Happy Birthday Hadley!

 Hadley turned 8!  8 years old!  Wow.  It is a big birthday for her and for it she chose to go whale-watching.  If you haven't talked to her lately you wouldn't know that she is VERY interested in whales.  Thus, going whale-watching fulfilled a great passion for her.  She had a great time with Daddy and Papa and saw a blue whale and lots of dolphins.  Afterwards we had a little party to celebrate August birthdays: Chris, Hadley, Mom (Gma) and Gentry.

The girls got lots of fun gifts this year: paper dolls, play food, book on whales, fashion plates.  The evening before we were with Gma & Gpa Tigger where Hadley got to go fabric shopping with grandma who is going to make her a colonial dress, chocolate chip pancakes for dinner and donuts for dessert!

And today we went to the Grove Theatre in Upland to see Cinderella.  It was fun to go with Molly and meet up with Gma and Pat Skousen.  Afterwards we went to Pat's house and had snow cones.  Wow, this is turning into a birthday weekend!

 

Father's Day 2012

Wow, after trying to upload this for the last several months - here is the traditional singing of "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home".  Note: I pretty much neglected to prepare the kids for this and haven't even really taught it to Gentry.  Even though I prefer the performance to be natural and true to form, this was the second take on it because none of them really even knew what the song was the first time around.  We will be prepared next year!

Hadley's Movie

Grandpa made this a long time ago with pictures they had on hand of Hadley.  Love the tune.  Love the memories.

St. Patricks Day

St. Patrick's day was on a Saturday and it was very stormy - by So. Cal standards. The kids were stuck inside with a poor mommy who had been waiting for daddy to come home from a 4-day ski trip in Vail for business.

I meant to take a picture of a sign Hadley made of "Parlor Activities" for them to do (since I insisted the tv stay off). One was for her to play piano, play games, read books, and knit. 

At the last minute I got in the spirit of St. Patty's day and did a scavenger hunt and had Irish shakes from McDonalds and daddy at the end. (I won't tell you what they were more excited about.)

Spring Fling 2012

Grandma Tigger joined us for Spring Fling this year which was tons of fun - even if we never won the cake walk. Thanks for coming and standing in line most of the time for Lauren's face-painting. Good thing Daddy was in Vail for business trip - we had a blast and went to Pizza Hut afterwards!

Catch-up

On cold mornings - who doesn't like to sit by the heater vent?

Jump-o-rama

Because I have fond memories of endless bed-jumping sessions as a kid with my siblings we have always had an open policy on jumping on the beds - anyone can jump on any bed as long as you take your shoes off (mom and dad's bed is the only one off-limits). I've thought about putting an age cap but can't really bring myself to it.

Plus, I would hate to miss moments like this. Reminds of a quote I came across a while back:

“The laughter of girls is and ever was among the delightful sounds on the earth.” ― Dequincey

OVERHEARD

This was a real conversation I had with Lauren this evening. Everything said was serious.

LAUREN: What's for dinner?
ME: Chicken pot pie.
LAUREN: Aww, I was hoping it was not chicken pot pie.
ME: (Frustrated) Name me three things you would eat for dinner.
LAUREN: (Thinks for a moment.) Wait . . . not candy?

Happy Birthday Lauren! #4

Lauren loved all of her gifts and the anticipation of her new bike waiting for her at home. A four-year old with attitude.

I think it was last year that I wrote that none of us could believe Lauren was only three! She just seemed to have been around for so much longer. I think she is an old soul. But this year I feel like she caught up to her age a bit. She can and will talk your ear off, loudly if need be. She really would prefer to be called Clara, Lisa, or Leah. She often comes from another room to tell me she was playing all by herself and ask me if I am proud of her (after only a few minutes.) Needless to say, she is not the most independent player but definitely my most independent child. She is a smarty-pants and gives her older brother & sister a run for their money sometimes. She does NOT back down. She does NOT like pity or sympathy. She loves to giggle and be tickled. She likes to watch kid shows. She is a social child but sometimes likes to hide behind the term 'shy'. I am happy she embraces being born the day after Valentine's day b/c I dreaded it for her. I hope she and Gentry grow closer together in the future or are at least kind to one another and respect each other's strong personalities. I hope she doesn't learn to read any sooner or how to do math. I hope she will want her hair cut short again in a cute little bob. I hope she quits grinding her teeth so badly that they chip. But mostly, I hope that she will overcome any and all middle-child syndrome effects.

A Brother's Devotion

A few weeks ago we started selling Girl Scout Cookies. Well at first only Vincent did. He pretty much helped me make and color the signs. He was so excited to stand out there and hold the sign and try to flag cars down. I mean, really excited. And he did great!

*Side note: Lauren tried to help as much as she could but coloring in the lines was somewhat required. She did however suggest that we make a sign that said "we are poor, give us money"

Baking

Hadley's first cake she made and decorated by herself - for Valentine's Day.

Authors Tea

Hadley & Vincent were both selected for Authors Tea, which is pretty coincidental in the same month but great because they got to see each other as well. I was so proud of them because they both made New Years Resolutions to improve their writing and be chosen for Authors Tea.

The writing prompt for the month was 'fun things to do in the snow'. Chris was able to not only attend Authors Tea but we surprised Hadley & Vincent by telling them they would be spending the following day (furlough) at Mt. High with daddy. We left from school to go rent skis!

OVERHEARD

VINCENT: Mom, what number comes right before infinity?

Little League Cap Nite

Vincent is offically a Los Angeles Dodger this year in coach pitch division!Vincent has been waiting for cap-nite since about his last game of tee-ball last spring. It was a long night for the girls though. Especially for Gentry - she didn't mind laying on the hard floor and pushing chairs around.

Koala Bear

The kids are always playing imaginary games in the backyard. One day while I was outside watering & the girls were playing something I heard them both referring to Vincent as a koala bear. When I looked up I found he would pull himself up this tiny stem tree. It sways under his weight as he climbs. I guess that is how you play koala bear.

New Years

Since Chris had to work most of Christmas day - we decided on an impromptu trip to San Diego on New Years. Victorian homes that were relocated to a park across the street from our hotel.
The Mormon Battalion Museum & tour was the highlight of our trip - (that and the hotel room & pool!) We panned for gold.

The second day we did the tour again and Hadley got to be a laundress while Chris was a soldier.

We also had fun doing a late night walk to get ice cream in our pajamas; eating fresh tortillas, and street tacos but mostly just getting to spend quality family time.

New Year's Eve Day in So. Ca.

Vincent & Daddy went and played baseball. The girls found their summer dresses and blew bubbles and played outside.