Field Trip Fun

I got to spend this morning with Reegan and her class as they walked from school to the local fire station for a field trip. When we left the firemen gave all the kids a fire hat and made them honorary firemen for the day. One of the little boys (Kanden) in Reegan's class took this picture with my cell phone - that's his thumb on the side of the photo! :) We had a good time touring the fire station, sitting in the fire truck, and spraying the water hose. The firemen served cookies and kool-aid to the kids before they left. It was such a fun morning and I'm so glad I got to spend it with my sweet Reegan!

Tractor Pull Champ :)

This past weekend we went to a fall festival of one of the small communities in our area. It ended up being a bit chilly and then it started to rain. :( But, not before the tractor pull! Reece and Reegan both got to enter. Reece was actually over the weight limit but there were several other kids there around his weight so they made another group for them. I can't believe how long and lanky Reece has gotten! His knees came up so high when he was trying to pedal - needless to say he didn't make it very far. I wish I would've gotten a picture of it. Reegan, on the other hand, is so tiny she made the 'lightweight' group....and won! (Notice the skirt, too!) lol She was so excited. She's pretty proud of her big tractor trophy.

School Time Again...

Wow, I feel that I hear myself say these words more and more every day but, seriously, where does the time go?! There is definitely a bit of sadness in my voice as I wonder where our days of summer went the past few months but I also know it is a time to be happy and excited as our lives grow and I get to watch this new phase in our life. I sit here this morning in a very quiet house as I sent all four kids off to begin a new school year. I keep thinking I am going to hear the squeak of the door as Reegan goes in and out to the front porch to feed and play with her kitties where she so loved to spend most of her mornings after the 'big kids' went to school. The poor kitties don't even know what they are in for, do they? Yesterday, Randy and I took Reegan to her first day of kindergarten. The kindergarteners don't ride the bus on the first day. They only go for about 2 hours and then get to come home. Do they do that for the kids or the parents?! I'm afraid in our case it was for me this year. :( I have been so excited for Reegan and I know she has no doubts that she is ready to tackle big kid life - and she's going to do great - but I have to say it has been a little harder for me this time. I'm going to miss our time together - I have always felt so blessed to be able to stay at home with my children so, really, I have nothing to be sad about, right? Right. (I may just have to keep telling myself that for a while.) Ok, I'm going to move on...ok, TRY to move on....let's see...oh, yes, first day pictures! Of course, I've got some of those to share. ;)

Here is yesterday as I sent my big kids off to school. Rylee and Reeva are starting 5th grade this year! They will be switching classes for the first time and can't wait. Reece will be in 2nd grade and isn't sure he's ready for school to begin but he is a very good student and I know he will do wonderfully. :)

Then it was Reegan's turn!

Here she is getting ready to go into the school...doesn't she just look ready?!

At her new desk working:

A smile for mama :)

And afterwards:

Her apple nametag from her teacher:

And today....Reegan's first ride on the school bus....

And there they went...leaving me here to miss them but also to be their number one cheerleader as they set off to grow and learn and become the amazing people I know that they are.

Little Man and a Big Girl Moment

Reegan discovered this weekend that her cousins, Cora and Caleb, (who I might mention are a teensy bit younger than her) could both ride a bike.....without training wheels. Hmmm, this did not sit very well with my youngest who is forever trying to keep up with her big sisters and brother. She was determined that she was going to ride a bike. So, today we stopped by Erica's to borrow the little bike that Cora learned on (smaller than the bike Reegan got for her bday in October) and brought it home. As soon as we got home Reegan hopped on it, took off and didn't stop! AND that little bike looked way too small for her so I told her that I was certain she could ride her big girl bike without training wheels. To this she replied, "Ok, well I guess I have to wait for Daddy to get home so he can take my training wheels off." Imagine her delight when I told her that I could handle training wheels. :)

But then I realized

that this might be a good job for a big brother. ;)

And I have to say that Reece was more than happy to help his little sister out. :)

She was quite the little helper as she watched her big brother work.

Check out those skills!

And she is off!

I'm thinking Cora and Caleb had better watch out....

Reegan is ready to go!!

70's Girl

Yes, it's true, I'm starting to think Reegan may be a child of the 70's. It's no secret that Reegan definitely has a style all her own. She likes clothes and shoes and funky socks - it's fun to see her thought process when she decides what to wear for the day. This winter her staple items included tights and skirts/tutus...loved 'em but am curious to see what this summer is gonna bring. :)

This is what she came up with yesterday. Last years shorts (that if she was a few years older there would be no way her dad would let her out of the house in) but the rainbows on them are completely adorable. Her "Here comes the sun" shirt, tall and funky socks....

And today....

Check out those shoes! I mentioned the possibility of flip flops but she'd hear nothing of it....

And later today - at the first sign of a sprinkle - I caught her sneaking out of the house in this...

With the cute dinosaur hood...

And, of course, boots to match :)

There she goes...off with Vadar in search of a puddle...

I think I could fill my entire blog with the quirks of this girl but I do feel I have possibly been a bit neglectful of my other three....I'd definitely better get with it...or they are going to start claiming 'favoritism!' and I can't have that!!

I'm not sure what it is...maybe right now I've got a lot of Reegan since they are in school so much of the day or maybe because I am savoring these last few months before she heads off to school with them. I know how quickly this time will be gone and we will be celebrating her kindergarten milestones and then first grade...I mean it seems like just yesterday when Reece started kindergarten as I posted here. Or even when the girls started (which was before I even started blogging) The days fly by and I am thankful for all of our new journeys but also want to be sure to be thankful for the place that we are right now.

I Found My Cookie! (April Fools by Reegan..or not?!)

I had so much fun teasing the kids this morning by switching the drawers in which they normally find their cereal bowls and adding some green food coloring to the milk. Call me mean, but it was kinda funny watching Rylee gag each time she took a drink. :) Once they all got off to school, I got to do it all over again with Reegan when she woke up! After the bowls and the milk she wouldn't even open the drawer to find a spoon - no way she was going to be tricked again! But when I explained 'April Fools' a huge grin spread across her face - she was hooked. A little later I went back to make my bed and noticed some "lumps" under the sheets. I then went into the bathroom and called out to Reegan that I needed to comb my hair and brush my teeth but I couldn't seem to find my brush or toothbrush (or nearly anything in the bathroom) - I heard her start laughing and she ran in and yanked back the sheets of my bed to reveal all of the missing items. Silly girl! Her next mission was to hide some cookies that I told her were going to be snacks for the other three when they got home from school. I kept finding them in random places in the house. I was getting out some Easter stuff and found one and told her she should probably find a different place for that one. Finally, the kids got home and asked for a snack. With Reegan barely controlling her giggling in the background I tell them there are some cookies on the tray by the oven. Before they can even question the whereabouts of the cookies, Reegan starts laughing and shouts, "April Fools!" She then takes off to lead them all in a search for their cookies. A while later they are back with Reegan telling me in desperation that she can't find her cookie!! I reminded her that I had her move the one but she cannot remember where she put it! They all go to look for it and, to be honest, I forgot about it.

Later, Libb and her kids come over and the house is crazy (but fun :) - Libb and I are trying to get dinner ready when all of a sudden we hear excited shouts and singing, "I found my cookie! I found my cookie!" We all had a good laugh as Reegan did a little dance and we teased her about being the best April Fooler around. :)

"I Found My Cookie! I Found My Cookie!" Reegan, you funny girl...how I love you so. :)

Sink or Swim?!

Or, in Reegan's case, maybe neither. :) I couldn't resist grabbing my cell phone today and taking this picture so I can remember this summer and how our swimming escapades went. Reegan always wants to go swimming but does not care for the water - especially in her face. She never has liked getting her hair washed - water in her eyes or ears - bathtime is no fun with her! The pool we usually goes to has steps that she usually parks herself on and spends her time in shallow water with no fear of getting her face wet. The other day was the first time she let me take her hands and pull her around the pool - with floaties, of course - and she held her nose and put her face in the water!! She was so proud. :)

Today, Nikki asked if we wanted to go with her to Kirk's parents house and swim. The kids thought it sounded fun - only one problem - it's an above ground pool which means there is only one depth and no steps to sit on. So, I made sure we had plenty of floatation devices and, as you can see, I think Reegan used every single one! But she was in - even though it took a little while to get her to this point she had a lot of fun. We're thinking we may have to go back a time or two before school starts next week.

Kids Day 2009

Today we celebrated our second annual Kid's Day. "Kid's Day," you ask? For our house it started last year when the kids approached me and asked, "Mom, why is it that there is a Mother's Day and a Father's Day, but no Kid's Day?" Hmmm, good question...which led me back to when I was a kid and it seems that me and my siblings had thoughts along the same lines and approached my mom and dad...to which they invented a Kid's Day for us...my, didn't we think that was a wonderful thing!! :) A whole day just for us...breakfast in bed, no chores, fun activities and maybe a little gift. So, why not Kid's Day? Of course, I like to think I celebrate my kids every day - after all they are special to me every day...yes, even on the days that they are "this close" to causing me to lose what sanity I have left! ;) But, why not have a day to let them know? So, what do we need...a date, right? Thinking back, I remembered Kid's Day being in July and that seemed to be a pretty good month for us...Randy's farming has settled down and it's not yet time for school. I'm not sure the exact date we chose last year and for this year I just chose a day that looked like it would work...I have to say I did plan a little better last year but, no matter, the kids loved it just the same.

Randy got up and started making "Dad's Special Chocolate Chip Pancakes" and I quickly started hanging streamers and drew up a sign that read, "Happy Kid's Day!" Autumn came upstairs and I put her to work helping me. I heard Reeva get up and rushed to the stairs and told her that she could read a little if she wanted...that I was making up the chore list for the day. I had told them yesterday that we had lots of work to do today. I knew telling them I was making "my list" would keep them up there a while. :) Once we got the decorations up, Autumn went upstairs to check on the kids. They were pretty bummed about all the chores they were going to have to do...Rylee and Reeva tried to talk Aunt Audie into taking them to work with her...she said she would ask but my list looked pretty big. While Autumn was talking to them she said Rylee walked over to her dresser, opened a drawer, and pulled out a card. She looked at the card and then said, "Oh man, we missed Kid's Day." I think she looked at the date from last year...not sure why she pulled the card out and thought about it then...but, anyway, about that time Randy called for them to come to breakfast.

And so our day started. Everyone ate pancakes (and didn't have to clean up their dishes afterward!) and then got dressed for the day. We decided to make it a back-to-school Kid's Day so we headed to Eville for everyone to get a few new clothes for school and to pick out school supplies. We also took them to see G Force in 3D at the IMAX Theater. They had a blast. I snapped this photo as we sat outside eating ice cream at GD Ritzies. Yummy!

It was then time to head for home so they popped in a movie that their dad bought them while we were picking out school supplies and settled in for the ride. It was a long, but happy day.

Happy Kid's Day, kiddos...thanks for being such awesome kids! We love you...xoxo ~Mom&Dad

Ball Games

So, I keep telling myself that I am going to get back in the habit of journaling some of our everyday moments now that I am finished with school and the kids are home for the summer but it seems we are constantly on the go and, before I know it, a day passes and then another and another...how does time pass by so quickly? I'm just going to have to make myself take a little time to remember right now...so I figure I had better get started. We had ball games tonight - Reegan's last for the season - Reece still has tourneys - and the girls play every night this week and then tourneys in another week or so. I feel bad that I haven't gotten many pictures of them this year, but I guess it is not entirely my fault...there is has been so much rain that a lot of their games were rained out. Not to mention the fact that my 18-135 mm lens got broken when it dropped out of the camera bag that someone (Randy - not that I'm naming names or anything ;) left unzipped (how could he?!?!) so I have been w/o my camera for weeks now...sniff, sniff...the good news is that the store called today and said that it was covered under the warranty so it is getting fixed and I will hopefully have it in the next couple of weeks - keep your fingers crossed for me! So, for tonight I took Rylee and Reeva's camera with me to try to get a couple of snapshots from this year so I thought I would share them.

Here is Reegan after her first hit. This girl loves to play ball! She is usually covered with dirt and dust at the end of every game but she loves her purple helmet and pink socks - she insisted on wearing these socks this year because she noticed the girls and Reece all wearing the long baseball socks. I told her they didn't make her size and she informed me that she already had a pair. I had forgotten about these socks that Aunt Becca had given her for her bday but they worked out perfectly and she wore them for every game. :) I wish I had a picture from her first practice because she was so excited to go and went to get dressed herself and came out with a black shirt and tights with a pink tu-tu and her cleats. She's so funny...she loves the girly stuff but isn't afraid to get dirty either. I didn't get to watch all of her game because I had to go back to Rylee and Reeva's game (they were at the same time and Randy was in the fields) so that I could bring them back to this park for Reece's game after Reegan's. (It was a crazy night!) but when I got back Reegan came running up to me and was so excited to tell me that her coach had pitched to her on her last bat and she had hit the ball! She said, "I missed the first one, Mommy, but then he threw it again and I hit it!"

Here is Reece warming up before his pitching machine game. He was lead-off batter tonight and got a triple on his first bat! I was so proud of him. :) He has been working so hard to hit off the machine and he has really started to get the hang of it the last couple of games. He got a single off his second hit and did well in the outfield too. It has been so fun watching him improve over this summer and I'm looking forward to his tourney games this weekend. :)

And, of course, I had to have them all pose for one picture. The only one of them together this season :( and they are a mess...dirt everywhere after hard played games...blue mouths from after game Ring Pops...but that is ok....I love 'em this way and want to always remember moments just like this.

Painting Pumpkins

We finally were able to get our pumkins from Bill and Darlene painted. The kids had fun looking up different ideas on-line and then using those ideas and some of their own creations. Rylee had to do the eyeball one and also the big one with the rosey cheeks. Reeva did the big one with the unicorn on it and then the 'GOD' one that she decorated. They worked on the bat with wings together. Reece, of course, had to do Batman and Spiderman and then the green eye one that is supposed to be the little monster guy from Monsters, Inc. Reegan did the snake hair girl from Monsters, Inc. I helped her with that one then she did her little baby pumpkin all by herself. The kids thought it was so funny that she painted the stem and all.

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon out at Dad and Mom's place. Dad grilled steaks, corn on the cob and asparagas over his fire pit. They were sooo good! We also tried to figure out how to set things up for Nikki's wedding. Hopefully, the weather will be nice so we aren't all freezing! It is beautiful out there. Only two weeks to go...hopefully, I'll be able to post updates and photos as we get closer!

Almost time for class...have a great day!

I'm the Prettiest!

Ok, so my friend Jamie pointed out that I have been slacking a bit on the blogging...Labor Day weekend was a busy one for us. We definitely enjoyed our three day weekend! Randy and I played in a softball tourney...not one of our brightest ideas since neither one of us has played for at least two years. :) LOTS of stretching going on...muscles don't recover quite as quickly as they used to! But it was a lot of fun. The kids had fun playing at the park. We went to the annual pancake breakfast on Saturday morning, visited the fundraising foodstands and, of course, went to the parade on Monday. A very looong weekend but a very fun one!

The rest of the week has went quickly. Reece lost another tooth so he can't wait to write another letter to the tooth fairy. Today was my Thursday with Reegan. We ate lunch with Randy at my parents' restaurant. After lunch, my dad came over and sat with us a little bit and we were talking with Reegan. Randy always likes to tease her with questions like, "Do I know you?" and "Who's number one?" She just laughs. So, he is asking her "Who's number one?" and she says, "Mommy!"- of course, we both want to be her number 1, so he asks, "Who's the smartest?" She says, "Mommy!" So, he says "Who's the funniest?" and she says "Daddy!" (I guess I don't do funny:) So, then he says "Who's the prettiest?" This will be the deciding factor - is mommy the big winner or is it going to be a tie? She looks at me and then she looks at him and says, "I am!" Oh, silly girl, you sure can make me laugh. :)

I thought I'd spare you the photo of Randy and I in our ball gear and instead share one of Miss Reegan during one of her tee ball games this summer. Enjoy!

Ok, I can't resist...I'd better share a couple of all of the kids from ball this summer. Have a great day! :)

Laundry and Cleanin' and....

In all the talks and excitement of the first day of school and kindergarten and a first lost tooth, Reegan sometimes gets a little lost in the shuffle of things. Reece and the girls are loving school but what that means for Reegan is that she is home without her playmates. But she is loving the time that she gets to spend with me and Randy "all by mine-self!" Since I don't have class on Tuesday or Thursday, those are "her" days with mom and she seems to love it - no matter what we do. The other night when I was tucking her into bed and told her that we got to spend the next day together, she asked what we were going to do. I said, "Well, we'll probably do a little laundry and..." before I could say anything else that I thought would sound more 'fun' she piped up, "and cleanin'!? and sweepin'!?" - she could hardly contain her excitement. I thought of that again today as she 'helped' me load the washing machine with such joy and look forward to all the fun things we'll get to do on these special days when it's just the two of us hanging out and doing laundry and cleanin' and...

Have a happy day!

Little Friends

Erica called last night to see if it would be ok for Cora and Carlton to come over today while she was at work. Reegan and Cora were, of course, delighted. They have been busy all morning - playing dress-up, coloring, making sure they were dressed the same, getting their hair done (they insisted on 3 ponytails!), watering my flowers for me (I'm sure the flowers are thankful!) and playing outside. I had to snap a few photos to share:



Carlton is taking a nap, the girls are playing, and I have a few minutes before I need to get lunch started so I thought I'd ramble a little.

I'm almost finished with my first week of my last year of school. :) I only have 3 classes this semester! That is such a relief - especially since I have Tuesdays and Thursdays off and only go for an hour on Friday mornings. Next semester I will student teach so that will be every day but I am enjoying this semester. I think Reegan is enjoying getting to have some one-on-one time with me too. Being the youngest, she sometimes just gets swept along in whatever everyone else is doing and it doesn't seem to bother her one bit but I can tell she is lovin' the time she gets by herself with me too. She's always asking what we're going to do...usually laundry or cleaning..and she gets so excited like it's the best idea she has ever heard! We were going to go to the park for lunch today but I think she got a little sidetracked with Cora here so we may have to do that next week.

The other three seem to be loving school. Rylee is back into her Chuck Taylor and jump roping phase...gotta wear her Chucks and has rarely been without a jumprope in her hand for the past couple of days. She gets up, eats breakfast and then starts jumping....crazy girl! Reeva is doing good too. She is the one who is ready to study anything extra that Miss S. asks them to read - I don't think Rylee would ever even mention it! But, Reeva is all over it. :)

Reece got to be the Student of the Day this week. They learned about the letters and sounds of his name and everyone drew a picture of him.

This is the picture that Reece drew of himself:



Ok, I'd better get busy. Hope you are having a great day!