The Circus!!!

Saturday afternoon, we met up with the Neufeld's and the Pyle's and took our crew of 9 kiddos to The Carson and Barnes Family Circus. We had such a great time.

Our excitement upon approaching the Big Top was squashed just a little, when we were greeted in the parking lot by 2 picketers. We had the pleasure of standing beside them for a few minutes, while we waited for the traffic-police to allow us to cross. I got to start the afternoon by answering Addison's questions...."Why are the animals crying in that ladies picture?", "Why is she telling us to make a better choice next year?", "What does cruel mean?". Now, I certainly have no idea what goes on all the time behind the scenes of the circus. However, the girls and I had taken advantage of an invitation to come and watch the circus set up on Friday. We were there bright and early and they already had all the animals unloaded and set up in comfortable, shady stalls. They seemed well-loved and well cared-for, and the definitely enjoyed soaking up all the attention and snacks from all the children. We also got to watch as the elephants helped the workers pull the poles up for the tent. They seemed to be treated very kindly and gently. Thankfully we were soon allowed to cross the street and Addison quickly forgot the images that had been put in her mind.

Our first stop was to ride the elephants. The girls had learned Friday morning, that they could do that when we came back and there was no stopping them. Actually Reagan had initially said that she was sticking to the pony ride, but she got sucked in by all the elephant hype from her sister. They were on a mission. $22 bucks is what that mission cost me, but that is okay, I suspect that shall be our only elephant riding experience for quite some time, making it a reasonably low expense. Right? We happened to run into some neighbor's while waiting in line for the elephant. There son (yep, a boy in our neighborhood) had been pondering a ride himself. At one point, he was on his way up with his "imaginary friend", until said "imaginary friend" backed out, forcing AJ to give up his ride for the sake of his "friend". Thankfully Tom saved the day and he was happy to go up with him and our crew of girls! Then is was off to the petting zoo. My little animal lovers were thrilled to feed goats, lamas, and an ox.

Until, Reagan said one bit her. They were very gentle, so it was probably the result of Reagan sticking her fingers in a goat's mouth. She was over it quickly and back to feeding them.

Dawn, Brian, Taylor, Kylee and baby Colten (blocked by his sister), ready for the show.

My crew, eating Ring-Pops and waiting for the show. Not sure what is going on with Addison here, but we had to go for best 4 out of 5!!!

Baby girl loved the show. She was so cute pointing at the performers, and nodding her head yes. She was in awe. Amazing that she made it the whole 2 hours!!! The only problem was a brief period in the middle of the show when she and Reagan spent an good 30 minutes fighting over my lap.

The whole crew!

We left the circus at 6:30 and decided to try our luck with a table for 15 at a local pizza place, so close to bedtime. It was great. The big girls had their own table, next to us and the babies. This is how Reagan ate her spaghetti. Parmesan in one hand, fork in the other.

The kids table. They are happy, we are happy. Win/Win.

Dance party in an empty corner of the restaurant. It is now 8:30 and we are trying hard to pay and get out of there! Sammy and Julie aren't dancing. Not sure if it is because their parents were the good parents, who made their children stay seated, or if it was because their girls had found the cookie desserts we had at the grown up table, and were thus otherwise occupied???

What a fun night!!! My girls were asleep on the 3 minute drive home and tucked in bed fully clothed. 2 of them slept until 7:30 this morning (Hallelujah). And one is still asleep! I am sure the girls will be trying out all the new tricks they learned throughout the day!

Pop of Daisies

Their Mommies shop at the same place, so they inevitably end up with lots of the same clothes. We try to plan a day each season and get them all in the same "line" for pictures. There are 11 of them, so you can imagine, not the easiest task we take on!

Reagan, Gracyn, Addison, Ava, Claire, Brenna, Clara, Nora, Lila, Mackenzie, Presley

Ava, Reagan and Baby Claire

The Big Sisters. Mackenzie went missing for this one.
The middle girls.

The babies, Claire is missing.

Neighborhod Porch Crawl

Saturday night was our 2nd annual end-of-summer Porch Crawl. That is our neighborhood's version of the outdoor progressive dinner. We made our way around to 5 different porches with a pack of 26 adults and 29 kids. This year's theme was generations. We began in the roaring 20's, then had a 50's sock-hop, followed by a 70's disco party, then our 80's bash. Finally the night ended with a future themed dessert party. Each stop includes food, cocktails and a craft/game for the kids.

Here we are in our 80's attire. Can't see them, but Tommy's jeans are tight-rolled.

Addison rockin' her side pony-tail. I promise you she has never loved me more than she did in this outfit. She thought I was fabulous!

The ladies of the 50's.

Lyndi and I taught the kids the "Hand-Jive"! We kept after it long after they quit! :)

My girls were making pet rocks in the 70's.

Troy is a push-over with the kids, and he has Pop-Rocks! He was Gracyn's best friend.

The Larson's and the St Onges hosting the 70's.

Ladies of the 80's, posing by our Christian Slater poster.

Playing a game with the kids....they are marching in a circle to a rockin' 80's mix tape.

Michele and Penny's stellar performance.

Where's Gracyn?

There she is!

For the millionth time, we are so blessed to live where we do! We have a blast with this crowd. Can't wait to start planning next year's theme.

Hoarders, The Bunk-Bed Edition

Addison's Top Bunk Reagan's Bottom Bunk
Last Christmas we got Addison and Reagan bunk-beds. For the most part, it has worked out great and the girls love them.

My only complaint....the stuff! Now Reagan's bunk isn't too bad. She mostly just likes to accumulate blankets and stuffed animals in there.

Addison's is a MESS! She has all her most precious possessions collected up there. The picture was taken 2 days after I changed the sheets (which requires her to clean everything out), so it isn't nearly as bad as it can be. At any given time, she has 3 dolls, countless stuffed animals, a water cup, piles of books, and rows of Little Pet Shops. Under her pillow you will find pieces of papers and drawings that she has done. It is a bunch of messy junk to me, but it is treasure to her. And, I guess since she shares a bedroom, it is her most private space.

I have to take a deep breath and let it go....DAILY! I gave up making the beds and showing off their pretty Pottery Barn quilts. I gave up trying to make them choose 3 things to sleep with. I gave up trying to keep the beds cleaned-off, and they are happy.

So now, their beds look like this everyday of the week, except the one day each week, when either I, or the cleaning lady, forces them to clear it all out for new sheets.

So, if you come to my house and this is what you see, don't judge me. I don't like it any more than you do, but it is a little thing that brings my sweet girls joy.

Labor Day on the Circle

What a fun Labor Day afternoon. Troy and Jill cooked-out and invited the neighborhood to their backyard. They had all the toys out, a coloring station set up and a rock decorating project (with glitter and glue, one of my children's love languages) all ready to go. Labor Day does truly mark the end of summer here in Colorado, so in true fashion, we started the day at a perfect 75 degrees and ended the night with sweaters on.

Reagan at bat.

Daddy's little look-alike. She was so big today. Running around the yard with the big kids. Move over last year's "Circle" babies. There is a new generation of babies now.

Circle Mama's with a few babies in the mix. Where are you Penny?

Gracyn and Lila having a sweet little tea party!

Addison and the big kids had one big day-long wrestle match in the bounce house.

Tired and hungry, maybe?

Lil' Charlie Ray

Jake is a ladies man. Addison is in love!

Gracyn and Presley coloring with chalk. Hard to believe these two, along with Lila, where sleeping in our arms at this party last year.

Pick a rock, write your name on it, glue on as much glitter and sparkles as you like. They loved this!

Gracyn has her eye on Trent's fruit punch.

And, she is going for it. Though I don't know how much is actually going in her mouth.

We had a great night. Such fun to celebrate the close of summer with so many fun people. I leave you with a few funny stories from the night.

*One of our neighbors, Jack is 4. He also has a 4 month old baby brother. Their family left fairly early in the day. Later, someone noticed Jack, now in a Spider-Man costume playing in the yard. "Didn't his family go home?", someone said. Yes, yes they did. Jack went home with his parents, put on his costume, and made his way back to the party (From about 5 houses down) all alone.

*Poor Reagan, she hasn't had a potty accident in a long time. Until last night, when she peed in the sand-box. She was so embarrassed and quickly shoveling sand over the wetness trying to cover it up. Thankfully sand has a kitty-litter effect and we were able to scoop the "wetness" into a bucket, throw it away, and get her cleaned up before any of her friends found out!

17 Months

I love one-year-olds!!! I love that they learn something new everyday. I love watching them figure out the world. I love hearing them laugh and babble. I love how they are gaining independence. It is definitely a favorite age for me. Here is what I love about Gracyn right now.~She is picking up words at a rapid pace. She is very verbal and will try to say most any word you tell her. About 1/2 of them come out understandable. My favorite right now is "In dere!". If you ask her where anything is, she will point to its direction and tell you "In dere!". This morning, when the dog had gone downstairs she even said, "Down dere". Love it!!!

~She loves Daddy, probably the most of any of the girls at this age. They are all Mamma's girls, but Gracyn likes to hang with him. All day long, while he is working if we hear a sound she will say with question, "Daddy?". She also points anytime she sees something of his and says, "Daddy".

~She calls Addison "Sissy Addie". I don't particularly like for Addison to be called Addie, but I don't mind it from Gracyn (or her Grandpa, who has almost always called her that). She calls Reagan "Sissy Rea-Rea". We didn't give her either of these names, that is just how they come out.

~Her current most prized possession is the Yogi Bear tattoo she got on her arm from our camping trip. She holds her arm out and says "YoYo" to anyone who will take interest. Addison tries to teach her words and wanting to shorten "Tattoo", she keeps telling her "Show me your Tat!". Nice. Today, I asked Gracyn if she was all done with her tattoo, and if she was ready to wash it off. She grinned really big, shouted no at me and ran away. I guess she is keeping it for awhile.

~She sleeps through the night about 1/2 the time now. However, she gets up at 5:45 or 6:00am everyday. It is making me crazy. She used to be my late sleeper, and the big girls got up early. Now she is up and they are sleeping in. I am sure it is a conspiracy they have, in an attempt to make me a morning person.

~Gracyn loves to dance, play with babies, build puzzles and read books.

~She is still nursing. We were down to 2 or 3 times a day, but camping, and my nursing her a ton in an attempt to get her to sleep, set us way back. I would like to be done by her 18 month birthday. She only nurses on one side, and if you have nursed a baby, you know, that creates a little bit of asymmetry for the mama!

~She will only let us carry her on the right hip. What is it with her and right sides? If we switch her to the left, she screams and tells us no.

~Gracyn usually hangs out on my bathroom counter while I get ready in the morning. I have a built in vanity. I sit on the bench and she sits on the countertop. She plays happily there, until I pull-out the blow-dryer. She hates loud noises, including the hair-dryer. As soon as she sees me pull it from the drawer, she nods her head up and down and tells me "Sissy". I put her down and she runs off to find the big girls. She always stays with them until I turn it off.

Love watching her grow! Love this time where she is a little bit baby and a little bit big girl. Love seeing her personality develop. I am one blessed Mommy.

Jellystone

Last weekend, we set out for our first ever Guess Family Camping Adventure! I had been doing some research on the Jellystone Campgrounds in Estes Park. Several other neighbors and friends wanted to go, so off we went. I wasn't quite ready (and probably will never be) to camp in a tent with my crew, so we rented a cabin. It was perfect. Just a small room with 2 sets of bunk-beds, a small fridge and a bathroom. Thankfully 2 of the couples we went with are veteran campers, so they guided us through meal planning and the ins and outs of camping. It turned out to be a great weekend. Perfect weather, tons of activities for the kids, great meals, and fun by the campfire each night.

Yogi Bear comes out every morning to raise the flag, greet the kids and start the day.

Reagan won "Candy-Bar-Bingo"! She was so proud and she had a whole loot of candy. Don't tell her, but her Daddy ate most of her winnings throughout the course of the weekend!
Addison LOVED hiking!

The whole crew hiked up the mountain behind our cabin several times. The girls were great at it. We saw tons of chipmunks and bunnies, and thankfully no bears or snakes. The chipmunks quickly learned that hanging around our cabin was the place to be. The kids kept them well fed.

Gracyn was a champ. She did great.

Our neighbor had been to Jellystone with her family the week before we all booked. She scooped out the best cabin for us. We were the only ones with this huge deck and such a big private space behind us.

There were lots of fun times on the playground.

Here are 8 of the 11 little girls that made up our group.

My kids were FILTHY!!! They played in serious amounts of dirt. In this picture Gracyn put her head on the metal cage that goes over the campfire. She got plenty of soot from the night before!

Did I mention they were dirty. Those clothes that Reagan has on went directly to the trash.

If you have been reading long, you are familiar with my children's fearlessness and love of climbing. There was a huge boulder behind our cabin that was probably 12 feet tall. All the girls climbed all over it all weekend. I looked up once and saw Reagan swinging from a tree, at least 13 feet high. She launch herself off of the rock and on to a tree limb and was swinging from it. I quickly took a picture and then told her NO MORE!!!

The whole crew at night. 8 adults and 11 little girls. Time for Smores and Jiffy Pop over the fire!

Gracyn DID NOT sleep well throughout the trip. I believe this picture was taken around 9:30 at night, when I took her in and attempted to put her to bed. She was WILD. She loved grabbing the rungs from the top bunk and swinging from them....it seems she has learned a thing or two from her big sisters. She was also launching her body across the bed and doing full forward rolls, pretty impressive for 17 months!

Sunday morning we got cleaned-up (sort off) and headed in to the town of Estes Park. We had a great lunch, several desserts and toured the town. Here are Mackenzie and Reagan waiting on some Bluebell Ice-Cream. That is a rare find out of Texas, but there is a little shop in Estes that carries it.

Our first trip was a big success and I think we will do it again next year. Not too often though, camping is fun but lots and lots of work!!!