2 Wheels

Addison mastered riding her bike without training wheels this past weekend! We were so proud of her. We have been working at it off and on for a month or so. We would take the training wheels off, do some practicing, but then eventually put them back on. Her legs are so long, she can't ride the 12 inch bike, and there are some definite challenges with learning how to balance on the bigger model.

Saturday she and Daddy headed out with a pool noodle. Tommy wrapped the noodle under her arms and held on to the ends of it while she got her balance. It only took a few attempts before she was off and pedaling. Since then, she has learned to start and stop herself and can ride independently! Fun times!!!

Braggin' on My Girl

I had our first conference with Addison's kindergarten teacher this week, and I left with a heart full of pride (and a few tears) for my sweet girl. We went over all the regular kindie stuff.....she knows her letters and numbers and is right on track learning to read. That was all great to hear, but then her teacher commented on her character. She told me what a sweet, compassionate heart Addison has, and how she exhibits kindness and caring far beyond what you would expect for a 5-year-old. She told me that Addison will stop what she is doing to help another child in need.

So sweet to hear. Addison is a born nurturer and I see it all the time when she is with younger kids. They adore her and she is never bothered to help them or take care of them. However it was great to hear that she exhibits the same qualities with her peer group. I love that sweet girl and I am so thankful for the heart God gave her. I pray that she will always have such a tender heart full of love, caring and helpfulness.

A Week

For my own memories, I wanted to record what a typical week looks like around here with school and activities in full swing. Life is SO MUCH different this year, from last. 2 in school (even if it is only a small number of hours) and one rapidly exciting babyhood make life interesting. If I could freeze time with my 5 1/2, 3 1/2 and 1 1/2 year old, I just might do it!!! They are at such great ages. Here is a little bit of last week, by the numbers.

8-9 loads of laundry done.

3 containers of strawberries, 1 pound of grapes, 7 apples, 10 bananas, and 1 container of blueberries get eaten in a typical week at my house.

3 doctors appointments for the bunch....4 if you count my trip for a chest X-ray.

1 hour volunteered in Addison's classroom. 1 1/2 hours volunteered at her school carnival.

2 bibles studies in progress. The Beatitudes for the homegroup we lead and Beth Moore's Daniel in my women's group.

3 birthday parties over the course of last weekend.

4 dinners cooked, along with lots of leftovers and breakfast and lunch everyday.

1 time each day still nursing Gracyn. She is cut off on Friday!!!

50 is the total number of months I have spent nursing now.

2 evening walks with the dog.

4 afternoons spent at the park.

11 little girls at a playdate at my house Wendesday afternoon.

27 new books checked out at the library.

56 dollars spent at Addison's book fair (last week, we went back today). I am a such a sucker for books!!!

4 hours of girl time out. First dinner at Cheesecake Factory then shopping at Gymboree for our little ones.

4 dozen boxes of cookie dough in my freezer from Addison's fundraiser. It won't last long, because I am eating it EVERYDAY!

5 late night episodes of House watched with the hubby via Netflix.

3 trips to the grocery store.

8-9 consecutive hours slept each night for the last several weeks. EVERYONE is sleeping through the night and I am SOAKING IT UP.

Fall Festival

Addison's school had their Fall Festival on Saturday. It was a great family day. We played all sorts of carnival games and won prizes. They had a cake walk, face painting and lots of food. We squeezed in all we could in the first two hours, then Addison headed off to a birthday party, Daddy took Gracyn home to nap and Reagan and I stayed and worked at a booth. She was quite the little helper. The school community has turned out to be great so far. I am thankful to be here.

Everything

I haven't had much time for blogging lately, so I have quite the mix of pictures that I just pulled from my camera.

The girls and I took advantage of a beautiful fall day and some time off from school and headed to the zoo.

Gracyn can do anything her big sisters can! She is not to be left behind.
3 sweet, cuddly, clean girls straight from the bath. Why can't they look at the camera and smile like this when they are dressed?

Clifford the Big Red Dog was at Addison's school for the book fair.

Love my snuggle time with my 3 girls!

Colorado Rockies

The baseball team, not the mountains. We took the girls to the Coke suite at the baseball game on Sunday and had a great time. I don't know who they played, don't know what the score was, not sure if they even won. We didn't actually watch much baseball, but we still had fun.

Gracyn and I were handing out in the suite munching on popcorn. She was also crazy about the peanuts. I must have cracked open 20 peanuts for her to eat.

Addison brought along "Cubby Bear". He was home from kindergarten with her and we were recording his adventures with us.

Reagan and Daddy watching the game.

You have to eat the nachos while you are there!

During the 5th inning their mascott, Dinger, comes up to the suites and poses for pics with the kids.

Reagan loves him, Gracyn isn't sure!

The stadium has a small playground for the kids, so we spent some time there.

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day in Denver!

Reagan having a fun playtime.

The highlight of the day for the girls was this elevator operator, who we went back to see a few times. His name-tag says Santa Claus, as does his driver's license (at least the one he showed us). He has a great time playing the part for the kids. They were amazed to find Santa at the baseball game!

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.