We took these pictures several months ago, to document Alison's flexibility. She taught herself how to do all these things and worked every day at the different "tricks" she wanted to learn.
The sun is getting more intense already...I think it may be time to invest in some sun glasses for Eli :)
Unfortunately I didn't get any family pictures, but I was able to snap a few of the kids before church. Alison opted for a new, sparkly, headband instead of a new dress this year. I thought it was a very wise decision, especially because she loves her some accessories.
After church we sent the kids upstairs and hid their baskets. This was the first year we made them wait until after church to do baskets and they were not thrilled with the decision, but it sure made church a little calmer with less sugar in their system.
Baskets were simple this year with just a water bottle, candy and a fun magazine. I think we may have graduated from the traditional sidewalk chalk and bubbles. However, Eli said his favorite were the peeps that I threw in just for fun.
I loved our appetizer lunch:
Then we had an egg hunt. We already had too much candy, so this year I filled the eggs with coins.
Elizabeth joined us in the afternoon and we all dyed eggs. Shane deployed again last week and I'm hoping she'll let us adopt her for the next 6 months.
For dinner we had ham, mashed potatoes, green beans and zwiebach. Dessert was carrot cupcakes that Alison helped make and Eli decorated.
10 years ago today, I wrote the very first post on this blog.
This blog has turned into something much more than I ever thought it would. Most people write blogs to make money or speak to the masses or become popular in the world, but I began writing as a way to share with our extended family what was happening in our simple life. I continued writing as a way to document memories, mostly because my own memory is terrible and I forget everything.
Now? Now, it is common for Alison to ask if she can read the blog. She has read it completely through a couple of times and loves seeing a glimpse of what it was like to be the only child for a few years. She often asks me to post more because that's how much she loves reading it :) I love that in a way, I've written a family book for her. It is also common for one of the kids to ask to see a video and we'll end up all huddled around the computer, looking at old posts together.
Happy 10 years blog!
Eli still doesn't like pictures.
BUT he loves building! Check out the hotel he built!
He even has a cable car and has since added a restaurant to the back of the building.
Yesterday was a long day for us all! Ben had been talking and negotiating to dealerships all week and made the drive to Phoenix when all was set to get our new car. The model and features we wanted, came in only one car in the whole state! Thankgoodness it was in Phoenix! We had to compromise on the color, but it's still fabulous and we LOVE it.
While Ben was driving, the kids and I spent the morning at the dentist. Colin insisted on rolling up his pants :)
Then we met homeschool friends at the park (something we've been doing
most Friday's while it's been cool enough outside) and because it was so
hot, came home to play in the sprinkler. Unfortunately, we saw
temperatures in the 90's this week. I had a haircut that took forever
and a year, but when I got home, our new car was waiting in the driveway!
It's a Volkswagen Atlas, with captain chairs and optional 4 wheel drive. We have dreams of great adventures in our future and hope that this vehicle gets us there. For now, we are soaking up that new car smell!
There is so much to love about the kids getting older. Perhaps #1 is that they can cook! Alison was craving something sweet, so she got out the cookbook my mom made me and whipped up a batch of Aunt Karen's sugar cookies.
How Eli often hugs daddy goodbye in the morning:
Speaking of mornings, the kids all decided they wanted to work ahead in school so they could have extra time to play, which equaled them bringing books to the breakfast table 7 am! I appreciated their drive, but it was a little crazy for awhile.
Happiness=running with these two.
And on a rare overcast day :)
Ben says that Maya has claimed him as her human. I'm not convinced; I think he just spoils her the most.
When I'm tucking the kids in bed, we'll talk about our favorite, least favorite and interesting parts of the day. Colin always has the most surprising answers.
We said goodbye to our trusty old van today. For how much I grumbled about this car, it still holds so many memories. I mean, Colin was basically born in this thing.
I wanted to document the kids with this car. I've been telling them a lot lately that they will never forget this thing. They'll look back and say, "Remember that van we had that couldn't charge electronics or play music besides Spanish radio or cool air. Remember how we had to open and close our own doors?! It was crazy!"
We were feeling pretty sentimental about saying goodbye. In a way, I loved how simple and humble our car was. But, I was also embarrassed at the thought of trading it in...praise the Lord Ben did it for me. "Uh, don't mind the cup holder, it doesn't go back into the dash. And I wouldn't recommend taking the duct tape off the grooves of the floor...there's years of goldfish, juicebox straw wrappers and I don't want to think about what else, but probably somewhere along the lines of puppy grossness, under there. And if you fix the CD player, I'm pretty sure you'll find a KidSongs CD. That's just our gift to you. :)"
Thank you for your service, mini van. You served our family well for the last decade. You kept us safe and took us on many great adventures. We will miss you and so will all of our friends, as they can always spot us in the parking lot.
A photograph just wasn't enough for Alison, she had to draw a picture too.
Now it's time to party! I always said I would have a big party the day I got a new car and Ben is driving home from Phoenix with it right now! Stay tuned...
We will be moving to the Ventura, California area in December. Ben will be stationed at Point Mugu, which is about 45 minutes north of LA and south of Santa Barbara. We are looking forward to making a trip up there in the next couple of months to get a lay of the land and already dreaming of the beach life. Talks of living in California came up quite a bit on our weekend trip to Carlsbad.
Eli and his entourage ready to hit the road Saturday morning:
Ben was running in the Carlsbad 5000 (America's fastest 5k) on Sunday, so our first stop was to pick up his race packet and we got bagels for lunch at a local bakery. I don't think our kids have ever had bagels like that...it's so sad that they are growing up without an Einstein's bagel.
Next stop, was car shopping!!! We are researching our next family vehicle and needed to see a few options in California that Yuma doesn't have. I think we may have a winner! This momma is SUPER excited, but Alison is feeling very sentimental about our trusty old minivan that she's basically grown up in. We may have lived in a lot of houses in her life, but we've always had that van. And let's be honest, they just don't make seats as comfy as this van anymore.
We *had* to stop by REI afterwards, tried Pure Burger for dinner and then headed to the beach to watch the sunset. It was cold, but the kids didn't care for a second.
Ben and I were freezing, like teeth chattering freezing.
How are kids immune to cold?
My favorite:
Sweatpants, long sleeves, bare feet and building sandcastles.
Sunday morning, we all went down to the race, bright and early. This was a BIG race, so we had to park pretty far away from all the action. We had scouted out a park, parked there and I let the kids play a bit while Ben warmed up and headed to the start line. This zip line was their favorite. We saw a lot of runners heading to the race while we played and Alison said, "Mom, you're going to love California because you won't feel left out anymore...everyone runs here!" (i.e. we never see any one run in AZ. We barely see anyone outside, period.). So yes, I am looking forward to being around fellow runners more and I do love that active community feel.
Waiting for daddy to run the race:
This was the most dramatic race I've ever seen. A train track ran through the course and runners crossed it twice. Racers were told that no trains were scheduled for that morning, but if one did come through, they would obviously have to stop and wait. So, there was forewarning and communication about the possibility and safety precautions taken. There were also races going all morning as they were broken up by age groups and elites. Ben's race starts and there's one person leading the race, with a pack of about 6 runners a little behind him. The final stretch of the race was a slight downhill, turning from the road that followed the ocean. The first runner turned the corner to come down the hill, everyone started cheering and the announcer was going crazy...and then the train rails start lowering and the whole crowd started saying, "NOOOO!!!". Two police officers had to stop the runner from attempting to sprint in front of the train and I am so glad they did. A train went full speed through the course and it was not slowing down for a millisecond! By the time the rails raised up, the pack following the leader had caught up to him and they were all standing there waiting. You could tell everyone was very gracious and still let the leader sprint to the finish and be the winner, but it definitely ruined a good race for at least 10 people. Thankfully, Ben was not affected by the train and finished 66th overall!!! Look at the time on the clock!
It was an amazing race and so fun to be a part of a lively crowd, who were equally as excited as I was. The kids would still say I cheer too loud, but it wasn't as embarrassing this time.
2 free beers for the runners. They had to stay in this gated area to drink, so Ben looked like a toddler in a playpen, waiting to get out.
The kids climbed a tree while they waited.
When we got back to the car, the kids wanted just a few more minutes at the park.
After lunch and checking out of our hotel, we were back on the beach. I was not planning on the kids playing in the sand like they did, so it was a messy day. Lesson learned; always plan for playing in the sand. I rolled up the boys' pants, but it didn't matter. They got completely soaked and then covered in sand.
You can see Eli sprinting through the water in the background:
While sitting there, watching our kids play, Ben asked me if I will be able to handle 3 years of this. My answer is a big, fat, YES. Three years of perfect weather every day, ocean air and kids jumping in waves. I think we will be doing a lot of sea life studies in school, because I am going to be spending a lot of days by the ocean.
