Goofs

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Goofs

This is such a typical day of my boys. They are goofs and make me laugh all the time. 





Ryan loves to color, especially on himself!! He was actually sticking the marker up his nose, this makes me so nervous...he will probably be the one of the three that I have to bring to ER at some point to take a bead or another foreign object out of his nose!


Jake likes to color too, as evidenced by the artwork he did on his bedroom wall this week.........

 Jake's lovely hand print that he traced onto the blue paint.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Lady Slipper

Here is a picture of the Lady Slipper that we saw on our nature hike with Amaya's class. It is an endagered orchid flower. 

Fieldtrip to Mrs. VanderBroek's 2008

I went on a fieldtrip with Amaya's 1st grade class to Mrs. VanderBroek's house yesterday. (her teacher) Mrs. V. is a self described nature freak, which I love. She started the beginning of their year with tons of monarch butterflies, chrysalis' and many, many caterpillars. That set the tone for the year I think. They have seen a snake eat a mouse, tadpoles, rolly polly bugs, had a pet hamster, and many other "critters" in her 1st grade class. She lives on 20 acres out in GH and has a pond, dunes, many gardens, an orchard and obviously many paths throughout her property to hike. What a great time the kids had at her house on this fieldtrip, and what an easy thing to put together. Parents drove, the kids brought their lunch, and ice cream with chocolate syrup was provided. They went on a nature hike, ate lunch, played games, had their ice cream treat, then bubbles and sidewalk chalk to finish it up. All the kids had a great time, and the weather was perfect for this type of outing.

Amaya talked about this fieldtrip for days and was so excited that I would be going with them. Mrs. V. has talked about all the stuff that she and her 2 boys find/catch around their house all year, and I think the kids were finally able to put it all together. They LOVED that they went to thier teacher's house.

Another thing that she talked about before the trip are ant lions. I think I have heard of them before, but have never seen one...well, here it is, just not all that clear. First, you look for this caved in shape in the sand, then you have to scoop really fast, then you might be able to catch it, which Mrs. V. did. ( If you listen closely, you can even hear it roar!!) Just kidding, but my sister Heidi believed it. Cracked me right up!
The kids kept asking about these tent worm nests that seem to be everywhere around here right now, and Mrs. V. opened one of the "nests" up to show them what is inside. Gross!!
 Gross!!  Gross!!
And I really mean Gross!!


Next the kids had lunch, then played a few games. 

 Amaya doing the marshmellow race.
 
Mrs. V. and Deb Murak demonstrating the potato sack race for the kids. Amaya's turn. 


What a great time to have at the end of the year.

Nesting

For years, Jake has been building what we call "nests". He gets a bunch of pillows and blankets and puts them in a big circle, then crawls in and gets comfy. These nests have been all different sizes, depending on how many pillows, and of course, the postitioning of the pillows. Yesterday, this nest was of moderate size, but it had a "path" to it. The path started in my bedroom and ended in the living room, where the actual nest is. He used every pillow from every bed, then used all the pillows off the two couches in the living room. It was funny to see Ryan try and walk on the unlevel path, falling every 2 steps, but getting back up right away to continue on. He just loves to play with his big brother.

Ryan and Jake sitting in their nest playing the drums.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Eagle watching

Amaya, Jake and I rode our bikes down to look at the eagle last week. They looked at the eagle, thought it was cool, then spent the rest of the time in the woods looking for bugs, critters and anything else. They love to be outdoors and seem to appreciate all the life that is out there. I love that about them. I am glad that they can walk in the woods and name animals, certain plants, and spot animals homes. I think this kind of learning is so valuable in respecting the outdoors and appreciating where things come from. I am so happy that they love nature!

On another night Scott and I went and checked out the nest. This is him reading info on the birds that is left at the spot for everyone to enjoy. We are pretty lucky to have this right down the road from our home.

Woodpecker

Just some pics of a red headed woodpecker on our woodpile in the backyard.

Salty Revenge

Tuesday night I made a beef roast, mashed potatoes and corn for dinner. None of the kids would eat it, which they usually do. Jake kept saying, I don't like this stuff, but refused to try it......this went on throughout dinner. We reminded him that if he doesn't eat dinner, then he gets no snacks the rest of the night, unless he wants the dinner plate back. That is our rule, you need to eat dinner! Later on that night, he kept asking Scott for popsicles, etc.. for snacks. Scott reinforced the no dinner, no snack rule. Jake likes to get his way, so while we were finishing up baths on the other kids, he found the salt on the kitchen counter and proceeded to spread salt all over all of my kitchen counter tops and stove. Naughty little boy!

This incident reminds me of a story about my niece Sydney. She was at school and for whatever reason she was mad at a boy in her class, so after they all came in from recess, everyone left the coat room after hanging up their coats. While the room was empty, Sydney pulled out some toothpaste (who knows why she had toothpaste) and smeared it all over the boy's coat. How funny, yet sad. I would be mad being the mother of the other child, but the thought of Sydney sneaking in that room and smearing toothpaste all over someone else's coat is comical. Not nice at all, and by no means do I condone this behavior, but funny. This reminds me of Jake and how sometimes he is revengeful. This is wrong, Amaya never did this kind of stuff, but Jake has a different personality. I swear he must be thinking....if I don't get my way, they are going to pay for it.
Aye yi yi, Jakers!!!

Trains

Thomas the tank engine, he's a really useful engine we adore!! (sing it in tune with the theme of Thomas) Jake fell in love with trains at 18 months old after receiving his first set of tracks from Santa (IKEA $12 and so worth it!!). He was completely enthralled with the movies, and knew all the trains names by sight, or even just the silhouette. After knowing that he would like these wooden trains, we started investing a little more money on the real Thomas trains and train sets. I love these things and I love the tracks. I love the imagination that goes into building the different layouts, and all the "hands on play" that it gives the kids. It isn't just a toy that lights up or plays music when you push a button. You have to physically play with it, just like in the old days. I like older toys, like blocks, tinker toys, legos, etc. I think they are more educational and just make it so that you use your brain a little more.

I set up the figure 8 set the other day and Ryan was having so much fun with it. He says "choo choo" and everything. Then when the other kids saw it, they started playing with it too, and of course had to try and build a better, bigger track. This toy is for every age, and I am so excited that Ryan likes it. I wonder if he will be as into trains as Jake was... anyways, it is nice that my second boy likes these sets., These trains and tracks are something that I will hold onto forever, because they are timeless and maybe someday my grandkids will be able to enjoy them. (I hope)

Forever and 161 days

I have to write this down, because it made me laugh out loud and I want Jake to be able to read this when he is older. I went over and gave Jake a big hug.

M: I love you Jake.

J: I love you too. I'll love you forever and 161 days.

M: Wow, that is a long time, I'll love you forever too.

J: I'll always love you no matter what, even when I tell you that I hate you, or when I am mad at you....I will always love you.

M: I'll always love you no matter what too, even when I am mad at you.

J: And, I'll always remember you.

M: I'll always remember you too.

J: I'll even remember you when you are dead too.

M: Alright Jake, Thanks!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

And, the petting zoo

Last year at the Frpt Old Fashioned Days, I missed the petting zoo. I found out after the carnival left, that they had a baby zebra. This was almost devastating to me, as I wanted that opportunity for Amaya, then to capture that with a picture. So I was so excited to see the petting zoo back again......still with the
zebra!!!













More pics with the animals.


The "snake man"

Oh, the carnival

The kids were so excited to go to the carnival, Jake kept asking all day when it was time to go. We had to wait forAmaya to get home from school, then Ryan fell asleep, so we waited for grandpa to come and babysit so that I could still go with the two of them. We got the bands for the kids for unlimited rides for the night, which was money well spent. They rode all the rides that they wanted, and rode each one many, many times. They would get off the ride, then get right back in line and get right back on. It was so funny. Later, when Scott got home from work, we switched places and he came down and I went home to be with Ryan who was a bit fussy for the day. (another cold or something....runny nose, fussy, and now a fever.....enough already!@!) They stayed down there til around 830 pm which is very late for our kids, as 800pm is their bedtime usually. Plus, they were major dirtballs so still needed baths when they got home. It was worth the extra time up because they had a blast. We do this every year, there is no way around it because it usually falls when we are driving through Fruitport on a daily basis for swim class. The kids ask nonstop as soon as they see the rides going up, until we actually go.

The Dizzy Dragons

Jake going down the slide, Amaya was too scared.

Daddy Pics

Scott took these photos on a night that I was working. He just thought it was cute that they were all sitting on the couch with their blankets after swimming class. It is nice to have random shots of all three of them together for no special reason! 5/19/2008

Amaya looks sad in the picture because she couldn't decide if she wanted to miss the last day of swimming to go to the carnival, or to go to the last day of swimming for free swim. She has a hard time with decisions that way. She wanted to make sure that she was able to tell her instructor goodbye. She chose the carnival after much inner turmoil.

Water fun

I swear all kids LOVE to play in or with water. I bought a little water table for Ryan for the summer, and what do you know, all the kids loved it. I can't wait til it is actually warm enough to play outdoors all day in the sprinklers and the pool. 5/17/2008

1st Lesson

Like my scrap booking, this blogging is starting to stress me out. I told myself, and others, that it is easy (which it is) and that it only takes a few minutes to actually do a new post. Like scrap booking, I want it in order, but that is not possible for me. Just like in everyone else's lives', we have many things going on, and each week is different. There have been a lot of things going on in our household that I deem important enough to scrapbook, therefore blog, (Which I hope to possibly replace my scrapping, thinking that I will be able to keep up better with it) but I haven't had time to get them in, let alone in chronological order. So, I am just going to start with what I think is the next thing on the time line:

Amaya's first horse riding lesson, what a blast she had, and she couldn't stop talking about it from the time that she found out about it after her birthday. She got to spend an entire hour with Gabrielle and Cheyenne (the horse). It started with them getting the horse out of the pasture, then they had to "tack" the horse, which means brush her three different times with different brushes to get her clean. Next, they had to clean out her hooves with a scraper thing, then put the saddle on, and then on the horse she went, with a continous huge grin.

She learned the proper way to sit, hold the bridle, talk, and to control the horse. This is an absolute dream to her. There is nothing that she shys away from. She has even told me that when she gets older that she wants to do what Gabrielle does, which is own the farm, teach lessons, and board horses. I can honestly see her as a girl who hangs out in the barn with the horses day in and day out. She LOVES them.

I am a bit nervous of all this because both, Scott and I, are allergic to horses. I found out when I was 18 years old after riding a horse. Scott is just plain allergic to anything with fur/hair.....

After the full hour of helping Amaya tack the horse, then hanging out in the equestrian center with them, my eyes were itching, I was wheezing, and my uvula was actually starting to swell. Anyways, I have had a allergy shot, am taking meds, and now have an epi pen just in case for the next lesson. I really want to be there with her to learn all that she learns. This is her passion, and we want to support it, so I will do everything within my power to help her acheive this. (within medical reason).Notice in the pics that Amaya had to wear her horse tank top, with horse sweatshirt, pink cowgirl boots and of course her horse earrings. Everyone at the barn thought she was so cute to adorn all the horse attire.