Agents Fisher

 

This picture makes me laugh everytime I see it. It's in a bathroom of all places. Jackson was messing around doing silly poses while we waited for the girls to finish up. One of them reminded me of Charlie's Angels so .....

Beach in Florida

 

We went to the beach once while we were there. Of course that would be the one time it was windy and the water was FREEZING. Especially after swimming in the super heated pool at the house. The kids had fun playing at the playground and feeding the seagulls though. I wish I had a video of the seagulls. In the parking lot they were flying down and snatching snacks right out of Jackson's hand as he held it up high. That would be a really fun beach to go back to on a warmer day. As long as we wore sandals - there were a lot of shells. The best part was that you could go out really, really far without it getting very deep at all. 100 ft out and it was hardly up the kids waists. We headed home and swam in the pool

One down...

 

 

Maggie lost her first tooth while we were on our trip. Literally lost it... Just after breakfast one morning I noticed that she had a little bit of a lisp when she was talking to me. I looked a little closer and said "Maggie, your tooth is gone!" She said "really?" I thought it was pretty funny that she didn't even know it was missing. She was really, really excited about the tooth fairy coming. She wrote her a note about loosing her tooth and put it carefully under her pillow. I love to see the kids so excited about things.
* Her other bottom tooth just came out today. Now she has a pretty big hole :) It came out when she was eating a snack - she thought it was a seed and spit it out into her hand. Then she got really excited and showed me that it was her tooth.

LEGOLAND FL

 

 

 

 

Since we have a few lego lovers in our family and we were going to be close to legoland..... we added it into our trip. All 18 of us went. The buy an adult ticket get a child ticket free deal worked out perfectly - since the youngest two were still free!! We went on Thanksgiving day to try to avoid the crowds. It worked. We hardly had to wait in lines at all. The kids adsolutely loved it - and most of the adults too. It is always amazing to see the things they build out of legos. There was an entire city section with different replicas of areas built out of legos. There was a NASA section (that should probably have a blog post all to itself :) ) There was a Vegas section.... The rides are geared towards younger kids - Jackson could go on all but one ride by himself. He liked that. It was a little rough since Caleb couldn't really go on anything - even with an adult. He didn't like that at all. His favorite part was the carousel at the end. We rode it over and over as we waited for some of the others to go on a bigger ride. Maggie was scared of some of the roller coasters but loved the other rides. Hailey loved the roller coasters but got scared on a ride that was in the dark. We had a lot of fun. Hailey has asked a few times since if we can go back. My favorite thing was the 4D Clutch Powers movie that we watched. We wore 3D glasses and then there were parts in the movie that we got sprayed with water, air blew past, it snowed......... a rock monster sneezed on us. The kids LOVED it. I wish we would have planned the day better to see the other two 4D movies!! At the end of the day I got each of our kids a mystery mini fig. That was very cool. They loved opening their package to see what they got. Hailey - guy in an alligator costume, Maggie - Navy sailor, Jackson - viking, Caleb - artist. They were so cool that Matt has put them all in a 'safe' location :) Poor kids with a lego loving dad!! Maggie also got a lifeguard mini fig from one the employees. Maggie told her how much she liked her name tag (everyone had a minifig on their nametag) and she gave it to her! Matt has also confiscated that one because it reminds him of me :) He promised Maggie he would get her another one. In fact she will get three lego girls in her stocking.

FLoRiDa

 

 

We were in Florida Wed, Thur, Fri and Sat. Matt's brother and his family were there, one of his sisters and her family were there, and his parents were there. So we had 8 adults and 10 kids!! There are some old family friends from Michigan that have a house in Florida and they allowed everyone to stay there. It was great to have everyone in one place. The cousins got in a lot of play time and A LOT of swimming time. A house with a pool is AWESOME! It helped that there was a fence around the pool and doors to block the kiddos from it. The weather was amazing. Sunny and 70-80's the whole time. We did the big Tday dinner on Wed so we could go to Legoland on Thur - in the hopes the crowds would be smaller. By the end of it Caleb was getting pretty comfortable in the WARM water and would jump in to us wearing a life jacket. Maggie was practicing swimming on her own. Jackson was constantly swimming underwater and Hailey was swimming around and jumping in with her life jacket on (and a few times without - we really have to keep an eye on her) :) Our whole family loves water. It was a good trip. It's always nice to see family and get to know everyone a little better each time we visit. Maybe we should invite everyone here....... then we won't have to drive ANYWHERE!! Oh, yeah. Maybe we should fill the holes in the yard first.....

Florida here we come.....

 

We drove down near Tampa, FL for Thanksgiving. It took us two 12 hour days to get there and 2 more 12 hour days to get back. The kids travel really well considering they are buckled into carseats. DVD players help immensely. There is a pretty cool building that we stopped at for a break. The kids played at the playground. Caleb splashed in puddles. Then we drove some more. and some more.

Deck....

 

Deck progress has been slow but ongoing. It needed 8 holes for footers - each one 42" deep. Matt dug a few of them out by hand - then when Saturday came we rented an auger for the remaining 6. It was a lot of work. We couldn't get them all deep enough with the auger so Matt has been working on getting them the right depth with a post hole digger and bar. This house remodeling diet is working fairly well for him :) Now the holes are complete and ready for concrete. But the weather isn't going to hold out for us. We are supposed to get rain over the next couple of days - which fills the holes - that has to be drained out .....
We put Jackson down a hole to show how deep it was. Caleb thought that was pretty interesting and Jackson loved it.

Jax

 

Can you see it? This guy is growing up. He is looking so much older to me recently. He is figuring life out. Making connections. Listening and commenting on our conversations :) Reading really well. He is starting to read books to the younger ones before bed - we started reading books at night when Jackson was about Caleb's age. Jackson reading is motivating Maggie to learn. He is excellent at math. He very rarely complains about doing his homework although it can be hard to get him to focus and finish it. It's not all that uncommon for 20 spelling words to take him an hour! He spends his free time playing with the girl next door :), playing on the computer, building with legos, and playing with his siblings. He has an amazing but occasionally frustrating personality. I am excited to watch him grow and change as time goes by!!

Sleepy boy

 

I love to sneak in and take sleepy pics every once in awhile. It helps me remember how little they are even when they act so big while awake :) He has a pacifier and a blankie just like Jackson did. Maggie did too but definitely was not as attached to her blankie. Hailey sucked (still sucks) her thumb - she also had a blankie but is pretty much been over it for awhile now. Jackson still has one of his blankies around. It still makes an occasional appearance where the girls don't care anymore. For naps and bedtime I gather up his accesories and a sippy cup (I usually do water but sometimes juice) then I take Caleb in, lay him down and walk out. However, I am the only one that can put him down. He freaks if Matt tries. I think he is the winner right now - of lasting in the crib the longest. All the other were in toddler beds by this age because they either started to climb out or a new baby was coming :) Hailey moved out of the crib when we moved out here. I don't really have any plans right now to move Caleb out - we will just wait and see how things go.

Halloween 2

 

I think this round of costumes was actually for Trick or Treating :) We also had a church party and a school party thrown into the mix along the way. Trick or treating around our neighborhood was kind of crazy. This was our first halloween in this house so we had no idea what to expect. Some friends had warned us that a lot of people come to this area for trick or treating. We bought a lot of candy just in case. It was wild. There was a long line of cars coming into the neighborhood. Tons of people. The neighborhood watch and police were out monitoring. The streets were crowded. Most people just sat out on their porch with candy to hand out because it would be insane to go to your door a billion times for that many kids!! There are not very many subdivisions around here so everyone congregates at the few there are. Wow. The kids loved it.

Funny kids

 

 

 

We had absolutely beautiful weather in October. The most consistent nice weather I remember since moving out here almost 2 years ago. We enjoyed being outside a lot!! One day we were talking about the pictures that you are supposed to find out what's wrong with it and Jackson wanted to try it. Maggie just wanted her picture taken :) and then there was another attempt at all 4 kids in one frame. All 4 in the picture - success. All 4 looking and smiling - failure :)
The last few days have been rainy but warm. That is still so odd to me. It's gets warmer on rainy days here. The opposite of what happens in the West. I think the nice weather is coming to an end.

JUMP JUMP JUMP

 

Caleb can now jump on the trampoline by himself. He can get both feet off again and again...... He loves it. I love to watch him :) I'm not sure the older kids like to watch very much since they have to do it from the sidelines. Caleb does not appreciate getting knocked down over and over :) I can't believe that he will be 18 months in just a few weeks. It has gone by so fast this time around.

Halloween 1

 

 

 

October was a very busy month. The kids had 4 chances to dress up!! These pictures are from Jackson's cub scout halloween party. It's so much fun to watch the kids decide what they want to be and dress up. I used to think that I needed to get "halloween" costumes but I've now realized that even if I buy new costumes there is a very good chance they will just pick an old standby from the costume bucket. It's very well stocked thanks to Gram, Goodwill, DI and yardsales :) They love to look through everything and try on one after another. They play dress up all the time so I'm always a little surprised how they can be so excited for Halloween. Kids are amazing!

Apple cups

 

I showed Matt a picture of apple cups in a magazine...... that night before dinner he decided to make them. I was impressed! He doesn't go domestic on us very often :) Putting in the effort to do something cute and fun for the kids - aww, I was so proud! The kids were impressed - cups you could eat! with apple cider in them.

Dancing

 

Maggie has wanted to do a dance class for a very long time so we signed her up for a creative movement class at a nearby college. The class is for ages 3-5 so Hailey goes too. Maggie was a little disappointed that it wasn't a regular ballet class but she is having a lot of fun! I thought it would be a good start to see if she was interested in staying in dance. I don't know that we will sign her up for classes yet but I have a feeling it will be in the near future :) These two cute little girls and fun and flair to our lives everyday!!

Fall leaves

 

1 trampoline + 1 pile of leaves = lots of fall fun. This kept the kids better for a good hour or more. It kept me busy too - I had a lot of fun attempting to take focused pics of them :) I love to see the kids discover new things around them. My favorite thing to do is watch/listen to them as they play outside.

Fire station open house

 

The fire station near us had a open house recently. We went to check it out for a little while. Hot dogs, lemonade, halloween candy and a firetruck ride!! Excellent. The kids loved buckling into the seats and putting on the headsets. We won't mention the spilled lemonade, dropped hot dog, and 3 trips to the bathroom - ahh, such is life with little ones :)

Princess night

 

Each year the Chik Fil A here does a princess night. This is the second time we have gone. The girls absolutely love it. It's a pretty busy night but the crowds don't seem to bother them. Each of the princesses is there. They do a carriage ride with Bill - the horse. We made crowns, played games, and went wild with princesses everywhere.

we PLAY

 

It rained for almost all of September. We have had more rain in October but every once in awhile.... a beautiful day is thrown in. While I can't say there are as many mild and beautiful fall days like we had in the West - there is some incredibly beautiful weather here too. Just much less frequent. So we take advantage of those nice days and play outside. See Caleb in full - Hailey is in MY SWING mode - ?? He's learning how to hold his own with his siblings already. They are all getting big so fast. I'm glad to have this blog to document where all that time goes because it's gone before I even remember it happened.

Halloween is coming....

 

The kids (especially Maggie) have been anxious to decorate for something/anything. So they were excited when I told them we could decorate for Halloween on Oct. 1 :) We made these painted jars and put flamless candles in them. They are pretty cool at night. We have some other simple decorations that we put up also. I will put up some pics of those soon - maybe. It was fun to decorate and the kids loved it. However, Hailey has been wanting to go 'ask people for candy' ever since!!

Moustache mania

 

Who can resist a good moustache? :)I found some at the dollar store and it always provides a little fun. This all started because we were on our way to princess night at Chik Fil A and I asked Jackson if he wanted to wear a costume...... the final decision. No. But it was fun to play with the moustaches for a little while.

Dirt. Water. Boy.

 

 

 

Caleb is a lot like Jackson was..... some dirt + water + rocks = little boy heaven. This little dude loves to get messy. And it's so cute that I usually let him...... sometimes I regret it when I have mounds of laundry and lots of baths to do but for the most part I love it.
He's also showing off his newest trick. He's learned how to lay on the swing on his belly so he can "superman swing". He likes the indepence it gives him to play with the swings.

Construction continues....

 

 

 

Just in case you have missed the latest in construction fashion..... Hailey is here to model some current options...... The kids love to help Matt out with the jobs but they have to wear shoes and eye protection. Apparently we might to need to update those requirements a little. She was so funny out there swinging her little sledge hammer to help smash rocks in her swimming suit! Jackson loves to get into the smashing too. Maggie will from time to time but it's not as high on her fun list. :)