Bay Beach, trip to the ER, kid love

Every year we trek to Bay Beach and stay and play all day.  Left at 8:30 and got home by 7.  We pack lunches and hang out.  I love how cheap it is there.  We can spend $20 and it will last us all day.  It's cheap fun for our family and all the kids love it there.  Gabe didn't go on any rides.  We kept trying but it wasn't working.  This was the only one I got him on.  The train.

Can you tell he dressed himself?
He has jammie pants on.  They are one of his favorites.  

Miah's first roller coaster.  He was hilarious.  He wasn't sure if he should laugh, cry, scream, hold on or put his hands up.  He loved it.  

He's getting so big for a just turned 12 year old.  Maturing in so many ways right before our eyes. 

These 2 are roller coaster junkies.  I couldn't believe all the older people getting on and off this ride like it was no big deal.  It made my body sore. 

Gabe took these....pretty darn good for a 2 year old.

Love when you get a surprise in your lunch box...ant man rocks.

My favorite ice cream in the whole world...salted carmel from Scoops.  Just look at that...

Yes...we have gone back to the old Monopoly playing.  Really hang on for a fun time!

Olivia doing what she does best...weird things
She totally takes after her mother.

 play dates with dear friends all summer long

 Love this one..freckles are so special

 

Conquered another project for a $1.29
I loved it..minus the spacing on my writing that is totally off.
Wanted the kids to see it when they come down the stairs in the morning before school.

We managed to make a trip to the ER.  Actually my mom did with the kiddos.  I was with Dave at a Chief's conference. Gabe had gotten his foot sliced open.  It turned into a long wait at the ER and then Gabe was wired after that.  Must of been from whatever they gave him shots of.  

  (yes that's a tiny bit of nail polish leftover from his sister)

He managed to get 5 stitches that came out the next day at nap time.  They said they would have to re charge us for a visit. So then I just took him to our regular doc at Columbia St. Mary's.  They decided(2 Dr.'s) that they would be much better off just leaving it.  They would've had to cut it back open and then renumb him in 2 different spots and then stitch.  So it seems to be healing fine.  It just gets stomped on a lot from running around and wrestling.  He was a great sport though my mom said. 

Loving this last week of play dates with friends, more rummage stuff priced for next year, more foster care papers done, date night with Jonah, dinner at our dear friend's house, friends over here for dinner and home school coop registration.  Lots of memories being made.  
We will be getting last minute school stuff ready t week and a bit tied up with loving on my kiddos this last week before school. 
love them dearly.

Have a great Wednesday!!

loving life and awesome kids

Dave and I doing a double date with some friends.  We rarely ever get to go out and enjoy some adult conversation.  It was well worth it.  Thanks for the fun night guys!
I've been working really hard at trying to get in more pictures.  My kids request.  They look at the photo books we gift them every year and get sad that there is no pictures of mom in there.  It's a bit hard when your the one always taking pictures. 

This guy has good days and bad days in the potty training department.  He some how pees in the bike trailer or the stroller and random places throughout the house.  The joys of potty training.

Olivia is a baking fool.  She keeps asking me if we can run a family restaurant. Not a day goes by where she doesn't mix or concoct something.  She is always cutting, sorting, sifting, mixing and stirring things.  Anything she can find.  This girl has big  dreams.  These are her mint pies and dirt cake.

We had a great time with my brother and his kids this week.  We usually only see him a few times a year.  It's and hour and a half drive so they stay all day and we just hang out or vice versa. 

The little stars got out the Lincoln logs again.  You gotta be in the mood to build with these things.  Olivia was building the Lumar and Star from Captain America 2 and Miah was building the cabin that was getting blown up.

Check that out.  Wicked cool!

These guys love obstacle courses homemade with stuff from the yard.

Gabe fell asleep on Olivia and she started to cry.  It brought back some memories of the last little boy we fostered.  She missed holding a baby.  She wanted to just hold Gabe while he slept.  Seriously all of my kiddos love babies.  They are anxiously waiting for the next one.  Love their hearts.

Olivia teaching Gabe how to bake chocolate chip cookies.
Love these pictures of them.

Olivia made this for art class this week.  So cute with the poppy seeds.

Some of the stars are highly addicted to clue right now.

They are back to sleeping all together in one room.  All 5 little stars.   They love to hang with each other.

Happy Monday!

   homeschooling....

Thank You, Homeschooling.

 I never knew, when I started this journey, just what you would end up meaning to me:

snuggle time everyday with each of my children

lots and lots of patience even when I thought there was none left in me.

it has shown me that the worlds standard for my children/family isn't the one I want to follow.

you have made my children each other's best friends.

i have reevaluted the idea that significance is found in one's career.

i have been exposed to some amazing friendships and experiences I would of never had.

it's not only a way of education, it's a way of doing life.

it has taught me history, since I never learned it in school.

it has given me the chance to see my children as the unique, irreplaceable, one of a kind little stars that they are.

grandparents get to participate in my children's education.

there are endless options curriculum options to fit each kids needs.

has provided a way of responsibility and service to others to be just as important learning objectives as math and reading.

the best learning comes through relationships. 

lots of GRACE, GRACE, GRACE

enjoying the process rather than getting to the end result.

the children socialize(ya know that big socialization word)with various people in all different stages of their lives 

I am so thankful for being able to impact each moment of each day the kind of little stars they will become.

randomness

We had a great weekend hanging out, doing lots of swimming and errand running.  
The kids love to box while we adults supervise and dad takes part and gives a quick lesson.  We've had no broken bones yet!
 

This guy is wearing undies!  Praise the Lord for no more diapers and extra savings on the pocketbook.

These 2 never stop wrestling.  They were moving the pool and it became a wrestling match/water fight.

Can you tell Olivia loves having people over to play.  This is how she gets ready.

These guys are from our garden.  

This is our homemade gluten free macaroni and cheese.  I liked it but no one else did.  We won't be doing that one again I guess.  

Olivia has been making a lot of fresh cherry pies and key lime pies.  She has been randomly giving them to people. They are so cute!

This sounds crazy but we've had 2 pots of chicken noodle soup in a week.  The little stars are on some kind of soup kick.  Gluten free too.

We made this for daddy's vest he wears at work.  Each kid had a spot to write.  They loved doing this.

We are having lots of play dates this week, a visit from my brother and more family fun before school starts.  Trying to spread these days out as much as I can.  Summer is going to fast.  Secretly...I'm excited to start school.  

Happy Monday!