Friday Favorites

It has been kind of a blobbity-blah kind of week for me, but I'll see what I can come up with. Hmmm...

1. It snowed last weekend. I really like how beautiful fresh snowfall is. 

2. I really, really love that we have a little hill in the back yard that the kids can sled on. It's nice to be able to just send them out the door to go sledding and it entertains them for hours. 

3. We took the kids out to eat at a local restaurant that we've been promising to take them to for years. And I mean that literally. Years. Guess it's a good thing we got around to keeping our promise eventually because all the kids loved it. I think they just really enjoyed going out. It was fun.

4. Edith cracks me up. I'm so glad I have her to hang out with.

5. I made Ginger and Bud take photos with me when I picked them up from school the other day. I love them, darnit, and we need more photos together! (Now I just need to get Pen in on it-- it's like she isn't even a part of this family as far as the blog goes. Teenagers.)

6. I love my husband. He's so patient with my foibles. And when I post things on the internet. 

7. Bud is such a great writer. Reading the stories he writes makes me happy. Seeing my kids work hard and excel at something is definitely a favorite. (Bud reached the top of the climbing wall on Wednesday!)

8. I cleaned and organized the walk in closet in the hall this week. It is kind of the dumping ground for the stuff that no one wants to put away, so it's nice to have it look good. I also gave the kitchen counters a good deep clean today. Not as cathartic for me as working outside, but good nonetheless.

9. I talked to my older brother today. I was so glad he gave me a call. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one still feeling melancholy about my dad. I really do love my family.

Looking forward to next week!

Late for Soccer

This post is late in coming. Really late. I have become a lazy blogger. I never posted about the kids' fall soccer season and the season has been over for almost 2 months. And the pictures are from way too sunny of games near the beginning of the season in August! The guilt is killing me so, whatever. Better late than never, right? 

All of the kids really enjoyed playing-- 

Big had a great and energetic coach who did a fantastic job keeping the kids focused. It helps that Big is pretty into it, too. One game he even scored 4 goals! 

Bud just loves running around on the field, trying to play with good spacing so he's available to give support and receive a pass. It will work much better for him when the rest of the team learns to play that way. I coached Bud's practices and other parents took turns coaching the games. It actually worked really well and I know Bud loved having me involved.

Ginger continued with the best parent-coach ever. He coached in the spring and then kept twice-a-week practices going all summer. In the fall he had his wife volunteer to coach the other team (our elementary school had two) so he could keep the girls together. He has kept the practices going since the fall season ended and has plans to form an indoor team with the girls during the winter and a club team starting in the spring. His dedication is awesome, and the fact that he really knows what he's doing makes it even better. We've hit a gold mine with this one and Ginger's improved skills prove it.

Okay, on to some pictures...

Okay, and can I just say how cool the hair is on #11?

Big flirted a lot with this little girl on his team. Good choice, Big, she's cute.

Way to play kids! Can't wait until next season. There. I feel so much better.

Friday Favorites: The Very Tired Version

I was so busy falling asleep sitting up on the couch that I almost forgot to do this. My eyes are drooping and my head is bobbing while I type, so let's get 'er dun!

1. Rophone worked really hard on stuff for our online recording school all weekend. I'm really happy about his renewed motivation and appreciate how hard he works for our family. I love my husband.

2. Edith was pretty groggy and unhappy about waking up from her nap on Sunday, so I snuggled with her and Big for a few minutes and had us pose for funny pictures to try to cheer her up. It was fun. I'll take snuggles from my kids any day.

3. I looked over as I was sweeping the kitchen floor on Sunday night and saw the cutest thing-- Bud and Edith sitting in a little laundry basket, singing together. A really little laundry basket. It was just so cute and looked so funny that I had to snap a photo. It looks like their legs are going straight into the floor!

Edith was happy to give Big a turn, too.

4. I love that my kids love each other (or that everyone loves Edith, anyway). :)

5. Ginger, Bud, and Big had their parent-teacher conferences this week and they're all doing fabulously. I love that my kids love school.

6. The elementary school kids had early dismissal all week due to the parent-teacher conferences, so I had time to take Big and Edith to the park before lunch on Wednesday. It's a lot of fun. 

7. I did a lot of yard work on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday (about 7 hours total)-- I worked at my Mom's house on Wed. and at my house on Thurs. I'm dead tired, but physical labor is pretty darn cathartic for me and I love to see the progress I've made. It's amazing how much more patient I am with the kids when I can get out and do something physically demanding. 

8. I love working with Big. He's such a hard worker and I love how much less ornery and stubborn he is when he gets to work. I guess he's like me. Bud even worked with us in our yard on Thursday, too (I wish I had captured his picture). The best worker-buddies a girl could ask for.

9. Probably the best part about Thursday was when the boys got tired of helping me in the yard and went out front to play. A few minutes after they headed around to the front of the house, Bud sticks his head out of the kitchen door to ask, "Hey, Mom! Can we go bike riding? Big learned how to ride the two-wheeler!". Big has been doing great on his balance bike for ages and I have tried (very patiently, but unsuccessfully) a few times to teach him to ride a regular two-wheeler. All of our attempts lasted about 2 minutes and ended with Big deciding that he didn't want to learn. So, I asked Bud what his secret was. His response? "Well, I just said, 'Hey, Big. Why don't you ride the two-wheeler?' and Big said, 'Okay.'" So, Bud gave him a few pointers and Big took off riding. Awesome. I am so excited for him.

10. We got a bunch of snow today. Big spent about an hour before it got too deep riding his bike on the driveway. He loves riding a two-wheeler, and I love how dedicated he is to improving his performance when he finds something he loves. His focus is awesome.

11. The great thing about the snow we got today is that it gave Big a chance to shovel. And sled. And build a snowman. And play nicely with his brother. It made Big so tired that he climbed into my bed and fell asleep by 6:30. Definitely a good day.

12. One of the best parts of my day was this:

Edith snagged this pair of Big's underwear off of a pile of his clean laundry I had folded and set aside for him to put away after school. She tried for ages and ages to put the 'bison' underwear on all by herself, getting so frustrated at her lack of success. After she worked so hard, I just couldn't turn her down when she finally asked for my help in putting them on over her pants. Edith wore the beloved underwear all day and is now wearing them over her pajamas as she sleeps for the night. It makes me smile to think of it. I kinda hope she insists on wearing them again tomorrow. So dang cute.

Friday Favorites!

1. We had a great time carving our pumpkins last Saturday. You can read about it here.

2. I managed to get all of the kids to church on time without too much fuss (but I sure will be glad when I have until 11 am to do it after the end of the year), and the kids performed beautifully in their Primary program. It's my favorite church meeting of the year. 

3. I played a rousing game of Sorry! with Big while Edith napped on Sunday. He kicked my trash, but it was a lot of fun. 

4. Rophone got back from his trip to San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon. Hallelujah. We were all so excited to see him (especially me!). All is right again in the world now that he's back (or as right as it can be).

5. I think this Halloween was the best we've ever had. It didn't hurt that Rophone was able to take the day off to be with me and help me get things ready. I'm glad he was able to be there for Big's very first Halloween parade. Plus, Edith missed her dad so much when he was gone that she really needed some time to catch up with him. You can read all about our fabulous day here. 

6. Bud played in his very first piano recital last night. It was awesome. He volunteered excitedly to be the very first performer and did a fantastic job. I was so proud of him. Bud has become passionate about piano. He plays the keyboard with the sound turned down first thing when he wakes up every morning and pretty much every spare moment he has during the day. It's tough for Ginger to fit her practicing in around it. After the recital, Bud announced that he wants to be a piano player when he grows up and wants to play for the rest of his life. I can't wait to see what he does! And I love that Bud has discovered two things recently that he is completely enamored with-- piano and climbing. It makes me happy.

7. Rophone and I went on a quick date after Bud's recital last night. It was much needed after his 6 day absence. I love dates with my husband.

8. Today was a great day-- Rophone's birthday! He worked from home for a bit today, but was able to spend a lot of time with us, too. It was great. I made his favorite minestrone soup for dinner and a chocolate cake for dessert. The soup was really good, but the cake had a few issues. Probably because Pen tipped the cake keeper on it's side when she was putting the cake in the fridge. Oh well, I'm sure it still tasted the same. Plus, it made the day a little more interesting. I have made that same cake for the past several birthdays we have celebrated, so at least Pen's efforts ensured it was no longer the same-old, same-old. 

Happy Birthday, Rophone! You're my favorite (and I don't care if the kids know it)! Another great (and exhausting) week in the can. Phew!

Halloweeeeen!!

I posted about carving the pumpkins the other day-- so glad I already got that out of the way. This post is going to be long enough as it is. Might as well get started...

We got the costumes out on Halloween morning so that Bud could bag his up to take to school for the afternoon Halloween parade. This, of course, resulted in Edith deciding that she absolutely must wear her costume for the whole day. I got to go to the school to help with Bud's class party, so Rophone got to spend the morning running errands with Froggy. Thank goodness Rophone took the day off to help me out (there was lots going on)!

One of the errands run by Rophone and Froggy was to the party store to buy some balloons and stuff to decorate for Pen's party. Froggy was having a blast until Rophone pulled out his phone to take her picture. EdithFroggy has developed a dislike of having her photo taken. Can you tell?

Bud's class party ended just in time to bring Big home with me. Then there was the so-long-for-Big-he-thought-he-was-going-to-die wait until we had to go back to the school for the Halloween parade. Big was so excited to participate for the very first time. I forgot my camera so was forced to try to capture the moment with my phone. The light was rather dim and, well, you can see the mediocre results. But, at least I have a record of it.

And sweaty EdithFroggy and I loved watching the parade with this guy:

What a hunk!

After the parade we went home so that I could begin prepping things for Pen's very first Halloween party. Thank heavens Rophone was around to do the necessary shopping in the morning while I was at Bud's class party. By the time I got home from the parade I only had about 3 hours to make cookies, put up decorations, finish the cleaning, do all of the other food prep... Not only was the shopping helpful, but only about half an hour after we got home from the parade Rophone had to pick up the other kids from school, bring Bud home to change for climbing class, take all of the kids to buy bread and then drop Bud off.... boy am I glad my husband is back in town. Phew!

I managed to get Pen to help with a little bit of the cleaning, but she needed a bit of time to get into her costume. I was a little bugged at first, but when I saw how well the costume turned out I was glad she took the time. Plus, Pen was a good big sister and helped Ginger with her costume, too. As the kids finished getting ready I took breaks from party prep to take their pictures. I was pretty much successful. All except that Edith. I hope she starts to like having her picture taken again someday. 

Pen dressed up as Effie Trinket from the Hunger Games. I think she looks great.

Ginger went as a child of the '80's. The girls did a great job of putting together a believable outfit with what we had at home, but how I wish we had a pair of high-cut aerobics briefs to go over the leggings. That would have been the perfect finishing touch.

Edith set a terrible example. It didn't help that I hadn't had time to fix anyone anything to eat for dinner. Oops.

I managed to threaten one more smile out of him, though. 

And I love the way the two girls are looking at me in this shot. Maybe I was having a bit of a hunger meltdown, too. 

Thankfully, Rophone saved the day by picking up something for the kids to eat while he was fetching Bud from his climbing class. By the time he got home it was after 6:00, the kids were starving, Ginger's friends were arriving to go trick-or-treating, Pen's friends were showing up for the party, and the light was waning. Waning! I hurried Bud into his costume so I could take his picture before it got too dim. He was so proud of his costume.

What a handsome police officer!

I managed to snap a quick photo of Pen and her friends before it got too dark, too. (Pen is standing down a step from all of her friends so she doesn't tower over them, my giant-child)

I hung out at the house, giving out candy and chaperoning, while Rophone took the younger kids out trick-or-treating. I was sad not to see Edith's first time, but was glad I could help Pen have a great Halloween, too. Ginger had a blast roaming the neighborhood with her friends and they all ended up back at the house to eat food and hang out for a while when they were done. I think Halloween was a blast for everyone. 

Halloween with 5 kids can get pretty crazy. I can't wait to see what next year brings. (I think I might have to insist that Rophone take every Halloween off! I couldn't have done it without him.)