our neighbors are moving

My heart is heavy today. The T family officially stayed their last night in the home on Wednesday and said goodbye to it yesterday. One hour later, the new family was doing there walk through. The T family, Pam, Emma, Hunter, and Ashton will be joining their dad in San Diego tomorrow. For that, I am grateful. When you move into a house, you don't get to choose your neighbors. You choose the house and try to scope out the neighborhood but you never know exactly the whole package. Not only have our kids (who are all very close in age) become friends, but I have made a friend who I will greatly miss. I don't like goodbye's. I'm sure there will be other great neighbors in our lifetime, but the T family holds a special place in our hearts.

Unfortunately, we also have another set of neighbors moving. Lee and Jenny. I'm sure we'll still see a lot of them since their daughter and grand-daughter are moving in.

On to brighter topics. How about baby bunnies? Yes, we have baby bunnies and the kids enjoy watching them grow. We almost took them to the animal rescue shelter b/c we thought mama had abandoned them. However, she still occasionally comes around. 2 have left the burrow to explore. Unfortunately, one of them died and I returned the other one to the burrow (with gloves on of course). The kids do not realize one has passed. I don't think we're going to mention it.

Eli is continuing to climb. He is very ingenious when it comes to this. I came in one day to find him on his dresser waving a cd around in the air and McKenzie laughing at the whole scene. He had pushed a toy up to it and then pulled out one of the drawers just enough to make his own staircase!! Gray hairs will be appearing all over my head soon!

Tonight we will celebrate Schuyler's kindergarten graduation and the end of year celebration at the Montessori. It is always a fun time. We will continue to work on the fence. Yes, this previous weekend we lost the north side of our privacy fence to the wind. It was on the project list, we're just doing it a little sooner than anticipated.

Did you think I would forget a picture? Check out this sweety! She has a little spirit in her that reminds me of Mack. Who doesn't love a little girl in curly piggies!

I don't have an off button!

Is this the PERFECT shirt for Mr. E or what!! And, just look at his eyes and smirk. He's up to something! Thanks Grandma S - it fits him to a "T". If you think about it, there are some good qualities in computers that would be nice to apply to humans. Yes, an off button or power down function would be great for children. More memory! There are times when I need more memory. Wouldn't it be great if you could just go and buy some, or just upgrade! How about back-up capabililities. Oooops I overlaid that piece of information, I'll just go to my back-up copy.


Eli has also been battling a cold and teething. He had watery eyes for a few days followed by some crusty eyes and nose drainage. He is getting the last of his 4 teeth - all at one time! They are the ones inbetween the molars and incisors. The left top one busted through yesterday and there are big red bumps on the other 3 so it's just a matter of time. He has decided to share his crusty eyes with mommy = (

Here's miss Mack! Instead of shin guards, she wears them as knee guards. She is so funny. She really enjoyed the dress rehearsal and watched so well. However, the day of the dance was a different story. She was determined she was going to sit in the front, where we had sat for the dress rehearsal. I tried to explain the facts and concept of assigned seating. I tried bribery. I failed on both accounts. So, we had a gentle reminder from the people that seat you that I would need to take her out if this occurred during the show. Well, duh! I took her out and eventually brought her back in and she had made the decision to sit (in our seats). She also had a historical comment at the end of the first Act. The performers were doing a modern, conceptual dance where music only played for the first half. There were people running around the stage, sleeping people being dragged across the stage... you get the idea. Not your typical dance. Anyhow, Mack says, "What is this? This isn't dance!" Of course Mark chimes in, good question.

And, speaking of dancer, here was a quick shot of her before her class pictures. The recital went well! She gets up there and has this HUGE smile and you can tell she really enjoys it! Schuyler is also very funny! After Idol on Tuesday's, there is a show called Hell's Kitchen. It's a basically a cooking contest and the winner becomes a chef in a new restaurant. Well, I usually am pretty good about turning the TV off after Idol but one day I forgot. I noticed it was on and went to shut it off. Here's what Schuyler said, "Mom, I want to watch Kitchen. It's actually called Hails (Hell's) Kitchen. But, Hails (Hells) a bad word so I just call it Kitchen). I wish I could imitate how she says "hell". She adds a little southern twang to it!

The girls had dentist appts and we are proud to report we have 42 teeth or so and still not a single cavity = ) Schuyler has another loose tooth. Her top one has been ever so slight loose but her bottom incisor is MUCH more loose!



Enjoy the memorial day weekend. Schuyler is having a friend spend the night tonight and Monday Mark and I are playing in a couples' scramble. That will be interesting since I haven't touched a club in forever!

slowing down

Life will be slowing down for us, well, at least for a little bit;-) Spring soccer is now complete and dance will be done this weekend after the recital. We'll have softball and swimming lessons to look forward to shortly and eventually Vacation Bible School later in the summer.

Schuyler's team, the Eclypse, won their final game this weekend. At this stage, it's still very much about learning the game and fundamentals, but it is kind of cool that they were undefeated. Speaking of the game, she did the funniest thing! She was dribbling the ball and I've been trying to teach her to "pull back" the ball. So, when your on a break away and the opposing team is gaining ground, you pull the ball back and head a different direction, usually to goal, and the defenders fly right by you. Well, she pulled the ball back and then stood there with her foot on the ball, she put her hands on her hips and shot a little smile to all of us on the sideline. I'm telling you, she had all of us in stitches and nobody on the field had a clue what to think. Then, she dribbled throught the little huddle and ended up scoring. I wish I had that on video!!

Schuyler had a few incidenst this past week. She had her first bee sting = ( We - the kids and I- had just arrived at the grocery store and were unloading when in flew a bee into the van. So, with Eli in tow, I was swatting it with McKenzie's lunch box. Schuyler thought she would take care of it and tried smacking it with her hand. Well, she got it but it gave her a little sting! On Saturday, the girls attended a bday party. Schuyler came home with a swollen black eye - not terrible though. Evidentally, she ran into a door handle!

Eli, who has always been a climber has figured out how to get out of his pak-n-play at daycare as well as his crib at home. Now, the pak-n-play is one thing but the crib has much taller sides. He is very flexible and strong and these 2 characteristics put together is what allows him to climb out. Mark and I are at a loss as to what we should do. McKenzie was the same way and we put her in a toddler bed at 15 months! To this day, she still does not have the best sleeping habits - she likes to crawl into our bed and it takes her a long time to fall asleep. So, although part of her sleeping problems stem from an early toddler bed, there are other factors as well. We just don't want to make the same mistakes again. We are open to suggestions if you have any!

Happy belated mother's day to all of you out there. We had a nice, relaxing day. Mark smoked some ribs, we played outdoors, had some icecream in the afternoon and enjoyed the soccer game in the evening = )

4 gorgeous cousins!

Wowzers! Are these kids stunning or what!! This was my first outdoor session of the year and the weather couldn't have cooperated more! Can you guess which kids are in which family? = ) B and S - it was a delight to photograph your kids and I enjoyed catching up! Hope you enjoy the sneak peak!! The rest will be done soon.

Birthday Images Overload

As promised here are some candids from Schuyler's 6th bday party. Can you tell we had A LOT of fun?

In yoga we are instructed to do an inversion once a day, it's good for your heart. We definitely supported that theory. Here is Schuyler and McKenzie hangin' upside down!




Let's not forget the slides! You can go solo or with some friends = ) The first picture is Schuyler's friend Madysn and the 2nd is Paaka, Schuyler, and McKenzie.





Guess where Eli spent a lot of his time. Mainly the basketball court, although he did enjoy the bounce house, too! Here is the little sport along with Schuyler's friend Alexi.





At home, Mark was being a little silly with his cake. Well, monkey see, monkey do...



Shhh, don't tell my parents about this = )



Schuyler opening her presents and giving her guests a little love...





Our first exposure to High School Musical...



Last, but certainly not least, the prized yellow and red soccer ball cake made by your's truly = )



Whew! Told you there was a lot of pics!

I also need to give shout out to my mother-in-law and my father. Thanks to them, for picking up the kids and taking care of them last Thursday while Mark was out of town so I could attend my first ever photography seminar! I was able to meet up with one of my photofriends, Holly, and I go to meet a new photofriend = )

Sunrise

I took this picture Thanksgiving 2006 at my aunt's house in Juniata, NE, right off her porch. I profess that I am NOT a landscape photographer and have a lot to learn in this area but hopefully this image will give you a feeling of the beautiful sunrise we experienced that a.m. I love Lincoln. It's not too big and I'm comfortable here, it's been my home since I was 5. But I love rural Nebraksa as well and being on a farm. I remember all the wonderful memories of staying at my grandparent's house on the farm. I think it's great that we still have relatives who live in the "country" that we can visit so our kids can hopefully have some of the same memories. We are heading there on Saturday = )

I really want to share some pics of the birthday extravaganza but haven't had time!! The kids got to bed late on Sunday, Mark started golf league on Monday and left for Texas yesterday for the week. So, it's busy. For now, I'll share some highlights and the pictures will eventually follow. We survived the sleepover! We started the evening at Lost in Fun - a new indoor playland with huge play sets (like you would find outdoors), 3 bouncehouses, basketball, glow in the dark putt-putt, and things for little guys like Eli - ball pit, sand box, little play houses. As we were getting ready they had a really cool bubble machine where bubbles would fall from the ceiling! Kids were dancing in them and trying to catch them or clap them. The owners and staff are wonderful and the food was excellent. We thought for sure this would tire the kids out. Uh, not so much! I had 5 silly, giggly girls in the van with me and Mark had Eli. Once home, we had soccerball cupcakes and opened presents. Then, the real fun began. Getting the girls to get ready for bed, brush teeth, and call parents if necessary (or, 2 of the parents called us = ) Lights were out by 9:00 but not asleep until 10:00! We had one girl who was sad and cried, Madysn. We tried bringing her upstairs, giving her something to cuddle and called her parents for the 2nd time at 9:50 and I honestly didnt' think she would make it. Mack would not stop talking so I told her she could sleep with mommy ;-) Schuyler and her soccer/church bud, Paaka, are 2 peas in a pod! While upstairs with Madysn, I came back down to find them in the bathroom giggling! After re-tucking everybody back in bed I laid with them and they finally all fell asleep. I put Mack in her bed but at 4:40 a.m., Mack and Madysn couldn't sleep so I through them in bed with me and kicked Mark onto the couch. All were up at 7:00 a.m.!

Well, if that wasn't enough excitement we had a little incident with Sadie. The girls had all been picked up, Mark had left to help a friend with a project, and I had just got Eli to nap so it was now time to break into one of the new craft kits Schuyler had received. As we were making crowns I noticed Sadie pawing at the back door. I didn't think anything of it b/c she usually does this, but then I noticed a big mark on her face. Poor Sadie had a nasty cut on her face and I knew it needed to be looked at it. I don't handle these things well and did the best I could to clean it with Mack crying because she didn't want Sadie to die! I assured her that Sadie wasn't dying and she may need stitches. Well, this settled her some but she was still very upset. Luckily, Mark's parents were close and once they got there I took Sadie to the emergency vet hospital. The cut was very superficial and although it was bad, stitches were not required. They shaved some of the fur to verfiy and cleaned her up real well. It still looks yucky and she will have a scar but we are so thankful it's not anything worse!

Sunday, we celebrated with family. Schuyler chose a red and yellow, lemon soccer ball cake. Actually, it turned out more like hot pink and yellow but still very cute. She has been enjoying all her presents. If all this had not been enough, I spaced treats for school. So, Monday night we make some healthy oatmeal cookies and she took those yesterday.

Okay, probably more than you wanted/needed to know. I'll try to follow up with the pictures, which will be much more exciting then just words = )

Preparing...

for a night of fun and total chaos! Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating. Hopefully, it will just be little chaos and not total chaos = ) For Schuyler's 6th bday, we are taking her and 3 of her friends (and her siblings, ofcourse) to and indoor playland called Lost in Fun. Afterwards, we're heading home for the sleepover! I'm excited, she's excited and I just pray that all goes well! Her chosen theme this year is soccer! So, I will be making a soccer ball cake for the family bday party and I saved myself some of the trouble and am having soccer cupcakes made for her friend bday party as well as her soccer team. She really wanted to have her bday party on the soccer field = )

This past week has been TV turn off week. It has been hardest on Mark! The kids are very strict! I attempted to turn on the TV one morning to see what the weather was going to be like but Schuyler would not allow it! "Mom, just put on your shoes and step outside. Then, you can see how many degrees it is." Isnt' she hillarious! I tried to explain that I still needed to know what the forecast for the rest of the day was, like 5 hours from then. Nope! Luckily, Mark had caught the evening news. We have played outside a lot, which is typical, but have also played more games, like dominos and matching games.

We are also making a conscious effort to recycle. Schuyler is very good about bringing home yogurt containers and fruit cup containers and both of the girls know where our recycle bin is in the garage. We are also going to try and bring a bag for grocery shopping and errands. As long as I can keep organized, I think it should be successful. Instead of taking Schuyler to dance on Tuesday, we rode our bikes. Well, I pulled Mack and Eli, and Schuyler rode beside me. Unfortunately, Mack lost another chunk of hair to her brother! He REALLY does NOT like bike rides!!

To my dear bday girl Schuyler, who LOVES the color yellow, this should be your theme song... "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know dear, how much I love you, so please don't take my sunshine away..." or, however that song goes. It's so her!

Mackie is graduating from the tricycle to the little bicycle. But, not with out incident (as shown below). Oh, and how do you like the outfits! Yup, chosen by completely by themselves. Can you say colorful! Here's hoping we get rid of the 30 degree weather and welcome back the 60's!