Monday, August 29, 2011

just like that...


the "monkey bike", as the children refer to it, is this mini little schwinn that we've had since sam was little. everyone has learned to ride a two wheeler on it, including some neighbor kids here and in illinois.

audrey picked it up one day, got on and started riding. no training wheels, no drama, just riding like the wind. when audge tells the story she says, "i just picked it up and went (insert whistle, hold palm in front of you and extend it out forwards)." when a grown up is able and willing, we sit outside and let the kids ride down the smooth street and up into the end of the culdesac. our very own bike gang.  and about as entertaining as the shriners in the 4th of july parade.  now, if i could get them some of those hats...

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

15 years and 333 days later...

sam turns 16 this september. as if that's not shocking in and of itself, i dropped him off at college today. yes, college. he's taking two classes at our local community college this semester (as a sophmore) and according to him "has some 50 year old guy" in his english class.

he's getting a couple of prerequisites done and then he will be able to embark on classes for law enforcement majors. best case scenario, he graduates from high school with his associate's degree for FREE! he'd also like to get EMT certified. it's been a dream of mine to do the same thing for quite some time now. i saw the color drain from his face when i told him maybe i'd take the EMT courses with him.

*don't ask him if he's getting his license, though. it's a bit of a sore subject around here. we chose to wait until he was 16 and avoid the ridiculous fees for driving school for kids 15 1/2 and under. this way WE get to teach him how to drive. he'll be a little bit older, a little bit wiser and we'll be a little bit saner. sort of.


Sunday, August 21, 2011

sock monkey soiree


"i loved my birthday party, mom!" music to my ears. it really was a fun afternoon and was the first party where olivia and i really joined creative forces to make the day a success.


olivia made adorable handmade invites, a sign for the front door, frosted the cupcakes, colored in the paper plates with sock monkey faces, glued sock monkey faces to the cups and helped ready the house for her guests. at nine years old, she's a huge help to me around here! she also learned that putting together a party takes a lot of work and preparation.


our friend miss angela and her son connor came over early (thank God) to help with the last minute scurry, which included housefly killing and mixing the monkey poop. yes. monkey poop. amazing no bake cookies made with cocoa and peanut butter and oats. actually, they look more like cow pies, but i can't say i've seen a lot of monkey poop.


we feasted on monkey bread, monkey poop, ambrosia, banana pudding and the cutest darn sock monkey cupcakes ever. the girls made an adorable hair tie, played pin the tail on the monkey and hot potato (well, we used a little stuffed monkey, so i guess we played hot monkey) and spent some time on the trampoline to round out the day. she received a lot of craft supplies, some gift cards, candy, flip flops, t-shirts and a snuggly new blanket made by our neighbor samantha. how good it is to be a 9 year old girl: 99% sweet and 1% monkey!

Friday, August 19, 2011

man alive, audge turned 5!












having a birthday on july 3rd is just plain fun. we started the festivities with the usual and customary flag cake (our thanks to ina garten).












the next evening, still in the celebratory mood, we headed over to miss angela and mr. gene's house for a cookout with both of our extended family and our brits. after eating an amazing potluck bbq dinner, we ventured out to see fireworks. the kids ran around the golf course completely lit up with glow sticks waiting for it to get dark enough. grandma graciously stayed back with ev and the dog, neither of them being too fond of the 4th.












a few days later, we set out on one of daddy's days off for a birthday outing. we give the kids the option of having a dinner out with just family or a party at home with friends. audge picked flying "w" ranch as her birthday excursion. it's what she fondly refers to as "cowboy dinner". picture tin plates and cups, baked beans and bbq, fiddles and viddles. there's a dinner show, complete with cowboys singing songs~patriotic, funny, or lonesome tales of being on the range. grandma and our neighbors, seth and kim and their kids, joined us for a night of western fun.












there's an old cowboy town on the property to wander about. one of the buildings is an actual cookbook library set up with stations to print from the books. i have a mental note to grab a coffee and head over there one afternoon. oh-i almost forgot. they serve up the best honey biscuits this side of the mississippi. i just hope they don't serve them in the library...


Thursday, August 18, 2011

liv's 9 lives


olivia is nine! we celebrated with homemade pizza and cheesecake. daddy and i gave her a "real" (big girl) Bible and adorable carrying case, an "o" necklace i picked up while in breckenridge and a rather frustrating spool knitting kit. that may go back to hobby lobby. this weekend she's having a sock monkey themed birthday party (pictures to follow!)

liv at nine: she loves (is obsessed) with animals, watches animal planet whenever she can, reads books on animals, draws pictures of animals, searches for animals, takes care of animals, begs for animals, looks for animals to rescue on craigslist. best of all, she just picked out animal print eyeglasses. we have joined a 4H group and will attend our first meeting in september. one of the 4H projects is raising rabbits! i'm not sure which one of us is more excited...

happy birthday liv! you are loved!



adventures of audge


Well, Audge is off on her own adventure this year. She's going to an in-home Montessori program just a few miles from the house. It's only five other kids two mornings a week and gives me some one on one time with Evelyn, while it helps her spread her wings a bit. Although, that's never been an issue for Audrey.

At Orientation, her teacher, Miss Susan, asked Audrey whether or not she had any allergies and she responded, "just poison." Duly noted.

Evelyn isn't so happy about her "sisser" leaving the nest without her and expressed her discontent while I was getting Audrey dressed for school. Ethan walked out of his room on the way to the bathroom when Evelyn stopped him and said, "no Ethan! Don't use your penis to go potty!" I burst out laughing and told Ethan, "sorry, buddy. You'll need to find another way to do that today."

Today was Audrey's first official day. On our way there, I asked what she thought they might have for snack and she responded, "I don't know, but I sure hope they have coleslaw. I love coleslaw."

Enjoy your adventure Audrey! And keep thinking outside that box!