Family Day

I found a bunch of Family Day pictures on my camera and realized that I hadn't yet journaled the fun!

Every family day, our kids like to go down to a local museum here in town that hosts a carnival of sorts.   My kids weren't there for the carnival games though.

And nor for the face painting or prizes. 

The only thing they wanted, was a home made ROPE.

As soon as we arrived, they raced right to the rope making area, and there the four of them waited and helped construct 4 twine ropes.   One for each of them.   

Of course, I knew these ropes would be used for all sorts of mayhem, and I was right.  I've since watched my kids try all sorts of things from lassoing each other around the waist to wall climbing in what is supposed to be our "quiet room."    

I'm not too sure why I put up with it all, except that these ropes are all part of the family day tradition.

They love it!

As soon as the kids had their ropes, we loaded them up in the van and headed to Lethbridge to meet up with John's siblings Rachel and Ben, and their families.      We spent some time at yet another carnival, only this one was hosted by the UofL.   

After our 2nd carnival of the day, we all went swimming, and then stopped by Rachel and Brent's home for some pizza and wings.     Rach and Brent are moving to California soon, and my kids will surely miss them.   (Jess will miss their puppy, Thor.  Abby will miss their only child, Maddax.   And Sam will miss the wedgies Uncle Brent gives him.  sigh....;)

All in all, it was a great way to spend Family Day!

A week of Celebrating!

Jessica turned 6 years old yesterday, but for some reason, it feels as though we've been celebrating all.week.long.    (Perhaps that's because we HAVE been!:)

Here are some of the highlights:

1:)   Cupcakes to school - I'd like to share this as my own personal highlight because never....(that's right NEVER) before have I taken cupcakes to my kids class before on their birthday.    I don't know why I chose to now, except that I'd seen another parent do it the week prior, and I had some energy to spare, so...why not?      This cute girl beside Jess is her favorite school buddy, and I've begun sending prayers to heaven that they'll always be friends.    

2.  Jessica's first ever "Friend" party!   As per tradition, Jessica was able to have a party consisting of 6 girls (because she's 6;).      I can honestly say that Birthday Parties are THE.WORST part about parenting EVER.   Worse then childbirth.   Worse then nursing a baby that's teething.   (TMI perhaps?) Worse then potty training!!! 

  I always stress way too much, think of the lamest activities for them to do, and fall dismally short of what other Moms do for their kids' parties.     For that reason, I only allow my kids to have Friend Parties every other year.  (I need a year off in between to recover;)  haha

I got smart this year though, and told Abby to invite a friend of hers over.    Those two girls were put in charge of "games and entertainment" and it was therefore all a piece of cake, for me!  

 Like literally, the only thing I had to worry about - was the cake!!!

Jessica wanted a "FISH PARTY" because she was planning on getting a pet fish for her birthday.   She wanted a fish cake.   Fish games.  Fish Prizes.  And Fish decor.   

(I met her half way and gave her a fish cake. ....and maybe a pet fish too;)

3.   Breakfast in Bed -  In our home, the birthday kid always gets breakfast in bed!    Jess was sure to remind us all of our task as we prepared for bed the night before, and I'm pretty sure that she is the one who actually woke us all up at 6:50 on the morning of her birthday to make sure we remembered her order;)   (pancakes with NO bananas or blueberries in them, and scrambled eggs with bacon) 

4.  Surprise Gifts from Cool Teenagers!  

A sweet neighbor of ours brought over some goodies wrapped in handmade bows for Jess, and Jess was so flattered by it.    Pretty sure Abbey has officially topped this kid's list of "cool people."

5.  Cousins, and Cousins Galore!!

Some of Jessica's cousins joined her on her actual birthday for dinner and cake.   She waited ALL day for them to arrive, and when they did she behaved like a true birthday diva would!    (She sure enjoys being celebrated, this girl;)  Her cousin Mya brought her harmonica and played it while we all sang Happy Birthday.    Being accompanied by a Harmonica definitely improves the rusty performance of 5 adults and 11 rowdy kids!

7.   Wolf Hunt!

There are a lot of traditions surrounding our birthday celebrations, and one of the newest traditions is one the kids thought up all on their own.  They decided that whenever someone has a birthday, we will go for a drive and look for the animal of choice.  (Birthday kid chooses which animal we look for)    

Well, Jessica decided that she wanted to go look for Wolves, so what were we to do?    

We piled in the van, grabbed Grandpa, and went straight to the one place we thought we'd have a chance of seeing one.   (even though we knew there wasn't a chance of seeing one;)

In the end, the only thing we saw was a beautiful wintry scene:

The most enjoyable part though, is the many MANY moments in which Jessica has crawled up onto my lap, or snuggled in beside me and asked for stories of when she was little.    We've looked through her photo albums, read through her journal, and turned the memories we have of her - into bed time stories.    I've never met a kid who likes hearing about herself so much!  haha.   

I suppose though, that if I was as awesome as Jessica is, I'd like hearing about me too;)

LOVE THIS LITTLE 6 YEAR OLD!!!!

Some come to win. Others come for the food.

Abby and Sam have been in Champs for the past couple of months, and they LOVE it!    

Every Saturday morning we all go watch them as they practice drills and skills for a half hour, and then play a game.  It's great exercise for them in these winter months, and I'm hoping that it will also instill in them a love for the sport that I never did seem to acquire myself.

 

Abby has improved lots, though she sometimes takes it a little too seriously.  Last week, she really took the whole "defence" thing to heart, and she guarded her player unmercifully.    The poor girl could hardly make a move without Abby being in her face.   She looked so frustrated with Abby, and kept pushing Abby's arms outta her way, I half expected a fight to ensue!  

 (Perhaps we need to tell Abby that she can ease off at times? haha)   

Her shooting has improved, and clearly her defence is top notch;)!   I just keep hoping that she'll eventually recognize what an asset her height is for her.   

As for Sam?

Well, Sam is interesting when it comes to sports.   He has the energy to play, there is no question about that!   He just lacks competitive drive, you know?    During Soccer season, Sam's main motivation to play is for the slurpee he gets after the last game of the season.  During basketball?  You can attribute his enthusiasm to attend to the fact that the coaches hand out doughnuts on the last day.

All the weeks in between, he sorta just goes along with it all and puts in a good effort.    

  He really is enjoying it all, it's just that improving his skills or excelling in a sport never seems to be the motivating factors for this guy.    It's all about the treats he gets at the end - 100%!

This became so apparent to us this past week, when one of his coaches approached him in the hall after his game.    Sam looked right at him, stuck his finger up in the air and informatively declared before walking away: 

"The only reason why I'm here..... is for....the DOUGHNUT!!!"

Sigh...So he'll never be a Michel Jordan.    

I've got him pegged as more of the stand up comedian type anyway;)

Valentines goodness

I LOVE enjoying holidays with the kids, especially seeing how they all celebrate at school.   For example, I get a kick out of how excited they always get to make Valentines for their friends and teachers.    The Valentines usually look nothing short of awful, but the kids are always proud as punch;)!

This one for example, was the card Sam made for his teacher (my Aunt) Mrs.Toone.    

The front side of it is decorated rather nicely(..ish), and on the back of the valentine he wrote this sweet message.   (He grabbed the quote from my favorite quotes board in my room.)

"We make a good team to Math.   PS:  When I get sad, I stop being sad and be Awesome instead.  True Story."

And that was his Valentine.  I'm sure it impressed his teacher.   (Or confused her;)

After school, the kids came piling through the front door with giant paper hearts full of valentines from their classmates.  They oohed and awed over them for a good half an hour, trading and dealing treats like it was the new form of currency.  

Nathan hovered over all them, just waiting for one of them to toss an unwanted treat his way.

He ended up scoring an entire pack of hubba bubba gum, and that was all it took to make it the Best Valentines Day EVER for this little man!!

   

I was perfectly happy to bypass the hubba bubba and enjoy these lovely roses instead.   

I LOVE fresh flowers in my house, and I'm looking forward to the spring and summer when my yard will bloom with flowers again.    

In fact, I can hardly WAIT!

Metronomes and other fearful things

Sometimes when I'm laying with Abby at night, she reads to me from her diary (which she calls Bethany by the way, because really, doesn't Dear Bethany just sound so much better then Dear Diary?)      Honestly though, she really does read it to me, unlike that one time when her journal just conveniently fell open to a funny page;)

Anyways,  the other night she shared this entry with me and I thought it was hilarious!
Abby wrote this entry one evening after she'd had a friend over to play.  Apparently her friend had been curious about Abby's diary and read it without Abby's permission.   haha.

"Dear Bethany,

You know how (so and so) read my diary?

Well, I'm afraid she'll spread gossip.   That's 

probably my worst fear.  ..besides metronomes.

My Worst Fears:

1. Spiders

2. Gossip

3. Bears 

4.  Greek monsters coming alive

5.  Metronomes!!!

6.  Kidnapped or trapped by a friend?"

                                                                                               

Darn!   I guess I'll have to cancel that Metronome we were planning on getting her for her birthday;)

This second entry of hers just made me really proud of her.    

I love that she reads as much as she does, and I LOVE that she's gleaming inspiration from those pages.

.    

Granted, true success might also lie in the ability to spell correctly, but that will come;)

Win Win

Sunday afternoons are definitely quiet times around our place.   

John is usually still at the church doing whatever it is he does after church.

The kids and I though, come home... fill up on Nachos and Cheese...and then they turn on a "John approved" movie, while I snuggle in my bed.    Granted, this never really turns into a full on Nap or anything, but just getting a couple of minutes to close my eyes and day dream is nice enough.   

This past Sunday, Jessica came upstairs just as I was getting ready to read a book, (which I didn't really plan on reading for long;)  and she wanted to color with me.   She had a roll of scotch tape and markers in her hand but no paper.    When I asked her what she was going to color on she smiled mischievously and said..."Close your eyes...!"    

And that's all it took.  The part where I could close my eyes was what convinced me to play along.

I was playing with my daughter AND resting - all at the same time!  

I'm sure glad she knows how to color within the lines, those markers weren't washable!!!

It was the most relaxing 10 minutes of the day!!!

And look at this girl.   Doesn't she look like she had fun?

Preparing ahead of time

Every night before Abby goes to bed, she lays out the clothes she's going to wear the next day.   She doesn't just pile them on top of her dresser or anything, but rather lays her clothes out so the outfit looks as it would if she were actually wearing it.    

That alone has always seemed kinda funny to me.   

I seriously laughed so hard last night when I'd come into their room to see that Jessica had decided to follow Abby's lead.    Not just follow it, but take it all to a whole new level!!!

I love the purple hair bow she selected and pinned to her self portrait head;)

Oh and the back pack in her hand.  That's definitely a nice touch too!

Surviving winter

I've spent the past few weeks taking Jess and Nate to an unofficial gymnastics class.

When our local gymnastics club opened up several sessions of "free time" for preschoolers, I knew it was exactly what my two youngest needed to keep them happy during this tail end of winter.    

(I love the winter season and everything about it right up until the end of December.     After Christmas though- the whole thing just kinda starts to get depressing, you know?)

Nate would never really sit long enough for the instructors to teach him anything.   

But that's ok- he wouldn't really sit still long enough for ANYTHING!

Jessica surprised me a lot with her quick ability to pick up on all they demonstrated to her.   

Her motorcycle landing?    She mastered it.

Star jump and Tuck jump?    Nailed 'em both!

Her uneven bar routine?    It's a work in progress;)

I'm pretty sure that this one activity has spared me my sanity this year.  

What else can one do in the winter with kids?   (I need to be inspired;)

Good night Sam

Part of our bedtime routine each night involves me laying with the girls in their room, while John lays with Nate and Sam.   (This arrangement we've got going on usually results in both John and I dozing off well before the kids ever do.   After a pre bedtime nap, we wake up around 9:00pm just to have to finish dishes or mark papers etc.    Clearly, this is not our most efficient habit;)

On Tuesdays though, John has meetings that keep him out well past bedtime, so I've begun laying in Nate's bed on these nights, before moving in to the girl's room to tuck them in.    (sigh...does this ever end?)      As much as this extensive and exhaustive bedtime routine sometimes frustrates me, it is at times mingled with sweet moments and conversations.    

Here are some of my most favorite bedtime conversations I've had with Sam:

Sam:   "Mom?   I wonder about grass.   Like, you know how trees have different types?   Like...there's pine trees, and trees with red leaves, and green trees, and trees with squirrels in them.....  Well does that mean that grass should have different types too?"   

Sam:   "pst...Mom!  Why at our birthdays do we get presents?   Shouldn't we instead give presents to Jesus, and Heavenly Father.  You know, to thank them for letting us be born?

Me:   "Well that is a nice thought Sam.   I think though that the best present we could ever give Heavenly Father and Jesus is to try to be like them."

Sam:  "What!   Be like them?   I can't be like them." 

Me:  "Yes Sam, you can.  One day we can be just like them."

Sam:   "Oh yeah.  But just without all their Superpowers right?"

My favorite moment came when, after several minutes of silence, I quietly whispered to Sam (who was starting to doze off in the bunk bed above me) "You are a really good boy Sam."

He let out a heavy sigh and drowsily responded, "Well..You are a good Mommy."

Moments like this make all of his theatrics during the day completely worth it!!

Good night.

ANNIE

My nieces Ava and Brooklyn have been a part of a local production of Annie for the past couple of months.    This weekend it opened to the public, so the whole famdamily (my siblings, kiddos and all) got together to go and see them perform.    (I think my family would be disappointed if I didn't blog about it right away.  And seeing as how my brother Chad took such GREAT photos of the fun, I had to steal some and share them, no?;)

Annie was a big part of my and my sister's childhoods.   

We grew up watching it and singing all the songs.   My brother remembers us all going to visit my Mom in the hospital and singing the song "Tomorrow" to her.     I remember singing that very song, with my two sisters, at her funeral.   We must have been 4, 5, and 7 years old at the time.  

I just LOVE this play.

Here we are waiting for the show to start! 

(we took up almost three rows, and I'm still kinda surprised our kids stayed as quiet as they did;)

Ava was a fabulous "Duffy" and this girl always impresses me with all she can do.    This very weekend was a good example of that, as when she wasn't on stage, she was on a basketball court participating in a weekend tournament!!!    

Brooklyn was one of the younger orphans in the group and she was an absolute doll!  

Seriously!  I wanted to adopt her:)!!

Here is a picture of "Miss Hannigan" with all of the orphans.   Back when I heard that this play was coming to town, I came this close to auditioning for the role of Miss Hannigan.    But oh boy, after watching this performance, I'm pretty sure nobody could have done as good of a job as her. 

  Absolutely Hilarious!!!   

It was a great play, and I'm glad I got to see it with my favorite group of people!