Birthday Boy!

Just a little shout out to the greatest Quad-Daddy, husband, friend, brother, uncle, son, grandson, nephew, coach and MAN of all time (at least in my books)! Happy, happy birthday Bill-boy! Hope your 29th year is just as blessed and happy as your previous 28 (except maybe 2006.....that year started out pretty rough for you with the whole car vs semi accident and traumatic brain injury thing. We can do without a repeat of that.)

Papa Goose and his 4 adoring goslings in the greatest city in the world (AKA Denver).....Let's hear it for those 6-0 Broncos! Pretty sure Billy would have Kyle Orton's baby.

I love you and you KNOW how much our children love you (anybody who has spent more than half a second watching you in daddy-mode can see that). Thank you for being so good to us. You have always had the ability to make people feel special and I truly treasure that attribute of yours. A person like you is ENTITLED to a "birthday week", as you so aptly bestow upon yourself. Better put your party pants on cause we're goin' to THE SIZZLER tonight!







WE LOVE YOU!
Moni, Pi-Pi, Fo, Beaner, Train


P.S. A MASSIVE post to follow soon about our recent quad-less trip down to the swamp. Stayed tuned.....it's gonna be a doozie!

Denver Trip 2009

"You should have seen that play that B-Marsh made. He made the Cowboys look like the Keystone Cops."

We made our annual visit to Denver for the Broncos home game against the Dallas Cowboys. When the 2009 schedule came out, Ryno and I picked this one to attend. For those of you who don't know, Ryno is ALMOST as passionate about his Cowboys as I am about my Broncos.

The Graf Quad Squad left Friday morning around 8, and made our first scheduled pit stop in Grainfield to visit Aunt Laverna and her son Roger. Laverna got us lunch from the Pizza Shack in town. The kids managed to destroy her house in the hour and a half that we spent there. We had a good time visiting with her. She gave each of the kids a beanie-baby animal for the ride. They love making the sounds each of their animals makes.

Aunt Laverna watching Forrest play with the most coveted "toy" that she had. She was a lot more trusting of our kids than we were. She kept telling us, "They won't hurt anything." Trust us, Aunt Laverna, they can and they will hurt EVERYTHING! Apologies for the limited photos we took here.....we were too busy trying to break up fights over toys, keeping the kids corraled as much as possible so they wouldn't pull on and send one of her many collectable-filled glass curios crashing to the ground! Ever tried to herd a bunch of rabid squirrels that ingested methamphetamines? Me either....but I can safely say I may be qualified now after our trip.

After we left Laverna's, we gave the kids their noon cup of milk, and they all fell asleep....except Laine. He managed to be quite LOUD for the 2nd half of the trip to Denver. It wasn't a cute, babbling LOUD. It was a screaming, pissed off at the world LOUD. We all survived though, and pulled into Uncle Bill and Aunt Armella's around 4 p.m. They bought us some pizza from Pizza Hut and we ate and managed to destroy their house in the hour and a half that we spent there.

We arrived at the Schwartz hotel (my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Billy's house) around 5:45 p.m. The kids were quite happy to be out of the car and be able to stay in one place for awhile. Debbie, of course, had a wonderful pot of chili for us to eat when we got there. The kids were ready for bed that evening and we put them to bed in their pea pods. Almost the rest of the Denver '09 crew (Ryno, Angela, Lainie, Adam, and Slim) got into town around 10 and we partied the night away.

Aunt Debbie made us all great food, and made some GREAT bubbles.

Saturday morning Moni and I realized that we were going to need to make different room arrangements. When I rolled over and Pius and I made eye contact (at 6:30 in the morning) it was over for us. The kids were awake and NOT going back to sleep. Well, when the kids woke up, that meant that the entire house woke up. It worked out alright, though, Ryno and Slim had a tee time, and the rest of us had all kinds of college football to watch. Aunt Debbie made us her famous biscuits and gravy for a brunch. Saturday day through the night was a pretty lazy day. The Denver '09 crew was complete when my friends, Randy and Lindsay, and my cousin Randy Kaiser and Aunt Marlene rolled into town Saturday evening. We had a great time hanging out and playing games Saturday. The kids were a little crabby because of getting up early and taking a crappy nap in the afternoon, but overall they were pretty good.

Sunday morning, gameday, started off with me on kid duty while Ryno, Lainie, Angela, Adam, Slim, and Moni met Randy and Marlene for breakfast. Moni went to breakfast because I was going to the game and she was staying with the kids. Randy Stanley and Lindsay went to get breakfast, and Debbie, Billy, the kids, and I had some bacon and eggs. While they were gone I taught our little monkey, Pius, the greatest trick yet. For those of you who don't know or really even care, Jay Cutler is a not very well liked person by us Bronco fans. Whenever I say to Pius, "What does Jay Cutler say?" He puts his fists up to his eyes and says, "Waaahhh." It is awesome. It was a hit with all the Bronco fans we showed it to.








The game went very well with the Broncos shutting down Tony Romo and the Cowboys and winning a very exciting game, 17-10. The defense made a goal line stand at the end of the game to preserve the victory. It was the best game I've ever seen live. We had a pretty low-key night since we had to leave early Monday morning. Moni said the kids may have been the best they've ever been Sunday while I was at the game. What should that tell me? Maybe they were happy to see me leave.

Monday, the 1st half of the ride went pretty well with the kids...except Laine. He gave us 22 minutes of LOUD hell, but other than that, he and all 4 of them were very good. We stopped in Grainfield, for an hour break, but because I had to tend bar Monday night we had to hurry home.

Overall grades for the trip:

Pius-"A" (Pius was the best behaved the entire trip, car ride and in Denver.)

"Touchdown Broncos!" Pius celebrating his "A".

Forrest-"B+" (Forrest had a rough few minutes on the ride, and him and Laine had to fight at least a couple times a day).

I know we've used this joke before, but I hope these are the only bars he is ever behind.

Danna-"C" (The Banana Princess was wonderful on the rides, but she had a couple princess worthy meltdowns a day).

I guess being a "mile-high" wore Danna down or something.

Laine-"D+" (Laine was quite the Laine. Probably 1 1/2 total hours of screaming on the rides to and from Denver, and he caused most of the problems at our various stops at our families' houses. He did have some very sweet Laine moments, though).

This picture, however, is after one of his tirades.

It was a great trip. Thank you to all of our family for the hospitality. We can't wait until next year. Hopefully the kids will be wiping their own butts by then.

B, M, P, F, D, and L

Sick of This

Yeah.....you know my whole "I Say Ketchup You Say Catch-up" series? Well, i'm over it. There were 3 to go but I just can't pull myself to do them. So instead, I'll just tell you what they WERE going to be about.

1) The kids' 19 month doctor check up (they are now almost 22 months....holy crap).

Forrest and Danna LOVIN' the fish tank in the doctor's office waiting room!

Fo-Fo and mama trying to kill some time while we wait for Dr Chavez to enter our LOUD room.

Laineman giving dad some lovies.

Pi-Pi checkin' out the wheels and seeing how much noise he could make with the metal tray. Fun stuff.

The future Dr. Forrest M. Graf, OB/Gyn.....

...forming a new partnership with brother, Dr. Laine R. Graf, OB/Gyn.

Laine and Forrest fighting over the pull-out stir-ups. These 2 have been like cats and dogs lately....always chumming it up or duking it out (usually the latter).

Mama and the pretty Dannie Banan-ee

2) Our Haag Family Reunion that was back in June at Big Hill Lake near Cherryville, KS. Can we say, "Holy disgusting lodge room?" Definitely accommodations meant only for dirty hunters that would just as soon sleep on dirt floors than beds! NOT meant for a family of 6 that includes 4 toddlers. All I can say is thank you Lord for the Peapods and antibacterial soap. I was quite certain they were going to catch gonorrhea or chlamydia from the bathtub but have yet to see any critters show up in their nether regions. I think we're in the clear now. I can't complain too much because the people at the Lodge ended up comp-ing our rooms after I asked them for ant spray to kill all the busy little workers that set up camp in the kitchen. The campgrounds at the lake were fun, though. LOTS of cousins, aunts and uncles to keep the quaddies occupied. And they had their first exposure to lake water....that's sure to boost their immunities for the upcoming cold season! Nerve-wracking to say the least, but they all had a blast.

Cramped quarters on the drive up with Billy driving, my mom (Budda) riding shotgun and me wedged in between Forrest and Laine. Thankfully it was only a couple of hours.

The kids were less than pleased that their parents wouldn't let them play on the floor in our room. We ended up moving both the beds together to create a bigger space for them to play on. You've gotta understand.....I'm really not that big of a germaphobe, but this place was beyond what my senses could handle. We contemplated sleeping in the van. Seriously. We actually ended up leaving early because of this lodge (well, that AND the blistering KS mid-summer heat and humidity).

The first of many times the kids got "down and dirty" at the campout.

The quads' 2nd cousin, Becca....such a HUGE help to us at the reunion. She's had lots of practice with kids, being the oldest of five. It was H-O-T....notice the flushed cheeks on Danna and Forrest.

Playtime at the lake with cousins. Me holding a delighted Forrest. I try not to think about how much lake water they swallowed despite my best efforts.

Pius, my lil sand crab. We were washing grit from every crack and crevice imagineable later that day!

Uh, yeah....that's me in the background.

Laine playing with his Kampling cousins, Rhonda and Todd, and their 2nd munchkin, Hunter.

Not quite sure what Forrest is reaching for here, but I hope he found what he was looking for! Hard to tell from the back, but I think that was cousin Whitney.

More lake chaos fun

Billy gets SO anxious around bodies of water...even before we had the quads. The Nervous Nelly kept pacing up and down the beach and this was the longest amount of time that he stood still. Just enough time for a picture!

Fortunately, Uncle Phil and Aunt Cathy and Uncle Bob and Aunt Bertie loaned us their air conditioned RV's for naptimes. Much needed naptimes, might I add. Pictured from left to right: Alexis, Aunt Cathy, Pius, Forrest and Taylor. P and F trying to make a synchronized escape.

What's the weight limit on this thing?! Pius, little buddy, I think you need to get out.

3) Father's Day came and went without mention (at least on the blog). But you all know what a stellar daddio that Billy is.....pretty much the best! Of course, he learned from the best....props to Grampa Stubby and Papa Rog, too. Where would we be without the dads in our lives? My guess is "not born", but I was saying that more figuratively and probably didn't need to spell that out for everyone.

Forrest and Papa Rog partaking in Father's Day togetherness.



Grandpa Stubby lovin on the Beaner while Frosty is preparing to steal her book....again.

Now, on to bigger and better things....as time permits, of course. I'm glad I can finally put all this "catch-up" nonsense behind me. Phew! That's a weight off my shoulders.

Love,

Moni

You Say Ketchup, I Say Catch-up...9th Anniversary

Monica and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary on June 24, 2009. We were just wee-kids when we got married at the age of nineteen years. We began dating in November of 1997 and had quite the confrontational relationship in high school. We were the butt of many jokes about how we didn't belong together, but we have made it through everything. For many of you who know me I make a lot of jokes about my loving wife. But the people that know me the best know that I have an unending adoration for her. She is my best friend, and I love her more than anything in the world.

Now, enough of the sappy stuff. My sister, Lainie, gave us the best present in the world for our anniversay. She gave us an entire night and the next morning off of being parents. Aunt Lainie is one of only a few people that we would trust with the kids for that long by themself. Our kids love their Aunt Lainie, and she is the best babysitter we have. She is also the best priced. We got a hotel room and invited a couple of friends downtown for drinks to celebrate, and we couldn't have done any of it without Lainie.

Getting ready for a hot night on the town!

We went to Emmerson Bigguns for dinner and drinks. We were met there by: Snook and Donna, Maze and Sarah, Ryno and Angela, Teddy, and Sergio and Rachel. It was a great time. The food was good and the company was wonderful.

Donna and Chris Snook (FYI - Chris is actually looking down at Baby Snooklet who will be here in a few short months....at least that's the story I'm stickin' to.)

Ang and Ryno....yes, he is crazy and looks the part.

Sergio and Rach

Two of the five Haag sisters, Rachel and Moni

The Girls: Donna, Moni, Rachel, Angela and Sarah

And, of course....the mostly happy and always blessed couple!

And because it's been awhile since we've posted any pics of the kids, here's a few recent shots (since we all know THEY are the reasons anybody even looks at this blog).

Lainerzinski

The Beaner


Pi-Pi


Frosty

Quads of the Round Table (L-to-R): Forrest, Danna, Laine, Pius

The Princess found her wand

Can you tell who the most difficult one was on picture day?! Hint: Billy's holding "him".

The kids got chocolate towards the end of the picture-taking. Needless to say, they loved it. It was the only way we could bribe them into all sitting next to each other!