First Day of School

Yesterday was the girls first day back in school. They were excited.

Me, I could have delayed this a few weeks… maybe even another month. I enjoy having my girls around and I have a hard time only seeing them a few hours each day.

When I asked Carly what her favorite thing about her first day was she replied, “books” – then she proceeded to tell me about the reading corner in her classroom that has bean bag chairs and cushions to sit on. I love that she enjoys reading.

Abigail’s favorite part of her first day was the writing and art project they started working on, then she described a acrostic poem (?) she was creating – it’s normal for your kids to know more than you sometimes right?

This morning after Jason and Katie were bathed and dressed I looked at the two of them and I swear they grew up since yesterday. I hate that. Which reminds me, remember I convinced Jason he’d never grow up? Well, apparently Justin asked Jason recently if he was going on a mission and Jason told him no because he wasn’t going to get bigger. Justin wasn’t too happy about his son’s response. I suppose I’ll should tell him if he ends up getting older, despite all his best efforts, he can and should go on a mission, get married, and {gasp} move out.

This raising kids business is hard stuff. Good thing I love it so much!

My babies this morning

The Last Day of Summer Break

I woke up and got ready early this morning. Both the waking up part and the getting ready part are things I usually delay as long as possible. We had someone coming this morning to repair an area of hardwood that was damaged by a leaky dishwasher several months ago. They said they would come sometime between 8-10am. So I was ready.

On my way downstairs I peeked in the girls room and they were quietly reading on their bed - in the exact same positions I last saw them last night. Abigail on her stomach head near the footboard and Carly lying on her pillow pet, leaning against the headboard. Their bed was already made, books in hand – a sign of a good morning.

After a little while the girls joined me downstairs and while I made sure the kitchen was all set for a few days of minor construction, the girls started a game of Skip-Bo on the living room floor. Once Katie woke up their game came to a swift conclusion.

Being my last day having my big helpers at home, I deemed today a laundry day. After we put away load #1, the girls picked out the outfits they want to wear for school this week and got cleaned up and ready for the day.

Shortly after 10am and amid an intense game of Skip-Bo with the girls, I got a phone call from the woodguy saying he was running late (um, yeah), but would be here shortly. Contractors and builders seem to be the bane of my existence this past year. He tells me he needs to test the floor to ensure it’s dry underneath and then he proceeds to pound two nail like devices into my beautiful kitchen floors – twice. That’s four holes – so of course I’m like, “you’re going to fix that, right?” Anyhow, he was nice enough, but proposed a completely different approach to the repairs then I was previously told (yadda, yadda, yadda). In the end, we did it his way and instead of ripping out a section of hardwood he sanded down the existing wood (and filled in his holes). He’ll be back tomorrow for a second sanding and additional coat of whatever reeks throughout my house.

Thankfully, Katie slept through the whole thing. Which isn’t too surprising these days – you should see the massive equipment rattling our house everyday as the land around us is being excavated for future building. We’re used to a little background noise.

After lunch it was time for the girls to meet their new teachers for the school year. We found out who they had on Friday and both girls were assigned to one of their top two desired teachers. Abigail’s teacher is fairly young – dressed to impress in a tank top and short shorts, but seemed very nice and organized. Abigail also found out her close friend in the neighborhood is in her class, so that’s exciting. Abigail’s teacher is also quite short and predicted Abigail will outgrow her in the next few months. Without a doubt Abigail will be taller than her teacher by the end of the school year. I took the girls shopping Saturday to get school shoes and we bought Abigail a size 9 and a size 9.5… in women’s! So when she outgrows them, she’ll be able to hand them down to me.

Carly’s teacher is older with oodles of experience. She was super nice – almost Grandma-like, and tried to engage Carly in several conversations during our short visit. I’m sure it won’t take long for Carly to warm up and speak in a voice loud enough that her teacher will be able to understand her.

Once back home it was naptime once again for Miss Katie. The girls reminded me that we needed to make oatmeal packets for breakfasts. We haven’t put these together since we moved here so it was long overdue. The kids love to eat oatmeal with a little fruit and we’ve found that making them ourselves is the cheapest and healthiest way to go. We put them together assembly line style so it’s fun and fast work. Hopefully these little packets will last us at least a few months. We’re already down three.

Mr. J has been without naps far too often this summer and when he broke down about something minor he hauled his tired little behind upstairs and fell sleep on his bed. I sure love this kid.

The girls spent the rest of the afternoon playing games, finishing laundry, and occasionally getting shooed outside by their mother in an attempt to keep their excitement and energy from getting too out of hand.

Justin didn’t get home from work til almost 7pm. After we all ate dinner I sat on the floor next to Jason and read a few books while Justin prepared a few thoughts to share with the kids about starting school tomorrow. Carly hovered on the chair above us and Katie periodically squirmed her way into my lap with her gigantic irresistible smile. It was just as it should be. After our brief discussion we enjoyed a little dessert before bedtime. Nothing really extraordinary about today, just a day in the life… it’s the kind of day I like best – no real schedule, just a day at home with my four incredible kids. I’m going to miss days like this.

Fold your arms, bow your head, and listen while the prayer is said

Check out what Little Miss has learned to do.

Lest, you think I regularly take pictures while we pray, I feel I should explain. I was taking pictures of something else and must have said something that she interpreted to mean we were going to say a prayer.

I think it’s so sweet to see her folding her arms and bowing her head so reverently. Of course, she’s not perfect…

Maybe she’s just wondering when someone’s going to say “amen” so she can get back to playing.

Washington Coast

We spent this past weekend with Justin’s parents on the coast. We stayed in Ocean Shores at the same house we stayed four years ago. We got there around noon on Friday and while Katie (and Justin) took naps, Linda and I took the kids to the beach to see if we could manage to fly some kites. It's important to note (for anyone who may not know) that visiting the ocean in Washington is not what most would think of as a beach vacation... the water is freezing, the sky is usually cloudy and grey, and it is usually quite windy. It was great conditions for flying a kite though and without much effort all three kids looked like pros.

The wind was so strong that the kites basically flew themselves.

Jason was hilarious to watch. He was having so much fun running around with his little kite. I love this next picture of him dragging his kite down the beach hoping the wind will get it back up in the air.

Jason also caught on to the idea of chasing his sisters around trying to get his kite caught up in the string from their kite. It was so fun for me to watch them try something new and have so much fun with it.

Before heading back to the house the kids played a bit in the ocean.

After dinner we all drove down to the beach. Justin’s parents were following us in their car and called us questioning Justin’s judgment about driving on the sand. There were many other cars parked down by the water so Justin confidently dismissed their warning. Of course, less than a minute later Justin had us stuck in the sand. Thankfully there were a few nice people nearby that helped him push while I plowed our way onto more solid ground. Abigail commented that she will remember our first trip to Ocean Shores because she had to go to the ER to get stitches and she will remember this trip because Dad got the car stuck in the sand. Aside from that little adventure, the kids also had fun flying kites and playing on the sand dunes.

I’m one lucky Momma!

Jason discovered the joy of rolling down the sand dunes – needless to say showers were needed before bed.

Saturday morning we headed up north a bit to check out the beaches. I also wanted to visit Seabrook – a new seaside community that I’ve heard fabulous things about. I’ll admit to falling in love at first sight. It’s a little town straight from the movies. Someday I’d like to return for a few days and stay in one of the cottages.

We stopped at played at Pacific Beach. Again, great conditions for kite flying.

But there was a significant difference – can you tell?

Though still cold, the sun was shining and the wind wasn’t nearly as overwhelming.

The kids also enjoyed playing in the sand and attempting to build a sand castle.

Unfortunately, with a toddler around they didn’t get to far.

I was surprised how much Katie enjoyed the beach. My kids typically don’t like getting dirty, but Katie didn’t seem to mind at all.

By the end of the day she had sand everywhere. She was shivering cold (didn’t help that she played in the little stream) and quickly fell asleep in the car on our way back to Ocean Shores.

After we ate lunch we decided to take the kids miniature golfing. This is something I’ve been excited to do as a family for a while now. Unfortunately Katie had only napped 30 minutes in the car the entire day so she wasn't the happiest to be there and was difficult to keep contained on the hole we were playing on. Half way through the 18 holes Justin ended up sacrificing his game to keep Katie entertained. It was still a fun experience though.

Jason had lots of fun though he shows no signs of future golf greatness

Sunday we attended church at the small branch in town and spent the afternoon playing games and relaxing before heading home.

Beach BBQ & Bubbles

I feel like I haven’t posted much lately and we’re already half way through August. This summer is flying by! Our summer continues to be cooler and much more cloudy than we’d like, but we’ve managed to get outside and enjoy it regardless of the weather.

A few weekends ago we were invited to join a couple families in the ward at a nearby lake for a BBQ – again, we were amazed at the beautiful surroundings only 10 minutes from our home.

Even though the lake was ice cold Carly played in the water most of the evening with her friend. Jason also braved the cold water, but didn’t venture too far.

Abigail and Justin topped off the evening playing a little catch. We all had fun and it was a great opportunity to get to know some of the families in our new ward a little better.

Jason’s buddy gave him a bubble wand for his birthday and we finally tried it out last week. The kids had lots of fun chasing the huge bubbles across the backyard. They used up every little bottle of bubbles they could find.

(yep, that’s Katie wearing long sleeves and fleece-lined pants in August)

SOLD!

I’m such an methodical person that I have a hard time posting out of order, but this news is far too exciting to delay… We are the proud owners of not TWO, but ONE home! We accepted an offer almost 6 weeks ago from a family relocated to Seattle from Kentucky and officially closed this afternoon. This past year has been quite the ride - deciding to move, watching our new home be built from the ground up, and selling the home we lived in for 10 years in a less than ideal real estate market. Add to that that just days before we closed on our new home we get the news that Justin’s employer will likely be bought out in the next year. We’ve had every reason to be stressed out – let’s face it that’s a lot going on, especially for a couple as logical, cost conscious, and controlling as us, but surprisingly it’s been one of our best years. Faith, patience, and calmness are not natural characteristics of mine so I know that the peace I have felt through this process have come from our Heavenly Father and in knowing that this move was the right thing for our family at this time. There have been far too many experiences along the way to deny that. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my moments, but thanks to supportive friends, family, and my therapist we’ve endured it well.

I stopped by the house early this morning to pick up the last of our things and was surprised to find they had already delivered the buyers POD in our driveway – a reassuring indication that they were ready and eager to close as soon as possible.

We took this picture of the kids a few days after we got the offer – all four of them were born while we lived in this house.

Lots of memories here. Last night Justin asked me if I was sad to sell it and without hesitation I answered no; it wasn’t until I walked through the empty house this morning for the last time that I felt a little emotional, especially as I looked at the kids rooms. It’s hard to imagine someone else’s kids sleeping in those rooms.

Today is a happy day though… it’s hard to describe, but it kind of feels like today makes our move official.

** I actually don’t have a therapist per say – just a friend that frequently listens to me ramble about my woes and tells me that I’m awesome. I probably should be paying her.

Stats for J & K

Monday Jason and Katie visited our pediatrician for their 4-year and 15-month checkups. They are doing great and developing just as they should. Both were due for some shots – Jason was trying to be so tough and didn’t shed a single tear or complain at all.

Here are their stats:

Jason:

Weight: 43 pounds (90^th percentile)

Height: 43.5 inches (98^th+ percentile)

Katie:

Weight: 24 pounds, 8.2 ounces (75^th percentile)

Height: 32.6 inches (95^th percentile)

Below is a picture that will likely embarrass Jason when he is older. It was taken shortly after Katie was born. I’m sure I was blown away with how big my “baby” boy suddenly seemed when compared to our new little one.

And here are my babies today – 15 months later

I’m sure Jason will appreciate my mentioning that he is 100% potty-trained and has been for quite sometime – so strange to imagine him in diapers.

Jason’s 4th Birthday

Jason had an awesome fun-filled birthday on Wednesday. When I came downstairs that morning this is how I found the three big kids:

Not sure what they were doing (the TV wasn’t on)… maybe they were just admiring the awesome banner I made (I copied a banner my SIL purchased).

Justin was able to take the day off and made pancakes, bacon and hash browns for breakfast. Jason opened up his present from Grandma Kesler – to be honest he had no clue what a Transformer was, but it didn’t take long for him to become a fan. The girls (and Justin) have also spent time transforming Jason’s new toys.

This was also the first time we’ve heard our sweet, innocent little boy make shooting noises (thanks for that Mom) we now have a bona fide boy on hands.

Justin felt it necessary that Jason have a scooter of his own and what better time to give him one than on his birthday. Jason was thrilled.

After Katie took her morning nap we heading down to Auburn to pick up Jason’s two best buddies for an afternoon at a bouncy place. We knew the boys would have fun and that Jason would be thrilled to spend some time running around with his friends. Jason sure has missed seeing these two boys since we moved.

There’s no validity in the saying “threes a crowd” when it comes to these boys – they were inseparable.

They spent most of the time going down the big slide – over and over, and over…

I threw this little outing together way last minute and didn’t expect the boys to bring gifts for Jason, but they did and Jason loved everything.

Mitchell gave Jason a bat, ball, and a bubble wand.

Jacob gave Jason a giant lollipop and a Cars book that the boys were mesmerized with while they waited for their ice cream at Sam’s Club afterward.

We invited Justin’s family over that evening for dinner and cake and ice cream, but since we were running late we resorted to picking up pizza at Little Caesar’s (who did not live up to their “hot and ready” slogan).

After dinner there were more presents

A big ball, water gun and spinney toy from his cousins and cars, clothes, and a movie from Grandma and Grandpa Fletcher

And here’s the most pitiful birthday cake I’ve ever made for my kids and the adorable four year old boy that thought it was fabulous.