April 30, 2018

Beach Day

fresh air helps
boys in diapers


eliot in my hole
burying Aline


wednesday we went to san diego with the whites.colin got car sick on the way there but that didnt get him down.we stayed until everyone was shaking.then we went to panera.we stoped at sprouts on the way home, ate, and went home to bed.


-by Alison


April 27, 2018

This and That with a lot of Eli

I found this gem on my phone :)

Looking cute in new pj's.


Eli has written two comic books this year about ninja's.  He worked hard on the second addition, not even stopping when it was time to play outside.


Allergies hit Eli hard and his eyes have been extremely itchy.  So itchy that they've woken him up several nights.  I tried several different medicines to figure out what worked best and benedryl made him crash in our bed for a long Sunday nap.


Benedryl was not the answer and the next Saturday he woke up with his eyes almost swollen shut.  We spent the morning at prompt care and then he had his first basketball game. Prompt care was no help, but Zyrtec and different eye drops were and he was able to see well enough to make the very first basket of the game! 


When the concrete is too chilly for a desert dog:


Maya shivers every morning when we let her out and it makes us giggle every time.  It's a good thing we're not moving somewhere cold!
 
When you take a stinker to Kohl's:


I was waiting for the kids to get out of piano when I saw this:


Good times.  My only comfort is that we don't actually get to eat any of the produce grown in our backyard, it's all shipped out across the country.  But then again, that means that E. coli is growing in my backyard.

We took a day trip to San Diego with the White's.
The kids spent the day burying one another.



 


 

 

 The mommas had the most fun.  Homeschool moms need to get out of the house every once in awhile and guess what?  No one complains or fights or even asks questions when we're on the beach!


Colin was asleep 5 minutes of being back in the car, so I guess it was a successful fun day.  This also gives a little look into the inside of our new car.  Look at all the room we have now!
 

I spoke too soon about all the baby stuff being gone.  I guess we do have the diaper bag, burp cloths and baby blanket Elizabeth made.  Colin has worn the blanket like this all week, even sleeping in it.


April 22, 2018

When all the baby stuff is gone...

Colin asked the other day why so much stuff is changing around here.  It's true, we've had lots of material change and more to come.  Thinking about moving to a smaller house is on our brains and the kids are growing out of things and we've needed to upgrade some very old things and have seen needs of those around us that we can help with, which has equaled lots of changes.  For example, all of our "baby" stuff is gone.  A family from church was having their second child, and when Katie told me what she was needing, I realized I had it just sitting in my house, not being used.  So, we gave them what remained of the baby things in the Shear house and with that went the stroller.  One afternoon, the kids were playing house and I was working on school things at my desk.  I heard Alison say from the hallway, "Hey mom!  We figured out how to play baby without a stroller!"...I turned around to see this:


Colin shoved himself in the rolly bag we use for library books (the amount of books we get, I almost need 2 of these) and Alison was pulling him around.  Oh, and of course he's naked because boys never wear clothes at our house.

April 18, 2018

Our Piano

As we begin to think about another move coming up and knowing it's not going to be our last, Ben thought it would be best to get a piano that was "move friendly".  We have LOVED having this piano and love the history that comes with it.


 Standing like Nana is her picture with the piano:


I love that Alison and Eli learned to play on this piano and hopefully have wonderful memories of hearing music come from it.

We were able to bless another family from church with this piano.  They really wanted one, but weren't able to afford one.  They have 3 kids who want to learn to play and I am so thankful that they will get that opportunity now.


We bought a Clavinova from another family at church, who were needing to sell it before their move.  It all worked out beautifully and even though it's not the same as our old piano, the kids have really enjoyed playing it and bonus; they can wear headphones while practicing!

April 17, 2018

Library Time

This is their happy place...I'm pretty sure they would spend days at the library :)



3rd Annual Taco Festival

This was our third year to go to the Taco Festival, but the first year we met friends there.  Elizabeth and the White's came with us and it made the event even more fun.  Alison will probably remember this as the year Daddy spoke with the police officer about their water confiscation at the door.  It was a valid complaint...yes, we live in the desert and it was in the 90's but don't you dare think about bringing water.  Nope, instead they wanted you to buy a ticket to get a bottle of water and then placed ambulances around the grounds.  It was all kinds of shady on Yuma's part.


We ate lots of tacos and fry bread and churros.



 

Eli is trying to block everyone else out of the picture.
 
 


 Then we rode a couple of the rides.

Tolson and Colin

Ben and Eli

Ferris wheel ride with my girl:


Leaving the best picture for last...an attempt to get a picture of all the kids...Jon is trying to get Colin to sit down for the picture :)
 


April 14, 2018

Eli's 8th Birthday!

Celebrating 8 started bright and early.  All the kids were up by 6am ready to party!  It seems like the older they get, the more excited they are for birthdays :)



Arizona donuts for breakfast.


Then he opened presents.



Daddy and Granddaddy got Eli Legos.  Alison picked out a Minecraft stuffed animal and Colin bought him Star Wars Cheez Its. 


Colin and Daddy also decided that a new light saber was top priority.



He also got a kindle!  After Ben got it all set up, he said, "I LOVE reading!" and it was worth every single penny.  He has loved reading on it so much that he stayed up until 10pm because he couldn't stop reading the story.


 Ben picked up Chili Peppers for lunch and we spent the afternoon building Legos and playing.


 

 

 The White's came over late afternoon.  Per Eli's request, they all came in their pj's and played Minecraft and Legos.  


They gave Eli more Legos so he was in heaven.



We had pizza and cheesecake for dinner.



I felt a little guilty at the end of the day that we didn't do more, but then reminded myself that we all asked Eli several times what he wanted and this was it; a day at home, in pj's, playing games and building Legos with close friends and family.  We're looking forward to a great year of 8!