Nine

Nicholas turned nine yesterday!! We had a really good day just hanging around the house together.

Since Todd worked all day, we had decided to have a little party in the evening, but Nicholas ended up getting sprinkled all day with gifts :)

It started in the morning when we let him open the box from Russ and Judy. He and Brandon both played with that set all day! Next, Kristen gifted him as she was heading out to work and would miss the party.

Legos! Perfect! The little pocket tool/knife was a surprise from Todd ;) He just couldn't wait until evening!

Another one that couldn't wait:

Nicholas has been wanting a Pug puppy forever, so Megan got him one ;)

Apparently, our family isn't very  good with the waiting thing ;)

Finally evening! Nick's dinner of choice was Uno's Gluten Free Pizza. Yum!

Todd wasn't quite home yet but I didn't want the pizza's to get cold so we started and he caught up when he got home ;)

Then the presents!

 Sorry for the blurry pic but I had to post it! We saw lots of wonderfully surprised looks from our newly nine boy :)

 Brandon had this shirt first and Nick loved it so much that it made an appearance in his gifts ;)

 After the excitement, there was this:

 Reading, building, just hanging together.

 Then there was cake!! Toad is Nicky's favorite Mario character so....

 Nine candles...

We ended the evening with a movie (Diary of a Wimpy kid, Rodrick Rules....hilarious!!!) and a sleepover in the tent! Nick said it was one of the best days ever :)

Nine! I can't believe it's been that long and yet I'm so very thankful for nine wonderful years :)

Starting the Day Right!

With Birthday presents!!!

Earlier this week, UPS brought a nice big box addressed to our soon-to-be nine year old :) He actually waited very patiently for his birthday to arrive to open it! So I thought first thing this morning was long enough ;)

Think this will keep him busy?? I do!

Thank you Russ and Judy!! He absolutely LOVES it!! (and he was thrilled to have a package delivered just for him! ;)) See you guys soon!

Just Keep Swimming

Yesterday, we finally had a day nice enough to head over to my aunt and uncle's house for some swimming! We all look forward to going there every summer so I had some pretty excited kids when we woke up to a gorgeous, sunny day! :)

Last week was so crappy. We spent most of it indoors with thunderstorms raging outside. When it wasn't storming it was still so cloudy and cold. Not good for swimming! Especially since Uncle Raymond's pool isn't heated ;)

Nicholas was the first one in and the last one out. Poor Brandon can't take the cold water. He spent most of his pool time trying to not get wet ;) I need to get that boy a wet suit!

 The girls spent their time together: Megan was determined to learn swimming on her own so Kristen was her teacher for the day ;)

  Swimming lessons:

 And she's swimming (with floaties....so far)

They did great! Megan is much more comfortable in the water this year than last year so I'm hoping for more progress in the area of swimming.

Still, this was her favorite:

;)

 He did so many cannonballs ;)

 Nick turns 9 this week. When did he get so big?

His smirk just cracks me up in this picture:

What a great way to spend the afternoon! 

Unplugged

We spent a bit too much time this week plugged in. After dropping Megan at daisy camp each day we came home and ended up at some point in the morning on the computer or video games. The weather was absolutely crappy so I couldn't really blame them for seeking their fun in the form of video games, but the over-stimulation took it's toll and toward the end of the week they were not very happy people. There was way too much bickering. So.....we did a project.

Thursday after lunch, I informed them that they would be "unplugged" for the rest of the day. Then I started them on this little activity:

 A close up of their work:

Basically, I traced their shadow on paper, they cut it out then glued it onto posterboard, then they went through old magazines and cut out different pictures of things that interest them. They really had a good time doing it! The boys actually did this while Megan was at camp but she liked it so much that she wanted to do one too ;)

 And a little sister-lovin' ;)

I've really been struggling with finding fun things for them to do. Hopefully this weather will break and we can get outside this week!!

Misplaced

Yesterday, I actually sat outside on my swing. It was wonderful! Dinner was cooking and I was just enjoying some of the evening when Megan decided to join me. She flipped around on the swing and was instantly filled with questions about what she saw.

 Can you see it?

Somehow, this little robin's egg has made it's way to the railing on our porch. It's so sad. It just appeared there one day. We have no idea where it came from or how it got there. I'm thinking there may be a nest way up in our gutters and that some of these storms we've had just blew it right out. Megan really wants to bring it in and keep it warm so it will hatch. She doesn't accept that it won't. It just seems so....misplaced.

Our Scout

Yes, I'm still working my way through last week's Cub Scout camp! Life has been so very busy but I'm determined to make it all the way through those!

Even though we had three kids at camp, I spent the most time with Brandon. Megan was with the other siblings, Nick was with his den, but Brandon and I were both volunteers. Since he didn't have a permanent spot, he would check in every morning to see what stations needed volunteers and choose one. He got alot of experiences this week! He worked at the Emergency Preparedness station, the Flag Football station, the soccer station, and......CRAFTS! Yep he was with me two days!! And out of the other three days he worked close by my station for two of those so we did alot of walking together :) Have I mentioned the hills? We had a major hike up hill every morning, back down the hill for lunch, up again after lunch and back down at the end of the day. One of the routes was called Cardiac Hill....I kid you not. Lots of walking. Also, lots of opportunity for pictures ;)

 And here's my helper!

Brandon, thank you for being my helper! I had so much fun with you this week!

Another Camper

Megan's week of camp begins today!!