One More Time

The Idaho hotel we stayed at had a pool, of course.  The pool makes a hotel stay worth every penny.  All three of the kids are water babies and will swim for hours.  We had SO. MUCH. FUN. hanging out in the pool together.  So much fun.

We debated about going in on the morning we were heading home, but decided we needed to take advantage of the pool one last time.  The kids were thrilled, and we ended up having the pool to ourselves.  Big win!  It was awesome watching the kid's confidence increase each day.  On the last day, David and I were tossing them back and forth to each other.  They loved it.  Even Natalie, who refused to get her head wet up until that point loved it.  She kept saying, "one more time", "one more time", as did the other two!

Ryan and Kendall started jumping in the pool, too.  Kendall was so leery at first, but we finally convinced her to do it!  She had a blast.  Her favorite spot was on the steps doing "tricks", though.  She came up with 100 new tricks, and insisted we watch each one.  Ryan continues to be our "dame in distress" in the water.  He can definitely get around in the water on his own, but he makes it look as if he's drowning 99% of the time.

Love these little fish!

(Again, pictures and maybe some video to come...)

Thanksgiving 2013

We spent Thanksgiving in Idaho at Michael and Jenn's house this year.

David, Michael and Bill were hunting in Montana the week prior, so the kids and I made our way over to meet them.  After a long week of flying solo I was not excited to make the trek over the mountains with the kids by myself, but they were wonderful travelers.  Thank goodness.  I'm not sure I could have handled anything less than that.

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and the kids were thrilled to see their Dad and cousin Aubrey.  They really missed their Dad (and vice versa).  I love watching their little reunions, especially Natalie's.  She just lights up when she sees her Dad.  After hugs and kisses for dad they moved right over to Aubrey, and had her piled high with every toy in the house.  They just love her to pieces!

We had a fun few days hanging out with the Boehms and Jenn's parents, too.


(Pictures to come when I figure out how to un-crash my computer)

Dancing Fool

Kendall has gotten into dancing...big time.  I'm not sure if it's the Angelina Ballerina books Miss Hanni turned her on to or what, but man, she has become quite the dancing fool.

She makes us lay all the blankets on the floor for her which become her stage, turns on her music, and starts dancing.  It's so fun.  She started dancing with a ribbon, like rhythmic gymnastics so she and Grandma Sue spent some time watching videos of the Olympic Gymnasts.  

She has amazing moves and insists we watch each one.  She catches me the instant my eyes dart away.  "Mom, you missed that move", "Mom, watch this one", "Mom, look at this". 

I really need to get her signed up for a gymnastics class.

Grandma Sue

My Mom came to stay with us for about a week in November.  David always asks her to come stay with us so he can go on his little Montana hunting adventure.  He really didn't plan out her visit all that well this year.  He told her to come a certain week, so she booked her ticket and came.  But David was here almost the entire time she was.  We loved every minute of it, but it would have been nice to have her around while he was gone.  I'm just saying. 

The kids just adore her, and LOVE to make cinnamon rolls with her.  Kendall must have asked her 10 times if they could get started!  It's such a fun little project for them.  And I love to reap the benefits, too.  They are delicious!   Ryan practically breaks down in tears when they are all gone. 

Thanks for spending the week with us, Mom!  We love you!

Winter 2013 Photoshoot

Our wonderful photographer, Stephanie, came out to take Christmas pictures of us this week.  We thought it would be fun to do them at our new house since we will be spending our first Christmas here this year.

We thought they were going to be terrible since Kendall kept flashing this lizard smile, but Stephanie did manage to get some really awesome shots once again.  She's amazing!

Here are a few of the shots she captured.

Quiet Moments

I love the small pockets of time when the kids are content to do their thing like reading books on their own or playing nicely together with only giggles, no screams.  It happens a lot actually, but on this day I NEEDED it to happen.  That never happens.  Usually when I need a few quiet moments it is anything but.  It's those days that are the craziest of all. 

So I took a moment to enjoy it!

I loved how Natalie was sitting with her feet crossed reading to her baby and a few other friends.

It cracked me up as she used her finger to keep herself on the right word! 

And Ryan and Kendall were full of giggles as they invented a super fun car game.

The Snorkel Monster

There are so many random, hilarious things that go on in my house, and I'm trying to get better at capturing them.  I should have my camera attached to my hip at all times so I don't kill myself running for it on an hourly basis.  I'm pretty sure I almost killed myself on the stairs running for it to get these photos. 

We have ousted Ryan from bath time with the girls because he gets too wild and splashes water EVERYWHERE which makes his mother cranky, but his dad even crankier.  I didn't think that was possible - David getting crankier than me -  but David freaks if bath time gets out of control.  Shocking, right?

Anyway, now that Ryan isn't in the tub the girls play so nicely together.  They would sit in there until their skin completely shriveled up.  They play so nicely in fact, that I can get laundry folded and the house tidied up during bath time.  Score!  I check in on them frequently, and was taken by surprise when I was met by this little Snorkel Monster the other day:

The next day I panicked when I checked in and couldn't see Kendall at all.  This is how I found her: 

I think she's dreaming about our next Hawaiian vacation (which isn't coming anytime soon - maybe years) like her Mama.

Piggy Pie

She is so cute with piggies!  If only she would keep them in.

The Party

Ryan had such a fun birthday party.  All he wanted was for his friends to come over and play ball with him, and that's what we did.  There were six boys total all running around like crazy fools, but having the best time.  We loved watching them get into their football game with such seriousness - huddles and all!

After their football game they came in for a "make your own pizza" lunch.  They got the biggest kick out of putting the craziest things on the pizza - goldfish, pretzels, sunflower seeds!  It turned out to be a big hit! And it turned out to be a wonderful day celebrating the big 7!

Phar, Ryan, Brian, Ryder, Camden and Eli

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Giddyup!

Some how this horse has ended up in the middle of my living room.  It's a long story how she ended up here, and I'm not sure how long I'm going to let her stick around but for the time being she's here and is getting so much love.

I'm pretty sure the safety instructions say one rider at a time but I can't deny them these giggles!

Presents!

Since David and I had to work on Ryan's birthday - me in the morning, and him at night - we let Ryan open his gifts from Grandma Karen and Grandpa Bill on the night before his big day so we could both be there.

He got an early birthday present from us - his Russell Wilson jersey - so he could wear it as part of his Halloween costume.

He also was spoiled from his aunts and uncles as packages kept arriving in the mail.  He loved that!

And he LOVED all his gifts.  Most of them involved building of some sort, which is one of his favorite things to do.  I loved them too, as it requires him to sit still and do something quiet!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Happy 7th Birthday Ryan!

Dear Ryan,

You are seven years old today.  That seems like such an "old" age, but you are still my little boy.  You are growing up way too fast, though.

Your mind is always spinning with ideas and questions.  I love to hear the questions you ask and try to figure out what made you ask them.  They are so completely random at times.  Just the other day you said, "Remember when Jillian was little and put a noodle up her nose and sneezed it out?".  And then you just laughed and laughed remembering the incident that happened at the cabin 3 years ago.  I'm so thankful for your amazing memory that helps me remember those funny moments, too.

You are an awesome first grader!  You strive to make it to the top of the behavior chart every day.  Your goal is to get that purple clip up daily.  I love that that motivates you, and that I know you're being respectful to your teacher.  Your favorite part of your school day is recess, of course.  You love to play soccer with your second grade baseball friends.  Your favorite subject - other than recess and PE - is math.  You've always been a numbers guy, so this is not surprising.  You've become a really good reader, and read to us every night.  It's not your favorite thing to do, but you do it so you get your minutes in to become an Eager Reader.  You are so goal oriented, which is pretty awesome to watch.

I don't get much information from you about your days at school, which is a little irritating but some days you have something to say like, "one day we were working with money and we had to think of words with "cent" in them, and I thought of "Century Link Field".  Stuff like this cracks me up!  And I'm so thankful to get even a little bit of information on how you spent your day.

You have lost 3 teeth so far, and have 3 more wiggly ones up top.  I'm hoping your first front tooth comes out today!  One of them is just hanging there which gives you the silliest Jack O Lantern smile.

Money has become a big motivator for you.  You love to count your money!  Here is the numbers guy in you coming out again.  You love helping us and the neighbors with yard work so you can earn money.  They can not wait for you to get old enough to mow lawns.  We don't pay you, but they do!  You've also been into "making" money.  You sit down with a dollar bill, trace it, then draw in the details.

You have such a creative mind.  I love to see where it takes us during the day.  You're so good at getting your sisters on board with your creative ideas.  The three of you are always going on adventures, setting up stores or a school, or making a boats out of boxes.  It's such a joy to watch.

You've really gotten into building with Legos, or anything you have to follow a set of directions to build.  These are good activities for you when you need to calm your body down a little.

Because you are still our little energizer bunny.  You go non-stop all day.  You love our new house and love to be outside playing ball in the yard.  If you're not playing with some sort of ball, you're riding your bike through the cul de sac.  If it's raining outside, you are inside playing with a ball or balloon.  You have SO. Much. Energy.  Your most favorite thing is to have someone to do all that with.  You love play dates most, but you and Kendall have a great time doing all those things together too. 

You are still really apprehensive to try new things.  You break into tears if we make you try anything new at dinner.  It really is ridiculous, but we are seeing you make small strides.  You are a good eater in general, though.  Your foods of choice are salmon, your Daddy's chicken and pizza.  Probably in that order.

One of the surest signs that you're growing up is that your beloved Honu isn't as beloved anymore.  I know he'll always hold a special place in your heart, but he's just not needed for snuggles anymore.  This makes me sad.  I knew it would happen one day, but didn't know it would happen so soon.

At your 7-year check up you weighed 55 pounds and were 48 1/4 inches tall - officially 4 feet!  

Happy 7th Birthday to my energetic, creative, smart and stubborn boy!

You are one special kid, Ryan Boehm.  I love watching you grow everyday.

Love you,
Mommy

Halloween Fun

We had a wonderful Halloween in our new neighborhood.  Such fun to visit all the neighbors in costume!

Crazy Kendall face.

Could she be any cuter?

A Reenactment

Natalie was darling as Snow White, and was horrified of her mother as the Wicked Queen with the poisoned apple.  She wouldn't come near me if I had my scary witch nose on.  Through the tears she would say, "take it off".  It was pretty hilarious!  We decided to play it up by doing a Snow White reenactment.

Little Miss Drama played the part so well!