Tales of a Monkey and a Turkey

January

2012-02-08T09:40:00.000-05:00

What a month!

We spent a quick 3 day weekend in Ohio visiting family since we didn't make it up North at Christmas. Thankfully, we had a nice survival kit for the car, compliments of my thoughtful sister, just in case we had a repeat of the 24 hour trip from a couple of years ago. You know, the year that I was traveling alone with the kids, had only a few granola bars in the van for food and found myself sitting on I-77 in WV for 6+ hours as they had CLOSED THE MAJOR HIGHWAY due to snow. My favorite item there is the Folger's coffee can labeled as "Family Restroom". Really could have used that 2 years ago...

Anyway, we had a wonderful time with family and I did not use my camera like I should have. Shannon had her in-laws over for dinner and games one night and we all had great fun. Then, Grandma Brown hosted a delicious dinner for all of us so we could see most of our Ohio relatives. You just can't beat Grandmas rolls, green beans and corn! Then it was time to head home again... The kids did get to enjoy playing in the snow and sledding with Mike and Uncle Jason. They were thrilled beyond measure to see the snow!

Grandma Brown with the Great-Grands

Katey and Gabriella

Aubrey (I think she and Katey may have the same sense of style!)

January wrapped up with Seth going under the knife. It was a whirlwind event as we found out that he needed his tonsils and adenoids out January 9 and he was having surgery on the 20th!! The good news was there wasn't much time to worry about how he would do. Seth was very brave and, leading up to the big day, was only upset that he was going to miss a week of school (which made his teacher super happy!).

The day before surgery I told him that I could pull out the once-beloved Puppy and Sheepy for him to take along. He said I could if I wanted to, he didn't care either way. However, the morning of surgery he sought-out Puppy and didn't let go...which made Mommy happy. (I've missed Puppy and am a little sad that Seth is growing up and doesn't need him around anymore)

So, all went well with the surgery. The doctor, upon coming out to the waiting room afterwards, informed us that Seth's tonsils were HUGE and everyone in the operating room could not believe how big they were! Glad we got them out!

Recovery went very smooth (though it was touch-and-go with my attitude and Seth's around day 5-6!) and Seth is no longer snoring or having moments of sleep apnea that we have noticed. Wahoo!!

Seth before surgery


Puppy got a new friend (appropriately named), "Tonsils"!

And that sums up January. Whew!

Why I Love Living in NC in the Winter

2012-01-26T10:42:00.005-05:00

Taken in the backyard on January 13!!

Debut

2012-01-24T10:05:00.003-05:00

Just after Christmas Katey had her first-ever piano recital! It was a special day and we were glad to have lots of family in town to witness and enjoy Katey's performance. She was a little nervous but she put on a splendid performance for us! Katey played: Sunrise, Skip to My Lou, Turkey in the Straw, Angels We Have Heard on High (a duet with Alison, her teacher) and Jingle Bells.


Katey with her teacher, Mrs. Alison

Katey's first recital!!

We were also treated to the musical talents of Aunt Christy and Aunt Joanna, playing a beautiful duet! We hope Katey was inspired by their performance and sees what diligence in practicing can produce!

Christmas

2012-01-03T20:46:00.002-05:00

Our family enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and New Year with family and friends. This chica was rather lax with camera usage so there aren't many pictures after Christmas (and thank you to Brandon and Annie for taking most of those!).

The quick overview is: we celebrated Mike's sister, Joanna's 18th birthday together (partly by making pizza and throwing crust in the air to stretch it!); we opened lots and lots and lots of wonderful gifts; ate lots and lots and lots of wonderful Christmas cookies and candy; laughed while playing games and watching movies; enjoyed seeing our kids play with Nate and hearing him boss the dog around; passed around some colds; played laser tag; went to Katey's first piano recital (more on that in another post); took a quick trip to Morganton to visit with the Molendorps for a couple of hours; rang in the New Year with Mom, Becca and Kevin.

And, here are some pictures to prove it all (well, some of it, anyway) happened.

(No, Nate isn't hurting Seth - that is just our ham-ball, hamming it up for the camera!)

Out-takes

2011-12-16T08:03:00.002-05:00

40 pictures. That is what it took to get a nice picture of my kids together and a nice one of each of them separately. Have I mentioned that they are 8 and 10?!?!

I did finally get some keepers, but thought I would share a few of the ones that didn't make the cut...

Just for the record...

2011-12-16T07:50:00.001-05:00

Each year our kids are visited by a Christmas elf. No, I'm not talking about the little Elf-on-a-Shelf, but an elf that comes and delivers surprise presents under the little tree upstairs. Last year and this year, they even got a letter from STAR the after-Christmas elf!

The kids are completely convinced that this elf is not real, but is actually one of our Averill family members (Katey says she has it narrowed down to Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jo or Aunt Christy). And, for the last couple of years they have set traps in the playroom in a ploy to catch "the culprit".

Because they are so very adamant about STAR not being real, that got me to wondering what else they deem to be real or not real. Last night I asked them:

If STAR isn't real, is Santa?
K: YES!
S: Yeah.

How about the Easter Bunny?
K: I don't know...maybe
S: Probably

The tooth fairy?
K: YES! I know for a fact that the tooth fairy is real!
S: No...Katey, remember, Daddy told us.

The Grinch who Stole Christmas?
S: I don't know
K: No...Dr. Suess made him up

I love it!!

Alabama!

2011-11-28T10:48:00.001-05:00

As mentioned in my previous post, we took a little road trip to visit Mike's sister, Christy, in ~~Louisiana~~ Alabama a few weeks ago. (After Christy moved there I could never remember if she lived in AL or LA! No worries Christy, I have it straight now that we visited.)

Christy and her roommate, Stephanie, were wonderful hostesses and we had a great time hanging out at their apartment and going on our many adventures.

We got to tour Beeson Divinity School where Christy is attending. What a beautiful campus! The kids had fun climbing trees and collecting nuts (where we found the infamous "Nutty" the acorn).

Then it was off to the botanical gardens to smell the roses, touch cacti plants, explore nature, enjoy time with Aunt Christy, hang out in some bamboo and, of course, collect more acorns!

Finally, our day ended with a tour of Hogwarts at the zoo! We got to ride the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9 3/4, tried Butterbeer, which tasted oddly like warm rainbow sherbert..., got sorted into houses by the sorting hat, made wands, had faces painted and played on roller racers (which have nothing what-so-ever to do with Harry Potter but were awesome fun!).

Our weekend adventure ended with visiting Christy's church and getting to meet more of her friends. It was such a blessing to get a glimpse into the life of our sister and to hear the words of praise her friends had to speak about Christy. She is one incredible, giving, passionate and loving young woman!! We love you, AC!!

Simplicity

2011-11-18T08:43:00.001-05:00

We spent last weekend with Mike's sister, Christy, in Birmingham. While I plan to do an entire post on all the fun things we did there, right now I want to focus on Seth and his wonderful ability to find fun in the simple.

For many years now Seth has snubbed most toys (unless they are the Wii or the DS) but preferred to entertain himself with things like stuffed animals, his hands or, in the latest case, an acorn. We love that he uses his imagination to give life to inanimate objects.

Ever heard of Pee-lo and Pie-lo? Didn't think so. Seth made them up...and they are his hands. Pee-lo is the right, Pie-lo is the left. From age 3-5 or so they acted like spiders, they climbed up head mountains, they crawled across floors and tables, and they got blamed for things. If a glass of milk was spilled and Seth was scolded the response would undoubtedly be, "It wasn't me, it was Pee-lo and Pie-lo". Mike and I spent countless minutes and hours trying to ~~pound in the fact~~ calmly explain that if Pee-lo and Pie-lo did it then SETH did it. Have I ever mentioned that Seth is a little on the stubborn side? Wonder where he got that from?!

While Pee-lo and Pie-lo have been in hiding for a couple of years, they seem to have made a recent come-back. It is fun to relive old times and watch our kids do the same!

So, the acorn. While visiting Christy we spent a lot of time outside walking around. The kids collected many acorns but none so special as "Nutty". Seth found Nutty on Saturday morning and spent the rest of the day, as well as all day on Sunday, playing various games with his new-found friend. He spun Nutty around in a frisbee, rolled him along the floor, fished him out from under the couch more times than we can count, made up stories about Nutty, carried him in his pocket and gathered more acorns just so that Nutty would have friends. And, after we got home, Seth drew a face on the beloved acorn!

I absolutely adore the little kid that still exists in our almost 8 year old!! I know it won't be much longer before imagination games are pushed aside and the seriousness of "big kid stuff" takes over. *sigh* For now we are thoroughly enjoying Seth's simple creativity and nuttiness!

Costumed

2011-11-04T08:05:00.000-04:00

In early October I was taking a trip down memory lane, thinking of all the cool home-made costumes that Shannon and I wore through the years to go trick-or-treating. There was the Coke can, the Rubik's Cube, Mother nature, a baby... Part of the fun was coming up with something creative that could be produced by Mom, then seeing it come to fruition.

So, I announced to the kids that this year we would be making our Halloween costumes. I hoped for excited squeals and cool creativity. I got moans and groans and pleas for store-bought stuff. But, after tossing out some ideas, the kids started to warm up to the plan. Katey more-so than Seth, as she is the one who loves craft projects.

After some internet scouring (how did our parents do things without the wonder of online resources?!?) the kids landed on their desired masquerades - a box of popcorn and a tornado:

We got lots of compliments on the costumes and, in the end, the kids were pretty excited about them. Seth picked out the eyes for his tornado - he wanted it to look like something was stuck inside the swirling mass. Every time I look at the pictures the Martian character from Sesame Street comes to mind:

HA!!

I am hoping that now the kids are on board with future homemade costumes. I had fun making them and they had fun wearing them (though Katey did let Mike take over with the box before the night of trick-or-treating was done. Wish I had gotten a picture of that!).

Happy Halloween!!

Eventful Hodge-Podge

2011-11-01T19:21:00.000-04:00

We have had quite the eventful past few weeks around here. First there was crazy-alien hair day at school:

Next came the Family Sports Night at school - Mike and I both helped with this event. Mike was on the tug-o-war station and here he is battling it out with 7 kids:

The following day, I flew to Ohio and drove to Indiana with Shannon. Wish I could say it was a fun sister trip, but unfortunately, it was for a funeral. The funeral was for Bonnie, my best childhood friend, Erica's mom. I have such wonderful memories of Bonnie and her very welcoming and loving spirit. Erica and I lived 3+ hours apart but wrote letters faithfully from age 10 until college. We saw each other at Camp Ohio every summer and our moms made it possible for us to usually get together another time or two throughout each year as well. I hadn't seen Erica or Bonnie in 12 years but I still felt a huge pull to be there for the funeral to say goodbye and to support my friend. While it was hard, it was also wonderful to see Erica again, to get to know her husband and to meet her 4 kids.

I am so very thankful to Mike for his willingness to take on the kids for several days (including rearranging his work schedule...). And especially so after Seth ended up being sick, which meant Mike worked from home for 2 days. I am also thankful for Shannon and Jason and their willingness to host me on short notice, and to have Shannon accompany me on the trip. For my dad, who picked me up at the airport and for Jason's aunt, Sandy, who was ready and willing to house Shannon and me for the night in Indiana (even though we left her hanging and didn't come!). This trip really reminded me that I am so very loved and cared for.

Speaking of Seth being sick, he kept saying he was dizzy and needed something to help him walk. This is how he got around for about a week:

He used his N-Force battle toy as a cane to help steady himself. Crazy kid!!

Weekend at the Beach

2011-10-12T15:56:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Grammy, Mike and I got to take a nice weekend trip to Ocean Isle beach. It truly was a wonderful weekend away!!

We started out driving to Wilmington to see the USS North Carolina. It was really cool to be on a ship and get a glimpse into what life was like as a sailor in WWII. Gotta say, I was beginning to get downright claustrophobic in some of the areas!

From there we headed to Ocean Isle. What a beautiful view we had from our hotel room!!

It was a little chilly while we were there, so no actual swimming took place, but Mike did brave the water and got in up to his calves.

We ended up spending a lot of time walking on the beach and looking at all the seashells that had washed ashore. Oh, we also decided to rent bikes to ride around the island. When we got to the rental place we opted to try out a TANDEM bike!! It took a little getting used to, but we had great fun riding together.

Another highlight of the trip was sitting on our balcony Saturday evening eating pizza and watching 4 beach weddings take place! I was pretty amazed that 3 of the 4 weddings involved tuxedos and full-on wedding dresses. We had great fun talking about the brides and grooms and pondering various aspects of the ceremonies.

We returned home on Sunday. While we were sad to leave the beautiful view, Mike and I were both ready to be home and see the kids.

Turned out the kids and Grammy had a great time while we were gone. They had all-you-can-eat pancakes at IHOP. Seth ate FIVE!!!

They took the train Uptown and had fun exploring Imaginon:

And, they went to a little farm and rode horses!!

Thanks, Grammy, for a fun weekend for all of us!

Shades

2011-10-03T14:15:00.002-04:00

This is what I have learned: I love painting. I do not love prepping to paint. I despise cleaning up the painting supplies and mess when I am done. The actual painting itself is quite relaxing and seeing a finished product, all clean and neat and new, is amazing. But, perhaps I should limit the work to one room per year instead of 3 rooms per month...

It all started when I realized the kids' bathroom needed a coat of paint. From there it was an "if-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie" kind of a project. I let the kids pick the bathroom color (the choices were green, orange or purple). They choose orange. 4 coats of paint later (yes, I said FOUR!!), the finished product looks great and is much BRIGHTER than the builder white that did cover the walls. Check it out:

Once we began talking of painting walls, the kids were really excited and both wanted their rooms re-painted. Here are the before and after shots of both.

We (Mike and I, not Seth) were sad to see the cute animal mural on Seth's wall go. A friend painted it on there 6 years ago when we moved in the house and Seth decided he was ready for something a little more "Big Kid". We are all really pleased with the results of all the rooms!!

Bedtime

2011-09-09T07:36:00.002-04:00

Our kids have always been good about going to bed. From the time they were tiny the routine has been: lay them in bed; walk away; they fall asleep. Until recently...

For some reason Katey and Seth seem to be bucking bedtime lately. We say good night, give hugs, send them on their way and within a few minutes one of them (Katey usually) is back downstairs needing a drink of water...and to chomp some ice...and then giving more hugs... And we can usually count on hearing a small, quiet voice at the top of the stairs (Seth), "Mommy, Daddy? I, um, want to turn on my fan, is that okay?" Or he wants a cup of water in his room or his blanket isn't quite perfect on his bed...

Now, I love my kids and I love spending time with them but when evening comes around I am ready for some quiet time with my husband. Bedtime has always been my favorite time of the day...but it seems to be more and more frustrating lately. When I hear or see the kids my heart beats faster and I feel my anger rising. IT IS BEDTIME...GET IN BED!!

Last night it was the same story. I had laid down the law with Katey before bed so I didn't hear or see her. But, just as I was beginning to drink in the quiet of the evening I hear, "Um, Mommy, Daddy?" WHAT, SETH?!? "Can I have my pillow case? Is it done in the wash?"

So I grudgingly head up to give Seth his favorite pillow case (because there was already one on his pillow...just not the one he loves. *sigh*). As I entered his room I noticed there were wet spots on his pillow. When I asked about them he got teary-eyed and told me that he was remembering how 2 of his classmates had called him a liar during the day and he got sad.

Now my heart is breaking in a million pieces and I hear that still, small voice in my head - life is not about Jen and what I want. There are more important things than a quiet evening and bedtime is not sacred.

If I had been really grumpy Mommy (like I wanted to be) I would have yelled up the stairs that he could sleep without his favorite pillow case and that would have been the end of it. I would not have had the opportunity to share in my son's heartbreak and spend time talking and praying with him. We both would have missed out on an important growth moment.

So, tonight when I send the kids to bed I hope to remember this lesson and be a little less grumpy about out-of-bed children and a little more compassionate towards them...even if it means my quiet is interrupted for awhile.

A Decade!

2011-09-08T21:02:00.006-04:00

Katey is 10. I have been mulling this realization over in my head for over a week now. How can our precious daughter be TEN already?!

This was a year of no birthday party, but something fun instead. Katey has always wanted to go camping so Mike took her on a special Daddy-Daughter camping trip. They went with some good friends, Erik, Abby and Tori. (Coincidentally, Erik camps often so the fact that we had basically no camping gear was okay!) They headed out to Morrow Mountain for one night and had a great time roasting hot dogs, making s'mores and sleeping in tents. They also saw many deer near the campsite and spent time hiking, fishing and playing in the dirt. It was Katey's dream vacation!

I sent the camera with Mike to get some good camping shots and these are the two he came back with!

After they arrived home we had a family celebration with Grammy (who decorated the house and helped make Katey feel extra special on her big day). There were lots of presents and, at Katey's request, frosted brownies as her cake.

She might be 10 but she is not too old to get a horsey ride from Daddy...just like old times!!

It is hard to believe that our spunky, energetic, think-ouside-of-the-box little girl isn't so little anymore. What a joy and a blessing the last 10 years have been with her. Happy birthday, Katey Beth! We love you more than we can even express!!!

Back to School

2011-09-01T14:25:00.004-04:00

It is that time of year again. Back to school!! After a fun summer we were all looking forward to getting school supplies, meeting teachers, seeing friends and heading back into a normal routine everyday. (Okay, I admit that I was more excited about all of this than the kids were. But, they were looking forward to it, too!)

So, true to form, both kids were up nice and early and ready for the day in plenty of time. Both had picked out new school clothes at least a week in advance.
Katey choose her dress because, "It looks like an old-time school girl dress." Awesome. Both were super excited to wear their new tennis shoes. We did have to spend a few days re-teaching Seth to tie shoes, but he is now a pro...again!

The kids headed to the bus stop. In the fog. At 6:40 AM. Seth was sad to say good-bye to Belle for the day, but I think Belle was pretty glad to spend 7 hours without the fear of being...um...too loved upon. Yeah.

I enjoyed a quiet day of cleaning out Katey's closet and the kids came home all smiles. The first day back to school was a success!

2000 Miles...part 3...Ohio

2011-08-03T13:30:00.005-04:00

Even though we were all tiring a bit of riding in the van, it was good to be on the way to Ohio and know we had 5 days of NOT riding in the car to spend with family and friends!

We arrived Monday evening and spent Tuesday doing nothing but playing. Papa Dana came over to hang out with us Tuesday and we all enjoyed visiting with him. The kids also had a great time climbing the tree outside Shannon and Jason's house. Both of our kids are little monkey's and got rather high in the tree.They even planned a little welcome tree-skit for our good friends, Sara, Anna and Dayton when they arrived for a visit on Wednesday. I'm not sure what all was involved apart from all of them being in the tree and waving hello and jumping out of the tree!

While Sara and the kids were at the house we did more of just playing and enjoying spending time together. The kids swam, ran, crafted, did puzzles, schemed and made posters for a lemonade and cookie sale they planned. Aunt Shannon and the kids set up the stand at their church before Wednesday evening services. All the money collected went to a special ministry called "Life Straw" - straws with filters that make even dirty water drinkable. They raised $163!! Pretty cool!

We were so glad that Sara, Anna and Dayton made the 3 hour trip to hang out with us for a couple of days. It is always good to spend time with them and makes us miss them all the more!

Thursday evening we celebrated Aunt Shannon's birthday at a Japanese Steakhouse. Jen and the kids had never been to one before so it was quite a treat to watch the chef cook in front of us! Here is what Katey thought of it:
Do you see her in the pink shirt with her hands on her face? :-) Seth kept scooting back further and further in his chair as the chef flung stuff and lit fires. It was pretty funny! We all had a great time and enjoyed the delicious food!

Shannon with Aubrey. We don't think Aubrey liked the fire very well.

Friday was Shannon's actual birthday and she was awakened to Gabriella and Katey calling her on the phone to tell her to come to the kitchen for breakfast. The girls had worked hard on a special birthday breakfast. And, when I say "special", I mean it:
Why yes, those are grapes and green peppers placed artistically on a plate! Shannon was so very surprised!! And, we were all surprised that she was willing to share her wonderful birthday breakfast with her girls.

They decided to take advantage of the chop sticks we got from the Japanese Steakhouse the night before.

Later that day we headed to Jay and Kathy's house for another day of fun outside. The kids rode the zip line, got to see Emily and meet our new little cousin, Laken;
and put on swim suits and goggles for a fun surprise...THE SHAVING CREAM FIGHT!!
It was tough to get good shots of the kids in action, but here is Aubrey after the fight. They all pretty much looked like this. HA!

We also took a little trip to see Great Grandma Brown and Great-Great Uncle Carl - but I forgot to pull out my camera. Grandma's house smelled delicious as she was working on freezing some Incredible Corn (can't wait to hopefully get a taste of that over Christmas break!) and we had a nice time catching up with them as well.

The most surprising part of the trip was discovering that Seth is a HUGE kitten lover! Our son, who seriously claims to be 1/2 dog (I wish I was kidding on that part, but it is true - he tries to convince us daily), fell in love with Summer the kitten, whom he dubbed "Kitty Litter". He spent the entire time we were at Shannon's chasing the kitty around and picking her up. He was holding her one day and exclaimed, "I'm not sure why dogs don't like cats. I just don't understand because this cat is pretty nice!"

We headed home on Saturday and, while we would have liked a few more days of vacation, we were grateful to be home (and out of the van) and end our 2000+ mile adventure of the Eastern United States...and what a great adventure it was!

2000 Miles...part 2...Niagara Falls

2011-08-02T11:38:00.008-04:00

Our trip to Niagara Falls started out with a great surprise - both of the kids slept almost the entire 3 1/2 hour trip!! Guess all the family fun wore them out!

When we got to the hotel Katey was treated to a great surprise:
For those of you who are unaware, 7:07 is Katey's favorite time of the day. She was excited to be staying in room #707!

After dropping stuff off at our room we headed straight for the main attraction. We walked along the Niagara River - it is so wide and very beautiful to watch.
Then it was on to take the ever-famous "Maid on the Mist" boat ride. That is quite an experience!! The boat really does take you to the bottom of the Falls and it is rather amazing how calm the water is at their base.
After grabbing some dinner we headed back to the Falls again to see them lit up at night and watch the fireworks. Several people had told us that we were in for a treat with the fireworks. They have obviously never seen a real fireworks display. We waited until 10PM for them to start and after about 2 minutes (maybe) they were done. Everyone kind of looked around with puzzled expressions, wondering if that was it. And, yes, it was. But, we enjoyed seeing the Falls lit up anyway! (No pictures of the water as my camera wouldn't focus right in the dark. I do, however, have many nice shots of the backs of folks heads with blurry lights in the distance)

The next morning we awoke to rain so we hung out in the hotel and rested before setting off for Canada. Niagara Falls is much more viewable and beautiful from the Canadian side!

Canadian Horseshoe Falls

American Falls and (the smaller one on the right side) the Bridal Veil Falls

The kids were ecstatic to get souvenirs on both the US side and in Canada. They choose timeless ~~junk~~ treasures: yo-yo's, snow globes, a calculator key-chain, a back scratcher, a pencil and a pack of cards. Seth spent the entire evening and following day walking and yo-yoing while looking at the Falls. (Note the yo-yo in his hand in the picture above) Katey spent much time reading all the signs we passed and learning lots of information.

This portion of our trip was short - around 24 hours before we headed on to Ohio - but packed with lots of fun and amazing sights! I am a little embarrassed to admit that my immediate reaction to seeing the Falls was, "Really, I thought it would be bigger!" Don't get me wrong, they are amazing and incredible and quite massive, but from pictures and hearing other folks talk about them I was sure they would be much more ginormous! Still, I am impressed and in awe of this astounding creation of God's hand and am thankful that these eyes (all 4 sets) got to witness it!

2000 Miles...part 1...Syracuse

2011-08-02T11:11:00.006-04:00

We had the wonderful privilege of taking a (very) long car trip this summer to visit lots of family, see friends, and witness an amazing work of the hand of God. 2000+ miles later we are home and enjoying the memories of the past 2 weeks.

The trip started with an overnight in Maryland with Brandon, Annie and Nate. The next morning we all set out, caravan style, for Syracuse, NY!!

Aunt Melanie and Uncle Doug allowed 20 of us (plus 2 dogs!) to invade their house during 2 days and we were very thankful for their hospitality and (along with Aunt Martha and Mom Averill's) cooking! We were all gathered to celebrate Grandma TenEyck's 90th birthday!!

Mom, Martha and Melanie put together a wonderful party for Grandma and we enjoyed celebrating her together with family and friends. Here are a couple of shots from the day:

All the Grand and Great-Grandkids with Grandma at the party.

Mary TenEyck with her beautiful daughters!!

While hanging out with the Aunts, uncle and cousins we had much fun playing games, eating, and heading to a nearby (very clear!) lake. It was crazy-hot while we were there and we spent much time in the shaded back yard. Katey and Seth had great fun in the wooded ravine area behind the house.

Cousin Marcia, Christy and Katey trying to swing on the vines!

What a wonderful time it was, spending several days with Mike's extended family!! We hope to see them all again soon!

We were sad to say good-bye to everyone but excited as we headed out for our next destination - NIAGARA FALLS!!

The Summer of...

2011-07-19T14:41:00.004-04:00

This is the summer of:

Juan!
Seth currently is on a word kick with pronouncing "won" as "Juan". We frequently hear, "I JUAN - I was in first place!!" Sweet.

Front Seat!
Katey has reached a new milestone. She has been allowed to sit in the front seat of the van when we are out and about during the day. We discovered that she is not heavy enough to trigger the airbag in the van (but she is in Mike's car) so Katey is on cloud 9 since being graduated (usually) to the front of the van.

Dutch Blitz!
Katey has learned to play Dutch Blitz and we have been having tons of fun with this card game. Also, over the weekend Mike taught Katey to play Settlers of Catan. It is hard to believe our little girl is big enough for fun, grown-up games, but we are so excited to ~~beat her at~~ teach her all the fun games that we love to play!!

DS!
Seth has been diligently saving his cash in order to purchase a Nintendo DS. This last week he had saved half the amount needed so Mike decided to reward this savings-effort by matching it. Seth is the very proud owner of a new DS Lite!!

Ear Entertainment

2011-07-12T15:32:00.004-04:00

The kids were so amusing yesterday. I wish I could remember all that was said that had me chuckling inside, but alas, Mommy Brain is a real thing and I definitely have it. However, here are the choice things I DO remember.

Out of the mouth of Seth:
"This is my favorite shirt b/c it shows off my armpit muscles. I’m pretty lucky because Andrew has only one armpit muscle but I have 2."

And here he is showing off said armpit muscles. I don't get it- looks like just an armpit to me...but what do I know, I'm just a girl.
Andrew is Seth's best buddy and it was news to me that Andrew is apparently missing an armpit??

Though, speaking of armpits and Andrew, Seth informed me that he and Andrew have created the AL Club. That would be the "Armpit and Leg Fart Club". Both boys are enthusiastic members and quite adept in their...um...art?!

Here is Seth showing off his mad skills!

As I was making some cinnamon toast yesterday, Katey and Seth were having the following conversation:
K: One time Daddy buttered, cinnamon-ed and sugared BOTH sides of my toast!! Can you believe it? - BOTH SIDES!
S: (laughing heartily) Yeah, Daddy's crazy!
K: (in utter seriousness) Daddy's not crazy, he's just different!

Nominated

2011-07-04T08:01:00.004-04:00

We are pretty sure that our kids cast secret ballots to that "everyone-knows-it-exists-but-no-parent-can-prove-it" award committee. You know the one; The Worst Parents Ever Award.

You may be wondering what we have done to deserve such a vote. It is so terrible, horrible, atrocious and awful I'm not sure it should even be shared. But, here goes anyway:

We made them taste strawberry cake.

Yes, you heard it here first. We MADE our kids try something so awful as CAKE.

The Culprit:

Now you can understand why we have been voted against. I mean, really, I don't know what we were thinking - asking our kids to even consider putting this in their mouths!!

The Reactions:

Check out the evil-eye our sweet daughter is giving us. Yikes! But it is NOTHING compared to the show that our son put on for us:

This was after one (tiny) bite of the cake. It was also after he ran to the bathroom crying and gagging. Seriously.

Now you can understand fully why we have been nominated for the Worst Parents Ever Award. I think we might just win...but if not, we consider it an honor just to be nominated!!

Looks can be deceiving

2011-06-15T19:29:00.003-04:00

Katey is the only girl I know who tattles on the perceived threat of something. Heard last week at our house: "Mommy, Seth LOOKS like he is THINKING about kicking me!"

I fear we are in for a long summer...

And Speaking of Style...

2011-06-08T14:37:00.003-04:00

Why yes, those are light blue soccer socks pulled up to Seth's thighs! And yes, it is 98 degrees outside!

Farewell Found Feathered Friend...

2011-06-07T20:16:00.005-04:00

Sunday, May 29 was an eventful day at church. It started off normal enough but as Mike and I were getting ready to head to Discipleship and Life (aka Sunday School) we were beckoned to see about helping a little bird that seemed injured in the parking lot. When we got to the bird we were surprised to find a beautiful little white cockatiel!

Mike, being the avian lover that he is, got down beside it and was able to rescue it from the parking lot. He drove home, holding the bird, and put it in a spare cage we had at the house. When we got home from church the kids were super excited to see a new bird friend and dubbed him/her/it "Polly". While Polly was rough around the edges, with missing tail feathers, scabs on its head and a few other feathers missing, she perked up after getting some food and water.

The search began for Polly's real home. I had no idea that there were so many missing cockatiels in our general area, but we were contacted by 5 or 6 pet owners trying to find their beloved, missing birds. Honestly, we had given up hope and decided to just try and find a nice, loving home for the bird when I got a call this afternoon and met up with a nice woman who thinks the bird is hers.

Apparently her bird, Charlie, went missing about 3 MONTHS ago!! She said that Polly looks like Charlie, but with birds it is pretty hard to tell. While we are not 100% sure that Polly belongs to her, this bird just made the day (and probably month) of a wonderful widow who was missing her bird terribly.

Our goal was to find the owner or, if we failed in that, to find a good home. Hopefully both were accomplished today!!

Stylin'

2011-05-28T15:57:00.006-04:00

Katey has an unusual sense of style. The other day, after painstakingly choosing her outfit, she came downstairs wearing this:

Sorry I cut off the top of my child - pictures on the phone can be tricky!

Then, when I told her to go upstairs and change, she insisted that her outfit looked fine and she didn't want to change (though she did).

So, this morning Katey went upstairs to get dressed before heading for donuts with Daddy. She came back downstairs and stated, "Don't laugh, I just threw these clothes on real quick!" When I turned to look, this is what I saw:
I think this is the most matching outfit she has ever put on herself!!

And, sorry Aunt Shannon. Here is Seth's new do:
A faux-hawk!! But, shhhh...he insists it is a mohawk...and he is thrilled beyond belief!

Here we go round...

2011-05-28T15:51:00.005-04:00

The mulberry bush!! Okay, in our yard they are mulberry trees. And the kids are always SUPER excited when it is mulberry time around here.

Is it because they love to pick and eat mulberries? No.

Is is because they love when I make mulberry pie? No. (for the record I have never made mulberry pie as I know that I am the only one in the family that would eat it...and love it. *sigh*)

Why, then, you might ask? Well, it is for the MESS, of course! The kids love to pick the berries and squish them. This year a new fun has formed:

Making mulberry paint!

Here is a finished art piece, compliments of Katey (which, as a bonus also includes some mud painting!):

Winner!

2011-05-26T11:55:00.003-04:00

Seth and Katey both submitted letters to the PTA on why their respective teachers are the best (remember, the one that Katey drew a blank ribbon on the back of in case she won?!). Well, while Katey's didn't take 1st place, Seth's did!!

His letter was so very sweet - telling how Ms. Morrison and Ms. Fresina are the best teachers he has ever had and how he wishes he could stay in their class forever. Awwww!

Presenting...

2011-05-23T15:29:00.005-04:00

Presenting:

**This picture was not staged - it is Seth at his most natural**

2 kids who did EXCELLENT on their report cards and were rewarded with new tennis racquets and an afternoon of fun on the tennis court!! Seth loved it and Katey kept asking if she could go play on the playground instead.

Presenting:

The newest college graduate in our family - my nephew, Trevor!! We are so proud of you, Trev, and excited to see what your future holds!!

Presenting:

The "not-so-common" haired child.

One morning I came downstairs to find Seth with his hair all combed down around his face (I love the way it matches his shirt!). When I commented on the style he said, "I tried to make it common but it wouldn't work." I'm sure he wondered why I made such a puzzled looking face as upon being asked what the definition of common is, Seth replied, "to be the same." A-Ha! He couldn't get both sides to look the same. Welcome to my world, Seth.

Presenting:

What Katey is hugging here is the delicious, chocolate pound cake fresh from Old Salem, NC. She has been begging to go back to Old Salem for months just to get this cake. Last week Katey took her End of Grade tests (and passed them all with the highest marks!) and, as a special treat, Mike arranged for one of his co-workers from Winston Salem to bring down a piece of cake for Katey. Below is a video of the surprise. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mr. John!!

Lucky!!

2011-04-30T17:25:00.005-04:00

Katey is turning out to be quite the lucky little girl.

#1 - She participated in the Science Fair at school and got a ribbon! It was a participation ribbon, but a ribbon none-the-less, and she was thrilled!
Katey's project was the Potato Clock and she worked very hard on the experiment and putting the whole presentation board together. We were very proud of her hard work!

#2 - I remember as a child hunting and hunting to find the ever-elusive 4 leaf clover and getting lucky once a year or so. Katey has been scouring our yard this year and has found more 4 leaf clovers than we can keep track of! If they are, indeed, lucky charms then this household is set for life!! :-)

Just a few of the clovers found

#3 - Katey completed her fourth 5K this morning. The best part? The medal...always the medal!!

Just as the race started Katey had to stop to tie her shoe!

Katey with her coaches and team for this season

#4 - Okay, she hasn't been deemed "lucky" on this one yet, but Katey submitted an entry to our PTA on why her teacher is the best. After it was completed I was looking it over and found this on the back:

This is a drawing of a ribbon with the label below, "ribbon (if awarded, hole in case I win, which I may or may not)"

I love it!!

How the Golden Arches reminded me of my sin

2011-04-20T13:33:00.007-04:00

This week is Spring Break and I decided to treat the kids to lunch at their favorite restaurant, McDonald's! Actually, I wanted to eat anywhere BUT McDonald's, but after many, many "please" and "Can we, please, please, please, please, please"'s, I gave in.

As we were sitting, eating lunch, I was watching my kids thoroughly enjoy their Happy Meal boxes and toys and was reminded of an article I read recently. Apparently there is a parent suing Mickey D's to have toys removed from Happy Meals. Her claim is that McDonald's is marketing directly to the kids and getting into their heads without parental permission. Said parent is upset that she now has to tell her kids 'no' much more often.

As I was mulling this idea over in my head it occurred to me that I, too, long and search for ways to push my own accountability onto others. It is so much easier to blame a food chain for enticing my family to eat junk then it is to blame myself for giving into the pleas of my children, even when I know better. It is easier to be outraged at McDonald's than it is to be outraged at myself for taking the easy way in parenting.

So, as I was watching Seth put a Happy Meal box on his head and finish his apple dippers I was thinking about how many times a day (okay, minute) I fail as a parent. How many times I put my own desires ahead of what I know is right. How many times I choose to satisfy my sin nature instead of obey my Father. How many times I long and plead for things that aren't good for me.

Today I am thankful for McDonald's. Thankful that God uses even the Golden Arches to show me my sin and draw me closer to Him. Thankful for a Savior who died for me and has saved me from myself and my sin. And, thankful for the smiles and time spent with my kids...even if it was at McDonald's!

Unbelievable Confirmation

2011-04-18T11:20:00.003-04:00

Picture it:
Our little girl goes off to preschool and, for the first time in our parenting lives, we are sitting in a parent-teacher conference. Expectations are high that the report will be full of rave reviews on the intelligence and kindness of our daughter. What we get instead is a frustrating account of all the things Katey is falling short in. At first I wanted to cry (all my hopes dashed) but later had to laugh. Did it really matter if our 4 year old refused to hold a pencil correctly or just could not get the hang of how to use a pair of scissors or insisted on being the caboose in line?

Since then, teacher conferences have been much the same. We are told over and over that Katey is a very smart and kind child who: refuses to sit and write; doesn't add enough detail to drawings; won't participate in book club discussions...just to name a few. The teachers seem to love her and be frustrated with her all at the same time. We've gone through this no less than a dozen times since Katey began school.

Two weeks ago I answered a phone call. Katey's teacher wanted to talk with me for a few minutes and I was gearing up for the bad news. What I got, instead, was a wonderful report! Since going on medication, Katey is sitting and doing her work, her handwriting has improved, she is participating in class discussions and she is listening to instruction! I almost cried with joy and relief. Unbelievable confirmation that we are on the right track!!

Busy but Fun!

2011-04-18T10:58:00.007-04:00

The last several weeks have been jam-packed! And with the end of the school year approaching, I don't see things slowing down at all. Good thing we like to be on the go!

A couple of weeks ago Mike and Katey got to have a date night at the school for the Father/Daughter Luau. It was a fun time of crafts, dancing, pizza, Hawaiian Ice and games. Seth spent the night with Grammy so that I could go and assist with the festivities. We all had a great night (in spite of the wild and crazy hail/tornado watch/thunder storm!)!!

Next came Katey's 4th grade field trip to the Gold Mine. I was able to go and oversee a group of 7 great kids.

The weather was beautiful and we all had a great time and learned a lot. The most favorite part of the day for the kids, by far, was when they were panning for gold! Some actually found a gold speck in their pans, but only a lucky few. Still, what child wouldn't be ecstatic over playing in rocks and muddy water?

A few days after the field trip I got to spend the day in Seth's class. No pictures of that day, but we did lots of fun things like Social Studies Spring Symbol Bingo and a Math Egg Hunt as well as Math Jeopardy and a Snack Nature Walk through the cool Learning Garden at the school. Any time I spend the day in a classroom I gain a whole new appreciation for our very hard working teachers!!!

And today the kids have begun Spring Break. Ahhh...