Fossil Rim

This last week I spent at my parents house. Four of my bothers and both of my sisters were there along with their spouses and children. I think there were about 35 of us in total. The only ones missing were Evan and my brother who both work in the oil fields. Well, for one of the activities we went to Fossil Rim, a wildlife reserve. (Tonia, you were missed) You drive through the park and see different kinds of animals. It was a lot of fun. I actually got to feed a giraffe! I was scared to death! But, Camie had already done it and I figured if she was brave enough, I should be. I never did get Taneal to feed any of the animals. She is a scaredy cat like her mom. Spencer really liked riding on my dad's lap through the park and Danielle really enjoyed the animals, too. Nathan was on great behavior considering we were there at the park for about four hours just riding in our cars. I couldn't believe (actually I could) that Camie didn't want to stay in the confines of my van so she rode in the back of my brother's truck open to all the animals. She is such a brave girl. It was so much fun. I think my brother Eric got bit by a zebra (there are sign all over saying not to feed the zebras, they bite), didn't break the skin or cause any damage. One of these days I would like to go back and get videos of feeding the giraffes. I got pictures but didn't think to record it.

Check out this video of us feeding the ostrich!. We moved out of the way and put the food on the seat of the car.

Nathan's smiles

Nathan has been smiling and laughing for a while, but I finally managed to get my camera and get pictures of the smiles. He also talks while he smiles. He is also very ticklish. He squirms and almost any touch. When I change his shirt he squirms and laughs pretty hard because it tickles him so much. I will have to try to capture that on video, but

I haven't been too successful at that yet.

Fall Soccer is Over

We just finished up another season of soccer at the YMCA. This is Taneal's third season to play and she is getting quite good. She has the field mastered, she can pass very well, and she loves to play. This season she played on an all girl's team. Her aunt was the coach again and her cousin, Audrey was on the team along with three girls from church, Samantha, Kaylee, and Carissa.

This was Camie's first time to play soccer. She was so different from Taneal. During practices she was so distracted. She liked to play, but couldn't keep focused. She would stop and tie her shoes, get many drinks, somersault around on the grass during a scrimmage, and kept needing to use the bathroom. During games she was always opting to sit out. It was a little frustrating because her practices were on Wednesday nights at 7:30pm! crazy for a 6 year-old! And games were early Saturday mornings. It was a lot of effort for me to drag all five kids out and to have Camie goof off. after a while Camie started to realize that the game was fun. The last two games she actually got out and played and had a really good time. And, she was good at it. Maybe we will give Camie and soccer another try. If Camie wants to do well at anything, she does. She just has to WANT to do well. Once she decided she wanted to play soccer, she had fun and did well.

Raindrops falling

Taneal and Camie get off the bus each day and run to me to tell me about their day. I love to see their excitement and that they have had a great day. Well, this day as they got off the bus the skies were blue with one rain cloud right over us. Instead of saying hello, Camie laid down on the grass and opened her mouth to see if she could catch some of those rain drops. Danielle immediately followed. Spencer, not knowing what was going on only that something was going on, laid down on the ground to see if he could figure out why Camie and Danielle were on the grass. Taneal of course stood on the porch and giggled. It was one of those moments that I went running into the house to grab my camera. I love moments like these.

School pictures

Taneal and Camie brought home school pictures. Of course I had to take a picture of their picture (my scanner isn't working right now). They looked a little washed out on the computer, but the actual pictures look good.

I loved the responses I got from Taneal and Camie.

Taneal asked how I like her picture. I told her it was very nice. She said, "It is beautiful, isn't it?" I love that she can compliment herself that way.

Camie was mad. "Mom, why did you choose the brown background? It is so ugly!"

Danielle's drawing

Danielle drew me this picture last week. She spent a lot of time on it and was so happy to give it to me. I was so happy to receive it.

Sunday at church for sharing time the children had to draw pictures of themselves and their families. One of the pictures was left behind. I loved the picture. It was exactly like pictures I see so often at home as all my children learn to draw. It was a head and two arms and two legs, no torso. I love drawings by children. I want to remember this picture that Danielle colored and drew for me because it shows where she is in her development as a child. She is so sweet and precious and innocent. I know as my children grow, their pictures will be one thing I will miss.

Spencer learns to use the mouse

Sometimes the simplest things make us laugh. In this game that Spencer is playing, you move shapes to make pictures. When you move the mouse over the completed picture, it breaks the picture up and starts another one. This made Spencer laugh. One of the things I love about Spencer is how easy he laughs. And, when he laughs, he REALLY laughs. He has a great laugh. I have tried many times to get his laugh on video. This is the closest I have been able to capture. Watch the video to hear.

Camie's 7th birthday

Can you tell she's happy?

Evan wasn't able to be there, so as she opened her gifts from us we had Evan on the phone.

The day started with donuts. She wanted donuts for breakfast. Okay, not too hard, picked up a pack at Walmart the day before. She wanted a castle cake. Yah, that one took all day. I still have three at home with me, so I had to stop a lot. But Camie loved the cake, so it was time well spent. And, it was fun creating the cake. Of cours anyone that decorates cakes would cringe at the job I did, but Camie was very pleased which was my goal.

Came also wanted me to bring her McDonalds to school for lunch. She was so excited to see me. i was so glad I could go.

And, for supper she wanted lasagna. Thanks Stouffers!

That evening I invited a few families that have girls Camies age over. We had cake and ice cream and let the kiddos play. Camie was so excited to have people over. And, I didn't have to throw a party for a bunch of 7 -year- 0lds by myself with a baby. The "family" birthday party was fun and Camie was very happy, as you can tell from the pictures. Below is a video of us singing to Camie.I can't believe Camie is 7! Time sure flies!

Gasoline

So, last week I thought about posting that I filled up my van with gas that was only $1.89 a gallon! Yah, I knew it was worth bragging about because only two months ago I was paying nearly $4 a gallon. Well, I am glad I didn't brag because as I left Costco today I saw the new price on gas, and my tank is still full : $1.73 a gallon!

My first digital scrapbook pages

The mess and space of regular scrapbooking have really been on my mind lately. Maybe because I have five children and only four bedrooms. Also, because I haven't completed one scrapbook page in over a year and a half. Not that I don't absolutely love to scrapbooks. I LOVE to scrapbook. But, i have too many helpers and it is way too messy for the five minutes here and five minutes there that I have. If I could finish a page or layout in one setting, I would be scrapbooking all the time. Well, after putting my blog into a book, I really liked how 200 pages fit into about 3/4 inch book. That would have taken four scrapbook albums. I also liked how the last year and a half that i haven't scrapbooked was now in a book. So, I started looking and talking and looking some more, and finally decided that maybe digital scrapbooking was the way to go. I cleaned out my scrapbook room and moved a bed in there and slimmed down a lot of my supplies and the rest got moved to my closet. I know I will use a lot of the supplies that I already own, maybe even by my older girls. Anyways, so a few nights ago I finished these pages. i was pretty happy with them. Eventually I will get them published to a book, and I will have a fun time creating the pages -- mess free!

Photo tag!

The rules: Read after the last picture to see if you've been tagged....The rules are you have to take 10 pictures of the following things and you have to do it right away. No straightening, cleaning or wiping your child's nose (I mean it!). Then you tag six others.

I DID IT!!!

The picture from my fourth folder, fourth picture.

What the kids are doing right now:

My bathroom:

My dream vacation: snorkeling in Cozumel

self portrait:

My closet:

My laundry room:

My fridge:

My sink:

My favorite room:

My favorite shoes:

I tag: Gerb, Shannon, Julia, Kristi, Allie, and Nicole

I've Been Tagged . . .

8 Random Facts About Me:

1. I think: my brain is in a fog. I don't know if it is lack of sleep or just not used enough in an intellectual sort of way. I forget too many things.

2. Sometimes I: wear control top to hold in all my rolls around the middle.

3. I said I would never: have a child that has snot running down their nose and then wipe it with their shirt. Well, having five children changes everything. There are a lot of things that I said I would never do that I do all the time.

4. I will never: like bell peppers. Tried as much as I have, they are still awful. The smell, the crunch between my teeth, the flavor, all bad. I still remember my brother-in-law Allen taking a green bell pepper and taking a bite out of it like you would an apple. He did it just to show me how he would eat ANYTHING, and that memory still sticks out vividly.

5. The first concert I went to was: . . . still haven't been to a real one.

6. I love: my children and my husband. They bring me so much joy.

7. I love: to paint. I'm not very good at it nor do I do it very often. But, when I do it is something that makes me very happy.

8. Right now I would give anything to: feel rested. Actually, maybe not. Then I would have to give up everything that I love and that brings a smile to my face. I am tired because I have a baby that gets up a couple times a night and I stay up late blogging or reading or scrapbooking.

Okay...I tag: Tonia, April, Kim, Becca, Trisha, Mandy, Angela, Michael, and Anyone else that wants to be tagged!

Here are the rules
1: Each player starts with 8 random habits/facts about themselves
2: People who are tagged need to write a post on their blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3: At the end of the post you need to choose 8 people to get tagged and list their names.

Camie is a snaggle-tooth

Camie was so excited to come home from school and show me she had lost a tooth, thus making both top front teeth missing. It was close in being a "snaggle tooth" because the first tooth was starting to peek through. I think she helped the second tooth along quite a bit.

So, the tooth fairy forgot to come. how does that happen? Camie was so upset the next morning. I tried to give excuses for the tooth fairy like "maybe you went to sleep too late and when the tooth fairy came you were still awake so she had to leave" or "maybe it was too cold outside and she thought she would wait for a warmer night". Well, that one backfired on me. She insisted we make the tooth fairy a little sweater with a note. What size sweater do you make for the tooth fairy? So, the next night the tooth fairy forgot again. How that one happened is beyond me. So, Camie was in tears and I was feeling really bad for her. I swiped my hand under her pillow and asked her to check again to make sure she hadn't just "missed" where maybe the tooth fairy had put the money. Sure enough she check again and the money was there. Whew! That was close! Can you imagine the tooth fairy missing two nights in a row? If she's not careful, she'll be in the unemployment line!

A Day at a Ranch

Can you tell we like going to this ranch? The kiddos were so excited for about a week from when I told them we were going until we actually went. They really like riding the horses. I was very surprised Spencer liked riding the horse. he kept getting back in line and bragging about riding the horse. They didn't really like the cows on the "hay" ride. They got too close. Spencer was actually shaking and really clinging to me and hiding his face. Nathan was great. He didn't cry even once. He was a little worn out when we got home and made up for the lack of crying at the ranch by screaming the whole evening at home. I need to remember that he is only two months old and still a new baby and activities like this can be quite over-stimulating for babies. you'd think after five kids I would know this, but also with having five kids the babies learn pretty quickly that they have to be on the go a lot. As much as I'd like I can't stay home. I do have four others that like to get out and have some fun.