Braces

Eliza got braces today!  Dr. Horsely and his staff are so great! They treat everyone like they are so special. They are always so nice and understanding when Eliza has a million questions. Doctor Horsley really likes to give back to his patients, too! He has a great incentive program for the kids if they keep up the good brushing. It takes a lot of the need for nagging away. :)

Ian's Birthday

Ian turned the big 8 this year.  Usually we have his party outside, but with the cool, wet spring we had to take it inside. He wanted a frog themed party, so we put plastic frogs on the cupcakes, played "frog" games, and showed the kids how to fold origami frogs.  Ian loved it.  Everyone pitched in to get him just what he wanted... a Nintendo DSi!  He was thrilled, and didn't put it down for days.  We can't believe he is growing up so fast!

Last Day of School!

If you can call an hour 1/2 the last "day".  We made it!  Phew!  They both had great teachers (for them) this year.  They were just what they needed.

Mr. Gatto & Ian.

Eliza & Mr. Dunkley.

Hi-Five!  We did it!

At the end of the school year I like to give my kids a "You Made It!" present.  This year I really didn't want to get them any THING, or spend a lot (any) money.  So, we went to the library and got them their own library cards.  They LOVED it!  Yay!

Pay no attention to the fuzzy gloves.

Ava's New Glasses

Ava got glasses for the first time on Saturday.  She has lazy eye which causes her eye (usually her left eye, but has started in her right as well) to cross.  It turns out she is a bit far sighted.  When she tries to focus on something up close, her eyes over compensate and one eye crosses.  She has been pretty good about leaving them on, until she gets bored, like in the car, then she takes them off and plays with them.  We chose to go with a very inexpensive frame ($9 from Walmart!) so if/when she breaks them I won't freak out (too much).  As she gets a little older, and is used to wearing them, we'll get he some super stylish frames.  I saw a very cute pair from B.U.M that looked SO cute on her.  I wasn't ready to pay $60 for those, yet, knowing she may be hard on them.   I couldn't get her to hold still long enough to get a great picture, but you can see that she thinks she's pretty cute... which she is, of course.  Here's what she looks like when her eyes go "crazy".

Jimmy's Preschool Graduation

Jimmy graduated from preschool last Thursday.  He loved preschool.  We are lucky to have an amazing preschool teacher as a neighbor.  Jimmy got to go with his best friend, Enoch, and meet many more new friends.  He was sad to have it end, but SO excited to be able to go to kindergarten next year.  He's having a hard time understanding that he has to wait until after the summer is over.  We are so proud of Jimmy for learning so much, and thanks to his teacher, Mrs. Skousen for teaching him so much.

Bad Hair Day or Awsome?

While in New Zealand I saw some choice hairstyles.  Here are my 2 favorite.  The first one was witnessed at a lawn bowling party.  Pretty sweet right?  And how cool is lawn bowling?  Especially in the beautiful gardens of NZ?  The second was on the streets of Christchurch.  Can you see the buzz that accentuates the mullet?  My 3rd favorite, sadly, was not photographed.  He was walking barefoot into a store in Queenstown.  He was a 6' or taller, white guy with dreadlocks that hung to below his back side.  I had to take a mental picture of that guy.

Holiday Catch Up

I suppose it time to catch up on a few posts.  Let's start with the holidays.

Christmas was fun for the kids.  We spent Christmas Eve with the Hobbs clan, eating Chinese dinner and exchanging gifts.  The grand kids all pick a name of a cousin to give a gift to.  They really enjoy that.   G'ma & G'pa give their gifts to the grand kids all at the same time and say "go" and the ripping frenzy begins.  Then we send the kids to watch a movie while the adults exchange gifts.   The adults (except G'ma & G'pa) all draw names, too.  It was a wild and crazy night, but a lot of fun.  I made the kids their matching Christmas PJ's.  I'd always wanted to make them the full set.  I think they turned out really cute.  I don't think I'll make the tops again.  They weren't hard, just time consuming, but the pants went together so fast.  Those will happen again.

Christmas morning was spent at home, and then off the my parent's house for the rest of the day.  It's always nice and relaxing there (only 9 grand kids, unlike the 20+ at the Hobbs).  It was a nice Christmas, and it was nice to have it over.

New Years Eve was spent quietly at home, and a fun day of sledding on New Years Day.

Eliza's Birthday isn't a national holiday, but it is a holiday in our house.  She turned 10 in January!

I'll skip my B-day.  Mainly because I don't have a single picture.  But it was a nice day turning 34.

Easter Saturday we spent with the Hobbs for the annual egg hunt.  There is always one $20 bill hidden somewhere.  Caleb found it this year.  He was so proud.  The big surprise, though, was G'ma & G'pa borrowed a goat for the kids to enjoy.  He was a really sweet goat.  We had a goat naming contest, and the winning name was Bucktooth Billy.  Bucky for short.

The Toy Society

I just read about The Toy Society over at Design Mom.  It's a brilliant idea.  Make a handmade toy with a note attached that reads, "Take me home.  I'm yours!".  Their blog allows the droppers and finders to write about the experience.  No strings attached, just spreading joy.  I think this would be a great summer activity for Eliza.  She loves giving things to people to make them happy (usually) and she loves to make things.  This will definitely be on our list of activities.  So cool!

Note to 2 Year Old

Dear darling 2 year old,

Please don't feed all the dog treats to the little dog in one day.  It WILL give her the runs.

Love,

Mom

The dog in this photo is not the dog mentioned in the letter, but a very cute substitute.

No more room

The reason I haven't posted anything new is because I've used up all the space on my computer and my external hard drive.  I have no where to put my pictures once I get them off the camera, so they're still on the camera.  I either need to empty some files (which I tried, but they all seem to be one's I need to keep), move them to CD's, or buy another external hard drive.  So, pardon my absence.

We're also finishing our basement...ourselves, and I have 4 kids, a husband, a slew of pets, a new church calling, and homework (with the kids).  sigh.