I'm Back!

Hey Guys-

I am back, and feel like I should apologize for not writing for so long. I don't really know why I feel like I need to apologize for not writing on my personal blog, but I do. So here I am. Sorry.

So we are married! We are now a legal family, and it feels great. The kids really seem to be affected by it, which is so surprising, because it will be 4 years in August that we have been living together. The kids are saying stuff like "You're my dad now" (like he wasn't before). Interesting.

The kids are all doing well, on summer vacation, and in good health.

The wedding was great, with some interesting stories that I may get to soon. The kids were all "junior brides" and "junior grooms" complete with their own "junior maid-of-honors" and even a "junior best-man" They were so excited to be able to bring their best friends on such a wonderful vacation, to such a beautiful place.

Our beautiful wedding chapel in the mountains


A view of the incredible cabins we stayed in


The Wedding Party



My Guys



My Gals


Husband and Wife at last!




And some more of my favorites I thought I'd throw in:
Me and Rick

Brooke and Dad

Bride

Our Sand Ceremony Container


In addition to doing a sand ceremony to include our children, we also said vows to them and gave them rings. It was beautiful!

Perks of a Mega-Family

I am a Dunkin Donuts girl. I was, after all raised in Vermont. However, where I am now located, is Krispy Kreme country. I have not ever been to the actual Krispy Kreme shop though. Mainly because you can often find these Krispy Kreme fundraisers all over the place. T-Ball, cheer-leaders, parks&rec., schools, there they are, groups of kids, in the street, selling donuts. You don't even get out of your car. They just walk up to the window, and the deal goes down.

Today I ventured into the Krispy Kreme shop. They have the best program in the world, and after today, I am now a Krispy Kreme fan. Why oh why did I wait so long to take advantage of this incredible offer? We always get these little pamphlets on report card day saying to stop into Krispy Kreme for a donut for every "A", up to six. Well, I have never taken the kids over to Krispy Kreme, because we have seven kids, so what good would six donuts do us?

Today was different. Today, I had my kids, as well as my brother and his step-daughter, who goes to the same school as my elementary kids, with me. And we decided to check out the Krispy Kreme incentive. A donut for each "A" up to six was true. The part I misunderstood? Low and Behold! Up to six PER KID! 32 donuts later, we left Krispy Kreme, without a penny out of pocket. Yes, that was THIRTY-TWO donuts.

My brother and I also came to a new realization about all of those Krispy Kreme fundraiser's. We now know where they get all those donuts they are selling. We know your game coaches. We know you do those kids' homework to make sure they all get A's for your fundraisers. I feel bad for the poor kid who gets a B+. He gets thrown off the team doesn't he? Who cares if he's the pitcher? He needs to bring home the donuts!

Severe Winter Weather (hehehe)

I interrupt the broadcast of our M-A-W. trip to bring you the severe winter storm of '09. (VT peeps commence laughter now)

Look at my dog (Crystal) she doesn't know what it is



She is ssoooo happy. And super cute if I do say so myself. Oh-yeah, Rainia is too.



The looks on their faces are looks of amazement and confusion. What is this stuff?



Why I love this man so much (He's a big kid.)



All 3 of these snowballs ended up thrown at me



Our backyard. Did you all know we have 3 acres?



one last pic of my baby. She loves the snow. Who knew?

The Big Secret

On Monday, we finally got the house cleaned up (kind-of) from all the Christmas activity. Rick went back to work, and it seemed as if things were finally settled back to our normal pace of craziness. Also, add in a little bit of Oh shit! What do you do when 7 children are home from school?

I told the kids that if they cleaned-up pretty well, then we could ask Rick if we could go out to eat when he gets home from work. (Unfortunately, this is a rare occasion in our house. It's something that both sets of kids had in their previous lives, but since we became the Brady-Doodle's, It was one of the first things we gave up. Even McD's costs about $40-$50 for us.)

So they cleaned, and I was so sneaky, because the dinner was already planned, and we weren't even paying for it. But My God people, you would have done it too if your kitchen looked like mine did. And then when Rick got home, they nominated Rainia to do the begging, and she batted her eyelashes and asked in the sweetest voice possible if we could go out to eat. With all of her eylash batting, and sweetness, Rick gave in (planned) and off to the steakhouse we went.

When we walked into the back room, where all the REALLY long tables are, to the kids surprise it had balloons, and a couple of people they soon recognized, and some signs that Andrew had to get about 6 inches away from to read, but there it was, in large print. "Bon Voyage Andrew!" "Disney Bound!"

Before we went into the restaurant, we had given the kids the normal pep-talk which included things like No Screaming, No Running, Don't stand on the table or climb the walls. You know, pretend you are actually civilized. And of all times to listen to us, they chose this one. So there we were, they had just found out we are going to Disney, and not a peep out of this bunch. You could have heard a pin drop. Ummm...Kids? Helloooo? We are talking about the happiest place on earth! In three days!

Finally Andrew asked if we were going to miss any school, Of-Course we are, and then the excitement started. Brooke quietly asked me if she could let out a little squeal, just one, and I happliy obliged, her and Rainia screamed, jumped a few times, and then the giggling, talking, and eating began. They were sweet. And funny, and started talking about what to pack. And I wasn't even embarassed in front of the make-a-wish people the whole time. Well, only once, when Rainia told Kyley that no one wanted to hear her bladder. She actually meant Blabber, which wouldn't have been a nice thing to say at all. But Bladder was much more enjoyable for everyone. Oh-Yeah, also when one of the make-a-wish ladies told her she had ice-cream on the tip of her nose, and she proceeded to clean it off. WITH HER TONGUE. I quickly had to remind her that that was a talent best kept to herself. She also made an announcement that this was the best day ever because she found out she was going to Disney, AND she got food. Now I know that she meant food in a restaurant, but this was just too much for Rick, who announced that the best days of his life also were the ones when he got to eat food. They all really had the make-a-wish ladies laughing the whole time.

And when we got home, and the kids got the luggage that Rick and I have been collecting for the last few weeks from the goodwills and thrift stores in our area (and neighboring towns), the kids REALLY freaked out. This is where I was glad I said all the stuff about not climbing walls, or practicing your cartwheels in the restaurant. But they quickly calmed down when we put in the DVD they had given us about disney. They sat watching, mesmorized, with smiles from ear to ear, and the occasional squeal of delight.

So we leave early tomorrow morning, and we are staying here That site is for the general public. But they also sent us a site to look at for the families. Kind of a 'what to expect'. And of course I will share that with you as well. It is here. I haven't decided yet if I will bring my laptop, so I don't know if I will be updating, but I definately will when we get back. We get home on Wed. the 7th. And the kids aren't actually missing that much school, because they weren't scheduled to go back until the 5th anyway.

Crack-Town Christmas Parade

You probably didn't know that I am a parade Princess. Our whole family actually. Including precious. Unfortunately I don't have any pics of myself, Rick, or her, as we were sitting on our high perch. The best part was when the crazy horse Socks peed on the ground next to Rick, and it was so forceful that it splattered on his legs. The second best part was decorating the horses. The worst part was that we didn't actually get to see any of the parade except the people who were directly in front of us.

Kyley rode Montana, and Brittney rode Smokey. We decided not to put Snow in it, because she needs a little work. Mainly she needs brake pads.

Montana's butt. We got tree skirts for them, bows, and bells.


Smokey in her pretty bows. Brittney did a great job with these.


Here is Brit and Smokey. Check out these reins. I wrapped tinsel around them. So Cute!




Kyley and Montana




Our girls together


The HayRide. Check out Andrew and Jake's faces. They are so happy to be here. Did I mention that it was really cold? And we had to wait forever?


Finally moving!!! That is a long line of horses!


In this pic. I zoomed in from my perch as parade queen. See if you can spot Kyley and Brittney!

X-Mas Recommendation

From the authority of a very large family, My 1st ever product recommendation:

If you need a Christmas gift that the whole family can enjoy, I suggest this:



We have the playstation 2, but I know that SingStar comes in every system. Singstar comes with 2 microphones, and then you can buy different versions. Kyley got SingStar 80's for her B-Day, and the kids loved it so much that they pooled their money together to get another version. They got 90's!!! The game is very easy, even if you can't carry a tune. It has the words to the songs, but also these bars across the screen that tell you if you need to be on a higher or lower note. This game also works for kids who can't read yet!!! If your kid is the type who sings along to the radio, they will be able to sing along to this game, and get high scores. ALL of my kids love it. You can sing alone, together, or against eachother. Also, the party game is so fun. It says up to 8 players, but we played the party game with 10 players.

And can I just say that seriously, there is nothing better than hearing your kids singing the songs that you loved when you were their age. I mean is your life really complete without hearing your 6-year-old tell you how much he loves "Ice-Ice Baby"? Or catching you 10-year-old singing "Wake me up before you go-go" while brushing her hair in the bathroom? And the best part? Hearing the man in your life belt out Blondie. Your children will look at him in a whole new light.

My only warning about this game is that if you have a job that requires you to communicate verbally, you should probably open it when you don't have to work the next day. This is just in case you sing for 16 hours straight, and then lose your voice. (Uuuummmm, Not that I would know from experience...I'm just saying.)

You might just find that you are suddenly interacting and laughing with your kids. And that your pre-teens and teenagers are saying "Go Mom! You Rock!" Or are giving you five as they turn to your husband and say "She BEASTED you Dad."

The Snow-Tree

We went to cut down our Christmas tree today, and I would love to show you all of the awesome pictures I took, only I don't have any. There was no memory card in my camera, and my camera holds a total of 3 pictures without a memory card. Plus, I don't even have the cord to get those 3 pictures from the camera onto the compututer.

It was so special though. We went to the same place we went last year, about 2 hrs. north, in the mountains, and it even snowed for us. We only get snow about once a year, so it was awesome for the kids. On the way up the mountain, we finally saw snow about 10 miles from where we were going. Josh was so cute, because everything he saw was newly named. instead of rocks, they were snow-rocks. He saw snow-trees, and snow-roads, and even snow-cars.

When we got there, the kids all ran out to play in the snow. Snow-ball fights, tastings, and lots of falling down. They finally got on task though, running through the trees, looking for our perfect Christmas tree. The kids kept finding the best, perfectly shaped trees, but the ones they wanted were 9 feet tall!!! Uuumm...no guys, not this year. Although I wish we had the space for a 9 or 10 foot tree, that's not going to happen. Then we saw it. Rick actually spotted it first, but we all agreed that it was the perfect tree. 7 feet tall, and beautiful. We wasted no time. Rick got down and started sawing it, then every kid took a turn. They only lasted about a minute a piece, lying on the ground in the snow, and when all seven of them had a turn, the tree was all of 1/3 cut through. I took a hack at it, but then decided that it was much more fun to have a snow-ball fight with Josh and Brittney. So Rick stayed on the ground with the dull blade, and sawed and sawed until it fell.

The four girls proudly picked it up and carried it out of there. Then the kids all had to use the bathroom, of course, and the little Christmas store was closed because it was a Monday, so the owner actually let us all track wet muddy feet into his house so the kids could use HIS bathroom. Josh went first, and when he got out, he immediately took off his coat, and sat down on the couch, and ASKED FOR SOMETHING TO EAT! That boy is not what I would call bashful. I was embarrassed, but Rick laughed it off, and the guy loved it. We told Josh we would get McD's on the way home, and just when he was starting to take off his shoes, the last kid was finished, and we headed the 2 hrs. home.

Oh-yeah, and we're the coolest parents ever, we were even told we ROCK! Because we signed all the kids out of school early for our little field-trip. And in the school they asked why they were being signed out, and we told them they had an appointment, as soon as we got into the parking lot, we exclaimed "An appointment to go get a Christmas tree!" Brooke actually thought she was going to get a shot. But we were tricky about it. We waited until after 1:30 before we got any of the kids, because that way they would be counted as there.

So Frustrated Part Deuce

So I just went and had yet another conversation with Kyley about Mr Science teacher.

I have serious concerns about reporting Mr. Science teacher, because we live in such a very, very conservative, religious, republican area. I am almost positive that if I did contact Mrs. Principal about this, I would be the first and only parent to ever do so. Therefore, I am sure that nothing would come of it. Doesn't Mr. Science teacher need more than one complaint in his 70 years of teaching to change his ways? So this makes me feel like there would be ramifications on my kid. She already had a couple of rough days at school involving politics. The first was the day the students had their "mock" elections, which of course afterward they discussed who they mock-voted for, and she discovered that ALL of her friends thought she was crazy and stupid for voting Obama. The worst day though, was the day after the real election, where she bravely wore her Obama t-shirt, and was chastized, and had complete strangers angry at her for wearing it.

And it's not just Kyley. Poor Brooke got in a raging yelling match at school, 3 against 1, when she mentioned her views on being pro-choice. It went as far as her being called a baby-killer. It was carried on at home, when we found out that her own twin sister was one of the 3 kids yelling at her. Thank-God that my kids are so self-assured. After this happened, Brooke turned the whole thing into an essay for an assignment, on something that she was passionate about. The whole essay was about being pro-choice, and thankfully the teacher saw her passion and (even if she didn't agree) gave her the "A" she deserved.

Anyway, living in a more rural area, in the South, is hard for a girl from Vermont. And I would love for my kids to be able to hear all viewpoints on politics, to be exposed to many different cultures, and religions, and to make their own choices as adults. And these past couple of months really woke me up, because from the start I didn't think I was very political, didn't think that I was doing a good job trying to teach my kids my views. I even wrote it on this very blog somewhere that I am not very politically minded. But obviously I have done something, because in this sea of conservatism, where my kids are getting religious teachings in public schools, where my kids are being told regularly that everything I believe is wrong, they are listening to me. They are forming their own beliefs. A couple of them very strongly are forming beliefs and standing firm in them. All of them voted Obama in their mock-elections, even the kindergarten ones. And they don't all agree with me or each other about everything, but at least they are talking and thinking about the shit.

And that day that Britney had been in the group of kids yelling at Brooke? We discussed it, and we discussed the reasons they both felt the way they did. And then I naturally did what I do, and argued my pro-choice position, and I used the best debates for my opinion that I could think of. And just when I got Britney switched over to my side, I realized what I had done, and how it went against the big picture of what I am trying to accomplish with these kids, and I quickly switched it up. I told Rick I felt bad, and I called her back into the kitchen, and debated to the very best of my ability all the reasons why she should be pro-LIFE. And that night, I knew in my heart that that 13 year old girl new more about the issues surrounding pro-choice/pro-life than many adults. And she had heard both sides, until she was holding her hands over her ears saying "I can't take anymore!" and could now make her own informed decision.

So this is my goal. Not for my kids to be clones of my beliefs, but to be educated, and have their own beliefs. And I am SO blessed to be able to have a conversation with my 11 yr. old kid about her teacher, and for her to first of all realize and vocalize her opposition of having to hear his political views in the classroom. Then on top of it, I know that the reason it bothers her so much is because she has strong political views OF HER OWN, which are the opposite of his. I am just so blessed to be able to deal with this as a parent. It makes me cry the happy tears. I can only hope and pray that in the future I get to have to make more of these hard decisions. Decisions that make it so clear to me that my kids are turning out fucking incredible, and that no matter how stressful it feels in our daily life and how monotonous the days seem, and how they just seem to run into each other with all of our running around, there are some seriously awesome things happening in my household.

My kids are turning out exactly how I hoped and prayed that they would. So do I wish I was raising them in VT, where everyone thinks the same way I do? Yes, on most days I do. Do I sometimes feel like I am doing them a disservice by raising them here, where they have to deal with this shit? Absolutely. But my god, I cannot even express how successful I feel as a parent right now.

Which still leaves me with this bitter-sweet parenting decision. Do I report Mr. Science teacher to Mrs Principal, knowing that 90% (at least) of our area believes exactly like Mr. Science teaher? Do I risk the repurcussions on my kid as even if I do it anonymously the kid with the Obama shirt would be the one suspected? It is wrong. I know it is. I also know it is illegal. But it is also the way of life here. But, (smiling) not in this house.

Tonight

Tonight is the night I've dreamed about my whole life. We got home at 9:00pm. Which is bed time for the younger ones, and reading time for the older ones. After our impromtu date, which NEVER happens, In which I ate at my FAVORITE restaurant. We arrived at exactly the right moment to have to rush around getting bedtime done. The first thing I noticed when I walked in the door was that sound. The sound of the dishwasher running. YES!!! The next thing I noticed was the other sound. The sound besides the dishwasher. The sound of nothingness, silence. What is this strange sound? This strange, beautiful sound. I quickly ran to find my kids, wondering why my Mom hadn't called me when they were kidnapped. (I only wondered that silly question for a quick-second though. I mean seriously, if she had to chose between calling to tell me that they were kidnapped, or just enjoying the silence as long as she could, who would blame her? And she's only next door in case of emergency. The older ones are actually in-charge while we are out)

Then I saw him. Josh was asleep on the couch, his beautiful, normally very loud mouth completely shut. I ran into the boys room. Nothing. I peeped through to Kyley's room. She was reading. I asked her if her homework was done. "Yes." Oh beautiful, beautiful sounds tonight. I then entered the girls' room where OH MY!!! BEHOLD!! WHAT IS THIS I SEE? They too were reading. Without being told. Well, Rainia and Brittney anyway. Brooke was already asleep on her top bunk. "Where is Jakey?" I ask, almost afraid to know the answer, The noisiest, trouble-starting, terror of the house. The girls giggle. "Well, where is he?" I ask. Brittney points up, to Brooke's top bunk. I slowly walk over, and to my amazement, there he is! Beautifully, quietly asleep. curled up on the inside, closest to the wall.

DAMN!!!! I will have to finish this post later. Jake just walked in to inform me that he woke up. SHIT!

One-Liners

Things I have heard in my house lately:

Part of Josh's speech deficit is that all sounds with a G, K, or hard C, sound exactly alike. They all sound like a K sound. So for him, the words got and caught would sound exactly alike. They both come out like "Kot" So just imagine for me, if you would, all G's in the following sentence sounding like a K. And yes, we are VERY sick parents to have found this so funny.

Josh: "I got gum! I got gum!" "Why awe you yaffin? I yuv gum!"


Jake: I need a spoon.
Rick: Well go get yourself one. This isn't a restaurant!
Jake: (takes Rick's hand and drags him into the kitchen, and then points to the wall) "Look!"
Me: (laughing hysterically) OMG! He got you honey! Don't underestimate Jake.

Rick: Boy, that sign says Rest-Stop, not Restaurant! You better get your own stinkin' spoon!


After we saw this:

All the kids thought it was so cool. Then a classic Brooke moment

Brooke: But how did he get his hair to come out the top like that?

All the kids had to laugh, and then all of them tried to explain to her how it was a helmet. That it was made like that.

During a precious moment where Rick and I were alone in the car.
Me: Stop confusing me Bitch!
Rick: Will you stop calling my navigation system that? I LOVE her!
Me: Sorry honey, but what the hell is her name then? You are going to have to name her or I am going to keep calling her bitch.

And the best thing I have heard recently around this house is the word "Mom", spoken many times recently, by Andrew, describing me!!!

Parent-teacher Conferences

Yesterday was parent-teacher conference day. Always a big deal in our house, but this year was different. Having the boys in Kindergarten means we now have 7, yes SEVEN conferences to go to. How do you attend 7 parent-teacher conferences? Let me tell ya. Bear with me, one day my kids will look back on this, and want to know. So here we go...

First of all, for some reason, which I am still trying to grasp, only three out of our 7 dwarfs were responsible enough to bring home the sign-up sheets. On the sign-up sheets, you tell the teacher what 3 times would work for you, and then they send home a note with the time of your conference. So Rainia brought home her sheet, and was scheduled accordingly. As were the Kinder boys. For the unknown reason uummm...irresponsibility, NONE of our middle-sch. students got scheduled. So Wed. I told the kids they better get me a conference time. So Andrew did. They just listen so well. That left 4 out of 7 conferences actually scheduled.

So they got out of school at noon. The kinder-boys and Rainia took the bus as usual, and I headed to pick up Andrew and Kyley. As soon as I got there, Kyley says "I got you a time! And it's RIGHT NOW!" Quick internal conflict: Brooke and Brittney are waiting on me at the other Middle School. Rick is only going to be able to work until 1:30 today. The teacher's are waiting for me in the school. Shit! OK, let me just run in here and get this one down, and that will only leave six more. So I run into the school with Kyley and Andrew, have the conference, and run out. Kyley is on honor roll, 3 A's, 2 B's. PROUD!!!

We jump in the car and quick-drive over to the other middle-school. B&B get in the van. "Did you get me a time?" Nope. "Well girls, you are not getting out of this. Get your little butts in there and get me a time." Brooke runs back out to inform me that the teacher's can do RIGHT NOW. So I head into the school to explain that Rick really wants to be there, and can we get a later time? 3:30 is agreed upon, and we head home.

I get home to find Jake in his underwear and socks OUTSIDE which he knows he is not allowed to do. I quickly get him dressed, grab Josh, and we head to pick up Rick. We get to elementary school, a couple minutes early, so hit the book-fair. After Josh chooses a book for himself and Andrew (AAWWWWW), and Jake chooses a pointer, Yes people, a pointer, we head over to Kinder-building. Jake's conference is first. He is on grade level, did not identify a rectangle for his teacher. (WTF?) He sometimes has trouble staying on task, and Occasionally has attention issues. And oh, by the way, do you know how funny your son is? Uummm, yeah.

Josh is next. He is above grade level in every area, and unfortunately, even though he obviously has a speech deficit, he is not eligible for school-speech because he is reading. He is ready to start the "AR" program (accelerated reading) They will only fund speech classes if the deficit impairs his learning. He knows what the letters are, can identify them, and can sound them out into words (even if the words don't sound right). Internal dialogue: My kid is reading? Hhhmmm, why didn't I know this? Note to self= Have Josh read you a book. Damn, have Josh read Jake a book, let him take care of the night-time story from now on. This will definitely leave more time for wine. Also, apparently Josh doesn't know how to walk. He hops in line, and has to be told on a regular basis to stop jumping, skipping, etc.

We drop J&J off at home, and pick up B&B. We get to Middle Sch.#2, and they are having parent-student conferences, instead of parent-teacher conferences. We flip a coin, which makes Brooke's turn first. She reads off her grades, and the essay she has written on why her grades are what they are, and we are proud! 3 A's, 3 B's, and 1 C. Brittney is next, can someone say Proud Parents? Honor Roll! 3 A's, 4 B's. Then her math teacher jumps on her because she has the potential for an A, and received a B. Internal dialogue: Woman, you have about 2 seconds to shut-up. You are chastising my kid, who is on HONOR ROLL. Leave her alone.

We drop off B&B, and have about an hour before we need to be back at elem. for Rainia's conference. We use this time wisely of course. (We walk around the property, and decide where we will have our HUGE fantasy house built.) We then get Rainia, and head back to elementary sch. Another trip to spend $$ at the book-fair, and then on to the conference. We love Mrs. F, Kyley had her last year, and I use the time to gossip about our middle school kids. Her daughter is in Kyley and Andrew's social circle. Oh-yeah, and we spend some time talking about Rainia. 2 A's, 1 B, and 1 C. Proud!!! Oh, and she is citizen of the month this month, and will be getting an award tomorrow. Plus, she will not be taking Sierra to the bathroom anymore. Sierra is disabled and needs to use the special bathroom in the office, but Her and Rainia have been stopping to socialize with Mrs. Principal, and have been missing too much class-time. Internal=Uuummmm...who socializes with Mrs. Principal? Hhhmmm, my kids are nerds...I wonder if she gets close enough to Mrs. Principal, will she get some sort of award? Will Mrs. Principal take special interest in the boys? You go little brown-noser!!!

We get home with just enough time for the girls to quick-change into cheer-leading clothes, and to grab Andrew. YAY!!! ALMOST DONE! We drop off Brooke and Rain at Cheerleading, and head over to Middle Sch.#1. We are the last conference of the day. (It is 6:45) Andrew is doing great, but is missing his math workbook, and a library book. He has 1 A, 2 B's, and 3 C's. This is really a great report card, considering how much harder he has to work compared to the other kids. On our way out, we check his locker, and find missing workbook, and missing library book. Relief. And we are Done!!!

Until 8:00, when we have to leave again to pick up the girls at cheer. Busy, busy day. And I wouldn't have it any other way. WooHoo!!! We have amazing kids! And are SSOOOOOO Proud, of each and every one of them!

Glamorous!

I just laughed so hard I cried. And I was driving, so crying, while doubled over with laughter does not equal safety first. We made it home alive anyway. What I would have given to have my camera with me, because it takes video clips. Oh I can think of many things I would have given up for a recording of this one, including my right arm, my first born, and my wine for a year. (well, actually, let's not get carried away). Anyway, there we were, ALL of us, in the van, and "Glamorous" came on the radio. by Fergie. It's kind of an old song now, so the kids were all excited, and saying how they haven't heard this one in ssssooooo long. So I cranked it up, and the next thing I know, EVERYONE is singing at the top of their lungs. Including Jake and Josh's little voice "....So if you aint got no money take your broke butt home!" At the top of their lungs, and Andrew, who usually lets the girls take center stage. Well, we didn't know it, but Andrew has opera talent. I am so serious right now. Rick said we needed to look into getting him in chorus. He can quiver his voice. So there he was, more like a work of art than hip-hop. Drawn out, voice quivering, holding the note, yet still on beat. "G. L. A. M. O. R. O. U. S." It was beautiful. And I died laughing I almost peed myself.

Jake and Josh are six!

Dear Jacob and Joshua,

You turned 6 yesterday, and it was the best children’s birthday party I have ever attended, let alone hosted. Unfortunately, only 1 out of the 16 kindergarten friends that were invited attended. It was fine though, because we have 7 kids ourselves, and Brooke’s and Andrew’s best friends came, and your cousins Zack and Megan came. So including the girl from Josh’s class, there were 12 kids, and 7 adults. Not to mention all the regular barn people. We had it at the barn, and started with hotdogs and face-painting. Then, everyone took turns riding horses on the trail. You both dressed up like true cowboys, and had a great time. After the trail rides, you all went on a hay ride through the fields of horses, and were allowed to throw hay out to the horses, which made them follow you. Sadly, the hay ride was cut short, because there was a poor injured horse in the field, which had been shot by a real arrow! Oh-my-Goodness the excitement this caused at the barn. We all watched as the horse-men applied antiseptic to the horse, and cut and pulled the arrow right out of the horse’s leg! The horse was fine, but everybody was very sad that this happened.

The Invitation


A close-up of the wanted pictures on the invitations:




You guys in the yard right before we left for the party.


Jake took this picture with his new camera (Rainia getting her face-painted)


Jake took this pic. of Nick and Andrew who are WAY too cool to get their faces painted.


Cousin Megan getting ready to go on her trail ride



After the excitement of the injured horse wore off, we sang the birthday song to you guys, and everyone stumbled over the name part, because there are two of you. You both had your own cowboy inspired cake, and then we went out to hit the cowboy piñata. The piñata actually started its life out as a “Bob the builder” piñata, because I couldn’t find a cowboy one. But you guys are WAY too old for “Bob the Builder”, so Rick covered the Bob part in red wrapping paper, and then plastered it with cowboy stickers. It was so cute. Jake, you went first to hit the piñata, and didn’t even say a word when it swung back and hit you in the forehead with all ten pounds of candy. I would have never even known it happened if I hadn’t noticed the red knot pop up on your forehead. Josh, you went second, and then a couple other kids, but it was your big cousin Zack who hit that piñata like a baseball, and busted it open. You all ran to get the candy.

Josh blowing out his candles


Jake blowing out his candles


Close-ups of the cowboy cakes




A couple pics Jake took of the pinata





After the piñata, we went in to open presents and you guys were so excited. Josh, you impressed everybody, because Andrew’s best friend Nick gave you $5. And then your cousin Zack gave you $5. And you made everyone stop what they were doing, and you yelled “NOW I HAVE TEN DOLLARS!” We were impressed because you had added it up so quickly. After the presents, it was time for everyone to go home, but you didn’t want to go home, and Josh’s friend didn’t want to go home, so all the kids played on the playground while you guys, Raven, her Mom and I walked through all the barns to pet the horses. Jake, you woke up the pig by taking his picture with your new camera, right in his face, with the flash on. Then we ran out of there because he started making some VERY loud grunting noises.

Jake took this pic of Josh's friend Raven skipping to the barn


The pic. that woke up the pig



We all spent some time on the playground after that, and finally came home. We had a sleepover with us, plus Nick and Savanna, and I set up the tents for everyone to sleep in. You guys decided to come inside with us though, and Andrew didn’t sleep out there either. We had a big campfire, and roasted hotdogs. Jake, you actually burned your finger on the hotdog by touching it right after you roasted it, but you didn’t complain about that either. You are tough boy. Josh, you spent more time inside playing your new video games then you did at the campfire. First you got Rick to play with you, then you played by yourself. Finally, you got your Uncle Sky to play with you. You did spend part of the night out with us though, dancing to the music and roasting your hotdogs.



Unknowingly, I documented Jake's injury


A few pics Jake took







Jacob, your favorite gifts were the digital camera from me and Rick, and the boots from Grandma. Josh, your favorite gifts were the “Speed Racer” video game from me and Rick, and the “Basketball” video game from Uncle Sky.

I love you guys SO much, and I can’t believe that my babies are so old.