Happy New Year

I am currently waiting for the clock to strike midnight. Fred is at work and the kids are asleep. The boys and I watched a movie and ate candy from the movie sized candy boxes. They thought it was cool staying up past their bedtime and eating candy so late. I could go to sleep, but I thought what the heck, I'll stay up until next year. So, I was fooling around with the computer and I learned something new tonight. This is my first hand painted picture. I think I may have found a new obsession.

December Fools

The very short background story to this post is that Torii wanted a new winter jacket from Santa. I was going to wait until next year for new jackets, but Old Navy had a very excellent after Thanksgiving sale so I picked up two jackets. I was just going to give the jackets to the boys, but realized that Torii really wanted a jacket from Santa. So I hid the jackets with the rest of the gifts. On Christmas Eve as Fred and I were taking out all the gifts, I placed the jackets on top of one of the laundry bins. Then I started doing my Santa business; wrapping gifts, stuffing stockings, and hiding all the clues that led them to their Wii. After that was all done, Fred and I ate the Santa cookies, drank the milk and headed to bed. Christmas Day was great. The kids all liked their presents and we spent the day enjoying each other's company as we stayed in, surrounded by snow. The next day I decided to get off my butt and do some cleaning. The house was a real pit of new toys, empty boxes and bits of wrapping paper. I also decided I should get some laundry going while I cleaned. As soon as I walked in the laundry room I saw the two jackets still sitting on top of the laundry bin. Once again I thought about just giving the jackets to the boys, but I thought up a lie and I thought it up quick. I took the jackets to the boys and asked them where these jackets came from, because I didn't buy them. Where did they come from? Do you suppose it was Santa? The boys concluded it was Santa and he forgot to put them under the tree. Torii, for some reason, was talking about April Fools Day earlier in the day so he said Santa did a December Fools on us! I found the perfect jackets for the boys. Torii got an all black one that looks really good with his favorite Steelers hat and scarf.

Rion wanted a "fluffy" jacket like his former one. I found him the ultimate fluffy jacket. He loves it.

Christmas

Today we were housebound as a major storm blew through. There is no travel advised in pretty much all of North Dakota. The interstates and highway 83 are closed. While the weather is frightful, it is kind of nice for us, because Fred doesn't have to go to work tonight. It's unusual to have him home on both Christmas Eve and Christmas. He usually has to go in for one or the other. The weather probably messed up a lot of people's plans, but fortunately we had our family get together last night. We went to my parent's house and enjoyed some good food, family and for the kids-presents. Today we had no plans but to stay in and play with all our new toys. The fridge is filled with leftovers and snacks and the kids were entertained by all their new things so we didn't mind the blizzard. Now it needs to clear up so my sister and her fiancee can make it here and it'll all be good. The kids decorating sugar cookies, which is always a fun mess. I use my mom's tip: Cut out lots of bells and stars. They are the easiest to decorate! I also found a couple of extra large Santa and snowman cookie cutters which I used. They used up a lot of dough so we didn't have a whole lot of cookies to decorate. The only problem was that the kids picked out two of the big cookies for Santa. After eating all evening I really didn't want to eat them, but I would have felt bad just throwing them away.
Cordelia got a stroller for Christmas, which Heidi was insanely jealous over. Kelly-I guess you know what to get Heidi for her birthday!

Rion spent most of his day playing with his new Lego set from Santa. He helped put much of it together, which should help with his fine motor skills. He didn't need much help from me. He just has a mind for stuff like that. He's a builder.

Between the Wii and Torii's Bakugan video game Cordelia didn't have any TV time. She got a new SpongeBob DVD so I let her watch it on the portable in her room. She also got the cat in the picture from Santa.

Torii playing his new Bakugan game. Now maybe I won't have to play pretend Bakugan Battles with him.

We had a very enjoyable Christmas and we hope everyone else did as well!

Church school program

On Sunday the boys had their Christmas program for church school. The boys got to dress up as shepherds and the girls got to be angels. First the kindergartners and preschoolers sang some songs. Torii sang so loud I could pick his voice out of the group. I'm sure the music director reminded the kids beforehand to sing really loudly as they usually aren't that loud.

Rion kept playing with his shepherd's hat and had it completely messed up by the end of the program. He has also lost another tooth since this picture. I really don't know how the kid can eat anything with that many teeth missing.

Doesn't she look sweet? This sweet little thing has really been trying my patience lately. It's like she's two or something.

Ho, Ho, Ho

Last Sunday the kids finally got to see Santa. Rion asked for a Wii plus a game. Torii asked for Bakugan. Cordelia just wanted to leave. Luckily she is easily bribed with a candy cane. Will Santa come through for them? They only have a week to wait and then they'll find out!

Christmas program

All the kids had their letters to Santa on the wall.
Rion had to unroll his long list and then check it twice. I had recorded the afternoon program and Rion watched it when we got home. When he saw himself unroll his list he said, "I did it!"

Rion got to play Santa in the first grader's Christmas program. He did a great job. The whole program was really good. In the afternoon the kids did the program for the entire school and then the evening program all the parents and relatives got to see it. We actually went to both performances. The kids were more goofy at the evening program. The music teacher actually had to hush them a couple of times. They were probably goofy because their parents were there. But both programs were very good and all the kids did a great job. A few days ago after school a kid came up to Rion and asked if he was Santa at the program. Rion said he was and the kid said, "that was awesome!"

Happy Holidays

I really don't know what's been keeping us so busy, but we must be because I haven't posted anything in awhile. There has been many things I've wanted to post, but just haven't got around to it. I know I should write down all the funny things the kids say, but I never do.

We had a really good Thanksgiving at my parents' house. The kids as usual kept everyone entertained. Torii was rough housing with someone, I can't remember who at the time because he rough housed with everyone at least once during the day. Anyway, Torii is studying the Lord's Prayer in church school and as he was rough housing he came running up to me shouting, "Save me from the time of trial! Save me from the time of trial!" Ummm, Torii I don't think that line means save you from whoever is rough housing with you.

Grandma Norma is here visiting until tomorrow. The kids have kept her entertained as well. Torii is teaching her how to play all kinds of games. I'm enjoying the break from Candyland and all the other games he likes. The kids have been good for the most part, but now are starting to act "normal" around Grandma Norma. Torii was a bit of a pill today and then kept picking on Rion while we were at Pride of Dakota. This evening we took Grandma Norma down Northview and saw all the pretty lights. We also passed by the Capitol and got to see the tree displayed on the side too.

School has been going well for the boys. Rion has his Christmas program on Tuesday. Rion says he has the role of Santa so that should be a lot of fun. Rion made me laugh yesterday when I cleaned out his Friday Folder. His spelling test was in it and he only got one wrong, but only because he didn't capitalize June. But the funny part was that he put Torii's name on the test. His teacher had "Fred?" written by it. I had to ask Rion if he was thinking of his brother at the time. What can I say, the kid gets distracted easily.

Other than the normal everyday activities we are in full swing of the holiday season. My mom and I went out bright and early on Black Friday so I could get a new washer and dryer, which arrived earlier this week. I now can't believe I put up with the old set for so long. I love having a delicate cycle. And little things like having a light in the dryer absolutely delight me. We were also out of a computer for awhile as we had a virus that we had to get cleaned up. That happened right before Thanksgiving so we out of a computer during the long weekend. When we got it back, Rion said it was the best day of his life. Other that all that, I can't recall anything really exciting happening. I've been busy crafting and making some handmade gifts. I'm also easily distracted and have made way too many things for myself. Oh well. And I really should get going on those Christmas cards. Nah, craft projects are more fun.

Feeling better

Fred Rion is feeling much better. He went back to school on Tuesday. Everyone was so glad to see him. The kids in his class made get well soon cards for him when they found out he was in the hospital. Rion really likes his cards and all the kids did such a great job on them. That was really sweet of them. Rion is pretty much caught up with the school work he missed and it doesn't appear that he has fallen behind at all. Teacher conferences are next week so I guess I'll get the full report then.

Sick of being sick, part 2

After feeling really great for a few days, Rion started to feel real crummy again on Monday. After school he planted himself in front of the TV and looked like he was going to fall asleep. He finally went to bed at 6:00 and was asleep in no time. He stayed home from school for the next two days and was really tired, didn't have much of an appetite, had chills and a fever. On Thursday I decided to take him in after his temperature got to 103 degrees. Since Torii and Cordelia have been feeling really well I dropped them off at Grandpa and Grandma's house so they wouldn't pick something up at the clinic. I'm so glad they were not with because we ended up being at the clinic for three hours. I thought Rion would be diagnosed with the flu, we would get medicine and we would be on our way, but something was off and a battery of tests were ordered. His blood work showed a high level of white cells and an ultrasound showed some concern in his intestines. Therefore, we were booked a night in the hospital and Rion was scheduled for a CT scan in the morning. Rion felt pretty bad in the morning, but the CT scan came back normal so more tests were ordered. His white cell count came down and he was feeling better so they sent us back home. I now have the privilege of collecting some poop because the doctor didn't think to order this test until after he had a movement in the hospital. We still don't know what was causing him all this pain. This hospital visit has provided no answers, just another large "donation" for their services. (Sorry I'm just a little grumpy right now). Rion thinks the "sleepover" was fun because people brought him whatever food he wanted and he got to play new video games all day. He was a super good kid and didn't complain much, even when they put the IV in. As we sat in the clinic last night I told Rion we would get something to eat on the way home as it just kept getting later and later. He had it on his mind that he wanted Big Boy and told every nurse about the plan. He didn't get Big Boy yesterday, but it was our first stop after being released from the hospital tonight. I told him he deserved it because he was such a big brave boy at the hospital. He said, "I try my best."

Sick of being sick

Things are finally returning to normal around here. After having a four day weekend, the boys remained home for a few more days due to illness. I took Rion to the clinic and the doctor thought he more than likely had swine flu. I felt so dumb at the clinic because the nurse and then the doctor were asking me all the usual questions about when symptoms started and what his symptoms were. Some things I simply could not remember. I didn't even know what day it was. Between taking off days from work, the four day weekend and all three kids sick I couldn't remember who started what medicine when, who had the highest temperature, or when all of this started. In the end the doctor determined it was more than likely swine flu and that he was on the tail end of it, therefore he didn't need any medications. Rion did start to feel better by Wednesday afternoon. On Tuesday he laid in front of the TV all day and didn't move. The next day he was running around and arguing with Torii again so I knew he was better. He went back to school on Thursday and the teacher said he complained of still being sick. However, when we got home he was magically better. Besides not really wanting to go back to school I think he was pretty tired too. We are all suffering from a terrible cough that really comes on at night.

Torii had also been feeling pretty bad and he just went back to school today. I didn't take him to the clinic, but it's probably a good chance he had the flu as well. He was mad that he missed his class's pajama party yesterday and didn't want to go to school today either. I told him they were having a Halloween party, but he still didn't want to go. I told him his teacher missed him, but that didn't work either. Then I told him "A" and "B" probably missed him and he said "OK" and got dressed. I didn't hear either boy cough much last night so hopefully they are getting over being sick. Cordelia seems to have missed all this. I noticed her coughing a little yesterday and some today, but it isn't bad. Hopefully she can escape being really sick. I hope we are all feeling better really soon because we want to go trick or treating tomorrow and see that little Heidi who has been in town for a week and we haven't seen yet!

OMG

I have this really bad habit of saying "Oh, my God." I know I do it, but it's out of my mouth before I can even think. I notice it more now, because I routinely get busted by Torii. He's the "don't take the Lord's name in vain," cop around here. And he loves busting me. I've tried to stop, but it's hard. I guess Torii can keep on my case until I stop. The thing about Torii is that he really listens. Rion does his time in school, leaves, and doesn't talk about it. Torii absorbs it all and lets us know all about it too. We may have talked about not taking the Lord's name in vain, but I think it was after he learned about it in church school. Torii is also our prayer for dinner leader. Neither Fred nor I grew up in a house where a prayer was said before dinner and so we've never said it with our family either. Until Torii started busting us for that too. He makes sure we say a prayer before eating and he usually leads it. I still forget often, but he always reminds me.

Veggie lovers

My boys have always liked vegetables. Once at a neighborhood potluck they asked if they could have some broccoli. Of all the good food on the table that is what they wanted. One of the neighbors heard them and was shocked. I was so proud. Rion doesn't like salads, but Torii loves them. He always has one with his supper. On my last shopping trip I stocked up on some sickness fighting food like Vitamin C packed orange juice. And this time instead of getting plain old iceberg lettuce I got some spinach. I really like spinach, but the last time I bought it Torii wasn't too sure about it. This time I told him it was just like lettuce and now he can't get enough of it. I never liked many vegetables as a kid so it still surprises me that the kids like them. But Fred said he has always liked vegetables so I guess they take after him. I just think it's so cool that my five year old eats spinach.

Cold and flu season already

This morning as part of our morning we had to add another step into our routine. We had to line up the medicine and start dispensing. All three kids are getting eye drops for pink eye and antibiotics for ear infections. Fred is also sick with a sinus infection and has medication as well. Last week we visited the clinic five times in four days. The kids couldn't coordinate it well enough to all get sick at the same time so we had to keep going back to the doctor. Torii started it all with pink eye. We tried to keep him away from everyone else, but nobody listens to me. They don't want to play with each other unless they can't. We noticed Cordelia getting it the next day and then Rion the next. Rion also had an ear infection and the next day Torii woke up screaming bloody murder about his ear. Literally minutes after I got home with him Cordelia started grabbing her ear and complaining. So we have spent a small fortune on medicine and I feel like we have a small pharmacy in our house. They are all feeling much better and look much better as well. I can't wait until the week is over and the medicine is gone. I hate giving the kids the eye drops and they don't like being on the receiving end either. Poor Cordelia. I have to pin her down for any chance to get the drops in her eyes. That is one strong little girl. And we're all trying to get better so we can hold that cute Heidi later this week!

A conversation with Torii

Torii: When you get married who gets to pick?
Me: What do you mean?
Does the boy or the girl pick who to marry?
They both have to decide to get married.
No, no, no! (Mild tantrum here). The boy should pick who to get married to!
The way it usually goes, is the boy asks the girl if she wants to marry him. If she says "yes", they get married.
What if she says "no"?
Then they don't get married.
What if she says "maybe"?
Then the boy asks her again later.
What if she says "maybe" forever?
Then the boy can keep dating her or move on.
What's dating?
You know, they go on lots of dates to see if they like each other. If they like each other enough they get married.
Later that day:
What if all the girls tell me "no"?
Torii, if one girl says "no" to you, then she is crazy. (To this Torii smiles and gets a little twinkle in his eye).
But what if they all really say "no"?
The world is filled with girls and there is one perfect for you. You'll find her.
Again later in the day:
How old do you have to be to get married?
I'm not sure. Technically, maybe 18, but you should wait until after college.
After college I can get married?
Yes.
Then what?
You need to get a job.
Then what?
You buy a house.
Then what?
You have kids.
Then what?
(Deep breath) I don't know Torii. Whatever.

I don't know what Torii's obsession with marriage is lately. My best guess is that he is playing house with the girls in school and he gets to play the part of husband. The other day he told me he was going to marry "A" in his class. Or "B", (who happens to be "A's" identical twin sister).

Apple pickin'

After school today we went to Grandpa and Grandma's house to pick apples. Their tree was loaded. I took a bag full home and now I'm looking forward to some hot apple crisp. The boys want caramel apples. We all had at least one apple directly from the tree. They were really good.

Letters from Torii

Last Saturday as I was trying to get ready before we headed out for awhile, I let the Torii and Cordelia watch some TV so I could get done faster. Little Bill was on and that is one of Torii's favorite shows. I heard the beginning of the episode so I kind of got the gist of what it was about. Little Bill wanted to receive mail like all the other members of his family. His dad suggested that Little Bill write a letter to someone and then they would write him back. Torii that this was an excellent idea so I told him he should write a letter to grandpa and grandma. No, he wanted to write a letter to someone in school. Then I suggested that one of his aunties would love to receive a letter from him. Still, he insisted on writing letters to two girls in school. Twin girls. I couldn't talk him out of it so he wrote a letter to both girls. He got the letter to one of the girls, but the other isn't in his class and he hasn't had any luck getting his letter to her. He told me as he handed the letter to the girl in his class another girl asked him if he had a letter for her. He told her maybe next time. So now he wants to write a letter to her as well. Five years old and already passing notes to girls at school.

Games Torii plays

With Rion gone all weekend, it was funny how the household dynamics changed. It some ways life was a lot easier with only two kids. In other ways, not so much. It was incredibly nice not to have to break up any fights between the boys all weekend. On the other hand, Torii was left without a playmate so I became the substitute. Rion is perfectly content to play by himself, but that's not the case with Torii. He needs someone to play with. Since Rion was gone, I kind of let Torii make the rules for the weekend and what he wanted to do was play games. One of the first games we played was Hullabaloo. I never win at that game, but for some reason I was on a big win streak that day. By the third straight time I won, Torii was starting to meltdown. My streak went to six. I kept wishing he would win, but I kept winning. I started to laugh because it was somewhat comical. Finally he won. Then he began to cheat to win. And that's what Torii does. He's not really big on rules. With games or generally in life. When he's not outright cheating, he's making up new rules or bending the rules to fit his needs. I quit a couple of games before completely them, hoping he would learn to be a good sport and play by the rules. Today we played his Ladybug Game twice and he didn't pout once. He played by the rules and we had fun. Maybe it finally sunk in. By Sunday afternoon, I was pretty sick of games and really wanted to just veg out on the couch and watch football. But Torii is a sweet talker and there we were in front of the TV, playing a board game. It was a win-win situation.

Movie night

This weekend Rion and daddy went up north to the farm for the early deer hunting season there. Torii was a little bummed that he wasn't going so I let him in on something special I had planned for Friday night. He was so excited that he told everyone at school about it on Friday and wouldn't stop talking about it all evening. When he got home from school he was ready for Cordelia to go to bed so we could have our special movie night. It must have seemed like an eternity for him, but Cordelia finally went to bed at her regular time. Then we turned out all the lights, popped some popcorn, got out some movie sized boxes of candy, cold bottles of Coke and stayed up late and watched a movie. For our movie we watched Coraline. I liked it, but was afraid Torii would have nightmares from it when he became concerned about the "other mother" in it. After we talked about it, he realized it was just a movie and hasn't had any nightmares. Now he just has an obsession with poison oak and likes to pretend he is rubbing it on my arms. It was a fun night and I'll have to do it again with both boys. I think it made Torii feel really special getting to stay up late with mom. Sometimes the most simple things are the best things.

Knowledge is power

I'm beginning to rethink the idea of sending Torii to school. The kid is already pretty smart. And by smart I mean smart ass. He finds loopholes in everything and is sharp as a whip. School is only empowering him more and pretty soon he'll be smarter than me and then what do I do? Each week in school they learn an important characteristic such as being a good sport or being the best you can be at whatever you're doing. This week they are learning about being kind to others and not putting others down. The other day after school, Torii was taking his sweet old time getting into the house and I called him a slow poke. "No put downs! No put downs!" he shouted. I really couldn't argue about it even though I really wanted to yell at him to get his butt in the house that instant, but I let him be. He comes home everyday with new vocabulary and new ways out of whatever he is in trouble for. School is just teaching him how to irritate me more. I really don't know what I'm going to do when he is teenager. By then my brain will be on the downslide while he'll be on the top of his game. As Fred said the other day, "it'll be nice when he has a driver's license. Then after an argument, we'll be happy he can leave."

Pumpkin Patch

After having a long week at work, I really wanted to do something fun this afternoon so at the last minute I decided we were going to the Pumpkin Patch. It was so nice there right after school. There was only about 10 cars there when we arrived. It almost felt like having the place to ourselves. It did start to get busier as the afternoon went on, but it was still a light crowd compared to the weekends. I think we will have to do this after school again. Rion is going on a field trip there next week and I believe Torii gets to go the next week.

The lady at the gate asked me how I knew they were open and I told her I was a Facebook friend. She said she is having a lot of fun on Facebook and is enjoying seeing the pictures posted by their fans. She told me to post some pictures, which I did. They have been updating their page quite regularly and it had been killing me that we hadn't been out there yet. We had a really good time, but when haven't we had a good time at the pumpkin patch?

I always love the first trip of the fall to the pumpkin patch. Rion always reacts the same way when we make that first turn and we see the sea of orange pumpkins. "Oh my goodness!," he says, "Look at all the pumpkins!"

Cordelia on one of the hay bale mazes. She had fun in the tunnels and for awhile I lost her in one. She just didn't want to come out! The building in the background is the new entrance into the pumpkin patch. It's really nice.
All aboard! I tried to get a picture with all three kids hanging their heads out the side of the train, but it was an impossible task. I tried multiple times at multiple locations to get a nice pictures of all the kids together, but it didn't work out.

On the wilderness trail, which is a favorite of the boys. Their imagination runs wild in that place. We were running from bad guys and some animals were there to help us. I'm not really sure what else they were talking about, but they sure had some stories while we hiked through there.

Another attempt at a nice group picture.

We had hay everywhere after our trip, but nobody complained about it.

Money lessons

On Saturday the whole family headed out early to try and find some deals at the many rummage sales taking place over the weekend. The boys have some money saved up so they each brought along five dollars to spend however they wanted. It took a few rummage sales, but they finally found some toys they liked. Torii is really into Bakugan and a young boy was selling some of his Bakugan. He had a small Ziploc bag with the smaller Bakugan which the boys had none of. They could have bought the whole bag for $5.00 or else each one was fifty cents. I thought one of them would blow all their money and buy the whole bag, but they each spent one dollar and picked out two. Later in the day Torii regretted the decision and wanted to go back and buy the rest. I figured these toys would be lost and forgotten soon after we got home, but they have been playing with them a lot and have taken good care of them. They are pretty small and they haven't lost them yet. Maybe they are more mindful of them because they bought it with their own money.

By lunch time we had to take a break, but later in the afternoon Torii and I went back out. Torii still had four dollars with and found some more toys at one sale. It was getting late so the lady gave him a break and let him have it all for 75 cents. He gave her a dollar and got a quarter back, which just thrilled him. I think we talked about that quarter and money in general the rest of the afternoon. It was a good lesson because he will be learning about money later in kindergarten.

Gymnastics

A few weeks ago I signed the boys up for gymnastics. Torii really likes tumbling, standing on his head and even watching gymnastics on TV. I thought it would be something he would enjoy so I signed him up. Of course, Rion wanted to join too. I wasn't sure if he would like it, but he really is. I'm glad he is liking it because I think it will be really good for him. Poor Rion, has no coordination so hopefully this will help with that. I hope it helps his confidence as well because he gets so frustrated so easily. They both seem to be doing really well. Each week they get to try another skill. I've been impressed that they've already been up on the horse, parallel bars, and rings. Of course their favorite thing to do is to jump into the big foam block pit. (Really I want to run up to the spring board and jump into it too). The gymnastics world is completely new to me so I'm not really sure what we're getting into with this. This is not something I imagined I'd be doing with my boys. The boys are liking it and it will be nice to have some kind of physical activity to do over the winter. I will also be signing Cordelia up for the preschool kids class in the next session. She is just too much to handle for an hour and I think she will enjoy the things they do with the younger kids.

Walking home

I am trying to take full advantages of the limited nice days we have by walking home from school with the kids as much as possible. Plus it's good exercise and I don't have to fight the traffic around the school. My favorite thing about walking home is seeing the other kids on the way. Apparently a lot of kids know Fred Rion. We constantly hear kids saying "hi" to him during our walk. There is one kid that gets picked up and as his parent is driving up the road we walk, we see him with his head hanging out the window, waving and saying "goodbye" to Fred. Today we saw Fred's fourth grade buddy from last year. She stopped and said hello which I thought was really nice of her. I told Fred she wasn't in fourth grade anymore and he said something about how they all moved up. There are a few kids that we see from Fred's class that walk home by themselves. They don't have far to walk, but that scares me. Maybe I'm a little over protected. We have a pretty good hike so it will be awhile before the boys can walk home alone. Anyway, I've already decided that in a few years when Cordelia starts school she will be my excuse to pick the kids up after school. If it embarrasses the boys, then so be it.

School

The boys have successfully made it through their first full week of school. Now they have a long weekend. I was a little worried about Torii since he was a little tentative about starting school, but he is really enjoying it. He has told me more about school than Rion told me all of last year. After school today Torii was singing a song he learned and Rion knew it and said he sang it in kindergarten as well. I had never heard it until today. I went through last year feeling like I really didn't know what a typical day for Rion was like because he never talked about it, even when I asked him. Torii, on the other hand, needs no prompting, he goes on and on about school. Rion is excited about show and tell, which they start next week. He is, however, very annoyed that he has to study for a spelling test next Friday. He got most of the words right, he just had trouble with back and sack. Kind of tricky at the end of those words. Torii has a field trip next week. They are going to the powwow and I'm planning on going with.

I think Cordelia is enjoying her time alone. She is spending the mornings with daddy and then by the time she is getting up from her nap, I get home from work. I felt a little dissed this afternoon as I tried to get her ready to pick the boys up from school. She did not want to go with me. She wanted to stay with daddy. She is talking a lot more and forming phrases and she kept saying "want daddy." I told Fred they are having too much bonding time because she'd rather be with him.

The new school year is going along great so far. Everyone, including me, was pretty tired this afternoon. We're trying to adjust to the new schedule and routine. On that note I should be off to bed.

Movie time

Last weekend my parents hosted a movie outside by the campfire. They've been wanting to do this for some time and with my sisters at home it seemed like a great time. Really, any time around the campfire is a good time. As part of the special movie presentation the boys opened up shop so everyone could enjoy snacks and beverages during the movie. It's was a great deal as everything was only a quarter. One of their first customers was Nathan. When he asked if they had change for a dollar, Rion replied, "Actually, it costs a dollar." In all they came home with about $22 to split.
I love non-posed shots. This is a great one of Kelly and Heidi. Little Heidi has gotten so big!

Torii was quite the salesman. He stayed up really late because he wanted to be around in case someone needed to buy something.

As Uncle Brian was getting the movie ready to go, Torii entertained everyone. He told some jokes and then when he saw his shadow he did some shadow puppets.

Why's Cordelia so quiet?

Because she figured out how to open the sprinkles. She was sent directly to the bath after this.

Torii's birthday

Last weekend we celebrated Torii's birthday with family and friends. He wanted his party at Snoopers so that's where we went. Cordelia was much more adventurous than the last time at Snoopers. She laid in the ball pit for awhile. She didn't seem bothered by all the kids bouncing all around her.
Cordelia wanted to go down the slides, but she couldn't make it up the ramp to the tunnels. Luckily, she has a good big brother who helped her out.

This is Torii's Candyland cake. We saw it in a magazine and Torii loves that game so we knew this was the cake for him. Usually I just bake a cake and throw some frosting on top so this was quite the deal for me. It took a couple of hours just to decorate it. And Fred had to go out for more Starburst so I could finish the path. Torii liked the cake. So did Cordelia who was caught more that once trying to take candy from the cake. She didn't get the gumdrop she is reaching for, but she didn't have to wait long because we had cake soon after this picture. We still have a ton of candy left since I only needed a bit of everything.

I'm tired!

First day of school

I can't believe it, but tomorrow is already the first day of school! Tonight the school hosted an open house. Over the summer the school had some major remodeling done inside and in celebration of that, they went all out for the open house. They served hot dogs, beans, and watermelon to everyone and then had four big inflatables outside for the kids. It was a perfect night for all of it. Doesn't Torii look so excited for school? At least I got a good picture of the mark Auntie Laurie gave him while she was here. Thanks Laurie for bruising my son for his birthday and first day of school pictures. Of course this is all in fun, I will never let her live that down.
Rion at his desk. The kindergartners shared tables so it was kind of exciting for him to have a desk now. He is sitting next to Hannah, the girl who always said goodbye to him after class last year. "Goodbyyyyyeee Freeeeeeed". I didn't really think it was a big deal for Rion's first day, but after attending the open house I'm more excited for him. It was fun to see kids and parents that we already knew. I think about half the kids in his class this year were also in his class last year.

Rion on his way down and Torii on the way up on one of the inflatables.

And now Torii on his way down.

It's doesn't seem like school should be starting already. If you went by the weather, it feels like summer is just starting. Torii goes back and forth on whether he wants to go or not. He is afraid of mean kids. Torii has the same teacher Rion had last year which is really nice. Torii sat in with the class when they had special programs and his teacher also taught the summer program too. He also knows one of the girls in the class who is the little sister of one of the girls in Rion's class. I think all of that will help him adjust. He says he will miss me, but I told him he'll have so much fun in school that he'll forget to miss me. I could never sleep the night before the first day of school. And now I find myself a bit wired. The kids are sleeping soundly, but will I be able to sleep tonight?

Really busy having fun

On Saturday I got out for a few hours and did some thrift store shopping, which I've been dying to do. I found Rion this bike for a whopping $5.00. The back tire needed some air and now it's good as new. We spent most of Sunday outside learning how to ride. Rion was also excited that he could wear his new Pokemon bike helmet. He still hasn't got the hang of the bike, but he can go short distances without falling. He is loving his bike. I think he thinks he is pretty big to have such a bike.
Meanwhile, I can't get Torii to go on either of the two smaller bikes that have training wheels. He also wanted to wear his new bike helmet, but he wore it while driving the tricycle.

While taking a break from learning how to ride a bike, (it wears a parent out), Torii was collecting leaves. It was a nice blustery day so a lot of leaves could be found in the yard. I told Torii I had a cool project we could make with the leaves. Laurie got me this book for Christmas last year and it's full of traditional crafts. There are a bunch of crafts I remember doing as a kid. One of them was making waxed leaves, which I did in school once.

Here's our waxed leaves. They look nice with the sun shining through the window. Rion's is on top, mine in the middle and Torii's at the bottom. I was looking in the book for Halloween projects and now I'm excited to get started on some of them.

The joy of getting a group shot