The Dawson's Visit

Having our extended family, a.k.a. The Dawson Clan, in town is a guaranteed good time! And this trip was no exception! Luckily since we moved we had the space to let the kids play without feeling too cramped. All 5 kids did a great job throughout the week sharing toys and playing somewhat nice with each other. We did have a couple melt downs here and there, but even Beck behaved himself for the most part =) I think he found his future girlfriend too. He was pretty obsessed with Julia and would often times lead her places, putting his palm on her back. One time I even overheard him saying, "Over here pretty girl." Clearly he was picking up on my convos with Julia =) But it was HILARIOUS! The temp would go from beautiful one day to rainy and chilly the next, but luckily we were able to get out enough so as not to feel stir crazy. Here are a couple pics from our time together...

Exploring the wooded area between Ky's school and the park. They were digging with sticks looking for dino bones (rocks)

Joey went running with all the big kids and Newie decided to meet them half way on their way back. I think Julia was chilling in the wagon =)

Snack time

Newie was super excited to decorate a pumpkin. He got a hold of the stamp pad and wouldn't let go to save his life! Needless to say, this day ended with a bath!

Jordan was very focused painting his entire pumpkin green!

Our workstation....

 All 5 of the kiddos enjoying an easy minute on the couch...

The final pumpkins...

Joey playing with Beck and Jordan. These two were so funny with their competitive natures combined...lots of testosterone flowing already =)

Sand box fun...

Terrible cheese face by Newie here...

The best group shot we could get. I laugh out loud every time I see this...

Noodle doing his thang, whatever that may be...

Beck was pretty protective of his firetruck anytime we played outside. Here he is being "firefighter Beck"

Jordan and Ky playing some tackle soccer. This boy loves to run and chase...no, a destination or goal doesn't need to exist...just let me RUN!

And although my kids taught theirs more negative habbits than the other way around...not sure I'll ever forget Newie picking up on Julia's random spitting noises, a "gift" newie still blesses us with on a daily basis. Thanks for that one Jess! Love you!

Fall is Here...

I can't believe it is already October! We've been so busy with soccer, girl scouts, house projects (ok, really its the same project that will never end..and no, the bathroom still isn't done yet) that I feel like I'm going to blink and it will be Christmas time! This past week we met our extended family, Steph, Kenz, and Ash at a nearby park and let all the kiddos play after school. The weather was great and the company was even better! I'm DETERMINED to get this amazing family to move into the house next door which went up for sale this week! It is Ky and Kenz's DREAM to be able to pass a basket with notes and pictures between bedroom windows. Steph, are you really going to deny these two cuties their most favorite WISH????? How can you say no to them?

Silly face

Climbing trees, our little monkeys!

cool guy playing with brother's glasses..if only I could get him to keep a pair on!

Sweet girl walking to school last week. She looked so stinkin' cute in her new outfit nana got her, i had to snap a pic.

Kylie and her two new bff's Katie and Angela after their girl scout meeting this week. These twins live just down the street from us and Katie is in Ky's first grade class. They are both such sweet little girls and I feel so fortunate to have met them!

Uncle Gary and Christina came into town last weekend and Kylie was Super excited to take a couple pictures with them before they left for the airport. We always love when these two come to stay with us!

And just in case we needed a reminder of when Uncle Gary first met Kylie, here it is...its been almost 7 years =)

School Stuff...

In classic Kylie fashion, she came home as Knight of the Week on the second week of school. Her friend Katie was chosen the first week, which Kylie said "made her being chosen second ok" =). I'm always amazed at this girls GOODNESS! I am so proud of her ability to respect, listen, and act in a way that's appreciated. I wish I could take some credit, but really, she was born that good. It's my job to not screw that up....tough order if you know me =)

 Beck started preschool 2 days a week this fall and so far he's loving it. Couldn't have cared less when I dropped him off the first day. he said, "alright bye" and turned around to go play. Clearly, he was ready for a new adventure.

Just a quick random shot of Newie. I love this picture because it seems like such a private moment you're witnessing.

My big man has been all about dad the last couple months. It doesn't matter if dad is using the wet saw outside of cooking dinner inside, beck is always right next to him. his teacher always comments that he's a great helper in class.

We're about halfway through our insect/bug lessons...i'm less than thrilled with my planning on this one. Some of the activities have been fun, many were just so ambitious in nature i never actually tried tackling them. The idea of wrapping a kid in toilet paper to teach the concept of a cocoon sounds fun....it also sound messy, and wasteful and when push came to shove, I chickened out....

But in all seriousness, I oftentimes get frustrated with trying to teach Beck. He seems so uninterested and unreceptive. He's certainly not my little kylie. Ky was super smart, super quick, and LOVED learning. Plus, she's a girl, putting her one step ahead of males everywhere when it comes to readiness to do anything.

However, just the other day I sat and watched beck put together an Alphabet puzzle. I was amazed when he knew a good half of the letters. Now, if I asked him myself, he wouldn't answer...or answer with some random letter without even glancing at what i was pointing at. so maybe my teaching isn't a lost cause after all....

Ky in her new Firecrackers uniform. She's fitting in so well with her new team and actually scored her first goal as a firecracker in their second game of the season!

First Day of First Grade...

Kylie was all smiles this morning as she headed out the door for her first day of school. I have so much to learn from this little girl. Her ability to push through her nerves and take on any challenge is so inspiring. She had a wonderful first day, and when asked what her favorite part was, she aptly replied, "All of it!". I love my little bit and she never ceases to amaze me with her positive attitude and love of life. It really is infectious.

summer time

 The weeks just keep flying by faster and faster. Before I know it Ky will be starting 1st grade and Beckster will be in preschool...then two days a week, i'll be down to only one child for  5 hours a day...I'm not even sure I know what to do with that much freedom! We've been busy swimming, playing with friends, and of course we're gearing up for back to school. Here are a couple pictures from one of our visits with Makenzie, ky's best friend. We're so fortunate to have this family in our lives. These two girls have been hanging out since they were around 18 months old....crazy to think of them that little, but you can tell they've formed a special bond over the years!

Here are a couple pictures from demoing the boy's bathroom. I wish I could say we were making progress, but every time we think we're getting somewhere, we realize we've made some mistake somewhere and have to backtrack....i guess that's the life of first time do it yourself-ers....one step forward, two steps back!

ky's signing and dating one of the studs in the bathroom....

Beckster has been all about daddy lately. from sweeping up leaves in the yard to demo in the bathroom, he's constantly begging daddy to let him help...

We've spent a great deal more time in from of the t.v. the last week or so watching the olympics after Newie goes down to bed. This isn't an unusual scene around here right now...

We just finished up the last of our dinosaur lesson plans and the last day was a complete hit!

Here beck is about to dig for fossils during his snack time. They're having chocolate pudding and white chocolate chip bones! ignore his angry face, he'd just gotten up from nap and wasn't a fan of taking a picture...

I pulled out the empty easter eggs and hid them around the house, ky and beck went to town finding the "dino" eggs that t-rex (mom) had hid from them. Then he said he wanted a turn at hiding them. He ran into our bedroom and threw them all in a pile on the floor...didn't matter, Newie loved it! Here they are rushing to pick them all up! This kept them entertained and moving for about half an hour...

Beck showing me his best dino face...

We each took our turn at making our own dino mask as our end of unit craft. this is the one i put together. you can see the kids masks below. not sure they look much like dinos, but they LOVED this craft!

I think Beck has enjoyed this themed lesson the best so far, but we still have two more to get through...something tells me this will be bleeding into the school year a little, but that's fine too, might be easier to do with ky at school anyways....

Beck has decided he wants to be a dinosaur for Halloween this year...yes, we've already started figuring out costumes! is that sad?? my husband seems to think so =)

playtime...

Another day, another dollar....oh wait...i don't actually make any money.... =)

we've moved on to our next five days of lesson fun and this time its all about dinosaurs. We've been hard at work learning all about the letter "D", making cool dino crafts, and even showing off our skills in the kitchen with dino foot print cookies 

This set of lessons have been much easier to incorporate more advanced stuff for kylie to do. We had a long conversation about how dinosaurs became extinct. She totally understood it, beck, not so much. for the rest of the day he ran around the house saying a big rock hit the media room and killed the dinos!!!! (meteor = media room in his head for some reason!) It was pretty funny.

I actually pulled the camera out for a bit when the kids were in ky's room this week playing rock star after bath time....

the last one is the face I got when I told beck to look at the camera, something that is apparently IMPOSSIBLE for him to do!