Good Morning?

Have you ever wondered what it's like to have a husband who coaches soccer and is gone overnight sometimes while you are up and down during the wee hours with twins who decide they want to party instead of sleep?

Well, I'll just put your curiosity to rest. It's not fun. Actually, it's probably one of the most hard and frustrating things ever to be by yourself in situations like that.

Let me just say I'm drinking a Mountain Dew on the way to 8:45 swim lessons and not feeling one bit guilty about it.

Not. One. Bit.

If a nap in any way, shape, or form presents itself today I am wrapping my arms around it and calling it my new best friend.

Oh what do you do in the summertime when all the world is green?
Do you break up kids fights and have really late nights
with a house so messy you could cry?
So do I.

Rocket

For a fun activity to go along with our "space" theme this week we made a water rocket. It was a super fun family activity and everyone got a kick out of it. It was a blast. The best part - it was so easy to make. All you need is:

-A tall water bottle

-paint (spray paint)

-a cork

-a nail

-a needle and pump

-water

-something to prop your bottle up with

1. Spray paint your water bottle. This step is only so you can see your bottle better when it goes up in the air.

2. Make sure your cork fits snugly into the top of the water bottle.

3. Take a nail and push it (lengthwise) all the way through the middle of the cork. This is to make a place for the pump needle to fit through.

4. Fill the water bottle 1/4 full of water.

5. Push the pump needle through the cork and insert cork snugly into the top of the bottle.

6. Attach the pump needle to the air pump securely.

7. Turn upside down and prop against something to help hold it up. (we used the thing that wraps our garden hose up)

8. Start pumping and pumping. The pressure from the air building up inside the bottle will make the rocket fly high up into the air.

We went down to the soccer fields by the TRAC to ensure we'd have enough area to launch them off. We made sure to bring lots of extra water so everyone could have a turn. (Younger children will need help as it gets really hard to pump.) It was really hard to get a picture of one up in the air because it happened so fast, but here are some pictures of the kids launching them.

Riley filling up the bottle.

Kendle just launched it. You can see the water droplets flying.

Morgan got a chance to help too.

He loved chasing and retrieving the rocket.

Make sure you prop it up as straight as you can. This one was leaning and went diagonally through the air.

I give this project/experiment/family activity an A+!

Future Piano Players?

The twins are just tall enough to stretch their little fingers up to reach the piano keys. So sometimes I will leave the cover open so they can pull up and tickle the ivory's. They think it's so funny.

I love this last one.

Look at Cooper stretching with all his might to get up there!

Today:

On the first official day of summer:


-Early morning swim lessons in the freezing cold


-Late breakfast


-Chores and tidying up the house


-Making "flying saucer pizzas" for lunch


-Afternoon activity of making star and moon shaped sugar cookies (We're learning about planets and space this week)




-Anne of Green Gables movies


-Just taking it easy on this unusually gray and overcast summer day

Growing Boys

So I guess I've done a post about the other children this week and the twins shouldn't be left out. What to say about these two little munchkins? Well, how about the three H's. They are some healthy, hefty, and happy boys. At their last doctor's appointment about a week and a half ago we got some more stats for the books:

7 months

Weight: 20.13 pounds (Both)

Height: Kale, 28.6 inches - Cooper, 28.4 inches

(I can never remember the head size measurements, I just know they have big noggins like their dad)

So I think that put them in the 90th percentile for weight, and high 80's for height. Or maybe it was the other way around. At any rate, they are some chunky monkeys and have fat rolls for days which are pretty much irresistibly squeezable.

They both have their two bottom teeth and grin at me all the time with their two little chompers showing. I love it! They follow me around in their walkers and pull on my pant legs, grab anything they can get their hands on and giggle and laugh at the the funny things the older kids do. They are rolling everywhere and it's hard to keep them in a contained area. They are sitting up for short periods of time by themselves. They love meal time (obviously) and as soon as they see me getting food ready, whether it's a bottle or baby food they start getting antsy and try to attack me. They have both started doing this pitiful/adorable little begging sound and you can't get them the food fast enough. They have already started to try and grab my fork and my food when I happen to be holding them during meal time. Yikes!

The days are still a challenge, especially now that it's summer break and it tends to be a little louder and more chaotic around here most of the time. I don't know what I'd do if they didn't like being in their walkers, those things are a life saver. Both boys like to be outside, so sometimes if I'm working in the yard I will just put their walkers out on the sidewalk so they can watch me and they are totally content. That's about the only way I can get anything done so I have to work fast while they're happy.

They do good sleep-wise if we stick to a good schedule, but any little disruption seems like it throws them off and takes a day or two to get back on track. I'm still getting by on sporadic sleep and trying to make the best of it. The nights that they don't wake up feels like such a treat.

I wish I had some better pictures of them but have been a pretty bad picture taker lately and just haven't got around to taking them. Here are a few:

{These first few are all of Kale, he was being cute so I just kept snapping away}

{Orange hat Kale, blue hat Cooper}

My next priority will be getting some pictures of those chunky legs.

Birthday Boy/ Last Day of School Fun

Sunday was Morgan's third birthday. He is a character and always cracking me up. He had been asking for weeks when he got to go to his party - literally at least five times a day. Well, we didn't really have a "party" party, just cake and ice cream with grandma and grandpa. Good thing because he was in kind of a rotten mood. He had fun opening some gifts and eating his cake though. Grandma and Grandpa gave him a cool castle tent to play in and a funny monkey that rolls around laughing. We gave him some new tractors, a movie and a cool wagon to ride around in and pull around all his "stuff". He is really easy to please and has loved playing with his gifts.

Here are some little facts for Morgan at age 3:

-Loves Spongebob and Max and Ruby

-Loves marshmallows, gum and gold fish crackers.

-Wants to spend every day at the farm with grandpa

-Wishes he had his own tractor

-Loves riding his bike and can go really far

-Is very mischievous

-Likes to get wet in any sort of water any chance he gets

-Favorite Movies are "Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakquel" and "Pee-wee's Big Adventure."

Here are some pictures from his birthday:

{Going for a test ride}


We had also been promising Morgan for his birthday that he could ride the train and the airplane rides. So on the last day of school we picked Kendle up, went to Sonic for some yummy lunch, and then headed out to Country Mercantile which is one of our most favorite places in Pasco to visit. A few of the children's cousins met us out there and they all had the best time. Morgan would live there if he could. We rode rides, had their delicious ice cream, picked out treats to take home and played on the tractor. It was time well spent. The man running the rides for us let them stay on as long as they wanted and was super nice. Morgan was literally the happiest little boy alive I think. I'm glad it doesn't take much to please him at this age.

Here are some pictures:

{We could not get him off of this to go home}

{Don't the twins look thrilled to be there?}

It was such a fun day. We came home and the kids were exhausted. Kendle had a dentist appointment that afternoon and was cavity free again. Yeah! Great way to start off the summer.

Catching Up

We have had so many things going on as is usual for this time of year. We've been wrapping up sports seasons, getting ready for school to be out, celebrating birthdays and more.

Saturday Kendle had her last softball games of the season. She had a lot of fun playing and making new friends this year. She said her favorite position to play was 3rd base. She also picked the number 5 to wear on her jersey as a tribute to her old mother. Here are a few pictures Kristen took for me:

{Riley got roped into umping again}

I'm glad Kendle had a good attitude and tried her best during the games. We've got things to work on for next season and look forward to maybe playing some more softball in the fall.

Yesterday was also Kendle's last day of second grade. I was more sad than I was last year for first grade. I think it just has to do with the fact that she is growing up so fast and third grade sounds so old! We really enjoyed Kendle's teacher Mrs. Coronado this year and all the extra efforts she made on Kendle's behalf and all of the positivity she gave Kendle. We will miss her. They had an assembly and Kendle got a Star Ship McGee Award for "Responsibility". Once again, something I wish could translate into her home life. Ha! Good job Kendle.

Some fun facts about Kendle's second grade year according to her:

Favorite Activity: Chinese New Year Unit. They had a dragon parade, ate fortune cookies and Chinese food and learned about the culture.

Favorite Classmate: Jasmine (who also lives down the street)

Favorite *Special* Class: Art

Favorite Activity at Recess: The monkey bars

Favorite Day of the Week: Mondays (When I asked her why she said it was the day they got to go back to school. I think most kids would say Friday.)

Here are some pictures from her last day at school:

Way to go Kendle. Glad you had a great year. On to third grade!

*More to come tomorrow on Morgan's Birthday and how we celebrated the last day of school.

Three Things

I saw an article on this blog with 119 Journal Prompts and thought I could use a boost writing more details about myself on my blog for journaling purposes. I hope to use some of them every week.

Three things I can't go without:
Strong rubber bands for my hair
My hair is seriously thick and wimpy rubber bands just won't do the trick. Since I wear my hair in a pony tail 5 out of the 7 days of the week these are essential to my sanity. I can't deal with my hair slipping out and getting in my face.

Air conditioning
Got to have it. Period. I get reeeaaaallly cranky and irritable when I'm hot. I can't sleep at night if I'm hot and uncomfortable either.

C.O. Bigelow Mentha Cinnamint Lip Shine
It is my all time favorite lip gloss. I hope they never stop making it. It's not sticky or gummy and it looks casually pretty.

Three celebrity crushes:
Ryan Reynolds
Christian Bale
Sam Worthington

Three favorite book characters:
Pony Boy - from "The Outsiders"
Anne Shirley - from "Anne of Greene Gables"
James "Jamie" Fraser - from "The Outlander" series

*Honorable Mention
Harry Potter - from the "Harry Potter" series
Morgan Shurtliff - from "Matters of Chance"
Sarah Agnes Prine - from "These is My Words"

Three favorite things to wear:
My wedding ring
A good fitting pair of jeans
My red pea coat

If I had to evacuate my home because of a natural disaster the three things I would take with me:
(besides my family of course)
My gun
My 72-hour emergency kit
My purse

Three Pet Peeves
People that are always late
People that talk without any tact or regard for others feelings
People that think they are the best at everything

Three things I'd do if I wasn't so afraid:
Write a book
Tell my rude neighbors exactly what I think of them blasting their music
Take my kids out in public by myself :)

Three favorite TV shows:
Glee
Friday Night Lights
Grey's Anatomy

*Honorable Mention
So You Think You Can Dance
Community
The Office

Journaling

For Today June 4th 2010

Outside my window....
We have not been experiencing typical June weather. It feels more like April with wind and rain showers that never seem to end. Gray overcast skies and wet grass are haunting me like a bad ghost. Kendle still wears a warm coat to school in the morning's and makes sure to always have her umbrella in her back pack. I'm longing for sun so my flowers and little garden can start thriving.

I am thinking....
That I need a night out with Riley. It is just always such a hassle to try and do anything and it's hard to find someone besides my parents that can take on watching all the kids. This week has been especially draining though and we need some time to ourselves. The sad part is I am usually ready for bed by 8:00 so I'm not much of a fun date. I'd probably fall asleep in a movie.

I am thankful for.....
A sense of humor. Sometimes that is the only way I can survive the craziness that is my life right now. I'm glad I can usually end up laughing about the things that upset me. My kids probably think their mom is a bit loopy sometimes when I start chuckling to myself.

From the kitchen.....
Riley went grocery shopping for me late last night so I have stuff on the counters to put away. He put away all the freezer and refrigerator items. Dinner has been a real chore this week with softball games and soccer practice interrupting the dinner hour. I need to work on my dinner schedule for the next few weeks and get organized again.

I am going....
To try and do more fun things with the kids during the day. School will be out in a little over a week so we've been making some fun plans of things to do.

I am hoping.....
Summer weather makes it's appearance soon. I want to start taking the babies on some walks in the mornings.

I am hearing.....
The steady hum of the dishwasher, babies babbling, and Morgan playing and talking to himself. He can get very quiet when he is sneaking into snacks so that's when I get worried. His new favorite thing to sneak is marshmallows.

Around the house....
I wish I could get to the point where the house stayed clean but I don't think that will happen anytime soon. I try to do little pick ups throughout the day -in the morning after breakfast, before lunch, before dinner, and before bedtime. That helps a lot.

One of my favorite things....
Summer footwear. I recently purchased a couple of new pairs of cute sandals which always get me pumped up for the warm months ahead.

A few plans for the weekend....
No plans, just working around the house and yard. I wanted to make some new curtains. I saw a cute idea that requires no sewing making them out of canvas painting drop cloths. We'll see if I can pull it off.

Something to remember.....
Kendle had her second grade play yesterday. It was really, really cute. It was a bug play about all of the bugs having a summer picnic. She was a flipping beetle and this was her little line: "This is so exciting, I love to plan a trip. A picnic is so inviting, I feel like I could flip!" Then she was supposed to do a little somersault and she was really worried she wouldn't be able to do it, but she did it, although I could barely see over the person sitting in front of me. All of the songs were really cute and I loved watching her cute little face sing and dance with her classmates. I can't believe second grade is almost over and she will be a big third grader next year.

{Here she is with a few of her classmates before the play started}

{A quick shot with one of her friends afterwards}

Also, I never got around to posting a picture from when she was the Tri-Cities Exchange Club Student of the Month back in April so here are a few:

The Exchange Club is an all volunteer service organization that promotes Americanism [having pride in our country, respect for the flag, and appreciation of our freedoms], community service, youth excellence, and scholarship opportunities. Their history dates back to 1911 and they were one of the first to allow women into their organization. Our local chapter is made up of wonderful volunteers - judges, nurses, counselors and business men and women.

Kendle received a nice plaque, a 50 dollar savings bond, and some local gift certificates along with a lunch provided by the Exchange Club. We attended along with her teacher from school that nominated her. It was really nice. One thing that actually got me kind of teared up was that they had us tell them what we were most proud of about Kendle. Then her teacher spoke a little about her and what touched me most was that not only was her teacher proud of her academically, but she loves the fact that Kendle knows 100 percent who she is and doesn't get involved with things at school that aren't good. She's kind to the children in her class and treats them with respect. I was seriously prouder about her being a good human being, than being a good student at that moment. I'm proud of my Kendle girl and all she is becoming.

Memorial Weekend

While Riley was coaching a tournament in Seattle over the weekend, I stayed at my parents house along with my brothers and their families that were visiting. It was one big party. It was loud and crazy but fun. We talked, laughed, ate, ate some more, ate some more, .............you get the idea. The kids all ran, jumped, yelled, and played to their hearts content. The kids love staying at grandma and grandpa's. One afternoon we headed to the park and played some baseball. It was so fun and I think my brothers and I enjoyed it more than the kids although I am mighty sore today. My parents have also cleared out a space for their fire pit up in the trees and it feels just like a real camping spot. So one evening we grilled burgers and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and the kids were in heaven. It was so fun. They made sure to give the kids really long sticks so they would stay far enough away from the fire. That was the only night I took some pictures so here are a few:


{Grandpa T. helping Morgan roast his hot dog}

{Morgan declared it was yummy!}

{My nephews Zack and Caleb}

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{My neice Moira and Zack}

{My brother Rich sharpening the end of the

willow sticks. A boy scout is allows prepared with his pocket knife right?}

{My brother Jeremy manning the grill. The burgers were delicious!}

{Morgan just being himelf.}

What a fun time. We came home all tired out last night! It was a great kick off to summer even if the weather didn't cooperate all that much.