Painting Day

We bought some painting supplies with Zach's school funds, the kids had a grand time painting, it is hard for me to do things like this because I hate the mess but it sure is great for them. We have all kinds of shape and alphabet sponges, I gave Maddie the right letters for her name, as you can see, they were applied very randomly.

Maddie Sings

Push play to see Maddie's adorable rendition of "Yankee Doodle"

Halloween

Halloween has never been one of my favorite holidays so I'm always surprised by how much fun I have dressing the kids up each year. They are just so cute! This year we attended a little festival at a local church where the kids attend AWANA. They had lots of fun and it was just their speed with very simple games. They were also joined by their cousins, Jack and Abby.


One of their favorites "treats" was a little orange Bible you see in Maddie's hand here, I thought it was so sweet that they loved this as much as all the candy.




Zach thinks he looks particularly fierce in this picture.


Two ladybugs and a pirate, what cuties!

Homeschooling Fun

As most of you know we've set out on the adventure of homeschooling this year. Zach is in Kindergarten and doing extremely well and we're very happy with our choice. Some days it seems overwhelming to me to add one more thing to my days but let me share a little story about why this has been so great and why I think it's a great option if anyone is considering it!

Zach got out some of his word flash cards and wanted to set up a game. I warned him to be careful not to be too hard on Maddie (after all, she's only 3) because sometimes he gets a little impatient with her. Anyway, he took the couch cushions off and put different words on the cushions. Then he instructs Maddie, "Jump to the word 'at', that would be a-t (he spells it for her.) Guess what, she jumped right to it (much to my surprise!) Then at the end of the game, he says, "Now let's do the test", and he says the words but doesn't spell them. She got 4/5 right, then he set it up again and she got 5/5 out of right (different words the 2nd time.) They are being so adorable and having a great time and they're both learning (and I'm not even involved!) That's why I think this is so great, learning is allowed to just happen, it doesn't have to forced or structured all the time. I can already see that Zach will be a great teacher to his sisters as well, making my job even easier.

Zach is already reading quite well, adding and subtracting and I'm also able to let him explore the areas that most interest him such as reading animal magazines. Plus he gets a lot more time to do completely unstructured, imaginative play which I believe is very important to his development. We also have a unique situation here because there is a charter school in Hemet he attends 2 days a week that is for homeschoolers. He has learned all about government and the constitution there and this month they are studying inventors and explorers so he was telling me all about Benjamin Franklin yesterday. He loves school and gets to play on the playground and enjoy other children through that outlet.

A Couple of Funny Kid Stories

Zach was in the back of the car tonight and we overheard him say to Maddie, "No, Maddie! Jesus is his middle name. The Holy Spirit is his last name and God is his first name. He's 3 people in one."

The other night Maddie was watching some of the dancers on Dancing With the Stars and she commented that one of the guys looked like Dr. Marrs (our chiropractor). Then she clarified that his face looked like Dr. Marrs, but his arms didn't because he only had one bump on his arm and Dr. Marrs has a lot of bumps. Wanting honest feedback from my daughter, I asked, "What are daddy's arms like?" She pulled up my sleeve and studied my arm before replying, "Your arms are just hairy." Thanks Maddie.

Cute Story

Zach asked me tonight if people keep growing when they get older. I told him once people become adults they stay the same size. Then he asked, "How come daddy is bigger than you then?" Maddie replied, "Because that's the way God made mommy and daddy."

Cami is Walking!

Cami has finally taken off and started walking. Over the last couple of days she has really become more and more interested in it and when she falls down she just gets right up again. It is still strange to see her come around the corner walking. Here's a little video of her new achievement.

First Haircut

We cut some bangs for Cami several months ago to try to get her hair out of her eyes but ponytails were still constantly falling out or she would yank them out. Then she always had a huge mop of hair in her face. So I got fed up and took her for a real haircut. She was actually really good and is adorable with her big girl haircut.

I'm not sure about this!

Well, maybe it's okay.
All done, don't I look great? I can see now!

Sprinkler Day

This was about a month ago, it was Cami's first experience with a sprinkler. The other two kids just dabbled in the sprinkler but Cami got right up there and just got completely soaked, she loved it!

Siblings

It's so wonderful to see how much my kids love each other. As you can see Cami still has a very full head of hair and it has turned a reddish color. Isn't she looking so old now?

Happy Birthday!

Our little girl turned one August 23rd. She is a complete delight, full of many smiles and we are so thrilled to have made it through the first year. She does have a certain mischievous gleam in her eye though which makes me wonder what the future holds. She also gets into her fair share of trouble as you can see by the toilet picture earlier (and she's not quite walking yet!) We just had a small family party for her the day after her birthday and the older kids were more interested in her presents than she was.


Opening one present the day of her actual birthday, she found the ribbon more exciting than the present!





She enjoyed smashing up her birthday cupcake but wasn't ready to give up her new birthday lego either.

More Vacation

After leaving Almanor, we headed to Truckee to visit Aaron's brother, Andrew and his wife, Melissa. They are building a house and living in a trailer so we just camped together. Aaron helped Andrew some on the house and the kids loved playing with their cousins. We also enjoyed just being up there because Truckee is such a beautiful place. When we got home, it was great to be out of our trailer and our house felt huge. Melissa also got a chance to try cow penning in the rodeo while we were there so that was a lot of fun to watch.

Special Guests

My aunt and uncle came down to join us at Lake Almanor. The kids really enjoyed getting to see them. Uncle Ron and Aunt Suzanne were so brave, they even stayed in our tent so they could be right there with us and spend the most time with the kids.

A Great Almanor Trip!

We had a great vacation to Lake Almanor again this year. The kids loved playing with all their cousins. Cami surprised us by being quite content to play in her playpen or sit in her stroller. This kept her from getting entirely filthy everyday and freed Aaron and I up to relax more without keeping a constant eye on her. I did finally let her down to play in the dirt one day and she really enjoyed getting filthy dirty. Zach also surprised us by wanting to try skiing this year. The kids learn to ski with their fathers holding them, poor Aaron was very sore having to bend over with Zach but we were so proud of him.

Potty Time

Cami loves to indulge in life's little pleasantries, like a nice soak in a warm spa. (Annette wanted to make sure that everyone who reads this is aware that she wasn't home when this happened.) As it turns out Cami is quite the climber. I also found her on top of the dining room table the other day. Just when you think you have secured one area, she finds another place to get into trouble!

Busted Bones!

You know those cushy mats that they put in playgrounds? The ones that are supposed to keep kids safe when they fall off the monkey bars? Well, they don't always work as Zach found out. One broken arm later he is adjusting to life without the use of an elbow. The doctor said since it was only a minor fracture, there was no need to put a full cast on it, so for now he has a removable splint. He goes to an orthopedist on Monday to get re-evaluated. Hopefully he won't need a full cast since we are going camping on Friday. Check back on Tuesday for the full update.

On the Move!

Cami has started walking with a push toy in the last couple of weeks. She is also proving to be my most mischievous baby yet. Today I was in the garage putting the older two kids in the car. When I went back in to grab her (this was only a minute or so), she was in the bathroom, she had managed to dump 1/2 the bathroom trash into the toilet (including a diaper and pull up) then put the rest of the trash can right side up in the toilet. It is easy to forget how quickly she can make a mess. Oh well, she is a lot of fun right now anyway. She is a very happy girl almost all the time so I can easily forgive all her little mishaps.

Lots of Fun with Cousins!

We had two fun parties at Aaron's parents this month. The kids got to spend lots of special time with their cousins. Here's some great shots of the kids with different cousins.

Beautiful Sisters!

I just had to snap a picture of my girls all ready for church. I hope they will always be close and treasure having a sister.

Friends Visit

Last weekend my college roommate, Robyn and her husband Bryan came to visit us. They have a 3 year old daughter, Kailynne, and twin 1 year old girls, Brianna and Olivia. We had lots of fun, we always enjoy their good company although so far we haven't been able to talk them into moving to Hemet. They think it's hot or something. We also managed six kids five and under in our house quite well, although it did seem nice and quiet after the weekend was over! Thanks for the visit guys, it only took us 5 years to get you here but it was fun! There are so many new housing communities out here, some of the model homes throw huge grand openings so we took advantage of the free food and entertainment while they were visiting. Hence the pony rides, petting zoo, and rock wall Zach is climbing on. Kailynne is the other little girl on the pony, she enjoyed the face painting too.