Fun at the Beach

Recently, we went to the Outer Banks, North Carolina with friends.  We had fun at both the beaches we visited!  Naomi's most memorable event was being knocked off her feet by a wave.  She hadn't planned on getting in the water at the time, but the ocean had other thoughts.

Soundside

Oceanside

Fun with Bubbles

The girls decided to "grow" facial hair.  Or something like that.

Snow Fun

Five hours.

That's how long the kids stayed outside playing with the neighbors instead of going to school.

Snowball fights!  Guess who usually had the upper hand?

Just happy to be included.

Showing off his ammunition.

Her Indian name is Runs In Snow With Apple.

Playing Fox & Geese

I think this one should say, "And here we have a nice red minivan driving by for your viewing pleasure."

And what was Abigail doing this whole time?  Reading books, playing with lacing cards, and prancing around like all good three-year-old girls...

...in her swimsuit.

Shimmy, Shake & Wiggle

Turn up your volume, and get ready to chuckle!



This girl's got STYLE!

Here's one more, just so you can watch baby sister do her own little wiggle:

50's Day

All the kindergarten classes celebrated the 50th day of school by having 50's day. The children were encouraged to dress up. A friend let us borrow this Halloween outfit. LL had a ball! They had a bubble blowing contest with gum. They learned the twist. She came home wearing a "Rockin'" hat made with a paper record. I had to explain to all the children what an LP is. :-)
I had my doubts about sending our little girl to school this year. After watching her thrive and learn so quickly--and having her teacher literally beg me to let her stay in (she is one of the few well-behaved students)--we decided to let her stay. She is doing very well, and loves every day.

It's not all roses, of course. She is a little more clingy at home, I suppose because she isn't getting the same kind of love and acceptance at school. I'm not so naive to think she would be loved as much as I love her, but I wouldn't mind a little more positive environment for her first school experience. (was that a run-on?)

LL is almost always happy and positive and considerate. She doesn't like it when a sibling snatches her things. And she is all tears when she is tired. But for the most part, she reminds us what we love about life. She has a different viewpoint than most people. It is always interesting to hear her thoughts!

Sacrifice, I Think

Tonight we were discussing the attributes of Christ. Many of the terms required definitions for the younger children.

The question was posed: "Who knows what 'sacrifice' means?"

LL (our barely five-year-old), who had been uncharacteristically silent thus far, started jumping up and down with her hand raised saying, "Oh! I know! I know what that means!" Of course she was called on. Unfortunately, neither Derrell nor I could hold in the laughter when she answered,

"Sacrifice is when you gather up all the bad guys, and throw them into some lava."

Tea Party for the Five Year Old

With her two older siblings, I was able to put off a "friends" party until age seven. Now that we aren't around cousins, though, I decided to give in to LL's pleas for a party. She chose the theme, and helped plan the whole thing. It was actually a great success!

Her checklist:

Wear dress-up dresses.

Eat tiny sandwiches and fruit.


Use tea cups.






Make parasols and top hats. (By this time, LL was partied out. I've now discovered that parties should be held in the morning.)









Open presents.

The "servers". AM invited a friend over to serve the guests. They dressed up, too, and had lots of fun!







A mother of one of the party-goers offered to stay and help. I couldn't have done it without her. In fact, I would have convinced LL to have her party away from the home if it wasn't for my friend "walking" me through the planning and carrying-out. Having a group of kids over for a couple hours shouldn't be that stressful, but it always is for me. I have other strengths, right? Thank you, Marcia!



And, then we had a family party after her requested meal of macaroni and cheese. Gourmet tastes, I know! If you'd like to click on the picture to enlarge it and admire the cake, I wouldn't mind. hee hee

Knock Knock

Who's There?
Banana
Banana, who?
Please don't cry!

~Courtesy of NE who will be three in August.

When LL was this age, her knock knock joke began with:
Ding Dong!

Now from ED:

Knock Knock
Who's There?
Cow goes
Cow goes, who?
No, cow goes "moo"!

Funny Quote

Last night the girls and I had a party while the boys went camping. We didn't get to all the amazing activities we planned (we will be painting our toenails another time), but definitely had fun! A new movie, dinner in the den, making cookies, and a new puzzle took up our time. One of the requests was chocolate milk at dinner. We rarely have this at our house except in the form of hot cocoa during the cold months. I don't know why. I just never think of it otherwise. Anyway, when I handed LL her cup she exclaimed, "Wow, Mom! Thanks! This is cold hot cocoa: my favorite!" Made me chuckle.

The men came home today smelling of campfire smoke and dirt. They had a blast! Amazingly, the bag of marshmallows is still about half full. I guess a guy can eat only so much burnt fluff. ED was so excited to get his own fishing pole in preparation for this overnighter. I was somewhat surprised to learn that he didn't break it out once--he ended up wanting to swim with the fish instead of catch them. Derrell didn't mind. He would go fishing if he needed to, but has never considered it enjoyable. Shh. Don't tell our son.

Caterpillars Beware

L.L. is fascinated with the hundreds of caterpillars that are in our yard. Here she decided to collect as many as possible. She gathered almost thirty! I figured it was pretty benign until she tried to smuggle them inside the house in her pockets. Thirty fewer moths...

Some recent snapshots

This is four-year-old L, who was so pleased with herself after putting in these curlers.