Family Update

Archer is home!!!  He spent the past week at scout camp.  I missed him a lot!  The house just doesn't feel right when one of the kids is missing.  The kids and I kept busy during the week with bowling, movies, grandma's house, and a Rapids game.  We had a really good time, but everything felt slightly off.  Picasso had a sleepover in the girls room, they set up the rollaway bed for him and had movie nights every night.  Of course Archer got home two hours early.  I was at a photo shoot and my sweetheart was with the other kids at Picasso's baseball game.  Instead of heading to the baseball game I went home to get my boy.  One of the first things that needed to be  done was get that boy a shower!  He had a fantastic time at camp, but came home smelling a bit rank.  His younger siblings were so excited that he was home!  That evening I took him out on a mother-son date to see Red 2 and dinner at the Alamo Drafthouse.  We had a great time and both laughed a lot during the movie.  I love that he is old enough to be a movie buddy for me!  All the kids love seeing movies, but Archer is old enough to see more grown-up type movies.  Now that he is home he is back to pet sitting, baby sitting, and working on his rank advancement for scouts.

Princess had been saving up her money all year to buy  an American Girl doll.  Let's just say those suckers are pricey!  Angel has one that she got for Christmas a couple years ago.  Santa almost cried that year.  Not really, but Santa was counting pennies to see if he could pay the elves!  A friend of mine was selling a brand new, still in box, American Girl doll for $70.  Thirty dollars off in store price!  My friend agreed to hold onto the doll for a couple weeks so Princess could get enough money together.  Princess didn't quite have enough money, but another friend hired her as a "mommy's helper" to come play with her kids so she could get some things done at home.  She finally had enough money, so the time had come.  She took her money and purchased her doll.  She named her Comet.  I am Comet's grandma or so I've been told.  I'm way too young to be a grandma.  Every night since when Princess gets hugs and kisses for bed, so does Comet.  Comet came to church with us too.  I am glad that she loves her doll so much.  She worked hard to get her!

Picasso has his last baseball game this week.  It has been a fun, but rough season for him.  He has never played before, but I think he has the makings of being a really good player.  We just need to get past the flinching when a pitch is coming.  He'll get there though.  He's worked really hard to be the best that he can be for his first season.  I hope he gives it another go next season!  I'm not sure if he will.  If he chooses not to, that is okay too.  He is a great kid no matter what.  He can keep drawing and being artistic instead if that is what he chooses to do.  As long as he keeps making me laugh, we are all good. 

Angel has been loving her kindle.  That girl is engrossed in it most days.  I worry that she spends too much time listening to her books and not reading them, but I know she does still read.  Her daddy loves his audiobooks, so that obviously has rubbed off.  We are going to be looking into surgery on her eye.  With her amblyopia she still gets a lot of eye turn when she is tired.  The surgery would tighten that up and help a lot with the eye turn and hopefully make it easier on her so she doesn't have to work quite so hard to keep that eye in place.  She amazes me every day with how hard she works at fighting her disability.  I only hope that someday I can be as strong as she is!

So that's us in a nutshell for now.  We are moving along, a day at a time.  Some days are crazy, some are "boring", some are busy, but they are always full of love.

Family Vacation

Family vacation, we had one!  Normally it is just the kids and I traveling together, going on our adventures.  My sweet husband can rarely go with us.  For him to have two full weeks off of work was crazy!  Crazy in a good way.  We started off our vacation with an eleven hour drive to Saint George, UT.  It was a long drive and I get bored easily as the passenger.  At one point I told my husband he needed to let me drive as I couldn't handle the just sitting there doing nothing anymore.  Patience young one, patience!  The kids may have been a tad more patient during that part of the drive than I, probably.  We spent the following day in Saint George with my brother-in-law and his family.  Seriously love those guys a lot!  The kids had a great time hiking the red rocks, sleeping on the trampoline, and just running around with the cousins.  Archer is his young cousins favorite to follow around, cause he's so big.  Good thing he likes the little ones!

On Memorial Day we hit the road for California.  Arizona and Nevada were hot, flat, and dry.  Just as I suspected they would be.  It was supposed to be a quick six hour drive, nothing compared to the eleven the day before.  However we did not take into account the gamblers heading back to California from Las Vegas.  Oh my goodness!  A twenty minute drive turned into TWO HOURS of stop and, every now and then, go traffic.  It was madness.  Made it to my brother's a few hours later than expected and we had a nice birthday dinner with my mom.  Happy birthday mommy!

Turns out that my niece in St George had a tummy bug and unfortunately 3 of my 4 kids caught it.  I woke up the next morning to find that my sweet, amazing niece had cleaned up puke not once, but twice the night before!  Poor girl.  Thankfully the tummy bug only lasted a couple hours and the kids were better for the graduation that night.  My niece woke up to vomit and ended her day a high school graduate.  There's a story for her.

The next day was Disneyland!  My niece, nephew, dad, step-mom, brother, and sister all came with us.  It was so much fun!  Archer especially loved the fact that he got to go off with the teenagers for half the day.  The younger kids stayed with us and their grandparents and had fun exploring the kingdom.  We met the mouse and many others.  Rides were gone on.  Princess was freaked out by It's a Small World (thanks Doctor Who!).   Much laughter and many smiles were had.  As the night drew in it was time for fireworks!  We found a spot to sit and a gentleman that worked at Disneyland hustled over.  No!  You don't want to sit there, come with me I've got the perfect place for you.  And he did!  He set us up in a great spot with a view of the castle and the fireworks.  It truly was magical experiencing it all with my family.

The next day was meant to be day 2 of Disney.  Unfortunately Picasso woke up sick again.  This time it was pure exhaustion.  So Picasso and his dad took a four hour nap.  When he woke up he felt tons better.  So off to the beach we went.  My brother and niece joined us at the Santa Monica Pier.  The kids loved playing in the ocean, building in the sand, and stockpiling seaweed.  We wandered the pier and got our name made up with a drawing of sea related pictures.  The rides were all closed by then, but the lights and the music were beautiful.

Next morning, you guessed it, more vomiting.  Seriously NOT cool!  This time it was Princess early in the morning.  Thankfully after sleeping in she was good to go.  All the traveling and late nights sure was catching up with those kids.  We did another day of Disneyland and then the last day was California Adventure.  Picasso had been desperate to find "the duck".  Turns out Donald Duck spends his time in California Adventure!  We sat in a non-existent line for a good twenty minutes waiting for the duck.  It was completely worth it to see the joy in Picasso's eyes!  Roller coaster, ferris wheels, river rafting, bumper cars, more characters to meet.  Such an amazing time was had!  We could have used another day or two at the parks, but what we had was wonderful.

 

On our last day in California my sister-in-law made me arepas.  Venezuelan heaven in my mouth!  Seriously, I love those things.  I should try and make them myself sometime as it doesn't seem overly hard.  The food was the perfect send off to a wonderful week in California.  We piled back into the van and off we went.  We spent the night in Henderson, NV at the Springhill Suites (nice place, check them out if you need a hotel in the area).  We stopped in Vegas and checked out the M&M store.  The other things we wanted to see were no longer there or you now had to pay for and we didn't have the time.  So off we went.  We stayed our last night in Green River, UT at the River Terrace  (I will not stay again as they treated me awful when I checked in).  One last day of driving, with a stop at the John McConnell Math & Science Center (LOTS of fun).  Man was I glad to get home!  The three youngest were happy to be home in time for the last day of school.

Our vacation was truly fantastic.  All the time spent together, enjoying each others company was just what we needed.  I cannot wait for our next vacation.  Hopefully it won't be too long in coming!

Back in theSwing of Things

I suppose it is time to get back in the swing of things.  School is over and so is our vacation.  First things first, Archer did great!  He pulled his grades all up!!!  He ended the year with an A and the rest B's.  That was a lot of work, but hopefully it sunk in.  He and I went to the Alamo Drafthouse for dinner and Star Trek as a reward.  I really loved the movie (2nd time I saw it) and spending an evening with my boy was even better.  Truly hoping we don't have the same issues in the fall.  The rest the kids all did really well in school also.  Picasso struggles a bit with reading out loud, but his comprehension is in the advanced level so I'm not too worried.  We have Angel's 504 plan started and ready for the fall.  Phew!  I will definitely feel better having it in place before she gets to junior high. 

Picasso turned 9 last week!  Happy birthday bubba man!!!  He is such a great kid.  We went to a Colorado Rapids game with some of his friends for his birthday party.  The kids just laughed and smiled through the whole thing.  We probably drove the people around us a bit nuts, but it was a party!  Picasso has cub scout camp this week and is really enjoying that.

Princess turns 7 tomorrow!  I cannot believe that my baby is that old.  Where has the time gone?  I caved and she is getting a Build-a-Bear party with her friends.  What was I thinking?  Oh yeah, that Picasso just got a big party, even though we used Season Ticket Holder points for the party so it was essentially free, so it would only be fair to let her have the big party she has been begging for.  Sigh.  I am sure she will have a fantastic time with her friends and at the end of the day that is what matters.

Archer has been busy with pet sitting, 2 jobs already and 2 more next week.  He loves animals and enjoys making money taking care of them.  I enjoy him having spending money of his own.  We are working on getting some private soccer sessions set up with a Colorado Rapids player.  He is SO stoked! 

Princess is just having a good time being along for the ride.  She is definitely in pre-teen mode.  Holy smokes Batman!  Boys are so much easier in this regard!  I am just waiting for that girl to growth spurt like crazy one of these days.  Until then she is enjoying reading all the books on her kindle.  So glad we were able to get her one as she truly loves it.

My sweet husband is working hard at his new job and I am just trying to keep up with the kids.  All in all, we are doing great!  I will have to tell you all about Disneyland, but not now.  It is late and I am tired. 

End of the School Year

We're coming to the end of the school year and things are getting hectic.  Archer is still struggling with getting things turned in on time.  We have been staying on him about it pretty hard and I am sure he just wishes we would back off.  He has to learn that it is not acceptable to fall behind.  He could easily be a straight A student if he would just turn things in on time.  Over the summer I am planning on sitting down with him and coming up with consequences for grades.  Bad grades he will owe us money.  Good grades, not sure yet.  Maybe dinner and a movie out with mom or dad, maybe going out to an activity of his choice with a friend.  Not sure yet, but we'll come up with something.  I just do not want him to feel like he is only being punished.  We all work better with something good to work for, why not try it with his grades.  Many of his teachers have been emailing me thanks for supporting them and him in his studies.  I cannot imagine not!  He will get there, I know he will.  He is a great kid, this has just been a tough learning curve for him.


Angel just started an endangered animal project.  Of course it is due the Tuesday after we go out of town.  Another email to a teacher asking if my child can do a project early.  I did tell her today that I wanted her to try and have it done over the weekend so she has plenty of time to prepare.  She is doing her project on sand cats.  The kittens are SO cute!  I finally got the approval from the school to put her on a 504 plan next year.  Finally!  It took a couple years to get the approval, but I am looking forward to getting it in place so that she can get all the support she needs in the years to come.


Picasso is about 1/3 of the way done with his report on Scotland.  Through the spouses group with my sweet husbands work I was able to get a few recipes to choose from to make a treat for his project.  He is getting really excited and has learned a lot about the country.  He had his first baseball practice yesterday.  He has been anxiously awaiting it for months.  This is his first year playing and the teams first year with kids pitching.  Turns out he was in the top three kids for pitching!  I was surprised as we haven't really worked with him.  I am sure he will do great!  He will miss two practices while we are gone and then have his first game the week we get back.  I am looking forward to cheering him on!

Princess had a popsicle party today at school for her reading group.  It was their last time meeting for the year, so they had a fun hour.  She says it is okay, as she still gets to see that teacher for math.  She has loved being in both of her classes this year.  She and I will be attending her classes field trip next week.  I love being able to attend field trips with the kids! 

I am also finishing up preparations for the elementary school's yearbook signing party.  The kids always have an amazing time and I am glad I get to be a part of it.  I do love the school my younger kids attend.  The teachers and staff are all just amazing!  The middle school I am still up in the air about.  Archer is learning and advancing, for the most part the teachers seem great, it is just the ones that do not seem to know how to communicate that are driving me crazy.  At the end of the day it is my job as the parent to make sure the kids get done what they need to.  The teachers will do what they can, but the buck stops here.

After all that we will climb in the car and head out for our family vacation!  I am looking forward to that more than I can say.  It should be a fabulous trip.  I am looking forward to being able to spend all that time together.  So thankful to have family close enough by to have a built in house/pet sitter thanks to my awesome brother in law. 

Now to find the motivation to take care of everything that needs to be done.  I know it is hiding in their somewhere.

Shhhh....it's a secret!

Keeping a secret from my kids is HARD!  It is doubly hard when you want so badly to let them in on the secret.  My niece is graduating from high school in a couple weeks, yay her!  My kids all know that I am going out to the graduation.  What they do not know is that the whole family is going to California for the graduation and Disneyland!!!  Seriously is killing me not to tell them.  Especially when Picasso is begging me to take him with me as he will miss me too much.  When they are getting excited about end of the year school stuff, which they are going to miss.  When I'm trying to arrange finals for Archer without him knowing why he has to take some of his tests early. 

One more week and then I can tell them!  Only one more week of biting my tongue.  One more week of trying to not lie to them about stuff, but not being able to quite tell them the truth either.  They will be finding out through a gift with Disney shirts, Mickey and Minnie cake pops, and the tickets to Disneyland.  I am expecting a fairly epic freak out!  That should be pretty freaking fantastic.  It should be worth it all. 

Until then I will keep organizing our trip.  Getting house sitting/cat watching set up.  Arranging things with teachers so the kids will be good to miss the last week or so of school.  I am trying not to stress about my foot and the pain that it is still in.  Hopefully it will hold up well enough.  If not, what do you do.  I may make an appointment to go in to see the doc next week, but really there is nothing he can do at this point.  A little pain is worth the memories we will make on our first ever big family vacation.  I cannot wait!

Klutzy Me

I swear I am such a klutz sometimes!  I seriously wonder how I can walk without hurting myself.  Oh wait, I can't!  Really, most of the time I am fine and I can walk like a "normal person".  What is "normal" though?  In the past week I have popped my big toe out of joint, bruised the arch of my left foot (you know the one recovering from surgery?  yeah, that one), fell down the icy front stairs, and banged my big toe (same one as before) into the stairs while walking up them.  Let's just say I am currently covered in bruises all up my left side and extremely stiff.  Thankfully I did not seriously injure myself in all this "accident prone" behavior.  Who does that though?  I can see one instance, but all of them?  Thankfully those around me love me enough to help with the little things while I was so sore I could barely move.  Most of the crazy pain is gone. 

Next question would be, do you ever outgrow this behavior?  I am in my mid-30's and still fall down the stairs on a semi-regular basis.  *sigh*  Goal for this week?  No new bruises or injuries.  Wish me luck!  I'm going to need it.  Such a klutz!

America

A few weeks back Picasso's school teacher contacted me about helping her with a project.  The school's silent auction was coming up and his class was doing a 4th of July theme.  His teacher wanted to do a framed picture with the word AMERICA across it, but she wanted each letter to be made using the kids.  I was hooked!  I went in for my regularly scheduled volunteer time armed with a white backdrop and my camera.  The kids all wore red and blue to school that day.  The teacher had mapped out how many kids for each letter and we arranged them in the proper shapes while I took their pictures from above.  It worked great!  The kids had a ball making it and were all excited to see what it turned out as.  I got home, downloaded the pictures, and just played.  It turned out pretty great, if I do say so myself.  :)  I took the pictures into the teacher and she was very pleased.  She got it printed out, framed, and matted.  It looked gorgeous!  Of course Picasso then begged me to buy it at the auction.  Guess what is waiting to be hung in the den?  Yep, the framed America picture!  Honestly I got a great deal for it and would have paid about the same to get it printed and framed myself.  Picasso was SO excited that I bought it.  At the end of the day, that is what matters, making my kiddo smile.