Kicking and screaming..

We had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa C. even if Garrett makes you believe otherwise.  He is 2 now and he wanted everyone to know that fact.

The Day with the Strange Animal...

Sierra is one creative girl and recently wrote this story at school.  The class was given a prompt.  They are playing on the playground and see a strange animal.  Here is what Sierra came up with.  (The other girls in the story, Mirabelle, Sofia and Emily, are friends from school.)

Oh, and I didn't change the wording, punctuation, etc.  You may find the use of the word "harmless" amusing.

The Day with the Strange Animal

Whoosh! The cool winter air blew on my face as I swung forward on the swing. “ It’s really cold out today,” I said, tugging my coat closer around me with one hand.

“It sure is,” my friend Sofia said back. “ Do you want to tell ghost stories?” It was something we loved to do.

“Sure.” I answered.

“Okay, so once there was this ghost, and it lived in a-

Suddenly, I gasped.

“What? I didn’t even get to the scary part yet,” Sofia said.

“No, not that,” I said slowly. My voice was a little shaky.

“Well than what?” Mirabelle asked impatiently.

“I-I thought I saw the bark chips moving by themself,” I said.

“It was probably just your-

“There! There! Did you see them?” I almost yelled.

“I think I saw them,” Emily said.

I jumped off the swing and followed whatever was moving it.

Suddenly, my shadow moved so it was over the mysterious creature. For some reason I could see it now, and it was the strangest thing I had ever seen. My mouth dropped open. It looked like glass or water. The thing looked like a lizard, except for its feet. They were round like a finger tip. But the most peculiar thing about it was its eyes. They were as dark as a midnight sky.

“Don’t you see it now?” I whispered.

“Yes,” they whispered back.

Just then, it bared its teeth, which looked like those of a saber tooth tiger.

I decided to pick it up, it didn’t look too harmless. I did, but it was so cold that I dropped it.

Suddenly, with a brilliant flash of light, in the things place appeared a stone as black as its eye.

Just then, the whistle blew and so I picked up the stone and started walking to the classroom.

“Let’s not tell anyone about this,” I told my friends, They nodded.

And so, after that we never saw it again.

The End

Paper Extreme...

Sierra's 3rd grade class have been working on creating their own businesses.  They are in different groups and have made their own stores.  Sierra's store is called Paper Extreme.  Allie and I went in a few weeks ago to "shop" at all of the stores.  I took pictures and somehow erased them all.  Dang!  Sierra's store consists of 4 girls and one boy and as her teacher told me, "they are very industrious." 

They make pictures, paper dolls, clothes for the paper dolls, little paper bags, and origami items.  Sierra loves to create things and expanded her store by making a few felt purses.  She shut herself in the office one day after school and sewed a little purse, start to finish on her own.  They auctioned the purse off and a boy in the class "bought" it for his Mom for Mother's Day.  I wish I had those pictures, it will be such a great 3rd grade memory that will get fuzzy with time.

Here is a letter from Sierra's friend that made me smile.

Thank you for playing tether ball with me and for just being yourself.  I am also sorry that Sofia quit Paper Extreme.  I hope Paper Extreme will recover. 

By the way you know what paper doll I ordered?  When I am able to pay for it.

Your friend

(In Sofia's defense I don't think she quit, she is just on a very long trip.)

I love this age.  Still kids doing kid things.

Part 1: The Aquarium

We took a much needed family trip to the coast.  We needed time away from work, school, home, and the normal routine of life.  We needed time to be together as a family with no distractions.  We had a short and sweet trip and it was just what we needed.

We hit the Aquarium, rented a house on the beach, played in the sand, some people played in the water, ate delicious food and treats, read, watched movies and spent a lot of time in the hot tub.  Eric took a few dips in the water, head under the water and all.  Brrrrr.   Sierra and Mase are following in his footsteps. 

The kids can't wait to go back again.

Part 2: The Jump

Part 3: The Feast

We have started a new tradition of having "family feasts".  So on this coast trip we thought we should definitely have a seafood feast.  We picked up some fresh scallops, prawns and crab....mmmmm.  The house we rented was right on the beach so the view was perfect for our seafood feast.  The kids each received a letter and a new book.  Just so they know they are special, part of the tradition. 

Part 4: The water

Part 5: The sand

Blue skies...

We had beautiful blue skies and sun at the coast last weekend.  Mason and Sierra take after their Dad.  If the sun is out they are in swimsuits in the water...yes, the water at the Oregon coast.  Half of the family wear jackets the other half wear swimsuits.

My favorite child...

I hope someday my young adult child or teenager does this.  This is not someone I know, just something from a "famous" blog.  I laughed a lot and hope my kids have that much confidence, spunk and creativity when they are hitting the teen years.

I would also love it if one of my kids said this to me someday.  I think there will be some really great times ahead.  Maybe when I have a houseful of teenagers I won't think so but the teenagers I know are pretty cool.

You keep going and going...

Allie likes to be noticed
She likes attention, when she approves of getting attention
She is sassy and can be moody
I have to remind myself she is her own person, she is not Sierra, she is not me, she can and will be Allie
I need to let her be Allie
She is smart and perceptive and asks questions
She is good to Garrett and is his best bud
But she is hard to figure out at times, hard to please
I want her to be herself and be happy, that is what I want for all of my kids
But my oh my, sometimes I don't know what to do with her

She does say things like this that make me smile.

Yesterday she asked me this:

"Mom, do you like being a kid better or a Mom?"

I told her I liked being a kid when I was a kid but I always wanted to be a Mom so I like being a Mom too, probably more.  Her response, " You'll be a Mom for a long time because you will keep going and going until you die."

True.

Eden...

Eden was a name I had on my list for baby girls.  I don't think Eric liked it.  Eric's sister is having a baby girl, her middle name is Elise, which is a name Eric wanted for a baby girl.  When I saw this spoon at The Vintage Pearl it seemed familiar.  I still love the name Eden.  Confusing, it doesn't matter I just love the jewelry at this shop.

I also saw this necklace, I am pretty sure it has just enough space for my four children's names.

Potty...

I don't think Garrett thinks this is a great idea yet.  We're giving it a go but if it fails he'll still have to pee so we can try again.

All of the other kids started at his age and had it down in a week or so.  I am just not feeling it this time and neither is Garrett.  Such is life, a potty kind of life. 

What he does love are BIG books with pictures of trucks and tractors.  We picked one out at the library today and he was so happy. I couldn't help but smile and love him more because he looked so cute carrying that big book out the door at the library.  It's a moment I want to remember.  Such a small thing but something as a Mom I tend to forget while doing my daily thing.  I need to remember the joy in the little things.  There is a lot of joy sitting around me waiting to be felt.