The Seaba Family

Big Sis/Little Sis

2012-02-13T22:12:00.004-06:00

We had to make a trip to the mall tonight to pick up a little something for some 13 year old who may or may not have a valentine this year. Avery was being extremely sweet with her younger siblings and wanted to spend some of her money on them.

We stopped by the store that is any 11 yr old girl's dream...Claire's! She bought Ethan a light up bouncy ball and she bought her and Raegan necklaces with a heart that fit together. Her part says big sis and Raegan's says little sis.

The best part of the night for me was watching Raegan on the escalators. It is so obvious we don't frequent the mall since that girl was born! Oh and next best was her little stop off at the Abercrombie little "porch" while she took the opportunity since the music was loud to "get down" and dance!

We then came home and got the kid's valentines ready to take to school. I really like nights like tonight! All except for the late night homework that neither Avery nor Mom understands...thank goodness for relatives that are good at math...this time we made a late night call to Grandpa Neir and he saved the night from complete melt down disaster! Thanks Grandpa!

Random

2012-02-10T18:22:00.003-06:00

Haven't had much to blog about the last week or so. Just been keeping busy with life in general! Between my two jobs and John's hours, plus side jobs that he is still working on it seems like we just never slow down!

I have always been one to be always on the go. I never used to want to stay home. Now, i crave a night at home with absolutely nothing to do! Anytime we get one of those nights we take full advantage...i'm still waiting on one!

Here are some random pictures that i have snapped over the last week...the only pictures i have taken in the last week so it wasn't hard to choose...

Daddy helped Ethan with one of his 100th day of school projects. 100 cheerios!

I came in to our room last night and saw this. I thought it was pretty sweet... they were watching a Star Wars cartoon...

Raegan, Raegan Raegan...and all her "messes"! Beside the nickname "tornado" she has also become "the bag lady" Any empty container, bag box, laundry basket, item that holds things she will fill up with "stuff" quicker than you can blink! We always know where to look for missing items. They are usually packed into one of her bags! She usually is the culprit of all things missing around the house and many times will take us right to it but a lot of times just can't seem to remember what she did with it! One of my biggest pet peeves is clutter and all of her bags of stuff to me = clutter so i don't handle it quite as well as i should and empty them just as fast as i can. I do allow her to have one little bag of "stuff by her bed so i have started just consolidating all things from other bags into that bag.

Please tell me i am not the only one who cannot keep my couch pillows the one place they belong! They are CONSTANTLY on the floor and it drives me batty! They are weapons, stepping stones, parts of forts...you name it!

Well i am off to help supervise Raegan to clean up her mess...she get's very overwhelmed and says "but i need help". I remember Avery going through this stage and having to teach her to just do one thing at a time. Avery does super at cleaning now so there is hope for my little bag lady!

Celebrating

2012-02-01T08:19:00.004-06:00

Avery was chomping at the bit to get home and open her birthday box on her day...

so she wasn't thrilled when we had to make a stop off at Walmart and even less thrilled when while at Walmart we got a call from Trey and he has missed his bus to Crown Center for his Orchestra trip. We FINALLY made it home after being stuck in traffic for awhile on the way home.

Avery does not like cake. She took brownies for her class treat and just wanted ice cream for her candles at home.

and of course she had to have her spankings and a pinch to grow on...

Then on Friday she had her party with her friends. It was pizza Street and Laser tag. After watching Trey play on his birthday she had decided that is what she wanted to do with her friends. They played four games and had a great time!

crazy girls

Confused

2012-01-31T10:22:00.002-06:00

It's a confusing winter here in the midwest! I am not complaining one little bit! We are a warm weather loving family and the kids told me this morning they didn't care if we didn't get any snow this year. Raegan has broken out her flip flops and is going to be quite disappointed if i have to go hiding them again.

I spent 4 days in bed with the flu this past week and am so happy to be feeling alive again this week! I am now playing catch up big time!

If you ever are considering having January babies, i don't suggest having two in January! It always makes for a crazy month right after the crazy month before...oh heck, what month isn't crazy?!

Ladybug is 11

2012-01-24T09:51:00.006-06:00

11 years ago, January 24, 2001 Avery Michelle was born weighing in at 9lb 2 oz.

She had a bunch of hair which made her look older than she was. And then the little booger took off walking at 8 months. Now seeing her personality it doesn't surprise me....she knows what she wants and she goes for it!

early on her daddy started calling her lady bug and it has stuck. He bought her a little lady bug necklace last year and she loved it!

She has always been pretty feisty and strong willed...still is! She may look like me but she has her daddy's personality and is quite the daddy's girl!

She does well in school and is very self motivated. I rarely have to get on her to get stuff done. She gets right on her homework and most of the time get's everything taken care of.

She is going to be going off to middle school next year which while looking at these pictures makes me sad...

She is loving taking gymnastics and can flip around all over the place

She has a warm heart and is learning this year how to manage friendships...fifth grade can be challenging with friends and it has been but it has been a work in progress and for the time being it seems her little group of close friends is getting along nicely. I am proud of her and some of the things she has done to help situations.

She is getting very tall, catching me quickly! It seems like not long ago she was just barely tall enough to ride the Patriot for the first time...

She is very particular and keeps her room as clean as she can with little tornado living in the same space. She can't wait to get her first pair of high heels and thinks her mom should wear them way more than i do!

Her new favorite past time is texting her friends on my phone...lol, gtg, brb, k ...you know regular 5th grade conversations :)

Avery you are becoming quite the beautiful young lady and we are so very proud of you and all your hard work in school and all that you do. Happy Birthday! We love you!

Parenting

2012-01-20T10:55:00.003-06:00

Some days this parenting thing makes me feel like a complete failure. I know i haven't even gotten to the really hard part (through the teen years) yet but the past few months have been a bit (that is putting it mildly) frustrating for me and i feel like i have failed more than succeeded at being the kind of parent that i want to be.

We have a big problem in our family with fighting with siblings. Some days i feel like all i do is yell at the kids to stop fighting. I feel like i am prying a cat and dog apart quite often. I do try to stay calm but being honest, i yell at my children sometimes...er more often than i should. I didn't want to be a yelling mom...i still don't want to be a yelling mom but goodness gracious i'm ashamed to say mine have driven me to it.

We are trying some new consequences for talking unkindly to their siblings and the verdict is still out on how that is going to work. I feel like i'm bashing my kids and that is not my intent...i am more bashing myself for not being a better parent to keep the sibling fighting under control.

Don't get me wrong there are days when they get along great, days when i see them showing a lot of love to one another but right now the other days overshadow the good days.

I never pray for patience, i am terrified of doing that. But i will be focusing this month on praying that i can handle situations that arise with the kids calmly and lovingly....i am often far from calm and just plain angry that they won't behave the way i want them to.

If you think about it you can pray with me that God will calm my spirit when things escalate between the kids and that i can be the kind of mother that HE wants me to be.

How is that for a bright cheery post...ha :)

We did enjoy a day at the park on Monday. The kids were out of school and it was 65 degrees mid January, can't beat that! AND, they actually got along for a good portion of the day...

they do love each other, they really do...i just have to remind them that they do...

my pre-teen who hijacks my phone....and begs for a phone because all almost all of her friends have them. Just not happening!!

Even while writing this post i have been reminded that i just need to get on my knees, i haven't been spending enough time there!

The party

2012-01-19T08:59:00.004-06:00

I have been pretty slow getting blog posts on lately! When i start having a few of them pile up then i get a little quicker to get the oldest one on. It must be winter, yea i will blame it on that...i seem to be less motivated during the winter. Anyway....

On Trey's birthday he picked his favorite dinner at home and we had Grandpa and Grandma Seaba over to help celebrate his actual day.

Grandpa and Grandma

later that night he had his annual spankings and pinch to grow on...

pretty sure Ethan was excited about seeing his brother get spanked :)

Then on Friday night he had his party. We fed the boys at Pizza Street and then walked over and all the boys played laser tag

They had a blast! We (the girls) were able to watch from a viewing point and Avery decided that she wants to do the same thing for her birthday. The boys are all Star Wars fanatics so they all sacked out in the living room watching The Clone Wars.

Trey, Bradon, Dylan and Austin...cousin, second cousin and a good buddy who since he is a cousin to Trey's cousin (yes that was confusing to them when they were younger) i think they have just declared themselves cousins :)

#Thirteen

2012-01-12T08:29:00.003-06:00

I don't know quite how it is possible that we are parents to a teenager but sure enough we are! Trey Michael Seaba was born 13 years ago on January 12, 1999. Michael Jordan retired for the first time on the day as well~ a tidbit for your day. He was born at 8:12 pm and he weighed in at 8lb 12.7 oz. I told Trey that i think 12 is clearly his lucky number! You can't really tell in this picture but his hair went all the way down his neck. I loved all that hair!

By 3 months old his hair was a little unruly and he finally got his first cut! We were helping with the teens at Elm Grove when this picture was taken...

Trey's favorite things when he was little were his Thomas trains! We still have a whole toy bench full of all of the trains that he collected!

When Daddy first got his motorcycle Grandma found this little motorized cycle for Trey. He loved it!

all boy for sure...

In 6th grade he went out for cross country and realized that he really enjoys running! I of course was thrilled with his love for the sport but try not to push as i want it to be something he loves to do...so far, it seems that basketball and running are his two favorite sports with running being his top pick (according to him).

He has grown into such a great young man with a great sense of humor and a giggle that is very contagious! He keeps busy with eating everything he can find in the house, drawing, writing, playing with star wars figures and eating some more! I'm excited to see where he goes in life! Happy Birthday Trey! Dad and Mom are very proud of you and love you very much!

New year's eve

2012-01-11T14:44:00.004-06:00

For New Year's eve we got together with all of my siblings except for my oldest brother who was out of town and allowed us to all have our shin-dig at their house. We ate a LOT, played games, went for a run to finish up my miles that i was trying to for the year (nothing like saving it for the last minute)

the kids always come up out of the basement all dressed up in the endless supply of dress up clothes...

later in the evening they all settled down and watched a movie. i caught raegan all cuddled up with her cousin maggie~sweet~

raegan and brooklyn waiting to bring in the new year...

Happy New Year 2012! I caught Daddy giving Raegan a smoocher...yea, he gave me one too

and guess who once again just couldn't hold out for that ball to drop... he tries hard but when a boy needs his sleep it just wins over

I hope you new year is all that you hope for!

Christmas Day 2011

2012-01-10T18:51:00.005-06:00

Since Christmas Day was on a Sunday this year and all but one family was in Hutchinson, all of the cousins sang "Away in the Manger" during the service at my Dad's church. They did a good job! I snapped a quick picture of the kids after the service because when they are with cousins, getting them all in one place is next to impossible! They each have their little age group of cousins that they run off with.

one of the kids tables for Christmas lunch

Daddy and Raegan

the cousins ready for presents!

Ethan and his super hero cape

I went out at the beginning of the weekend and bought a 1,000 piece puzzle. It sounded like a nice relaxing thing to work on over the weekend. It was! We put it in a room in the back part of the house that my Grandma lives in and i think just about everyone took their turn working on it! It was a lengthy task of putting it together...i learned that my husband and my brother John are real puzzle enthusiasts, something i did not know! :)

my brother and husband were doing the honors of finishing it up with some help from others...i think they each had at least 3 of the final pieces hidden in their pockets to be the last piece but in the end they saved the last piece for me to put in...

We had a great Christmas. Loved the mild weather and got to go on some runs with my sister and my brother in law.

We came home early in the week and then celebrated with the Seaba side of the family on that following Friday. I forgot my camera which really irked me but i do have some pictures that John took with his phone...so once we figure out how to get them uploaded (we were having some technical difficulty, something that is not too uncommon in our house :))i will have to post a few of those.

Can't believe Christmas and New Years has come and gone...this year is flying!

7th grade strings

2012-01-06T19:26:00.003-06:00

I do have a borrowed camera now thanks to my mom so i will be snapping pictures again soon but in the mean time i thought i would post this picture of my handsome 7th grader. He has been playing the viola since 5th grade and has said that he wants to move on next year so that he can take more electives (strings is all year so it would allow him to take another two electives) That is yet to be determined (if he will be quitting) but he has enjoyed his several years in strings and now his younger sister is trying to talk him in to continuing so that they can play together one of these days.

He is playing on a basketball league with some friends of his. They have their first game tomorrow.

He is taking a class called stage craft this semester and thinks he is really going to enjoy it (making props, stage lighting, ect.)

He loves to write! He will sit down and write 15 pages of a story at a time, he says he just get's "in the mood to write".

His art teacher from this last semester said he is very artistic. He really enjoyed art. That has all been passed on from Daddy because i don't have an artistic bone in my body!

He is counting the days down till next Thursday when he becomes...gasp....a teenager!

He is helping his dad with one of his side jobs right now and his dad is paying him so he is pretty happy about that...he is always looking for ways to earn money!

A photographer came to school and photographed the strings players and then they had some for sale at his concert. I was away and unable to go but his Dad picked this one up and i loved it...

To be

2012-01-04T11:53:00.002-06:00

continued...I hadn't finished posting Christmas pictures and will get to it eventually but for the time being we are without a working camera, so until we go camera shopping blog posts will probably be a little scarce. Be back soon!

Tracking

2011-12-30T22:00:00.002-06:00

Tracking Santa online on Christmas Eve...

he thought it was pretty cool and wanted to know if he had come through our city yet

Santa was making some pretty good time according to this website!

Christmas at home

2011-12-28T00:34:00.003-06:00

I worked this past Thursday night. The kids had been begging to open one present before we left for Hutchinson on Friday. I kept putting them off saying, i have to talk to Daddy. We decided we were going to surprise them when i got home from work Thursday night and tell them that we were going to do our little family Christmas all before we left town including not one but all of the gifts. We ate a late dinner when i got home and then told them...they were super excited!

i made them endure a few pictures first

this is what Raegan had asked Santa for...

Santa did pretty good for Trey too! He had really wanted this Bear Gryll knife!

Avery had about 5 pages written in her new journal by the time we were done opening presents!

Ethan. loves. angry. birds!

and this is the aftermath...

And, in case you wondered how we managed to get Santa to come early to our house...well i have special connections. Didn't you know he does early drop offs for some people that leave town?? He also has access to front doors when certain homes do not have a chimney. Santa is a pretty flexible guy, thank goodness!

Partying it up at school

2011-12-22T13:57:00.002-06:00

Last Friday was the kids last day of school for semester and also their day of parties. Ethan's was in the morning so i didn't have to go back and forth to parties. Kindergarten parties are so cute! We have a super creative mom in the class that does the cutest things at the parties!

they made little sleighs with snowmen driving them...somehow before the end of the party Ethan's was misplaced...if you have visited a kindergarten party this would come as no surprise!

In the afternoon we headed back to school to snap a few pictures at the 5th grade luau. They had pizza, hula hooped, cake walked and hung out in their grass skirts and summer attire

This first semester of school flew by! We are almost a week into enjoying their two and a half weeks off from school before they get back to studying!

Gingerbread house

2011-12-21T07:55:00.003-06:00

Ethan was very proud of his gingerbread house that he made in kindergarten. He get's very attached to his things and after it sitting on our kitchen counter for a couple of weeks and pieces of candy being taken by his older brother and the roof falling apart i convinced him it was time for it to be thrown away...only after being reminded that we have a picture of him with his gingerbread house...

Sisters

2011-12-19T09:55:00.003-06:00

Sisters are forever friends. These two annoy each other, fight like cats, tattle on each other...i could go on and on...but i love when they are in their beds at night talking to each other (ususally it's raegan talking her big sister's head off), i love when avery does her little sister's hair and get's her all dolled up. I love when Raegan is struggling with eczema that Avery says "i know how you feel Raegan". They may not ever have to fight over sharing clothes since there is the age gap that there is so maybe that is one less fight they will fight. :) I pray these two will remain forever friends!

School performances

2011-12-16T12:55:00.009-06:00

The 5th grade strings performed during lunch Wednesday so we went to school and watched Avery play her violin. She is very happy that she switched from the flute and really enjoying learning how to play the violin.

On Tuesday the 4th and 5th grade special chorus group went on a little holiday choir tour. They sang at a nursing home, at a church and had lunch and played for awhile at Zonkers. They then went to Crown Center to perform.

Today is Christmas parties. I am home from the first and heading back to the second one in a bit. Then the kids are off school and i would like to say we can relax but i'm afraid next week is going to be hectic trying to finish up shopping. At least i get to silence the alarm for a few weeks! That always makes me happy especially since my kids are now of the age that they don't even wake me when they get up!

Trey tried out for the 7th grade basketball team but got cut along with a lot of his friends. They have got a team of his buddies put together that are all going to play basketball in a leauge together so tonight he starts practice for that.

Avery is still loving tumbling and is perfecting her back handspring. One of these days i will get a picture of her. She had her allergy followup and her asthma has responded very well to the meds and she is doing great! Someday i will look back and not remember how much you wear your mama out Raegan...at least i keep telling myself that!

Santa

2011-12-15T08:59:00.004-06:00

Trey has informed me i am doing a poor job at keeping up the blog. No worries Trey, i am on it and from here till the end of the year i am sure i will have lot's of pictures. There has just been something to go to at school almost every single day...lot's going on this time of year as i'm sure you all well know!

We went to Crown Center the other day for Avery's choir performance and got there a little early so took the littles to Santa's little shop. Raegan freaked out a little and said. "maybe when i'm 5 mommy" (anout sitting on Santa's lap) but Ethan told Santa her name and she seemed to like the fact that he knew her name so then was happy to go sit with him. Ethan told Santa he wanted a remote control car and Raegan whispered to him that she "wanted what Brookly is getting" (her cousin that she bought a gift for and they are the same age so it is something that she loves)

the kids played for awhile and got all the wiggles out before the concert (ha, who am i kidding...pretty sure the wiggles never leave Raegan's body!)

here is the action shot of how most of my pictures turn out!

Up until last night i had only bough 1 or two Christmas gifts but John and i dropped the kids off at their Wednesday night church activities since we did not have Life group and made a stop off at Wally World and now i am well on my Christmas shopping way.

John also surprised me with a brand new laptop last night!! He has been bombarded with side jobs which we are so thankful for because they were few and far between for a couple of years. It easy for me to complain when he is gone evenings and weekends trying to get them done but i am thankful for the extra income! And, it doesn't hurt when he comes home with fun surprises like this! He just bid and got another huge one so he will be busy busy busy again for quite awhile!

Hit it Taylor

2011-12-07T13:08:00.003-06:00

It has been a busy past week. I just got back from Memphis on Monday. If you want to read about my marathon you can visit my running blog with the link over there------>

John was busy playing single Daddy. He did a great job along with the help of some friends and Grandma who helped with younger ones. The laundry was waiting for me when i got back though and kids saying "i need clean this or clean that!"

Raegan loves playing with barbies! We have a Taylor Swift one that has a button on her tummy that you push to make her sing. While she was playing yesterday i heard her say "hit it Taylor!" as she pushed the button. It made me smile!

Scootin

2011-12-01T14:24:00.004-06:00

We recently had a nice warm, though windy Saturday. Daddy was working so i decided it was a good day to spend some time at the park. Ethan and Trey both had recently spent their money on remote control cars and i had picked up some razor scooters at the thrift shop.

we walked, scooted and drove cars round and around the path till the kids were worn out.

a snaked slithered under my feet while we were walking...i still shudder just thinking about it. it was good entertainment for the kids!

the kids were then on a mission to find the snake again. trey did and chased it with his remote control car...crazy boy!

raegan scooted till her legs "were soo tired!"

It's not even full blown winter and i'm already missing the warmer temps! I am not a winter person.at.all! But, it's here...like it or not!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T21:18:00.003-06:00

I am thankful for so much! I am blessed to have four healthy children. I have a husband that loves me and is such a great dad! I have a Savior who died for me and loves me even though i am undeserving! I have a cozy little home, vehicles that run, my kids go to a great school and have great teachers. (amazing how many Christian teachers they have had along the way) I go to a pretty awesome church that digs deep into the Word. I have some pretty cool friends if i do say so myself. I have a supportive and loving family on both sides. I live in a free country!

I am very grateful, though many times it is easy to become ungrateful and wish for more. i remind myself often just how good we have it in comparison to so much of the world...we have so much, so much to be grateful for!

I asked my kids each to come in and tell me 5 things that they are grateful for. This is what they said: in no particular order of course

Trey- Cheta my cat, food (of which he eats a lot!), family, God and being able to do better in math

Avery- she wrote down 10 things for me and i told her we were just doing 5 so had her circle her top 5 but as i sit here and type i think, why limit her to 5 so here are her top 10- food, water, family, church, school, Bible, Cheta, house, friends, JESUS (she put that in all capitals so i thought i would too)

Ethan- Ethan had a hard time at first because he had just wiped out on his scooter and skinned his knee pretty bad so in his 6 yr old mind at the time he really didn't have anything to be grateful for but after he thought for a little bit here is what he said- for my school, our house, for the world, for my family, for my mommy (what can i say he is a momma's boy), our city.

Raegan- Grandma, i like how God made us, Max and Sadie (dogs) , your purse (it happened to be hanging on my chair) , for you getting me my Dora book.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

Things that make mom's heart skip a beat

2011-11-18T14:56:00.008-06:00

While i was away a couple of weeks ago on a girl's weekend Daddy took the kids and headed to Hutch to see my sister's husband and my dad. He had a real manly weekend planned that included guns...

For some reason i am having trouble uploading the picture of him shooting the pistol. Daddy took a little video of it and then had Ethan turn to the camera and say "hi mommy!" I will admit i got tense just watching the video! Seeing my 6 year old with a real gun in his hand...yikes, even though my husband is extremely safety cautious! Ethan loved going shooting. I am sure he will get in on the action any chance he gets!

Another this and that post

2011-11-16T13:34:00.005-06:00

* Raegan finally stopped puking after keeping not much of anything down for a couple of days! She is a trooper and mid vomit said "i guess i don't get any applesauce now!" (she had been begging for something to eat so we were going to try applesauce when we got home-we were on the way home from taking kids to school)

*She shared with daddy and mommy and we both were feeling pretty crummy for a couple of days. Thankfully we just got the aches and fever part of it and not the other!

*Avery had her annual hearing screen with the audiologist and everything remains the same again this year. Her left ear is compensating nicely for her right ear that has the significant loss. We are thankful that it remains unchanged. She still has a tube in her left ear because of build up of fluid, when that comes out we will have to see what happens.

*Trey has been working on basketball. He is going to go out for his middle school team. If he doesn't make it he is going to try to play with some friends on a league through the ymca...they have a backup plan.

*Avery had a follow-up with her allergist. They always say she is a bit deceiving, she looks like she is doing great on the outside but her lungs always tell a bit of a different story. We are back to doing peak flows and back on all asthma medicine for a month and then they will try to take her off one and see how she does. She also has been once again bumped to every three weeks allergy shots! Hooray! Hopefully we will be able to do that through the winter. Every spring we usually have to go right back to weekly but i will take every three weeks during the winter!

*John has been spending every last extra hour at a side job that he is helping a friend out with. We will all be glad when that project is completed!

*We have decided to wait to put our house on the market till at least spring for numerous reasons.

*I have been keeping busy with marathon training which will take place Dec 3rd.

*Ethan and Raegan rarely nap this year (i have been a nap nazi up till this year. They play so well together especially when they can head outside. When i do lay them down which is about once a week if that, they still sleep for several hours. With no naps and getting up early for school they are both pretty crabby by bedtime. Raegan fights it and stays up talking and doing pretty much anything to keep herself awake. Ethan on the other hand is asleep withing 5 minutes and if we leave him up too long will just go put himself to bed.

*Avery decided after a month that she no longer wants to play the flute. She has a terrible time getting any sound out and is just not enjoying it. She is in the process of switching to strings and is going to play the violen. Since she will probably be playing for the next several years at least we would like her to enjoy what she plays so letting her make this change.

*I did have to get a couple of pictures of her with her flute so that she could remember back when she played the flute for that month in fifth grade...

Kindergarten

2011-11-11T09:37:00.006-06:00

I love watching Ethan concentrate when doing his homework. We are finding out he is a bit of a perfectionist. His teacher said he get's upset if he can't do something on his paper just right and has gone and erased the entire paper and started over instead of just correcting the word that needs to be corrected. Most of his homework is just being read to but every now and then he has something to complete.

He is doing well in school. He is learning his sight words one by one and get's excited when he sees a word he can read! He is doing well writing all his letters and is pretty proud of saying his abc's with ease. At the beginning of the year he would get a little mixed up in the middle and at the end.

He loves kindergarten. He has a behavior sheet that he brings home everyday. They start with 5 cubes and get a cube taken away if need be. He has consistent 5's every day so am very proud of him for behaving himself. There was one day at the beginning of the year he got a four and one day in the past few weeks that he came home with a four and his perfectionist little self was not too happy about losing a cube!

He recently got to be a part of his school's lipdub. The high school came and filmed it. I was pretty impressed with how it turned out, it took a lot of organization on the part of teachers and staff. Love seeing the kids school spirit! Look for Ethan and two other cute kindergartners at the very beginning. To watch, just click on the title of this post.

Fall walks

2011-11-09T12:17:00.002-06:00

I love the mild, actually warm fall that we have had. It was a little chillier today but me and the munchkin headed out for a walk today. She walked for a little while but then was happy to ride the rest of the way.
she likes to chat about everything while we walk from the leaves on the trees to going over the sidewalk bumps making it sound like she's "tooting" and then she would say..."i think i'll take a nap now" Her little mind zips from one thing to the next just like how she does. There is never too much sitting still with this little sweetie!

Trick or treat

2011-11-08T09:54:00.003-06:00

Little Red Riding Hood, two Lord of the Rings faceless guys and a fat little bumblebee set out to get some candy once upon a time...

we met at some of our friend's house for some dinner and then off we went. everyone loved the little bumblebee's stinger!

she would make us nervous when she would take off running down the driveways because i think she was a little off balance with that big tummy but at least she had a lot of padding when she did tumble

just like every other year the kids love to unload all their loot and this year since they were with friends there was some trading going on

the girls did their own trading away from the boys but it cracked me up how the girls had theirs all sorted so nicely and in neat little piles

And now thanks to those bags of candy i will put on an extra 5 pounds probably as i sneak in at night and raid their bags when they are asleep...that's right kids mommy admitted it. I steal your candy!

Party party

2011-11-07T09:06:00.003-06:00

The kids were out of school on halloween so the parties were held on Friday. Avery had been complaining of tooth pain. Her tooth was a little loose so i thought maybe the permanent one was trying to push through. I put some orajel on her tooth on Thurs night and Friday morning she woke up with a big abscess on her gums. She didn't want to miss her party so i sent her to school and called the dentist hoping we could get her in around both the kids parties that were in the morning (ethan) and afternoon (avery). Her dentist told me to bring her in and they would work her in but it may be a lengthy wait as they had a very full schedule and lots of emergencies being worked in.

I went to Ethan's parade and party and then took her straight to the dentist thinking we more than likely would not make it back. Avery was very upset but we had a back up plan of getting her nails done in case she wasn't able to make it back for the party.

They got her in within a half hour and her tooth needed to be pulled (it was abcessed under the tooth). They knew she was trying not to miss a party and the dentist was so nice and said...we will get you to that party! :) They gave her some happy gas and numbed her up real good and yanked her tooth. They sent us on our way and told her to save all of her treats from the party till she could feel her mouth again :)

We only missed the first 15 minutes of the party so she was super happy.

Here are some pictures of Ethan's parade and party earlier that morning. Half day kindergarten paraded through all the classrooms...

party craft...

pumpkin bowling...

parading around for all the big kids...(and us mommies)

Ethan and Will aka:cowboy Joe and Bubo Phet (have no idea if i spelled that right, i'm only the wife and mom of star wars fanatics)

and then here are some pictures of Avery's fifth grade party. She missed the parade. The oldest grade always gets to have their party in the gym. These five girls are pretty good buds this year...

wrapping up like a mummy...

they even got to wrap up the principal...

this one got way out of order and quite honestly i don't feel like messing with moving it. Raegan got in on some of Ethan's games...

Landscaping

2011-11-02T09:10:00.003-05:00

We had our back patio area landscaped a few weeks ago. One of the guys that John coached when he coached high school basketball does this for his career, i don't know what that degree is called but i loved what he did. He came over while i was at work and went to work. He even rearranged our patio area...our love seat cushions need to be replaced desperately but are going to wait till next year so don't look at those. We also still have to build the porch (we...like i'm gonna have anything to do with that...ha) but for now our makeshift steps are working...

we are still minus the mulch but hopefully will get that taken care of soon...our plush new green grass is soo soft!

We have been doing lot's and lot's of watering! Everyone has gotten involved. It saves me some time and they love doing it! Occasionally (like yesterday) it ends with two individuals sitting on their beds cause they fight over which bushes or parts of the grass they get to water.

The heater does a great job unless it's too windy and then you can't feel it quite as much but it kept us pretty warm the other night when it was a little chillier

Cheta got into a fight (at least we assume) and got bit pretty bad. She was not doing so good last week and we were getting pretty worried about her. She would just lay around all day long which isn't like her...she was limping around really bad so we finally decided we needed to get her checked out. The vet said it was really infected, they got a lot of nasty stuff out of it and gave her an antibiotic injection that would stay in her for 3 weeks. It did the trick and she is healing nicely and back to her normal self! The vet said she may not have been able to heal that on her own, so we were glad that we took her in. I took this picture while she was still sick. She would just lay here all day.

Hope your having a good week!

The dishwashers

2011-10-27T10:51:00.003-05:00

We do not have a dishwasher in our kitchen. I know gasp, what? seriously? When we gutted the kitchen after moving in 12 years ago we were on an extremely tight budget and at the time it just didn't seem that important. Do i wish i had one? Oh yes! I can't wait to someday just stick all the dishes in and make them disappear!

But in the mean time....my kids are becoming quite the dishwashing crew! Trey and Avery can clean up a kitchen pretty fast. Avery is usually the washer because this is what happens when Trey washes...

I do not make them do them by themselves all the time. I will do my mom's old trick of "will you just each come dry 15 (strategically numbered to be pretty sure they are all going to be dried and put away). I had a flash back two nights ago when Avery was washing and i was clearing the table. As i kept throwing dishes into the water, she groaned and said "would you just stack them here?!?" I used to get so irritated when my mom would just keeping loading the sink faster than i could wash. I thought my mom would appreciate that. ;)

Raegan and Ethan haven't gotten in on too much of the kitchen action besides clearing their place at the table yet but their time is coming! Of course they may luck out and we may be in a place with a dishwasher by that time...if they are lucky.

Pumpkin patch

2011-10-25T09:17:00.006-05:00

We haven't been to a pumpkin patch for quite awhile. we always have intentions of going but time gets away. We went to the KC pumpkin patch when Trey and Avery were little and hadn't been back there since. The kids really enjoyed it...

to get these 4 to smile all at the same time is a challenge like no other!

these bouncy horses kept them entertained for quite awhile even though they kept falling off

i think we need to purchase one of these for our house

who lives in a pineapple under the sea? or also at the pumpkin patch along I35?

you can do it babe :)

this game went on for a loong time!

good thing i didn't see the sign that said 8 and under please until after Avery got off

shooting and smashing some gourds

riding the tractor out to the pumpkin patch

who needs to pedal or steer when you have a big brother? have i ever mentioned how spoiled this child is going to be?

Trey and Avery begged and begged to do the corn maze so we may be going back to do that before the season is over

KC kids marathon 2011

2011-10-19T11:35:00.004-05:00

The kids participated in the KC kids marathon again this year. They run their first 25 miles before race day and then they run their final 1.2 miles on race day. There were lot's and lot's of kids ready to run!

Trey came in around 10th place. This was his second race of the morning since he had a cross country meet before they came down...

Avery ran with her cousins Maggie and Meryn! Great job girls!

Daddy ran with Ethan again this year

They all got their medals, decorated water bottles and got tons of snacks. A fun day for the kids! Next year Raegan will even get to run since she will be a kindergartner (she wanted to this year!) Good job kids, i was very proud of you for giving it your all!

T-Rex birthday

2011-10-18T08:09:00.004-05:00

For Ethan's birthday last week he got to pick 3 friends and we went to T-Rex for dinner. No need for entertainment , there was plenty there to keep them entertained! They brought out his cake complete with the dinosaurs from home that we had given a bath to so that they could sit on his cake...

I love this picture! Trey wanted to spend his own money to buy something for Ethan and Ethan was pretty excited...

the boys!

did you make your wish?? he assured me he did!

Grandpa and Grandma Seaba joined us for dinner as well

When we got home he finally got to open his birthday box from Grandma Neir. He was pretty excited that he got a pillow pet!!

6 years old! Wow, your such a big boy Ethan!

Happy 6th little man

2011-10-11T14:53:00.005-05:00

Ethan turned 6 years old today. Seems like those six years flew by...

He was such a good little baby. Our other three kids were born with a lot of dark hair but our little toe head was born with a bunch of blonde hair...it kinda had a red tint to it when he was really little but has just gotten blonder over the years. This picture cracks me up...

He has always been such a happy, affectionate little guy with a big smile! We are so proud of you Ethan and hope you had a really fun birthday! We are so glad that you are part of our family and look forward to seeing what you become someday!

6 years old!

He celebrated tonight with his family and 3 of his best buds that went to T-Rex Cafe with us. I'm pretty sure they had a great time...at least the noise level in the van on the way home would have indicated that...i will post about that soon as soon as i upload the pictures.

Happy Monday

2011-10-10T00:08:00.004-05:00

Hope you have a great start to your week! I am, even though it's after midnight and i am still up at my computer after finishing off a weekend of work. I am off for 5 days straight. They will be as busy as ever with a birthday, shot clinic, cross country practice, tumbling, pit stop (kids church program), youth group, life group, Avery getting to do a cheer with a group at the hs football game, cross country meet, half marathon, kids marathon...i 'm sure i left something out but you get the point...crazy busy days. I'm learning the older the kids get, the busier life gets! I'm looking forward to being home, maybe making a meal or two and assisting my husband with the rest of the meals:) Have i mentioned i love that my husband loves to cook?! He knows i love it! He purchased a new grill recently so we have been doing even more grilling than we normally do which is a LOT!

I came home from work the other night and while i had been gone our back patio had been landscaped and i even had several mums planted in my new pots that i had bought, the patio was rearranged and I love it!! I'm waiting till we have it all mulched to take another picture but soon...

We sat out back Friday night as a family by the fire and had the best time roasting marshmallows, talking and playing a new game that a couple that recently mentored our life group told us about..."mad, sad, glad. Basically a way to get conversation going and bring up things you might not learn about your child's day. We went around and told one thing that made us feel each way this past week. I'm sure we will be trying to do that more often as we enjoyed hearing the kids answers...

Raegan was so tired that she cuddled up after awhile and went right to sleep in my arms...let me tell you that is something you miss as your babies start growing up...so i treasure any time that i can still do it because they just grow up way too fast...

Happy Monday!

Red barn farm

2011-10-07T08:41:00.003-05:00

Ethan went with his kindergarten class on his first field trip yesterday. They went to Weston Red Barn Farm. Ethan said it was a "long ways away!" I didn't go on the field trip but thankfully i have a good friend who did and she snapped some great photos of their day! So, all photos are courtesy of Tina Rutledge :)

Ethan was so excited to tell me all about his day. He thought it was pretty cool that he got to stay almost all day since he normally only goes to half day of school. AND, he got to take his lunch which he also thought was super cool...that newness will wear off real quick next year!

they each got to bring a small pumpkin home

Ethan and Will on the bus ride...best of buds!

I had debated on going but had decided to stay home this time around. I was glad that i had because i got a phone call (right as i got in the shower) from the school nurse. What she said brought mama bear up in me! "I have your daughter here in my office wheezing, they just got done doing the pacer (48 laps) in gym...i told her i don't have much sympathy for her since she forgot her inhaler" I responded with a short "i will be right there and it is not her fault that she doesn't have an inhaler on her that is my fault"

I was so livid that she would say that to me on the phone, really who says that to a mother when they have their child there with breathing issues!...it has been building this has not been the first time she has seemed put out that she has to deal with gasp a child going to the nurses office! Avery does have to frequent her office especially in the spring and Avery hates going to the office and i don't blame her. I did get a form yesterday that her allergist filled out for us that she can carry her inhaler herself and administer herself so that she doesn't even have to go to the nurse for that...thank goodness! Enough of my rant there...

Thinking back...an archived post from 2006

2011-10-05T21:56:00.003-05:00

I was 32 and a half weeks pregnant. I woke up that morning with a bad side pain. I was at Target with Avery and these pains just kept getting worse. I kept having to go into the clothing racks to hide and bend over, it hurt so bad but i figured i had just overdone it a bit because i was still serving at Chilis 3 nights a week. Once i got home the pains just kept getting worse so i called Susan and she convinced me to call the dr. They told me to go up to labor and delivery, and with several phone calls of prodding me to go, i finally went ( i was just sure they would say "you are fine" and send me home and i would feel silly). I was in so much pain by the time we got to the hospital i could hardly walk, they got me checked into a room and put the monitors on to see what was happening. I was having pretty good contractions but not dilating much more. After awhile they came in and said "you have a fever so we are going to do some blood tests".

Suddenly my room became very chaotic with doctors coming in and out of my room pushing on my belly and asking if it hurt, "YES it hurt!" My white blood cell count came back high and after ruling out that i was not abrupting and from the symptoms i was having they decided i was going to have my appendix out.They decided that it was safer to go ahead and take it out than to wait and do ore tests to see if that was the problem.

From then on it seemed like a whirlwind of stuff happening, the surgeons were there talking to me, the neonatologist was doing a sono on me, the regular on call ob dr was there assuring me everything was going to be ok. They gave me a shot to help mature Ethan's lungs, because there was a strong possibility that he would be born that night. The sono showed that Ethan was already 5 lbs. so the neonatologist assured me that he would be just fine if he was born probably just a short stay in the nicu, but of course this all scared me to death and i was so worried that something was going to happen to our little miracle baby that we had prayed for for so long!

I opted for the epidural ( safest for baby) for the surgery so i was awake which totally freaked me out. I remember telling them that they were going to have to move those mirrored lights above me cause i could see them down by my stomach...i got very groggy after that so i'm sure they gave me a little something special in my iv after that. I got a nice big incision in my pregnant belly because they can't do laproscopic when you are pregnant. Everything went smoothly with the surgery, i don't even know what time i went to surgery but it was late in the evening and the rest of that night felt like an eternity! I was in soo much pain, the side pain was still there and i was having contractions all night (which they expected, they thought it might put me into full blown labor) plus i had a huge incision in my big belly! I was on an iv so of course i had to keep getting up to use the restroom and they were coming in what felt like every hour giving me shots in my patutie!

The next day i was still running a fever and Ethan's heart rate was still very high (it had been in the 200's since i arrived at the hospital), and i remember the neonatologist coming and doing a sono and talking about taking me for a c-section (that they just needed to get the baby out)....i have no idea how much time passed but i came to to hear my fever was down, Ethan's heart rate had calmed down to where it should be, and my side pain had subsided. Our little one was going to stay put and grow some more. Thank you Lord!

After 4 days in the hospital i was very happy to get out on Labor Day and spend time with family even if i was just sitting in a chair most of the day!Later that evening i started having a lot of pain every time i took a breath which just kept getting worse the longer the night went on so we headed back to the emergency room at the suggestion of the on call doctor. After hrs of being told they thought i had a blood clot in my lung and a zillion (ok not quite that many) tests,scans, pokes, prods, and scariest of all for me shot in my belly, my scan came back fine, i didn't have a blood clot after all, so was sent back up to the antipardem (sp?) floor where i had just gone home from, to monitor Ethan again. Finally at 4 am we were able to go home.

What i had was pluresy (sp??) where the lining of your lungs swell, whatever it was it was the most painful thing i have experienced in a long time. I could not hardly breathe without horrible pain let alone move around the house. After i think 2 days and one evening of forcing myself to keep walking and moving (was told that's what would help) i woke up to the pain being gone! What a relief!!

So that is my saga of a year ago today and the excitement i had towards the end of my pregnancy with Ethan. "Thank you Lord for keeping me and Ethan safe and for allowing Ethan to continue growing awhile longer"

**********************************************

Ethan's birthday is coming up this next week and i was just think about all that went on surrounding the time that we got pregnant with him and what excitement he brought to the end of my pregnancy. The above post i wrote in September of 2006...a year after this had happened. Ethan truly is a blessing to our family! I can't hardly believe that he is almost six!!

Wrapping up

2011-10-03T22:15:00.004-05:00

We took advantage of a beautiful fall day and headed out for possibly last visit to Worlds of Fun for the season. We have had season passes for the past two years but are thinking of taking a year off this next year. We have loved just heading out for a few hrs at a time and it's totally been worth the money but we want to put a little more money into our family vacation this next summer instead.

We learned the hard way last season that you don't stay out after dark during October with younger kids! There may or may not have been some nightmares as a result.

They always do a treasure hunt in Planet Snoopy for the kids with a pirate theme. The kids have fun collecting all their goodies...

Raegan has changed so much in these past two years. She used to be so scared to ride anything. She loves every ride now! And, she and the girl in front of her were "best friends" by the time they got off the ride

raegan got to drive daddy around. she get's so into it and was talking to herself the whole time. i love what an imaginative kids she is...

ethan drove his big sister...

the first time she rode this ride this year (the big pirate ship, that is NOT in snoopy) she was nearly in tears but wants to ride it every visit now

and the mini detonator that she used to cry till they had to stop and let her off...well that's just an old hat now...

We had a fun day and hopefully will get one more visit in but i made sure i had my camera with me this past weekend just in case that was our last visit.

7th grade - meet one

2011-09-27T21:38:00.003-05:00

Trey was excited for cross country to start this year. He really enjoyed it last year. He started running a couple of weeks before it started so that he could be in shape for when they started.

His first meet was this past Saturday.

He is not a big fan of me taking pictures of him in public places...

7th grade did the 1 mile. Next year he will get to do the 2 mile
they are off...

trey...we are taking a picture! Grandpa Seaba came out to see him run...

chatting with the buddies...mom took a picture from a safe distance...

He did his mile in 6:16, taking 18 seconds off his time from last year. I lost count of what place he came in but he found out on Monday that he placed 13th of the 7th grade boys. Great job Trey, very proud of you and that you are working so hard not only out on the cross country field but also in the classroom which is more important!

He has another meet coming up in October, so he is still training hard!

Running blog

2011-09-26T15:17:00.002-05:00

Just blogged about the half marathon we ran this weekend...

Run for the rocks

First jogathon

2011-09-22T22:17:00.004-05:00

Every year the kid's school does one major fundraiser...jogathon. This year it was in the evening which was nice because Daddy could go watch the kids too. Ethan's group was up first and he was ready to run. I missed getting a picture of a lot of the kids down doing push ups for their warm up...very cute!

Ethan was off and running. After the first lap i joined him and ran with him. He would have little bursts of energy when he would take off sprinting when one of his classmates would come up and say his name and he would race them and take off and leave mommy

they would get a wrist band each time around and he got 23 wristbands! Way to go Ethan! He went on to run during Avery's run to get another 12. When i took this picture he had already cooled down, i wihs i had gotten a picture of his bright red face right after running

Up last were the 4th and 5th graders. Here is Avery, a little more interested in chatting with her friends than anything else

I ran with her a couple of laps and then Daddy wanted to run with her so ran the rest of the way with her. I believe she got 25 laps but i'm sure she will correct me if i'm wrong. She was way more excited for her first tumbling class that was taking place after the jogathon than running. I think her close to exact words were. "sorry mommy i'm your girl but i just don't like running, so i'm not your running girl" :)

And they were off...and so was my camera...after this picture my camera batter went dead so that was the end of the pictures for the evening...

5 year old Bible perspective

2011-09-16T21:47:00.004-05:00

I quietly listened today to a conversation that my 5 year old was having with my 4 year old in the back of the van. It was mostly a one sided conversation...Ethan was doing most of the talking and Raegan was listening...(and mommy was eavesdropping). I wrote down one part just as quickly as i could so that i wouldn't forget what he said.

I am not sure at all how the conversation came about, but here is a little Bible history from a 5 year old's perspective...

"The devil wanted to be better than God so God threw him out of Heaven and he broke through the ground into hell and then God used His super powers to put the ground all back together. "

Hanging out

2011-09-15T22:17:00.004-05:00

A place where every good baby doll should hang out...

Old Settlers

2011-09-13T09:07:00.002-05:00

We miss our local parade for one reason or another every year. Finally, this year we had nothing going and the weather was nice so we walked to the parade route downtown.

The youngest two were all about getting candy and ate more tootsie rolls than i could count...

Avery and Mikayla spotted each other across the street so they got to watch the parade together

Johnny asked Joe Lauria what the weather was going to be and he gave a quick weather forecast :)

The kids had a good time, we left with more "stuff" and candy than we ever needed that i have slowly been sneaking out of the house. Raegan is a saver! Everything is special to her including bags that she get's places, papers, flyers...you name it, so i have to strategically make things disappear over time. If i do it slowly, she doesn't notice. On this same note, she came in bawling yesterday saying "i want our old patio chairs back" they are sitting out back, we haven't even gotten rid of them yet. We have come to learn she is our very sentimental child. She also has been crying lately asking for her car seat back because she misses it. She will sit and look at a picture of me when i am at work and just start bawling and says she misses me to her sister at night when they are in bed. She wears her little heart on her sleeve!

Some help

2011-09-06T22:28:00.005-05:00

Susan and Greg ( my sis and bro in law) came up a couple of weeks ago to help us get some work done around the house. We have had a stack of pavers that we bought for a really good price three, yes Three years ago for our back patio. It has been a gradual work in progress and honestly i wondered if we would ever get it done so that we could enjoy it.

The guys started their day early picking up a second truckload of sand (that they didn't even end up needing) and continued to work ALL DAY LONG!

they had some cute help though

Phil (another bro in law) came over and helped too! It was hot and they drank a lot of water!

Johnny and Greg are always being crazy...

had to do lot's of cutting on the edge pieces!

Here is our semi finished back patio area. The patio is complete! The porch is going to be built soon and we have landscaping coming this next week! We have been sitting out by the fire a lot lately!

While the guys were busy outside we girls were not just sitting around inside. My sister aka: master organizer helped me tear through ever nook and cranny of the inside of my house organizing and cleaning. Every single closet, cupboard, drawer in this house is neatly organized and it feels SO good! We are hopefully going to show that this house has space regardless of 6 people living here!

The little kids helped haul bag after bag to the truck of clothes to get rid of...

We SO appreciated all the help! Thank you guys so much! I will post a picture of the completed back patio are soon hopefully!

Red day

2011-08-30T14:58:00.003-05:00

Ethan is having a blast in kindergarten! He always has so much to tell me everyday. He is learning that he has to raise his hand to go to the bathroom and that he can't be loud while getting a drink from the drinking fountain after losing a couple of cubes for these things. He tells me "if i am super good tomorrow i can earn my cube back" So far that is the only wo "missing cubes" that i know of so he must be behaving himself overall!

I forgot these everyday things of kindergarten...it's been awhile. Like bringing a cut out new shape everyday and this week wearing a new color that they are learning everyday. Pheww!

On another note, Ethan sleeps like a log and is like waking the dead! He takes after his big sister, it takes 20 minutes of going back and forth to their rooms and finally physically pulling the two of them out of their beds! I didn't notice how hard he was to wake last year i guess because i just pulled him out of bed half the time and carried him to the car.

We are finally getting back into our routine though i think it's been as hard on me getting used to not sleeping in as it has the kids!

Here is a picture of Ethan today. It was Red day today...

Booster

2011-08-26T08:38:00.005-05:00

We just took the car seat out of the van! The van feels like it just grew a little bit! I really can't remember our vehicle with no car seats! It looks a little weird! I took her on her birthday to pick out a new booster seat but got it home and the kids told me "it doesn't have any cup holders" So i said, well that ones going back to the store...we can't function without a cup holder, we are on the go entirely too much! So yesterday i went and picked up her new one with cup holders. She is still having trouble buckling it by herself so right now it is harder than the car seat because she has been able to buckle herself into that for a year or more. She is practicing though and hopefully will get the hang of it soon!

Four years old

2011-08-24T10:06:00.003-05:00

Little miss turns four at a busy time of year with back to school..Ethan's kindergarten back to school night fell on her birthday so thankfully Raegan was ok with her party consisting of her siblings and her mommy and daddy. We won't get by with that for much longer! After the kids got out of school we headed to Chuckee Cheese 4:30 in the afternoon is a perfect time to visit that place let me tell you! I think there was maybe one other family there when we first got there.

daddy and his birthday girl

our big 4 year old!

the lady asked us if we wanted chuckee to come out and sing to the birthday girl...but of course!

the kids (and daddy) had a great time playing games

raegan is loving playing with barbies right now!

notice the lady in the previous picture...she was talking to raegan a little bit after she opened her present and suddenly we saw Raegan with a $20 in her hand...we tried saying "no no you don't need to do that" but she wasn't about to listen to us...a random act of kindness was so neat to witness (especially when my little girl was the recipient) :) She said Raegan reminded her of her little granddaughter.

Avery said she would like that lady to come to her birthday party, ha!

Happy birthday Raegan! We love you very much!

Raegan's first 4 years

2011-08-23T09:48:00.004-05:00

I made this video awhile back but updated it for her birthday this year. My goal is to have one of these for each of the kids but Raegan was first since she is my only all digital baby. Working towards having one done for Ethan for his birthday...we will see! Click on the title of this post to see the video. I did it this way so that my music player didn't have to be paused before you watched the video...hopefully this works.

Some new color

2011-08-22T12:29:00.004-05:00

Facts:
1. I don't like to paint
2. I am so glad my husband is good at it and can do it fast!
3. Picking out paint is one of my least favorite things to do in life!
4. Sample size paints is one of the smartest things anyone has come up with!
5. Our "get it on the market to do list" is getting much smaller than it was but still feels long!
6. By the time we get all this done, i might not want to move.
7. I will quickly be reminded how we need to when i take a phone call and have to hide in the
in the closet to be able to hear when the whole family is at home!

Here is our new colors in the living room area...

Before...

during.... (somebody was having a little fun)

after... (i left for work when it looked like the first picture and came home to this, thanks babe!!)

Fun flyin

2011-08-18T13:09:00.004-05:00

Wait...i didn't think i had pictures of myself zip-lining but come to find out my sister had gotten a few. Loved the zip line even though my legs were shaking every time i got up there and it took every bit of nerve i had to jump...and i held on for dear life even though i didn't need to (the harness catches you but for a brief moment it feel like it's not going to)...natural reaction, or at least MY natural reaction :)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-17T15:02:00.002-05:00

First day of school 2011

2011-08-16T09:14:00.005-05:00

Avery started her year with a half day yesterday. She is starting out with a substitute because her teacher has had some recent medical issues. She is already loving fifth grade!

Trey started back to middle school and is in the seventh grade! He did find his locker when we picked up his schedule but was not interested in going the other day to find all his classrooms. He said "i'll find em" much different than last year when we walked room to room making sure he knew where he would go.

Ethan started half day kindergarten this year. He has been practicing his alphabet song constantly the last couple of days and was certain he was going to have to get up in front of the class and sing it by himself. I assured him that wouldn't be the case! I got a little emotional praying with him last night, can't believe my years of having him home all the time are over! He is going to love kindergarten, i know it!

all ready to go! it wasn't the smoothest start to the school year. i had a rough time getting kids moving. trey woke up all congested and so had to get him to take a pill (he does not take pills!!) 15 minutes later with avery's help he got it down. :)

Raegan woke up at 6 am and was whining and pulling at me while i was trying to get the others moving. I showered, i never usually shower before running the kids!

But, we made it and 2 out of the 3 actually brushed their teeth!

kindergarten 2011

Captain America won out for the superhero to be worn!

Trey- 7th grade!

Avery- 5th grade!

Avery and her bff before school this morning

Avery on her first day...yesterday. there was no one in the classroom so i snapped one quick!

Ethan's room!

Ethan and his bud Will. He told me this morning "mommy, i will just follow Will" i am so glad that he has a good bud that he is starting this year with!!

his teacher said he could get his colors out and sit down and color, so he got a pencil out went and sharpened it and started coloring with his pencil ;)

i think his way of handling his nervousness was just to color color color!

i think raegan wanted to stay

but obviously she is not ready for school. The early morning was a bit much for her, we came home and she said "i'm going to go to sleep now"...and she curled up on the couch and did just that!

Trey, Avery and Ethan...hope you have a fantastic school year!

Camp Gramma goes to Colorado - part 3

2011-08-12T14:01:00.005-05:00

this is the 23 cousins with Grandpa and Grandma...we were only missing one (the oldest) who stayed back to work

We went to Rocky Mt National Park and and to the Continental Divide. It was gorgeous and chilly!

me and my Aves

Y.M.C.A

We signed up to do a "family adventure" basically games where you had to work together as a team...here we had to all get to the other side of the rope and if one person touched it we all had to start over...it took us a few times but we did pretty good

everybody in the hula hoop...i did get my leg in there and we made it!

"i never have ever" this game brought lots of laughter!

kickball!

the kickball cheering section...

getting harnessed up to go zip lining!

this is what happened when Johnny did the "superman" this might have something to do with why i couldn't get myself to dive off the platform!

Trey jumping off

Grandpa...

Grandma was the first to jump! Way to go Gramma!

I did go but didn't get any pictures....i stood there the last time with my hands ready to dive and couldnt do it! It's a long ways up there once you get up there! Avery wanted to do it really bad but it was 12 and up only. We all got to go twice and a few of us went a third time, it was a blast! I decided i will never, ever bungee jump!

That pretty much wraps it up. We crammed a lot into 5 days and lot's of great memories were made!

Camp Gramma goes to Colorado - part 2

2011-08-12T13:32:00.005-05:00

Grandpa with Brooklyn and Raegan in the dining hall

Meredith Eli and Ethan

campfire night

cousin love

friendship bracelet making time

Ethan made a rock necklace

Meredith, Brooklyn, Ethan and Molly

we walked into the lodge one night and one of the boys popped out of the towel bin, one was in the trash can and Trey had hid in the recycling can...they were playing hide and go seek

Trey Dawson and Owen

On the way to Estes Park we stopped through Denver where my mom's cousin had made us a huge lunch of pulled pork sandwiches and sloppy joes so we had a picnic and the kids were able to get some energy out before we piled back in for the rest of the trip

they found a little stream to walk down and i think only 3 or 4 of the younger ones slipped and fell in ;)

meeting time. grandma would lead in songs. the kids really got into the singing!

grandma and grandpa had even gotten a banner for our meeting room!

the Seaba kids with Grandma and Grandpa

some more meeting time. i loved watching Ethan sing the song "Obedience is" he loved it and sang it with everything he had!

Uncle Roger shared once of the first nights. Uncle Phil shared one of the nights and Uncle Damon and Aunt June shared another night along with family friends Tim and Marilee Wiesner who happened to be vacationing near us at the same time. They had a life story that went right along with what the meeting was about that evening.

One more post to go...

Camp Gramma goes to Colorado

2011-08-12T08:11:00.006-05:00

I am finally getting around to sorting through pictures...Camp Gramma this year was held at The YMCA of the Rockies near Estes Park Colorado. It was absolutely beautiful and the weather was perfect! We had out own meeting room where we would meet, we all stayed in the same hall of the lodge. Each room had a queen bed and two bunk beds so perfect! Meals were served in the dining hall and were buffet style...the kids loved this. They had activities you could sign up for ALL the time that were free. We were always busy doing something from capture the flag, to making friendship bracelets, playing bingo or playing kickball.

My dad also paid for us all to do some big activities like zip lining, archery and rock wall climbing...SO fun!

First i want to say a big THANK YOU to my parents who spent a lot of time planning this trip, put a lot of money into this trip and also put a lot of thought into this trip. Things were shared with the kids during meeting times that i hope they will hold on to forever. They were challenged to live for God, keep their lives pure, not to fall into peer pressure and to pray for their future mate if what God has for them is to be married someday. Also were challenged that whatever field they go into (lot's of different possibilities with 24 cousins) to be the best Christian they can be in whatever they do. Our camp theme was "following God's leading".

Our camp verse was Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding
In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.

So...gonna have to divide this up into a couple of post and the pictures are in no particular order but here is a peek into the week...

picnic lunch at Lake Irene

mini golf

snowball fight on the mountain

this group climbed to the top of our steep little mountain

rock wall instructions

Avery climbed to the top

Trey on his way up

Raegan sharing her goods with her cousins

the little girls found there own activity while the bigger kids were rock wall climbing, it was so cute. They were in their own little barbie world

More to come...

Aves

2011-08-05T18:54:00.004-05:00

We just got back from much cooler Colorado. It was wonderful and i actually enjoyed wearing a sweatshirt and jeans.

Our camera decided it wanted to bite the dust the second day we were there so i will have lot's of pictures to share eventually thanks to my sisters and mom and dad's camera that they all shared to get pictures of our family in the mountains. Thanks guys!

It was cloudy today and i decided that instead of hitting the pool we were going to hit the stores and finish up our school supply shopping. I had gotten a few things earlier that i knew were harder to find as it got closer to school starting but still had to get all the essentials. Three lists plus four kids that i had to remind that they were NOT to pull stuff off shelves and put them in front of mommy's face (one thing at a time kids!) or i might get testy...they did pretty good though i might have gotten a little testy a few times. We now have everything sorted labeled and in back packs. We are ready to go!

We also made a stop at my favorite clothing store because they had a sale going on. I love watching Avery shop. She in my opinion has such a cute little style that i love! I will pick out a shirt and she just gives me the look that screams seriously mom? All the kids found some good back to school clothes even though we stayed there waay to long in Trey's opinion!

I can't believe Avery is going to be in the fifth grade this year! She is anxiously awaiting the postcard early next week of who her teacher is going to be and if her bff and her get to be in the same class! She was modeling one of her back to school outfits for me...

Your growing up way too fast Aves! Fifth grade?! Really?!!

Raegan's day

2011-07-28T18:52:00.002-05:00

I decided to just take random pictures of Raegan throughout the day today. She is always doing something whether it's changing clothes, making a mess or playing quietly by herself. She is always on the go.

I was putting a roast in this morning. Avery was such a help and peeled all the carrots for me. When i came out to cut the carrots and put them in i found that Raegan had wanted to peel carrots too...

but she obediently did a great job of cleaning up her mess...

she is into layering right now. I could not convince her to layer with another top, she was dead set that this was the perfect set! Yup, i took her out and about this way...

after shopping and running errands for awhile it was back home to get packing. she was playing quietly...no wonder, she was busy packing herself...

she likes hoods. she has a dress that has a hood on it and it and it is one of her favorite dresses. she has liked all these jackets and warm clothes i have gotten out for Colorado...something new and different...

cool chic-a di

the outfits just kept getting better. she went to shot clinic like this with avery and daddy...

and she wanted to show me the library book she picked out today...

I missed getting a picture of her in her twirly outfit! How did i miss that?! I wonder why i have so much laundry??!!

Pool days

2011-07-27T23:44:00.003-05:00

We got pool passes again this year. I honestly think i would go crazy if we didn't have the pool to escape to several afternoons a week. We are usually the first in line 30 minutes before it opens so that we can get our coveted spot and chairs. I haven't taken my camera to the pool much this summer but did the other day to grab a few pictures...

i'm surprised the kids faces don't have permanent goggle marks on them. They are a regular fixture most days of the summer...

i can wear "globbles" too, don't forget about me...

pool days are just that much funner with cousins...

or fun dip?? shared fun dip...

I took some pictures of the older kids but they didn't turn out so well so i will have to do their post later.

Random

2011-07-25T21:42:00.003-05:00

First off, thanks to all who prayed for Raegan (and me)! We truly appreciated any and all prayers! Raegan's legs are doing SO much better. We have done a lot of wet wraps over the past week. Things are much more under control.

I did want to clarify because apparently someone took from my blog post that i wished my girls were normal. I in no way feel my girls are abnormal, i love them exactly the way they are. I only wish for THEIR sake (not my own) that they did not have the eczema, that they did not feel uncomfortable. As a mother i just don't like to see my girls hurt.

I know i bring any criticism/talk/gossip/sharing on by putting it out there. I will probably lessen the sharing of my blog. I probably do too much of that anyway and had already been thinking that...nuff said.

In other news we enroll the kids in school tomorrow...what?! No!

We will soon go to cool Colorado for Camp Gramma. Yay for cooler weather. I do love summer though and the warmer weather. It's just been super HOT so capris and a jackets sound nice!

We are soon to some major spring (in the summer) cleaning to hopefully get our house put on the market. So if you live in the area and know someone that is needing a cute little starter home, give them our name!

This is what happens five minutes after getting home from a best buds birthday party in which i'm pretty sure sleep was not on the priority list of fun for the boys...

Head to foot

2011-07-20T22:03:00.006-05:00

I am so discouraged today that i just want to sit and cry to be quite honest. Skin care has become such a routine part of life for the past 10 1/2 years but it just gets old especially when there is no end in sight. I can't tell them that it will get better, i can only tell them as i'm lathering them with ointments and lotions that if i could take it from them i would.

Itchy skin is really all my girls know. I have no idea how they feel but when my three year old is crying in the back seat saying "my legs burn so bad" because she has open sores on her legs and there is not a thing i can do it makes me feel very discouraged.

I'm whiny and emotional tonight and venting but my girls handle their skin problem so well. Of course there are bad days when a preteen is very conscientious about the way her legs look with pigment loss and days when they get upset cause they don't want to itch anymore, days when they say they can't wait for winter because their eczema will be better. They don't complain near as much as i probably would. Avery tells her little sister "i know just how you feel!"

I took pictures of Raegan's head when she was a baby and struggling with eczema on her head. I can't hardly stand to look at them but i'm glad i took them so i can see the before and after. I wish i had some before and afters from Avery's over the years.

Here are some pictures of Raegan's poor little head in her first 6 months of life...

she wore this stocking hat non-stop to try to keep her hands from scratching. These pictures were taken during some of her fussiest months when she slept in her car seat by my bed and i would rock her car seat with my foot to get her to fall asleep

but thanks to Nutramigen and dermatology and allergy appointments things finally started improving...

It goes in spurts. The girl's eczema is allergy induced so spring and summer are the worst. Constant itching can turn easily into infection and trust me we have had too many skin infections over the years to count. I can usually tell you when they may need antibiotics or if they might need prednisone to get it under control. Right now i am having quite a time getting Raegan's skin under control

she is blistering up and then the blisters pop and the exposed skin burns really bad. i talked with the dermatology nurse today and they got her in next week as i already have prescription antibiotic ointment that i started.

I couldn't handle it anymore though and took her in to urgent care tonight as it just kept getting worse. The doctor said her leg was developing impetigo and that she needed and oral antibiotic so i was thankful that i took her in

I just pray that some day i can post some before and after pictures of these little legs and that they will be so much better.

Tomorrow i will gain my composure and get back to the routine of lathering, bleach baths and wet wraps but for tonight i just feel like moping for my girls. I can handle the routines, i just hate that my girls have to deal with this. Thinking about what others have to deal with in health situations is usually a pretty quick fix for my moping and makes me very thankful that this is all we are having to deal with! But i still get discouraged and frustrated and this is one of those days.

Edited to add: This morning at 3am Raegan came crying into our room that her legs burned. She stood there with her blanket with blood all over it...she had scratched all of the sores open again covering her knees...i hope these antibiotics start working really fast! This is what her legs look like this morning...

Stressful dream

2011-07-18T19:17:00.004-05:00

I woke up this morning so stressed out! I had a dream that it was the night before school started. I worked at the doctor's office and when i got off work at 8:30 pm i realized that i hadn't gotten any of the kids school supplies bought yet! I woke up just as i was gathering all the kids up to go to the store at 9 pm and i was having a cow cause the kids weren't going to get a good nights sleep before their first day...pheww, i was glad to wake up and realize that i still had plenty of time to get supplies!

It seems like just yesterday we were picking out Trey's favorite super hero backpack and now it's just finding a good binder and things to put in his locker. Now i am back to picking the favorite super hero backpack and i can't wait to take Ethan to pick it out. Today's pick is batman but this can change daily. I can't believe i'm going to be sending my little guy off to school in a month! He should still be this little...

Float trip

2011-07-16T09:31:00.005-05:00

For the past 3 years we have joined some friends of ours for a family float trip. We head to the Niangua in Bennett Springs , MO. This year our friends have a fifth wheel so we changed a little where we stay. We had a nice shower house right close so it was perfect!

Avery was dying to jump off "the tree" that we stopped at last year...crazy girl!

we nicknamed these two "the monkeys" this trip. they couldn't get up in the trees fast enough. They even did the monkey sound on command

our trip turned into a hunt. Johnny brought his snorkel glasses and found soo much stuff. I opted for the looking from above approach. I did try the glasses but realized quickly i have major claustrophobic/having face covered issues...

we did the 5 mile trip this year after doing the 8 mile last year...we stop and hang out and swim a lot...

johnny kept me laughing as he would drag stuff out of the water. he popped up with this saying "anyone was to listen to some music?" not exactly what we expected him to come dragging to the top

avery acquired a visor and some really cute sunglasses

of course we found a trillion beads, so the kids were always laying claim on their picks. the boys each acquired some shades

ethan was getting into this...he wanted to go snorkeling too. that's how i like to snorkel too ethan!

daddy found ethan these brand new goggles

to the right of where the guys are is a tree and a place where the current takes the canoes right into the tree and most canoes tip over there unless they are really good at maneuvering. we watched canoe after canoe dump. Johnny was scouring the area looking for goods...

His list of found items included a brand new filet knife in the package, two very nice Coleman camping chairs...yeah that one had me laughing too when he pulled those up. At least 12 or 13 pairs of sunglasses of which one was a $150 pair of oakleys and guess which pair we lost within 15 minutes of finding...A really cool pocket knife, a bracelet, a lot of bungees and a pair of shoes.

Avery and Emma loved the ones they got...

It was a great time with good friends, good food and a fun float down the river!

4th of July

2011-07-13T18:03:00.003-05:00

For the 4th we went out to John's brother and wife's place out in the country to eat, ride four wheelers, shoot skeet and set off a few fireworks

Trey and Avery hanging out with Grandma Seaba....

raegan loves max. i'm pretty sure max loves her too. she has spent a lot of time at grandma's house over the summer so has gotten to play with max a lot!

trey being silly with the sparklers

ethan waited and waited for his ride so uncle duane took him on a nice long ride

we went and bought a few fireworks for the kids. ethan spotted a rocket right off so we got him that. trey had a rocket that he had at ethan's age that we bought for him and he wouldn't let us light it cause he didn't want it ruined. we took the wick? out and it has been on his shelf all these years...ethan wanted to light his and then took off running after it and this was him after he went and got it...so upset that it was broken!!

daddy made it all better when he put it back together and now both rockets sit on the boys shelf

I'm not sure what avery was doing here but i just liked this picture of her. she is spending a few days with grandma and grandpa seaba right now.

raegan and cousin jessica riding the four wheeler

the girls...

we drove back home and watched the end of the local fireworks display that we can see from our house. I say the end because i thought they started a half hour later than they did so we saw the start of them from the highway.

Family reunion

2011-07-06T17:20:00.005-05:00

When we went to Iowa for our family reunion a couple of weeks ago we had an exciting trip. We started out with 7 vehicles but after meeting in St Joseph for lunch and getting down the road a little bit to Maryville one vehicle had some transmission problems so we had a little time to kill while we waited for the tow truck to pick up the vehicle...

my mom took advantage of the opportunity to get some handwriting done (she writes for a company for pay)

double trouble...

after we combined into 6 vehicles we did even more van swapping than we had already done in St Joseph. greg and susan and i had these three in the back of our van and after a very boisterous leg of the trip we started bribing them to play the quiet game with the winnings being a $1. these three are very eager to earn money and in the end they each won a $1 and we had a very quiet ride to Iowa!

the reunion was at a community center that had basketball and a park so plenty of running room for the kids

avery just adored her little cousin alivia!

uncle john gave the kids some crazy merry go round rides

we all stayed in a hotel and made good use of their pool and hot tub!

raegan decided to end the trip with a bang. we had stayed up late talking (the adults) and when we finally went to bed she woke us about an hr later puking. thankfully it was a one time thing. we had blankets soaking in the bathtub overnight and this is how i put her back to sleep...

We have one more caravan trip coming with family this summer when Camp Gramma goes to Colorado later this month...

Movin on up

2011-07-02T16:12:00.003-05:00

literally! Both of the boys are moving up...Trey to the top bunk and Ethan up to a big bed from his toddler bed. We have been wanting bunk beds for the boys for quite some time now and were super excited to come across a fantastic deal on this set (formerly their cousin's)!

Anytime we change anything around in our little house it makes the whole house a mess. I needed to get the kids down before we were done so Ethan slept on his bed for the last time in our room...our trashed room!! But by about 2 am i had gotten everything in it's place.

Here are their new beds. Ethan gets very excited to go to bed at night in 'his little fort" ! Trey has somewhere to do all his homework that he's going to have in 7th grade and we have plenty of drawer space now with all these extra drawers. Love it!

Trey is gone helping his Dad move our back patio rock that they have been hauling away all day so he doesn't know he has a mattress yet. I went by myself and got it in with Avery's help and onto his bed so that he has somewhere to sleep tonight :)

Their room is not finished yet, we are going to paint their walls...Trey is VERY finished with the trucks on the walls and would like me to take the curtains with trucks on them down immediately but i said no to that till i get something else to put up in their place. Projects are never ever done...

Fish and goats and maybe some kids too

2011-06-30T23:06:00.005-05:00

We met some friends at the farmstead last week. We spent a loong time fishing...i think the worms were multiplying in the bucket for goodness sakes! Trey agreed to do all the worming of the hooks and taking fish off the hooks, but i don't think he realized just quite how many he would be doing. An older guy that was there with his grandson must have really enjoyed helping kids catch fish so he joined trey in helping worm hooks and putting the kids in the right spots to catch one and even went so far as to hook a fish, throw it in the water on the hook and have Ethan pull it in. Ethan was ecstatic..."i caught another one!!" My non-existent mad fishing skills must have been shining through that morning, ha!

former small group buddies...so fun to get together!

watching Ethan try to get a tractor (forgot to mention all of KC was at the farmstead this day) was comical. I felt so bad but tried to let him fight it out on his own. He would run to get one to either have it be broken, have a bum tire or get beat by another kid. It didn't help that a few select kids were being fed their lunch piece by piece while doing the indy 500 on the tractors

Raegan and the goats. I may be an easily amused mom but i could watch her feed goats all day. She is such a sassy thing anyway and watching her boss them around, get after them and go for the baby ones is just so sweet and funny at the same time in my mommy eyes

I've got this goat feeding thing down mommy...

I always laugh a little thinking about the first time we bought a bottle to feed the goats with Raegan. It hadn't been that long since she had FINALLY given up her own bottle and as soon as i handed it to her she stuck it straight in her mouth. Thankfully we don't have to worry about that anymore! :)

Oh and i started a new blog for all things related to running if you want to come over and visit me over there too at Mama On The Run

The fancy car

2011-06-29T10:27:00.004-05:00

The kids love Grandpa and Grandma's "fancy car"! They always tell me about "we got to go here or there in the fancy car". Grandma and Grandpa Seaba kept the kids for us while we were in Mexico and i snapped these pictures the day after we got back...

I think the most exciting part of it for the kids might be that there are no seatbelts, oh the freedom!....no wait, that might be the most exciting thing for Grandpa :)

I don't think i like the thought of Trey in the driver's seat of a car...i'm glad we have a few years before that!

A little history

2011-06-27T22:33:00.003-05:00

We went to Iowa over the weekend for a Neir family reunion. My dad grew up on a farm in Iowa. This was the farm land that he lived on when he was in high school. The house is gone but this barn still stands...

We went to Marcus and visited my grandparents graves

My Grandpa and Grandma Neir (George and Alice)

These two stones are my grandmother's (alice) parent's. They both came from Sweden as teenagers not knowing each other and then later met and married.

Learned a lot of family history this weekend. Neat to hear stories and visit places that my dad lived when he was a boy. Thankful for the Christian grandparents and great grandparents that gave me a godly heritage that i can pass on to my children and i pray they will pass on to their children someday!

Conquering the fear of the mini detonator

2011-06-24T07:08:00.005-05:00

Last year we got her on the mini detonator one time and one time only. She has refused to ride it ever since. I try every time we are out there. One of these beautiful days this week the kids and i went out for a few hours. It took mommy bribing her with two quarters, Avery doing some convincing saying she would sit beside her and she finally all of a sudden said she would do it...i was just waiting for her to back out (she has gone up there numerous times and walked straight back out the gate). She didn't back out...

still feeling very brave...

giving me some looks like what am i doing but still putting on her brave face...

she looked terrified...i had to yell at her that she didn't have to hold her hands up, she could hang on

she did it! she conquered her fear...and i think she enjoyed it in the process. we will just have to wait and see if she rides it again next time or if this too was her one time of the year.

Yay Raegan! Her big sis was pretty proud of her too!

One two three FLY

2011-06-21T09:37:00.005-05:00

Avery has begged and begged and begged some more to do the rip cord at WOF. Her cousins Brendon and Caleb were going to do it when they were up here so she finally got to fly! I had to leave early that day to go to work so i missed it but i stole the video and pictures from my sisters...

This girl seems to have daredevil blood...nothing scares her! She screamed "this is awesome!" on the way down

Thanks Brendon and Caleb for letting your cousin fly with ya!

First job

2011-06-20T18:43:00.003-05:00

Trey has been mowing our yard this year and we pay him (a little) so that he can earn some money. The house next door is vacant so we talked to the landlord and offered Trey's manual labor for a small fee to keep his yard looking nice or at least short and trimmed which is a huge improvement from years past...it's a win win, Trey earns money and we have control of keeping the place looking decent! He is doing a great job and working hard...

We had to go get some grass shears since there is no power in the house and we don't have an extension cord long enough to use our trimmer (plus it was a good excuse to get some since i have wanted some anyway). Raegan thinks she has a new job...

her words before this were "don't worry mommy i won't cut my swimsuit or my skirt!" I was thinking more along the lines of fingers and toes, but as long as you don't cut your clothing...

Angels

2011-06-15T10:17:00.003-05:00

I believe that God uses angels to help protect children or any of us for that matter. Yesterday i believe was one of those days they were protected. Daddy was charging his motorcycle's battery because someone was going to come look at it to see about fixing something that is wrong with it. Daddy was cleaning out the garage so was letting them sit on it while he was out there. He went inside to do some things and the kids got back on the bike. Ethan got up on it and jumped off (according to ethan) and then Raegan climbed off and then it fell over. Thankfully, the opposite way than the kids had just gotten off so it didn't touch them. It broke the blinker and scratched a couple of things up but Daddy didn't even care...he was just so thankful the kids were not hurt! I had taken this picture before any of this happened...

We have gone to the pool two days in a row and the kids are just getting wiped out! Last night Raegan wanted to sleep in Ethan's bed so i said "the first time you guys are messing around and not going to sleep raegan has to go to her bed" I never heard anything and so went in after awhile and they were OUT!

Ethan learned to write his name within the last 6 months or so, you know getting ready for kindergarten....we had to get after him and tell him we were proud of him that he could write his name but that he wasn't allowed to write it in permanent marker on the walls, appliances or anywhere but paper...but as you can see, he labeled his wall before our little speech.

All they brought me was this shirt

2011-06-13T22:39:00.003-05:00

Final Mexico post

2011-06-10T12:59:00.005-05:00

We decided not to do any full day excursions as we didn't want one of our days to be used up. We just wanted to relax at the resort. Johnny went scuba diving for most of the day on Monday. He did two dives and loved it.

johnny picked another winner of a salad yet again...

the cocoon hammock

i was so looking forward to taking a nap in the hammocks that i saw on their website and so nap i did, although after the day of the heavy rains they had taken them down and when they were put back up they seemed really low to the ground...

We went on a tour bus to Playa Del Carmen to go shopping. We had 3 hours to shop which sounds like a lot but it went very fast. Johnny got asked if he wanted a "bump" to which he replied "what's a bump?" the guy said "cocaine man, you live a sheltered life!" We moved quickly away from that guy!

We walked down to the beach and could see Cozumel. We found some really pretty shells in this area and i just had to get a picture by this car for Avery. She loves slugbugs, and this was one unique slug bug! :)

We were sad to say goodbye to the Caribbean! We will go back for sure someday if we get the chance!

Mexico cont...

2011-06-10T09:11:00.007-05:00

On Saturday night we went to one of the theater shows that they had each evening. I saw that it said participation show and though "hmm, maybe we shouldn't go, don't want to get pulled up on stage". What are the chances?? I ended up on stage thinking "what on earth have i gotten myself into"! I hate being in front of people, let alone on a stage having to do a sexy walk with a book on my head, learn a choreographed dance and repeat it and run into the audience and kiss as many men on the cheek as i could in 1 minute (i did win that one with 26 by the way, i don't know if that is something to be proud of) Johnny's face was hurting when i got back down off stage because he had been laughing so hard for so long. The pictures he took were very dark but here is one of me running around for one minute...

We could eat at the buffet breakfast lunch and dinner and then we also had 3 dinners at the fancier restaurants in the resort. We went to the Italian one on Sat. It was very hard to understand what you were ordering. I seemed to do well with my picking, johnny had a little trouble in the salad picking department...

it was 4 course dining and they just kept bringing food. this was my soup that freaked me out a little only because of the color. (i am a very picky eater and rely a lot on the looks of food to deter me) I tried so many things that looked "questionable" this week. By the way the soup was fantastic, it was a spinach soup and i ate the whole bowl! :)

we read a lot!

these animals were everywhere around the resort. they were so cute.

had to do a feet on the beach picture

i missed my kids obviously, i of course completely enjoyed ou time alone but had a little meltdown one night after seeing a little girl raegan's age...just felt so far away from them

loved the beach beds...

only things about a vacation alone together is that you don't get many pictures together unless you snag someone to take one of you which we did every now and then

we walked or ran on the beach every morning except for one while we were there. i have run on beaches before but this one was particularly hard to run on because the sand was so soft

on Sunday it rained...all...day...long! They were saying there might be three days of it. We were feeling a little depressed.

we hung out in the lobby and played cards, we took naps, we ate, we read while it rained and rained and rained...

it rained sunday and then monday morning and then that was it...the sun came out and it was beautiful once again!

i went barefoot for a day and a half because the walkways were so slippery!

Mexico

2011-06-09T23:04:00.004-05:00

It was finally here. Our anniversary trip that we had planned to take for our 15th wedding anniversary but ended up taking the month after our 16th. It was worth the wait! We flew out of KC at 5am Friday morning and arrived in Cancun by 11:30 am. We had to wait awhile through customs but got out and to our shuttle pretty smoothly. I felt safer by the minute on our drive into the resort and the security checkpoints we had to go through to get into our resort.

Our room wasn't quite ready when we got there so we wandered around checking everything out and then ate at the buffet since we were starving and we had to get our week started of endless eating!

loved the cool sand...much different than the burning hot sand of some beaches that may bring out the worst in some people :)

this was at the end of the walkway from the lobby...ahead was the pool/pools, the restaurant/pool bar and then the beach/ocean.

our room with two t-shirts since we "liked" them on facebook

the little courtyard outside our room...our room was the one on the bottom floor. yay, no stairs!

this was our beach access from our building...really could it get any more beautiful?

this was the walkway walking from the pool area. it was a nice long walk that we actually loved since we felt like all we were doing was eating at least we had a nice walk to go eat!

during the cloudier times we opted to sit under the little huts. the beaches were not packed. there were always plenty of chairs.

For awhile we thought we were the only Americans at the resort. Most everyone was French or Italian. No one spoke English! We did end up meeting several Americans during the week.

Be forewarned, i have lot's of pictures so it's going to take me several posts even though i have narrowed it down a lot...

Here comes the sun

2011-06-02T13:18:00.003-05:00

I love my kids summer tans and bleached blonde hair that they get every summer. Though before the tan comes the first summer burn. Even though i drenched the kids in sunscreen, Trey and Ethan's shoulders got burnt the other day so they are nursing some sore shoulders...

Raegan loves riding around on her brother's back in the pool. Gone are the flip flop stealing days and in are the easier for mommy days when Raegan (for the most part) will go play in the water or use her little spray bottle to be my personal little assistant keeping me cool from head to foot and face!

Ethan started out the swim season by getting up on the diving board and doing a front flip off of it...bout shocked the pants off his momma...

our days at the pool involve just about as much snacking as swimming. I have already had to lay down the rule of no snacks until we have been at the pool for 45 minutes, because Raegan would like to sit down and snack as soon as we walk in if it were her choice!

the water has still been pretty cold the last couple of days, hopefully it will warm up soon!

Summer

2011-05-30T21:52:00.002-05:00

Summer is here and along with summer comes kids getting to stay up later, little ones that never nap and so are so exhausted at night that they fall asleep if they stay still too long...

The older kids get so tired they actually choose to go to bed some nights. We spent the weekend with cousins swimming in the rain and going to Worlds of Fun in the rain for part of the day. I didn't have my camera either day so no pictures...

We are hoping for a semi sunny day tomorrow so we can head to the pool. I went to the store today to stock up on pool candy (fun dip, airheads ect...you know the candy they sell at the pool for three times the price you can get it for) They were out of fun dip and the lady said "i'm sorry, people come in and buy the whole box". (she acted like she didn't know why anyone would do that. Really, who does that?? ;)

We had a very relaxing Memorial Day. John built the forms for our patio (ok so maybe that part was not so relaxing for him) and then we went as a family to see Kung Fu Panda 2. The kids enjoyed it. Ethan has been doing his moves and "finding his inner peace", he cracks me up!

Hope you are having a great start to your summer!

Back in!

2011-05-28T17:13:00.001-05:00

Just seeing if i can actually post! I have been locked out for the past few days, but looks like i'm back in...

Catch up

2011-05-23T21:57:00.008-05:00

Busy busy May! That is what it has been! Here is a little of what we have been up to the last week or so...

Avery and her friend Mikayla participated in the school talent show. They sang and danced to a little Justin Bieber or "justin biever" as Raegan would say...

Ethan had his last soccer game. Avery got to hang out with her friend Emma and do a little hula hooping...

Ethan got a medal, something that he was super excited for!

he posed for a picture with his bud Will

We have started our trips out to Worlds of fun and Raegan can't wait to ride the patriot roller coaster so she practices sitting in the test seat...yea right, i can't even get her to go on half the rides in planet snoopy. It takes a while to build her bravery back up since she hasn't been on them for some months now...

Tomorrow is the last day of school!! Half day! This school year has flown!

I have been busy working on my calendar. I have a list a mile long in my head, lot's of little things to do before leaving the country! I am now starting to get that all down on paper and actually accomplished a lot today to check off. Here i go with my lists. I am so obsessed with lists!

John and I celebrated our 16th anniversary. We just went out to dinner and wandered around the Legends and bought nothing but socks for one of our kids, how is that for date night! :) 6 days in Mexico will make up for a low key anniversary night, that is for sure!

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A few random moments around here that make momma smile, blush or shake my head:

walking by the pineapples in the grocery store Ethan stopped and said "alright, which one of you does spongebob live in?!"

picking raegan up from sunday school and realizing she has gone commando under her little skirt(when she announces, "i'm not wearing any panties!" followed by a gasp from me! ...it's not like little 3 years olds are always lady like so i can't even imagine...hopefully she sat like a little lady the 2 plus hours she was in there!

after running tonight tucking raegan into bed i leaned down to kiss her goodnight and she said "oh mommy you smell awful, what is up with that?"

Ethan didn't seem to care about my awful smell he followed with "i love you more than the whole world!"

Hope your having a great start to your week!

1000 words

2011-05-18T08:28:00.002-05:00

They say a picture says a thousand words...

Countdown

2011-05-16T10:31:00.004-05:00

12 days and counting till the pool opens! I'm not sure who is more excited, Mommy or the kids!

First year of the pool when we will have to use NO SWIM DIAPERS!! woohoo!

6 and 1/2 days of school left! I know who is more excited for this but i would have to say i am pretty excited as well. We will be spending lot's of days at WOF and the pool this summer!! I have learned the best way not to go crazy during the summers in our tiny house with all 4 kids home is to get out and stay busy. The two little one's naps are quickly approaching an end as they rarely nap during the summer!

We had the annual "amazing race" that our ABF class at church puts on. So Fun! We started out great finding the cat in the field quickly and getting out in the lead. We opted not to take the 8 minute penalty in order to use gps or internet access on phones. We lost time at the Oak Park Mall when we searched for the next clue for about 15 minutes and we got a little lost in Gardner for about another 10-15 minutes later but we finished 2nd after 13 legs of the race. We had a blast and actually work together pretty well under pressure besides a couple of "shut up and listens" that was probably caught on video. John tends to want to keep talking when stressed and i just want to concentrate :) I'm just glad that he does all the nasty food eating because i would never keep it down. It was durian fruit this time and the smell every time someone burped after eating it was bad enough to possibly kill a small animal!

Here is our kitty, (our first clue) and the remaining legs of the race

We are rapidly approaching our trip to Mexico. We are getting so excited!! The kids are jealous that we get to go on a plane. One of these days we will take them all on a plane...that might be way down the road!

Hope your having a great start to your week!

Orchestra

2011-05-10T08:51:00.004-05:00

Trey had his final 6th grade orchestra concert last week. He would rather crawl under a table than have us take pictures of him at his concert but sorry Trey...you will thank me someday :)

They did a great job. I especially liked when all 3 grades played Canon in D!

on a different note, i can't believe this guy is going to be in 7th grade next year!! We are at 10 and 1/2 days on the countdown till school is out! But, who is counting?

Little blonde scoring machine

2011-05-09T08:50:00.002-05:00

Ethan has had so much fun playing soccer this spring! He plays his little heart out, He has one more "game" before his session is over.

he learned to dribble the ball

to dribble and run at the same time...

he played lots of freeze tag

He was a little scoring machine! Great job Ethan, loved watching you play your first season of soccer!

A night at the K

2011-05-04T09:37:00.004-05:00

Avery's choir at school had the opportunity to sing the national anthem at the Royals game last night. She came home from school the day before yesterday and said "i have exciting news, my name was drawn to go out on the field early and watch batting practice".

Avery was worried sick that we wouldn't make it in time since we were stuck in lot's of traffic but we made it in plenty of time much to her relief!

hanging out on the field watching batting practice. avery got a ball and the officer tossed ethan a ball that the player hit back so ethan was pretty pumped about that!

it was pretty neat seeing the choir walk out onto the field! they did a great job singing!

of course had to take a picture of them on the jumbo tron!

and then they were brought up to us up in the sky section/nose bleed section :)

and hung out with friends the rest of the night. We stayed till the start of the 10th inning, and they won the game soon after we left. Fun night and something i'm sure avery will never forget!

Midnight run

2011-05-01T00:46:00.003-05:00

Trey and i stayed up late Friday night and went and ran a Midnight 5k benefiting the Special Olympics. Weather was awesome for running, very windy but perfect temps for running!

I have a only ran one other race with Trey and that was back when he was just starting to run. A cross country season and track season later and boy he is a different runner! We ran the whole thing together until the very last stretch when he turned it on with a sprint and mom didn't have the sprint left in her. His finishing time was 23:54 and i followed 2 or 3 seconds later. We have joked about how much longer i was going to be able to beat him and it seems that has officially come to an end.

He placed 40th overall out of 377 people and 5th in his age division (10-19). He got passed by two 14 yr old boys right at the end that we had been running right with the entire time so he was kinda bummed that they got by or he would have gotten an award.

I completely enjoyed my night out with my boy running and look forward to doing some more with him this summer hopefully!

Here is my poor quality picture that we had someone take with my camera phone but it's a picture nonetheless.

Great job Trey! You obeyed well when i said to "time to kick it in", guess i need to work on my kick a little so i can "kick it in" with you! :)

A noisy day

2011-04-28T08:17:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we started yet another project around here. We bought pavers at a really discounted price 2 years ago to redo our back patio. It was in really bad shape, cracked and sunken down in places. Last year Johnny attempted to build some forms and was going to go over the patio with the pavers but that was going to end up being way too high so we didn't end up getting it done last summer.

He decided to rent a jackhammer and get the concrete out of there. He had four hours to get it out so he took no breaks, kept that thing going the entire time. It did not look like any fun at all to me...

the kids and i were the rock carriers. trey stuck with it all day! the other two were kind of in and out.

ethan found a way to move the rock...he made trip after trip this way

this is what raegan though about the jack hammer

this is what our patio looked like at the end of the day. all of those rocks are now removed and in a massive pile in the backyard. phase one of the project is complete. phase two is getting the rock out of here and dumped! phase three will be building the new porch, our old one had rotted, (it's amazing someone had not fallen through it) and then finally phase four will be getting the new pavers down! The plan is to hopefully be able to get to enjoy the completed back porch and patio area this summer!

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T08:22:00.004-05:00

Easter morning was actually a somewhat relaxing morning. We went to later service since i had nursery duty, so we had plenty of time to get up and around and get some pictures. Raegan couldn't wait to wear her "princess dress". (anything that somewhat twirls is a winner in her book)

me and my girls

daddy/dad and his boys

they always have to get their crazy one in

after church we went to grandma and grandpa's house for lunch and the easter egg hunt

johnny's mom made him some banana bread to celebrate his birthday. he doesn't like cake so he requested banana bread.

the kids filled their baskets

and then checked out their loot! raegan obviously enjoyed every second of it!

Hope you all had a very nice Easter!