Friday, December 07, 2012

Be Nice

A week ago, Jonathan and Thomas were struggling to get along. If I said it once, I said it 50 times, "Be nice!" Inevitably, they had to be separated.
A little while later, Elisabeth gave Jonathan this picture.

"Jonathan saying nice things to Thomas"

Friday, November 09, 2012

Games

"A long time ago they had games way worse than Gameboys." 
David, age 9

Thursday, November 08, 2012

Clothes!

This was startling to me. It caused me to pause and then smile...

A week ago, Elsie sat down to color and said,

"Momma, I am going to draw a picture of the clothes I want to get for my birthday."

When my boys received clothes as presents, they looked at them in disgust. I had to counsel them on reacting in a nice way. Elsie already knows what she wants to wear on her birthday. She even has her hair barrettes picked out! Her birthday is 9 days away.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

David's 9th Birthday

On September 2, David turned 9. To celebrate, he wanted Avengers and Spiderman decorations. We had fun celebrating and being silly.

David has a good friend in Oregon that has a bow. When we visited over the summer, David had a chance to shoot and loved it. His biggest request was to get a bow for his birthday. Seth told him bows could be dangerous. He was surprised and delighted to get his bow.
Our Hawkeye
Captain America

Friday, July 27, 2012

Such a Nice Day


"Moon! Momma, look, there's the moom!" (Elisabeth)

"Oh... I see it."(Momma)

"Sometimes, it is such a nice day that the moon comes out." (Elisabeth)


Monday, July 23, 2012

17 Years

We celebrated our 17th Anniversary yesterday.

We didn't have a babysitter so we decided to take the whole family to Lake Tahoe for some outside fun. It was wonderful. We enjoyed sunny, warm weather at King's Beach. The kids played for hours in the sand and water, while Seth and I relaxed on a blanket on the beach. I finished reading a book. Seth took a nap. And, the kids just kept playing. I had a low key water fight with David. Seth built sand castles with the kids. We both helped Jonathan, Thomas and Elsie bury themselves in the sand. It was a delightfully fun and relaxed afternoon.

After our beach fun, we went to a local restaurant for dinner. Our kids were well-behaved. We felt so blessed.

We walked outside after dinner and took in the sight of moon over the lake. Next to the restaurant where we ate, there was a wedding reception taking place. The music was playing, the moon was shining, the kids were talking animatedly and walking toward the car. We captured the moment- and kissed.

It was a very good day.
 ~~~~~~~~~

The kids did not argue all day. Not once.
We stayed a long time. They didn't complain when it was time to go.

"I didn't know anniversaries could be fun." David (age 8)


"Happy Anniversary" Thomas (age 7)  He said this to us numerous times throughout the day and it was as sweet as could be.

Jonathan was the first of the kids to bury himself. The pictures of him buried in the sand are cute but I love this photo of him best.
"I am the sandman." Jonathan (age 11)


David was not about to cover himself in sand. He did have a blast knocking down a castle that some other people left behind.

Elisabeth wasn't still long but I caught this picture of her deep in thought.

Seth and I took a self-portrait with my cell phone:

Jonathan took this picture of us before dinner:

Our family at the end of dinner:

The moon over Lake Tahoe:

Monday, July 02, 2012

Adrenaline Junkie

Thomas:  "Momma, do you know what my favorite feeling is?"
Momma: "What?"
Thomas: "Nervous. I love feeling nervous."


~ Now we know why we never know what to expect from Thomas. ~










Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Stayin' Alive

Last week one night we went out to eat as a family.

As we arrived at the restaurant, David said, "Momma, can we have some of that small food?"
(M) "Huh? What do you mean?"
(D) "The small food that keeps you alive."
(M) "... you mean, appetizers?"
(D) "YES! Can we have appetizers?"


Monday, June 04, 2012

Overheard after Dinner

"David, I had peanuts at school today and I didn't like them at all. You are not missing out on anything." Jonathan, 11

Jonathan's 5th grade class has been doing state presentations. One of the students brought in peanuts because their state presentation was on Georgia, "The Peanut State."

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Eclipse Blessing

Tonight, we watched the solar eclispe.



At dinner, Jonathan prayed:

"Dear God, thank you for the food. Thank you for the solar eclispe. Please let Momma and Daddy be alive during the next one. Amen."

Monday, May 14, 2012

Day Hike to Skunk Harbor, Lake Tahoe

Mother's Day was beautiful in Nevada. We headed to Lake Tahoe for a family hike. The hike was fantastic. The kids enjoyed the scenery and loved getting in the frigid Lake Tahoe water. I loved every minute of the peaceful walk and beautiful surroundings.

I picked an "easy" hike for us. Easy for adults means still challenging for kids age 11, 8, 7, and 4. It was 1.5 miles down to the water at Skunk Harbor and, of course, 1.5 miles back up to the car. Elsie and Seth made an agreement on the way back- she'd walk some and then he'd carry her on his shoulders some. David said they came with a great pattern. Seth got extra exercise.

The hike we went on split in two. We went to Skunk Harbor. The other part of the hike goes to Prey Meadows. Here is a picture overlooking Prey Meadows.

Some pictures of us along the way on the hike. (Elsie insisted on wearing her skirt. After swimming she changed into shorts. But, she sure looked cute hiking in a skirt.)
Some pictures of the beautiful scenery on the hike to Skunk Harbor:
Skunk Harbor was serene and beautiful.
A perfect place to relax and play.
We set the timer for a family picture.

We also saw lots of insects and animals on our hike, including all sizes of ants, butterflies, chipmunks, lizards, birds and ducks. I only got pictures of a few.

A lizard (the boys were very excited about the lizards).
A woodpecker.
A beautiful blue bird that was flying in and out of the trees by the harbor.
A duck.

As you can tell, the whole trip was picturesque. This isn't even all of the pictures that I took! I am extremely excited about exploring the outdoors with the family this summer. I love how happy my kids were on this trip.

When we got to the top, back to the car, Thomas exclaimed, "I am SO proud of myself!"

 I had a special Mother's Day... and I am very thankful for my kids.