Friday March 16

 Well our guests arrived safe and sound.

The kids have been having a lot of fun.

As we are speaking, they are outside in the dark playing 'capture the flag'.

And just loving it!

We went to Primos for dinner tonight.

It was a lot of fun!

And with Kaleb in tow...I think we got a great deal on food eaten vs. money paid :)

Thursday March 15

Madi has had a lot of fun with her book reports this year.

For this month she read "My brother Sam is dead."

She chose to make a dictionary for her book report.

It has the definitions of harder or different words and terms used in the book.

I thought it was a great idea.
Great job Madi.

We spent a lot of the day cleaning and getting things ready for our guests who are arriving tomorrow.

We are very excited for Nancy, Russ, Matthew, Kaleb, Heather and Lauren to come and visit.

We love having visitors :)

Wednesday March 14

We brought Alex home with us after school today.

Elsie has been wanting to have her over to play and it makes it easy to just grab her on our way home from school.

In the car on the way home Alex asked if maybe we could have some of those curly noodles for lunch.

I figured out that she meant Ramen noodles.

So we got home and made the noodles.

Alex was in heaven.

She kept saying things like 'Isn't it so great to have someone here that loves your noodles so much' and 'I am so happy when i don;t eat lunch at home before I come here, cause then I get these yummy curly noodles!'

She made me laugh cause she went on and on the whole time she was eating them.

And she was right....it did make me feel good :)

The girls had a fun time together....like they always do.

Too bad it was so rainy and cold outside, cause they love it outside!

*****

And look who finished putting stickers on his Buzz sticker chart????

Well, it has actually been finished for a little while...I just wasn't ready to spend $39.99 on a talking Buzz like he wanted.

This morning I had a IEP meeting for Elsie's transition into Kindergarten, and I told him if he was good while we sat through it...we would go to the store and find a Buzz.

When we got there.....he found this Buzz puzzle.

He has been in love with puzzles for the last little while....but the puzzles we have are giant puzzles.

Really easy for him to put together.

This one was a 150 piece, small piece puzzle.

But, oh he wanted it!

So I figured the $5.99 price tag looked a heck of a lot better then the $39.99 one!

So we grabbed it.

I am not sure if it will hold him over from wanting a talking Buzz....but he has sure been in love with this thing.

We have put it together several times now, and he is getting better and better.

I think that small pieces are a nice change for him.

Plus....it is a foil puzzle, so it looks metallic in the light (which actually makes it hard if you are looking for certain colors while putting the puzzle together :)

So he is a happy boy.

Tuesday March 13

The kids all know what jobs are expected of them....mostly.

But we were still having a hard time getting things done around here, without me doing a lot of yelling.

We all know that it is no fun for me to yell.

So I decided we needed to get back onto our 'chore chart' routine.

I wrote mostly all new chores to hang on our chore chart....cause the ones we had at the old house are not the same chores we have at this house :)

So all new daily chores for each day of the week.

Then I made a clip board for the big girls.

The clip board tells them what needs to be done, by what time in the morning and afternoon.

So it has wake up time at 7 and getting hair done at 7:30.....so they have to eat breakfast and get dressed and make their beds all before it is time to do hair.

And it goes on like that through the morning....all heading up in the right direction to leave right at 8:40 to make sure Elsie gets to school on time.

On the clip board, it tells them to do their morning or afternoon chores for that day.

It incorporates the chore chart, so they will know exactly what I want done, when I want it done.

And guess what????

I think it is gonna work!!!!

There really wasn't much fighting (in comparison to the normal day anyway...)

I think I myself need to have a clip board and chore chart list.....

I am the kind of person who likes to have a list to cross off once I have done it.....so I think my girls are like me in that way.

Anyway.....I sure hope we can stick to it.

We actually weren't right on track today.

With daylights savings time I felt bad waking them up at 7....so we started it all at 7:30....

But I think tomorrow we can plan on going right along with the chart.

Having a list for after school was amazingly helpful too.

They had a time they had to have a snack by......then chores and homework....and when they got that all done, they can play until dinner time.

Then help with cleanup.....a time for family prayer and bed time.

We cut the boys hair tonight....so the bedtime was a little off track, but we will get there :)

Cassi.....after feeding the chickens and Mater.

Madi, folding her basket of laundry and putting them away....

Porter, helping Dad to spread the truckload of rocks and dirt.

Aren't they just the cutest????

Like Father, like Son :)

Elsie went along and did little chores here and there.

She did go out and help dad out in the shop while I was making dinner....she thinks that is just the greatest....

She had a rough day today....

This rainy/stormy weather gets to her and she had some pretty tight muscles today.

But she works hard and stays happy until she just can't handle it anymore.

Monday March 12

Well....we set all the clocks right....but still woke up late this morning.

So it was a rush to get ready for school...but we made it.

*****

We had a load of top soil delivered today, and a load of rocks too.

We are leveling out the 'backyard' portion.....so we will be putting a retaining wall to hold up what we have to build up.

I am excited about how it will look.

Just wish it was done :)

Anyway....the kids thought that the big pile of dirt was just the greatest thing.

Elsie went up and down a million times!!!

What a cutie!

Poor Madi woke up with a kinked neck.

I feel so bad when kinked necks are involved....you really can't do anything to help it out.

Hopefully she can get some sleep tonight and it isn't so bad tomorrow!

So a few years ago, Brent and I made a cute little kitchen for Cassi out of an old vanity.

It really was the cutest thing.

Well, it didn't fair too well when we moved.

We were gonna try to repair it....but it really was in bad shape.

Not much could be done with it.....

We thought of fixing it up and trying to sell it too, but again, it would be a lot of work.

So after many meltdowns, Cassi finally agreed that it was time for the kitchen to go.

We cut off the part that said 'Chef Cassi' so she can hang that in her room for a memory.....

And she got to start the fire tonight to say her 'goodbye' to her kitchen.

 

Sunday March 11

Today wasn't really a smooth kind of day.

We made it to church on time.....but I felt like I had ran a marathon once I was back home.

Port had a substitute, so he didn't want to go to class, so I just kept him with me.

Didn't think it would be a big deal.

But, he was so hyper and crazy....and trying to reign in 6 other 3 year olds.....it was exhausting.

But it was a fun day.....we planted some little pots for each kid.

The kids thought it was pretty fun.

I wanted to take them for a walk.....but we have not yet mastered how to be out in the halls with each other....let alone run around outside!!!

I did take a rope for them to hold onto, so we could go wash our hands after planting our seeds.

Anyway....it was a good day....but I was very happy to be home.

Port took a good nap.

The girls rested in a quiet house for a bit.

Once Port woke up....he was crazy again, and made Elsie crazy too.

So, I asked them if they wanted to sit and read for a little bit so the big girls and I could get the kitchen cleaned up.

I didn't think it would last long....so we tried to hurry.

Well, I was wrong.

They sat there for quite a while.

It was so sweet.

I guess little quiet moments like these maybe aren't so great without those crazy, out-of-hand kind of moments to compare them too, right???

Porter is quite expressive with his story telling.

And Elsie is so intense in her reading.

Just love it.

Saturday March 10

I made some yummy cupcakes today for some new neighbors moving in and also for my Sunbeam class tomorrow.

While Porter took his nap, the girls decided they wanted to set up for a party.

Gotta have a party if you are gonna have cupcakes, right?

Well, Elsie was the 'hostess' so Cassi dressed her up for the part.

Elsie was very happy about Cassi's choice in outfits, but she wouldn't let Cassi do her hair like she wanted to.

It's probably best that way :)

Anyway, they were excited to start the party when the cupcakes arrived.

The all approved of the cupcakes, so once Port woke up (and had a cupcake of his own) we headed to the neighbors on the 4-wheeler.

Still didn't get to meet the parents, but the oldest daughter was there and the little boy.

The have kids similar ages to ours, so that should be fun.

Their girls will walk home with our girls.

It was so beautiful outside, so we decided to get to work.

Yesterday, dad and I started pruning the apple trees.

We got a lot done...but there is just so much to do!

We have no idea what we are doing, so lets hope the trees survive :)

Anyway....there were a lot of branches that needed to be piled up into a burn pile.

Madi and Cassi (mostly Madi) made a big....really big....pile, while I kept pruning.

The little ones kept busy running around and kinda helping out :)

That Elsie can sure get around.

That was one of our worries out here.

The ground is so un-even, everywhere.

But I think it has really helped her to feel how her body moves and know what she needs to do to stay steady.

She still falls a lot, but usually hops back up and goes at it again.

Not much keeps her down.

Unless she is tired and hungry at the same time....which is exactly what happened as soon as we got inside the house.

Major meltdown :(

But once she got some food in her and a nice bubble bath, she was ready.....and really happy...to get into bed!

I would say that today was a pretty productive day.

After dinner the girls cleaned up the kitchen while I bathed the little ones.

So at least the house isn't super messy...

Maybe we can take it easy, relax and enjoy the day tomorrow :)

Friday March 9

Madi did such an awesome job!

We are so proud of her hard work and dedication to this speed jumping competition!

Madi Bell made it through to the semi-finals and we couldn't be more proud of her.

She is pretty proud of herself too.

Not only for doing such a great job jumping....but jumping in front of SO MANY people!

That gym was packed!

I will write more tomorrow, since it is so late.....

Madi Bell, YOU ROCK!!!!

Thursday March 8

This little boy thrives on one on one attention.

And he does get a lot of it when the girls are at school.

He is always great to help out with laundry.

Loves to put puzzles together and read books.

Today...we made some peanut butter cookies for Dad.

It also turned out to be a good time to work on counting.....

He thought it was pretty great.

Then my boys sat and watched a little bit of Transformers while they enjoyed the freshly baked cookies.

*****

Then later tonight, Dad took the big girls to the Math and Science game night at the school.

There were also telescopes there, so once it got dark they got to go out and learn about the stars and some cool stuff out there.

They had a fun time.....Dad thought it was funny.

He said it was a night full of doing homework :)

But it was a fun night out for the girls anyway.

*****

Tomorrow is Madi's jump rope competition.

She is so excited....

Excited and nervous.

I am excited to watch her too!

I can't believe the progress she has made.

She didn't even want to jump backwards.....couldn't even do it.

But she has worked hard, and she has done so well!

I am sure it will be a fun evening for us all :)

Wednesday March 7

This girl is so much fun to watch when she plays with Mater.

First of all....she squeals 'Mater....Mater' over and over the whole time she plays with him.

But she has so much fun keeping up with Mater when he runs around.

It is funny too, Mater is very soft with her.

Very loving.

I think there will be a sweet little friendship here.....if his hearing isn't impaired from her squealing :)

We worked outside today to get the garage put back together.

Still lots of boxes, but oh so much better.

And more organized.

Stuff that is storage is put out of the way.

The boxes that I still need to go through are waiting in line along the back wall.

Then I can pull one in at a time and go through it and put it all away.

Sounds easy right :)

Ya, we will see.......

Anyway.

I told Brent that I think he has a Tetras complex.

I think that has to be a real thing.

He doesn't like there to be any light showing through when he stacks boxes.

Each box fits together perfectly.

Feels good to have that done out there.....

Now we need to turn inside and get some more stuff done in here.

I still need too and would LOVE to organize my sewing/office room.

But I am also a bit scared to even start in there!

*****

Elsie got to have lunch with her best friend, Alex, today for her birthday.

Alex chose to go to McDonald's.....so it was a fun day for the girls.

Elsie could not wait to spend some time with Alex on her birthday.....I wish I would have thought to take some pictures!