Farmers Market

This was supposed to be part of last weeks blog, but somehow it didn't make it and it was so late that I wasn't going to mess with it. So, tonight it gets a post of it's own. We have met so many great families here and have already made friends that will be very hard to say goodbye to. One of those families is the Manwarings. He is also a resident so his wife Ruth and I can relate to each other. Although he is on his second to last year of a SEVEN year neuro surgery residency, so she is pretty much a saint! Their kids are almost the exact same ages as our younger three and they all get along really well. Two Saturdays ago they invited us to go check out a really fun farmer's market in St. Petersburg. The kids were excited about seeing their friends, but not so much about where we were going, until we got there and it suddenly became the coolest place ever. So many awesome booths to check out, great food, street performers, and the most amazing balloon guy I have ever seen! Laila's is turned around, but she got Ariel.

 

 

One of the performances that we happened to catch was a group of break dancers. We got to stand right up in the front which the kids thought was awesome, and Macy and her friend Quincy got invited up to participate. Quincy was a little shy at first but ended up showing off a cartwheel at the end which I sadly didn't get, but Macy showed off some mad jumping skills!

Happy Easter

Wow. So, apparently I'm not so good at the once a week blogging thing. I really am trying though. Our day to day is pretty much the same. School work and beach, or if the weather isn't cooperating we go to Barnes an Noble or just hang out at home.

We did have the great opportunity to drive down to Fort Lauderdale last weekend for the temple open house. My kids have never been inside a temple so I was really excited for them to go. We made a fun weekend out of it and stayed with Beau and his family. The kids had a blast, of course and were really mad when we told them it was time to go. The adults even got to sneak away Saturday night for a movie. Having a live in babysitter is SO awesome! Life changing, really.

Not even a little rain was going to stop them from swimming!

And I would be completely ungrateful if I didn't mention today of all days how much the Savior means to me. Because of Him, I have these four eternal blessings to call my own. We didn't plan a lot in the way of Easter activities this weekend because Josh has been on call for the last two days, but last night the kids and I sat down and watched a couple of the Mormon Messages then read in the scriptures about the resurrection and had a really nice talk about what it means for us. It was really wonderful to see the understanding in them and know that they are already gaining their own testimonies of him.

We had to be earlier than usual for church this morning so I wasn't able to take pictures until we got home and Laila just wanted to go inside and eat her treats. Also, after we got done Samm said "wait mom, we have to take a picture of you!" I kept telling he no, but she kept insisting, so I gave in. Then she said "now do your most beautiful pose." I'm not sure if this is my most beautiful pose, but she seemed satisfied with it.

After a much needed nap for both mom and Laila, we piled in the car again and drove to my uncle Tony and aunt Patrice's house. Thy only live about 20 minutes from us, so we are hoping to get together with them again before we leave. My aunt Melissa was in town visiting with her family, so it was really fun for the kids to get to meet new relatives. They had a lot of fun with their 2nd cousins Bohdi and Skylar, and they got to meet their Great Grandpa Hug. He and Samm really hit it off.

Oh, I almost forgot. Macy decided this week that she was tired of brushing her hair so she asked me to cut it like aunt Krista's. And since I am equally as tired of the crying when I brush her hair I didn't hesitate to say yes. I was a little worried at first that she might be upset or think she looks like a boy, but so far she has been thrilled with it. And I think she looks adorable!

Lesson Learned...maybe

Three years ago I posted this story about a cute little kindergarten boy and his scarecrow day outfit. I forgot about it until the night before and then somehow managed to pull together a pretty darn good costume. Just sayin. Anyway, my mom's comment was "Save it because Macy will need it in a few years."

Guess what I did not do and guess what I remembered last night! Yup, today was scarecrow day again. With no saved costume and no more energy I had to come up with something that Macy would be excited to wear to school. Fortunately, she did not want any straw because it might be itchy and we found an old shirt in James clothes pile that she was pretty excited about. All I really had to do was sew a few patches of fabric on her jean skirt and then tie some raffia in her hair as her "hat."

She does make the cutest little scarecrow girl I have ever seen.

I'm actually really glad that I didn't go all out again, because on Fridays I go to Macy's class and put together the kid's folders with all their work from the week, and there were only a few kids that had dressed up. And most of the other kids were just wearing either a plaid shirt or a straw hat. I guess James was probably way over done his year.

And this has nothing to do with scarecrows, but it did happen today also, so I'm caboosing it on. Macy's teacher is the same one that James had and she is really great about letting the siblings come to class to visit or help out. When I told her that James was homeschooling she asked me to bring him along with me on Fridays. Last week he just helped me put together the folders, but this week she asked him to check some counting books the kids had done and then stamp them. Then, she asked him if he would mind reading a book to the class. I honestly didn't think he would say yes, but he did and it was so sweet. I got a little emotional watching him because I am just so proud of him and how far he has come not just in school work but in his confidence. I could tell that he felt pretty proud of himself after as well, especially when the teacher said he was now the designated Friday reader.

Catch up

I have honestly been avoiding blogging, because I hate playing catch up. The longer I put it off though the worse it will get. And I got a not so subtle hint text message from my mother in law this evening, so I guess I better get back into it.

A few weeks ago I took Macy and Laila to my parents house in Oregon. It was a very long day of travel, but the girls did really well and it certainly beats driving four days to get there so I can't complain too much.

I love visiting my family, but the time change is a killer for me. Usually by the time I've adjusted it's time to come back home. The first 2 days Laila and I were up at the crack of dawn, so one morning we decided to go for a walk @ 6am. I'm not usually a fan of being up that early, but it was nice to be out when things were still quiet.

The reason for our trip was because my brother David came home from his mission to Brazil and my brother Shaun just left this week for his mission to Fiji, so we had a small window of time when everyone could all get together. Most of the spouses stayed behind, which was a bummer, but it was still nice to have all the siblings plus Natalie and Bri all together.

I did get some beautiful flowers for mother's day while I was there from a handsome guy back in Michigan!

We had to take 3 flights to get back home and just when we were almost there, our last flight of the day got cancelled leaving us stranded in NJ. I was an emotional mess because I was so tired and just wanted to be back home, but the airline did put us up in a hotel and give us food vouchers so we survived and made it home just fine the next day.

After a quiet and relaxing two weeks back home, Josh and I celebrated our 13 year anniversary. We actually both forgot it was our anniversary until Josh said something about the next day being the 27th and I suddenly remembered what day it was. I guess that means we have been married for a long time now. He did buy me a very nice present a few days later (one he had been planning on, but forgot to get) Actually it is for both of us. We got a small swing to go on our back porch so we can sit outside with the kids in the evenings while the play. One of the things I love most about Josh is that he loves getting out and doing things together as a family. Any time he has a day off we are out doing something together, even if it's just a bike ride to get some ice cream. I also love to sit and just relax together though so now we can go out and be active during the day and then come home and sit on our swing in the evening. It's perfect!

All of the kids were off playing with friends this night so it was just a shirtless Laila in her favorite boots entertaining us.

I guess we really haven't been up to as much as I thought, but life is hectic with kids and after being around several of my siblings who have served foreign speaking missions, I finally decided to do something that I have wanted to do for a very long time. I'm learning Spanish! I found a great little online course that I can learn at my own pace, but I find myself having to listen to the lessons over and over before I finally get it. Then, just when I think I've actually learned something, I call my sister Krista and I can't carry on any conversation with her other than "Hello, how are you?" It's frustrating at times, but I'm also surprised at how much I am enjoying it. I told Josh that I am learning Spanish so that in a couple years he can take me to Spain.

And just for recording funny things purposes, I made some guacamole yesterday for the first time ever, and when we had it for dinner tonight Macy said "This whackamole is really good!" We had a good giggle about that but decided that whackamole is a great name for it.

And if anyone is interested, I posted a recipe for dairy free fudge bars on my Spinach Project blog.

Just a picture of my two shopping buddies

 

Now that we are eating differently I can't just head to one grocery store anymore and get everything I need , which usually means grocery shopping day is very long! These two are such troopers and hardly ever complain. In fact, Macy always asks "Can we go to Trader Joe's today?" Two little girls pushing little carts makes for very slow shopping and sometimes reckless driving, but it's worth it.

 

 

Oh, and if my blogging is a little scare for the next couple of weeks it's because I am busy painting and sewing a special surprise room for James. Here is a sneak peak.

Trying hard to pretend that it's spring...

"It's really warm outside, mom!"

 



And then the reality of where we live sets in... "Maybe I should get my coat."

It's the little things

Winter has settled in to stay for a while, so were doing the best we can to make our days less blah.

 

She's 5!!!

Yes, it has been a very long time since my last post. No, I do not have an explanation other than I just didn't feel like blogging. To be honest, I still don't, but the pictures are piling up. Instead of trying to go all the way back and play catch up though I'm just going to jump right in on where we are right now.

And, where we are right now is that Macy is now FIVE! She told a lady at the store the other day that she turned five and the girl said "five? you look seven!" And it's true, she has always looked and acted so much older than she is that sometimes I forget that she really is just five. So, in honor of my big but still little five year old, here are five fun facts about Macy

1. Her nickname is Macy Face or just Face for short.
2. She LOVES sour cream/cream cheese/ranch/anything that is creamy and can be used for dipping, although scooping is more like what she does.
3. She loves to play board games and always asks me if I want to verse her.
4. She LOVES to win/ HATES to loose.
5. She always wants to sleep in bed with James or Samm, but she hates being touched while she sleeps (just like her mom) so I always find her in her own bed when I check on her.

Since Macy turned the magical five this year she got to have a family party and her very first friend party, and was incredibly spoiled!

Our family party was really just cake and ice cream with presents and Q tips because I always forget to buy candles. The Q tips were Josh's idea.

The one thing that Macy had been asking for forever is pink flarp. As you can see she was pretty happy that her wish finally came true.

She also got a bow and arrow set, because as girly as Macy is when is comes to painting her nails, she just isn't that girly when it comes to toys.

We just had Macy's friend party today and she was pretty happy about the whole thing. She has been planning her Dora party for quite some time.

As the kids were arriving we had them sit at the table and color Dora characters that we cut out and glued to brown paper. It really helped to keep the kids busy while we were waiting for those few last stragglers, and doubled as a table cloth when it was time for cake and ice cream!

The entertainment for the party was a carnival where they played games and earned tickets that they used to buy prizes at the end of the party. Macy invited a lot of kids so I came up with the idea for a carnival to keep all the kids having fun with games but not as one massive chaotic group. I wasn't quite sure if it would go as smoothly as I had planned, but it was a huge hit. Even James who insisted that he was not going to help with a Dora party had a lot of fun. He was in charge of the basketball game and was VERY generous with his tickets.

We had a little coin toss.

And a Boots the monkey banana bean bag toss. Sadly he had to be a hair-less Boots, but none of the kids seemed to notice.

Samm was in charge of a pin the mouth on Dora game. She drew it herself and cut out all of the mouths. Samm also did all of the decorating for me.

The big hit of the carnival was this fishing/ bow and arrow game. They got to shoot the arrow over and then it came back with a ticket attached. Macy invited our neighbor Jenny who is 11 and she was nice enough to sit behind the blanket and help out.

We did orange cupcakes with pink frosting and star sprinkles, since Dora wears orange shorts and a pink shirt. Those two ladies in the mirror were nice enough to hang out and help as well. Having the extra adults around was really nice.

So many kids!

So many presents! Laila thinks they are all for her. She still isn't talking much, but the word mine is pretty easy to understand.

Phew, shooting arrows is hard work!

Parties really are a lot of work, but it's so worth it to see how excited the kids get. Macy has been waiting a long time for this party and she was all smiles the whole time.

More from Macy

"Look mom I'm Santa Claus!"

 

"Hey wait, why does Santa have a claw in his name?"

Kid Quotes

The best part of my day is when one of the kids says something so funny that I can't wait for Josh to get home so I can tell him. Sadly, I keep forgetting to record them here so that one day they can read them and laugh also. I'm recommitting myself right now to doing better, so here are a few from this week.
'

I was driving in Josh's car with Macy a few days ago when she said "Dad has really awesome music in his car, huh?"

I replied with a half hearted "uh huh"

And then she said "I don't like awesome music because it's too loud and screechy. I'm a girl so I like calm music."

Oh man, then I started laughing because she obviously has picked up on the fact that mom does not like loud music and dad does.

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Just this afternoon Josh walked in the door right after the kids got home from school which is very unusual. He mentioned that he had an hour before he was officially on call and when I asked what he was going to do with his free hour he said that he was going to bond with his son.

James was standing next to us and asked "what's bonding?"

So I told him that basically it meant that dad was going to rough him up a little and that he would cry, but that they would become better friends because of it.

Without even hesitating he said "But I'm already his friend!"

What girl wouldn't swoon

This morning we were having out family favorite Saturday morning breakfast of waffles with buttermilk syrup. We don't always have waffles, usually it's french toast or pancakes, but I do always make buttermilk syrup. The kids love it, so it has become our Saturday tradition. Anyway, Macy was sitting on Josh's lap and I asked "Why do you want to marry Dad someday?"  Something she tells me frequently she wants to do.

Her response. "Because he" (Points to the hair on his arms)

Yes, she wants to marry her dad because he has hair on his arms.

I'm seeing a very hairy husband in her future.

As a disclaimer, Josh is not overly hairy, but he does have dark hair on his arms.

4 years of Macy!

I have never been more scared to have a baby than I was on the day Macy was born. The thought of three seemed totally overwhelming, but the second I layed eyes on her I was hooked, and she has had my heart ever since.

"I'm one!" And I love cupcakes! Any food really. Macy has always been my eater.

This was the year of Wookie. Macy's alternative for Grandma.

Three was the year I officially said goodbye to my baby.

And on Monday she turned 4!

We celebrated as a family all day since the kids had no school and Josh actually had the day off. We told Macy she could pick anywhere she wanted to go for lunch and she chose Applebees, which is when Josh and I decided that are kids are way too spoiled. We gave the kids the old "Why when we were kids, just going to McDonalds was a huge treat..." lecture and informed them that there would be no eating out for an entire month.

Anyway, after dinner we started off our party by decorating cupcakes.

Which turned into face decorating

Which turned into "Oh shoot, this doesn't come off!" Josh scrubbed pretty hard right away and got his off, but Samm and James went to school the next day with slightly blue and green lips.

Then we played pin the mouth on backpack, because Macy LOVES Dora! Samm drew it for her.

Even mom got to play!

When we finally got around to presents, Macy was suuuuper excited to finally get the happy napper that she has been wanting. And I was suuuper glad it was actually on sale when I went to buy it and didn't have to spend $30 on it.

And after the party was over I went upstairs to get Laila ready for bed and the girls had a little impromptu photo shoot with Dad. Macy adores Samm and Samm is really sweet to her and always plays with her when she gets home from school.

Um, I think they were being cheetah cubs.

Happy Birthday Macy face! We sure love you!