Getting ready for Christmas

 Gus had the honors of placing the star at the top of the tree

Here's a selection of pictures from our Christmastime fun:

 Pointing out their favorite ornaments

 Evie as an angel in the Sunday School program.  She complained that she was an angel "again" this year, but I think she enjoys it.

 Evie is on the right in the front row.  She knew every line of every song!

Will and the kids ringing bells for the Salvation Army.  I think the boys were more interested in the automatic door in front of Albertsons than they were to ring a bell!

Evie also had her school holiday program in December, but none of my pictures came out.  Her class was dressed as penguins and I think they were the hit of the program.  Evie smiled and sang and had a blast.  Her enthusiasm shined all the way to the back row where Will, her brothers and I found seats.  She was really excited about the "surprise" at the end of one of the songs: they got to throw confetti!  How they kept kindergarteners still with confetti in their hands, I'll never know.

Thanksgiving means family time

Thanksgiving brought plenty of togetherness, and while I didn't get a picture of the yummy dinner, I did get several pictures of the kids hanging out with their extended family.  Stories and laughter were shared by all!

 Evie and Parker

Will reads a story to the younger cousins

Evie, Guthrie, Jaxyn, Parker, and Zevon cuddle up for a book

Grandpa Wayne and Grandma Bev snuggle with the grandkids

Snow fun? No fun?

 Guthrie and Zevon, enjoying the ride

So far, this winter has been warm and cold, bare and snowy.  I think it is safe to say that the kids enjoy the snowy better than anything else.  Of course, I think we spend as much time putting on hats and mittens and coats and boots and snowpants as we do actually outside playing in the snow.  But that's more of my problem than theirs.  

 She may have been born in the Pacific NW, but she loves Montana and has Minnesota in her heart.  I think the only thing better for Evie than snow is more snow.

To give an example of the extremes, this first picture is from the second week in November:

This picture is from the last week in November:

What a difference the snow makes.  Evie and Guthrie look a little confused.  It is winter, so we should be using the sleds.  But the weather isn't so cold, so the scooter makes more sense.  What to do?  I like how Guthrie had to up the danger factor by riding his scooter on the sled, with the toy lawnmower behind him. 

Halloween 2012

 Two monkeys and a butterfly waiting patiently for candy

Halloween was a low-key affair for us this year.  To make things simple, I convinced Evie to use her bluebird wings from her ballet recital this spring for a costume.  She decided to be a butterfly, and a beautiful butterfly she was.  We made some antenna to complete the outfit.  The boys, I had decided, would be Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Cat in the Hat.  I made red t-shirts and everything.  Zevon and Guthrie decided otherwise.  They had worn their t-shirts earlier in the day at daycare for their Halloween parade.  But when they got home they would not put their thing shirts back on.  Would.  Not.  A happy halloween picture in costume was not going to happen.  So, I put their monkey hats on instead and called it good.  I had to get over the fact I spent an afternoon getting the computer to print the iron-on transfers and making it all look nice.  Oh, well.

We enjoyed a warm day for trick-or-treating.  We took the kids around the block, and that was about all the boys wanted.  We taught them to say 'trick-or-treat' but at each door, Zevon would just say "Please?" and Guthrie would grab the candy and run. 

 Evie testing out her wings

Trick OR treat?  Hmmmm....

 Evie pointing out her jack-o-lantern (far right).  She designed it, scooped out the guts, and let me do the cutting.  Will and I did our own pumpkin carving with some 'help' from the boys.

 Guthrie: "Put the candy in here and no one gets hurt."  

Zevon: "Candy, please? Please? Candy? Please?"

Weeks later, the boys now will now wear their Halloween shirts.  Will caught a picture with his iPad.  At least I have proof that these would have been awesome costumes.  Thankfully I didn't spend days on the shirts.  Note, next year I will NOT be making elaborate costumes.

Thing 1 Zevon, Thing 2 Guthrie

October challenges

The month of October brought lots of new exciting challenges. 

Evie took a month a swimming lessons at the Y and she loved it!  She can really swim now.  I was amazed at how she developed into a real swimmer over the month.  Evie loves the water, but before then most of her 'swimming' involved her face underwater while she walked along the bottom of the pool.  Not so any more!  She can swim with a front crawl and a backstroke, as well as float on her belly and her back, all in water 5 feet deep.  Evie is very proud of herself and can't wait to take another round of lessons after Christmas. 

 Evie waiting to jump in! 

Speaking of lessons at the Y, I'm now considering enrolling my boys in some lessons.  No, not just swimming lessons but perhaps dance lessons!  One day, Evie brought the boys upstairs and they decided to play dress up.  They all came downstairs ready to dance in their dresses and tutus.  I've always said that I want my children to have well-rounded childhoods.  So here is the proof that there is no such thing as 'boy' toys or 'girl' toys in my house.  Zevon and Guthrie really love these tutus.  In fact, the day these pictures were taken, Guthrie didn't even want to take his off for snack and was upset when he realized he couldn't fit in his chair with the tutu on.  Zevon loves to borrow Evie's uke and pretend to play guitar while his sister and brother dance.  Perhaps I have a performing troupe on my hands!

 Guthrie (notice the heart bracelet, too)

 Zevon with his 'guitar'

Zevon, Evie and Guthrie, for your entertainment!

My new exciting challenge was taking my first teaching job.  I took a long term subbing assignment for a chemistry teacher in the area.  It was hard for all of us, but rewarding too.  I enjoyed the chance to use my teaching degree (finally!), especially in my area of expertise.  The boys spent their days in a wonderful daycare and did so well there.  They came home talking a lot more and I think even slept better due to all the activity during the day.  They couldn't rely just on their parents' ability to read their minds or their sister to talk for them.  As a result, their language has exploded.  Unfortunately, 'Mine!' and 'No!' and especially the combination 'No! Mine!' are their favorites.  We are thankful to have found such a great place for them.  Unfortunately (for me, good for the teacher I subbed for), my assignment came to an end and I'll be back to my usual stay-at-home mom gig.  I do miss my boys and spending more time with my kids in general so its okay.  But now we know how adaptable our family can be to changing situations.

Odds and ends from the summer

 Picnic in the backyard

 Tickling the ivories

 Trying on Daddy's shoes...

...and Mommy's shoes!

I'm so tough, I eat rocks for snacks!

Whoa! Where did the time go?

We've been busy, if you haven't been able to tell from the lack of posts!  Evie started school and it seems like we haven't stopped moving since.  Lots has happened and I'll try to catch us up before the end of the year.  Let's wrap up the summer first...

Zevon, Guthrie, and Evie at the Pictograph Caves

On labor day, we took a little trip as a family to see Pictograph Caves state park, not too far from home.  It was really the first real hike we have taken with the boys (without restraining them in a carrier or a stroller).  The path, while totally safe for normal people, is totally dangerous for adventurous exploring two year olds who don't yet know their limits.  Thankfully, there were no skinned knees or broken arms.

Looking up at the main cave

Evie and Guthrie sprinting up the trail.  Zevon decided to take the scenic view from his dad's shoulders.

 Tour guide Evie pointing out the pictures.  Will is just trying to stop the boys from killing themselves.

View of a pictograph inside the cave

 Evie and her mom in front of Ghost Cave.

 View of inside of Ghost Cave.  Supposedly, strange things appear in photos when people take pictures of this cave, but I don't see anything odd.

We explored the caves and Evie had fun pointing out all the paintings.  The view was beautiful and we had a nice day to do our little hike.  We enjoyed a snack and headed home in time for nap (or non-nap as the case was).  You would think with all that climbing and running that our kids would be tired.  Nope!  Just two very tired parents.

Later that afternoon we went to a Mustangs baseball game.  The kids loved watching the game for about an inning, and then we ran around the stadium and ate giant pretzels.  Not a bad way to spend our last day of summer!

Boys snacking and watching some baseball.  Yes, you can tell from their red faces that it was really hot.  Poor little guys were melting!

First day of kindergarten!

 Dreaming big!

Today was Evie's first day of Kindergarten!!!  Yes, that does require three exclamation points.  She has been ready for this day since she could speak.  She is familiar with the first day of school routine now, since going to daycare at Kindercare and preschool at Sammamish Hills and American Lutheran.  But Evie knows that she has hit the big time now.  A few days ago I asked her what she was most excited about.  Evie said, "Learning how to read.  Then, I can come home, open a book, and read it to myself."  It just about melted this bookworm's heart!  She says she is nervous about math, but I reassured her that she didn't learn everything in the first week.  It all takes time and practice.

 First day of school outfit...

...complete with super cute backpack!

Only one of these kids is excited to walk to school.  Guess who?

 

Will, the boys, and I walked Evie to her elementary school.  There was a lot of kids waiting there already and you could feel the excitement and apprehension of every kid, parent, and teacher there.  Evie was a little clingy to begin with in the big crowd.  But when she entered her classroom, she knew where to hang her backpack and where to sit.  There were no tears (at least from her) when we said good bye.  I can't wait to hear all the stories when she comes home!  My hope is that she feels welcome and finds her way just fine. 

 Door seems so big and she seems so small, but there are huge things ahead and she is ready!

Okay, Mom.  You can go now.  Really.  I've got this.

Helping out with harvest

 Evie posing next to her grandpa's grain truck

I mentioned earlier in the blog that the early spring and warm summer pushed wheat harvest way early.  I would have never thought that we would be at the farm during grain harvest since we were leaving the end of July.  But we were!  The boys and Evie loved watching the trucks and combines roll out of the yard each day.  Evie really wanted a ride in one of them and she got her chance the last full day we were in town.  Grandma Bev packed Evie a little lunch and Evie rode all morning with Grandpa Wayne in the truck, as well as a little ride in the combine.  She was full of stories when she came back.  "The wheat was coming up all over the combine when we were in it!"  "Grandpa showed me where the wheat seeds were on the plant and we ate some!"  Dad said Evie would talk non-stop in the cab of the truck, but the minute they got out to talk to his employees, Evie would turn mute.  Sounds like her!  I am so thankful they got this time together.

Evie and her Grandpa Wayne

Swimming at Florian Park

 Jump in!  The water is great!

For growing up in the land of 10,000 lakes you would think that I grew up with a lake in my backyard.  Not so.  There are huge parts of Minnesota that don't have a lake within an hour of driving and I grew up in one of those areas.  Actually, there is a county park not far from the farm that has a dammed up river and it is one of the best swimming areas in my book.  The fair was done, Evie's swimmer's ear had healed, and we were ready to have some more water fun.  We headed to the county park just for the late morning/early afternoon.  Grandpa Wayne grilled hotdogs while the kids tested the waters.  Evie was once again testing her new swimming skills and the boys surprised us with their boldness in the water.  Guthrie didn't stop doing a crocodile like crawl in the shallows and Zevon loved floating on his belly (with the help of his dad).  We could hardly pull them away to eat!  Evie and I tried making sand castles but her brothers kept on stepping on them.  I even tried to relive my teenage years by swimming out to the floating dock in the middle of the river.  (I made it, but just barely!)  All too soon, the boys let us know (vocally) that it was time to pack up and head home.  The icing on the cake was Zevon and Guthrie colliding with each other on the playground and Zevon ending up with a split lip. 

 Zevon and his best swimsuit model beach pose

Evie does her bobs

 Guthrie kept on letting his feet float and kick while pushing himself backwards with his hands until he would come up on shore.  Then he would walk out into the water and do the same thing all over again. 

Will helps Zevon float and kick his feet to swim like Evie

Fair ride fun

 Evie takes a ride with Grandma Bev

Along with enjoying the fair food, exhibits, livestock, and horse shows, we also spent some time on the midway.  The kids tried out every ride they were big enough for and we all took at least one ride on the ferris wheel.  There are no pictures from the ferris wheel, I'm sad to say.  I was spending so much time keeping one hand firmly around Gus and my other hand gripping the bar (I guess I was more nervous than I thought I would be). 

 Lovely lady on her horse

 Guthrie, Mommy, Daddy, and Zevon take a spin on the carosel

 All aboard!

 Evie really wanted to go down the big slide, but got a little nervous when she realized there was a looong staircase and a smoking guy at the top.  I think she thought the ride was worth the fear.

 I was worried that Evie had inherited my inner ear, making any ride that spins the opposite of fun.  That couldn't be farther from the truth!  Evie and her dad took a turn on the 'Dizzy Dragons' and she wanted Will to spin the dragon more.  We could hear her giggling every rotation of the ride.

 Oh, no.  I let my brother Gus have the front seat and our sister is right on our tail.  Help!

Evie looking cool on her motorcycle