When You've Got It, You've Got it!

What can I say, when you've got it, you've got it....and Davis obviously has an amazing sense of style (as stated in previous posts). Yesterday I took him to soccer looking something like this (plus shin guards and cleats of course)....

We got to the game and none of the other kids have their shirts (which are all like 3 sizes too big by the way) tucked in. I am laughing to myself at Davis' "old man" look. Then after only a few minutes I notice that several of the little boys are gathered around Davis who is instructing them on how to tuck their shirts in like his. My brother, Matt, pointed out how funny/impressive it is that he didn't say to himself, "Oh no, I am the only one with my shirt tucked in!" Instead he told himself, "Man these guys don't look as cool as me, I better show them how to get this look for themselves!" May he always be daring enough to go against what is considered "cool" or "popular" and define those words for himself.

Katerina Ballerina

As you may have already figured this out, but Kate loves ballet. She loves to twirl, she loves the tu-tus, she loves the Angelina Ballerina books...she loves it all! So, I found this age appropriate 8 week ballet class. At the end of it all the instructor (who is actually "retired" and now just does it for fun) has the girls do a little performance at a local nursing home...I love it! Well, this week was Kate's first week. I was already committed to working at Davis' school, but Jed was able to take her (what a guy!) and said that it was absolutely adorable. Now I call her Katerina Ballerina!

And here we have further proof of her love of ballet....one day in July I found her playing soccer in the backyard with Jed...of course, in her tu-tu.

Sisters

Last Sunday after church we snapped these pics...there is something special about Sisters...
(please note the pearl necklace Gracie has tucked under her dress...this girl is all about the bling!)

A New Phase

Jed was home with Gracie alone and was in the family room reading a book. Gracie is really good at entertaining her self (FINALLY we got one who will entertain them self!!!) and he suddenly heard water running. It caught him a bit off guard....did Gracie climb up the stool and figure out how to turn on the sink? To his surprise when he went to check it out, this is what he found....

Apparently it is time to move to stool....
Not to long after Jed found her here...
We are entering a new phase!

Milestones for Davis

Last Friday Davis hit a milestone of his own...He started PRESCHOOL! I keep telling him to stop growing, but he never listens. It is interesting, in the past few weeks he has totally changed. He is much more willing to help out and do what he is asked without whining. He takes great pride in being obedient. I love this new phase...oh, that it would last forever. Well, the first day of school came and he was dressed and ready to go by 6:45 am (school starts at 9:15. He was telling us that he was going to go into class and say, "Hello, my name is Davis" to everyone that he saw. Is this my often shy Davis????? Of course when we were just a few minutes away from leaving he suddenly felt sick, was sure that he would throw up....poor boy. We stayed in the bathroom for a long time. I determined it was definitely just nerves, we said a prayer, skipped the individual outside photo (at his request) and off we went. I stayed for awhile at the school and then told him that I was leaving. He seemed fine with it. When I came to pick him up his teachers told me that he started to look upset at the end of circle time. One of them asked him what was wrong. He said that he really had to go to the bathroom and then he spent a half hour in the bathroom (the nerves finally caught up with him...poor guy). However, he told me that the day was "great" and that he had only had to go to the bathroom once (uh, he left out the half hour part). I feel grateful that he has loving teachers who noticed that he was having a hard time, made him feel comfortable and normal. Thank you Teacher Mandy and Teacher Cindy! Whew. We survived. My sweet boy is growing up. I try not to think about that and focus on how excited he is to be big.....let's hear it for preschool!!!!!

Milestones for Owen

Owen hit a couple more milestones last week...he started the first grade (all day every day--we have already heard complaints about that) and he turned SEVEN! So much to celebrate. He was so excited for his first day of school. He laid his clothes out perfectly the night before and was ready at least a half hour early. He was excited because his "best friend" who he had met on the play ground on the last day of school last year was going to be in his class. When he got home he was a little disappointed that his "best friend" didn't remember meeting him, but then quickly told me about his new "best friend", Jad (Jed told him that his friend spells his name wrong of course). I am excited about his teacher, Mrs. Smith. She seems to have a lot of energy, be very creative and have high expectations for her students. Sounds right up Owen's alley....we will see. Let's hear it for first grade!
Several years ago when my kids were all toddlers, my friend and I were expressing frustration with some kids that we had recently interacted with. Then we realized that all of these kids were seven years old. We decided maybe there is something about the age of seven. So, I have always dreaded this age a little bit. Well, we saw it coming on a little over the summer...Owen is definitely asserting himself more, rolling his eyes more and let's face it...growing up. As parents we recognize that our goal is to raise independent, capable, adults who will actually contribute to society, but does he have to start rolling his eyes in the process. Seriously? All that being said, he was pumped for his birthday. He wanted to invite all of his friends to a huge party. The list he made was well over 20 kids...and that was without any of their siblings. We forced him to slim it down a bit and compromised by agreeing to bring cupcakes to his class the day before so that he could "celebrate" with ALL of his 27 classmates. Then we had movie night (on the lawn of course) that night with a couple of family friends. The next day (his birthday) was also the start of the soccer season. After Davis' morning game and Owen's afternoon game, we invited his Sunday School class (plus a couple additional friends) to a LEGO party. He was in heaven! He was showered with gifts from friends and family and sincerely LOVED everything that he got. Thank you for those of you who came to celebrate with us and for those who sent cards and gifts...this is one SPOILED kid. The night before his birthday he was able to open one gift. Some friends had gone in on a fire helicopter Lego set and it was the biggest set that he has ever gotten. As I was tucking him into bed he said to me, "Mom, I feel like this is a dream. The only reason that I know that this is not a dream is because I can hear myself talking." Okay, maybe 7 can be a cute age after all.

Farewell Summer...you treated us well.

At the beginning of the summer we revamped our chore charts to be more "summer appropriate" (ie. watering the flowerbeds, strawberries and squash, opening and closing windows, etc.). Then we sat down with the kids and asked them what goals they would like to set for the summer. Kate wanted to go to Nana and Papa's, Grandma Nila's and the beach, have a tea party with friends, etc. I wanted her to actually learn the ABC song (instead of singing "ABCDESG....you get the idea), read at least 30 books, memorize one of the Articles of Faith of our church, etc. Owen wanted to take an art class and swimming lessons, sleep in a tent 4 times, etc. I wanted him to read 50 books, learn some new words in Spanish, Memorize 5 Articles of Faith, etc. Davis wanted to go to the zoo, and do all of the other things that Owen wanted to do. That happened with all of them actually. One child would say, "I want to go to the beach!" and the others would pipe up, "ME TOO!" I wanted Davis to read at least 50 books, memorize our telephone number, learn 3 Articles of Faith, etc.

After our lists were created I posted them on the kitchen wall where the kids could easily access them and check off the goals as they were achieved. Overall I think that the system worked well and I will definitely have them come up with another "Summer Bucket List" next year. Of course we didn't get everything crossed off, but we did quite a lot.

That being said, this is how we spent the last week of summer...

We asked each of the kids what they would like to do for one last Mommy or Daddy "Date" before the summer ended. Davis first picked to go on a "date" with Mommy and Daddy to Hawaii. When we couldn't quite swing that, he chose to go hiking and out to dinner at Sonic with his dad. I love that my kids adore their dad. It reminds me that I really got a good guy when I married Jed.
Owen was next and he chose to have a "late up" with Mom and Dad (in other words he got to stay up later than the other kids and hang out with me and Jed). We called Grandma Nila and watched a show about military tanks and subs. He also chose to go to dinner with Jed at Sonic.
We did ask Kate what she really wanted to do and she kept insisting that she just wanted to go run errands with me. I didn't take a picture of us grocery shopping, but you'll have to trust me that we had fun.

Then with only a few days left before school started the kids turned the slide into a water slide. I knew that I was running the risk of having one of them break a limb, but I loved hearing their laughter as the flew down the slide. I figure let them live and be uninhibited, right?




While the big kids discovered the wonderful world of water slides...Gracie discovered the wonderful world of plum trees!

Gracie Update

Gracie's personality is really starting to develop (just ask the people sitting around us in church today...ugh!). For the most part she is a happy little girl, but she does get frustrated when she can't communicate what she wants. Okay, she also gets frustrated when we do understand what she wants and she can't have it...don't we all. Anyway, while my family was here visiting the second week in August Gracie decided to start really walking. Before she would push around her doll stroller, but one afternoon while everyone was congregating for an outing in the family room she just stood up, took a few steps and then plopped to the floor. Immediately everyone cheered and boy did she like that. She got right back up and did it over and over. At one point she took a few steps and when nobody clapped she stopped and clapped. Then everyone took her cue and cheered. She smiled and kept going. It was priceless. Now she is really cruising and at times even runs away from me....gotta love that!

Another thing to note about Grace right now is that she LOVES LOVES LOVES animals. She absolutely freaks out when she sees a car drive by with a dog or a stuffed animal on the shelf at the store. It is unlike anything I have seen with any of our other babies....Why do I get the feeling that there will be a dog or cat in our future. It seems as if dogs are her favorite, but we'll see if that holds once she learns that not every animal with four legs barks.

Movin' to the Country, Gonna Eat A LOT of Peaches...

A couple weeks ago now Ezra and Lisa came to visit and to can peaches...and boy did we can peaches. We did 42 (is that right Lisa?) jars of peaches and 4 jars of nectar! Yum! I went a few days before they came and bought 100 lbs of peaches at Harry and David. Then we learned that they were selling seconds of these local peaches that Saturday morning for .10 per pound. Of course Jed and Ezra couldn't resist buying another 120 lbs! Lucky for us many of the peaches they purchased that day weren't ripe yet, so we got a little bit of a break. Do you think we are gonna eat a lot of peaches?13 years ago when I met Jed and Ezra I wonder what they would have said if I could have shown them this picture of our lives now. Look at all those kids!!!! Makes me laugh thinking about it. :)

Reunion Planning 101

Now that we have "successfully" planned and carried out a family reunion on our home turf, I feel that it is only appropriate that I write a little something entitled "Family Reunion Planning 101", just in case you ever find yourself in this situation.First and Foremost it is important to note who will be attending. In our case we had my mom and dad, sister, brother, sister-in-law, grandma, cousin and 6 kids (I guess they could fall in the 2nd generation cousin category--or something like that).Because most humans do like to sleep, accommodations are the next thing that need to be addressed. In our case we have a fairly small house, but a huge yard. So, we had all of our kids in our room and then used the other bedrooms, a tent, travel trailer and Fifth Wheel for the other folks. Actually I was amazed that I never felt like things were to chaotic, messy or claustrophobic (this was a small miracle for me really).Activities are key. I think that we enjoyed exploring our area as much as our family did. We did a jet boat excursion, played a family trivia game and made smores for Family Night, looked at the bears painted by local artists in the down-town, threw a surprise baby shower for Matt and Ashley, the guys went shooting, the girls did pedicures, the kids played at the Kids Zone, We explored Ashland, played at the Science Works Museum, Watched two movies out on the lawn under the stars, picked blackberries, shot paint balls in our field, had a water fight with the kids, visited with our Aunt Kathleen, celebrated cousin Noah's 10th birthday and ended the week with a babysitter and an "adults only" dinner out. Whew. I don't know if anyone had as much fun as me. My favorite thing was visiting with my family. I was so glad that my grandma and my cousin Melody, who I hadn't really seen in over 20 years, came. I loved watching all of the kids interact and just wished that Chris' family and our Auntie J and Uncle D could have been here too.Now for the dreaded Things to avoid at a reunion....No matter how tough your Grandma is, try to avoid accidents where she hits her face on the ground. Seriously, I was so impressed with my Grandma. Even with two HUGE black eyes, she never complained and was such a good sport. I only hope that she will dare come and visit us again. Thank you for having a sense of humor Grandma! You have taught me A LOT!