Meow

Kenny-Cat, she brings us great joy and has brought us to our knees in prayer too. When she is "on" she's on! She is funny and loves sharing what's she's reading or what she dreams about. She remembers great details of her dreams too. She's really into swinging on the monkey bars and doing flips on them. Another great passion she has is for reading. She'll often have to be reminded to say "hi" as she gets into the car when I pick them up after school because she will quickly stick her nose in a book for the ride home and let the others share their day. I love the first picture of her. It captures the look she often gives as her response to something goofy Blake or I say to her. Oftentimes we try to joke with her and that is the look she gives. It's kind of a funny-but-not-going-to-quite-give-you-that-satisfaction look.

Fashionista

Ok, so I tell Avery to act natural and show her a few "poses" so she's not just standing stiffly and this is what she comes up with. She's a little model in the making. Avery is 7. I can't believe it. She still shines her cute dimply smile this way but she is becoming a tad more moody. I think it's under the suffrage of two older sisters and having Carter take the "baby" roll. She has a sweet spirit inside, it's just being a little stifled by the "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha Syndrome." She is always the first to make a card for us and others who could use a little cheering up. She is the first to give me a hug. She is our tender-hearted one.

Cards

I don't know when Carter's nickname morphed from C-Dawg to Cards but that is what he responds to lately. He is fun to have around on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I will miss him next year when he goes to Kindergarten. He's my little "Snuggy-Bug." Recently, he has been calling out "Love Bugs" instead of "slug bug" so he tallies them up and then gives me kisses on my cheek when we are safe. (He made Blake and I promise not to cash-in on the love bugs until we are at a complete stop) He loves shooting baskets with the newly acquired hoop as well as call out all the makers of cars and trucks.

Easter

What a beautiful day! The day after a powerful thunderstorm. We enjoyed a wonderful service at church and then off to Opa and Oma's for Easter. All the day was enjoyable from not having school the next day to spending time with family. The highlight though was probably when Ayla caught a catfish off Opa's boat. I don't want to put out any red flags to PETA but we had a little fun with it first before we returned it to it's watery home. We put it in Opa's fountain for awhile while Jude wore Opa's bathing suit to "swim" with it.

Sea World

We got to see all the animals in Sea World for break. It was a great time walking around and seeing all the talented animals.

Avery's 7th

Avery had a great birthday on Wednesday. We decorated some cookies before the day even began. Everyone in the house was excited for the upcoming birthday party . . . except maybe for the C-dawg. He asked me earlier that week if he could be in his room during the party if he got "tired." He was already making plans for his easy departure. We made fun Kool-Aid cubes for 7-up drinks and blinged out some hankie purses. They took a little warming up to karaoke-ing but once they got comfortable we couldn't pull some away. I thought it would be important to get some non-sugary foods in them so we had Walking Tacos for dinner. Jacie and her friend Daisee and Kenna were a great help but I owe a special "thank you" to Blake for all he does to entertain the kids and help make it fun.

Hike

Blake and I were able to get away for the weekend a couple weeks ago. It was such a blessing for his parents to watch the kids so we could do that. We did a little bit of everything. Eat, hike, thrift, go to the Pasadena flea market, and relax.

Geo Bee

It seems every year I hear about the Geo Bee and the Spelling Bee from Blake. This year was a first, we got to hear about it from Jacie. The Geography Bee was a couple weeks before the Spelling Bee so it gave her good practice. I never thought I would experience more nervousness sitting in the audience than being on stage, but it did happen. She did a great job.

Unwilling Leader

Carter was an unwilling shepherd this morning. Though he had two followers he did not want to touch them. Our favorite annual day is here again. Blake's "Excuse Note" assignment has our family in a tither. As you know from past posts, we have a hard time getting ready for school and today was no different. Between shepherding and digging in a receptacle for free Farm Show goodies we barely got to school on time. We are all eager to see how creative these students are this year!

We are finally at the stage where we can go trick-or-treating and we don't have tired kids but it's always a bit rushed on a school night. We usually enjoy going to Opa and Oma's for pizza and going around their neighborhood. Our tradition every year is to visit our neighbor Betty at her daughter's house so she can see them dressed up. Next year will be extra special since we don't live by her anymore.

Four Lil' Pumpkins

After a few busy weeks of packing up, fixing things, moving, and unpacking we needed a little reprieve from all the "house stuff." We went to our local pumpkin patch for a little break. We almost missed it because the patch was almost done, as it was towards the end of October. It's amazing how God provides even with little things. It was a nice afternoon for our family and every thing was free thanks to the family who owned it. We enjoyed dinner, a hayride and free pumpkins to adorn our new home. What a generous community we live in and what a wonderful husband I have. We are often on the receiving end of generosity thanks to my wonderful teacher husband and thankful parents to him.

On the hunt

Sometime during our summer Blake and I decided to start looking at houses. Who knew how busy we would become with all that entails?

Park

October still had mild temperatures. We enjoyed an afternoon playing kickball, skating and rip-sticking around.

Walk thru

California. That's what Jacie's grade got to do in October. It was actually a very neat way to learn all about California. I learned a few things too. It was very interactive and all the children participated with a part they had previously memorized even though at the time of memorization they didn't know how it was going to be part of the program.

Camping?

Hmmm, it looks like we are camping if you were to take a quick look at this picture. Children. . . brushing their teeth. . . outside. But we aren't. It's just a typical day for us. Sometimes we have a hard time getting things done in the morning before school. One would think we lived on a ranch in Oklahoma where we had to rustle up cattle or train our horses before we scurried off to school or sumthin'. T'weren't the case though. The closest we have to cattle is having relatives who live on dairies. Nope, we just can't wake up sometimes or dress ourselves. Or today, we just didn't get to brushing our teeth before we left for school this morning. Fortunately for us, we've been spending a lot of time at the orthodontist for Kenna's spacers this year so we were prepared with toothbrush and toothpaste. Those weekly visits have built up our travel-size hygienic supplies.

Plate Night

Blake and I like to try new things, especially food. It is also hard to go on a date with 4 kids at home. We dubbed the night "Plate Night" for a date and cooking at home. We made ceviche, carnitas and homemade tortillas. Delish!

70

Oma celebrated 70 years end of September so she and Opa asked all of us to go to Bass Lake to celebrate. We had a great time swimming, playing games, eating and hanging out. One day we went on a little hike near the lake. We ended up turning around at some point because we didn't know if we were going to end up in Coarsegold or what.

10

Wow, Jacie turned 10. I can't believe how quickly time is flying. I know people told me it would go quickly but when I had 4 children under the age of 5 at home, it felt like people were lying to me :), now I see they were not. We dipped marshmallows in white chocolate to bring to class and picked up cupcakes for her big day.

Day of Labor

Labor Day saw us at the Kostelyk's new abode. The kids had fun swimming and swinging at the pinata.

Carter is 5

So. . . I guess it's been awhile since I've posted anything. I will have to be behind for awhile, at least picture-wise though, because I get this printed out for the children so things can't be skipped. When last I left off, the kids were off to school from summer break. Immediately following that was Carter's birthday. He turned 5.