turtletoes4

more snow!

2011-01-10T13:33:00.000-08:00

We got about nine inches of snow last night! We've made snow angels, had a snowball fight (actually more than one of those!) and been sledding.

Daisy was glad to come back inside to her warm blanket.

sisters

2011-01-05T17:56:00.000-08:00

She just wants to be like us...

2011-01-03T08:26:00.001-08:00

Not that we sit this way.... but this is how the cat sits when she joins us in the evening.

our new year's eve 2010

2011-01-01T10:41:00.001-08:00

We spent our New Year's Eve in Nashville. We stopped by and picked up Grandma on our way. We mostly did sightseeing and shopping.
Until we passed by Pinkberry.

Have I ever mentioned that this was on my to-do list?

To eat yogurt at Pinkberry?

Ever since I heard their catchy jingle a few years ago, I have wanted to visit.

Sooo, I did a double take when we passed this sign. We had to go a few miles out of our way JUST to turn around. There was much complaining from most of the folks in the car. But, they agreed to humor me.

Good for them.

You see, they all enjoyed their Pinkberry. The kids all tried the chocolate flavor and added brownie bits and whipped cream. John Henry tried the chocolate also, but he added fresh (never frozen) raspberries. Grandma tried the pumpkin and added a graham cracker and cinnamon sprinkles. I had the mango and added fresh blueberries and raspberries. We each loved what we chose.
Now if I can just figure out another excuse to go back to Nashville....

cat nap

2010-12-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

She really just wanted to take a nap.

On my bed. And that's OK.

And she wanted to use my very soft blanket. That was sort of OK. I mean, I'm not beyond sharing the softest blanket in the world.

But, you see, I wanted to get a picture of her. You know, sleeping. With her eyes closed.

Totally not happening.

sunset

2010-12-29T09:15:00.000-08:00

I wonder what he's thinking about....

2010-12-28T08:40:00.001-08:00

One of the things I love about my camera - he had no idea I was taking photos of him. This was taken at Dry Run Creek on September 4, 2010.

our snowman

2010-12-27T17:08:00.000-08:00

Our sweet neighbor that lives across the street donated the Auburn hat for our snowman.
Also - notice the beginning of a fort in the background.

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T16:28:00.001-08:00

snow 2010

2010-12-25T13:35:00.001-08:00

A surprise White Christmas

2010-12-25T13:14:00.001-08:00

Our local news had been predicting a 'dusting' of snow but when we woke up this morning this is what we saw!

This is the view from our back deck. When the snow stopped, I measured this snow at about 3 inches.

Our house.

Merry Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T20:13:00.001-08:00

The littlest one is still not at 100% but enjoying the day anyway.

this is the one

2010-12-23T20:11:00.001-08:00

It has been lots of fun wrapping Christmas presents this year.... especially with our cat. She loves everything about Christmas - the ribbon, and the tree, and the sound the paper makes when she tears it.

resting

2010-12-22T07:00:00.001-08:00

She is 15. This is how she spends most of her days.

sunshine

2010-12-21T11:10:00.000-08:00

better!

2010-12-21T11:04:00.000-08:00

The kids have all been sick with some sort of virus (looks like the flu to me but they tested negative for the flu.) Rosie had it first starting on Tuesday. She felt better by Saturday. The boys came down with it on Thursday - Tate recovered quickly, as usual, but Lake is still moving a bit slow. Daisy had a really high temp with it but thankfully she is feeling better today.

from our Christmas card picture session

2010-12-20T11:51:00.001-08:00

This one totally loves everything Christmas.

This is what you get when your boy turns 12.

He has beautiful teeth and this is what he gives me.....

what can I say about her?

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-18T11:36:00.001-08:00

Our normal Thanksgiving plans changed so we decided to head to Gulf Shores for a few days. On our last day we went to Fort Morgan - this was our first time to tour the fort and we loved it so much we hope to go back.

First week of school, second year of home school

2010-08-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

We officially started our school year last Monday. I have to say 'officially' because my four kiddos actually started doing their work the week before. As their books were arriving via mail and UPS, they couldn't wait to get started.

Rosie, my lovely 3rd grader. On Thursday of the week before we started school she had completed two weeks of spelling (she has daily assignments) and a week worth of math. I learned last year that she works better when I give her assignments a month at a time. I go over new concepts with her but she is self motivated.
Well, usually.

Lake, my 6th grader. A middle schooler. Oh my, where did the time go? Wasn't he just a baby? One of his first comments on starting school was that his work is much harder. I reminded him that he wasn't in elementary school anymore!

Daisy, my 1st grader. What's that? Do you see what I see? YES! A tooth! Finally, after two years of waiting for it, the front tooth is emerging. It is totally going to change her face. She is enjoying her 'real' school work. She said that last year was too easy.

Tate, my 5th grader. He is still a little sponge. He can remember almost anything. He learns more by listening than visually and since I am the opposite it is amazing to me.

My class

And then she turned 8

2010-07-21T07:27:00.001-07:00

We talked and talked and talked about what type of birthday party Rosie wanted. We could have the full blown, invite ALL of your friends party or.... we could have a small scale spend the night party. Finally, two weeks before her birthday she decided to have a spend the night party. Then we spent lots of time discussing just which friends to invite. She didn't want to invite girls that didn't know each other and she didn't want drama. In the end, we had 5 girls spend the night - we invited 2 more but they had previous engagements. If there is such a thing as a perfect spend the night party, this had to be it. These girls got a long with each other, they included each other, they listened to me when I told them it was time to start settling down - what more could I have asked for??

On Friday night we tie dyed t-shirts. Here is a sample of them:

I love the smile on her face:

when it's raining...

2010-07-21T07:17:00.001-07:00

This is what can happen:

pool time

2010-07-09T17:17:00.001-07:00

These were taken over the weekend at a friend's house. I am so glad my kids love the water! We also went to a wonderful lake on Monday and had a blast. Sadly, I don't have any photos to share.

reading and writing...

2010-06-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

I decided last night that our summer days need a bit more structure or at least more good choice options.

We went to the library this morning - for summer reading, I'm not particular about reading level as long as the material is appropriate. I am really excited that Tate chose Tom Sawyer, though.

Then we had a quick stop at a school supply / book store for handwriting books. The boys will be working on cursive while Rosie will begin cursive. Daisy will continue to work on her printing.

Surprisingly, they were all excited about the handwriting books and have each already completed a few pages. At this moment, Rosie and Daisy are on the back deck with a friend, sharing a blanket and reading.

water

2010-06-23T13:45:00.000-07:00

Our local water park has been ridiculously crowded so the kids decided to improvise with the slip n slide.

another double digit boy

2010-06-23T13:39:00.001-07:00

Tate celebrated his 10th birthday last week.

notice his sleepy head brother...

soccer

2010-06-22T06:50:00.000-07:00

Soccer is a big sport for us. The kids play it three seasons of the year. Well, except now Rosie won't be playing because she will have dance classes four days a week beginning in September.

If you look closely at Lake (in the red) you can see his tongue is sticking out. He is all business!

Tate can play just about any position, and boy, does he take it seriously!

Daisy loves it, too. She understands the game and how it all fits together. Thankfully she has another year before she will have to make a choice between soccer and dance.

Rosie in purple.

Dog and cat

2010-06-18T11:32:00.001-07:00

As of February we have a new member in our family! Ironically her name is Daisy. For real. So I will refer to her as the cat until I find her a suitable blog name. Oh, speaking of blog names, Rosie informed me that she doesn't like hers. Actually she hates it and I'm probably ruining her life. Gotta love the drama of a 7 year old girl. Thankfully she likes her real name.

recital 2010

2010-06-18T11:25:00.000-07:00

I wasn't able to get a picture that I could post of Daisy on stage.

Rosie had six dances in the recital. My how she has grown in the last 5 years since she began dance classes. This is her ballet.

fishing

2010-06-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

Not her favorite thing to do:

One of her favorite things to do:

Always up for a day of fishing:

viola concert

2010-06-18T10:45:00.001-07:00

The boys started playing the viola this year. This was an outdoor concert in May.

Field Trip

2010-06-18T10:29:00.001-07:00

We took a road trip/field trip to Noccalula Falls a few months ago. I went as a child but since then they have added a petting farm, a train, and a rock garden. We only had about an hour to spend as it was nearly closing time. We plan to go back and hike to the bottom of the falls.

Easter

2010-06-18T10:15:00.001-07:00

It's only been six and a half months...

2010-06-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

and I'm not making any promises to do better. In my mind, I would like to post at least once a week. In reality, well, we'll just see what happens. I started this blog to bridge the miles between my extended family and friends so that they would be involved in(or at the least, aware of)our happenings. It's kind of complicated for them if I don't make an effort...

To summarize the last six months:

We completed our first year of school at home. I consider it a success. Daisy is reading (and loving it!) and has a good basic knowledge of math. Her favorite school work is math worksheets. Some days she would do 8-10 pages of addition and subtraction.

Rosie was the first to finish all of her book work for the year. Her favorite subject seems to be English. She is off and on with reading - if she loves the book, she won't put it down. If she's not interested in it, it's like pulling teeth. For the summer, they are allowed to read any level of book of their choosing as long as the content is appropriate.

Tate is just a sponge. He absorbs just about anything he reads or hears. Literally. If I am reading aloud to them and we are interrupted for a few minutes (it happens often!) and I lose my place on the page, he will tell me the last few sentences I read before the interruption VERBATIM. Amazes me every time. I don't know what he would say was his favorite subject but I would say it was history.

Lake had a great year. He was the one I was most concerned about. He was doing really well in school and I didn't want to mess it up. We laughed a lot this year. I've been able to rediscover how funny he is (well, all of them for that matter) because of the communication being so open. I think he liked math the most but I feel like he learned the most in English. He can diagram a sentence now! We won't discuss the fact that he is now in middle school.

Over all, we had a good year. I plan on doing this again for the next school year. I'm taking it a year at a time. Otherwise it's overwhelming.

Snow day

2010-01-22T09:30:00.001-08:00

We had a bit of snow a few weeks ago. The schools closed for a day and a half. I explained to the kids that we could either take a snow day OR go ahead with our work and then when the weather is nice in the spring we could take a day off while the other kids were making up the snow day. They chose to go ahead with our work. The neat thing about it is that they are realizing that if they buckle down and get to work, they can finish in a much shorter amount of time.

Daisy thinks it is quite amazing!

Santa

2009-12-15T19:54:00.000-08:00

Last year I explained to the kids about Santa. Part of me wished we had never started "Santa" but it was too late to do over. So, I explained the concept and answered several questions from each child. They seemed to understand. I also explained to them that it wasn't their job to tell their friends about our conversation - that it was up to the parents to tell their children when they felt it was the right time. At the end of the conversation, Daisy looked me in the eye and said, "I don't believe you." She walked away and went back to playing.

About a week ago, Daisy asked me if she could talk to Santa. I asked her if she remembered about our talk last year and said she did. She also said she was sorry for snatching the candy cane from him when she was little (who knew she would remember this from 3 years ago?? we haven't talked about it....)

Tonight we took the kids to see Santa. The other three humored Daisy by talking to Santa, also.

Daisy

Rosie

Tate (my favorite picture of the day!)

Lake

All

six

2009-11-11T08:19:00.000-08:00

The littlest turns six today!

Can I just say that I love this little girl?!

We had a party earlier but I haven't taken the time to sort through the photos yet.

She loves her new bike. On the agenda for today: remove the training wheels and learn to ride without them.

cheerleaders and football players

2009-11-01T15:06:00.000-08:00

carving pumpkins

2009-10-31T14:10:00.001-07:00

This is the first year we have let the kids carve their own pumpkin - we usually only do one as a family. Daisy didn't hesitate with hers.

Rosie had gag reflex issues.

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Tate was just having fun.

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I'm not sure what was up with Lake?

The pumpkins: from left to right, oldest to youngest

eleven

2009-10-16T18:42:00.001-07:00

my oldest turned 11 on Sunday

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He requested a simple party at home with his family and a few friends.

We played a few games but the favorite was the game of eating crackers and then trying to be the first one to blow a bubble with bubble gum. (does that game even have a name??)

Annie

2009-10-16T18:24:00.000-07:00

I have to say she loves the new house, too.

homeschool cooking class

2009-10-09T17:33:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite things about having my kids at home are days like today. On Monday we made cupcakes - actually, I did most of the work while asking the kids questions about what was happening. Today, I put the necessary ingredients out on the counter and announced to the gang that they were going to make cupcakes today.

The only way for me to keep my hands off the project was to hide behind the camera:

Lake took over the role of leader. No big surprise, right?

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Rosie supervised Tate as he cracked his egg. Really, the egg cracking is the favorite task for the foursome. However, lots of recipes only call for 2 or 3 eggs. This one today called for 3 but they handled it well.

The one that didn't get to crack an egg (Daisy) was the first to get to use the mixer. The kids came up with this system - the only direction I gave them was when they were placing the cupcakes into the oven: "Careful, don't get burned" slipped out. That's just the mother in me, I suppose.

All in all, a very good day.

soccer 2009

2009-10-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

oh, my

2009-10-09T12:00:00.001-07:00

After school

2009-09-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

Since Daisy is in kindergarten, she finishes her school work much earlier than the others. She still does history and science with the others but her math and reading are very short sessions. She is very good to play quietly while the others are working. She knows that the television cannot be turned on until everyone is finished. The other day she had been quietly playing in her room for quite some time. I came through the living room headed towards the hall and this is what greeted me. The pose was too much. I had to beg and plead with her, though, to get this picture.

First day of dance 2009

2009-09-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

18 days

2009-09-02T18:07:00.000-07:00

We've had 18 days of school at our home. I've witnessed some interesting things about the kids already. Some things I already knew about them, others are new to me.

Lake is very diligent in his work. He's a perfectionist when he isn't tired. If he's tired, the best thing to do is convince him to walk away from the work or project for a bit.

Tate is a sponge. He absorbs everything I say. When I quiz them on their history or science lessons he knows every answer, every time. It's quite amazing.

Rosie is easily overwhelmed. If I spring something new on her, she has a meltdown. Literally. If I gradually lead her bit by bit she's quite fine. For example: yesterday I gave her a math assignment and by the time she finished it, it was soaked with tears. Last night I let her look at today's assignment and we had no problems today. Very interesting.

Daisy is eager to learn. We've started on a list of 1st grade sight words and she is quickly learning them. She often giggles while we go through the flash cards I made. She can't believe that she can read them. It's really precious to watch her.

So, that's it in a nutshell. I haven't pulled much of my hair out yet and the kids are still eager for our class day to start each morning. I can't ask for much more, can I?

We're moving!

2009-09-02T15:27:00.001-07:00

We are buying another house and hope to be moving by October 1st! The kids are so excited.... well, the parents are equally excited!

We are going from a very small house (less than 1000 square feet) to over 3000 square feet.

We are going from 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom to 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. The kids still want to share rooms. We will use the other two rooms for a guest room and a class/craft room.

My favorite room would have to be the kitchen.

Our first day of school at home

2009-08-10T14:07:00.001-07:00

Our city schools started today so we decided to start, too. The kids LOVED it. They were so excited to be having school. At home. With me. They even asked for more school work when we finished. I know THAT won't last for long! It looks like most days we should finish our work in around 4 hours

We started with 'morning work' which was a word search and a beach scene to color.

The boys still like to color. What am I saying? I still like to color!

After morning work, Daisy was our 'holder of the flag' for our pledge. Why Daisy? Well, today was her first day of kindergarten. She loved it.

We didn't even take our full thirty minutes for lunch. As soon as the kids finished eating, they were back to their work. I know. I know. Probably won't last.

The subjects we covered today include a Bible study, language (Lake wrote a lovely essay on his summer), history and math. Tomorrow we will add science and then next week we will add spelling and vocabulary. Each is responsible for their own independent reading and journaling and that will officially start tomorrow,too.
Art and music will be a weekly event - probably on Fridays.

It's only been 8 months...

2009-07-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

I didn't mean to take such a long break but it seems the longer I took off from writing here, the less of a priority it became. So, I recently was trying to remember why I started this in the first place. My number one reason years ago was to have a place for my friends and family to come and see what was happening with our lives. My second reason was so that I could document the big (and the little) events of every day.

We are having some big changes happening and I wanted to share them. First - we are finally looking for another house. We all know that we outgrew our present house a few years ago. We are getting in a position where selling this house and buying a larger one is becoming a reality. We've found one that we all love. It's a colonial style home with 5 large bedrooms, lots of wood floors and a nice back yard. It's in a neighborhood with lots of children. I could go on and on...

And then the other big news, well not really news since we decided over six months ago but something I really want to document is this: We are going to home school our kids. When I type those words now I don't have the panic attack I had a few months ago. Now when I type them, I smile. I'm very excited to be doing this. They are very excited about it, too. For the last six months I've been looking at curriculum and talking to everyone that will talk to me about it. I've made tentative schedules - I know they will have to be tweaked once we actually get started. I've picked curriculum and also have a few back up choices if the first ones aren't right for us. I've been stashing school supplies for months.

The plan is to start in mid August.

Right after I go on a cruise!!

Yes, I'm going on a short cruise (3 nights) with my girl, T-Bird. We decided a few years ago that we would celebrate our 40th birthdays BIG and this is what we came up with. She had her birthday last week (mine isn't until April) and we leave in a little over a week.

I'm being rushed off the computer by the littlest - she has some important work apparently.

I'll leave you with a few recent pictures from our (very) short trip to Pensacola.

Daisy at dance

2008-11-20T17:47:00.001-08:00

Rosie at dance

2008-11-20T17:38:00.001-08:00

Five

2008-11-12T14:59:00.000-08:00

Daisy turned 5 yesterday. She had asked to go swimming on her birthday - she had a hard time understanding why she is the only one of the four that has a birthday during the cool months. Thankfully my aunt has a heated indoor pool!

Halloween - the boys

2008-10-31T14:48:00.001-07:00

Lake is at the age of trying to decide whether or not he is too old to dress up for Halloween. I told him it was completely up to him - if he wanted to dress up, I would try to help him with an idea. We've been listening to 1980's hip hop - thus the rapper.

Oh, and in case you don't know Lake.... He is so NOT this serious. In fact he was trying not to laugh while I took this.

Tate knew for months that he wanted to be Indiana Jones for Halloween.

Halloween - the girls

2008-10-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

Minnie

Pippi Longstocking

While we were at the beach

2008-10-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

On the day before we left for the beach, I discovered that an internet friend was going to be in the same general area at the same time. Of course, we had to meet. She has three children (her girls are the same ages as mine.) It was funny to watch the girls size each other up and then pick the one that looked their same size and then begin playing. Way to cute!

At first, Daisy and her new found friend just played near each other.

Then, they moved in a little closer.

Daisy had to check the size of the hole that they were digging.

After three hours, these girls appear to be fast friends. Since we have been home, Daisy has asked several times for this friend.

Soon, we hope.

Rosie jumping

2008-10-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

On our last day at the gulf.

Daisy jumping

2008-10-15T16:12:00.001-07:00

I think she likes the beach....

ten

2008-10-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

What a great birthday weekend! Lake turned 10 on Saturday and we spent the day doing the things he loves. His best friend and his friend's brother was with us.

He asked to eat lunch at Lulu's in Gulf Shores.

He asked to ride go-carts at The Track.

He wanted to visit the ocean.

We finished the day with birthday cake.

On his last day to be 9

2008-10-10T06:25:00.001-07:00

That's right. Tomorrow Lake will be 10. Double digits. Yep, that's him fresh out of the shower ready for school this morning.

When he was asked whether he would like to have a big birthday party or go on a trip somewhere he chose to go to the beach. So, that's where we are headed this afternoon. He invited his best friend and his best friend's brother. We will have six kids with ages ranging from 4 to 10 years old. Hopefully we will be so busy playing that I won't dwell on the fact that my firstborn son is 10. Ouch.

Letter to the neighbor

2008-10-07T11:38:00.001-07:00

In case you don't know Tate very well - there is some thing you should know to fully understand why my heart feels like it may burst over what he did yesterday afternoon. He doesn't like to write. Anything. Getting him to do homework that involves handwriting is like pulling teeth. Permanent teeth.

Yesterday afternoon the only homework he had was reading. So, you see, I was surprised to find him at the kitchen table with paper and pencil. Writing. I peered over his shoulder and could make out the words, "Dear Mrs. Dot," A few minutes later, he folded the paper and asked me if he could go to Mrs. Dot's house for a minute and take the letter to her. I said that he could but asked if I could read the letter first. He handed it over. It nearly brought tears to my eyes. Oh - never mind - it DID bring tears to my eyes.

Dear Mrs. Dot,

I love your sweet heart. You are so nice to people and animals. I know you must get lonely living by yourself. When you get lonely you can call us and we will come and play with you.

Love,
your friend,
Tate

Mrs. Dot is a neighbor that lives two houses from us. She is older and lives alone. The kids visit her for a few minutes in the afternoon about once a week. We've never really talked about her being lonely. Tate did this completely on his own. When he came home I asked him if she hugged him. He said "No. But she did say she was going to keep the letter for the rest of her life and look at it every day."

I don't post this to brag. I just want to remember these sweet, tender moments.

stall talk

2008-09-18T07:43:00.001-07:00

Lately, Daisy has been saying some really thoughtful, and sometimes funny and cute things and I really should post about them but I usually forget.

Last night we were at dinner and the girls needed to go to the restroom. We usually go into the same stall (mainly for security but also if one of the girls needs help.) However, Daisy sometimes asks to go by herself. Last night was one of those times. I felt is was safe - the restaurant was not crowded and our table was the first one near the restroom door. Once she got her door closed she realized the lock was too high for her to reach (I agree with her as I had to reach to lock the door that Rosie and I were in.)

In her quick thinking she said, "Oh, Mommy that's OK. I'll just keep talking so someone will know I'm in here."

And she did. She talked the entire stay in the stall. She never panicked that someone would walk in on her. I may be out of line but I think that she was being very resourceful for a four year old, don't you?

Catching up

2008-09-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

I foolishly thought that once all four kids were in school, I wouldn't go so long in between posts. It seems that since Daisy started pre-school two weeks ago, things have only gotten busier. I've been spending time with Rosie's class, I cooked 78 meals in 3 hours with some friends last Friday (and did prep work leading up to that busy morning!) and I organized the kids rooms last week. Oh, and I had a few lunch dates with John Henry scattered throughout the last few weeks. We celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary on the 4th of this month. Who'd have thought....

The boys are playing soccer this fall. Their team has a web site - if you're interested, e-mail me and I'll send the link. I have some incredible 'action' shots of the first game but don't feel comfortable posting them because other kids are in the picture.

Before the first game. Can you tell it's an early game this Saturday morning?

Both girls are taking dance this year. This will be Rosie's fourth year to dance and Daisy's second year to dance. They both took gymnastics in the summer. Rosie decided she's not that interested in it but Daisy loves it. The kids have been doing homework while Daisy takes her hour long class of gymnastics once a week. So far, it's working out well.

All seem to be adjusting to school and the new schedule. On Daisy's second day of school, a little boy kissed her on the head. She was not happy about it at all!

First day of school, finally

2008-09-02T10:36:00.001-07:00

Daisy was beside herself with excitement about starting school. She had a hard time sleeping last night. This morning when we were coming home from taking the other three to school she said, "Finally. I get to go to school. This has been a long, boring wait."

So much for all the things we did together these last few weeks while it was only the two of us.....

Sunday afternoon at the park

2008-08-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

It is very rare to get a picture of my boys smiling rather than posing with the strained "let's get this over with" smile.

Take this for instance: How often have you seen this smile on here? This is a "happy to be a nine year old boy playing outside in the sunshine with my family" smile.

I was using my zoom for this. She was not talking to me. Actually there wasn't anyone to be talking to near her. Oh, wait. Maybe Sarah or Grace.

Which reminds me of this quick story: Before I get started, do you remember Sarah and Grace? They are the imaginary friends of Daisy. One day last week most of Daisy's toys appeared in the living room. I asked her to put them up before we left to pick up everyone else from school.

Her reply: I didn't bring them out here. Sarah and Grace brought them out here. They have been so bad. I need to find some new pretend friends that don't make messes.

She came up with two new friends - Mia and Myla. They didn't last long, though. Sarah and Grace have been back (and better than before.) As Daisy puts it, they have straightened up!

And the ever camera ready smile. She did really well at school this morning. She actually wanted me to let her walk in by herself

homework

2008-08-13T07:50:00.001-07:00

The kids seem to be settling into the school year routine. Daisy is anxious to start school but still has a few weeks to wait. Lake had lots of homework Monday and Tuesday afternoon. One of his supplies was a planner that was ordered through the school. He received his yesterday and in it, he listed his homework for the afternoon. He wrote very neatly, began his homework without any prompting from me and really enjoyed crossing off the tasks as he completed each one.

Tate's homework has been limited to reading for 30 minutes daily, finding an unfamiliar word in the reading and writing the definition. He took a spelling pre-test on Monday and since he scored 100, he is exempt from the spelling homework this week as well as the test on Friday.

Rosie has not had homework yet. She still reads with us every night. We have a couple of books going right now. As a family, I'm reading The Reptile Room to everyone. Lake has to read The Cay for school so I checked out a copy and am reading along with him. Tate is reading Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye.

Overall, I think the school year has started off well. This week started off rough with John Henry going out of town for the week and Rosie crying in the morning but this morning she went into the class without any tears.

On her second day of first grade

2008-08-08T06:56:00.001-07:00

Bubbly

2008-08-07T16:02:00.000-07:00

That is the only way I can think of to describe the attitudes of Rosie, Tate and Lake when I picked them up at school this afternoon. Rosie exclaimed, "I feel like I need to scream because I had such a good day at school!" I am trying not to dwell on the first day of kindergarten for her last year when she said that it was the best day of her life.

And then the second day of kindergarten was the worst day of her life. Ever.

The boys were just as happy with their day. Usually I have to really ask them lots of questions to find out how things went but today it seemed as if they couldn't talk fast enough to tell me everything.

If you are curious about what Daisy and I did today - she changed clothes 5 times and then got a blanket, a cup of chocolate milk and her blanket and curled up in my lap.
We stayed that way for nearly two hours. She will start preschool after Labor Day but seemed content to play with me today.

Back to school

2008-08-07T06:58:00.000-07:00

First grade

2008-08-07T06:39:00.000-07:00

My Rosie was the hardest to wake this morning. Once she got moving, she ate a good breakfast, got dressed, asked me to fix her hair (curling the ponytail, I might add), put her book bag on her shoulder and was ready to go!

Third grade

2008-08-07T06:33:00.000-07:00

Tate has been excited about school for the last several weeks. He was the first to wake this morning - and he was in a good mood, too! He has a teacher that is new to the school so of course there are lots of questions.

Can't you tell that he is just about to burst with excitement?

Fourth grader

2008-08-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

Lake is ready for fourth grade. I told him that this was my favorite year of elementary school. His best friend is in his class. They went to preschool together and although they have been at the same school, this is the first year for them to be in class together.

He was nervous and excited at the same time.

Last day of summer break

2008-08-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

The kids go back to school tomorrow. They are all very excited. We met the teachers last night and it looks like we should have a good year. After running several errands (hair cuts, doctor office for medical forms twice) we went for a swim at a favorite pool. It's not the one we use (which is 5 minutes from home and includes an Olympic size pool, wave pool, kids area and beach area.) This one is about 15 minutes from home but there is just something about it that we love; therefore, it has become a tradition over the last three years to swim at this pool on the day before school starts.

Lake on his way down the slide, with his good friend following closely behind.

Tate was able to stay seated on his way down.

Of course, Rosie.

No need to have sympathy for Daisy. She had several turns on the slide while sitting on my lap. This was taken as we were drying off a bit before heading home.

ouch!

2008-07-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

Tate was stung by a bee on the inside of his lip. I took this about 10 minutes after it happened. I have given him Benadryl and now we are waiting to see if it is going to get worse or settle down....

update: the swelling went down and his lip is looking and feeling much better!

looking back

2008-07-17T19:19:00.000-07:00

I thought we might take a look back through a few birthdays...

On Rosie's second birthday, she fell and busted her lip. She still has a visible scar from that one.

On her third birthday, she was just plain silly!

I think she looks the 'most changed' going from her third birthday to her fourth.

Or maybe from the fourth to the fifth...

I do know this: The time is going by at lightening speed with these four children that I love so much.

six!

2008-07-17T18:46:00.001-07:00

Yes, Rosie is six as of today. Of course, she picked our favorite local place to eat for dinner.

As usual, my good friend out did herself with the cake. It was a beautiful purse in Rosie's favorite colors. Inside, it was two layers - one chocolate and one funfetti. And, it was delicious!

I have a picture of the 25 children that came but I didn't ask the other parents if it was OK to post - so, here are the four you know, anyway.

Last day to be 5

2008-07-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's a day late because yesterday was her last day to be 5. Rosie is with my mom's brother, my very handsome single uncle. He couldn't make it to her party this afternoon so we met for dinner on the river last night.

catching up

2008-07-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

The summer is flying by for all of us. School starts in less than four weeks. It seems we have finally settled into some sort of summer routine and now it will be changing again so soon.
We spent the fourth of July with John Henry's mom and some of her friends. The boys spent the rest of the weekend with her and we enjoyed a few days with the girls. We took the girls to see An American Girl: The Kit Kittredge Story. I highly recommend this movie. We all (including John Henry) loved it. We also took the girls to play putt-putt.

We picked the boys up on Sunday evening. Monday was the day that the kids dread - laundry day. I warned them at the beginning of summer we would have to spend at least one day a week on laundry and general housekeeping. On Tuesday we went swimming. All day. We went at 10:30 and came home at 6:30. We would have stayed longer but Tate had an accident with the diving board and now has a scrape from his ribs, under his arm, and then ending at his elbow. I really think he was getting tired and that is why he didn't jump out far enough from the board.

Wednesday we swam again for a few hours and then the boys went home with friends for the night. They came home on Thursday exhausted - Tate fell asleep on the sofa at 6:30!

Tomorrow the girls are having 'girls day' with my mom. They are making brownies and playing with make-up. Oh, and I think something was mentioned about a manicure?

I almost forgot - Rosie lost a tooth (top, front) at the pool Tuesday. I took a picture but I need a better one before I post for all to see. Let me just say that is very becoming of her. After all, who doesn't love a toothless almost first grader? With red hair and freckles and pretty blue eyes? Yep, that's what I thought.

OK. So, that catches you up on our week and even gets you through tomorrow, right?

Good.

weekend

2008-07-02T07:44:00.001-07:00

This weekend we went to an airshow with Trixie and Dare and another friend. There was a bit of confusion and Trixie and Dare had to leave after only a short while.

I was able to get a quick picture of the cute boy before his departure in search of food and a nap.

The rest of the gang found a nice spot of shade and watched the Blue Angels. It was quite amazing.

The cleanest girl in town

2008-06-26T06:10:00.000-07:00

My girl, Daisy must be the cleanest girl for miles. After swimming on Tuesday she took a shower. When she told me she was finished and asked me to turn off the water, she decided that she would like to get a bath.

To clarify, I said, "Do you want to get a bath right now?"

She answered, "Well, if you don't want me to get a bath then I don't want to get a bath. But, if you want me to get a bath, then I want to get a bath."

Who could say "No" to that?

When she finished her bath I decided to get a quick shower. A few minutes into it, Daisy hopped in to the shower. Just because she wanted to.

Oh, and then later in the afternoon there was something about her baby needing a bath and the whole 'wash the baby in the sink' just wasn't working for her.

So, two showers and two baths in one day ranks her as the cleanest kid in town don't you think?

in the garden

2008-06-18T17:56:00.001-07:00

Today we met some friends at a local botanical garden. The weather was beautiful - really a perfect day, not too hot but with plenty of sunshine.

The favorite part for the kids was anything that contained water.

This is seven of the eight kiddos on the way out of the garden going to eat lunch - the 8th little one was in the stroller.

balloon toss

2008-06-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

at Tate's birthday party

Bike rider

2008-06-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

I know the quality of this photo is pitiful but I had to have something to document the fact that Rosie no longer has training wheels on her bike.

Birthday dinner

2008-06-15T19:34:00.001-07:00

In our family, you get to pick where you want to eat on your birthday. Tate picked on of my favorite places tonight. (Notice that Daisy is wearing my jacket?)

This food is yummy! The boys were so hungry from the day of fishing that they nearly cleaned their plates.

Did I mention that they were dog tired, too? I wonder if they will sleep well tonight....

Tate is Eight

2008-06-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today is Tate's eighth birthday. He is now the proud owner of a new bike. He'd outgrown his old one so it was time for a new one.

Yesterday we shopped for waders for both boys. These are needed for fly fishing and the boys have been asking for these for quite some time. Tate thought this was his birthday present. When he got up this morning he asked if he could try them on again. I said, "Sure." He went into the kitchen looking for them, couldn't find them, came back and asked us, "Do you know where they are?" (This was a valid question since we got home at 1:30 a.m.) I told him to look by the sink in the kitchen. This was when he noticed the bike in the kitchen. He was so surprised and HAPPY.

So, after a bit of bike riding and breakfast, the boys headed to the water to try out the waders. I think they look quite cute in them (although I don't know if fishermen like to be called 'cute'. Sorry, guys!

The fishing report for the day: It was quite hot outside (near 90 degrees) but everyone caught fish.

The official birthday party is tomorrow so I will hopefully post pictures from that soon...

Summer reading

2008-06-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

The three older kids have summer reading lists.

Rosie's list is vague in that she needs to read two chapter books and two non-fiction books OR 25 - 30 picture books. We'll probably do both. Also, she is listening in with the boys as we read through their lists.

Lake's list: (He is encouraged to read two from the list but we hope to read them all.)
The B. F. G. by Roald Dahl
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Clearly
Double Fudge by Judy Blume (since this is part of a series, we will read the books leading up to this one also - we have
already read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing which is the first in the series.)
Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Clearly (we read this last week)
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Tate's list: (He has to read two plus two non-fiction books also. Again, we plan to read them all.)
Muggie Maggie by Beverly Clearly
Abel's Island by William Steig (we are reading this now)
The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth
Class Clown by Johanna Hurwitz
Lizzie Logan Wears Purple Sunglasses by Eileen Spinelli
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater
Poppy by Avi
Sable by Karen Hesse
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Soup by Robert Peck

A typical weekend day during the summer

2008-06-09T16:49:00.001-07:00

Or, why I love summer.

There are several things I love about summer. For instance, I love the smell of sunscreen. I love the sound of the ocean. I love being able to pack a few things for a day trip, load the family in the car, and head out for an adventure. This is what we usually do on Saturday or Sunday (or both!) during the summer. The kids are learning to not ask, "Where are we going?" Now, they usually ask, "Can we go on an adventure today?" On Saturday we ended up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We usually have the discs (frisbees) with us and we played a course at Cloudland Canyon State Park. On Sunday we went to Chapel Hill in Tennessee and played the course at Henry Horton State Park. Trixie and HP - this is the park I think would be really cool for camping.

Daisy is ready for an adventure.

Rosie is reading. We usually pack books to read and color plus the boys often take games to play.

After we played disc golf we stopped at the playground. One of Tate's favorite things to do is swing.

I think Lake was trying to cool off from playing the disc golf course!

And then there was this lovely sunset.

So, now that you know what I love about summer, tell me - What do you love about summer?

dentist

2008-06-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that Daisy struggled with going to the dentist. In fact, it took several monthly visits for her to feel comfortable sitting in the examination chair. About a year ago she and Lake had an incident that left her with a broken tooth. The dentist said that we would watch it and wait. The tooth didn't make it. Her front teeth on top are very weak and so the decision was made to remove both of these baby teeth. She has been excited for days waiting to get these teeth taken out (I guess that goes with being the littlest and the only one to still have all of her baby teeth in the family?)

She was wonderful for the dentist and within a few hours, she was all smiles:

The four

2008-05-31T03:00:00.000-07:00

photos courtesy of the girls

2008-05-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

Rosie's hand at the camera without any guidance from me.

Daisy's hand at the camera without any help.

The girls at the pool

2008-05-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

Boy, I'm glad my girls like each other. They were inseparable at the pool yesterday. Oh, and they were all smiles, too.
These may be the last of the pool pictures for awhile. It's too hard to do AND keep an eye on all four of the kiddos. (And I'm afraid that I might drop the camera in the pool....)

The boys at the pool

2008-05-30T19:02:00.000-07:00

We finally got to the pool yesterday. We'd planned on going Tuesday but it rained all day and again on Wednesday. So, Thursday morning we were ready to go! Well, actually, it was a bit too cool for me but the kids couldn't stand it anymore: They were out of school and ready to swim!

Tate going off the diving board

Lake going off the diving board

The boys going down the slide together.

Leap frog at the jubilee

2008-05-30T18:55:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to the annual balloon festival. We go every year and love it. We usually take a picnic and eat on a blanket while the balloons fill up the sky. My camera battery died when the sun went down so I don't have any pictures of the balloons "glowing" which is a beautiful sight....

Lake: Third grade beginning and end

2008-05-30T18:46:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of third grade, Lake was slightly apprehensive. In a class of twenty, he was one of only three boys. He wanted to be in class with his best friend and he wasn't.

Shortly after school started, he and the two other boys in the class banded together. It really turned into a neat friendship between the three boys with hardly any arguing (I think they realized they only had each other, so they had to protect the friendship!) He made straight A's and he learned the joy of reading a book from cover to cover!

Tate: Second grade beginning and end

2008-05-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of second grade, Tate was READY for school! He had an incredible teacher and couldn't wait to get started.

He made straight A's this year and according to his incredible, he was a leader in the classroom. He encouraged many of his classmates to strive to do better. He says his favorite subject this year was math. He read lots of books and even went to dinner with his teacher as a reward for his accomplishments in reading.

Rosie: Kindergarten beginning and end

2008-05-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the school year, Rosie was very shy. Painfully shy. She cried in the mornings when she walked in.

By the end of the year, she has changed so much. She is friends with all the chidren in her class. She is the only child in her class that didn't have to 'pull a card' the ENTIRE year. Never. For those of you wondering what not having to 'pull a card' means, well, it just means that her behavior was good.
She will be changing schools next year since she was invited to the magnet program (like her brothers).

begging for more

2008-05-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

I started reading to the kids at night several weeks ago. The boys are fine to read by themselves but Rosie is just learning to read and still needs me by her side when she reads most books. However, since the boys are getting older and reading more in-depth books, I felt it was time that I started reading along with them (either reading to them or at the least, reading the same book mainly to monitor content.)

For starters, I read Swiss Family Robinson since we had visited Disney World and they completely loved visiting the tree house based on the story. We enjoyed the book - yes, even me because it was one I hadn't read as a child. Next I let Lake choose the book and he picked The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket. For the first few nights of reading, I only read one chapter a night. On Thursday I read two chapters because we were left hanging after one! Well, last night we were four chapters from the end. After two chapters (evidently I spoiled them Thursday!) they were begging for more. They both exclaimed, "Mom, you can't stop there! It's just not fair! How will we sleep without knowing what happens? Pleeeeeeease, Mom?"

I love it! We finished the book last night (geesh! I didn't want to be left hanging either!) I'll let Tate choose what we start tonight. We'll read The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket soon as it's the next in the series. I'm sure we'll be going to the library this week and we'll pick it up then.

Oh, and don't worry, they are still reading books on their own, too.

something my family can agree on

2008-05-16T06:46:00.001-07:00

I am not a big fan of video games - I feel nervous or jittery when I play them so I usually don't play them. John Henry is a big fan of video games and my boys are following in his footsteps. We limit the time they play and closely monitor the games, etc..

Well, John Henry's birthday was a few weeks ago and after much debating with myself, I asked John Henry's mom (Grandma) if she wanted to go in with me and purchase a Wii for his birthday. He had been looking at the Wii when he and the boys were out running errands and Lake suggested to me that we get that for his birthday.

Evidently these game consoles are in short supply - after several days of searching we finally located a store that had several in stock at an average price. Grandma took it home with her to wrap it and to generally keep it out of the house until his birthday.

It is an understatement to say that he was excited - he really couldn't believe that we had picked this for him. (We usually do sensible stuff for birthdays.)

So, it's been a few weeks and the whole family is loving this game system. It came with a sports package that includes golf, tennis, baseball and bowling. Yes, bowling! You have to stand up and 'bowl' - none of this sitting on the sofa pushing buttons - you have to move when you play! You create your own person which are actually cute to work with (mine has sparkles in her eyes ;)

Up until yesterday I had been content with the bowling - it was a game I could play with all of the kids and it's fun. Last night John Henry wanted us to play baseball. It was OK. I won.

Then he wanted to play tennis. It was a hoot. Or, rather I must have been a hoot. I was jumping all over the living room swinging at the ball. And mostly missing the ball. At one point I tripped over Annie and landed on the sofa. I laughed so hard that, well, I laughed too hard.

All in all, we love this. And I calculated the cost of bowling for a family of six and we have gotten our money's worth from that game alone already!

Best pillow in the house

2008-05-15T11:58:00.000-07:00

Today was Daisy's last day of school (the rest of the gang finish up next Thursday.) When we got home we found Annie curled up on the sofa which makes sense as it is raining a slow, steady, sleepy kind of rain.

Well, it didn't take long for Daisy (a cat for the day) to join her!

This mother's dream

2008-05-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember, I always wanted lots and lots of babies. When I was a child, dreaming of my prince charming and all of the little children we would have to fill our home, I don't think I was gender specific about the actual children that would be filling our home. Which, when you think about it, worked out quite well since we have two of each!

So, for Mother's Day in my family, things were near perfect. There were a few key people physically missing but they were present in my heart.

Daisy, so full of sunshine - you see the world through your rose tinted glasses.

Lake, ever the serious one.

Tate, bubbling over with a love uncontainable.

Rosie - the world is her pallet.

Oh, when I look at the four of you, my heart nearly bursts from the love I feel. Sure, we have our ups and downs (daily!) but you are so quick to forgive and even forget and move on to the next adventure.

Mother's Tea

2008-05-07T14:28:00.001-07:00

Today all of the mothers were invited to a 'Mother's Tea' at Rosie's class. We had to wait in the office until they were ready for us. The children escorted us to the room, sang two songs and then provided refreshements.

Can you believe we only have 11 days of school left?? And then my sweet little kindergartener Rosie will be a FIRST grader??!

Oh, and just an update for those interested: She did get her invitation to the magnet program.