Daily Happenings with the Price Family

Some nice photos to share :)

2012-01-19T06:55:00.000-08:00

Since I am on a role with the blogging these last couple of days I thought I would post some other cute photos from the last 2 months or so... I keep thinking I should write about something "deep" on my blog but I can't really think of anything so I will just keep posting pictures of my family.

Eden playing "Dr." with Beckett

A common sight in the evening at our house...Kyle and Sawyer on the ipad.

Eden with her new haircut...she loves it short.

Beckett in his underware and dark socks doing tricks with Faith

Since I have been sewing I helped Reganne (my friend, Jenny's daughter) sew a bag for a class at school. She got an A+. It was fun to help her and she was proud of herself when it was done. I have known Reganne since she was 1 year old and now she is heading into high school in the fall...sniff...sniff. Oh...and it seems that she is taller than me too.

Beckett in roller blades and his "Ming Ming" Wonderpets underware :)

Beckett with his cute friend, Devin, riding the train at the mall.

Beckett eating Sawyer's cupcake at his school Christmas party. Sawyer has a serious crush on the girl sitting next to him.

The kids with my dad on his b-day! Cute picture!!!

Beckett's Birthday Party

2012-01-19T06:41:00.000-08:00

I resisted having a birthday party for Beckett this year because...well...I am lazy. I thought I could get away with one more year. Kyle told me he would really enjoy it so I gave in. Beckett very much enjoyed his party. He used all his manners and had a great time! We invited 8 or so of his little friends to McDonald's to eat dinner, enjoy a cupcake and play in the "playland." He received a lot of great toys (that he enjoying sooooo much). All the kids invited were very well-behaved. Four year olds are pretty great!! We celebrated at home on Sunday (his actual b-day) with leftover cupcakes! We got him a Lightening McQueen bike and a few other smallish things.

The Birthday Gang

Gifts

"Reading" his card.

New bike.... and yes I am only in my underware...

Birthday cupcake

Before church on my b-day holding my very loved Buzz Lightyear.

Faith posing with her cupcake.

Beckett is "4!!"

2012-01-18T18:51:00.000-08:00

I am a few days late posting on Beckett's birthday. He turned "4" on Sunday the 15th. It is hard for me to believe that his "babyhood" is officially over. It makes me sad but he makes me happy every single day. He is so friendly and outgoing...much more than the other kids in our family. As I have posted before he has changed a ton in the past six months or so. In fact....I went in for a PT conference yesterday with his pre-school teacher and she told me how much she enjoys him as well. This is the same teacher he had last year that gave me the "nervous laugh" when I happily told her that he would be in her class this school year as well. She told me how much he had changed....soooo...it isn't just me. I feel bad that she was "dreading" the class with him this year. Beckett LOVES pre-school and his friends. He LOVES his sisters and his brother. Eden is his favorite playmate. His favorite color is green and his favorite food in mac and cheese. He loves "The Grinch" movie and book and "Green Eggs and Ham" is also a favorite book. His favorite shows include "Handy Many" and "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse." He loves his toys and anything from the "Cars" movies. He also likes "Dora." He had a very nice birthday party at McDonald's and I will post pics from that later. So...I took him in today to get his pictures taken at Portrait Innovations and he did amazing. Such a difference from past experiences. She took 53 pictures and all of them were cute...MIRACLE!!! He was a huge HAM! Here are a few.

2011...in review...

2012-01-06T07:42:00.000-08:00

2011 was a great year for us. Here are some highlights in no particular order....

-By mid-year Beckett turned into a much easier child. In 2010 he almost became a full-time daycare child because I could barely keep up with his crazy, naughty, active ways. Now we all enjoy him so much. He is very sweet and funny. He now actually plays with his toys instead of getting into things he shouldn't. We also don't mind taking him places now :)

-Kyle and I enjoyed an anniversary trip to New York City in April. We had a wonderful time visiting Times Square, Ground Zero, Central Park, eating at fancy restaurants and taking a helicopter ride.

-In June we travelled to Virginia for Seth's high school graduation. We had a very fun week with family and visited Washington DC where we saw the White House, visited Ford's Theater and some museums.

-Early in the year Sawyer won the Pinewood Derby and received two trophies at a chess meet where he got "biggest upset" and placed 3rd for his age group.

-In November Eden was baptized.

-In February, when Faith turned 12, she entered the Young Women's program at our church...finally with the "big girls."

-I was called to worked with the 12-14 year old girls in the Young Women's program at church in the summer. I have really enjoyed it!!!

-Sawyer, Kyle and gpa Gary took a "mancation" trip in February to visit great grandparents Dale and and June Price in Florida.

-Kyle (for a few months of the year) really enjoyed his job on an integration team at CAT. Not only did he enjoy it, he was also home much earlier from work than normal. We also very much enjoy when daddy gets time off at Christmas. We love having him around!

-Faith's softball team took first place in their tournament in August. It was very fun to be on a winning team.

-Faith, Eden and I visited the American Girl store with friends, Teresa and Delaney Fitzgerald.

-Me in NYC with The Statue of Liberty in the background.

-Baby Gaga (the dwarf hamster) joined our family.

-Seth's graduation and my kids with Lindsey and Maddie in front of the White House.

-Faith made choir ensemble.

-My 20th high school reunion.

-Six Flags in October.

-First visit to Starved Rock (although we have lived here for years).

-Thanksgiving is always a highlight because my brother's family comes every year!

--------We are pretty busy and also extremely blessed! ----------------

Merry Christmas 2011

2012-01-06T07:01:00.000-08:00

We had a really nice Christmas! We woke up really early, opened all our gifts and then headed off to church. We enjoyed a very nice church service. I love when Christmas day falls on a Sunday. Several years back, when the kids were all younger, I wouldn't have said that but now that they are older most things are much easier. I didn't get any pictures but they wore what they have on in the previous post when I got their pictures taken. Both sets of parents came over and we enjoyed fonduing (which is our tradition every year). My mother-in-law is in charge of all the meat and setting up the fondu while mom and I make the side dishes. We enjoyed more gift opening and loved being together. The kids were happy with all their gifts. Their "big" gifts included a netbook for Faith, i-touch for Sawyer, AG doll for Eden and Leappad for Beckett. After I got done labeling the photos I was noticing how "casual" my kids all look. I used to dress them up on Christmas day but now they all have minds of their owns and wear pajamas whenever they are home. Beckett is pretty much in only underwear at home because he takes his clothes off and for some reason all my kids are hot blooded. Eden hates having her hair brushed....Sawyer's hair is just crazy but they really are presentable when they leave the house.

Faith on Christmas Eve finishing up Beckett's snuggie.

Beckett with his decorated sugar cookies on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Eve for last 3 years we have done a treasure hunt with a gift at the end. This year the gift(s) were stuff for our theater room in the basement. With the money my grandpa sends us every year we got a Sodastream...we are really enjoying it!

....and also a candy dispenser.

The kids also opened their snuggies that Faith made for them. We had to purchase Faith's.

Christmas morning! Beckett LOVES anything from the "Cars" movies.

Cologne and pop...just what every tween boy needs.

Kanani from AG.

i-touch...which he is now addicted to.

Netbook

Leappad...Beckett enjoyes this very much...it was a good purchase.

Jersey

Happy Boy

Beckett in his very own rollerblades. He always skates around the house in Faith's (which are way too big) so we got him his own...I am sad to say that he still wears Faith's.

Dartboard...for Sawyer (and the basement).

Daddy with a very excting......wallet.

Mommy with her new purse picked out by daddy and the girls.

FOOD!!!

Eden with gma Donna.

Beckett after opening his Christmas cracker...these are very popular in Europe and I ended up with some (that I stole) at a Christmas party :) The kids enjoyed them.

The kids all received these desks from my parents.

Eden with gma JoAnn....Eden loves her grandmas!!

Christmas Pictures 2011

2011-12-24T07:38:00.000-08:00

I had a friend from church take these pictures of the kids in their Christmas outfits. I still love dressing them for Christmas and trying to coordinate them the best I can. I couldn't stomach visiting Portrait Innovations again this year. The waiting and watching them put the kids in the same exact poses they do every year all in 15 minutes seemed crazy when I had another, less expensive option. The photographer did great. Beckett was only cooperative for about 5 minutes and we are still working on Sawyer and Eden having natural smiles. What I love it that she just gives her clients the disk and now I can do what I want with the photos. Today is Christmas Eve. We are all pretty pumped! Having the kids out of school with no homework and minimal activities is a great Christmas present for me. The kids have really enjoyed being home.

So...I never finished this post on Christmas Eve but...we had a wonderful Christmas break! On some days we were in our pajamas for most of the day. Kyle was home for most of it as well. We love that!! We saw several movies, did lots of shopping and just enjoyed being together. Faith had 3 different friends spend the night on three different nights. Sawyer and Eden also spent time with friends. Sawyer had the stomach flu the day after Christmas (while he and Eden spent the night at my parents house) but it didn't last long. Faith and a friend from school also enjoyed a very fun and well-organized NYE party at church. Kyle returned to work yesterday and the kids went back to school today. I will post pics. from Christmas day in another post. It is hard for me to believe that the school year is already half over!

Catch Up...

2011-12-01T06:47:00.001-08:00

Since I am months behind I am going to attempt to catch up using photos with short captions...we will see how this goes.

On a beautiful day in mid-October we enjoyed a visit to Radar Pumpkin Patch!

The kids had a blast and we found some pumpkins!!!

Trick or Treat...This is Faith P. with Faith B. These two were in the same 1st grade class but Faith B. went to a different school for the remaining elementary years. They have reunited in jr. high :) Since Faith P. is a little bit too cool to trick or treat with her family she opted to go with Faith B.

Faith with Emma at a band/choir concert.

Faith with Grace and Emma at the concert re-enacting "Charlie's Angels." Cute!

Beckett took intro. to hockey in October for 6 weeks. I decided that was enough at age 3 but we will probably pick it back up in a year when he is a bit more mature :) He got really good on the ice though. It is amazing at how quickly a 3 year old can pick things up. He now puts on Faith's roller blades and skates around the house. Maybe Santa will bring him some roller blades in his size.

Eden's 8th birthday party at Artful Designs. She had a "Shake it Up" birthday cake.

The painted pottery before being "fired." The girls were all great and had a ton of fun. The dolphin is Eden's...she LOVES dolphins and it is her dream to be able to touch a real one.

Faith with her birthday party posse...minus Grace who had to leave a bit early.

Eden with the boot/shoes of her dreams on. She has a crazy sense of style which is hard for me at times but I am trying to let her be independent in the clothing department. The shoe/boots are from her favorite show "Shake it Up." The style on that show is kind of "eighties gone crazy." She also got the skirt...she LOVES sequins.

Halloween 2011. Sawyer is a phantom (very hard to find a costume for 10 1/2 year old boy), Faith is Cookie Monster, Eden is Sponge Bob (see what I mean about her fashion sense???) and Beckett is Mater from the Cars movie...and very proud of it!!! I think he told every single person we ran into during the month of October that he was going to be Mater for halloween!

OOps....repeat picture...cute though...aren't they???? They are enjoying a little hot chocolate :)

In November I had the pleasure of chaperoning Sawyer's 5th grade class to the Challenger Learning Center where they did a spaceship launch simulation. It was very cool and very fun! Their mission was a success! Here is Sawyer hard at work to make the space mission happen. I really enjoyed this and am happy that Sawyer likes me to come. He is in 5th grade now and a big boy. Next year is jr. high and I won't have very many opportunities to nose into his business at school. I am also one of his room parents this year.

Sawyer with some friends eating lunch afterwards.

Beckett with his pre-school class at his "Fall Gathering." He did a very, very good job performing songs and dancing around. He LOVES pre-school this year. He has changed so much in the last 6 months and is such a big boy now!

Posing behind one of the trees his class made.

Eden and Faith with Delaney and Grace waiting to get an autograph from the girl in the picture below. Her name is Zendaya Coleman (Rocky) from the Disney show "Shake It Up." She was signing autographs at a minor league hockey game here in town. The line was annoyingly long! They just shoved the girls through so it was a tad disappointing. We had printed photos of Zendaya at home and Eden had "bedazzled" hers for the signing. Zendaya did make a comment to Eden about the glitz on the picture. Eden is still talking about it :)

Here is my paparazzi shot I took of her with my long lens. This was after the signing was done and she was watching the hockey game...she looks pretty excited..doesn't she??

Sawyer brought Patrick to the hockey game and here they are enjoying their dip n dots :)

Eden was baptized on November 26th, 2011! It was a great day and we had lots of friends come and support her on her special day! My brother and his family was also here to help us celebrate!

Our family!! Look how big all our kids are getting!!!

Beckett with my niece, Teagan! They played so well together and had so much fun over the few days we were together at Thanksgiving!

My kids and 3 of my nieces!

Eden in the dress I made her for her baptism day. Yep...you read right...I made it. It was hard, it stressed me out and I made several mistakes but overall it turned out pretty good. Most importantly, my super picky daughter loved it.

Faith and Kalista....the big 7th graders.

The kids had an open house at their school in November. Here is Eden at her desk proudly showing off some of her school work! She loves here teacher and her class this year.

Here is Sawyer in his classroom. He also loves his teacher and class this year. Sawyer's teacher is a very , very funny lady. The mannequin in the background is the "student teacher." Sawyer said she is very funny every, single day.

-In other news...we have just been really, really busy! For the last few months I have been working with the 12-14 year old girls in Young Womens (which is our youth organization at church). I teach them twice a month on Sunday's and help at our Wednesday night activities. It is a lot of work but so much fun! It is really great because I get to be with Faith. The girls are all great and it has been a huge blessing in my life. The kids have an activity/or activities close to every single night of the week. I am thankful they are involved in stuff and enjoy themselves. Sawyer started playing the trombone in 5th grade band. He enjoys it but doesn't love it. He will finish it out this year and see after that. Faith made choir ensemble this year again. It was a much tighter competition this year...last year they accepted 40 kids and this year only 16. They hired a different teacher and she shrunk it way down. Faith had to try out singing "The Star Spangled Banner," alone, and sight reading music. I was really relieved she made it because it is her favorite activity. She also finished out her 2nd year of Cross Country. Sawyer has now started chess club and floor hockey club after school. Eden is only doing piano right now but starts basketball in January. Now that she is "8" she also gets to go to church on Wednesday nights twice a month for activities. I know I don't mention Kyle much but that is because he basically works really long hours! On the weekends he is very attentive to all of us and we usually try and do something fun. He and Sawyer enjoy hours and hours of football on Sunday afternoons together.

Eden is "8!"

2011-10-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

I didn't want the day to pass without writing about Eden on her 8th birthday. Eden is a great blessing to our family. She has a great sense of humor and I will never tire of those big, brown eyes or that huge smile! While I was pregnant with Eden we decided to have her gender be a surprise. I was sooo happy that I was blessed enough to receive another daughter. Her delivery was my easiest and she is a great kid. From the time she was very little she has always entertained and kept herself busy. She has entertained herself so well over the years that it actually makes me feel guilty that she doesn't receive enough attention. Now she entertains Beckett for me ... A LOT! She is a huge help and a great playmate for him. She is also the only person in our house that picks up our cat, Zoe. Zoe loves Eden and it is always a shock when Eden is carrying her around because she is not very friendly or tolerant of people. She sleeps on Eden's bed every night. Eden now carries her around in a basket and she actually stays in it. Here are some current facts on our girl!

1. She is going to be baptized next month and is very excited about it.
2. She is currently obsessed with dolphins...Kyle told her we had a dolphin in our bathtub for her for her b-day and I think she almost believed him.
3. Her favorite show..that she is obsessed with is "Shake it Up."
4. She loves clothes and anything with sequins right now is a must.
5. Her best friend is Delaney. They have been in the same class since kindergarten and have a lot in common. They both have 5th grade brothers and 3 year old brothers.
6. She has feathers in her hair.
7. She loves having "shorter" hair.
8. She is highly opinionated.
9. Eden is a great student and is excelling in math.
10. She loves to dance around the house.
11. She is a "mommy's girl." :)
12. She chose "Taco Bell" for her birthday lunch.
13. She is in the 2nd grade and her teacher is Mrs. Woodard...she loves school.
14. She is taking piano lessons and will start basketball in January.
15. She loves American Girl Dolls and she currently own 4.

Beckett's First Day of Pre-School!

2011-09-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

Beckett is going to pre-school this year 2 afternoons a week. I purposely put him in the later time so we could be lazy in the morning and so that the mall would be open when he was in school :) I also thought I might be able to eat lunch with Sawyer and Eden every once in a while. Another big reason was so he would have his same teachers from last year. He had his first day yesterday and was VERY excited...this is a huge change from last year. I think he cried for the first 3 weeks last year. Yesterday he was a pro...didn't even look back at me. Although he is still a handful, he has made some big improvements lately. I used to have to hold him down screaming while trying on shoes or getting his hair cut..now he loves to do both! He is WAY better eating out and now responds to my threats :) There are still sharing issues due to the fact that his siblings still give into his every want... this is why I send him to pre-school..so he can learn to share and take turns! He is also quite outgoing! My other kids still will barely speak to adults or strangers...Beckett won't stop talking. If anyone makes eye contact with him he says "I'm just Beckett!!" He is VERY into Cars (the movie) right now. He loves his new backpack for school. My baby boy is growing up! He will already be 4 in January!! One year and 11 1/2 months til kindergarten...but I'm not counting.

Starved Rock

2011-09-07T06:20:00.000-07:00

In the 10 years we have lived here (minus the 2 spent in England) this is the first time we have ever visited Starved Rock. It is not far from our house and FREE so not sure why we waited so long. After going...I am sure we will go back. It is kind of surprising that a place like this exists in Illinois. We did a ton of hiking...like for hours!! I was seriously exhausted! I have even been going to the gym pretty regularly since school started but I don't think it has helped. The kids had a great time. Faith and Sawyer especially really enjoyed the rock climbing and hiking-they are serious daredevils. I don't think I heard one complaint from any of the kids the whole time. Beckett spent a fair amount of the time on Kyle's shoulders so he was quite happy. It would have been that much better if it wouldn't have been so crowded....that is what you get for heading out on a holiday. There were also a ton of tourists. I couldn't believe how many accents I heard..it was like being at Disney...weird. The pictures I took don't do this place justice...it really is beautiful.

First Day of School 2011

2011-08-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

Sawyer...my big, bad, king of the hill 5th grader!!

Eden...2nd grader.

Faith....7th grader.

Oh summer...why did you have to go so quickly? We weren't done with lazy mornings and going to the pool to work on our tans. There were only 75 days of vacation. That is not enough. A great summer was had by all. Sawyer went to scout camp and basektball camp. Eden went to a little cheerleading camp and played softball. Faith attended band camp, softball camp, played softball and started Cross Country at the beginning of August. Faith also attended girl's camp for our church a couple of weeks ago (that will be for another post). It think overall the kids were ready for school to start. Faith was happy that she got on the "K" team at school. Sawyer and Eden are thrilled with their teachers as well!! Beckett starts pre-school in a couple of weeks and can't wait!!!

Champions!!

2011-07-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

Pre-game "wave." Faith is the short one towards the right :)

One of my favorite pictures.

One of Faith's hits.

Ready for some action in 115 degree "heat index." The tournament weekend was HOT!

Looking pretty before game time.

Faith with Marissa...one of her closest friends.

Faith receiving her 1st place trophy!

Final score of the tournament!

Faith getting a turn with the "big" trophy that goes to the team sponsor.

Faith with one of her BFF's...Jaclyn.

Here's the team and coaches....In Town- BNGSA 12U 2011 Champions!!! These are some happy faces!

As I mentioned in my previous blog post...Faith's team the "Maroon Magic" ended their regular season 14-0. They won their first two tournament games but lost the third against an undefeated team in the tournament. They won their fourth game to make it into the championship game. They had to face the undefeated team again and had to beat them twice to earn 1st place due to the tournament being double elimination. They beat them the first time with ease and then had to play them immediately again with a 20 minute break. The second game was a "nail biter" but they pulled it off. It was VERY exciting! I was very nervous and couldn't wait for it to be over with. The girls were all amazing! Faith did great the whole weekend...good fielding and had several good hits. She only stuck out twice the whole season and tournament combined. Faith was on a "losing" team a couple of summers ago and it is definitely more fun to win! I am so happy she has had this experience because one never knows if it will happen again :) Next up....Cross Country... Faith is our most low maintenance child in terms of her temperament but she definitely costs us the most money in gas and activities.

Softball

2011-07-18T21:07:00.001-07:00

Eden is in her first year of non parks and rec. softball. She is in the youngest league available. It is coach pitched, everyone bats every inning and no score is kept. I don't think she enjoys it as much as Faith does but she likes it and I will make her play every summer :) Her team name is the "Blueberries." She improved a lot by the end of the season. Aren't their polka dot socks cute?

Faith is playing her 3rd year of softball. She loves it...not sure what she loves more...the sport or the socializing. She has been part of a very talented team the past two years. This year she moved to an older league and the games have been more exciting because the girls can steal bases and bunt. They just had their final game tonight. They were undefeated ending the season 14-0. She has great coaches and great girls on her team. They are all very friendly and get along great. They look tough on the field but are crazy 11-13 year old girls in the dugout. The end of the season tournament starts on Friday. Will keep you all posted.

Reunion....20 years BABY!!!

2011-07-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

Here we are...had 33 in attendence and close to 60 with significant others. Wished we would have had more.

Four of my closest friends from H.S. Amy and Shelly (two on the left) are still 2 of my closest friends.

Not sure what Kyle was thinking zooming in this close...this is me with Aimee. We spent a fair amount of time "helping" each other with math homework and sharing secrets. I had not seen her since her wedding...she has 5 kids!

This is Shells and I with Mike O. Shelly actually dated him in H.S. ;) He was/is a great friend. SO FUN to catch up! He is a math professor at some college in California and has kid #4 on the way :) Take away the facial hair and he was "least changed" to me. If you look closely you can see my name tag and what I looked like in my senior picture....Kyle joked that he was hiding behind my hair somewhere. We dated my senior year so I am guessing we had a mutual respect...him for my big hair and me for his mullet.

Me and Amy. Amy is a 2nd grade teacher in our hometown. She was homecoming and prom queen. I still see and talk with her often. She is married, a mother of 3 girls and a wonderful teacher.

Dave is one of my favorite people. We have been able to keep in touch through the years. He lives in Texas, has a lovely wife and 3 kids. He is also a minister. Of course, I really admire him for this! I am only going to write this because he doesn't know about my blog...in H.S. he had a massive head of dark hair.

Amy B. was a very close friend in H.S. and another one who I have kept in contact with. She just moved to California (from Chicago) and is in marketing for a shopping mall corporation...or something like that. Not married but live in boyfriend and a dog. She is an independent woman!

For the past 5-6 months Shelly, myself and Andy (an awesome guy we graduated with) have been planning our 20 year class reunion. I can't believe it has been 20 years. High school was a very good experience for me so I am not quite sure why it is so weird to see my fellow classmates. We had a 10 year reunion and it was nice...I remember receiving an award for the youngest baby. Sawyer was just a few months old. Anywho...not much is left to the imagination now with facebook so that definitely helped! Speaking of facebook...thank goodness it exists for events like this!!! It made it so much easier to find and contact people. Andy is a pharmacist in our hometown so that helped as well. He sees a lot of relatives, etc of former classmates. My graduating class had 100 graduates. The town I grew up in has a population of 4,400 people. I loved growing up there... although I love more where we live now. We tried to make the reunion as simple and cheap as possible and I think it went really well! Kyle was a good sport and tagged along. We met at my friend, Amy's house before hand for dinner. We invited some other classmates we were close to. It was a lot of fun. It made me realize how much I miss them. Even though I had not seen some of them since graduation we definitely have a bond. Some of us were together from kindergarten to graduation. It was fun to catch up on kids, spouses, careers and share old memories. Most people at the reunion were recognizable...I will just leave it at that. I told Kyle that it was fun and disturbing all at the same time...fun to catch up but hard to see that some have not had good lives/made bad choices after we graduated. This has weighed heavily on my mind today. Praying they all find peace and happiness in life. We had a little quiz/contest...learned that the longest marriage in attendance was 20 years...that means they got married right out of H.S. and oldest child was 20 as well. We had a couple of classmates travel clear from California. Our valedictorian attended, has 9 kids and home schools. Not sure when our next reunion will be...5 years seems a little soon...but in 10 many of us will be grandparents! I didn't take near as many photos as I had planned on...too busy talking...but here are a few.

End of the school year CHAOS!!

2011-07-09T20:14:00.000-07:00

In May I had the priviledge of chaperoning a band trip to Six Flags in Gurnee. Half of these lovely girls were my group and the other half were my friend, Amy's. Half were roller coaster riders (my group) and the other half were not. It was a very fun trip and the girls were great!

Faith, for the 1st time, took a Hip-Hop Dance Class through the Parks and Rec. She took it with two of her best friends, Jaclyn and Megan. This was the girls right before their dress rehearsal. There were 16 kids on their dance squad (2 were boys). They all did a great job.

Eden with her very loved 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Scott!

Eden with Miss "A." This was her very loved student teacher.

Last day of 1st and 4th grades!! You may notice that Sawyer's face it scraped up. He was tackled for a basketball by his best friend....yep...they are still friends...BOYS! I can't wrap my mind around the fact that after this coming school year he will be entering jr. high.

Last day of 6th grade!

Choir concert.

I am sewing! I know it is weird. I made her skirt and headband...she picked out the fabric.

Faith received an award for earning straight A's. She was 1 of 33 6th graders out of around 250 kids that earned straight A's. Faith is a great student. We are so proud of her. One of her teachers emailed me at the end of year and told me how much he enjoyed having Faith in class and that he hoped his daughter turned out just like her. The kids all had successful school years with wonderful teachers!

New York City!!

2011-07-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

This post is going back to April. Kyle and I celebrated 14 years of marriage on May 10th. Kyle surprised me with a trip to New York City for a weekend! I knew we were flying somewhere but didn't know where until we were on our way to the airport. We have not been away together (alone) more than one night since we have had kids. I was nervous and excited all at the same time. Leaving Beckett was the hard part, knowing he would not do well without me at night. He had also been sick with vomiting and diarrhea. The doctor had put him on a dairy and sugar free diet to try and stop the vomiting. So...he was left sick and cranky (wanting sugar!!!). Friends and my parents helped with the kids and they all survived!!!

We had an amazing time!! It is comforting to know that after 14 years we still really enjoy each others company and being together. I really appreciated all the effort Kyle went to! He is too good to me!! We can't wait til retirement (but not the "being old" part). We stayed in a very nice hotel right off of Times Square. Kyle made reservations at two VERY fancy, expensive restaurants. I was googling menu items on my phone to try and figure out what I was ordering. Some of the food was amazing...some not so much! It was definitely an experience. We saw the musical "Memphis" and it was amazing!!! We took a helicopter ride over "The Statue of Liberty." We also toured "Ground Zero" and went to the museum/memorial they have. This was very depressing. I cried. We also had a guy pull us on his bike in a little carriage through part of Central Park. I wanted a souvenir so we went to "Tiffany's." We went to the 3rd floor (this is the floor where one can actually afford to buy something) and I got a necklace. Times Square was very crowded no matter what time it was but also very exciting. It reminded me of our times in London. I am looking forward to our next "getaway" although it might take years for my parents to recover from watching Beckett. We took a ton of pictures but here is a sampling :)

THE BASEMENT

2011-05-05T13:28:00.001-07:00

After almost 3 years the basement is FINISHED!! When we had the house built we had the builders frame the basement. It has been 80% finished for probably the last year and half or so but most recently we put in the mini kitchen, projector and the shelving around the screen. Kyle kind of designed what he wanted around the screen and then had a cabinet maker/carpenter build it. It exceeded our expectations and we are soooo happy with it. Kyle, my dad, father-in-law and friends did most of the basement but we did hire out for some of it. Now I don't know what I will harass Kyle about doing around the house :) I have to say the kids have spend a lot more time down there since it is complete! I had planned on doing before/after pictures but the only "before" pictures I have are those of it framed....nothing inbetween. Also...I realize the bar stools don't match. They are from our former house here in town and we will be replacing them soon :)

Sewing

2011-05-05T13:19:00.001-07:00

Faith started taking sewing lessons right after Christmas. She has made a couple of bags, a scrap caddy/pin cushion, pillow case, apron and is now working on pajamas. Everything has been so cute and I am really proud of her. I used to love to sew...yes, it is true. It has honestly been 12 years or so since I have sewn. Well...my interest has been renewed! The Young Women in our ward did a silent auction to raise money for girls camp this summer and they each had to donate a service or something they made to the auction. Faith donated the black polka dot bag (pictured) that she made in sewing class. She and I, together, made the other two bags to donate. They turned out so cute. I almost hated to part with them but am going to make some more very soon (although I am not sure what I will do with them). I am also going to attempt to make some clothes for Eden's American Girl Dolls. Hobby Lobby's fabric dept. has become one of my favorite places.

Stuff

2011-05-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

I have so many things I want to blog about I am not sure I will ever catch up but here is an attempt....in no particular order.

Faith received a dwarf hamster for her b-day and named her "Baby Gaga." She has been an excellent, very low maintenance pet! She has never bitten and even lets Beckett hold her. Faith loves to play with her and we have a ball that is very fun to watch her run around in.

G-pa Gary also recently bought the girls this purple scooter. The three oldest can ride it really well and love it. I can even ride it and am thinking I need a bigger version. Beckett LOVES to ride on it with Faith and thinks he is big stuff!

Kyle is 39!!

2011-04-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

This means I have less than a year to decide what to do for his 40th!! For his b-day we had steaks on the grill with sweet potato casserole (his favorite). Faith made him brownies. My parents were over that day so they joined us! We will be celebrating again on Easter with both sets of parents. Kyle always goes overboard on my b-day and other holidays and he always gets the shaft. That just proves how much better he is than I am and I love him for it. He really, truly is the best daddy and husband ever! Happy Birthday, Kyle! We love you!!!

The only two pictures I took in Chicago!

2011-04-21T20:18:00.001-07:00

Chicago

2011-04-21T20:07:00.001-07:00

Two weeks ago I went to Chicago for TWO WHOLE NIGHTS with my very good friends, Kristen and Jenny. We took the train on Friday morning and came back Sunday morning. We stayed in a very, very nice hotel down town that was funded by Kristen's, husband's, hotel points. Our friend, Kira (who now lives in Wisconsin) met us. We had a great time and all we did was shop and eat...and talk...and laugh. We ate at "The Melting Pot" which was delish! I was also bound and determined to buy some "Garrett's Popcorn" while there. This popcorn is some of "Oprah's" favorites. We waited in line for an hour at the end of the night and did manage to get some cheese popcorn cause they didn't have any caramel left. I am so mad that I didn't take a picture of us standing outside in the line waiting. I have been friends with these girls for around 10 years (since our oldest were toddlers). Love them all!

Catch Up!

2011-04-21T19:33:00.001-07:00

Fun at an Extreme game. This is indoor arena football. Faith's choir ensemble sang "The Star Spangled Banner." Beckett did great...this was one of those moments when we realized we can start taking him more places!!
Faith at her band concert. Daddy and Eden went but mommy was home with sick boys! Faith doesn't "love" band so we will see if she decides to continue in 7th grade.

Sawyer and Grayson at their Chess Banquet! Sawyer loves chess and is now with a private teacher year around. He improved a lot this year and we are looking forward to next season!

My little camera man "recording" Eden at the talent show...see below :)

Eden, Nicole and Delaney performed at the school talent show. They tried out and made it! They hula hooped and jump roped to "You Spin Me Right Round" by the Chipmunks. It was all their own idea although the moms help "refine" their routine for the show. They did great!

AMERICAN GIRL!!!

2011-03-07T07:43:00.001-08:00

This is my last post for now. I am realizing how busy we have been since Christmas!!! I am hoping things will calm down for a bit! I guess when you have kids things never really calm down. We were invited by a friend to go to American Girl in Chicago with the Parks and Rec. We took a chartered bus up for the day and had a great time! Eden had been very patiently saving her money from Christmas and her report card to spend. She actually had $95 saved so she was able to get another doll (with a little help from mommy). When we left she had planned on getting matching outfits for her and her doll but when she was looking at the "just like me" dolls and saw the one that looked just like her she couldn't resist!! And it really does look like her in the summer when she is tan. We then opted for the matching t-shirts....which are way cheaper than the outfits. Although Faith doesn't play with her dolls anymore (sniff, sniff) she still wanted to go, enjoyed herself and got a few books. The weather was really, really nasty and we had planned on going up in the John Hancock building but the visibility was "zero" so we didn't waste our money and instead did some shopping in the mall. The lunch is always enjoyable and at the tables they have "conversation starters." My favorite part of the trip was asking the girls these questions and listening to their answers like..."What do you want to be when you grow up" and "If you could start a club, what kind would it be?"...etc... Thank you to the Fitzgerald's for inviting us!!

Sawyer and Kyle to to Florida!

2011-03-07T07:35:00.000-08:00

Sawyer got to experience a "mancation" in mid-February. He, Kyle and my father-in-law went to Florida for 4 days to visit Kyle's grandparents. They did a lot of fun things like going to dog races, staying in a hotel, swimming and fishing on a boat in the ocean. Although the trip had been planned for a couple of months we didn't tell Sawyer until a week before. Even that was too soon because he had a hard time waiting. They left on a Friday morning and Sawyer even told me that I should have waited to tell him until the Wed. before. They all had a great time!!

Faith is 12!!!

2011-03-07T07:05:00.001-08:00

Faith turned 12 on Feb. 27th. I have probably seen the most change in Faith this year. She is really growing up and maturing. She is way more concerned with how she looks and is more responsible. She is now babysitting for us for short amounts of time as well. However...she still loves to hang out with mom and dad and the rest of the family. I hope that never ends. She is still a straight "A" student and loves school. Her social life is to be envied. Faith is a "joiner." She loves being involved in whatever is available to her. Currently she is taking piano (like always), hip-hop dance and sewing (hopefully I will get around to posting some of the cute stuff she has made). Today will be her first day of track. Track is open to everyone and although she might never compete she still wanted to join anyways....to be with her friends. She doesn't particularly enjoy playing clarinet in the band but stays in to socialize. I am pretty sure I was exactly like her in 6th grade although I didn't get straight "A's." Faith also joins "Young Women's" now that she is 12. This is the youth group at our church. She will now go every Wed. night for activities and will join the older kids during church on Sunday's. Young Women's is a great program for girls 12-18. Faith is very excited to be a part of it.

Faith wanted to invite lots of girls to her b-day party so we decided on bowling. You don't have to pay per person and they could be loud and obnoxious. The girls had lots of fun and Faith got a lot of great gifts. She received 6 t-shirts, jewelry and food. She also got gift cards and cash among other things. From us she received a dwarf hamster. This is what she really, really wanted. We had a guinea pig several years ago and I wasn't a fan.... it stunk and did not like to be held at all. We did more research this time and received lots of help and advice at the pet store before deciding on the dwarf. I think we made a good choice this time. We have had her for almost 2 weeks now and she doesn't smell and is VERY friendly (photos coming soon). Faith gets her out every night to run in her ball and in our Zhu Zhu pet house. Faith named her "Baby Gaga." Beckett calls her "GooGoo Gaga." Faith loves animals! Faith's siblings got her a "CTR" ring. "CTR" stands for "Choose the Right." Happy Birthday to Faith! She is becoming a wonderful young lady!! We LOVE YOU!

Sawyer is 10!!!

2011-03-07T06:43:00.000-08:00

Sawyer turned 10 on Feb. 27th. It just doesn't even register that Sawyer will be heading into jr. high in a year and a half! Where has the time gone! Sawyer has already started planning his 11th birthday. He does this every year. I guess we will call him a "planner." However, he will change his mind about a million times before the actual day. This year he decided on a Chuck e Cheese party. Watching Beckett in the "Ticket Blaster" a month before was the clincher. In the "Ticket Blaster" one has 30 seconds to get as many tickets as possible. This is why his shirt is tucked in (so he can stuff tickets down it) and why he is wearing the crown (so that tickets will land in it). We had 9 or 10 boys including Sawyer and they all had a lot of fun. They all went through tokens like water but that is to be expected. Sawyer chose a cookie cake this year since he doesn't like frosting. Sawyer received very nice gifts from his friends. From us her received a jersey, Madden '11 for xbox and a lego set from his siblings.

Sawyer is a great kid. Over the last couple of months I have had several people tell me what a nice kid he is. That is great to hear as a parent especially since I mostly see him picking on Eden. Sawyer is a very hard worker in school and really in all he does. He is a "stat machine" when it comes to football and loves to try new things. The kid has a heart of gold. He often tries to come up with ways to cure the world of its problems. We were watching that secret millionaire show last night and Sawyer was very moved by this soup kitchen that gave and delivered food to the needy. For about an hour...or more...after the show ended he talked about how we should buy "Ruby Tuesdays" (that has closed down) and serve food to hungry people. When I make him get rid of some of his old toys he is insistent they go to Good Will and will ask me over and over again if I have taken them there. On the flip side...the kids LOVES money. My parents bought him a lock box for his b-day and he loves to organize and count it. I am hoping he will find a balance with his desire to help people and his love of money as he gets older. Happy Birthday to Sawyer .... WE LOVE YOU!

I'm a Big Boy Now!!

2011-03-07T06:33:00.000-08:00

Beckett is potty trained!! He has actually been potty trained for about 6 weeks now and hasn't had an accident in probably 3 weeks. I really despise this chore and I dread for a good year before even starting. However, Beckett did great. He was very easy and I was VERY relaxed about it. He was immediately "night trained." He hasn't had even one nighttime accident. My first two wore pull-ups to bed until they were 4 so it has been really nice. The #2 training took a week or two but as soon as I started offering him candy for every time he pooped on the potty he got it really quickly. I have to admit that I am a little sad that I never have to buy diapers again and that I now have no reason to hit the baby aisle at Walmart.

SAWYER!!!!!!!!

2011-02-01T16:51:00.000-08:00

So...Sawyer had an awesome week last week! His car came in 1st place in the Pinewood Derby. Last year he came in 2nd. Kyle was convinced before the race that his car wasn't as fast as last years. We prepped him that there was a very good chance that he wouldn't place. Well...we were wrong and he got FIRST!! He received a medal, ribbon and certificate. He painted his car royal blue and white...it was an Indianapolis Colts car. It was decorated with a #18 after his favorite player...Peyton Manning... and had the team logo on it. He even wore his Colts jersey under his scouts shirt. It was an exciting evening and I am thankful that he is having positive experiences in scouting.

Second....Sawyer earned TWO trophies at a chess tournament last weekend. Sawyer really enjoys chess. At the end of December we started him in private chess lessons. He also attends chess club after school one day a week. Chess is huge here in town. Our town(s) have the largest amount of chess players in the state of Illinois. Since he enjoys chess and wasn't doing so well at the tournaments we decided to put him into the private lessons. I hated to do this but for him to be competitive and get him to the next level we needed to. So...back to the trophies. He earned the first one for "biggest upset." Sawyer is a 200 level player and he beat a 900 level. I almost cried when Kyle texted to tell me. He ended up winning 3 matches that day which earned him a 3rd place trophy for 4th graders. His school also got 2nd place overall. Chess meets last from about 8 am-3 pm. It is a long day and someone has to be at the meet with him the whole time. Kyle went this time and it was at a school out of town. When Kyle said he was pretty sure Sawyer would earn a trophy, the girls (and Bex) drove out to see it happen. One never knows if it will ever happen again :) Sawyer's chess ranking will go up now which is both good...and bad. He will continue to play higher ranked kids now.

Two things I never thought a son of mine would do....be a boyscout and a chess player. Both have been great experiences and something Sawyer really enjoys. I am thankful. I am thankful my kids go to great schools that offer activities for every type of kid. Sawyer is also playing basketball right now but that is for another post. We are very proud of him!!!

BECKETT IS 3!!!!!!

2011-01-24T06:54:00.000-08:00

My baby is THREE! He is definitely the little "Prince" of our family. His brother and sisters all indulge him like crazy and he is spoiled rotten. If I even attempt to discipline him the other kids say I am being mean and run to his defense. Beckett has been a handful these last three years but we are seeing signs of improvement in that area. For instance...when I took him in for 2 year pictures we were barely able to get ONE shot of him that was pleasant. That has all changed...I just took him to Sear's last week and he posed for every picture and did every single thing the lady told him to. I sat in a chair and watched (that is the way I like it). Beckett is now able to make it through the first hour of church without being taken out and now enjoys going to nursery and pre-school. His vocabulary took off late in the summer and has not slowed down. He is a motor mouth...like his brother and mother. He is now able to ask questions and tattle on his siblings. He also now plays with his toys and even does some make-believe. He really has never played with toys...he has only been interested in climbing all over and on top of things. Beckett loves to play with Eden. He will do pretty much whatever she asks him to. He still REALLY enjoys his T.V. programs, which provides me with some peace during the day :) Beckett is going through a huge independent stage right now. He can count to 15 and sing some songs. He knows most of his shapes and all of his colors (thank you Blue's Clue's and Dora). He is still a big mamas boy. He follows me all over the house and is very affectionate. Eden and Sawyer are playing basketball right now and we can actually take him to the games and he will stay close to us...this wouldn't have happened a few months ago. The biggest news about Bex is that he is 95% potty trained. He has been such a big boy about going on the potty. We are still working on #2 but are getting closer. He has been dry at night for almost two weeks and hasn't had an accident during the day for over a week now. I am happy and sad all at the same time about him growing up. He is definitely a huge joy and blessing to our family. We would be so bored without him!
We celebrated his 3rd birthday at Chuck E Cheese!! We did the organized party with just us and the grandparents. He had so much fun and did every single thing he was supposed to. He loved it! He even went into the "Ticket Blaster" with Faith...this is where you go in and they blow tickets around and you have 30 seconds to collect all the tickets you can. For his 3rd birthday he received a big wheels, Bigfoot Robot, stuffed animals and Hexibugs. Someone said to me the other day that Beckett is so fun to watch because he has "so much personality"...that is an understatement. We LOVE YOU BECKETT!!!I had to add this random picture of Beckett when he was just a few months old.

Room Re-Do's

2011-01-24T06:40:00.000-08:00

Within the last couple of months we have been doing some painting! The lovely FLAT paint that builders use just does not cut it. Our whole house (except the basement) actually needs repainting. We had promised the kids (almost 3 years ago) that they could pick their own room color and we would paint them ASAP. It took us a little longer than planned to get to them but they are finally done...well except for Beckett's...but his is next. We also painted and bought new furniture for our front room. I am really happy with how all the rooms turned out. My favorite color is BEIGE (and every shade of brown) so letting the kids pick bright colors for their rooms really freaked me out. All I can think of is RESALE, RESALE, RESALE...and if we ever do have to move then they will have to be repainted. Just for the record, in almost 14 years of marriage we have lived at eight different addresses. Here are the final products.

St. Louis Trip

2011-01-14T10:53:00.000-08:00

We decided to do a little overnight getaway the week between Christmas and New Year. We went to St. Louis, visited some friends, stayed in a hotel and went to Magic House. Magic House is a HUGE children's museum. It has way too many cool things to try and mention all of them. I also took way too many photos so I am going to try and scale them back. It was PACKED but still very, very fun!! My kids really enjoyed sitting in the Oval Office, at the President's desk, and sitting as a judge in the Supreme Court room. Beckett was even a very good boy and loved it all. He and Eden most enjoyed the grocery store. The kids also enjoyed swimming at the hotel.

More cute photos from Christmas 2010

2011-01-14T10:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010

2011-01-14T10:24:00.001-08:00

Since I am way behind on my blogging (as usual) I am just going to post pics. of the kids at Christmas with their favorite gift. We had a wonderful Christmas. It is the first Christmas in at least three years that Sawyer hasn't been disappointed in his gifts. It was a Christmas miracle!! I loved having the kids home from school. It is so relaxing and I am a way nicer mom without all the homework and activities going on. Kyle was off for a week and we love that too! We had both sets of parents over for our Christmas feast. My mother-in-law always prepares meat for fondue. We all really enjoy the fondue. We had a blessed year!!

Faith's big gift was a sewing machine. This was a complete surprise to her and I think overall she is happy with it. She started sewing lessons about three weeks ago and it is going really well and she has made some cute things. I will write about that in a future post.

Sawyer got a NFL jersey. A player named "Peppers" from the Bears. Kyle got a matching one too. I don't care about NFL football but now that Sawyer is obsessed I now know more than I ever thought possible.

Eden got her 3rd American Girl doll. She wanted "Julie". Three is a little overboard but she does play with them all the time and I would rather get her something nice than a bunch of crap.

Beckett received some drums and cymbals from my parents that he loves. We also got him a Fisher Price Flashlight/Lantern that he really likes. At night he lifts up the blinds, points it out the window and looks for Santa...still.

Kyle treats me very well for every holiday and this one was no exception. I think I received my 2nd favorite gift ever this year which is a new cell phone. He got me a Droid. I am obsessed with it. I play on it way too much. I don't even like electronics but for some reason I LOVE cell phones. I had a Blackberry before that I thought I liked but it doesn't even compare to this phone. He also got me a bunch of other stuff and I made the comment that it was "too much"....to which Faith replied..."that is what I thought." She was a tiny bit jealous of my phone. :)

My in-laws got us Rockband 3. We love Rockband more than words can say. If one ever wonders what our family is doing at home in our free time....we are playing Rockband.

Portrait Innovations Shoot

2010-12-09T11:54:00.001-08:00

So...I just wanted to take the kids to PI for the $9.95 package. I wanted to get a professional shot of them in their Christmas outfits. It has honestly been almost 2 years since I have taken all 4 of them there together. I took Bex back in Jan. for his 2 year pics. and it was a nightmare. I was just praying for ONE good photo of the 4 of them. Well...Bex was perfectly behaved and was a total ham. The lady who helped us even remembered him from January and commented on how much better he was this time...I am not joking. I ended up spending more than $9.95 but it was worth it. If I could just get Sawyer and Eden to smile more naturally...I guess that comes with age. Overall, I was very pleased!

I think I am mostly caught up with my blogging now...yay!

Visit from Holli

2010-12-09T11:45:00.000-08:00

I think most people know that although I didn't really enjoy living in England...that I did, indeed, enjoy the friends I made there! My time (all our time) there was/is short but we have a bond and I just love these girls! Out of the 5 of us in this picture, Holli is the last one still living in England with CAT (she LOVES it btw). She is a very busy mom of 4 but made a surprise visit back to celebrate her best friends' 30th b-day. It was so fun to get together and catch up! I will be happy when Holli and her beautiful family move back where they belong :) I want to do a special shout out to Jenny's hubby (Dan) for standing on a stool to take this picture so that we all look thinner and more youthful :)

Putting up the tree!

2010-12-09T11:40:00.000-08:00

My kids love decorating the Christmas tree. This is why I could never have a tree to myself...I really think it would hurt their feelings. Every year I want to get a new tree but I bought some new decorations for it after Christmas last year for cheap and gave it a little makeover...it looks better and I am good now! I bought our tree after the Christmas that I was pregnant with Faith at Hobby Lobby for $35. We are looking forward to Christmas!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-09T11:32:00.001-08:00

I have no photos of Thanksgiving. We were just too dang busy! Tyler and his family came for a whole week and we had a great time. The kids love to be with their cousins. We saw Rapunzel, made jewelry, ate out and shopped! My mom, sis-in-law Amy and myself all did the black Friday shopping. It is a tradition and more about the "experience" than about the deals. We always have a lot of fun! I am thankful to have such a loving family where everyone truly enjoys being together!

Faith and Jr. High

2010-12-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

Jr. High has been pretty exciting for all of us. It is something different from elementary school which is a nice change. I was so nervous at the beginning but it has been nothing but positive. Faith finished up Cross Country at the beginning of Oct. There was an awards banquet and she was recognized with 10 other kids for taking 4+ minutes off her 2 mile time over the course of the season. She actually took off over 5 minutes...but who's counting?? She earned a letter (a very tiny one, but a letter nonetheless). She has also been busy with band and had her first concert. I can't remember if I have posted about this or not but she also tried out for and made Girls Choir Ensemble. Choir is her favorite. She also tried out for and received a solo part. She can sing great but needs to work on her "showmanship". She looks pretty bored when singing. Most importantly...Faith received straight A's her first quarter and was put on "High-honors Honor Roll." She also just took a test and will be 1 of 40 kids in her whole school to compete in a Geography Bee. She gets her smarts from her daddy. Lastly, Faith is helping our piano teacher with a class of younger kids and is getting paid! She received her first ever paycheck last week. Sometimes it is hard to keep up with all the kids' activities but I really want them to have lots of experiences. This post may seem a big "braggy" but I just want to make sure we remember it all. Some of my other children (who shall remain nameless) aren't as easy as she is. Her even temperament and sweet disposition is a blessing to me. Jr. High has surprised her in some ways though....like kids that have poor hygiene and the mean things they say to each other. Elementary school is (in most cases) a sweet and caring place. I would love to protect her from all of it but I know it isn't realistic :(

Halloween

2010-12-09T10:58:00.001-08:00

We have been without our laptop for several weeks which is why I am so behind on my blog. I didn't want to put pictures on our desktop clear down in the basement or on the laptop my father-in-law was lending us while he was so kindly repairing ours. I am going to make these posts brief so I can get caught up! The kids had a great Halloween! My mother-in-law painted them adorable, personalized pumpkins this year! Faith had drama trying to decide what she would be for Halloween but finally decided on being a "bee" since her first two ideas couldn't be found and she didn't trust me to make her anything. Eden was "Spider Girl"...this surprised me but as soon as she saw the costume it was love at first sight. Sawyer was a football player. He already had the jersey so that was good. Beckett was "DJ Lance Rock" from Yo Gabba Gabba. He loved his costume and was determined to keep those darn glasses on. Eden went trick-or-treating with a friend. Beckett LOVED it this year. He was so excited after every single (and I mean every single) house. He immediately had to see what was in his bag. The kids got a ton of candy...in fact we still have a lot of it. Sawyer, Eden and Bex all had a costume parade/party at school.

Eden turns 7!!!!

2010-11-05T06:52:00.000-07:00

Eden turned 7 on Oct. 30th. She had a great b-day week. I took Krispy Kreme donuts into her class on Tues. and am ticked because I forgot to take my camera in with me. She handed out vampire teeth to all the kids and they LOVED them. They cost $2 for 16 of them...what a deal! She had her party at a bead shop this year. There were 12 kids including the b-day girl. The kids got to make a bracelet and paint a jewelry box. I think it was the best party any of my kids have ever had. It was very fun and the bracelets are really nice...not cheap crappy ones. The kids were all very serious about picking their beads and stringing their bracelets. Eden received a ton of great gifts including....an Alex doll (from Wizards of Waverly Place), lots and lots of silly bands, Webkinz, crafts, make-up...etc. My mom, Faith and I stayed after the party to make our own bracelets...fun!

We celebrated with the grandparents on Halloween. Eden got a pillow pet, Wizards of Waverly Place stuff, purse and an alarm clock/dock for Faith's old ipod nano. Eden is thrilled to have this. She has been dancing and singing her heart out in her room every night!

We love Eden so much! She is a very happy child who is often found with a huge smile on her face. Sometimes I will look back at her through my rearview mirror while driving around and 95% of the time she will have a huge smile on her face. I am not sure what she is thinking about but it always makes me laugh. She is an amazing big sister to Beckett. She is the only one that our cat likes in our whole family. The cat always sleeps with Eden at night and just this morning Eden was carrying her down the steps...no one else would dare even try that. Eden has lots of friends and loves school. She practices the monkey bars every single day at recess. She is a great student...she often gets her homework done on the bus and can be found practicing her reading on her short walk home. She has beautiful handwriting and loves to draw pictures and write notes to people. Eden loves clothes and asks me at least twice a week if she has something new to wear. American Girl dolls and barbies are her favorite things to play with. Eden sometimes portrays "diva" qualities and loves to push Sawyer's buttons. She also told me the other day...and this is an exact quote..."but it is just so easy for me to NOT do what you tell me to do." She also told me one day that she wants to marry a nice, smart man that wants children and will take care of the children while she takes a nap.

Eden is ending her week long b-day celebration by having two friends spend the night tonight...we will see how that goes. My prediction is a small amount of drama and one of the girls not lasting through the night and having to go home :)

Just had to share....

2010-10-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

I loathe school fundraisers. I am happy to donate to most causes and if someone is selling something really good (like girl scout cookies or boy scout chocolate covered caramel corn) then I am there!! My kids school pushes magazine sales like crazy every year. You can opt out and do their no-hassle fundraiser for $25 per family. I choose this every single year but the school continues to torture my children by offering prizes to kids that choose to sell magazines and they actually shed real tears when I won't let them sell the magazines. Anyways...Faith was selling cheese, sausage, cookie dough and other stuff for band. If she sold 10 items over the weekend then she received the giant candy bar you see on the right. If she sold 15 items total then she also received the 5 lb. bag of gummy bears on the left. She managed to sell exactly 15 items. I have to admit the chocolate is good and the gummy bears are very soft and yummy as well. What you see in the center is the cheese and sausage duo that was bought by my very sweet neighbors and my parents for $17.50 (which I am embarrassed to have Faith deliver to them). I thought it was going to be large...nope. If I was either one of them I would choose the huge candy bar or 5 lb. bag of gummy bears for $17.50 over the tiny cheese and sausage duo. I just found it all slightly amusing...but mostly ridiculous. One of the other jr. high bands in town was selling food too but they had the option of selling 15 items or donating $35. That is a better idea. I would rather donate $5-$10 than get the tiny cheese and sausage duo. Okay... I am done.

School Open House/Grandparents Night

2010-10-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night Sawyer and Eden's school had their annual Open House/Grandparents Night. This is a night to show off their school! It is always very crazy and crowded but we go every year anyway because the kids really look forward to it. The teachers usually have the kids make something or display some of their work for us. I love the kids' school. They have had amazing teachers every year. I feel so thankful. I didn't get a picture of Eden with her teacher because she has three kids that all had activities going on that night. Kyle's parents attended with us and I didn't even get a photo of them with the kids :( although the school took one that I will have to wait for. Sawyer and Eden both really like their teachers and classes. Here are some pictures! Also...Faith was able to visit her 5th grade teacher (there is a a great mutual love between them). Faith was in true jr. high form texting during most of the open house. She also met up with her pal, Emma. I also have to add how much I appreciate Sawyer's teacher this year...she is SUPER organized and sends several emails home a week with reminders for the parents and she always has skyward up to date with the kids grades! She was meant for me....cause I need lots of reminders! Fourth grade is very busy!!

FUN Weekend!!

2010-10-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

Back in the summer, I did a garage sale with my pal, Jenny. On one of the days we were working on setting up, her daughter and I made a little trip to Subway for some lunch. While there, a radio station was set up inside and you could put your name on for free tickets to Six Flags. I virtually never win anything but thought I would sign up while waiting. A few days later I received a phone call from the radio station saying I won the Six Flags tickets, a t-shirt and four Subway sandwiches! Yay me! I have to admit I was pretty excited. Anywho, we used those tickets last weekend and had a GREAT time! It was SO FUN!!! Kyle and I hadn't been to Six Flags since our one year wedding anniversary. It was a little on the cool side reaching a high of 65 but NOT crowded at all! I am now leaning towards doing all family activities in the cooler weather. No fighting crowds or lines and no whining children or adults about the heat and humidity! Six Flags has a ton of roller coasters. My kids will ride almost anything! Faith WILL ride anything and everything. It is nice that the oldest three meet the height requirements now. Eden met all but one or two of these. Also, they offer the parent/rider switch like Disney so the other parent doesn't have to re-wait in line with the kids to experience it with them. We spent 10 hours of FUN at Six Flags. Even Beckett was a good boy. For the first time we let him out of his stroller and he stuck very close. It was so nice for him and us! A couple of odd things happened while were there though...F, S, E and myself were waiting in line to ride "The Screamin' Eagle" and a girl got stuck in her seat. He harness would NOT come undone. It took at least 20 min. for them to get her out. After they got her out they had to run all the cars several times before they let anyone on. We left because it was taking so long but Kyle and the kids went back later and rode it. There were mechanical issues again when waiting to ride "Mr. Freeze." All of a sudden everything just became silent and the cars wouldn't go. It only took about 10 min. to get it up and running. We were 3rd in line and I was happy because I wanted to make sure the riders before us left and came back in one piece. So...twice in one day.

We spent the night in a hotel and the next day went to the zoo...which is FREE!! It is a super nice zoo! We also REALLY enjoyed it! They had some fun activities set up for the kids and we saw a lot of great animals. Again it was cool out but was a very beautiful fall day and small crowds! It was great to be together as a family..with just US! The kids get along so well and are all best buddies when it is this way. We actually considered leaving Beckett at home with grandma but Sawyer and Eden acted like it was the most cruel thing we could do to him. I always feel he takes away a lot of the fun for them (or maybe just for me). It is nice to know that they love having him around!

Update

2010-09-21T10:11:00.001-07:00

Here is a photo of Faith walking out the door one morning last week. I had to capture the super full backpack and clarinet. Sometimes she even has all this plus is carrying her P.E. or cross country bag. She is a busy girl! She has taken 5 min. off her 2 mile time for cross country so far this season. I am really proud of her and the meets have been very fun for her (and myself). She tried out for her jr. high's girls ensemble group and MADE IT! I was a little worried since she is a 6th grader. For tryouts the girls weren't even able to prepare. The teacher just called them in one by one and gave them the material to sing which was "My Country Tis of Thee." She doesn't even know this song but it must have went okay. She is going to be singing "alto" which she isn't thrilled about but must be where they need her. It should be a good experience for her. She lost two teeth last week but has seven more to go before braces can go on. She just had an ortho appt. this morning and that is what he said. She is wearing a "retainer" at night right now to keep the work they have already done in place. Fortunately, she hasn't had too much homework so far. She has made LOTS of new friends and has a social life to be envied.

Sawyer is doing great as well. He really likes his teachers and has been bringing home all A's and B's so far. He is getting ready to start chess again next month and is trying out for student council. This makes me really nervous!!!!!!! He made it last year and loved it. It was a huge boost to his self-esteem. I think they find out next week. I was more nervous last year because both he and Faith tried out and I was worried that one would make it and one wouldn't. Fortunately they both did. Sawyer is getting really into watching football with Kyle and doing the "fantasy football" thing. My little boy is growing up. The only things he really mentions about school are...playing kickball at recess, soccer in gym and his new friend "Ben." He is also now very opinionated about his clothes (this is a first). He only wants to wear "sporty" clothing...you know the mesh shorts and t-shirts.

Eden is enjoying 1st grade but finding it isn't as easy as kindergarten was. She is still struggling with reading a bit but wants to be a perfect reader very badly. I even see her practicing her reading books when walking home from the bus. She wants to do everything perfectly and she is very mad at herself when she doesn't. She had a math test last week and it was all wrinkled up in her folder when she came home. She cried for a good 15 min. because she scored a 22/26 on it. She also wads up her spelling pre-tests if they aren't perfect. At least she cares...right? I just enrolled her in a "hip-hop" dance class. She had her first class last night and it was SO CUTE!! They danced to "The Jonas Brothers" and I think she thought she was in heaven.

Beckett is doing very well in pre-school!! This morning was the first morning that he didn't cry at all! I think he is finally realizing he can enjoy himself if I'm not there! I am spending my Tues. mornings grocery shopping and my Thurs. mornings are spent volunteering in Eden's class at school :) I have to mention as well that now that fall is coming I am back into reading!! I just finished "The Hunger Games" trilogy in less than a week. It was SO GOOD!! I haven't enjoyed any book/s this much since I read the "Twilight" books...and that is saying a lot!

Mr. Cuteness heads off to Pre-school

2010-09-07T10:52:00.001-07:00

I have had some things on my mind these last couple of days...my nieces and nephews are starting at a new school today, my brothers dog passed away, Sawyer chose an almost 300 page book for his monthly (yes, I said monthly) book report when he could have chosen a book with 100 pages, Faith is doing a band fundraiser...the list goes on and on. I have also been worried about Beckett starting pre-school. Of course, I would have never dreamed of putting my first born in pre-school at 2 1/2 and would have looked down upon mothers that did. I also wouldn't have done it with my 2nd born. I am old and tired now though so #4 gets to go!! He will be going two mornings a week for 2 hours. I knew the adjustment would be hard for him. He has been in nursery at church for a year now and still cries and we usually sit in there with him or they come and get us. He actually made it all the way through this last Sunday...not without some tears but made it nonetheless. I had a little hope. His first day was only for an hour and he didn't do so well. He was very happy while I was in there with him (for the first 1/2 hour) but then I made my escape. When I came back to get him, he was laying face down on the floor crying his eyes out. He didn't even participate in snack time. Thurs. will be for the full two hours...hopefully he will adjust quickly. There are 6 boys and 4 girls in his class. All the girls were perfect angels and three of the six boys were crying...

So, I haven't blogged about Bex for awhile since we have been so busy with back-to-school stuff with the older three kids. During the summer he finally decided that talking was a good idea. He has hardly had a quiet moment since. He tries to say everything and everyday he gets a little easier to understand. He still loves Blue's Clues and Yo Gabba Gabba but now likes Wiggles and super whiny Calliou. He loves to play outside. He enjoys racing with whoever and playing with any kind of ball. He has many, many "handy dandy notebooks". He sits with one during any show he watches and writes down "clues." He loves any notebook with a spiral binding that he can slide his writing utensil in. Coloring is his favorite activity. He knows all his colors and can draw a circle. His pre-school teacher asked him if he could sing his ABC's and I realized that we have never sung him the ABC's...we only sing songs off the radio or from Rockband (what kind of parents are we???). He rides around in his cozy coupe car fairly often but really doesn't play with other toys very much. Every so often he will play with pretend food and with our train table. He loves being entertained by his siblings and they dote on him as much as ever. He and Eden play the most. I have had strangers mention to me, on more than one occasion, how loving his siblings are to him. He has done more damage to our home, furniture, walls, etc...than our other three kids put together. However, he is so cute, affectionate and funny that all is forgiven :) We were running late on his first day of pre-school this morning so his picture was taken in the laundry room on the way out the door (poor 4th child). Here are some other cute photos of my little guy.

First Day of School 2010

2010-08-24T08:13:00.000-07:00

Wow...I am up and going so early now. Faith catches her bus a whole hour earlier than Sawyer and Eden now so I am up with her. I need to do a lot of stuff around the house that got neglected this summer but am not quite in the mood yet. The kids just had 1/2 day yesterday and all were very happy and excited! I honestly don't think Faith was the slightest bit nervous about getting on the jr. high bus or heading to her new school. I am very thankful for her confidence. We had 6th grade curriculum night last week and I think it helped. They divide the 6th graders into four teams. She is on team "S". She has two teachers that teach all her core classes. Her team is the smallest...maybe 50-60 kids or so. She found that she has several friends on her team. Her teachers are the only ones that do block scheduling (her classes every other day for 90 min.). I did my student teaching in a school that did block scheduling and loved it from the teaching perspective. I think Faith will enjoy it too. We introduced ourselves to her teachers and they seemed very nice...she said they were great yesterday as well. She is participating in 6th grade band this year and they are split into two bands. She is the only clarinet..which I think is odd. We will see how that goes. Today she will experience P.E., lunch and getting ready for an after school sport.

I feel bad not writing more about Sawyer and Eden but it is the normal elementary school routine for them again this year. They were both really happy with their teachers and the bus is old hat for them. They have five fewer kids at their stop now because those kids have moved up to jr. high. Sawyer was the only one with homework last night...typical. I feel very fortunate that my oldest three love school and that it is easy to get them out the door in the morning! Bex starts pre-school in a couple of weeks...that will be a different story.

Here's some pics. It was weird not taking a picture of all three of them together. Faith left before the other two were even out of bed.

Cross Country

2010-08-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

So...Faith is running Cross Country right now. There are some things I have learned about this sport in the last week that I would like to share and remember.

It took some persuading to get Faith to join the team and here were my reasons she should go for it...

1. You will get in way better shape.
2. Running is good for you.
3. You are attending a very large jr. high and the chances of you ever being on any sort of team is very slim.
4. You don't have to try out for Cross Country...they take everyone.
5. Riding the bus to away meets will be fun.
6. It will give you chance to meet new kids before school starts.
7. Since you are wanting to get more serious about softball, this will help you to stay in better shape until softball starts up again.
8. You might decide you really like it.
9. Your friend, Emma, is doing it.

She agreed with me and decided to give it a shot. I told her that if she hated it with a passion then she could quit.

Here are the things I have learned...

1. Cross Country is not for wimps. These kids, no matter how fast or slow, run 2-5 miles 5-6 days a week. They also do lots of warm-ups that would kick my butt.
2. They have to watch what they eat and not eat 2 1/2 hours before running in a meet...they must also drink lots of water during the day but also not right before a meet. A peanut butter bagel with 1/2 a banana is ideally what you eat the 2 1/2 hours beforehand.
3. It is a very supportive, non-political sport. You see...there are no try-outs which = non-political.
4. Cross Country parents are just as fanatical and crazy as parents from any other sport I have seen. I saw one parent today (a mom) about 50 yards from the finish line yelling (in a supportive way) at her kid and running with them through other spectators until the finish line.
5. If you follow correct Cross Country etiquette you wait and cheer on the very last runner...even if it takes them 30 min. to do 2 miles and they need not be from your team.
6. There is an 8th grade boy from Faith's school that can run 2 miles in 11 minutes and that is awesome!
7. It is an inexpensive sport compared to many other sports.
8. One can be very small and have short legs but still run very, very fast.
9. Some kids vomit at the finish line. Faith informed me today that she will never push herself so hard that she vomits...can't blame her there!

The good news is...I was right about all the reasons Faith should join. I love it when that happens :) Although not the fastest runner...she can do 2 miles without stopping and is improving all the time. I am very, very proud of her efforts. Best of all....she really does like it!! I knew nothing about Cross Country (except that you run) until the last couple of weeks. A lot of nerdy type people ran it...and very few girls... when I was in high school so I never paid much attention but now I have an all new respect. Faith's jr. high has between 60-70 kids on the team.

Got my background back.

2010-08-19T22:13:00.000-07:00

Lost my background for awhile and decided the black was kind of nice. I am pretty computer illiterate so I was having issues. This one is actually a little bit different...but will do. I was very tempted to get the new "Eclipse" background but I refrained in fear of getting made fun of...it even had pics. of all the characters! Kalista....are you there....go check it out at cutestblogontheblock.?? I want to see it on yours. No one will make fun of a little girl.

Look who can ride a two-wheeler!!!

2010-08-19T09:03:00.001-07:00

Kyle worked with Eden a little bit last summer and just a few times this summer on her two-wheeler. She didn't seem to be catching on very well but was very adamant about working on it last weekend. We figured she must be ready...and she was. She has been out everyday this week perfecting her new skill. She has been very pleased with herself and it has been fun to watch! She was even practicing when it was dark and sprinkling outside (as you can see by the pics).

2010-08-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for SCHOOL!!!!!!!

2010-08-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

Sawyer got Mrs. Minor for 4th grade...I know nothing about her but am hoping for the best. Eden got Mrs. Scott for 1st grade...whom I hear is awesome :) Eden also has one of her besties in her class, which made her very happy. The kids are ready to start school. I have spent about a million dollars on school supplies, registration, clothing, activities and eating out for lunch while shopping for everything. My pal Jenny and I had our annual garage sale in July which funds back-to-school shopping every year! This year we are all experiencing something new for us...JR. HIGH! I actually think they needed less supplies but do have to have the extra clothing for PE. Faith also decorated her locker...which is very popular to do here. She has had to memorize 2 locker combinations. We walked through her schedule the other day and it was pretty simple. She is going from a 5th grade class of 100 kids to a 6th grade class of about 500 kids. I actually don't think she is nervous...just excited.

The kids are all ready to start school. They get so excited about their school supplies. They are getting bored of going to the pool and are wanting me to take them out to eat everyday. It is time.

Here are some pics. of Faith decorating her locker (we went on 2 different days) and some of her BFF's.

Summer Activities

2010-08-19T08:14:00.000-07:00

I am way behind...I am always way behind. A month of our summer was occupied with family but the kids also kept pretty busy this summer with sports and camps. Sawyer participated in a week long soccer camp with his friend, Grayson, (of which I have no photos of...bad mom). However, my good friend Shelly has some and has them on her blog for myself to look at. Hey Shell...can you make me some copies??? The camp was 1/2 the day for a week. It was super hot out but he enjoyed every minute of it. He also did a week long (all day) chess camp. It was from 9-3. He also loved every minute of it. Again...no pics. Parents weren't invited. It was a drop off, pick up thing. It took place at a Baptist church where they also included a religious message in their break time. Can't go wrong there!

The girls both participated in softball this summer. I LOVE softball. I could watch it all day....well maybe not Eden's age group but definitely Faith's! This was Eden's first year and it went well. She improved a lot. It is coach pitched and through the parks and rec. She told me one day that she didn't like it because she doesn't like "the ball or sweating." Eden had a very nice coach. I think he was a college student and handled a dozen 5-6 year old girls very well. Faith, on the other hand loves softball! She was on an awesome team this year. She was on a losing team last year so this was a nice change for her (and me)! She had the nicest coaches as well! They consisted of a couple of dads and a grandpa. Faith improved in every area this year and can hit the ball really well. She even hit three or four doubles. She went through a batting slump toward the end of the season but was back hitting again by the tournament. They came in 3rd place in the tournament. I honestly thought they would come in 1st but it wasn't to be. It amazes me how well 10 and 11 year old girls can play softball. We are already looking forward to next year and Faith is planning on working hard to improve her skills even more. Faith also started running Cross Country a few weeks ago for her school. She is really enjoying it and has her first meet tonight.

Here are a few photos from softball. I wish I had a really good camera. The one photo is of Faith and one of her besties, Jaclyn, who was on her team this year.

Happy 45th Anniversary!

2010-08-03T07:35:00.001-07:00

While the family was visiting we were able to celebrate my parents 45th wedding anniversary! They were married July 24th, 1965. We were all able to eat out at a nice restaurant and celebrate with NO KIDS!! I think this is the first time we all felt comfortable to leave them all at home without an adult. We had a great time! I am pretty sure my brothers and I are all in agreement that we have amazing parents. We are so fortunate to all love each other and want to be together. Our family has been very blessed in many, many ways!

Family Togetherness

2010-08-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

More pics....

2010-08-03T07:25:00.001-07:00

Family...cont...

2010-08-03T07:04:00.001-07:00

Well, now that I waited so long I have almost forgotten what else we all did. On July 4th we set off lots of fireworks in our backyard and at an undisclosed location. ALL the guys (minus Bex) went to Chicago for a White Sox game and had a lot of fun. Sawyer was in his version of heaven spending time with my nephews (who were very sweet with him). Most of our time was just spent hanging out. We had a few very late nights of Rockband and talking with my nephews and nieces (not with my brothers or sis-in-laws though...they are too old hahahaha). We had family pics. taken at the very end of the stay out at Miller Park. I am STILL waiting to get those back and it is taking forever. Picture day was the last day we were all together and we came back to our house, had a big meal and celebrated a few b-days. My big bro, Tyler, turns 40 on Aug. 6th and my niece Madison turns 13, and Kalista 11at the end of the month. We rarely get to spend any b-days together so it was a lot of fun. My nieces, Kalista and Kara stayed on for another 2 weeks after everyone else left. My kids loving have their cousins around to keep them entertained. We had so much fun and miss everyone like crazy! On my next post, I am going to try to sum up the rest of our summer activities. Summer vacation has gone WAY TOO FAST!!

Who Do I LOVE????

2010-07-15T06:17:00.000-07:00

Yep...these all these guys! Here are my kids with every first cousin they will ever have. These were taken before church a few Sundays ago. It took several "takes" to get some decent ones. Miraculously, we even made it to church early. We had the BEST time with everyone and the kids had so much fun together!! I will post more about our fun later. We also had professional outdoor photos taken of all 19 of us. I can't wait to get those back and share them. The photographer spent 3 hours with all of us!

Eclipse

2010-07-15T06:05:00.000-07:00

Of course I purchased my Eclipse tix in advance. Fortunately these movies get better and better so I was really looking forward to going! What was even more exciting was that we had a group of 13 people going together to the midnight showing. Yeah...most of them were pre-teen girls... but who cares? My brother, Thad, and his family arrived the day before so I was very excited that my sister-in-law, Pam and their kids (Seth, Kurt, Maddie and Lindsey) would be joining myself, Faith, two of my BFF's and their daughters and nieces. I don't think seeing Eclipse was on the top of my nephews "to-do lists" but they were great sports and were not the only guys there! We had a lot of fun and FREE popcorn always helps. We didn't get to bed until about 3 am and I'm not sure if I have recovered yet. Looking forward to Breaking Dawn in Nov. of 2011.

Camping

2010-07-15T05:50:00.000-07:00

My brothers and families were here for a couple of weeks and I am dying to post pics. and blog about our fun but I must go in order and blog about camping first. Most people think I seem too high maintenance to camp but I actually enjoy it. The only thing I can't stand are the bathrooms. I am extremely grossed out sitting (squatting) over a toilet that seems to be "bottomless" and where you can see everyone elses "business" in it. My question is..."who empties these and how much do they get paid?" Although Beckett is getting a little easier, he can still be hard to handle at times. He LOVES the boat and does really well on it but is in a stage where he refuses to keep his shoes on. The other three kids really enjoy it. I see a fair amount of camping in our future.

So...Kyle had been on his annual "mancation" with two of his friends. The two friends had to go home early and the pop-up camper they were borrowing would still be there for an extra night so we decided to use it. Combined with boating, swimming and tubing it was a great time! I forgot to bring my camera on the boat so no pics.

Babysitters

2010-06-24T06:31:00.001-07:00

I have finally built up a list of great babysitters. Right now I have four babysitters who I can text on a moments notice. Unfortunately only one can drive... but the younger they are...the less "life" they have and more available they are! The kids do really well with having a babysitter. I have even found that Beckett does great since he is at home. I have been on this frantic pursuit of finding multiple sitters since Beckett is so difficult to take places. Our summer is filled with softball games and practices with not only Faith now, but with Eden too. If we have to take Beckett, we keep him strapped in his stroller which does not make him very happy...as you can imagine. On this particular week I am needing a sitter four different times...which means I will spend close to $100. I want to mention that when I used to babysit I was only paid $1 per hour and $.50 for each additional child. This would mean $2.50/hour for my kids. I pay around $8 an hour and usually round up. I try and pay well so the sitter/s will want to come back. It isn't very often that the sitter has all 4 kids. It is normally 3 since I am running (mostly Faith) to practices and games. I also have to splurge on a sitter because Kyle is often gone with work, travel and his "mancations." I have a friend (that reads my blog) that pays $10/hour for two kids...that is too much...right???? If I have to pay $20 an hour for 4 kids then I am DONE! I can't wait until Faith is old enough to stay with all 4!!! "Yay" for great sitters and "freedom."

WICKED!!!

2010-06-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, a friend of mine (who also happens to be be Faith's BFF mom) asked me if we would like to go see "Wicked" in St. Louis and spend the night. Of course I said "yes" immediately. However, she was keeping this a secret from Emma (bff) until the day we left. This was hard! I managed to keep it from Faith until a week before we left and then I had her swear to keep it a secret. It was a surprise and ended up being a VERY fun trip.

I had already seen "Wicked" twice in London but it was phenomenal and I was looking forward to seeing it again with Faith. I can honestly say it was just as good as the first two times. I am always amazed that there is more than one person in the world that can sing like the people in these shows. It is a gift that I covet.

We took the train, checked into our hotel and then went and ate at "The Old Spaghetti Factory." I am still dreaming about that place...the food was so good! Afterwards we took a horse and buggy ride. After "Wicked" we went back to the hotel for some sleep. It was a long day and night for two eleven year olds. The girls had sung songs from "Wicked" for their school program so they were familiar with the story and music. The next morning we headed to the "Arch". Faith and I had never been there so we were happy to see something new. We didn't go to the top (line too long) but we did enjoy the free museum underneath. After that...we ate lunch and headed home.

It was so fun to spend some time with Faith without everyone else. She is growing up so quickly and is so fun to be with. Faith and Emma are crazy together and they make me laugh. I am so appreciative to Amy (Emma's mom) for making all the arrangements and inviting us.

Our Summer Plans!!

2010-06-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

Every summer I try not to over schedule ourselves...but with four kids it is hard. Here is what everyone is doing.

Me...taking everyone to everything :)

Faith-softball (2 games a week), softball clinic (1 day), band camp (1 week), piano-Faith is also going to be an asst. for Eden's piano class and will be getting voice lessons in exchange :) Faith is also going to start cross country...we will see how that goes!

Sawyer-Scout camp (3 days), chess camp (one week), soccer camp (one week) and piano. He is also still doing eye therapy which is once a week.

Eden-Piano and softball. This will be Eden's first year trying "Pre-ball." I don't think she will enjoy it as much as Faith. Eden will be very worried about her hair and getting dirty...should be interesting. She will have 2 practices a week and one game every Sat. morning.

Bex-being dragged to everything.

Kyle-2 (long) camping/boating trips planned with friends.

We also got a pool pass again this summer. We all really enjoyed this last summer and it will be something fun for Beckett.

I am also having a sitter one or two afternoons a week so I can do whatever.

The highlight of our summer will be both of my brothers visiting with their families. We are SO EXCITED!!!! I haven't seen my oldest brother or his family for 2 years. They start arriving at the end of this month :)

I have a headache now and feel like I need to go and look at my calender.

A few photos from Eden's kindergarten program and Faith's 5th grade recognition

2010-06-01T09:10:00.001-07:00

School's Out!!

2010-06-01T08:49:00.001-07:00

Last day of school May 2010

First day of school Aug. 2009

We had a very fun Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately I took ZERO photos of our fun. I find when we are at social gatherings I tend not to get my camera out because I am too busy talking or chasing Beckett around. Kyle, Faith and Sawyer got up super early on Friday morning to go fishing. The rest of us met them at 1 p.m. to go tubing. This was Beckett's first time on the boat and he loved it. He even tubed with myself and Faith. That kid is very adventurous. He has no fear. We camped that night with friends (in a tent :)) and went to the beach the next day. We had so much fun. On Sunday afternoon we were able to get together with some of my family that I haven't seen for a very long time. My aunt and cousin came to visit from Florida and D.C. It has been YEARS! We got together with my other cousin, his kids and grandkids and my parents. They are all the nicest people and it was so enjoyable to catch up. I always wonder why we don't make more of an effort to get together more often. Today is our first official day of "nothing". However, we have already done some schoolwork and practiced piano this morning. Faith didn't wake up until after 10:30 and I had to wake her up...what a life! It was nice to have Kyle home for a 4 day weekend. We even went yesterday and got new cell phones for myself, Kyle and Faith. Kyle and I got Blackberry's and I am pretty excited about it...oh the little things. Faith got a phone with a texting pad, which she really wanted.

So...the last month of school was very fun. Eden had a kindergarten program. It was just her class and it was very sweet. She did a great job. She had to memorize several songs and had a few lines on her own to say. Her teacher got pretty emotional which made me emotional. Eden said her favorite part of kindergarten was her teacher. Sawyer said his favorite part of 3rd grade was spelling. Faith had 5th grade recognition last week as well. They put their kindergarten pic. up first on the big screen and then switched it to their 5th grade pic. while they handed them their "diploma." It was fun to see the changes in all the kids. I am still in denial about Faith going to jr. high :( Faith's favorite things about 5th grade were the field trips and social studies. They all had a great year! Faith got straight A's. She even managed, once again, to get a pull-up in P.E. (which is all she needed for an "A"). With a lot of effort from Sawyer and myself he managed A's and B's in his subjects. I don't think I have ever studied or done more homework this year that what I have helped Sawyer with. I am very scared for 4th grade...ugh!! Eden got all "3's." They all love school which is such a blessing! They all had amazing, caring teachers this year as well!

England Friends

2010-05-17T06:56:00.000-07:00

Although most of my "England Friends" are now back in the U.S., I still call them my England friends...cause that is where we bonded. "CAT Wife Friends" would also work but sounds less personal, I think. It is no secret that I didn't especially like living in England, but meeting and knowing these ladies made it worth it! I used to think Kyle was the only husband in the world that worked a million hours a week and travelled across the world. Once I met these ladies in England, I learned that other husbands did too...some even more than Kyle.

Holli is one of just a couple of "England friends" left in England from my time there. Her family has been back visiting due to the addition/adoption of their twin girls, Stella and Simone, from Ethiopia. I wish I had better pictures of them...cause they are gorgeous...just trust me. I was able to meet the girls at an open house and then six of us got together on Sat. night to catch up. It was very fun! Although I miss very little from living in England...I do miss our get- togethers, book club, eating out and sharing out kids' birthdays. It was a special experience...one I will never forget. Living in England was much more laid back than American life. There wasn't the feeling that your kids had to be in ten million activities and in ten places at one time. I hated and loved this all at the same time. My "England Friends", that have returned, and I only get together every month or two...much, much less than we did in England...we need to work on that. We returned to former friends, family members and "life" that is just so much busier. I will be emailing you all soon to get together! Here are some photos of our time together! Love you all!

Happy Anniversary and Springfield!

2010-05-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

Monday was Kyle and I's 13th anniversary. Kyle went to work and played in a golf league and I went on a field trip with Faith! We are going to try and get a sitter for the weekend so we can celebrate. We had talked of going away for a weekend but I don't know if it will happen. It is so hard to get away when you have 4 kids all going in different directions...all the time! However, he did bring me home roses and a card last night. Needless to say, it has been an amazing 13 years!! We have built a wonderful life together and are loving every minute of it. We are blessed! I would love to get away with Kyle next year for a few days. Beckett will be 3 1/2 by then so I think it will be more doable.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of chaperoning the 5th grade field trip to Springfield. We visited Abraham Lincoln's home, the Lincoln Museum, his tomb and saw the outside of the Old Capital Building. Springfield is an hour away and we even took chartered buses. I was in charge of 5 girls and they were wonderful, well-behaved, fun girls. I was so happy to be able to spend this time with Faith and her friends! Her teacher told me Faith was so happy when my name was drawn from the hat to be a chaperon. Only 3 parents could go and 11 wanted to go. I NEVER win anything so I was surprised and happy I got picked! If you haven't been to see these things in Springfield, you should go...very interesting and fun. There are four 5th grade classes and Faith's class and one other stuck together for the trip. Here are some super cute photos of some great kids! I took about 50 and it was hard to narrow it down to a few!

Crazy, busy weekend!

2010-05-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy and fun weekend. Friday night started with Faith's first performance in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat." She also had two performances on Sat. and one on Sunday. Faith was one of around 40 kids in the children's choir. When they first started rehearsing a few months ago, she was bored. However, by the last month she LOVED it. It was a really great experience for her and I think she thought she was pretty special doing musical rehearsals with high school students. Kyle and Sawyer went the opening night. We decided to not go together so that we wouldn't have to deal with Beckett. All before noon on Sat., Faith had to take a math placement test for jr. high, Eden had a birthday party (a mani-pedi party) and Sawyer had his first eye therapy appt. (it went really well). Both sets of parents arrived and we went to see Faith in "Joseph". I couldn't believe how good it was. We all loved it. Since I grew up in a small town, I am not used to the resources that large schools have to put on a great production of any sort. There were a lot of talented kids in it and it was FUN! Between the afternoon performance and the evening performance we all went out to eat for Mother's Day. I ate Prime Rib and it was GOOD! I raced Faith back to the H.S. while Kyle, Sawyer, Eden and my dad went to a football game. Mom, Bex and I just hung out.

Sunday was Mother's Day. I love this day. It is always a great day. The kids try their best to listen, obey and get along. It is hard for them but I can tell they really want to. I got a balloon, flowers, lounge chairs for outside and the cute things they made in school which always put me on the verge of tears. They are always so pleased with their presentations! Faith wrote me a poem and framed it at school-she knows me so well! Eden gave me the flower pot with her finger prints as the petals and Sawyer very carelessly glued the poem on a piece of paper and drew the picture of he and I (oh, boys!!) :) They made me coupon books and also helped Kyle bake me a cake. Kyle works extra hard on Mother's Day to make sure it is a great day for me. This day was also Faith's final performance. I think it was a little bit of a let down. I thought she would be sick of by Sunday but she wasn't. I was a bad mother and forgot my camera but my wonderful neighbor (who's girls were in the choir as well) took lots of photos and I have them on tagged to myself on facebook if anyone wants to check them out. Here are some other photos from Mother's Day.

Changes...

2010-05-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

Not sure how it happened, but this school year is about to come to end. Faith is moving onto jr. high, Sawyer 4th and Eden 1st grade. This school year has gone quicker than any others. I probably say, or think, that every year but it is true. As the kids have gotten older, their activities have definitely increased. I enjoy seeing them try new things as well as experience their next year of life. This last month or so, I have noticed some changes. We are now buying Faith's clothing in adult clothing stores. We have the best luck for size and fit at Aeropostale. She still likes Justice but has a harder time finding "age appropriate" clothing-the in between stage is hard. I don't buy much for Eden anymore at Gymboree (my all-time favorite store for the girls). She thinks she is too big. Another change...Faith is starting to experience some "friend drama." I guess I should feel lucky that it hasn't started earlier. This is a hard one for me. I loathe petty, girl drama. I experienced very little of this growing up and I just don't understand it. Why can't everyone just be nice to everyone else and why can't everyone join in and play?? Faith has had the same three to four BFF's for the last couple of years and one is starting to branch out. I would like to write more about it but Faith reads my blog. I know this is just the beginning and I hope I can help her navigate through all this successfully. Her friends will most likely change next year. They are put into "teams" in 6th grade with 400 additional kids so she might be separated from her BFF's all together. This is scary... I really like all her friends and their parents.

As you can see by the pictures, Beckett is getting to be a big boy. I just got his haircut yesterday and he looks so old. I rarely get his haircut because he cries through the whole process and I have to hold him down while the nice lady cuts his hair. Although I hate for him to grow up too quickly...I will be glad when he is past this stage. This will be a welcomed change. His vocabulary is expanding. He has a ton of words now but still not two words together and many words can only be understood by us. He calls Eden "E", Faith is "Jo" (this is because we call her Faithy Jo at home since she is Faith Josephine) and calls Sawyer "Eeesh". He has a ways to go but definitely seeing progress. He loves to be outside and cries for 10 minutes every time we bring him in...no matter how long we have been out. I love being home with him.

Sawyer has struggled more with school as the year has gone on. He is still getting really good grades but with A LOT of work at home and at school!!!! There is some concern, with us and his teachers, with how much it takes to get him to maintain A's and B's. The school has been amazing and he has an incredible teacher this year. Sawyer is very sweet when it comes to school. He LOVES school and wants to please his teacher and do well. He never complains about studying and is very well-behaved in class. I am so thankful for this. They recommended that we have him checked for "tracking." Sawyer is still moving his head (instead of just his eyes) when he reads. Kids usually get this worked out by age 6. So...we had him checked and were told he definitely has a tracking issue. It is completely correctable and he will undergo "vision therapy" for the next couple of months. The dr. told me, when corrected, that it will most likely make a huge difference for him in regards to things like catching a ball, writing and reading. We might have to sell our house to pay for it but I feel excited about it and am praying it helps.

We finally got two trees planted in our yard after almost 2 years of living here. I can't believe how happy these 2 little trees have made me. I wish I could force them to grow really big in a few months. I have been meaning to post some pics. of the basement and will when it is clean. It is now 97% done.

We have also just undergone a change at church. We have two groups (wards) that meet in our building so that everyone will fit. Which ward we are in is determined by where you live in town. The ward we are in has always been bigger so they set new boundaries last week to even things out. This is always sad because it separates friendships. Everyone will still be friends, but there is a comfort going to church each Sunday and seeing the same people. I am losing several friends to the other ward and I can't help but feel a little depressed. However, I still have many great friends still with me. Church is not for solely socializing...right??? It will all be good.

This is ending up being the longest post ever...

A couple of other things I want to write about. Last week, Shelly and I went to dinner with a girl we went to school with from K-8. She moved after that but we reconnected on facebook and we eager to get together. It was a very weird experience for Shelly and I. We were together for approx. 2 hours and she never asked Shelly or I ONE thing about our lives for the past 20 years. Shelly and I beat her down with questions to avoid the uncomfortable silence. I have had better 2-way conversations with my 2 year old who barely speaks. When Shelly and I got into the car to drive home Shelly looked at me and said "Stace, did you notice that she didn't ask us one question about our lives?" Uh...yeah!!!! We actually have things in common with her...like kids...that could cause a conversation to go on for days alone. Anyways, it was odd and I just had to share. Thank goodness I know how to fill the silence.

This is the last thing...I promise. A few weeks ago I went to a women's conference in Indy with 6 other wonderful ladies/friends from church. It was so great. They had some amazing, inspirational speakers. The theme was "hope." The speakers all have/are facing some big challenges in their lives including, blindness, breast cancer, depression, etc. I was most touched by an African woman who had escaped being raped and killed by rebels in Africa. She watched her sister be raped and have her limbs cut off. She managed to survive and share her story of hope and faith in God. It was one of those times where I realize that I have NOTHING to complain about. I also recently read a great book called "Left To Tell" about a woman who survived the Rwandan Holocaust in the early 90's. She is Catholic and her faith amazes me. I was so touched by the book. I highly recommend reading it. I couldn't put it down. I feel so blessed to live in this country.

Side note...Faith is posing in front of one of our new trees with her new bat and glove for softball...we are PUMPED for softball to start (well, I am) :)

Kyle's Birthday

2010-05-01T17:50:00.001-07:00

Kyle's birthday was April 18th...almost 2 weeks ago...oops. Here is a picture of Kyle and the kids on his b-day. We got him a giftcard to "Dick's Sporting Goods" so he could buy a new fishing net. He also got new flip-flops. At his request, I made him lasagna for dinner and birthday brownies. He turned...gulp...38! I think he had a good b-day and I tried really hard not to ask him to do any "chore" type activities...it was hard.

When I looked at this photo, I thought to myself..."wow, I am blessed." I mean seriously, check those five amazing human beings out!!!

Way behind....

2010-04-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

I have been cleaning out the storeroom in our basement and been trying to start exercising...again. I don't want to exercise or eat healthy...however that is a whole different post and could potentially be a whole different blog. Here are just a few things I wanted to blog about.

Sawyer finished up his chess season with a very nice banquet at the school. I actually took a lot of cute photos but somehow lost them on my camera disk and the computer in the transfer process. I was very sad. I had a picture of him with his chess coach, who was actually the DJ for our wedding and cousins with one of my best friends husband (yes, I grew up in a small town :)) Sawyer really enjoyed chess his first year and actually placed 10th in his group. He received a trophy and was very pleased with himself. We are going to get a lot more serious about chess next year. I already registered him for a week long chess camp this summer. I will try and at least get a photo of him with his trophy. Faith had a Pinewood Derby with the 8-11 year old girls at church. This is something that is done with scouts but they decided to do it for the girls too. Faith was pretty excited about this-since Sawyer got 2nd place she wanted her car to be identical...and it was except it was pink. She placed 3rd and received a pink trophy which made her happy. Again...lost photos :(

I few weeks ago I went with Shelly and her sister to see Cirque de Soliel. We met Amy out for dinner beforehand. We had a fun time and the show was "interesting." I had never been to see it and I am always up for trying something new.

Easter was great. We did our normal routine with coloring eggs the night before and doing an egg hunt the next morning. The kids enjoyed their goodies. We had both sets of parents over and I attempted to make a beef brisket that turned out dry. I know what I did wrong so I will attempt it again in the future and perfect it.

On another topic...Faith is going to the jr. high (sniff sniff) for 1/2 day today to check things out. We have an open house next week for parents and incoming 6th graders. Faith doesn't get overly excited about much but she was pretty excited last night about going today. I just found out that I went to H.S. with her jr. high principal. It is a small world. I have mixed feelings about Faith entering jr. high but I guess there isn't anything I can do about it. She told me the other day she was both nervous and excited about going. Eden finally just learned to tie her shoes (this is my fault that it has taken so long). She was very pleased with herself. Beckett is talking a lot more now. He still mostly only says one word but it has been a lot more words. I also discovered that he knows some of his colors. He had just been saving it all up in his brain and waiting for the ability to share it. I have the kids all scheduled for their summer activities and I am now broke. Here are some photos. I know this post was all over the place but that is what happens when I get behind.

Teenagers

2010-03-30T06:33:00.000-07:00

I love teenagers...yep, I said it! I do. My teenage years were great. I had great experiences and great friends. I think my parents handled my brothers and I close to perfect as teenagers. When I decided to get my degree in teaching/history it was a no-brainer that I would go the secondary over elementary route. My student teaching experience is actually one of the best experiences of my life. I know I say all this and my own kids will probably all be rebellious as teenagers and make my life miserable...I really hope not.

I have had the opportunity to teach teenagers for the last 4-5 years at church. I am now on my 3rd set of 15-16 year olds. I get a huge kick out of them. We are currently working on The Old Testament and I am always amazed at how much they know and how insightful they are. I attempt to "dumb down" the lesson a bit for, not them, but myself-lol! I get them for about 50 min. every Sunday and I come out learning something new every week. These last three groups are great kids. I can tell some are totally forced by their parents to be at church and some can barely keep their hands off their cell phones. I have had one that has a hard time staying awake and one that has even attempted to read novels during my class. Some are very socially mature while others are still pretty awkward. I have found that some have a hard time resisting peer pressure, while others aren't phased. I actually find all of this behavior very typical and I try my best to be sensitive to their age. They love to talk about their week and their experiences and I love to hear about it all. It is preparing me for when my own kids are teenagers. Mostly, the kids are all kind-hearted, friendly and respectful. Most have amazing, loving families which is most of the reason they seem so well-adjusted. I look forward to seeing where life takes them. In the meantime, I am praying for them to have the strength to make good choices. There is no doubt that it is scarey "out there."

Random

2010-03-10T10:22:00.000-08:00

I have been a blogging fool these last few days! These are just some random things about the kids recently that I want to remember.

Faith-Faith was nominated by her chorus teacher to be a part of the children's choir for one of the local high school's spring musical, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat." We are all very excited about this except for the practices every Tues. and Thurs. night until May. Faith LOVES chorus!

Sawyer-Sawyer participated in his first ever chess tournament on Sat. They have chess tournaments throughout chess season but I didn't think he was ready since this is his first year playing. However, he told me wanted to do one so we signed him up for our school's invitational and final tournament. These are all day events that parents have to be at but can't watch. They lock you in a classroom to wait. Kyle opted to take him instead of taking the girls and Bex shopping. We knew Sawyer would play 5 matches and we warned him that he might not win any at all, that it was his first year and that a lot of kids had been playing since kindergarten. He told me he would probably get creamed but would wait until he got home to cry. So, he ended up winning 2 of the matches-THANK GOODNESS!!! I just didn't want him to be discouraged for next year. I guess his 1st match was really close but he lost, the 2nd he got creamed and was close to tears...at this point I wanted Kyle to pull him out-haha. He won his 3rd and 5th matches. We were really proud of him for giving it a shot. He ended up really enjoying himself. I think he will do more next season.

Eden-not much about Eden. She is healing up very nicely from her incident last week. All of her sass has definitely returned.

Bex-My pediatrician recommended that I have Beckett's speech tested at his 2 year well visit. He only has 15-20 words and virtually no two words together...only "choo-choo", MiMi (mommy) and Coo-Coo's (Blue's Clues). Easter Seals did two home visits to evaluate him and he didn't qualify. They want to see a 30% delay for treatment and they figured him to be a 20% delay. That was good news. He also started Kindermusik a few weeks ago and is really enjoying that! My most exciting news is that a friend told me about a pre-school that just started a 2 year old program. I was on the phone ASAP after she told me and got the paperwork and check sent in very quickly! He will start in the fall and go 2 mornings a week for just 2 hours. They asked me if I wanted to come and observe a class and I was like "um...no that's okay." LOL It actually is a pretty well-known pre-school and came highly recommended from a good friend. I would barely send Faith to pre-school or kindergarten and here I am ready to send Beckett at 2. I am getting old. Actually, besides me being selfish, it will be good for him. He really needs socialization and it will be great for his speech to be around kids his age that can speak. He will be over 2 1/2 when he starts. I am also looking forward to finally being able to help out at the elementary school in Eden and Sawyer's classes this fall!

I posted this random picture as well. Every single morning Faith has Instant Breakfast and she ALWAYS leaves me this smiley face she creates from some of the remaining liquid and a straw. If she ever didn't do it I would worry. It got on my nerves at first but now I am thankful that she feels happy enough to leave it.

Faith and Sawyer's Friend B-day Parties!

2010-03-08T10:20:00.000-08:00

I think I will pretty much be caught up with my blogging after this. Faith and Sawyer both had their friend parties this weekend. The kids really look forward to their parties and I have to admit that I do too. I know a lot of parents aren't that into giving their kids a party every year but we like the torture (well, I do). I just feel that they each get overlooked in certain areas of their lives more than I would like them too. I always wish I had more time for each one individually. So, I feel I can make it up to them a bit by giving them a party of their choice ONE time a year-make it THEIR day. My guilt works to their advantage. I am also not a huge "play date" mom so this is a great time to get their friends together.

Sawyer chose to do a hockey party. We have a "minor league" (not sure if that is what you call it) ice hockey team here in town and the games are very fun. I thought this was a great choice. The place actually did have a party package that included 10 tickets, a cookie cake (which wasn't very tasty), his name up on the scoreboard and a puck. We had the parents drop the boys off at our house (8 total including Sawyer) and we took them to the game. We sugared them up and they had a great time and were actually pretty good overall. A couple of the boys were pretty wild. The worst part was getting into the building in an orderly fashion and back into the cars after the game was over. Sawyer got a lot of great gifts, mostly Lego's, a Nerf gun and some cash. He was really happy with his gifts. I have learned that all 9 year old boys talk about are penises and chopping heads off.

Faith chose a gymnastics party this year. I REALLY like all of Faith's friends. They are sweet girls with great families. They are very silly together and have a lot of fun. They got to do an hour of gymnastics and then a 1/2 hour for cake and gifts. Unfortunately, one of Faith's guests injured herself jumping off of one of the in ground trampolines. She ended up getting a hairline fracture in her foot and has to wear a boot and use crutches for a couple weeks. We all felt so bad. Hopefully she will heal quickly! Faith got a lot of great gifts too. She got clothes, flip-flops, bags, a flat iron and some gift cards. She was thrilled. We are done with parties until October!!!

You should see the other guy...

2010-03-08T07:19:00.001-08:00

Actually the "other guy" was the blacktop at school. The blacktop won. I got a call on Tues. from the school saying that Eden had had an accident on the playground. The school was very vague but said that I needed to come and pick her up. I was thinking to myself..."Why do I need to come and pick her up if she fell down on the playground?" They actually said she hurt her cheek. I asked if she needed stitches and they said "no." So, I went to get her. It was bad!!! She was bleeding from her mouth really bad and he nose was red and huge! Although by this point, she wasn't loudly crying but still very upset-crying and snubbing. They had her holding a sponge icepack with the super cheap, non-absorbent brown paper towels over it. I don't know why the school can't invest in some gauze pads or something. She had blood all over her shoes, coat and face. I asked Eden is she had fallen off the playground equipment (she couldn't speak). The nurse said she had fallen on the blacktop. I figured she must have been running but later learned that she had had her hands in her pockets and tripped over her BFF. To make a long story short, I had to take her to the ER and the dentist. Although her mouth bled for 2 hours straight, she didn't need stitches and her nose wasn't broke (kids noses are all cartilage). Her teeth were fine because, very fortunately, she is missing her two top teeth. The dentist said if those two teeth would have been in, it would have been bad. I think Eden was in shock and didn't speak for almost 2 hours after the incident. It was a lot to take in for a 6 year old. Although I wanted to cry...I was able to keep it in. Fortunately my mom was there that day and she was able to watch Bex during all of this. She stayed home from school the next day. She was very worried about how she looked and it hurt to eat. My mom and I took her shopping that day-it made us all feel better!!! :) I learned later that there was so much blood on the pavement that the janitor had to come out and clean it up. The only picture I have of her in the ER is on my cell phone but here are some others. I had to add this picture of her and our cat. Our cat doesn't care for anyone but her. She especially doesn't like to be held but somehow Eden can get away with holding her. Eden is doing much better now...almost fully healed. I take her to the dentist this afternoon for a follow-up. Oh the drama!!

Faith and Sawyer's B-day

2010-03-08T07:02:00.000-08:00

I have many posts I need to catch up on!! Faith turned 11 and Sawyer turned 9 on Feb. 27th. Of course, as I say every year, I can't believe they are this old. It seems like yesterday that I gave birth to them. They are both amazing, wonderful kids. They bring our family a tremendous amount of joy and happiness. I am enjoying them so much as they get older. I love the experiences they are having in school and with their various activities. I love all their stories. It is so fun to see them become more independent and develop their personalities. They really are great kids and I love them more than words can say.

We celebrated on the 27th with the grandparents. G-ma Donna brought them a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. We ate at Monical's and opened gifts. Sawyer got Legos and DS games from us and $$$$$$$$$ from the grandparents. Faith got an ipod alarm clock and Zhu Zhu stuff. She got gift cards from the grandparents. Faith asks for gift cards because it is very difficult for her to part with her cash. Sawyer has no problem letting go of his cash. Check out the photos. I realize I just said what a great kid Sawyer was...and he is...but he was disappointed in one of his Lego sets and one of the DS games we got him and was sure to let everyone know it. This is why he looks so grouchy in the photos and why he is hiding under his coat. Sawyer sets his expectations pretty high sometimes. This happens at Christmas as well. Faith was very happy with her gifts.

Back to Magic Kingdom 2/20

2010-03-06T07:31:00.000-08:00

We spent 1/2 of our last day at Magic Kingdom. This day was Sat. and I was pretty bummed it was coming to an end. We decided to get an early start and arrive at opening so we could hurry and get on the rides we had missed on Thurs. That ended up being a great idea as we didn't have to wait in any long lines! Kyle was insistent that we only spend 1/2 a day so he could take the kids swimming at our resort. It actually might have reached 70 degrees this day. Magic Kingdom is great. When we arrived and were waiting in line they had a live performance going to entertain everyone. When we got inside the park they had bubbles blowing out of the trash cans ... it really is the happiest place on earth. We rode a few rides, saw "Mickey's Philharmonic" in 3-D, which was really cute. The Disney parks offer a lot of 3-D shows but this was the best one, in my opinion. Beckett even sat through this one with his 3-D glasses on and tried to reach for everything...it was really cute. The girls and I had breakfast with the princesses in the castle at "Cinderella's Royal Table." It was great food and really fun. We finished our morning getting autographs from some characters and riding "The Jungle Adventure" ride. We let Bex play in this little "Winnie-the-Pooh" playground. This was probably the highlight of Beckett's trip-I think it was the only time he was "free". We went back to our resort so the kids could go swimming. They super heat the pools so you can swim any time of year so that was nice. Everyone had fun. Our last activity was going to the "Hoopty-doo Musical Review." This was a musical-dinner show. We actually had to take the bus back to Magic Kingdom and then take a boat to the "Wilderness Resort." I, personally, froze on the boat to and from. This show came highly recommended to us from some friends and it didn't disappoint. Very fun! They served all-you-could eat fried chicken and ribs. Kyle had bones stacked a foot high on his plate-this was his kind of food. I know I have misspelled names of rides and shows in these posts but once again...I lost my book :( This day was a great end to our trip. We had such an amazing time. We left really early Sunday morning to get home. The flight went well but we were very tired...almost zombie-like. Beckett would NOT sit in his seat on the airplane without throwing a fit and working his way out of the seat belt. Our flight attendant on this flight would not over look this and stalked me to make sure he was buckled. She actually tried to "reason" with my 2 year old telling him that the pilot wouldn't be able to fly the plane until he was buckled in....yeah, he understood all that-what the heck. Anyways, I forced him in while he screamed and then took him out once she was out of sight. I understand their rules and now I just wish we would have lied and said he was under 2. It would have saved us $200 and a lot of stress. I made Kyle sit with him when we landed and he managed to entertain him while getting his seat belt on - I am glad he could work his magic. We were glad to be home safe and sound with great memories.

Hollywood Studios 2/19

2010-03-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hollywood Studios was our last park to visit. Is was also the least crowded...which was nice. Also, by today it had started to warm up a bit, which was nice. I really enjoyed Hollywood Studios. Although the kids really enjoyed it as well, I think it kind of appeals to older kids and parents. The highlights were the "Rockin' Roller Coaster." This was a good one...my favorite! Eden was too short to ride this one but she didn't really complain. Her highlight was the High School Musical Parade/Musical. I just can't express how much this child loves High School Musical. I feel bad for her because it is hard to find the merchandise anymore. We also really enjoyed the "Tower of Terror". It simulates being on a free-fall elevator. It is based on the "Twilight Zone" story. This one frightened Eden and she even cried-it wasn't the ride but the story. Needless to say, she didn't go on it twice. We ate in a really cute theme restaurant. It had a lot of the characters walking around from Playhouse Disney. My kids haven't watched Playhouse Disney in a long time but they still enjoyed it. Some of the characters dance with the kids every 1/2 hour or so. Eden really liked this and had no problems joining right in. Sawyer used to LOVE "Goliath" from "Jo-Jo's Circus" so it was fun to get a picture-he actually dressed up as "Goliath" for Halloween when he was three. The food wasn't the greatest here but it was still very fun. We ate dinner at a 50's kitchen themed restaurant. We were put in a room that resembled a 1950's kitchen and had to call our waitress "mom." "Mom" kept calling Kyle "Scooter" and the kids thought that was the funniest thing ever. This restaurant is where I left my beloved guide book :( A highlight of our whole trip was doing the "American Idol" experience. We are huge "American Idol" nerds so we loved this. You got to be the audience and they had 3 singers (who were park guests that tried out earlier in the day)...anyway, they had a "Ryan Seacrest" and three judges that all resembled Simon, Paula and Randy. The audience got to vote and then all the winners from that day got to perform at the finale that night. We went to one show during the day and then to the finale. The winner gets a "golden ticket" which puts them in the front of the line at any American Idol audition. Very fun!!

Magic Kingdon 2/18

2010-03-06T06:36:00.001-08:00

Today was finally the day to go to Magic Kingdom! My kids had been anticipating seeing the castle and what new rides awaited us there. By this time, Eden is pretty obsessed with the characters (mostly Minnie Mouse) and the princesses. They were doing a live stage show/musical in front of the castle every hour or so and we were able to catch most of that. It was very crowded. We, once again used our "Fastpass" knowledge and reserved the best rides. Since it has been a couple of weeks since we have been home, my memory is starting to fade a bit. We really enjoyed "Space Mountain", "Thunder Mountain" and the "Haunted Mansion". We rode "It's a Small World" and some other family-friends rides as well. One of the first things we did was go to this Monster's Inc. laugh show type thing. I was like a cartoon where you sit in the crowd but it somehow interacted with the audience. Faith was sitting on the edge of our row, looking cute in her Mickey ears and she was interviewed by Mike Wasowski (on screen). She was asked some questions and some fun jokes were made. She did really well. I think a few years ago she would have refused to participate. She said later that day that it was her favorite part of her day. The food was good. We ate at a Presidential Restaurant. If I still had my stinkin' book I would know specific names for everything!!!! We stayed that night until 10 pm. The highlight of the day for me was the "Spectro-color Light Parade". It started at 9 pm and it was amazing. They had all these floats covered in lights with the characters and other performers on them with great music. Everything is over-the-top and extremely entertaining. We loved it. We asked the kids which park had been their favorite so far and they really couldn't answer-they loved them all. Oh yeah...Eden loved going through Minnie's and Mickey's houses. She didn't understand why they have different houses if they are married and wondered also why we couldn't see Minnie's bedroom AND why all the food was fake in her refrigerator.

Animal Kingdom and Bibbidi Bobbidi Hair Boutique 2/17

2010-02-26T12:38:00.001-08:00

I have to mention that I purchased an awesome Disney guide by Birmbaum. I highly recommend doing this before making any concrete Disney plans. I lived by this book and followed every thing it told us to do. I, unfortunately left this book in a restaurant on Friday.

On Wed. morning I took Eden to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Hair Boutique in Downtown Disney. Kyle took the other three kids to Animal Kingdom where Eden and I caught up with them after lunch. The whole reason I was blessed with girls was for moments like this. At the boutique girls get a "princess makeover". Eden got her hair, make-up and nails done by a "fairy god mother." Eden enjoyed herself (as did I) thoroughly! We saw many, many little girls around the Disney parks all week with this same hair style wearing princess dresses. I offered to buy Eden a princess dress but she didn't want one. I don't know what was up with that...I think she thinks she is too old for the actual dress (this is what happens when you have an older sister). I also don't think she wanted to walk around in one all day. At Disney all employees (the nicest people in the world...it REALLY is the happiest place on earth) always called the girls "princess". Eden REALLY liked this. So after her hair is done and she is looking beautiful we were waiting for the bus and she starts feeling her hair (which is hard as a rock) and decided it hurts and wants it all taken out. UGH!!!!!!!! I begged her to keep it in so daddy could see but she reminded me that we had taken photos and that he could see those. We returned to our room and I washed out lots of gel, hairspray and glitter. I didn't want to listen to her complain about it all day...and she would have. I guess it was the experience that counts. She kept her make-up and nail polish on.

Animal Kingdom was also very enjoyable. The top ride (most popular at all the Disney parks) was "Everest". It was a VERY FUN roller coaster. They also had an awesome animaltronics (not sure if this is a word) dinosaur roller coaster with very realistic, scary dinosaurs that came out at you in the dark. Faith was the only one who would re ride this with me. Sawyer and Eden said "no way." Faith was even all cuddled up to me and hiding 1/2 the time. Lots of other good stuff too but these were the highlights. Also, I had made notes and marked all the stuff we did in my beloved book that I lost- so I know I am forgetting stuff. I also need to add how great Beckett did. He spent 90% of his time from our whole trip in the stroller and never complained.

Epcot on Tues. 2/16

2010-02-26T08:38:00.001-08:00

We stayed in the Port Orleans Riverside Resort at Disney. It is a moderately priced resort and the grounds were beautiful. They had a great cafeteria with great food and a really nice store. We were stuffed in our room. I tried to talk Kyle into getting two rooms but it would have cost us double so he said "no". We had two double beds and this weird trundle that rolled out from underneath one of the beds. It was like an over sized crib mattress. We had to force the kids to take turns sleeping on it at night since it was not comfortable. However, it worked out fine and I actually looked forward to returning to our room every night in exhaustion. Overall, we barely spent any time in there and it was very clean. We quickly planned our trip over Christmas break-it was $1500 cheaper to go in Feb. than in May and we thought that it wouldn't be very crowded in Feb. Well, we were wrong...it was crowded-come to find out...President's week is one of the busiest weeks at the Disney parks. Everything still worked out great. Disney is VERY family friendly. They have a "Fast-Pass" option for all the popular rides. "Fast-Pass" is like getting a reservation for the ride. You get a ticket and the ticket tells you when to come back and then you don't have to wait in line. They also have a "Rider-Switch" option which allows the parent waiting with the baby/toddler to go on (without waiting in line) after the other parent and kids get off-they get to take 3 riders on with them. The best part about this was that we used these on all the "Fast-Pass" rides. Faith, Sawyer and Eden got to ride all the best rides twice without waiting in 90 min. lines. Without these options the trip wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable. The three oldest were able to ride every ride available-Eden couldn't ride one or two but she didn't care. My kids are daredevils...they will ride every single roller coaster and thrill ride without thinking twice. It is great...makes it a lot more fun for Kyle and I.

So, Tues. morning was Epcot. When we were all lying in bed just waking up I heard Sawyer say "my stomach hurts." I was screaming inside my head "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO"!!!! He was pale as a ghost through breakfast and would hardly eat. We went to the gift shop and bought him some Immodium, hoping that would help. Nothing was going to stop us on this trip. Well......we get on the bus that takes us to the park that is packed with people and a bad thing happened. He was sitting down and I was standing a few people away from him and I notice he is looking really bad. I always carry a zip-loc bag in my purse for emergencies and I was getting it out and he threw-up. We were standing next to a really nice guy from Louisiana (I think the whole state of Louisiana was there to escape Mardi Gras and celebrate their Super-bowl win). Anyways, he had a disabled daughter and carried hand towels around with them -he kindly gave us a hand towel to clean up Sawyer's vomit...plus I had a ton of baby wipes. Kyle, very efficiently, cleaned it all up. I think that bus floor was cleaner than it had ever been. I don't even think the bus driver even knew. After we got off the bus Sawyer felt 100%. He never got sick again and neither did anyone else...thank goodness. I don't know what his deal was but I was just so happy he felt better.

We had a great time at Epcot...but not enough time. We chose to use a Disney Photo pass while we were there for most of our photos. This is where a Disney employee takes most of your photos and then you have to order the photos or the disk. I don't have access to those photos yet so I can only post the ones we took. I could go on FOREVER about each of the parks but I am just going to try and touch on the highlights. The most popular ride at Epcot is "Soarin"-it was also our favorite. We were all standing in a 40 min. line for a different ride when an employee came up to our family, asked how many there were of us and then handed us 6 Fast Passes. I often wonder if people feel sorry for us with 4 kids or if we look frazzled or something. I felt bad for all the people standing around us but we took them and ran! We were also standing around deliberating on riding "Test Track" when some strangers came up and handed us their 4 Fast Passes that they weren't going to use. We felt really fortunate and were actually able to "pay it forward" a couple of times ourselves throughout our trip. In the country of "Norway" we ate dinner with the princesses-very fun! Kyle, Faith and Sawyer went close to closing to catch "Mission Space" while Eden, Beckett and ran into the Disney characters. They were all lined up and you could get your photo with them. I think the longest we waited in line was to get pictures with the various characters. Despite the vomiting on the bus, it ended up being a great day!

Naples and Disney Trip

2010-02-26T08:21:00.000-08:00

We went to Florida Feb. 14th-21st. Despite the cold Florida temps. we had an amzing time. I voted this our best vacation EVER-even better than our European travels...yep I said it. We flew into Ft. Myers on Sunday to visit with Kyle's very loved grandparents in Naples. We visited with them Sunday and Monday. To back track briefly...our flights went well. We had a short layoever in Atlanta. Since Bex is "2" we were forced to buy him his own seat-although he sat on my lap most of the time. We left the house around 4:30 am on Sunday and I just swept Bex out of bed in his P.J.'s and packed his clothes. Well, on the first leg of our flight I changed him into his "day clothing" and almost immediately after he had a HUGE blowout. He is "2"...he never had blowouts anymore. It was disgusting. Getting him cleaned up was a challenge in such a confined place and it was stinky. He had to go back into his P.J.'s. Thank goodness I didn't get him dressed before we left the house because I wouldn't have had anything to change him back into. Beckett also didn't want to sit in his seat-he flat out refused and fortunately the flight attendants didn't really care (on the way home was a different story though-will get to that later).

We had a great visit with Dale and June. They remind me of an older version of Kyle and I. They are 90'ish and still quite active. June has friends over to play Wii bowling pretty regularly-how great it that???? Kyle really adores his grandparents. They lived where he grew up until he was 15 or so and then moved to Floriday permanently. He tries his best to visit once a year. I am always worried about the kids ramsacking their home but they did really well. The Wii helped a lot. Late Monday afternoon, we took off for Orlando. Everyone was really excited. This was the kids' first trip to Disney. We decided to go all out and stay at one of the Disney Resorts and take advantage of the character dinners and everything else "Disney". We arrived safe and sound to a very small hotel room but were ready to start out at Epcot on Tues. morning.

Pinewood Derby

2010-01-27T06:48:00.001-08:00

Sawyer participated in his first Pinewood Derby last night for scouts. I am not the biggest fan of scouts. Growing up I thought it was for nerds. I think it was the shirt and ascot. Anyways, scouting is the program for 8+ year old boys in our church and of course we wanted Sawyer to participate and be able to build a stronger relationship with the boys in our church. We are behind on all the stuff he needs to get passed off...the patches he has earned are sewn on crooked by his mother...he never wants to wear his ascot (and I don't make him) and his shirt is never tucked in. We are a disgrace to all the scouting die hards out there. Sawyer really enjoys scouts. I think he was sold last summer when they had day camp. He really liked that. Plus, he really enjoys any chance he has to be with boys instead of at home with his mother and sisters and a too young Beckett. I have had to change my attitude by chanting "I love scouts, I really do love scouts, I love scouts."

I had no idea what the Pinewood Derby was. I honestly thought that the boys had to make life-size cars to race around in. Imagine my surprise when several weeks ago Sawyer brought home his small car kit. This was a job for Kyle who happily helped him with his car. Sawyer chose his car style and helped with sanding, painting and whatever else his 8 year old self could possibly help with. Kyle went to the scout store and bought a book, paint and weights...he also looked up some info. on the Internet. We honestly had no idea about how to put this thing together so that it even had a chance to win. I wanted to enlist help from my dad and Kyle's engineering coworkers at CAT. Kyle convinced me that everything would be fine (like he often has to). I honestly didn't care if Sawyer won or not...I just didn't want him to be last. Kyle and I warned Sawyer that his car might not do well because we are inexperienced at this and it is our first year, etc...etc... To make a very long story short Sawyer's car (aka "The Destroyer") came in 2nd place out of 20 some other cars!!! It was very exciting. Sawyer was so happy!! All the boys did a great job...there were no tears shed. They were all very proud of their cars. Sawyer also got an award for "Most Courteous Driver"-we were most proud of this. I couldn't believe what a production this was. They even served hot dogs and nachos-everything was computerized. I have now been educated on Pinewood Derby's. Next year I am going to try and talk Sawyer into a little fancier paint job.

Beckett's Party

2010-01-25T07:39:00.001-08:00

I think Beckett's week long b-day extravaganza is finally over. We had a little party with just the grandparents on Sat. Beckett LOVES Blue's Clues so I was able to order him an appropriate cake. None of the party stores carry Blue's Clues decorations...I guess it is considered "vintage". That is what happens when you are the youngest of four. You get to still watch all the "old" stuff. We got Bex an art easel that took Kyle over an hour to put together. I am happy to say that Beckett loves it although I think Eden loves it more. The in-laws got Beckett a pillow pet (no picture) and a Bilibo-I had never heard of one but it is the blue bowl looking thing in the photos. You can do anything with it...you have to use your imagination. Once again, Beckett enjoys it but not quite as much as the other kids...namely, Sawyer. We keep joking with Sawyer that we are going to get him a Bilibo for his upcoming b-day but he doesn't like that idea so much. My parents got him a golf club, DVD and a paint with water book (we are going to try it today). I only spent $16 (it was 1/2 off) on the art easel. It is, by far, the cheapest I have ever been for a b-day. I was very proud of myself. But, lets face it...we have so many toys it is ridiculous. Plus, Bex barely likes to play with toys-he just likes to climb all over everything. In fact just last night he was doing somersaults all over the place for the first time and he jumped off the couch. Just when I think things are calming down with him. Kyle joked that what he lacks in speech he makes up for in physical ability.

Some random stuff that makes me happy.

2010-01-21T10:09:00.000-08:00

I took Beckett in for his rescheduled "2" year photos today. He was totally uncooperative and it took a lot of work to get this one good photo. He told the lady "NO" like 50 times and would barely get off my lap. In this photo he is about 6 inches from me and I was giving him a ball and then stealing it from him to make him laugh. The photographer was almost on top of me. I need to make record of this so I can remember a year from now. He is always suspicious of being left. I guess the close to 24/7 we are together isn't enough. This is a photo I took of the actual photo. The other one is one I took right before we left the house.

Some people are aware of my Zhu Zhu obsession. I don't know what it is but when something is hard to find and then easy to find I still feel like I have to fight for it and buy it when I see it. The girls (well actually me) have been waiting for the Zhu Zhu clothes to come out. When I was at Walmart shopping yesterday they had the clothes. I was excited and had to get some of the outfits. In all honesty..the girls enjoyed dressing them up. Kyle makes fun of me but I don't care.

Finally, last Friday the kids received progress reports for the 2nd trimester. This is the note that Faith's teacher wrote on the bottom of hers. She has such a loving teacher this year. Faith has told me that she tells her class all the time how wonderful they are and how much she enjoys them and being their teacher. I love that she writes these notes on their reports. Also, Sawyer was telling me that the 3rd grade watched a movie about Martin Luther King on Friday. We were in the van driving and he was relating to me what he had learned about MLK and about his assassination. He was pretty tuned in to this part and had some questions and then told me, in a very sincere way, that he would have stood in front of MLK and taken the bullet. I realize that he is only "8" and doesn't probably understand the ramifications of what that would REALLY mean. However, it did convince me that he was touched by what he had learned that day and that he has compassion. Sometimes I wonder about his level of compassion when he fights with and picks on Eden.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Bex....a day in the life....

2010-01-15T06:31:00.000-08:00

My Beckett is "2" today. Where oh where has the time gone?? I had an appt. to get his pictures taken today but on Tues. he face planted on the carpet and got this lovely rug burn on his nose (see picture taken today). We are rescheduled for next Friday. Beckett is a huge blessing to our family. He is adored by all and keeps ME hopping. Just when I think he is getting easier he will find a new skill (like just this week being able to open shut doors and waking at 5:30 am). He is now sleeping through the night...finally. Beckett is very affectionate. He isn't saying very many words yet but we know what he wants by his "grunts" and "whines." He loves to dance and watch T.V. His favorite show is "Blue's Clue's" but also enjoys "Barney", "Yo Gabba Gabba," and "Oobi." He watches more T.V. than I would like because if he isn't he is climbing on the kitchen table and getting into things in the kids' rooms. Since he can open doors now we have started locking all the doors that can be locked. He loves to look at books but doesn't want them read to him. He knows where all his body parts are and is always concerned if someone is crying. He loves food and sitting in his high chair. He can climb in it himself (of course) and say "eat." He also likes to fall asleep in it. He loves to shop. He never makes one peep at Walmart or the mall and is always ready to go somewhere. Beckett loves to color and draw. He is getting an art easel for his b-day. We are having his party with the grandparents next weekend. I will post pics. from it after. I still need to order his cake and decide on a theme. Here are some photos I took of his daily routine. We LOVE YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!! Happy Birthday!!!

Once Upon a Time....

2010-01-14T06:20:00.001-08:00

When Kyle and I were first married (nearly 13 years ago) we lived in Burlington, IA for nearly three years. Kyle got his first job after receiving his MBA at Shaeffer Pen in Ft. Madison. Our first home was a small rented townhouse. We had crazy neighbors with three small kids and a cat that stalked us and attacked me once. They had their living room set up as their master bedroom. Since I was approaching the old age of 24 after we were married I wanted to focus on having a baby and just staying home. After a month or so I got bored and decided I would just try and find a VERY part-time job at the mall. I was hired at The Buckle. I liked this job very much and did very well. We worked on commission and my manager and I quickly became good friends as she was a year older than me. After a very short time I became a team leader, then full-time and after a few months they hired me on as asst. manager which required a minimum of 45 hrs/week and a minimum of 50 hrs. during back to school and the holidays. Kyle was doing well at his job and was also playing a lot of hockey. There were a lot of wonderful employees at The Buckle. Mostly high school and college students. I became close to many of these girls (I think we only had 3 guys that worked there the whole time I was there). I saw my co-workers more than I saw Kyle since I worked so much. They became my family. We even did a lot of stuff outside work. I listened to them complain about their parents, school, break-ups etc.... When I got pregnant with Faith everyone was so excited. Faith had pneumonia when she was born and was in the hospital for 10 days. I stayed those 10 days with her in the hospital and had a CONSTANT stream of visitors for the whole 10 days which mostly were my co-workers. They brought me food, magazines and gifts. I was an emotional wreck and would have been lost without them since Kyle had to return to work a couple of days after she was born. I was particularly close to 2 or 3 girls and one would stay overnight with me if Kyle had to travel for work or hockey. By the time we had Faith, Kyle was was working for Case. After Faith was born I dropped my position at The Buckle and just worked a couple of nights a week and a few hours on Saturdays. When she was 8 months old Case offered to transfer Kyle WAY closer to home and the grandparents. We were super excited! I was sad to leave my co-workers and vowed to keep in touch with them for forever.

Fast forward 9-10 years. I was only exchanging Christmas cards with my manager. UGH!! However, through the beautiful thing we all know as FACEBOOK I have been able to reconnect with 10 or so of my old pals. I was ages 23-26 when I worked with them and most of them were between the ages of 17-21 or so. They are now 30'ish! I still think of them as teenagers. Most of them are doing really well. However, some of them have faced a lot of trials. Two of my favorite girls have had husbands pass away. One in a car accident and the other's husband just died in his sleep at 33 years of age. The first had a 4 mo. old and the latter has 3 young children under the age of 5. They were both very happily married and things were going great. The first is now remarried and doing great. The 2nd girls husband just died a few months ago. Two other girls are divorced. One of the guys I worked with is now 33 and has one 6 year old son from a one night stand with a co-worker and is unemployed. My manager has struggled through a really weird disease and a miscarriage (she now has 2 beautiful boys and is doing great). None of them are at The Buckle anymore. My heart breaks especially for my friends that have lost their husbands at such young ages. Life was so easy and fun at ages 17-21. Unfortunately, I have too many friends that have gone through very difficult times in their lives. I realize as I get older these numbers will increase. My mind has been very occupied with these friends this last week or so and has made me emotional. I have been VERY blessed in my life and these tragedies make me realize how fragile life is. I am especially thankful for my belief in God and in heaven. It would be so sad to believe that it is all just "over" after this short earth life. One of my goal for this year (and beyond) is to make ALL my relationships more meaningful-especially with Kyle and the kids. It just dawned on me the other day that I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding for 10 1/2 years of Kyle and I's almost 13 year marriage-WOW!! Our relationship for MOST of this time has been put to the side...not by choice... but just by the demands of parenting. I am hoping to start finding more balance in 2010.

Random

2010-01-08T10:47:00.000-08:00

Here is Sawyer. He is almost 9 but has FINALLY lost a top tooth. He has only lost 3 teeth and he is starting to get annoyed about it because Eden just turned 6 and has lost the same amount.

Here is our new family photo that I just had matted and framed at Hobby Lobby for 1/2 off!!! I am SO happy with it!! It is the nicest photo we have ever had done.

This is my "Edward" necklace that my niece, Kalista, made for me. Isn't it cute? It is bottle cap jewelry. Thanks, Kalista...you are so cute!

This is Eden with her "New Years" headband and blower. They had a celebration at school and she was THRILLED! She also just got several inches cut off her hair. It is just above her shoulders. I always hate when she wants her hair cut but I don't dare get between a girl and her hair!

Kyle pulling Eden and Bex around after the 1st big snow.

About a week ago I had decided that I was going to post something meaningful on my blog about New Years Resolutions, etc.. etc... Well, now since my time of the month and all the emotions that come with it are past, I am not quite sure what I was going to say. So I am just going with my normal goals..

1. Be a better wife, mother and friend.
2. Be more forgiving, friendly and outgoing.
3. Give more to the needy and to charities-try to seek out those in need.
4. Lose 10 lbs. (that is my goal EVERY year-I guess I should just be grateful that it isn't 50 lbs....right??)
5. Be more spontaneous.
6. Don't worry about housework so much and HAVING to have my house clean.
7. Spend less money on clothes for the kids...cause they don't care.

That's enough for now. I am stressed out already :) I might have to do this in phases cause there are so many.

We had a great Christmas break. I didn't want the kids to go back to school. We lucked out with a snow day yesterday and it was great!! Kyle and I got to go out a couple of times over the break and it was so fun. Here are some photos I wanted to post.

Here are some things I am looking forward to in 2010...

1. Going to Disney next month!! Our trip is booked and we are ready to go!!
2. Running a 5K in May. I am not 100% sure this will happen this year but I am might try.
3. I am going to "Time Out For Women." in Indy in April. This is a church function and designed to be inspiring-I hope it helps me :)
4. Going with a couple of friends to Racine, WI to visit our friend, Kira, for her 40th b-day in March.
5. Summer - and school being out-a break from HOMEWORK!!
6. Just watching my kids grow and change and spending more time with Kyle (since it is now easier to leave Beckett with a sitter).
7. Annual mini-trip with Amy and Shelly this summer.
8. Faith starting jr. high....NOT!!!!