Hello, little blog.
It's nice to see you again.
I've been markedly absent for a few months. The reason being the chaos of life in general, as well as feeling a bit odd... emotionally and physically; leaving me with little energy or time to type out my thoughts and life moments in this little space that I have grown to love.
Vance and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary at the beginning of October. We escaped for a kid-free weekend in Kansas City to relax and to shop model homes for floor plans in anticipation of potentially building a new house next year.
Unbeknownst to us, that weekend trip marked the beginning of these odd feelings; both physical and emotional.
Little did we know as we shopped floor plans that offered 4 kid bedrooms on one floor that God was at work changing up our family dynamic... this time, making it odd in number {again}. And making the need to shop for house plans more necessary than we knew as we walked the floors of those model homes.
After feeling, well... odd, for over a month, we were shocked and surprised to discover that our family would, once again, become odd in number in the summer of 2014.
The physical oddness is to be expected in early pregnancy. But my physical symptoms are slightly different than in my previous 4 pregnancies; leaving a worrier like myself trying (much too often) to contemplate the reasons for those differences. Things just feel different. Odd. And at nearly 13 weeks, I have officially entered the awkward and well... odd stage of pregnancy in which I don't look pregnant, just fat.
But the emotional oddness is what has been affecting me more profoundly this time. I remember the mixed and strange reactions we received when we shared that we were expecting our {planned} fourth pregnancy. So wondering what kind of reactions we would get when we shared this {surprise} fifth pregnancy felt even more odd. We knew we would get odd looks and reactions as well as unsolicited comments about whether or not we understand "how these things happen." For the record, we do! We also know how odd this news might seem to the eyes of society at large. And thinking about all of this made us feel odd about sharing the news.
And so we held it close to us for as long as we could. When the physical symptoms proved to be too difficult to hide any longer, we began to selectively share the news with close family and friends. We are blessed immensely with family and friends who share our openness to life and reject societal norms about "what a family should look like." We didn't get a single odd reaction from anyone. Just smiles, words of heartfelt congratulations, and offers to help in any and every way.
And then we told our kids.
Without a single second of hesitation, they each smiled from ear to ear and showed us a sparkle in their eyes as they exclaimed "yea!" Not a second thought about whether or not having another sibling would be odd for them. Just excitement and immediate predictions about whether it would be a brother or sister.
The next day, I went to their school to attend Mass. As I entered the building, I was greeted with a big hug and words of "congratulations" from the school principal. When I looked surprised by her greeting, she quickly told me that Noah had come to her that morning and asked her to pray for me (over the school intercom) because I had not been feeling well because I was pregnant. No thoughts of whether or not another sibling would be an infringement on his life... just simple excitement and concern for his mother.
And with that act of compassion by Noah, the beans were officially spilled and our surprising news spread.
Regardless of the unexpected and overall positive reactions to our news, I still feel odd about it... even today.
Perhaps it's because I'm increasingly worried about my age; which is "advanced" by child-bearing standards.
Perhaps it's because I feel my life is in constant chaos and the idea of adding another layer feels a bit crazy.
Perhaps it's because although we will always maintain an openness to life, my head felt like Abby was the last one.
Perhaps it's because I'm being offered additional tests to "rule out" complications which is making my mind fret with fear and allowing anxiety over health concerns to consume me.
Perhaps it's because I find myself thinking about things such as how I will fit 5 car seats into my mini-van or where a 5th baby bed will reside in our already cramped living quarters.
Or perhaps it's because this is the first true surprise... the only one that we didn't think was a possibility.
Whatever the reason for my feelings of oddness, I am certain of just one thing... but it's a very important "thing".
It's this: I am 100% certain that this is God's plan and will for our life. There are very few moments in life where a person can assert that level of certainty about something. I don't think I have ever experienced this degree of certainty about responding to God's call and knowing in the depths of my soul that I am walking in His will. And that's a pretty great feeling!
Even though we thought our life was heading in a different direction, we remained open to allow God to reveal His plan to us should it be different than our own. Turns out, it was different. And the only reason we know that is because we did nothing to stop Him from revealing this plan. That is why I can be so certain in my statement that this is God's plan for us.
No matter how odd it might seem to society and no matter how odd it might feel to me right now, this is God's plan.
And I can trust it.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Monday, September 30, 2013
Overheard
{Sister Sweetness by Emily & Molly}
At 10:30 pm, after numerous attempts to get the girls to sleep, Emily emerged from her bedroom again. I could hear noises coming from the room and so I asked her if she was talking to Molly in there. She replied...
"Well Molly keeps asking me to sing "Butterfly Kisses" to her again and again and again."
{Funny Description by Emily}
Emily was playing my iPhone when it rang. She handed it to me so I could answer the call. When I was done, I handed it back to her and she made the following commentary regarding my make-up smudge on the phone...
"Whenever I'm playing a game and you take your phone to talk on it... when you give it back to me it has your EAR SLOBBER all over it!"
{Just cute by Molly}
As she was wandering around the house looking for Abby to play with her, Molly hollered...
"Come on, Abby, just pop out!"
{Use of a Kindergarten Concept by Emily}
Referring to the struggle over crayons she was having with Molly, Emily used the "Filling a Bucket" concept from Kindergarten as she said...
{Molly's being a dipper and I'm being a filler."}
{Fact Check by Noah}
During a discussion about a friend who rode a ride at Disney that Noah was too scared to ride, he eagerly asserted his bravery by saying...
"Well, I rode a ride that went faster than than a cheetah. And cheetah's are the fastest animal on land. So that means the ride went faster than 75 mph!"
At 10:30 pm, after numerous attempts to get the girls to sleep, Emily emerged from her bedroom again. I could hear noises coming from the room and so I asked her if she was talking to Molly in there. She replied...
"Well Molly keeps asking me to sing "Butterfly Kisses" to her again and again and again."
{Funny Description by Emily}
Emily was playing my iPhone when it rang. She handed it to me so I could answer the call. When I was done, I handed it back to her and she made the following commentary regarding my make-up smudge on the phone...
"Whenever I'm playing a game and you take your phone to talk on it... when you give it back to me it has your EAR SLOBBER all over it!"
{Just cute by Molly}
As she was wandering around the house looking for Abby to play with her, Molly hollered...
"Come on, Abby, just pop out!"
{Use of a Kindergarten Concept by Emily}
Referring to the struggle over crayons she was having with Molly, Emily used the "Filling a Bucket" concept from Kindergarten as she said...
{Molly's being a dipper and I'm being a filler."}
{Fact Check by Noah}
During a discussion about a friend who rode a ride at Disney that Noah was too scared to ride, he eagerly asserted his bravery by saying...
"Well, I rode a ride that went faster than than a cheetah. And cheetah's are the fastest animal on land. So that means the ride went faster than 75 mph!"
This One Picture
We pulled in the garage after church this morning.
I asked the girls if they would smile for a quick photo in their cute Fall dresses.
They climbed up on the porch.
I turned around and saw all three of them huddled together; arms around each other in this perfect pose.
I snapped a few pictures on my phone.
And I got this one picture.
There is so much to love in this one picture.
Their cute smocked dresses.
The three different shades of their hair.
Abby's tiny hands and the tilt of her head.
The way Emily's curls are sweeping her shoulder.
Molly's big and bright blue eyes.
The pretty Fall colors in the background speaking to the warmth of this gorgeous day.
They arranged themselves in this position all on their own.
And it's symbolic of what I love the most about this one picture.
That they are sisters who love each other.
That they call each other their BFF's.
That they kiss each other goodnight and blow kisses to each other when one leaves.
That they teach each other and play with each other.
That they love to match one another.
That they want to put their arms around each other for a picture.
Quite simply, that they have each other.
They are Sisters.
They are Friends.
They are Family.
This one picture speaks so much.
And I love every single little thing about this one picture.
I asked the girls if they would smile for a quick photo in their cute Fall dresses.
They climbed up on the porch.
I turned around and saw all three of them huddled together; arms around each other in this perfect pose.
I snapped a few pictures on my phone.
And I got this one picture.
Their cute smocked dresses.
The three different shades of their hair.
Abby's tiny hands and the tilt of her head.
The way Emily's curls are sweeping her shoulder.
Molly's big and bright blue eyes.
The pretty Fall colors in the background speaking to the warmth of this gorgeous day.
They arranged themselves in this position all on their own.
And it's symbolic of what I love the most about this one picture.
That they are sisters who love each other.
That they call each other their BFF's.
That they kiss each other goodnight and blow kisses to each other when one leaves.
That they teach each other and play with each other.
That they love to match one another.
That they want to put their arms around each other for a picture.
Quite simply, that they have each other.
They are Sisters.
They are Friends.
They are Family.
This one picture speaks so much.
And I love every single little thing about this one picture.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Little Things {Summer 2013}
It was a good summer.
Nice weather.
No colicky babies in our household.
2 family getaways.
An end to the sickness that permeated our household for 6 months.
Just a good old fashioned summer. One that went by too fast.
Despite the temperatures that are now lingering near 100 again, Fall is quickly coming and it's time to think about closing the chapter of Summer 2013. So here they are...some of the Little Things that made me smile this summer.
{3 shades of hair}
I get a kick out of the "Abby looks nothing like the rest of your kids!" comments. As I walked down the stairs to the deck and saw the 3 girls from behind, I thought it was funny that they had three completely different shades of hair!
{Miss Little Big Stuff feeds herself}
Miss Independent; that is what my Abby has become. And unlike her siblings, she actually WANTS to eat! And eat by herself. So we officially entered the stage of the messiest meals ever. I do not enjoy cleaning up the table/floor after she feeds herself, but I DO enjoy the cute pictures of her messy food faces!
{Sister friends reading Molly's favorite book}
Oh these girls. They are such sweet friends. Molly's favorite book is a Minnie Mouse "Look and Find". Emily "reads" it to her as if neither one of them have ever looked for the pictures before. In reality, they both know exactly where each picture is. Nevertheless, the time they spend together like this is more fleeting now (with Emily being in school all day), so it makes the moments like this even more special.
{First outdoor dinner of the Summer}
The temperatures were actually bearable this summer, making outdoor dining a regular activity for us. This was the first official "picnic" dinner of the season. Vance mastered his hamburger grilling skills this summer and "hamburgers outside" became one of our favorite meals!
{A game of family basketball}
A pick up game after dinner outside one evening. Everyone, including me and Molly, tried to play (which actually annoyed Noah!).
{Just being girly sisters}
One evening as I went to put the girls in bed, I found them dressed up and playing babies on Emily's bed. They were so cute together. I hid and snapped a few pictures of them being girly sisters.... one of my most favorite things to see as a mom. And after they spotted me, they decided to do some dancing to the music on my phone. They went to bed way too late that night... and it was worth every late minute!
{Stopping just to play and enjoy a moment}
This was another night when we were supposed to be getting in bed. I stopped with the routine and just laid down and played with Molly for a minute. I wish I did that more often. Again, totally worth the late bedtime!
{Golf Addict}
Noah begged and begged and begged to go to the golf course everyday this summer. When I couldn't figure out how to get him there, he begged to go on his own. I was hesitant, but eventually allowed him to spend some time on the putting green and the driving range by himself while I did other things. And at the very end of the summer, I actually allowed him to play 9 holes by himself! To say he is addicted to the game is an understatement! His time practicing by himself paid off... he won 3rd place in the Junior Golf Championship in the 5 hole division!
{She fixes her own "messy bun" when she swims}
Emily is actually really good at fixing her own hair. And Molly's hair. She particularly likes to do a "messy bun" when she swims because that is what I always do during bath time when a hair wash is not required. I think it's cute that she can do it on her own.
{Cute little swimming suits}
We have plenty of hand me down swimming suits for the younger girls, but I couldn't resist buying these new ones for them this year. I mean, how could I resist these adorable sailor-style suits?!
{Little people on bikes}
Another nice evening playing outside. Abby trying to keep up with the bigger kids... like usual!
{S'more Making}
We got a fire pit table a few years ago, but have never really used it. We finally got it working this summer and used it to make s'mores. The kids loved the taste of the s'mores, but didn't like it when their marshmallow's caught on fire!
{She dressed herself and came outside to play}
I got a kick out of Abby one evening when she emerged in an outfit she put together all on her own. Her shirt was her own, but she paired it with Emily's tutu (that is actually part of her PJ's) and 2 mismatched flip flops; also belonging to Emily. She was pretty proud... and cute!
{Catholic Kidz Camp cute decorations}
I was the Director of Catholic Kidz Camp (VBS) again this summer. The theme was Surfin' with the Holy Spirit and I was so impressed and proud of the incredible atmosphere that my team was able to create for the kids! The fun decor added to the fun and excitement of the week!
{Catholic Kidz Camp}
I took over 600 pictures of the week of Kidz Camp! When I look at them, I remember how amazing (and exhausting!) the week was! This video shows a glimpse into a fun filled week of faith sharing (excuse the poor quality!).
{Surviving Chicken Pox * 4}
On the last day of Emily's preschool in May, the director announced that there had been a case of chicken pox in the school. It just so happened that the boy was also in Emily's class. 20 days later, Emily was the first of our four kids to get the pox! 17 days after Emily's symptoms started, Molly and Noah got the pox. And finally, 18 days after that, Abby got them! It took nearly 7 weeks for it to completely run it's course, but I'm happy to say that we all survived. And it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be!
{Holding Butterflies}
On one of our unseasonably cool summer mornings, we made a trip to Botanica and actually got ahold of a few butterflies in the butterfly house. Noah and Emily both got one on their finger several times. I tried to show one to Abby and in true Abby form, she batted at it and "permanently injured" it (i.e. she killed it). We quickly exited after that!
{Good Little Girl Friends}
These little girls have been friends for a long time now. Their mama is my talented friend who makes clothing. We became friends when I started ordering clothes and have grown to be very close friends. And all of our girlies play so well together. They usually come to Wichita to play, but on this summer day, we went to see them in Hutch instead. The mommy's shopped and the girlies played :)
{Ring Around the Rosie}
Emily being the good big sister that she is. She taught them to play one evening... after she requested that they all wear matching dresses. That's my girl :)
{Pedicures}
I'm totally setting myself up for big problems in the future by spoiling my girls too often with pedicures! But it's fun and we love to do it together. The girls got a super special pedicure at the "Scoops Spa" at the Great Wolf Lodge... super cute!
{Climbing}
On one of the many play dates my bible study group had this summer, we went to Riverside Park. Most of the kids had no trouble climbing to the top of this structure. My kids were too scared to go all the way to the top, but were proud that they made it this far. I think they thought they were higher than they actually were!
{Exploring Nature}
We got "Explorer Bags" at Botanica one pretty morning. The bags included binoculars and all kinds of activities to help the kids explore the gorgeous gardens. We took a picnic lunch and enjoyed looking for items of different textures and colors. This was one of those days when the thought of homeschooling seemed great... giving the kids a different kind of environment in which to learn and explore. And then Abby and Molly started screaming and it kind of ruined my "pie in the sky" idea of homeschool "field trips".
{Super Cute Baby Shower}
My brother is finally going to be a dad! After meeting his wife (via this blog) and getting married last October, they are expecting a baby in late August. Toi loves vintage things and so I threw a "vintage shabby" baby shower for her. I loved shopping for the decor and have even decided that "vintage shabby" will be the decor choice for the girls' new big girl room! It was fun to put together and even more fun to think about my brother finally getting to hold his OWN baby girl in his arms!
{New Swimming Skills}
We took swimming lessons at a few different places this year. I was amazed by how much progress Emily made. She went from not putting her head under the water to jumping off the diving board without assistance! And Molly finally put her whole head under the water too... as long as we called her "Mermaid Molly"!
{Saying Goodbye to a BFF}
Poor Noah. His two best friends moved away this summer. One was a friend that he has played with since he was three years old. The other was a friend from school who he had grown quite close to. Before Owen had to leave town, we had him over for a fun play date complete with swimming, mini golf, a sleepover and a trip to Exploration Place. I was sad for Noah to lose Owen as a friend. He was the one friend who made Noah feel confident around other boys who intimidate him. He will be missed.
{Gymnastics... on Stage with Daddy}
Emily performed in her first gymnastics recital at the beginning of the summer. And her Daddy was involved too! The Daddy's helped them at the very beginning and end of the routine. It was pretty sweet.
{Fisherman}
Noah turned into a fisherman this summer; even learning to bait his own hook and remove the fish when he caught them (glove-free too!). He regularly went to the pond in our backyard to fish... yet another favorite past time he is inheriting from his Daddy!
{Tutu's}
We took the summer off from regular dance classes. But Emily did go to a dance camp and got to put her dancing shoes (and tutu!) back on for a week. I adore seeing the girls in their tutu's... it's one of my most favorite things. And my littlest girl took a moment to dress herself in a tutu too!
{Family Mini Golf}
I cannot even count how many times Noah asks to play mini-golf. Almost as often as he begs to go to the real golf course! On another beautiful summer night, we took the whole family to play. I get a kick out of how serious Noah takes his mini-golf games. He is good too; rivaling his dad with this scores!
{Mary Poppins Live with good girly friends}
As as end of summer treat, I took the big girls (Em and Mol) to see Mary Poppins at Music Theatre. Molly is not in the picture because she whined for the first five minutes of the show (she was afraid of the dark) and the mean, old, crotchety lady sitting 2 seats down asked me to take her out. I had to have Vance come and take her home. I wanted to cry, but ended up having a fun day with Emily and our good friends from Hutch.
{Pretty Form - Em in purple with pointed toe}
We were gymnastics slackers this summer! After the recital was over and the chickenpox/Catholic Kidz Camp craze started, we rarely made it to any classes. But given how few classes we made it to, I was impressed with Emily's pretty backbend form. And I love that she is pointing her toe and trying to talk to her friend next to her!
{Play Dates}
My Bible Study group planned weekly play dates this summer. This group helps me be a better mom because they encourage me to get out and do fun things with my kids. One one particular play date, we went to the zoo and got lots of stares because of the sheer number of children we have! Among 10 women, there are 46 kids! Even with only half of us at the zoo, our brood still resembled a zoo!
{Drive In Movie - Monsters University}
We continued our summer tradition of going to the Drive In. This year, the weather was so wonderful... I even wrapped a blanket around myself. The kids thought it was so.much.fun!
{Surprise!}
I went on a 2 night girls trip to Kansas City which was so much fun for me. On Saturday, Vance and the kids drove to KC "to pick me up". Little did they know that I had packed their suitcases and that we had a surprise trip in store for them... a night at The Great Wolf Lodge! They thought this place was better than Disneyworld! My opinion was not quite the same :)
{Abby's 1st Haircut}
Abby's hairstyle was looking a little too mullet like. It had grown so long in the back, but not on the sides! And she has curls! I didn't want to cut the curls because she is my only child to have anything resembling a curl, but I couldn't stand the mullet any longer. So... time for her 1st haircut! We didn't do too much... just shaped it up a bit and hopefully made it a little less mullety. She was perfect. Not a peep. Just big eyes the whole time!
{Visit to the Greats}
On our way out to Colorado in late summer, we stopped to visit my Granny & PaPa (the kids' great grandparents). We enjoyed a lovely summer evening with good food and coloring on the front porch. I'm so glad we made this stop because unknowingly, it was the last time we would ever visit my Granny here. She has Alzheimer's and in the few weeks after our visit, her condition declined dramatically necessitating a move to a full time care home for her. It's so sad for me; yet I have this special memory of visiting her in her own home one final time.
{Back to School}
And lastly, to celebrate the final day before school started, I took the "school kids" out to lunch. Emily was also treated to a manicure for school-ready nails. It's still hard to believe that half of my brood will be gone all day this year. And that the summer of 2013 is officially over.
Nice weather.
No colicky babies in our household.
2 family getaways.
An end to the sickness that permeated our household for 6 months.
Just a good old fashioned summer. One that went by too fast.
Despite the temperatures that are now lingering near 100 again, Fall is quickly coming and it's time to think about closing the chapter of Summer 2013. So here they are...some of the Little Things that made me smile this summer.
{3 shades of hair}
I get a kick out of the "Abby looks nothing like the rest of your kids!" comments. As I walked down the stairs to the deck and saw the 3 girls from behind, I thought it was funny that they had three completely different shades of hair!
Miss Independent; that is what my Abby has become. And unlike her siblings, she actually WANTS to eat! And eat by herself. So we officially entered the stage of the messiest meals ever. I do not enjoy cleaning up the table/floor after she feeds herself, but I DO enjoy the cute pictures of her messy food faces!
{Sister friends reading Molly's favorite book}
Oh these girls. They are such sweet friends. Molly's favorite book is a Minnie Mouse "Look and Find". Emily "reads" it to her as if neither one of them have ever looked for the pictures before. In reality, they both know exactly where each picture is. Nevertheless, the time they spend together like this is more fleeting now (with Emily being in school all day), so it makes the moments like this even more special.
{First outdoor dinner of the Summer}
The temperatures were actually bearable this summer, making outdoor dining a regular activity for us. This was the first official "picnic" dinner of the season. Vance mastered his hamburger grilling skills this summer and "hamburgers outside" became one of our favorite meals!
{A game of family basketball}
A pick up game after dinner outside one evening. Everyone, including me and Molly, tried to play (which actually annoyed Noah!).
{Just being girly sisters}
One evening as I went to put the girls in bed, I found them dressed up and playing babies on Emily's bed. They were so cute together. I hid and snapped a few pictures of them being girly sisters.... one of my most favorite things to see as a mom. And after they spotted me, they decided to do some dancing to the music on my phone. They went to bed way too late that night... and it was worth every late minute!
{Stopping just to play and enjoy a moment}
This was another night when we were supposed to be getting in bed. I stopped with the routine and just laid down and played with Molly for a minute. I wish I did that more often. Again, totally worth the late bedtime!
{Golf Addict}
Noah begged and begged and begged to go to the golf course everyday this summer. When I couldn't figure out how to get him there, he begged to go on his own. I was hesitant, but eventually allowed him to spend some time on the putting green and the driving range by himself while I did other things. And at the very end of the summer, I actually allowed him to play 9 holes by himself! To say he is addicted to the game is an understatement! His time practicing by himself paid off... he won 3rd place in the Junior Golf Championship in the 5 hole division!
{She fixes her own "messy bun" when she swims}
Emily is actually really good at fixing her own hair. And Molly's hair. She particularly likes to do a "messy bun" when she swims because that is what I always do during bath time when a hair wash is not required. I think it's cute that she can do it on her own.
{Cute little swimming suits}
We have plenty of hand me down swimming suits for the younger girls, but I couldn't resist buying these new ones for them this year. I mean, how could I resist these adorable sailor-style suits?!
{Little people on bikes}
Another nice evening playing outside. Abby trying to keep up with the bigger kids... like usual!
{S'more Making}
We got a fire pit table a few years ago, but have never really used it. We finally got it working this summer and used it to make s'mores. The kids loved the taste of the s'mores, but didn't like it when their marshmallow's caught on fire!
{She dressed herself and came outside to play}
I was the Director of Catholic Kidz Camp (VBS) again this summer. The theme was Surfin' with the Holy Spirit and I was so impressed and proud of the incredible atmosphere that my team was able to create for the kids! The fun decor added to the fun and excitement of the week!
{Catholic Kidz Camp}
I took over 600 pictures of the week of Kidz Camp! When I look at them, I remember how amazing (and exhausting!) the week was! This video shows a glimpse into a fun filled week of faith sharing (excuse the poor quality!).
{Surviving Chicken Pox * 4}
On the last day of Emily's preschool in May, the director announced that there had been a case of chicken pox in the school. It just so happened that the boy was also in Emily's class. 20 days later, Emily was the first of our four kids to get the pox! 17 days after Emily's symptoms started, Molly and Noah got the pox. And finally, 18 days after that, Abby got them! It took nearly 7 weeks for it to completely run it's course, but I'm happy to say that we all survived. And it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be!
{Holding Butterflies}
On one of our unseasonably cool summer mornings, we made a trip to Botanica and actually got ahold of a few butterflies in the butterfly house. Noah and Emily both got one on their finger several times. I tried to show one to Abby and in true Abby form, she batted at it and "permanently injured" it (i.e. she killed it). We quickly exited after that!
{Good Little Girl Friends}
These little girls have been friends for a long time now. Their mama is my talented friend who makes clothing. We became friends when I started ordering clothes and have grown to be very close friends. And all of our girlies play so well together. They usually come to Wichita to play, but on this summer day, we went to see them in Hutch instead. The mommy's shopped and the girlies played :)
{Ring Around the Rosie}
Emily being the good big sister that she is. She taught them to play one evening... after she requested that they all wear matching dresses. That's my girl :)
{Pedicures}
I'm totally setting myself up for big problems in the future by spoiling my girls too often with pedicures! But it's fun and we love to do it together. The girls got a super special pedicure at the "Scoops Spa" at the Great Wolf Lodge... super cute!
{Climbing}
On one of the many play dates my bible study group had this summer, we went to Riverside Park. Most of the kids had no trouble climbing to the top of this structure. My kids were too scared to go all the way to the top, but were proud that they made it this far. I think they thought they were higher than they actually were!
{Exploring Nature}
We got "Explorer Bags" at Botanica one pretty morning. The bags included binoculars and all kinds of activities to help the kids explore the gorgeous gardens. We took a picnic lunch and enjoyed looking for items of different textures and colors. This was one of those days when the thought of homeschooling seemed great... giving the kids a different kind of environment in which to learn and explore. And then Abby and Molly started screaming and it kind of ruined my "pie in the sky" idea of homeschool "field trips".
{Super Cute Baby Shower}
My brother is finally going to be a dad! After meeting his wife (via this blog) and getting married last October, they are expecting a baby in late August. Toi loves vintage things and so I threw a "vintage shabby" baby shower for her. I loved shopping for the decor and have even decided that "vintage shabby" will be the decor choice for the girls' new big girl room! It was fun to put together and even more fun to think about my brother finally getting to hold his OWN baby girl in his arms!
We took swimming lessons at a few different places this year. I was amazed by how much progress Emily made. She went from not putting her head under the water to jumping off the diving board without assistance! And Molly finally put her whole head under the water too... as long as we called her "Mermaid Molly"!
{Saying Goodbye to a BFF}
Poor Noah. His two best friends moved away this summer. One was a friend that he has played with since he was three years old. The other was a friend from school who he had grown quite close to. Before Owen had to leave town, we had him over for a fun play date complete with swimming, mini golf, a sleepover and a trip to Exploration Place. I was sad for Noah to lose Owen as a friend. He was the one friend who made Noah feel confident around other boys who intimidate him. He will be missed.
{Gymnastics... on Stage with Daddy}
Emily performed in her first gymnastics recital at the beginning of the summer. And her Daddy was involved too! The Daddy's helped them at the very beginning and end of the routine. It was pretty sweet.
{Fisherman}
Noah turned into a fisherman this summer; even learning to bait his own hook and remove the fish when he caught them (glove-free too!). He regularly went to the pond in our backyard to fish... yet another favorite past time he is inheriting from his Daddy!
{Tutu's}
We took the summer off from regular dance classes. But Emily did go to a dance camp and got to put her dancing shoes (and tutu!) back on for a week. I adore seeing the girls in their tutu's... it's one of my most favorite things. And my littlest girl took a moment to dress herself in a tutu too!
{Family Mini Golf}
I cannot even count how many times Noah asks to play mini-golf. Almost as often as he begs to go to the real golf course! On another beautiful summer night, we took the whole family to play. I get a kick out of how serious Noah takes his mini-golf games. He is good too; rivaling his dad with this scores!
{Mary Poppins Live with good girly friends}
As as end of summer treat, I took the big girls (Em and Mol) to see Mary Poppins at Music Theatre. Molly is not in the picture because she whined for the first five minutes of the show (she was afraid of the dark) and the mean, old, crotchety lady sitting 2 seats down asked me to take her out. I had to have Vance come and take her home. I wanted to cry, but ended up having a fun day with Emily and our good friends from Hutch.
{Pretty Form - Em in purple with pointed toe}
We were gymnastics slackers this summer! After the recital was over and the chickenpox/Catholic Kidz Camp craze started, we rarely made it to any classes. But given how few classes we made it to, I was impressed with Emily's pretty backbend form. And I love that she is pointing her toe and trying to talk to her friend next to her!
{Play Dates}
My Bible Study group planned weekly play dates this summer. This group helps me be a better mom because they encourage me to get out and do fun things with my kids. One one particular play date, we went to the zoo and got lots of stares because of the sheer number of children we have! Among 10 women, there are 46 kids! Even with only half of us at the zoo, our brood still resembled a zoo!
{Drive In Movie - Monsters University}
We continued our summer tradition of going to the Drive In. This year, the weather was so wonderful... I even wrapped a blanket around myself. The kids thought it was so.much.fun!
{Surprise!}
I went on a 2 night girls trip to Kansas City which was so much fun for me. On Saturday, Vance and the kids drove to KC "to pick me up". Little did they know that I had packed their suitcases and that we had a surprise trip in store for them... a night at The Great Wolf Lodge! They thought this place was better than Disneyworld! My opinion was not quite the same :)
{Abby's 1st Haircut}
Abby's hairstyle was looking a little too mullet like. It had grown so long in the back, but not on the sides! And she has curls! I didn't want to cut the curls because she is my only child to have anything resembling a curl, but I couldn't stand the mullet any longer. So... time for her 1st haircut! We didn't do too much... just shaped it up a bit and hopefully made it a little less mullety. She was perfect. Not a peep. Just big eyes the whole time!
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| {before: very mullet-like with long curls} |
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| {after: less mullet-like with shorter curls} |
On our way out to Colorado in late summer, we stopped to visit my Granny & PaPa (the kids' great grandparents). We enjoyed a lovely summer evening with good food and coloring on the front porch. I'm so glad we made this stop because unknowingly, it was the last time we would ever visit my Granny here. She has Alzheimer's and in the few weeks after our visit, her condition declined dramatically necessitating a move to a full time care home for her. It's so sad for me; yet I have this special memory of visiting her in her own home one final time.
{Back to School}
And lastly, to celebrate the final day before school started, I took the "school kids" out to lunch. Emily was also treated to a manicure for school-ready nails. It's still hard to believe that half of my brood will be gone all day this year. And that the summer of 2013 is officially over.
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