These are some cakes that Leanna has made. She made these by looking at a picture. Just looking at a picture. Now, if you were talking to her she would say, "I'm just not creative." --Yeah right!

The school would not let the first graders have pizza on the last day of school but they can have cake. It's a rip-off, but Leanna had the bright idea of making cakes that looked like pizzas. Below is the final product complete with Pizza Hut boxes (afterall presentation is everything). The pizza is made with cake for the dough, red icing for the sauce, shaved almond bark for the cheese, chocolate covered peanuts for the meat, and fruit roll ups for the pepperoni.

This next cake is a dinosaur, or it could be a dragon, or crocodile. Either way, it was pretty cool too.

South Plains Air Show

2009-06-10T16:04:00.003-05:00

Slaton had an airshow this past weekend. We took the boys as a surprise and turned out I was surprised because it was so cool! Well worth it! Hard to believe something cool could be so close to home!

No school....No hair

2009-06-10T16:00:00.003-05:00

School lets out and the hair lets loose! Momma shaved the boys heads giving them a cooler do while they tear up the outside this summer.

Trevor with boys. Trev is laughing cause he has a mane of hair!

School's out for summer!

2009-06-10T15:49:00.005-05:00

Cue Alice Cooper! School's out for summer!

Jeffrey's first grade teacher, Mrs. Wilson. She is a small lady, but she can whip some first graders into shape! She is the best first grade teacher I've ever seen!

Jeffrey got a handful of awards: Citizenship Award, Exemplary Student, and All "A" Honor Roll. (definitely gets it from his momma!) Finished the year with his lowest grade being a 95. Yeah, I'm braggin! He really worked hard.

Jeffrey's entire first grade class. In fact, the only first grade class at Whiteface. One of the larger classes in the entire school. (HS included)

It was the last day of school and they were having water day...that is why nobody is wearing a shirt.

I guess the excitement was too much for Joel as he sacked out on the turtle in Mrs. Wilson's room.

Joel sleeping again....you would think we keep this kid up late or something.

Tball is over! Where's my trophy?!

2009-06-10T15:43:00.003-05:00

Joel wrapped up the Tball season and got a trophy! Whoo Hoo! It's posable!

No, you're not seeing double, Joel is on the left, buddy Trent, is on the right. They are the same height, they run the same, they throw the same, sometimes they even talk the same!

Joel with buddy Casen.

Jeffrey didn't get one, so he pouted.

You worked hard! Now sit back...relax!

2009-06-10T15:36:00.002-05:00

Jeffrey worked his tookis off this school year to win this chair. It is a big thing at the Whiteface Elementary to get a chair. The students have to earn 200 points reading AR (Accelerated Reader) Books. The students read a book, then they take a test over what they read to earn the points. The books Jeffrey read were worth half a point and he ended the year with 232 total points. That is like.....um....a bunch of books! 400 some odd or something like that. ANYWAY, what I'm trying to say is that he read these books that range in grade level from first grade through second and third grade and each book was worth about half a point and for him to make 232 points was a huge deal! We are very proud of him and when he got the chair home he sat in it for a week straight!

Fort Fortner

2009-06-10T15:31:00.003-05:00

Boys waiting patiently for dad to finish the Fort.

A Fort butt to go along with The Fort.

A complete swing-set-monkey-bar-fortress thingy. It was a joy to put together! Only a week of my time gone! Nothing labelled or pre-drilled! AWESOME! But wait! The sides aren't put up yet....oh well I got another week.

Man! I'm behind....so what else is new

2009-06-10T15:15:00.006-05:00

I haven't posted since Joel's birthday, April 28th, this is what has been happening since.....

Below are pics of Joel's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. I guess we just wanted to keep celebrating!

Joel didn't really want to take a picture with Chuck, but when we told him he had to before he could open his presents, he put aside all fears and stepped up to the Chuck for a quick pic.

Leanna made the coolest cake ever! R2D2! I mean, c'mon you can't go wrong with that! Yes, she made this. I call her the Ace of Cakes! (Not to be confused with Duff Goldman)

Joel riding the funnest game at Chucks and that is the Jet Ski simulator. Whoo Hoo!

Joel "piloting" the airplane game.

Me and Dad putting together Joel's Clone Wars helmet. I'm the big blue one.

Joel wearing his helmet. Not to be confused with a life size bobble-head.

Joel's Birthday!

2009-04-28T23:40:00.004-05:00

Today Joel turns 4! Amazing! We asked him where he wanted to go for his birthday, and like a good 4 yr old he said: McDonald's. Be checking back for pictures from Chuck E. Cheese later in the week.

2009-04-28T23:40:00.001-05:00

FIELD TRIP DAY!

2009-04-28T23:22:00.011-05:00

This past Friday was the First Grade Field Trip! YES! The First Grade was going on a tour of Krispy Kreme Donuts in Lubbock! Also they were going to Newschannell 11 to watch how the news was made! They needed a bus driver! I am a bus driver! I was then faced with a difficult decision. Should I stay at school and deal with teenagers or go on a field trip with 17 rowdy first graders going to tour the best donut place in the world AND getting to see the Newschannell 11 studio? Well it was an easy decision and thankfully they let me drive the bus. I guess more importantly, we made it back alive! Whew!

Jeffrey at the park following a sugar rush of free donuts!

The entire First Grade class and the awesome teacher that works with them!

Office of Karin McCay and Abner Euresti! Media Giants of Lubbock and the South Plains!

A real life celebrity! Steve Divine in the First Alert Forecast Center! (I was excited even if the kids didn't know who he was!)

Green Screen Action. Jeffrey gets a chance to "do" the weather! I was jealous.

One more time at another park!

Steve Divine, in the First Alert Forecast Center forecasted the high to be in the low 90s. Can you tell by looking at Jeffrey's facial expressions? It was hot. The kids were worn out and coming off of their sugar high. All-in-all it was a great day for a field trip!

Fishing with Bill Dance and Roland Martin

2009-04-28T23:17:00.002-05:00

While in Frankston, the boys wanted to fish. So we fished. Apparently, East TX fish is good eatin' but we will never know. Fish apparently are camera shy.

Music Break

2009-04-28T23:16:00.000-05:00

Click video to see Joel play a little "music"

2009-04-28T23:15:00.001-05:00

Visiting Aunt Ireta

2009-04-28T23:00:00.004-05:00

On the way to and from Pittsburgh we made a stop over in Frankston, TX to see Leanna's great-aunt Ireta. Again in East TX. I'm posting pictures of the boys in bluebonnets. For those who live in West Texas and never see bluebonnets they are the state flower of Texas. They are blue, and bonnet shaped. In East TX they are EVERYWHERE! Also, if you are a Texan you have to take your picture in them. It's like a law. It is also a law NOT to pick them! Don't do it! I didn't try, and I didn't want to. Bluebonnets are mainly along the highway...ya know...a real safe spot to stop and take pictures. I took these at Ireta's house which is well off the highway. Jeffrey didn't want to get in the mix of the flowers and Joel was airlifted to the middle of the flowers.

Here is Aunt Ireta, the boys, and their Nana.

Nate's Wedding

2009-04-28T22:28:00.004-05:00

Nathan got married to a really cool girl on the weekend after Easter in a little town called Pittsburg. It's in Texas! It may be on the other side of Texas, but it's still there! Anyway, after traveling almost 12 hours (we took the scenic route) we arrived to witness the event. I have never been to East Texas, but I'm glad we went. We got to see the World's Biggest Pilgrim! When I see this picture, I think of the movie, "So I Married an Axe Murderer!" Where the Irish man says: "HEED! PANTS NOW!" That will be funny to those who have seen the movie, those who haven't, well you are missing out! It was one of Mike Myers earlier films and possibly his funniest, but I digress!
East Texas has hills, trees, lakes, trees, rivers, trees, and when it rains, it rains! Well, it was raining when we went. It stopped raining in time for the wedding and was clear the rest of the weekend. I had said that I was worried that the World's Largest Pilgrim needed the World's Largest Umbrella to keep from getting wet. Jeffrey then piped up and said: "It's ok, Dad, he has a big hat on, he will be ok!"

Pittsburg, TX is hometown of Bo Pilgrim the founder of Pilgrim's Pride Chicken. Also Pittsburg has the World's Best Hotlinks. Just ask the locals! (Don't ask me) They also claim to be the first in flight. That's right, FIRST in flight, before them there Wright Brothers took it from 'em. There is a museum and everything that has a replica of "Ezequiel" (that's the name of their airship). Sorry no pictures of that thing.

Here you see Bo's mansion! Chicken does well! (Or did, apparently he is having some financial issues and had to let some of his help go...poor guy) Also here are some of them trees I was telling ya about!

Also in Pittsburg is this really cool Prayer Tower. Nathan and Susan were married in the Tower. I wish I had some cool pics from the inside of it, but I don't.

MAN I'M BEHIND!

2009-04-28T22:13:00.002-05:00

No excuses for no posts in a while. Gonna try to put some updates on here. We have had a lot of things going on. My Bro getting married, Field Trips, and Birthdays. So hold on.....here we go!

Coloring Eggs

2009-04-13T21:24:00.010-05:00

It's a tradtion coloring eggs at Grandma's house! The boys love it! Joel is still dropping eggs into the coloring and sometimes it splashes on him as the pictures show.

Here Grandma is helping the boys. I think we only managed to stain the table once. That is a new record!

Here is Jeffrey being super careful not to get any on his Batman PJs.

Now, sometimes when you miss your nap, you become cranky. Joel was warned and warned about his behavior and ended up having to spend a little quality time thinking about his actions.

Some photos of the Easter action! Gramps helping out!

Easter in Midland

2009-04-13T20:04:00.001-05:00

After surviving golfball size hail on Saturday. Easter Sunday was Awesome! It was a beautiful day to hunt eggs outside! Check out the video! Pics to follow.

2009-04-13T20:03:00.001-05:00

WOW!!!! When will things slow down?

2009-04-08T13:32:00.006-05:00

It has been a while since we posted last so this one will be "a few of the things we have been up to." T-Ball and baseball are in full swing. We have a minimum of 2 games a week and last week between both boys we had 5 games. As a substitute teacher, this time of the year is also very busy for me as well. I have been working almost everyday. Jason is busy trying to finish the year with JH/HS track, TAKS testing and coaching BOTH of the boys teams. Thank goodness for great assistant coaches. The first picture is of Jeffrey and one of his first games. He had a dry spell of not hitting but maybe we have come thru that. He got 2great hits last night. His team still hasn't won a game, but we are really young compaired to some of the other teams in our league.

This next picture is of Joel. Being a sub, my plans can and usually do change at the drop of a hat. Joel isn't always a fan of this. One minute, I am telling him that we are going to stay home today and the next minute, the phone rings and we are out the door to school and Miss Debbie's house. He loves his babysitter and she is AMAZING, but sometimes, he just wants to stay home. This was one of those days. I had been making beds and stuff and he came to me with his underwear and these boots on. He asked if he could wear them and I told him they were too big but I didn't care. Well, cue phone call. I was off to get ready for work. I had already told him that he could wear them so I did manage to get him in clothes but the boots went on immediately after pulling his pants up. This was how he went to Miss Debbie's house that day.

This last picture is of my 2 sweet boys. Joel has gotten where he will just climb into bed with Jeffrey. I went to check on them before I went to bed Sunday night and found Joel's bed empty. I looked on the floor and then looked in Jeffrey's bed. Guess what I found? I would have just left him, but I have slept with him on a Queen bed and he isn't the easiest person to sleep with.

The Season Starts!

2009-03-23T22:38:00.006-05:00

Both boys opened their baseball seasons today. It was a typical West Texas day, sunny, windy, with dirt blowing about 40 mphs. Anyway, the games were on! Jeffrey started this year in machine pitch. Jeffrey managed to get two hits in the game out of two at bats. The video at the bottom shows his first hit. Joel got three hits in his game and, by finding a stray baseball, made an out by picking up the ball and quickly touching his base! (he played third base). Again the video shows Joel's first hit as well. I didn't know I was merging both videos together. You can hear the wind blowing if you have the speakers turned on. Not sure if Jeffrey's team won or not. I had to leave with 20 mins left to play to go coach Joel's team. I heard that Jeffrey's team won 7 to 6. We started out down 4 to 0. I think it helped that I left.

Anyway, both boys had a great time and their dad did too. I'm very proud of how they played and behaved out on the field. If you ever had a chance to see a 4 yr old T-ball game it more for entertainment than anything else. We had kids chasing the ball that they hit and returning it to their coach. Of couse the dirt was kicked and weeding was done by both teams. All-in-all it was a good day and a great start to their seasons!

Opening Day!

2009-03-23T22:38:00.001-05:00

Spring Break.....Way too short

2009-03-22T17:14:00.028-05:00

Spring break is on it way to being over and it went by WAY too fast. I wish that I could say that we had a restful Spring Break, but.....for some reason I can't. We didn't do too much, but it definitely wasn't restful. We started out the week with lunch with Grandma and Grandpa in Midland. We had baseball cards to exchange. We had a great QUICK visit with them. We left from there and went on to Abilene. The boys were going crazy. They had no idea where we were going or what we were doing. We had a scenic tour around places in Abilene that I wish never to revisit. Needless to say, we don't know our way around very well in Abilene. We finally got to the motel and got all checked in. As far as the boys were concerned, we could have stopped right there. They would have been perfectly happy just staying at the motel and swimming. They were so excited! We went to eat and to play putt putt. Let me just say that Putt Putt with a 3yr old is interesting. As we were paying for a game, Jeffrey bent down and picked up a $20 bill. I knew we kept him around for a reason. Tuesday morning we got up and went to the Abilene Zoo. We had a GREAT time. For a smaller zoo, this was one of the best ones I have been to. Every animal had a name from the movie Madegascar. We got to actually feed some of the animals. They have a bridge that you can walk on and you are at head level to the giraffes. WE FED MELMAN!!!!! From there, we went to the Grace Museum. (Not that great for kids.) We ate lunch and messed around a little longer and then made our way to Mark and Jennifer's house in Albany. They fed us supper before we headed home.

After the adventures in Abilene, we came home and had a day of inpromtu baseball practice and then a day for REAL baseball practice. That was followed by a day for T-ball practice. Friday was boys night Spring Break Style.

Before we knew it, Saturday was here and now we are at Sunday evening. Time for supper, bath and bed. School starts tomorrow.

Stay tuned for Rock Band highlights featuring Jason and Jeffrey from Mark and Jennifer's house.

Playground Pals

2009-03-05T22:12:00.005-06:00

Levelland has a pretty cool playground that Joel and his buddy Trent spent the afternoon at.

4 Year Old Tball Practice

2009-03-05T22:01:00.005-06:00

Joel's team had their first practice this past Monday. The weather has been awesome here. Can you spot Joel in this first picture?

Joel and his buddy Trent. They could be twins.

Lil Shoes

2009-03-01T22:05:00.005-06:00

Big boy Joel gets to play T-ball this year so, of course, the boy needs some cleats. Well, easier said than done. To find cleats that fit a four-year-olds feet is a feat in itself! Fortunatly, we found one pair at the Lubbock Academy store. A picture just had to be taken and yes the little pair of shoes were in a box more than five times larger than needed. You can also see a comparison to his older bros cleats.

Yes, It's a toilet

2009-02-24T20:16:00.003-06:00

If you watched the video of the boys playing baseball in our backyard you may have seen a toilet in the background.

The booster club here in Whiteface thought it would be a good idea to "flush out the spirit" in town in order to get people to sign up to be on the booster club. The toilet travelled from people's front yard to front yard with a sign and flags that said, "Hey I'm not a booster club member!" In order to get the toilet out of your yard you had to pay to have it removed or join booster club.

Well, time came for us to have it in our yard. Why coaches aren't automatically included in booster club is beyond me. Anyway, we offered to pay to have it removed. The head of the booster club said not to worry about it and he would pick it up. He never did. We told him it was cracking and breaking all over our front yard. He finally said to throw it away because it wasn't really working like they had hoped. Well, I moved it to the backyard and there it has been since about October.

Joel Getting Ready for the Bigs!

2009-02-19T20:03:00.001-06:00

Joel's Video

2009-02-19T20:01:00.003-06:00

You have to watch Joel's Video all the way to the end. He makes sure that he is doing what he is supposed to do in baseball.

Watch Your Head!

2009-02-19T20:01:00.001-06:00

It's Baseball Time!

2009-02-19T19:58:00.003-06:00

The weather is getting warmer so the boys and I spent some time throwing around the ol horsehide! Jeffrey gets to play machine pitch this year and Joel gets to play T-ball! Look out world!

Bring on Baseball!

2009-02-19T19:57:00.001-06:00

UIL Awards Day

2009-02-18T21:40:00.004-06:00

Jeffrey receiving his 3rd place award for his Oral Reading Competition. Pictured with him is his Oral Reading Coach, Ms. Rose. She was also his Kindergarten teacher.

UIL Oral Reading Competition (read disclaimer below)

2009-02-18T21:39:00.001-06:00

UIL Oral Reading Competition

2009-02-18T21:28:00.003-06:00

DISCLAIMER: Before watching the video make sure you have already used the restroom, because if you haven't you may need to after viewing! His two poems this year are: "Nancy Christman Kissed Me" and "I Gotta Go"

In the above video, Jeffrey is competing in the UIL (University Interscholastic League) Oral Reading Competition for 1st Graders. For those who don't know what UIL is, it is this: It is basically like a track meet for academics. Kids compete in different events such as Oral Reading, Mathematics, Art Appreciation, Music Appreciation, Storytelling, Spelling, Listening Skills, Dictionary Skills, etc. etc. And it lasts ALL DAY!

Anyway, a child can start competing when they are in Kindergarten by reading poems. In First Grade they get to read poems as well, but when they get older they can do all that other stuff.

Each school in the district (about 6 area schools) select the top 4 kids from their school to compete in the event. Last year, Whiteface had 4 kids make it to the final round of competition and all four kids placed meaning they were in First, Second, Third, and Fourth. Last year Jeffrey took home the second place medal for his poems that he read.

This year he competed in Levelland (the video above) and took second place in that meet. He also competed in our district meet and was the only Whiteface kid to advance to finals. He took third in that meet.

We are pretty proud of him and we know his little bro will be a competitor when he is in school because every time Jeffrey practiced, Joel was repeating the poems word for word. (Pete and Repeat)

Jeffrey's Baptism

2009-02-12T21:18:00.001-06:00

Joel "reading"

2009-02-12T20:11:00.001-06:00

More Halftime Show

2009-02-12T20:10:00.001-06:00

The Boy's Got Skills!

2009-02-11T18:34:00.003-06:00

The 1st grade got to show off their ball handling skills during halftime of the Varsity Girls game on Tuesday. I tried getting a little video and hopefully it will upload to the web. He is definitely a better player than his dad ever thought about being!

Uncle Nate's Birthday

2009-02-10T22:20:00.010-06:00

The Fortner Four travelled to Amarillo this past Sunday to celebrate Uncle Nate's Birthday. Fun was had by all as you can tell from these pictures. The boys are ready to turn pro in bowling. Hopefully they can use the ramp and bumpers when they hit the bigs.

Joel eyeing a mountain of onion rings.

Bowling Buddies

Too much icing turns you into a smurf. Also turns your poop green too! (ask Joel)

Blast from the past!!!!!

2009-01-31T17:15:00.002-06:00

I found this picture the other day and thought that I would share it with the blogging world that follows our blog. (Jon and Kathy) This is my Papa Green. He was an amazing man and as you can tell, we ALL loved him. There is only one grandchild missing and she was a few years down the road yet.

Baptism

2009-01-25T21:14:00.003-06:00

Jeffrey was baptised today! Grandpa and Grandma made it to the event as did Uncle Trevor. We all had a good time of celebration and fellowship.

I tried uploading video but the website wouldn't let me. I'm not happy about that. I will continue to work on it.

THEY DO LOVE EACH OTHER!!!!!

2009-01-24T17:03:00.000-06:00

While Jason and I were cleaning and doing other stuff around the house, the boys were EXTREMELY quiet. This always makes us a little nervous. Usually one of them is yelling or crying. Jeffrey had just laid down for a resting time to read his books and Joel had just gotten up from his nap. They were sitting on their little chairs in the guest room playing Jeffrey’s Nintendo DS. They were actually sitting quietly and playing. No yelling, screaming or crying. It is amazing!!!!! They do love each other.

Supernumerary day

2009-01-21T21:18:00.006-06:00

For those of you who don't know, Jeffrey used to have an extra tooth. A tooth that was more commonly referred to as his "bubba tooth." It was a weird tooth that looked like it was coming in sideways where one of his front teeth should have been. Well, we took him to the doctor and the doctor said that the tooth was a "Supernumerary tooth" or "hyperdontia" Anyway, it is fancy talk for "the boy has an extra tooth that is not needed." So an appointment was made to remove the supernumerary and now it is gone. I tried taking a picture of the tooth to give you an idea of it, but it didn't turn out so well.

So now we have a gap that we hope the other teeth will push and fill in. Joel also got a chance to have his teeth counted at Dr. Fortner's office (Jason's cousin) so he didn't feel left out.

Ya know, sometimes not even wearing your Peyton Manning jersey helps to make the dentist visit go any better.

BIG NEWS

2009-01-18T21:09:00.000-06:00

After asking about this and praying about this for a long time, Jeffrey has decided to get “bapnitized.” He went down front today and asked the pastor if he would have time next Sunday to “bapnitize” him. The pastor said that he would and that he needed to come down during the evening service to make his public profession of faith because Jeffrey had talked to the pastor after the morning service was over. Well he couldn’t wait until Sunday night, then he couldn’t understand why he had to wait until the end of service because he wanted to tell everyone right now! So, when the pastor asked if there were any decisions, Jeffrey right away went down front and made his decision known. The pastor asked if he asked Jesus into his heart and he said that he already had and was ready to get baptized.

We are very proud of him! This is something that he has really been praying and asking about for some time. Thank you to all who prayed with us and for us for this big decision!

Only the cool ride bikes!

2009-01-17T20:54:00.000-06:00

After the game the boys chilled out riding bikes around. Jeffrey posing for his motorcycle gang pic and Joel auditioning for the Calculator Club.

Upward Basketball

2009-01-17T20:52:00.000-06:00

Jeffrey played in his 5^th or 6^th game of the year. Today was picture day. Of course, little bro had to get in on the action too. Jeffrey’s team (The Rattlers) lost 4 to 0. It was 2 to 0 with twenty seconds left. It was more of a slug fest then a basketball game. I will see if I can post some video of it.

Jeffrey managed 5 or 6 steals and really hustled, he also stole the ball and scored but it was later determined by the wonderful officiating that the steal was illegal and the bucket therefore did not count.

Various Christmas Photos 2008

2009-01-15T22:41:00.002-06:00

Polar Express

2009-01-15T21:28:00.001-06:00

Let’s try adding a picture

The Polar Express Rocks!