June specials...

the kids wanted s'mores so badly that we bundled up and lit a small fire at 10p to satisfy the craving.

not only is he a mess, but he needs a haircut...

a haircut indeed.  first time with the clippers and it ended up a LOT shorter than intended, but it fits him.

I went to check on Bryant one night and walked in to see this.  Made me laugh so hard.  He layed out his clothes for church the next morning, complete with pens in his shirt pocket.

He had surgery on his left thumb for trigger thumb.  He did so well.  He had his right thumb done in January, so he knew a little what was going on, but he made friends with those nurses so well, they didn't want him to leave. I am amazed at his resilience to such things.

our new neighbor brought his tractor home for the weekend to level out his yard. Our family is so into tractors that he was kind enough to notice and offered the kids a ride around the neighborhood before he loaded it back on his trailer.

too bad McKay missed it, he is the most into tractors, but nap time was not to be disturbed.

We are going to Grandma's house...what fun it's going to be!

FUN IN THE SUN!
We were in Boise during the heat wave...100-108 degree weather the entire time we were there. Shocker to the system! So, of course, we should play in the water. The kids had so much fun, I wish I would have recorded the giggles. It warms my heart when I hear their laughter and watch them play together. Grandma even joined in for a bit (to convince McKay it was worth it to run through the water).

they were playing follow the leader and got themselves all lined up in order, I love seeing the clan like that.

he was so excited to be doing what the big kids were doing, but wouldn't dare go through the water-yet.

proud moment, look how close he got!

this is where the giggle needed to be recorded.  He was so happy that Grandma was willing to run through the water with him. He would run up and she would kiss his forehead and they were off again.

they all cheered for this spoiled little man.

PICKING PIE CHERRIES
We headed to my Grandma's house to pick pie cherries.  Everyone got a bucket and got their hand in the tree and attempted to pick the ripest cherries they could.  This was a first for my family, we aren't usually in town when these are in season.

the crew

checking to see if she has enough treasure

picking from the ground...the ladder came out a little later

after they dumped their buckets they decided to "clean" them out.

the reward after an hour. yum!

We continued our adventures throughout the weekend, but seemed to forget the camera each time. We attended my cousin's wedding reception. I'm so glad she chose a place with shade.  The 105 degrees melted us in the sun, it was more tolerable in the shade.  She was beautiful!
We had a one-day family reunion on my dad's side of the family.  We enjoyed time chatting, eating, playing in the water, watching the kids soak each other, and devouring hand churned ice cream.  We also had family pictures taken, but again, the camera was forgotten.
Part of the trip was to attend church with my parents.  I found out after I had arrived that one of the "little boys" I had babysat all through my high school years was speaking prior to leaving on his mission to Argentina! What?!?!! I am NOT that old-I refuse to let it be.  However, I was so thrilled to find out that I would be able to witness this miracle (see, his family wasn't members when I babysat, it's the best story).
The most memorable part of the trip however, was the very beginning and the very end...you see, I drove myself and the kids over on Thursday and as we drove into town the car overheated-it was fun to be stuck in 5p traffic 5 miles from our destination, let me tell ya.  Jake arrived the next night (he hitched a ride with my sister and her husband) and fixed what seemed to be the problem.  Sunday night we decided to leave later in the night (9pm) to avoid the heat as much as possible and hopefully find that they car had had a fluke "accident" on the arriving trip.  We had just gotten on the Idaho Falls junction and saw this enormous fire on the hill, we weren't paying attention and the car overheated, badly! It was 12:30am. Oh what do you do at that time?  We had roadside assistance, so we called-they don't cover as much as we needed.  By now, it's 1:30am. What do we do? We can't walk anywhere. We don't want to pay a taxi times 2. So we call our dear friends and wake them up.  They were more than willing to help.  They brought a trailer to tow the van and their suburban to tow our family.  By 4:30am we were safely in our home, borrowing our friends car. We were to be at Bryant's baseball tournament at 8am, he and I were only 10 minutes late.  We left everyone else home to sleep as we had all been awake during our special outing.  We found out later that morning the car was dead.  Repairable, but dead.
...to be continued...

June...Baseball

All the kids (old enough) chose to play city baseball this year. That meant there were three games to attend (two children were on the same team), usually there was overlapping and I just couldn't be two places at once-I didn't get that special power when I was made a mommy. The season wasn't as cold as in years past which was nice. The girls loved it. Bryant soaked it up.  His team went undefeated the whole season and went on to win, undefeated, the championship as well!  He had a fantastic coach and team.

Team Hubble Bubble Bubble Gum

Sarah enjoyed being on a team with her sister and some friends from school

Kayelynn enjoyed having her friends mom be the coach and being with her sister.

Team Green Giants

Lydia had more fun this year because she got to play on a team with a lot of the same kids from preschool and church.

Team Bloopers

He loved playing infield, and has a serious talent as catcher.

It's been a YEAR?!?!

I don't even know if blogs are read anymore...but I figured I'd better start keeping up with the happenings in our home.
So much has happened in the last year and I haven't documented it anywhere but my head...possibly my camera, and maybe in my journal...but this is a big deal to be able to keep a record including pictures or videos. 
So, the last year...what's happened?
Jake has marked his five year anniversary working at the local Redicare as an LPN and will be taking night classes this fall as he prepares to enter the RN program in the fall of 2014. He has done some work on the inside of the house, but has mostly kept up with the work required outside.
Terressa has finally gotten out of that funk that plagued her for a few years and is slowly going back to school for a few different things.  She keeps quite busy in many aspects of life.
Bryant has finished the 4th grade and will hit 5th grade as one handsome young man! He has a real love for learning and reading.  He is a math whiz, we anticipate he will enter the field of engineer in one form or another...
Kayelynn turned eight and was baptized in March.  She is the sweetest little peacemaker.  She has a real love for everyone whether or not they are her best friends, she want to see everyone happy.
Sarah loves one on one time and thrives in pleasing all those around her. She can't stand having any sort of hard feelings towards someone, but she knows how to stand her ground and choose the right!
Lydia will be entering kindergarten this fall and has grown leaps and bounds this past year.  She is teaching herself words by writing down any words she sees and then asking what it is she wrote.  She will make up words just to see if she has it figured out yet.  She is quick to show her mood(s), but loves to act shy.
Emily is still as mischevious as ever.  We joke that she will never grow out of it, that she will always be curious and always do the opposite of what she is told just to figure out "why?"  I have found that I need to always be 5 steps ahead of her, but everyday there is a way that she can put me 10 steps behind.  But she is very tender hearted and loves her mother.
McKay is a flirt, a whiz and a charmer.  He has experienced two surgeries this last year and has come out better each time and recovered even faster with each one. He is talking more and more, but what comes out is a deeper voice that some of the young men near us.  He is excited about life.  Loves tractors, trains, trucks, and pretty much anything with wheels and tires.  He knows what the John Deere symbol is and what it represents.  It's hilarious.
So in a nutshell we are still chaotic and crazy and loving our family unit.  Now to keep this up with pictures to help tell the story...

It's a funk...

 ...that's what we've been in at our house...a funk.  We are working our way out of it, but it's been a super slow process...A lot has happened though, pictures will suffice...

JANUARY

My little Irish boy.  Bryant received this outfit when he was a baby and I had been searching high and low for it, I finally found it!  He was able to wear it one time.

Bryant received his Wolf!  He had it earned much earlier, but there just wasn't a Pack Meeting to recognize him, so he finally received it in January.  I am so proud of him.

He looks like a statue...it was so funny to see him sit in this thing (Bumbo)...every time we would put him in he would stick his arms out like this-hilarious!

dress up....she comes up with the most creative outfits!

my little mischievous monkey.  if I don't take pictures and laugh, I would just bawl...she is into everything!!  She found a PBJ sandwich and smeared it all over herself, the counter and thought it was the best thing ever...this is a daily occurrence.

trying food...I think he was a little stuffed at this point.  ha!

 

 

FEBRUARY

I found her painting her nails all by herself...she was even gracious enough to put a paper towel down...

she is doing such a pretty job

somehow the fingernail polish turned into lipstick...?

she isn't afraid of anything...she is on daddy's hands touching to highest point of the house

this little one, on the other hand, is scared that she is touching above the front door (takes after her mom)

she's TWO!!! the let the terribles continue...

her sisters gave her a ring box FULL of dress up rings!  I am pretty sure this was her favorite gift of the night.

Our Valentines treats for preschool...they were so fun to make and reminded me of Elementary school when I made them for my friends-my mom was cool like that!

such a happy boy! 

it snowed!  we played! we laughed! we enjoyed!

She's SEVEN!  where has the time gone?

she wanted a Rapunzel castle and daddy delivered!  It was super fun to make, I wish we would have had better "decor" to make it look even more realistic...

art supplies were at the top of her wish list.  she got a LOT!

she wanted makeup...she thinks she is old enough...Grandma Anna was just as disconcerted as we were and helped her pick out some facewash and lotion to prepare for wearing makeup...telling her she needs to have proper hygiene and be in a routine before she can wear makeup. A great lesson and life saver!

Enjoying her ice cream cone

a LOT!