Back to School

Today was the first day back to school at our house. Wow! Everyone was SUPER excited! Josiah is headed off to 3rd grade and Alayna is starting Kindergarten. Alayna has been asking how many more 'sleeps' for the past couple weeks and Josiah has been excited to go see his friends and overall, he just really likes school (I'm very thankful).

We had a great summer, but now that we are getting into the swing of school again...I'm looking forward to a more consistent routine. I'm not totally sure what Seth and I will be up to while the other 2 are gone for part of the day, but I'm looking forward to some quality time with the cutest rascal I know. :)

Paper Airplane

Amazingly enough it was even able to fly. I love how his mind works!

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Screens...

So yesterday was a very laid back day. We played in the house (it was SUPER hot and WINDY), read, and watched a couple shows. Fast-forward to 7pm, after church. Seth was cranky and beside himself. I was talking to Dan on the phone (I had the older 2 in the van with me) and explained that because we hadn't done much that day, he was probably needing to wear off energy. We watched more 'screens' (that's what we call TV, computer, video games) than we normally do.

After that phone call...this is the conversation I had with Josiah:

Josiah: Mom, you're right, we did have too many screens...I think tomorrow I need to not have ANY screens.

Mom: That sounds like a great idea.

Josiah: Mom, I know that tomorrow I might feel differently about it, but I want you to remind me to stick with it. Even if I tell you I don't want to continue anymore.

Mom: ok, that's a great plan. I'll do my best to help you, and I'll remind you that you asked me to, ok?

Josiah: Ok, so you will help me?

Mom: for sure buddy, I think that sounds like a great plan

He's been doing great! He's played more legos than normal, he read for 1 1/2 hours, he drew car pictures...I'm so proud that he knew he would feel weak throughout the day, but still asked me to hold him accountable. We don't watch tons of TV or anything, but in the mornings, they will watch a short show, something maybe later in the afternoon. He had to break himself of that and think of other things to do. I think 'unplugging' has gone well! Way to go buddy!

Business Owner

Last summer Josiah tried mowing the lawn...he was able to do part of it, but he was just a bit too short yet to really be able to handle the mower. However, after trying to mow he REALLY wanted me to make him a business card. I work for/with my clients to come up with something that represents them...well, with minimal say from me in what it looked like...this is what he came up with. He had the ideas and picked the font and look for his card. Maybe next summer (he's already asked me) we can get them printed and he can mow for a couple neighbors. I love watching him work, he is very thorough and takes his time doing a really great job!

Lawn Mower

We have come along way....we have kids old enough to help with bigger jobs around the house, and even better is the fact that they enjoy it. Alayna loves helping me fold laundry and this is Josiah's new job. It's his 2nd time and he's been doing a great job!

My Best Friend

The kids had their final time with grandparents for the summer...they went to my mom's for an extended weekend. They had a blast with grandma, grandpa and 3 of their cousins!

While they were gone...Dan and I had a blast too!! The best part....we didn't really have anything planned! We just enjoyed spending time together, talking about anything and everything anytime we wanted...no interruptions! :) We went for a 18 mile bike ride together which was a workout (my bum was feeling bruised for a few days...I think I need a better seat!), but we had a ton of fun! It was a great reminder that I truly am married to my best friend. I'm never bored when we are together and I can't imagine having as much fun with anyone else. Though I was ACHING to have our kids back...I appreciate our parents and their love for our kids and their willingness to invest time into their grand kids which in-turn also invests time for us in our marriage. Thanks!

What Would You Do?

Last weekend I took Josiah and Alayna clothes shopping. They each picked a few things and we had a lot of fun together! Neither of them are overly picky about what they wear, so that definitely helps the situation. :) However, while we were at Kohl's I heard a mom YELLING and I mean YELLING at her kids...(she could be heard across the aisle in the adjoining section) She was hollering empty threats that she never followed through on....my first thought (I'm sad to say) was judgment about her being a mean mom. Later, as we were still in the same section and she continued yelling, I started to feel bad and decided to pray for that mom and her kids, I don't know what was going on in her life and I hated that I had judged her. At the same time, I hated what she was doing to her kids. If you're willing to yell THAT loud in public, what do you do at home in private?? Anyway, on the way home I kept thinking....what SHOULD I have done in that situation?? Approached her and asked her if I could help? Continue praying? I don't know.... It reminded me of the show they used to do on 60 Minutes (or some show like that) "What Would You Do?" -- they create situations and see how people respond. Anyway, days later it stills bugs me and I still find myself praying for that mom and her kids....

Vacation Day 2

On day 2 of our vacation we decided to have a day for the older kids...we have a busy 2 year old and sometimes our older ones don't get a much 1 on 1 time and so Seth stayed with grandma and had a GREAT time while we took the older ones to the Mall of America. We weren't sure what we were going to do while we were there other then check our Lego Land and visit the American Girl store. The kids hadn't been to either place and we thought it would be fun to look around. After that maybe we would visit the Under Water Aquarium or go on rides at the park there.

About a minute after walking in to the American Girl store Alayna spotted a doll that looked just like her. She very sweetly asked her dad if she could have this doll. We told her probably not, but we would talk about it. She was so patient and didn't beg or get angry that we told her probably not. Of course, that tugged at her dad's heart strings that she was being so obedient. So we walked around the store and enjoyed looking at all they had there and when we were done she very quietly asked her dad if maybe she could have that doll. Dad said, "mom and I have to talk about it", but first we're going to go build at Lego Land. She was again very patient and so off we went.

We went and built at Lego Land and looked at all the cool creations there. During that time Dan and I talked about it and decided that if the kids were ok with not going on any rides, not doing the Under Water Aquarium and the fact that we didn't stay at a hotel, they could each get something. They were totally fine with this plan...(good thinking on their part...a day of fun, or a toy that will last). After we had a quick lunch, the boys went to the 'boy store' and the girls went to the 'girl store'. It took us about 5 minutes because Alayna KNEW exactly what she wanted and was THRILLED that we actually said YES! (We are normally 'no parents' when it comes to buying things because we get so many toys from other people, so they don't usually even ask when we are at a store). It was so fun to be a YES parent for once! :)

building car and getting ready to race them

some cool dinosaur creations

After buying her doll (notice even the same hair style) we took her out of the box and she could not stop grinning! Moms even stopped and were so excited that she had gotten her, "first American Girl doll"...Dan and I laughed about that later because it's going to be her ONLY American Girl doll (unless they are gifts from other people). :) Since purchasing her, she has rarely left her side (very unusual if you know my not so girlie girl). Her first words after getting her out of the box were, "Now we have 3 girls and 3 boys in our family mom". That was the easiest birth I've ever had! She's only asked for a sister once, but if this works for her, Dan was more than ok with that idea! :)

After our Mall experience we went and hung out with friends and had a great time. We all just chatted and the kids played, we were so busy talking I didn't even think to take pictures. :)

What a great day with the older 2, I'm so glad we had the opportunity to have special time with just them. It was fun having quality time to talk to each of them and just overall spend time with them.

Vacation Day 1

We took a mini vacation this past weekend. We left town Thursday night and stayed in St. Cloud with family. Friday morning we woke up and picked up Alayna and dropped off our nephew (we had our nephew and Alayna was with a few of our nieces...boy house and girl house). Then we were off to the Como Zoo and Como Town. We purchased rides right away so that we could enjoy rides, enjoy the zoo and then enjoy some more rides. Apparently I didn't take pictures during the zoo part so you have to just believe me that we did that as well (you don't need to see just the animals and it's hard to get good pics with the kids and animals in the background).

The kids (and parents) had a GREAT time! Seth is tall enough for a lot of the rides and he loved that! We were trying to figure out how we would entertain him while he watched the older 2 go on rides, but that wasn't an issue because he went on most of them too. Josiah was now old enough for ALL the rides and he loved being able to go on the older kid/adult rides.

We were there for about 7 hours! We had so much fun taking our time and enjoying everything. The kids went on the rides multiple times and had a great time just enjoying the day. As we were driving back to St. Cloud Dan and I talked about how much fun it was and how shocked we were that it went so well. We talked to the kids before hand about being patient and having good attitudes...if they didn't, we were going to leave. They had great attitudes and we all have a great time!!

Open Wide like an Alligator!

We had a family dentist appointment a couple weeks ago. I usually schedule everyone to go the same day, Josiah is a pro and can go on his own, Alayna likes to have someone with her because she is still getting used to it and we were gearing up for Seth's first visit. I have to be honest and say that I was just hoping that he would let her look in his mouth and count his teeth...anything more than that would just be a bonus. What a TROOPER! Of our kids, Alayna has always been the most nervous about the dentist, the boys...no biggie. Mom...not a huge fan of the dentist either...maybe it's girl thing?! :)

Ready for the fun to begin!

A cool dude with shades and the dentist bib!

What a pro!

Seriously, she actually cleaned his teeth...I never would have guessed we would have gotten this far. Way to go buddy!