Happy New Year!

The Teche Family wishes you a very happy New Year. We hope that the new year is everything that you hope it is! Love, Jared, April, Kellen, and Ethan

Tiny Triumphs 45!

What a week it has been! Busy but very relaxing. The boys have been off of school and are playing with all their new stuff! They are having a blast and I am having a great time relaxing.

1. We are truly very lucky to have family and friends that we have. We have been able to see quite a few in the last few weeks. Our family has been spoiling us.

2. The boys have put all of their new toys to good use!

3. I have started the countdown until I start school!

4. We are excited to see what a new year holds for us!

Have a great week!

Christmas Eve! 2011

We spend Christmas Eve at Aunt Sherry and Uncle Jerry's house. We always have a blast! I was having so much fun this year that I did not take very many pictures. Sorry!The family
Frizz came out to watch us all

Christmas Morning! 2011

We spend Christmas morning at Grandma Schumacher's house. This year was a good year for us. I worked at Figi's so we could get the boys their big gift. Ethan being an old man with his cane of candy
Kellen checking out his stocking
The boys with their stocking stuff
Ethan got a K'nex roller coaster
Kellen opening his Halo Lego set
Kellen checking out the laptop that Jared and I bought him
Ethan checking his out
The boys love their laptops!

Air Swimmers!

Grandma and Bumpa got the boys Air Swimmers for Christmas. I thought that they looked neat and that they were only like two feet long. Well, they are almost five feet long and two feet wide. These things are HUGE! But they are also a lot of fun!Taking over my living room
Kellen's Nemo fish
I am scared of Ethan's shark! Every time I tried to get a good picture one of these would fly in my face.

We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

The Teche family wishes you a Very Merry Christmas! Eat, Drink, and Be Merry! I know we will! Just make sure to be safe!

Tiny Triumphs 44!

It has been a great week here in Marshfield! We went down to the Madison area to celebrate Christmas with Jared's extended family. We love seeing everyone and the boys love playing with their cousins!

1. The gifts are all bought and wrapped! As of last night we bought and wrapped the last gifts! This is a huge thing so that I don't have to rush around on Saturday before we leave!

2. Kellen is having a party today at school! He is very excited!

3. Ethan is having a Pajama Party at school! They are also going to watch a movie. He can't wait!

4. I am done with working at Figi's as of 1:45p.m. Friday! Then I get to get ready for school! I am excited to buy school supplies!

Have a great week!

Tiny Triumphs 43!

I know that I am late with one set of Triumphs and I did not do another set. My only excuse is that I got distracted. I have been working so many hours and this week it is starting to go down! YAY! I am really beginning to be a Bah Humbug. All I hear all day is the complaints. Even though I think most of them are funny hearing it all day becomes a bummer.

1. I am done with work on Friday! The season is over and I am done! YAY!

2. The boys are really counting down the days til they don't have to set an alarm. I have to say that I am looking forward to that too!

3. Band is going well for Kellen! He thanked Jared and I for not letting him quit. He says that he likes the more difficult things that they are playing this year!

4. Ethan is a reading fiend! He can't get enough! I am so proud of him!

Have a great week!!

Ethan's Christmas Program 2011!

Ethan's Christmas program was last night. It was a very good show this year. The school had gotten new lights to use for the program so the rest of the gym was dark while the kids were lit with different colors. It was a very nice touch. But, it did make it a bit hard to get good pictures. I did get a few. Kellen reading a new book before the lights went out.
There is my boy at the top in the striped shirt. This was before the lights went out.
Here he is in the new light!
Ethan had a reading part and did very well! I am so proud of him. The songs were very cute this year. There was one about different holiday dances. Make sure you ask Ethan how to do "The Candy Cane" and "The Christmas Tree". It was my favorite part of the show!

A New Post For Kellen

At the 4-H meeting on Monday night we had another small election. The person who was supposed to be the Reporter had to turn down the post. So the kids elected Kellen as the new Rozelleville Rockets 4-H Reporter! He is supposed to just send a little blurb to the paper here in town when we do something cool. He looks forward to being the Reporter this year.


Congratulations, Kellen! We are all very proud of you!

Tiny Triumphs 42!

WOW! The weeks are going by so fast! I can hardly believe that it is already December! Where has the time gone?

1. The decorations are as up as they are going to get this year. We are not expecting any company this year so we decided to only set up a small tree. Ethan and I set it up last night. Kellen is too cool to help this year.

2. I registered for classes today! I am taking Math, English Composition, and Sociology. Should be fun!!!

3. The boys have been keeping up with their chores!

4. I have been working a lot. I enjoy it. I just have to keep reminding myself of that when I see that I am scheduled almost 40 hours next week!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

The Teche Family wishes you a wonderful Thanksgiving! We are spending our day with family! There will be an abundance of food and drink and I for one plan to take advantage of both! Have a safe and happy holiday!

There will be no Tiny Triumphs today as I will be off enjoying time with my family!

Have You Ever Eaten A Turkey Pop?

I made a few practice cake pops this morning. I want to bring them with on Thanksgiving. But, I have learned to do a practice run to see how everything will look when you do the real deal. I have had a few near disasters that have left me frustrated. So now when I practice I don't have to worry that everyone will see what I am working on until it is perfect. I guess the old saying is true "Practice makes perfect."So, I made these cake pops to practice for Thanksgiving. They turned out so good that I will be making more. A whole flock! Now all I have to do is figure out a way to transport them.

Tiny Triumphs 41!

It has been a long week here. I have worked more this week than I have worked in the past two weeks put together. I am so tired!

1. Jared and I just got home from parent teacher conferences. The boys did very well! I am so proud of them!

2. Ethan's spelling grades have gone up!!!!

3. Kellen has been practicing his French Horn so he will be ready for his Holiday concert!

4. Jared registered for his classes and I will be able to register on December 1st. I know what classes I should take. I did test into the College Algebra 101 but decided to take the one below that. I had such a hard time with the placement test that I really need a refresher. Plus, I may even be able to help the boys with their math.

The Things That Kids Say!

The boys have been making me laugh so much lately! There are some things that I hear and I just can't stop laughing.
Case in point, one day last week Ethan was acting kind of crazy. We had asked him to calm down several times. That did not work. He was just going nuts, he could not sit still. Jared then asked him if he had a bug up his butt. Then you hear Kellen pipe up and ask "Was it an ant?" Then Ethan answered "No I think that it is a stink bug." And I am laughing again. They both kill me! That they could come up with that quickly amazes me. There was not a missed beat in there!

I love them!

Tiny Triumphs 40!

This week has been kind of quiet up here. The snow kind of made me realize that winter is here. I don't like the snow so I was hoping it would have held off a little longer. So on with the triumphs!

1. Kellen started all city band this week. He gets to practice for the concert with all the sixth graders from the whole city. He likes to see all the other kids and play with the other French Horn players.

2. The boys got their report cards last night. They both did really well! All As and Bs! They must not be my kids ;)

3. Jared's birthday was yesterday. We went out to dinner and he got some games for his birthday.

4. Work has been going well for me. I am now understanding things a little bit better. They have trained me on order taking and next week they will be training me on something else. I like the job but I am really excited to start school. I get to register next week!

Tiny Triumphs 39!

It has been a wonderful week here! Things have been happening! Now, I will share what has been happening here!


1. I was accepted to UW Wood County/ Marshfield! I start on January 25th! I am going to do just the basic stuff until I decide what I want to be when I grow up. YAY! I got in!!!

2. The boys decided to stay home instead of trick or treating. Ethan sat outside and handed out candy. He made the kids say Trick or Treat and Thank You. It was kind of cute! Kellen spent the night watching movies! He loved it! I love that they choose to stay home because then we do not have candy just laying around. Maybe it was the ten bucks that I bribed them with that made that decision ;)

3. As I posted I have five orange bins full of Halloween stuff! I am so in love with them! It is the little things in life that make me happy!

4. The boys helped us rake the leaves in the back yard. They also helped us bag the leaves. They were such a HUGE help that we got it all done in half the time as we would have if just Jared and I did it! Thanks Guys!

It's The Small Things That Make Me Happy!

It is the small things that I love the most in life. Like, what can be better than all your Halloween decorations in five matching orange bins? Not much that I can think of is better. I love them! They make me smile when I see them!I plan on putting all my holiday decorations in matching bins when the holidays are over. I am thinking red or green for Christmas and purple for Easter.

Have a great day!

Halloween Fun

Halloween is a favorite holiday in the Teche household. We try to go all out for it. The boys really seem to like it. They are not as crazy about it as I am but they are still tiny. I have a lot more room to store the crazy. This year we went to the Rozelleville Rockets 4-H Halloween party! We had a great time! The boys had a blast running around in the dark with flashlights. We carved pumpkins to take to the party with us. Above Jared has a new toy. It attaches to a drill. It cleans out the guts of a pumpkin! It was much easier than doing it with spoons. It did such a good job that you had to be careful that it would go right through the skin of the pumpkin.
Ethan cutting the top of the pumpkin off
Kellen carving
Jared working the pumpkin gutter
Ethan's pumpkin in the light
Ethan's pumpkin in the dark
Kellen's pumpkin in the light
Kellen's in the dark
The family pumpkin in the light. We painted it white and bought green marbles and used a drill to make the holes
The 4-H clover all lit up
The boys in their costumes
Mom and Dad in our costumes. Where is Waldo?
Kellen spent his Halloween watching a movie. He said that it was the best way to spend the evening.
Ethan handed out candy to all the trick or treaters. We did not go trick or treating this year because the boys decided that they would rather stay home and hand out candy!

Dig For Treasure

For his birthday Ethan got a dig for treasure thing. It is a block of plaster that you have to excavate the bones or treasures out of. He really loved doing it! He did have to use the big hammer instead of the teeny tiny one that came with it!This one he is digging for the pieces to a pirate game! Look at his face when he saw the the chest had stuff in it! He loved it!

Bill the Owl!

This is Bill the owl. Ethan made him as a book report for his class. Bill was in one of the A to Z mystery books that he read. The school also had a pumpkin decorating contest. Ethan and Bill won first place for third grade! Way to go Ethan and Bill!

Tiny Triumphs 38!

I love this time of year so much! The cooler weather, the leaves crunching under my feet, the colors of the trees, and just the smell in the air. The pumpkins are looking really great this year, and I can't wait to make some toasted pumpkin seeds. We do love those in this house!

1. Our landlord FINALLY put up most of our fence yesterday! It has been down for over a year! He even fenced in some of the yard with a tall wood fence where there was just wire!!!!!

2. Ethan won first place in his grade for the pumpkin that he decorated. I will post a picture later!

3. Kellen finds out next week if he gets to participate in the day long art project. He is asking that we all keep our fingers crossed for him.

4. Tomorrow is the 4-H Halloween party! We are very excited! Should be a great time. Pictures to follow!

Have a great week!

Tiny Triumphs 37!

It has been another great week here! We have been busy but yet having a blast!

1. I now have Tennis Elbow. I play so much tennis that I could see how I got it. Most likely I got it from cleaning. That should teach me not to do that.

2. Ethan is now 9! He made it! He told me already that next year he will be in the double digits! I told him not to hurry to grow up or I would put a brick on his head to stop him from growing up!

3. Kellen is playing the French Horn again this year. Band has just started for the year and soon all city band will start again.

4. I love the fact that the boys do chores everyday! I still have to do some things but other things are done for me! I love the boys for helping their mom out!

Stomp Your Feet!

These are the monster feet that I made for Ethan to take to school for his birthday. They are Nutter Butters dipped in green chocolate with cashew toes. I think they really turned out great!

Watch Out! That Lava Is HOT!

Tonight is Jared's last Natural Disasters class. So I made him some cupcakes to take with him. I just have to tell you that it was hard to find a natural disaster that I could make out of cake or cupcakes. They are chocolate cupcakes with cherry filling. Graham cracker sand and chocolate volcanoes with cherry lava. I think they are awesome!
This is MT. Vesuvius

Party Like It's Your Birthday!

On Sunday we had Ethan's 9th birthday party! We had a costume party with lots of spooky food. On the menu was mummy dogs, cheese fingers, carrot eyes, pumpkin rolls, and of course blood to drink. We also had some fun games and craft things to do. I think I had as much fun as the kids did!Where's Jared, oh, I mean Waldo?
And his wife Wenda!
Ethan the Evil Gnome. I thought that I got a picture of Kellen but I guess I was mistaken. I will get one of him in his costume at the 4-H party.
The kids painted and glued some cool stuff on pumpkins
LUNCH!!!
Kellen's Pumpkin
Ethan's pumpkin
We also bobbed for apples. Here is Kellen getting the water out of his eyes after he had bobbed. By the way, is bobbed a verb? Can I use it on it's own in a sentence?
Ethan under water
Ethan caught an apple
Becca and her apple
Logan the vampire got one too!
We hid some toys and candy in a straw bale and let the kids loose to find it all. They loved this and went back to it many times to see if they missed anything. I still have to go back through it to see if they missed anything.
The kids in the straw
The monster cake that I made. I even made the fondant that made the mouth and the eyes. He was filled with green vanilla pudding! YUMMY!

I think this was a Birthday that Ethan will never forget!