cross country

 We've got another runner in the family.

A week or so before school started we went to open house night.  The gym was full of tables with information on what kinds of sports, clubs and activities that you could sign up for.  Most of the sports were for 4&5th graders except cross country.  Drew convinced the girl who would get upset every Friday morning last year because she HATED gym and HATED running to join the cross country team.  Know what?  She loves it.  She has practice Monday and Thursday mornings before school. Molly missed the first couple meets because of her surgery, but it didn't take her long to recover and she's done two races since.  These are pictures from her first meet.

Lincoln and Gabe rolling around wrestling each other. 

Simon was so funny every time I pulled out the camera he would scrunch his little face up and smile a big toothy grin.  LOVE it.

 Molly's race was a 1/2 mile.  She completed it in 4:14.  She was under a minute from the first girl and about 2 min ahead of the last.  She finished in the middle of the k-2nd girls.  The most exciting part...  She passed people!!!  If you know Molly or have ever seen her participate in things with anyone she isn't completely comfortable with you'll know this was HUGE.

 Gabe decided that next year he'll run too.  I think that was after he saw M's medal.   ;)

 One more of Simon because he cracks me up.

Happy Birthday Simon!

 lots of pictures  : )

 Friday morning Simon woke up around 10.  I pushed his dresser in front of his closet and moved the cedar chest away from the window so that I could have a mini cake photo shoot.  very messy, but very cute.  This was the best picture of the 5 min shoot.  I wish someone would have been in the room with me to try to get his attention.  He only looked up a couple times and unfortunately those pictures were blurry.  : (  I could have used Molly, but I thought Molly and Lincoln in Simon's bedroom with cake everywhere would be even more chaotic.  Luckily Simon's room is across the hall from the bathroom for easy clean up.  What better way to say happy birthday than by having cake for breakfast?  ;)

 When Gabe and Drew got home we headed to the park for a few more pictures.  

classic Simon face.

 my favorite

 look at those two little teeth...

 ready to be done

 yay for dad being around to tickle and save the day!

 doesn't he look thrilled to be with me?

 mmm I remember those cupcakes

 Things Simon LOVES (in no particular order): 

 being outside, fruit, climbing stairs, pulling out pots and pans, shoes, clothes, you name it, his brothers and sister, mommy, daddy, being tickled, phones, pinching, crackers, water, and Franklin.

It's been fun watching him as he's grown this past year both mentally and physically.  He's very observant and opinionated.  It makes me nervous and excited for what the next year will bring.  We're lucky to have this little guy.

argh.

 Tomorrow is Simon's birthday!  I'm planning on lots of pictures.  It's supposed to be a beautiful day.  Why does he have to have a rash all over his WHOLE body?  I love that little face.  A dimple on his right check and chin.  Know what I don't love?  That he looks like he has some kind of disease.  boo.  :(

On a lighter note.  Guess who came home with a mustache yesterday?  yep.  He wore it to the library and got a few double takes.  Drew called him Mario all night.  Although Gabe likes playing Mario Brothers I don't think he got the joke...

Hello

One of the things that really bugs Drew is when people say "I'm going to try..."  Drew always says just do it or don't.  Don't say you're going to try to do ...  for months.  I've been terrible at keeping our blog updated since well ... forever.  I've decided that I'm going to get back on the blogging wagon.  I miss it.  I'm forgetting some of the sweet day to day moments that are happening in our house.  School started lets see 5 weeks ago and we're finally getting into a good routine.  I have two boys at home that nap!  It's a miracle.  :)

Summer is always really exciting.  The kids always enjoy those first 3 weeks of freedom without a schedule.  Then we traveled for a few weeks.  We went to Nebraska for a little over a week to visit my parents and friends.  So So Fun.  I really miss Nebraska.  Then we were off to Chicago for a week to visit more family and friends.  We came home for a couple days to do laundry and repack and then we went to South Carolina for a week with friends.  I fell in love while we were there.  My new dream in life is to live next to the ocean.  Beautiful.  After all the traveling and time in the car everyone was happy to be home.  Well for a couple days and then the whining and bickering started.  I think they were ready to go/missing school.  And after those two weeks a part of me was ready to send them to school, but another part of me is so sad at the beginning of every school year.

 first day

Gabe started Kindergarten.  I was so nervous.  Gabe is a free spirit and I was scared that all-day-very-regimented kindergarten was going to kill it.  School started on a Tuesday.  Friday morning when I woke Gabe up for school he said "but I already did that yesterday".  The next week was really rough lots of tears and not wanting to get on the bus.  Broke. My. Heart.  Luckily it didn't last long and everyday he was really happy when he got off the bus.  I talked to his teacher and she said he's been doing great and hasn't been upset when he's there.  They get a new spelling word every week.  They're up to 4 words and so far he's got 100% on all of them.  Hallelujah.  Spelling tests are another thing I was really worried about with Gabe.  He doesn't have the best memory when it comes to things he isn't really interested in.  Numbers and letters fall into the things he couldn't care less about category.  I'm hoping that school continues to go well for Gabe.  I hope that he'll love learning.  The past two weeks have gone really well.  He's starting to talk about the kids in his class by name and not just "my friend".  His handwriting is also really improving.  It's fun watching the transformation.

Molly is in first grade.  She's loving it.  One of my favorite things is that everyday she comes home with a journal entry that she's written and illustrated.  I'm finding out so many things that I didn't know.  :)  I also love reading the way she thinks things should be spelled.  So sweet.  M joined the cross country team.  She practices Monday and Thursdays before school.  And then of course Drew takes her out running with him throughout the week.  So far she likes it.  Hopefully it's something that she'll continue to like. (maybe she'll get really good and it will be her ticket into a great high school?  :)  I think our school system is so weird.)  Molly had her tonsils taken out last Thursday.  She was so brave no tears and very calm.  Her nurse said that she won patient of the day.  The recovery is going well.  She's starting to get her voice back.  Hopefully she'll be ready to go back to school next Monday.

Lincoln wishes he was in school.  The first two weeks of school every morning I would hear "me school too!  I go bus too!"  several times.  He was really upset to be left behind.  How quickly things change last Saturday Lincoln was yelling at Gabe and said "you school go".  I started a play group 3 weeks ago Lincoln's been liking exploring different places with his friends we've also been going to story time.  We're keeping ourselves busy.

Simon turns 1 on Friday.  Part of me thinks that can't be right and the other part thinks he isn't 1 yet?  Simon is crawling and climbing on everything.  He loves making me big messes.  He has two teeth and the most adorable little smile.  He walks along things.  When I try to encourage him to walk by taking his fingers he'll do maybe 2 steps and then throw his head back and yell at me.  I imagine he's saying something along the lines of why are you pulling on my hands your standing pick me up.  I think it will still be a while before he has a desire to walk.  Simon still LOVES being held.  He definitely knows his siblings and is always looking for them and wanting to be where they are.  He's going to be a tough little guy.
That sums up the past few weeks. 

April Highlights

 Gabe is 5!

 Gabe is a big star wars fan.  For his birthday we had a star wars party.  I found this idea on pinterest and thought it was super clever.  Take a pool noodle cut it in half cover the bottom in duct tape and then make different fun designs with electrical tape.  The kids had a ball pretending to be Jedi.  

 Second attempt at marshmallow fondant.  This time it was better but I'm still no expert.  I washed and then used some of Gabe's star wars people to decorate the top.

 When I was at Target a few days before Gabe's birthday they had a bunch of these guys on clearance with the Easter candy.  Score.  I think they were 73 cents.  Perfect party favor. 

 Sunday night on his actual birthday we opened presents.  Gabe got a bunch of lego stuff.  He's been enjoying putting those together with Drew.

 And we sang again and finished our left over cake from the day before.

poor kid ran up the stairs to scare Drew and fell on the way back down.  Scared me really good.  He scraped up his face, but I'm surprised he wasn't hurt more.  He did a somersaults all the way down.  We hadn't been having the best luck.  I fell down the stairs the week before and scraped up my elbow.  At least we didn't get Molly's skin virus.

Gabe is a free spirit.

He is very hot and cold.  When he loves you he's your best friend and when he's mad at you watch out.

Gabe has the best imagination.

He loves playing dress up.

He loves Star Wars, Indiana Jones and anything scary.

March Highlights

Easter Festivities

 This year the Saturday before Easter we went to an egg hunt at church.  Lincoln loved it.  He 100% understands the idea of lots of eggs=lots of candy. 

 We dyed Easter eggs.  My kids love hard boiled eggs.

Look at how happy Gabe and Lincoln are.  If looks could kill...

I thought they looked too cute not to get a picture.  And I was pretty proud of how Simon's onsie turned out.  The tie on Simon's onsie matched Lincolns tie and Gabe's bow tie.  Unfortunately Lincoln broke his tie at church.  It looks a little crazy in the picture because I pinned it.  Lincoln isn't a fan of elastic around his neck.  hence the not looking at the camera.  He was made at me that I put that tie back on him.  Gabe was mad I asked him to put his slinky down. Simon and Molly were happy.  Can't win em all.   

March Highlights

New computer/ Trip to Denver

Drew likes to remind me about how I suck at keeping our blog current.  true. true....  I hated our computer it was SO S.L.O.W.  it would take forever to upload just one picture more than 3 and usually it would freeze.  It was really frustrating.  Drew said that we should use some of our tax return money to buy a new computer.  We started comparing different ones.  Drew asked if it would help me if I had a laptop.  Then I wouldn't have to sit in a corner of the basement to blog.  I told him that would be really nice, but I know that desktops last so much longer.  So we decided on our perfect desktop and ordered it.  March 13th our computer arrived.  Along with the desktop we had decided on Drew also ordered a laptop.  I felt so spoiled.  Shortly after they arrived Drew had to go to church for Boy Scouts.  

When Drew came home he told me he had another surprise for me.  More than a lap top?  I was thinking he stopped at DQ on the way home which he'll do on occasion.  He made me shut my eyes and handed me plane tickets.  Simon and I were leaving Friday morning to go and see my best friend Becky in Denver.  I started crying.  I was excited, overwhelmed,nervous.  Drew kept asking me if I was happy.  I said yes and he just kept telling me I wasn't acting happy.  Basically I don't do surprised well.  Drew did a great job keeping it a secret everyone knew I was leaving except for me.  Drew had made other arrangements for the little girl I watch on Mondays.  He had rescheduled the talk I was supposed to give in church and he had asked someone else to give my sharing time lesson.  Thursday I had the day to pack.  

Friday Simon and I flew to Denver.  Simon did great on the flight.  He fell asleep right before the plane took off and woke up right before we landed.  Thinking about it, it almost feels like it didn't happen.  It was amazing.  I love Becky and her family.  Aaron watched Simon Saturday and sent us to the day spa.  We got massages and facials.  Aaron also sent us to a movie.  We spent the week staying up late, crafting. talking, shopping, watching movies and laughing. It was great.  It took Simon a couple days to adjust to mountain time, but he loved it.  He slept through the night a few times while we were there and basked in all the attention he got from the Anderson kids.  It was the best trip.  It made me remember that I can be fun, that I'm more than a sleep deprived mom.  It was the best present Drew could have given me.  Becky and I have some of the best husbands.  Just sayin.  :)

 before we left the spa. 

 I've never been so lotioned in all my life.  Don't we look shiney and rejuvenated :)

 quick picture before we headed to the airport

 waiting to board

 flight home

Simon didn't do as well on the flight back he slept a little and nursed a lot.  Not too much crying.