Fall Fun

On Friday we had the Goldens over for a late b-day celebration for Breanna. My girls strongly feel that every birthday must be celebrated with a proper party and since Bre and I were in Ashland for a Women's Retreat on her big day- we were a little late in celebrating. But we had great fun enjoying dinner together and doing a fall favorite- caramel apples. It was great to have a few extra hands to help with this very messy task! My kids have the best cousins- they are such great sports and my kids absolutely love doing things with them!

Pumpkin Patch

My kids LOVE the pumpkin patch! It's not a rare thing to be asked in the middle of February when we get to go to the pumpkin patch, and then later to be asked again in May, July, etc. (I think you get the picture!) So when October hit, they were super excited that it was finally pumpkin patch time. Kacia got to go earlier in the month with her girl scout troop and Rylin had such a great attitude about Kacia going and her not, that the next day, I surprised Rylin and took her and Lincoln to our "smaller" patch. It was the middle of the day in the middle of the week, so pretty empty. The kids walked through the patch, talked to the animals and played on the playground. We picked out little pumpkins, spent a total of $2.50, and that 1/2 hour just made my little girl's day!

Then this week, Kacia's class went on a field trip to the "bigger" patch and I and the kiddos came along too. It was fun, but got a little hectic trying to push the stroller in thick gravel and then carrying Lincoln and pumpkins (my own kids' and Kacia's classmates') through the patch back to the train was a bit much for one mamma. So last night, we went to Family Night so that Kevin could come too. It's way more fun with my family complete, and being there with friends was a great bonus too. It got dark a little too quickly to be able to do everything that is offered, but hopefully my kids finally got their fill of the pumpkin patch.

Me with my crazy & silly kiddos

These were the most social and engaging cows I have ever been around. They just kept mooing and my kids just kept laughing! Lincoln loved them- that is until they made eye contact and mooed simultaneously, or when more than one mooed at a time. But he did kinda learn a new word. Now when you say "what does a cow say?" he goes "mmmm." Does that count as a word?

Playing in the corn box

Sawyer and Kacia on the cow train

Kevin and Lincoln

Megan and Fisher

Rylin riding Betsy

Now hopefully, that was enough trips to the farm to hold them over, at least for a few months!

Sisters Make Great Jungle Gyms

Kacia reading to Lincoln (I'm pretty sure he started jumping on the couch as soon as I snapped this picture. He's not really into sitting still for books yet- but it's great that we're starting to have another reader in the house.)

Anytime the girls are in a somewhat climbable position- Lincoln jumps at the opportunity.

He actually does full, complete somersaults. It's quite entertaining!

Honestly, sometimes they're just crouching down to look for a toy under the coffee table or something, and Lincoln just takes it as an open invitation to jump on his personal jungle gym.

Sometimes they think it's fun, and continue to let him climb all over, other times, especially if he gets stuck on their hair, it's not so fun.

So our house has been inflicted with "the bug" for the last week and a half. So we haven't gone anywhere exciting or done anything worthy of picture taking. It's just been a lot of time spent at home. And this is what happens in our home...

Kinda funny... but don't tell Kevin

So, for those of you who know my wonderful husband Kevin, you know that the poor guy is grossed out by the spit-up and snot of our own dear children. Sometimes, it's actually humorous to witness his reactions to these very normal encounters since we have 3 small children. So this morning when he came home and told me that "the grossest thing just happened to me" I was preparing myself for something quite minor. He proceeded to tell me that as he stepped out of his car into the Safeway parking lot- he stepped in, slipped on and fell in a pile of vomit! Now that is actually something that everyone would find disgusting! Then tonight when he came home for dinner, he told me that he never expected to fall in throw-up and get pooped on in the same day! I honestly couldn't help but laugh! Apparently, a bird pooped on his shoulder and managed to get some on his ear as well. And the kicker is- he didn't notice until he was in a store and rubbed the top of his ear and felt something slimy! Then he discovered the poop that was all over his shoulder. Honestly what are the chances of these two events happening to someone on the same day, and of all people Kevin!!!

Rylin's New 'Do

The long back that was untouched by her little scissors

Just a few layers she decided to add around her face :)

I was trying to capture the underneath here because it was by far the shortest of the cuts, but it kind of gets lost in all the surrounding blondness.

Her little bob is quite fitting for her, and very easy to fix! Hopefully, this will be my only "kid haircutting" story.

Rylin knew that cutting hair was naughty, we've had many conversations about how kids should never cut their own or other's hair. And I honestly thought we might escape this rite that almost all little girls go through. That was until I found a chunk of hair on the ground that was clearly not ripped out by little brother because of it's very blunt edge. But I think we got pretty lucky, it could have been a lot worse! She looks quite cute, she calls it her "mommy haircut" and looks shocked every morning when she realizes it's still short. I've tried to explain it took her nearly four years to grow her hair that long, but she clearly doesn't get the permanence of it all. Gotta love the thinking of "3 and a half and a quarter" year olds!

In Lincoln's World

Lincoln enjoying his first sandwich with Nutella.

I think it must be so weird to take a bite and not know what to anticipate- sweet, salty, hot, cold. And every time Lincoln tries something new, he is stepping out and trusting me. This time he was delightfully surprised to find out that rather than a typical peanut butter sandwich, he got something a little sweeter.

And the sweet tooth is here to stay, after all he is a mix of Hetland/Burns. This was his first beater, and he loved it! For the rest of the day, along with the next, every time I opened the fridge and he saw the bowl of cookie dough, he smacked his lips together accompanied with his outstretched arm and grunts that symbolize- "I want that!"

I have a couple "beater pictures" of myself as a kid too. A bad habit to start so young :).

And this is what happens when you have 2 sisters and a house full of girl toys...

Sometimes he puts his ball in the stroller to push around which is a little more manly, but I'm sure this is just the beginning of many pictures that I will be able to use later for bribery.

As you can see, Lincoln just keeps growing and growing. He is a busy little monkey and keeps us quite entertained. His vocabulary is not growing as quickly as the girls' but I know in time the grunts will be traded in for words. Sometimes he comes storming into a room, rambles off a bunch of chatter, then just runs out. And despite the vocab, he comprehends a ton! I can hand him something and tell him to put it in his room and he does. When anyone mentions the words "going bye-bye" he runs and grabs his shoes from the basket and so on. He has also been busy getting more teeth lately. He had 8, than 4 more broke through the gums and 2 more will be popping through any day. There you have it, that's what has been happening lately in Lincoln's world.

San Francisco with My Love

A little late is better than never, right? Here's some pictures from our weekend in San Francisco. We had a wonderful and quiet time together with beautiful weather in a truly fun city. We are so very thankful to Debby for once again taking on the task of watching our kids, it is a wonderful gift to have a grandma that lives in the same town and honestly loves spending time with our crazy munchkins. We would be a little more insane if it were not for the "breaks" she so generously gives us!

Here we are in Ghiradelli Square, an absolute must for us when we come to the city. I'm quite certain that the individual who took our picture did not speak any English because he totally missed getting the huge Ghiradelli sign, but atleast he got us in the photo!

We were so excited to go see this show, and we were so happy it worked out to meet up with Paul and Bethany to all go together. We went to an A's game earlier in the day, so we weren't sure how the timing would all work out, but I'm so glad we were able to enjoy dinner together first so we could actually visit with one another.

It was intermission and the guys were in the bathroom, so I asked the lady behind us to take our picture. She was not thrilled at all, but reluctantly did. Then when the guys returned, they reminded us of the whole "no flash" rule and I realized why she was a little upset, but it was an honest mistake, and its kinda cool to be able to see the stage and dragon behind us.

The newlyweds, married one week, hanging out with the old boring couple:).

We finally stood in line to ride the trolley car. I don't know why we have never done this together before because it's such a classic San Francisco tourist thing, but now we've done it and have learned the best ways to avoid the long lines in the future.

Another San Francisco first for me- driving across the Golden Gate Bridge. I've seen it before, gone to the park and stuff, but never actually crossed it. Kevin couldn't remember doing it before either, although he's pretty sure he must have at some point when he was younger. We had fun in the cute town of Sausalito on the other side, and then had to drive just a little further to Mill Valley so I could go to the Tyler Florence Kitchen Store.

This was the view of Union Square from our hotel room, 11 stories up. It was quite cooler in person, but most scenery pictures are. We had a great time and look forward to our next escape together whenever that might be. I'm so thankful for a husband who makes such an effort to continually grow our marriage when it would be so easy to get lost in the business of rearing 3 kids. He helps me to remember that our kids benefit from our investing in one another as well, as they are learning from us what marriage is, and the importance of making one another a priority is a huge part of a healthy marriage. What a truly blessed wife I am!

Going to the Chapel

On August 29th we were able to celebrate the marriage of our friends Paul and Bethany Slagle. It was a beautiful and truly fun day! My girls had the honor of being 2 of the 9 kids in their wedding party! And these are the only 2 pictures I have. It's a good thing I wasn't the photographer! :) (I think Bre ended up with nearly 2000 more than me to sort through.)

"Flow-er Pow-er!"

So pretty in their white dresses and beautiful pearls!

Birthday Girl

Last Friday was Kacia's 6th Birthday! Honestly where does the time go?

We had a very fun day, and it was so fun watching her the week before do her countdown every night and put a big X on the calendar.

Our first visit with Uncle James in a year and it happened to fall on the birthday weekend.

So fun!

Our baby is 6!

Lincoln had to try out the new rollerblades before big sister could even open them, I'm telling you anything to get him a few inches off the ground!

The shoes she has been wanting for 2 months. Man this girl is scary in a shoe store already!

Kacia and her giant Birthday card

Enjoying their gelato and getting sillier by the second!

Brooklyn and Rylin decorating and shaping their cookie dough.

Sawyer didn't look too miserable at this very girlie party, afterall their was plenty of sugar to enjoy, he just stayed away from the pink and purple cookie dough and frosting. So fun how my "all-girl" daughter and our very "all-boy" friend can be the best of buddies!

We had her friend party at a super cute shop called sweetspot. They sell cute cupcakes, gelato and other yummy treats. Anyhow, they set up a little table for the kids and 9 little girls and 1 little boy (Sawyer was such a trooper!) decorated cookies and cupcakes and ate ice cream and colored and had fun together. It was so much fun to not have too much set up or clean up, and to be able to really enjoy the party with her!

After that we did pizza with the Goldens, Bonnins, and James & Samantha. Kacia loved being the center of attention for the day, and just beamed the whole day through! And although it really seems like a lifetime ago that I used to rock and sing her to sleep, it also somehow feels like just yesterday we were in that hospital room staring in utter amazement at this beautiful, tiny and precious gift God had entrusted to us!

Our Monkey

So this is my beautiful, fun, and totally crazy 14 month old Lincoln who has decided that he is no longer content with just walking and running, but needs to climb. And he climbs on everything, and he is super fast! His speed and skill make keeping a constant eye on him a must, but this is nothing new really, just the reasons have changed. He is no longer attracted to toilets like a magnet (still attracted to, but more to climb on top of so that he can get on the counter instead of eating the toilet paper that is floating in it) and he also doesn't seem to find every tiny thing on the floor and put it in his mouth, thus making choking a constant scare. Now, the fear has been switched to a major head injury from our wood floor or brick hearth. Seriously, come to my house for 10 minutes and I guarantee you will see him climb on at least 5 different things, the couch, coffee table, recliner, dining room chair & table, dollhouse, etc. The list just keeps going...

It doesn't seem like enough to climb on the couch and run from one end to the other, he also has to scale the back so he can get higher- always higher!

Here it wasn't enough to be on the table, he had to attempt to stand on the coloring box on top of the table, after all 4 more inches is 4 inches higher!

He has this routine down perfectly. He climbs on to the toychest at the end of Rylin's bed and then does a somersault/handstand onto her bed.

Then he runs to the head of her bed to get onto the dresser.

So I couldn't justify letting him stand on top of the dresser just so I could get a photo, but I'm guessing you get the point- this boy has me on my toes- from the minute he wakes up until he's snug in bed. Oh how I love bedtime!

Snowstorm in August

Last night I was standing at the kitchen sink, feeling defeated as I looked out at the yard. It was after 8 o’clock, the kids were finally in bed, not all were asleep yet, but they were in bed and that was half the battle. I was doing dinner dishes from 2 hours earlier and thinking of all of the things I had wanted to get done throughout the day and hadn’t yet done, but also feeling the sense of exhaustion that somehow always finds me and diffuses my plans of anything productive after bedtime. I scanned the yard while telling myself to remember the details of what I saw today because someday I just might miss what I was looking at...

To say that the flowerbeds are overgrown with weeds is an extreme understatement; in fact the weeds are taller and thicker than every other plant. The grass is anything but ideal, it's patchy, with brownish dry sections and it seems that the green areas are at least fifty percent clover. It also is in need of mowing in a very bad and embarrassing way. And then there are the toys. Toys everywhere. Bikes, scooters and tricycles left wherever the driver decided to get off. Balls of varying sizes can be found under bushes and peaking through the towering grass along with the accompanying rackets and bats tossed randomly throughout the space. There is also evidence of the girls’ daily concoction; soup, stew or lemonade- wherever their imagination had taken them today it had obviously involved bowls, spoons, and cups that are now just deserted with the remnants of bark, leaves, flowers and such. And in case I needed a reminder that it was August in Redding there's the sprinkler toy sitting in the middle of the grassy section with the hose stretching out across the pathway, making tripping a high likelihood. And then there's the tiny plastic kiddie pool. There are leaves and pieces of bark floating in the small body of water that is somehow already starting to turn green- though I feel like I just cleaned it the other day. Next to the pool there are various masterpieces sketched onto the patio along with small fragments of the sidewalk chalk that landed wherever the artist had carelessly dropped them.

Why do they never clean up after themselves? Why did I even put the big plastic container out there if I never insisted that they put all of the toys back into it? Just another reminder of a brilliant idea I had for easing the constant battle of maintaining sanity in the midst of raising three small children, only to lack the follow through of actually making the idea a reality. I was once again reminded of a statement I once heard by a mother of teenagers (Bre) as she reminisced over the chore of cleaning her house with toddlers around, “it’s like shoveling snow when its still snowing.” Agreed. It almost seems futile to even attempt, but easy for her to say now I thought, it has stopped snowing in her world.

So as I stood there at the sink, lost in my own world of thoughts, I burned the image into my mind, knowing that someday the weather will change in my life as well. Soon I will be able to rely more upon assistant shovelers, and then in time the snow will inevitably stop. The thought was both simultaneously comforting and sobering. Because when the blizzard ends, I can guarantee that there will be times that I miss the disastrous sight I starred at last night. And so for today, I'm attempting to enjoy my snowstorm in August!