Warm Chili Picnic

I think we are getting down to the last few warm days of the year. This was a very short summer, so it is sad to see it go. And what goes better than a warm day, but a pot of chili. I know--it makes perfect sense. To compensate, we decided to have a picnic outside. And to top it all off we had pop with our dinner; which hardly ever happens. It was such a nice night. The kids enjoyed riding their bikes down the new hill that was made due to landscaping changes. We are so blessed to live where we do.

Saturday Fun Thing

*Almost* every Saturday we make it a point to have our "Saturday Fun Thing." It's our time to make sure that we play with the kids on the weekends--and don't get too busy doing work. It has been very effective and it's time that the kids and Grant and I look forward to. This Saturday we had the opportunity to go to our good friends, Todd & Heather's, cabin. It was a lot of fun hanging out with them--as always. The kids enjoyed fishing. There were tons of fish, so they had ample opportunity to catch things. Lydia even caught her first fish. Grant took each of the kids out on the kayak--okay everyone but Piper. It was such a beautiful day and it is always fun being with great friends.

Our "Little" Minnie

Five years old. I can't believe she is five years old. Karmin was so excited for her Birthday--and even more so for her Birthday party. She invited everyone she came in contact with over the last few weeks to her Birthday party. The only problem was that she didn't have a Birthday party. But, I think, in the end she didn't care--or possibly didn't even notice.

She wanted crepes for her Birthday breakfast. The boys gave her their gifts that they stayed up late the night before making. Ben gave her a heart-shaped envelope that she could put things in. Trevor made her a heart with a note on it. I loved how he wrote: I hope you're having joy. How cute is that? Her primary teacher from church invited us to a play date at the park, and when she realized it was Karmin's Birthday, she offered to bring cupcakes. Then in the afternoon she got to go to ballet, and then come home for dinner. She really wanted spaghetti for her dinner. Then we headed over to Chuck E. Cheese for a family Birthday party. After, we went home and had "cake" and opened presents. Minnie chose to have cookie cakes. It seemed a little boring on a plate with not much decoration, so I made a little cake stand for it (I think it looked better in person). And then Karmin put the candles on. They were grouped so close together, that it looked like a bonfire was on one of those cookies when the candles were lit.

This sweet girl brings so much happiness to our family. She has broken the mold as far as the rest of us our concerned because she is so bubbly, outgoing, and LOUD! She is the peacemaker in our home and is becoming a little mamma to her sisters. Minnie can sit for hours coloring, drawing, or playing with stickers. She is quite the little artist. Karmin has always been so outgoing and has had no problems being friendly with others. About 2 months ago we started to see a change in her. I think there have been so many changes going on and she is feeling it. She has suddenly had a strong need to have our family all together, and struggles a bit when her brothers go to school or Grant and I go on dates. This last week her cousin that she goes to preschool with was out of town and Karmin had a hard time going to preschool by herself. I think she feels most comfortable when the whole family is together. And that is okay and very understandable. I think her outgoingness (is that a word?) will come back. She is our tough sweet girl who we all adore.

Hoot!

I finally found an animal I LOVE. I feel like Harry Potter because I think my new favorite animal is the screech owl. And I apologize for the lack of photos, but owls usually only come out at night...and that is not the easiest time to take pictures.

We have 2 lovely screech owls that live right outside. Every night they perch themselves on the fence, or on the garden, in the trees, or even one night one was right outside our front door and when I took the compost out to the garden it screeched at me and I jumped about a foot. But that's okay. I love our screech owls.

I heard rumor that there was a whole preserve of them a few miles away, but somebody cut down the trees. And since then they have relocated, and thankfully to our house. Since they came around, we have had a lot less unwanted animals around. This is the first year we haven't had mice in our house. The coyotes haven't been around. And whatever was in our garden is gone, but that could be due to the insane amounts of poison we put out there. I hope these owls like their new home and stay for a very long time.

We do dress her

Piper does get dressed. Even though all her pictures are in pajamas--I promise she does wear normal clothes too. And maybe nobody even noticed. I just had a friend who talked about not wanting to take her babies (she has twins) into public in their pajamas, so I guess I am a little sensitive to it now. However, she has digestion problems to put it nicely and she goes through several outfits a day, and sometimes I go through several outfits a day because of her, so p.j.s are an easy alternative. The other day I had her all dressed up nice because I wanted to take pictures of her, but that didn't last long enough for me to get the camera out, so I gave up. So don't mind all the pjs until she is a little older.

Alternative to Camping

Grant and the kids have come up with an alternative to camping this summer. This in no way satisfies my desire to go camping, since in this form I cannot participate. So I am hoping that we can really go camping next summer. But the drive to this site can't be beat, and there is no need to pack food. The trampoline works wonders and provides entertainment in the morning. I mean where else can you jump on your bed when you wake up? The first time they slept out there it was really hot out so it was a very comfortable night. This time--not so much. Grant took the camera outside in the morning. I laughed at the sequence of the pictures while going through them.

Good morning:
"Oh, my brother looks like he is bored. I guess I should make sure he is awake."

"Oh, yep. He is. Here is a hug to make up for it."
Guess who is able to sleep through all this fun?
Alright, it should never be calm and quiet when two boys are both awake:

She apparently has learned to sleep through all that noise brought on by her brothers because she is still sleeping:

Guess who finally woke up?

2 Months

I don't think any of my kids have grown as fast as Piper has. 2 months has gone by soo fast (I know it is cliche, but it really is the truth). She loves to smile, even though it is still a very shy smile. I joke that her favorite position is to be upside down. Follow me on these directions: I take her in both hands by her tummy, looking forward. She then leans forward so that she is at about a 90 degree angle from my body. She'll stay that way forever. She is getting so big. I am anxious to see how much she weighs and how tall she is because she is quickly growing out of her clothes. She isn't a newborn anymore. Our usually camera-shy Ben likes to pop into the pictures when I am taking them of Piper. And the other picture is her first official bunny-ears shot--a true sign that she has many older siblings.

Lessons in Canning

In an effort to make myself feel more domesticated, I agreed to can pears, peaches, and apples this year. And so far I've learned a few lessons.

#1. Canning can be a very good way to end a very stressful day as long as it is done with a friend.

#2. Don't can by yourself on a very stressful day.

#3. Peaches are so much easier to can than pears--and prettier too.

#4. Whenever tempted to feel more domesticated, under no certain terms agree to can pears.

My Baby Girl

It was one thing when the boys first went to Preschool...it was sad, but I was okay with it. But Karmin? This is harder. Grant told me to think of it like she is just going over to someone's house for a play date. That helped. I think this will be good for both of us. Suddenly this summer, Karmin has become very attached. She wants her whole family to just be home (she comes by this very honestly). So being away for a little bit will sure help with Kindergarten next year. She gets to go to the same place that Ben and Trev went. The teacher is the best. Probably the happiest person I have ever met. I am so glad that she is still teaching and I hope she continues so the other kids can go there as well. The sun was not Karmin's friend today, so these pictures are what we get. I am glad she has this opportunity, but I sure do miss her!

Grand Coulee

We had the opportunity to go to Grand Coulee on Friday. It is something that we thought the kids would love and would be a lot of fun. And it was. Until we came home. Our kids did really well in the car over. They were fascinated with the dam. We met Grant's parents over there, who brought us dinner. So we had a little picnic before it got dark. The kids really enjoyed the laser light show. I found the show to be a lot more interesting now that I am an adult, but the kids did really well. It was fun to watch them...and see what random things made them laugh. There was; however, a mouse that kept running by the fence that was right in front of us. I hate mice. I tried to will myself to not be distracted by the little guy. It was a fun evening. The evening turned into night, and the kids wanted their beds. We had a few meltdowns on the way home. This was probably our last trip to the dam for a few years, but 66% of the trip was a lot of fun!

Ready, Aim, Fire

One of the perks of Grant's job (at least I think it is a perk) is that he can bring flu shots home so we don't have to take everyone in to get them. However, it also makes for some humorous times at our house--kids screaming and running from their dad. Grant comes home and the kids see the bag of ice in his hands and they just know. One year we made it part of family home evening activity--Yea, Shots! That didn't go over so well. So now we do surprise attacks. The boys are getting better. They know that if they relax their muscles it barely hurts. Karmin is pretty tough too, but Liddy-pie is still not convinced that this is a good thing. So we got our "awesome shots" this year, and am so glad that we probably won't have the flu in this household.

First Day

Ohhh, the first day of school. I think this is the first 'first day of school' that I haven't gotten teary-eyed. Don't get me wrong, I didn't like seeing the boys go, and the house was way too quiet, but I think I am getting use to it and I know that they will be mine again...in 179 days. Ben was trying to convince me that I should home school him. He thinks that we should be able to stay together as a family all the time (I think he just likes sleeping in). It did help that his best friend, Dallin, is in his class again this year. Trevor was excited to get to school and get learning again. The house was quiet while they were gone though. And Karmin missed her brothers. I didn't realize how much all the kids entertain themselves until the boys were gone. The girls and I were playing puppies again (Karmin's favorite game); which hasn't happened since June. So it is fun to play with them again. And when the boys came home, the craziness began. Suddenly the girls had so much to tell me and obviously so did the boys. The boys had fun at school and enjoyed their teachers. I'm hoping it will be a great year.

Our Multitasker

Trevor has hardly been seen without a book this summer. He has read so much--including the first two books of Harry Potter a few different times. Today he helped me out while reading. I sure appreciated it!