School is going well for the kids. Everyone likes their teachers and has friends in the classroom. And I guess they are learning things too. Great success!
Here is Patrick's class. I love masks. The fewer germs these kids share with each other the better.
Patrick on his first day of school. He's been rockin' the mohawk most days at school. I'm all for it - if you have a socially acceptable time to sport a mohawk you go for it.
His teacher is so nice and I get to chat with her at school pick-up most days because I am often the last car in car line (sorry kids). Juliet is really difficult to wake up from her nap. I've already sent in banana bread once, Patrick's teacher from last year had him well trained that all teachers love and need banana bread. I got to send it in in a little plastic disposable container because Patrick collects at least one per day from hot lunch. He doesn't even get hot lunch every day, he just makes it his mission to bring one home to me every day so he often gets one from a classmate. One time he was proudly telling me about the dumb salad that came in the container that he had thrown away in order to have the container for me and we got to have a discussion about not wasting food in order to get free tupperware for his mother. Sweet sweet boy.
We have family question time during dinners over at Grandma and Grandpa's house and Eleanor asked Grandpa what his favorite flower was so he took her outside to show her. Dahlias!
Then we went down to lake and hung out with some cool kids.
And Bradley helped Nathan with the loft area of the skid shed. The skid shed has been amazing, it made a huge difference in lake trips this year.
At church the next day for their back to school event.
We love a good photo prop!
Nathan got a pouch to put his phone in so he could take underwater photos. Fancy results!
Juliet made it enough nights in her big kid bed without any trouble so she and Eleanor helped Nathan disassemble the crib. It was a joyous day!
Trying out Space Escape with Grandpa. It's a new favorite game.
Patrick's soccer team. He has been loving it.
Look at that cutie!
It might have tired him out for the lake outing in the afternoon.
Nathan has been getting the kids Quick Trip slushies as a treat on the way down to the lake. My disapproval of this treat has made it that much more delicious for the kids each time they get it.
Eleanor finishing up the lofted area of the skid shed. There is much anticipation for sleepovers with friends up here.
Puzzles at the lake! It cracks me up - they never ever do puzzles at home but it's such a fun treat to do them at the lake.
Bradley had his friend Xavier come down to hang out at the lake. The kid kayaks are so cool.
Meanwhile, I took the girls over to the beach.
Juliet napping in her big kid bed. She generally reads herself to sleep.
Ready for more gymnastics! We always stop by the playground on our way in.
Then she does whatever she wants and yells at me when I try to get her to join the group.
Raining on the way out. The thunderstorm was very exciting.
We always go to Costco after gymnastics and the decision to get a smoothie this week was met with great enthusiasm.
As was our successful hunt of a puddle that was found in our neighbor's driveway.
Playing in the creek later that afternoon.
A reminder that we have ridiculously cute cats.
Our robotics team started meeting! Me, Nathan, and my mom are all coaching. We have a nice team assembled and it's fun but also a lot more work than I anticipated at the beginning.
It's going well though, mostly thanks to my mom who is our coding expert extraordinaire.
The day after robotics started we headed off on a trip to Iowa to visit Grandma Colleen and Kerry. We found a super cute cafe to stop at for lunch on the way there.
We did a little shopping too. Eleanor and I were far too excited about this shirt. Apparently it's a quote from some show and it says "I will put you in a trunk and help people look for you." Eleanor and I thought it would be hilarious to send her to school in this and see what her poor teacher would have to say. But we didn't actually get it. We aren't quite that cool.
Juliet got a little tired on the way there. Very grateful she can take a short nap in the car and be good to go.
Arrival! I don't know who was happier, Grandma Colleen or Juliet.
We started the trip with some garden adventure time.
They got a new dog, which was very popular with the kids. As were some big puddles we found.
Hilarious picture of what happens when you say no to Juliet. Apparently it's not a great idea to throw apples into their little pond. That lower lip!
The kids enjoy trying to find dangerous things to do and having me take pictures of them.
Group shot with Grandma Colleen.
Girl cuddles at the Chinese buffet that evening.
Wow, not really a question as to whether or not these two are related.
Juliet tells important stories.
If you watch this video and think - did Juliet get knocked over at the end? Yes, yes she did. Super smooshed. Fortunately she didn't really get hurt, just knocked over. Wasn't really Patrick's fault but oh my goodness.
Playing games at the hotel that evening.
Cuddles while the younger two were being put to bed. Which didn't got too well, both Patrick and Juliet were really short on sleep which made the next day rather tricky. Ahhh, travels with children.
Fortunately, the buffet breakfast was delightful.
Park time!
We checked out a farmer's market and played at a playground before we started the drive home.
Saying goodbye - so many hugs from sweet Juliet
When she cuddles in on you it's about the coziest thing ever.
The tired duo on the way home. So so tired.
And then we were back in time for church events the next morning!
And back out to the lake. Pretty fabulous.
Bradley was so sweet playing football with Juliet over at our friends' lot.
Smores!
Smores with both my girls.
Cruising on the golf cart has been a highlight of the summer.
Patrick dancing for me is my highlight of any day that it happens. This is his same face as his game face for sports.
Juliet has been joining the fishing squad more and more often, which is adorable.
So pretty.
The other two trying out a new game with me. Lake time is the best time!
Look who caught a big fish!
Climbing trees by the mini golf area.
And even some mini golf.
What a handsome kid!
Bradley came home a little early with me and we played at the park with Juliet. It's difficult sometimes - the lake is amazing on these perfect late summer days but so is our park. As long as we're outside I'm happy!
He insisted on a slo-mo video of him doing a dangerous jump.
Carrying a tired girl home.
Juliet got really excited about Patrick's new sequin Sonic shirt and decided to treat him like a toy. Too bad Patrick went along with it and allowed her to do whatever she wanted to him.
I showed Eleanor the video of Patrick getting jumped on and she got jealous and had Juliet do the same thing to her. Oh my goodness. Juliet doesn't stand a chance to become a reasonable human being.
Then Juliet found a lucky kitty to love. These poor cats. I'd be more sympathetic, but surely they could outrun the 2 year old if they really didn't want to be picked up.
The kids had the Tuesday after Labor Day off from school, which was really weird. Nathan was at work so I brought them with me to Juliet's gymnastics class. She enjoyed having a cheer squad.
And then they got to come in for open gym right after her class ended. Great joy for all involved.
I did a pull-up in front of the boys and that earned more respect from them than probably anything else I've done as a parent. It was really fun watching them try to do one. Bradley did really well!
Then of course we had to go to Costco. We got there rather late because of the open gym so we at lunch there. Patrick ate an entire Costco piece of pizza, I couldn't quite believe it.
Then we had a pretty relaxed afternoon at home. I love the afternoons where our main activity is chalk art in the driveway.
Patrick made a U.S. flag entirely by himself. Pretty impressive.
Bradley and Nathan packed a few board games for their trip to Idaho. How many of these did they end up playing? About 3/4 of them it turned out. Pretty impressive!
The boys saying goodbye to each other.
Eleanor watching the boys say goodbye to each other.
Juliet had to tell Daddy just how much she would miss him. Smoochies!
Bradley was rather pleased about how the trip started off. They got to be in the Delta lounge because of Nathan's sky mile award level.
Hanging out with Nana!
Not to be confused with Aunt Anna. One of my favorite stories is the time that Patrick yelled at Anna that she wasn't her name, that Nana was that name. To be fair - it's Nana and Anna.
I knew they were having a good time because Bradley smiled like this in most of the trip pictures.
Reading with Aunt Abby at bedtime. It's fun to be one of four kids but every once in a while it's fun to be the only kid around.
Meanwhile, I took the other kids to our regularly scheduled events. Some big kids taught Juliet how to do somersaults at Patrick's soccer practice.
Juliet and Eleanor read books together. Juliet's naughty face gives me life.
Juliet getting a check-up from Dr. Eleanor.
Picture day (yes, Bradley missed it). Patrick asked for a mohawk and I said yes and Eleanor asked for blue hair chalk and I said yes. They looked cute and they can dress how they like for picture day.
Meanwhile, Juliet and I rained down terror at the library. We now grab a cozy spot and read a couple books together before we leave, it's so much fun.
We had enough time to swing by a playground before going home for lunch.
Meanwhile, I kept getting the sweetest pictures from Idaho.
They checked out an aquarium.
And started to play all of the board games! Dinosaur Tea Party.
It was so nice that they got to see Uncle Tim and Karla while they visited.
And got some games in there too. Of course. This is Ohanami.
I told Nathan I wanted a lot of group pictures and he certainly came through.
Cuddles and reading time with Uncle Jake this time.
They even went to an exotic animal petting zoo.
A zebra donkey?
Meanwhile, I kept things classy at home. Juliet discovered some of Eleanor's old underwear.
She and Patrick had a party. Eleanor didn't want to join in for some reason.
We also had a fun park outing with one of her best buddies, little Caroline.
Juliet was poopy so she started chanting "Go away, far away Mommy!"
We had to change a light bulb. Then Eleanor had an idea!
We had our regular family dinner with my parents even without Bradley and Nathan being home and Juliet enjoyed helping us figure out new games after dinner.
Bradley wasn't exactly suffering on his trip.
I checked and was assured he was eating standard, healthy meals.
Checking out Aunt Anna's college!
Cousin game time. Colt Super Express. Nothing like shooting each other off a train to make someone bond.
The siblings!
Parents and siblings - like I said, I'm very proud of Nathan for making the group pictures happen.
Yet more games. This time Silver & Gold.
I'm told Bradley had an absolute blast having a bonfire at his cousin's house.
Cuddling with Aunt Abby. We're so excited that she's having a baby soon!
And then it was off to the family cabin. Another trip highlight!
Shooting bb guns was one of the best parts of being at the cabin.
It's something to be sent picture after picture of your child shooting targets. Mostly because I was jealous - hitting cans with a bb gun sounds like great fun.
They even did some off-roading.
Cool guys!
And yes, more games. King of Tokyo.
Morning cuddles at the cabin.
Meanwhile, a morning soccer game for Patrick. He's something out there. He hasn't played much so he doesn't have the footwork down just yet but he has crazy stamina and runs hard the entire time he's out there. Even when the coaches force him to take a break and sit out he'll run up and down the side line. We're working on him not arguing with the coach about not needing a water break. It's so foreign to me - I always preferred to sit on the sideline at this age.
Eleanor and I got in a girls' night while Nathan was away. Turns out making popcorn isn't hard, who knew?
We had a special church lunch that Sunday. Patrick always volunteers for everything.
They ended the church lunch with a surprise donut eating competition. Would my children be too full to eat a giant donut?
No. And Patrick would win the competition.
Juliet's donut fell on the ground but she still ate it. Yummy ...
Patrick was so proud of the baby wipes he won as his prize. Adorable!
And it's been a hot September and my parents' pool was still open, so we joined them for a little swim that afternoon.
Juliet was not as excited about swimming as she was about playing a hilarious game with Grandma where Grandma goes to sleep and Juliet wakes her up.
Hiking in Idaho. So pretty.
It was a pretty fabulous trip for these two. Nathan hadn't been back to Boise since Abby had gotten married four years ago, it was definitely time for a visit.
They visited Idaho City, a cute little tourist town.
Bradley made friends with the ladies who owned this little gift shop. He started asking them questions about their favorite color and other favorite things (I have been training him up!) and they couldn't handle how cute he was.
Learning to skip rocks with his dad.
Jake and Grandpa Dan at the cabin with Bradley.
Nathan and Grandpa Dan at the cabin with Bradley.
It turns out the cousins like games - Caitlyn, Connor, and Logan had so much fun playing games with Bradley earlier in the trip that they got in a bonus game session with him before he had to leave. King of Tokyo!
Cousin picture!
Again, many points to Nathan for making all these pictures happen.
Meanwhile at home - I organized playdates. Here's Patrick with his buddy Cody Ferguson.
Juliet is rather obsessed with picnic lunches these days so we have a fair amount of them.
More gymnastics. We discovered that Juliet can flip over a bar on her own already. The instructor told me no other two year old she's had in a class has been able to do this. Well, Juliet has older siblings and can see what they do and she doesn't want me to help her with anything. It's not exactly a surprise.
Hitting herself with a stick at our picnic lunch later that day. Patrick has had far too much influence here.
Then she decides to build a fort to hide from me after she has a poopy diaper.
I decided to sit down and read a book during nap time this day. It was a popular decision and I should make it more often.
Nathan and Bradley flew home to us!
And this is how we decided to greet them. I don't exactly remember how we decided to tie up kids as a hilarious welcome home, but once it came up as an option it was seized with great enthusiasm by all parties involved.
Juliet decided she wanted to get in on the action.
And then ... we waited. We perhaps had been a little too enthusiastic. Have you ever had to keep a tied up 2 year old entertained for 20 minutes? We watched videos on my phone. Nathan needed to drive home faster from the airport. And the ropes were all loose so we eventually just took them off and then slipped them back on when they pulled in the garage.
The next night Nathan and I had a date night to see the comedian Bill Burr at the Starlight Theatre! So my wonderful parents babysat. Which of course meant they had to play a game. Here's my dad and Bradley checking out the newest version of Jumanji.
They also got to watch a movie. Juliet got quite comfy on Grandma.
Bill Burr was very fun and we had an excellent crew of friends there with us.
Nathan and his dudes. We're so cool going out to these things. I'm so tired and want to sit at home and read forever. Fall activities are no joke.
Juliet helped me test out the new toddler version of Rhino Hero. Happily, I never get tired of trying out new games with my kids!
Nathan has trained Juliet to talk to us about her day at bedtime. Every conversation starts with her saying "Today was perfect!"
More robotics. This is so fun but it is a lot.
We're so grateful to my mom for both hosting the meetings and helping coach - the coaching bit kind of got sprung upon her. We thought we could handle it on our own but then we kept having to ask her coding questions so she ended up sticking around for the meetings. So so helpful!
It's really good the kids are enjoying it though. Makes it worth it!
Juliet and me at another picnic. I love our chats.
Then Juliet decided to sweep the back deck and a very foolish Layla came out to keep us company.
Caught by a 2 year old!
Nathan took Eleanor to her Friday night Girl Scout event. Friends, fun activities, and glow sticks, there was really no way this couldn't be a hit.
It's so nice that she's enjoying Girl Scouts so much. She's in a great troop.
I got a bunch of new games from Tryazon and decided to take a picture of me holding them all. Juliet decided to jump in and help.
Later that evening we decided to compare Patrick and Eleanor's hands. Guess whose were bigger? The kid is a beast.
It was Girl Scout weekend at the Lousiburg Cider Mill so we skipped church to join Eleanor's friend and her troop leader. Fitting in all the activities in the fall can be tricky business.
Patrick was really into whatever this thing is. He figured out how to do it and kept making the bell ring. No wonder he has legitimate arm muscles. Poor Eleanor could barely lift the sledgehammer up. Same here, Eleanor, same.
She had a lovely time in the corn pit with her friend Daisy.
The boys loved the air pillow.
Juliet was an inch too small to go on the air pillow (thank goodness) and so she stuck to the corn with Eleanor and her friend.
We took a tractor ride to the back part of the cider mill.
There were slides, an obstacle course, and more photo ops!
We took on the corn maze!
Please note Juliet's seasonal attire. We're so fancy.
Nathan kept tabs on the map for his group.
Mallory and I did not and we ended up having the girls ditch us to take an illegal short cut through the corn to join Nathan's group and then we wandered around lost for a while until we finally found the entrance and left that way.
Apparently Daisy decided to tell Bradley that she and Eleanor were the ones who had won at the corn maze and Bradley felt disbelief and a small amount of rage that one person could be so terribly wrong.
The girls went back to the corn which was probably for the best. Although Juliet insisted on jumping in from the said and yelling "cannonball!" In case you're wondering, yes, a sibling taught her to do this. Probably Patrick.
Family picture on our way out. We're cute!
Then it was home to watch some football. I got Juliet the next size up in a matching Seahawks outfit with Eleanor, I even amaze myself sometimes.
We went on a family walk to the park after dinner and I took each kid on a little bonus walk with me, one at a time. Except for Patrick and Juliet, doubled up there which was exactly the correct decision because they both stopped every time they saw a flower or pretty acorn and collected it. It took us at least 30 minutes to make it home from the near park playground.
The next day my dad took Juliet for one of their regular Monday morning outings.
Deanna Rose! One time they went and were the only ones in the baby goat pen and the goats were willing to knock Juliet over to get at the bottle of milk she had, so now they tend to go to the Koi pond and feed the fish and Juliet plays in the playgrounds a bunch and also enjoys the little garden area. Poor goats.
Then she comes home to me and we play some more. Taking her to the playground is so much fun.
I had a ladies board game night and this is the face Patrick makes when he notices the treats I'm putting out. Nathan put everyone to bed and then they all snuck down to see me and I gave everyone cookies because it turns out I've decided on the parenting role I want to fill and responsible parent isn't it.
We had a lovely time at our game night. Even tried out a new game Tryazon sent me. They sent five games this time, it was quite the responsibility to try them all!
Back to gymnastics for Juliet. It's been really fun, I look forward to taking her every Tuesday.
She's doing really well in the class too, she actually listens to the teacher (sometimes) and doesn't just run around doing whatever she wants while I hunt her down and drag her back to whatever section she's supposed to be in.
Then we got home and she climbed up the outside of the stairs while telling me, "I'll not die right here, I promise!" I often talk to them about falling to their death and it seems she has absorbed the message.
It was finally chilly enough one morning for the girls to wear their matching Halloween attire. Oh my, the way Juliet looks up at Eleanor makes me so happy.
It was a beautiful afternoon and we didn't have anything going on right after school so I insisted that everyone go outside.
They played on their own at the park while I ran back and forth to the house to check on potatoes in the oven. In this short amount of time 1) The boys had an acorn fight 2) Patrick ran away to chase a dog that was off its leash 3) He stopped when he found the neighborhood cat Chewie and stayed at his house to pet him 4) I ran into all sorts of people I knew while my children kept coming back to me independently and I had to explain why I left a 2 year old alone in the park supervised by her older sister (to be fair, I feel pretty good about that choice) and 5) Patrick got poison ivy. But we didn't discover it for another few days.
That evening Eleanor had her first horseback riding lesson after her horse camp in the summer. Please note the Gatorade she has because this is her sport.
She did so well and it was very fun to get in some extra quality time with her in the car. It's a bit of a drive out to Lees Summit to get to the stable but I'm glad she has an activity she enjoys.
Then we were back to it with Lego Robotics on Thursday! After I led my church MOPS group on Wednesday. This fall has been fun but it has also been a lot.
Friday morning we discovered Patrick's poison ivy and I had to take him into the pediatrician even though I knew what he had and just needed them to give me the prescription for his medication. We went to the UPS store on the way there and stopped by the church on the way home to help with the bake sale I was helping run for MOPS. Patrick was so delighted to get to be in on all the things and did not want to go back to school.
Here he is showing Juliet how to do a thumbs up. It's good he went back to school though because I got to participate in the parent lunch for his class (which I had missed for the older two, oops) and he was a Ninja award winner for good behavior in his class.
Then Juliet and I came home for bonus picnic.
We had friends over that night for a board game party. Our friends also have four children. Just our two families together is a fair amount of people.
We had a great time testing out Tryazon games with the Krenns.
Patrick had a soccer game the next morning. They had team pictures at 7:30AM on a Saturday. Crazy business!
When they got back, Eleanor and I went to go get a long overdue pedicure.
I had promised to do this way back over Memorial Day weekend when I had gotten sick and we had to cancel a trip. It only took until the end of September to have a free window of time on a weekend to go get a pedicure together!
Juliet was mad about being ditched so she made pumpkin art with her wonderful daddy.
And I figured - if we're going to do this, we're going to do this right. So we got toes and fingers done and even added in some nail art. For Eleanor, I just did my toes because I am definitely not as fancy as she is.
Outside the salon!
When we got home! I even picked out the same color of toenail polish as my cool kid. I've never had blue toes before!
Juliet took this picture.
Huggies with my girls! Real conversation we had with Juliet right after this:
Juliet: I just tooted in my mouth.
Me and Eleanor (look at each other and say simultaneously): ... that's a burp.
We all found the exchange to be quite hilarious.
A closeup of the toes. Sunshine and rhinestones!
She has sand dollars and seashells on her fingers. I've definitely never seen such fancy nails before, it was definitely worth the wait!
Meanwhile, the boys went down to the lake for a cub scout afternoon with Nathan.
We got ready for a neighborhood party in the park and like a champion parent, I gave my girls a pretzel from a food cart for their dinner.
Champion toddler eating the treat of her choice from a food cart. I told Bradley to just break off a chunk of his rice krispie treat for Juliet and vehemently told by the 2 year old that she needed her own, thank you very much. She at a big chunk of it and then couldn't eat anymore. Sigh. She was so proud though.
Then we watched the movie Inside Out in the park and it was very cute and fun. Side note: my highlight of the afternoon was having our neighbor bring out spicy chips for me and when I just said they were yummy and not very spicy, he brought out a Carolina Reaper and had me try that. I told him I wanted him to give me something that would make me cry and that did the trick. It was amazing. I had to drink a bunch of milk and even eat some banana bread to make the fire go away. So much fun. Gotta get my kicks in somehow!
