First fourth and first

Officially the new school year has begun.
N. started Fourth grade!
Z. started First!
"No Way!" my brain screams, "I couldn't possibly have kids so grown up."
I have turned into my mother.
I see her tan veiny hands and hear her soft "time to get up", every morning now as I wake the kids.
Memories of her as a real person and not some extension of my self started about the time she was the same age I am now.
I knew that day would come but, how have I turned into her, when she is still in her 30's to me?

N. likes the idea that their class earns money, he has always loved money. He said today that his teacher has ugly feet though and then went on to describe each toe on both feet. If that is the worst that can happen then my unfounded mother worries are eased. He did say too that he and his recess buddies are having a hard time recruiting a "Dana". He started a Goonies club apparently and wants a foreign speaker to be Dana. I forgot to ask who he is, hopefully not Chester Copperpot.

Z. made a new friend on the first day and hasnt slowed down since. She loves that she can sit anywhere on the rug and that if no one is in front of her she can stretch her legs instead of "criss cross applesauce." She also "LOVED,LOVED" her lunch. I'm glad school lunch can still make some kids happy. Waking up early isnt so bad once she is outside, in fact its hard to get a word in with all of her happy jabbering-on.

T. doesnt miss them, not sure about the babys feelings though since her vocabulary consists of "no" and "uh oh" mostly. She does really like seeing them at the park when its over and has a big smile and running hug for them both. Mom does too, but somehow its just not as appreciated.

Nothing beats a Daddy

Thank you D. for providing your family every need in abundance, Love, Time, Guidance, Home, Affection, Protection, and for all of the extras too like Entertainment(although wrestling shouldn't count), Ice cream addiction, and Fun. You are the best(Nacho Libre accent here). We love you!

Crazy hair day

Every day should be crazy hair day! N. and Z.'s park group gives them great motivation to try new things. Z. hates her hair to look weird unless its the popular thing to do. N. plain old refuses to have hair that isnt 100% natural. Aren't they great?



N.'s inspiration was his love of 3 headed dragons. 3 spikes.

Z.'shad to include some kind of craft item so we used pipe cleaners, easier to use than Popsicle sticks or glitter glue as far as hair styles are concerned.

T. is following the trend and wanted a Mohawk.

S. is still just too bald and refuses the bows and flowers.

Fair Fun

In the past our visits to the fair have mostly been spent on carnival rides.
This time we saw what the Fair is really all about.
Its awesome, a little smelly, but a lot of great things to see and experience.

Goats are cute and all but the whole cloven hoof and psycho horizontal iris thing is scary. The favorites were definitely the Fowl. Who knew there were so many gorgeous versions of pigeons and chickens? "Wow, look at this one!" was the usual holler from all the kids.

Cotton candy: Fair staple.

Potato sack race won by N. , only because of the last second dive. T. got a lot of help too if you cant tell.
Somehow her balloon got away and sweet sister gave hers up in replacement.

N. won a first place ribbon for a picture he turned in for 4H arts and crafts. He also saw a bunch of Lego creations and deemed that next year he would get a ribbon for his own creation. I don't doubt it , the kids all seemed to get D.'s creative streak. Lucky.

This weeks adventures

"Grave yards don't scare me" according to the kids, while looking for something spooky to jump out from behind every tombstone. Our Family adventures (cant say family home evening or its instantly boring) took us on a hike up to the Logan cemetery. We did finally find a few Merrills that were lucky enough to get their stones decorated with bird feathers and fake flower pedals(big sacrifice for the kids giving up their recently found treasures, but for a good cause).

Wishing this was the graduation picture with the Aggie Bull, but sadly this one is a year or so early." Can we climb it?" was the question right after daddy finished telling us about a kid who broke both arms falling off of it alone at night(yes, fortunately for him he was fully dressed ,unlike some other weirdies we hear of).
I love this pic. of the kids (all 4 minus babes) shadows. N. is headless! T. is trying his hardest to be as tall as daddy and Z. is in a skirt (her favorite) and has a pink ribbon to decorate herself with.

Another day at North beach at Bear Lake was the highlight though. Mom was hoping that by filling up a floaty S. would stay out of the lake and give her a second to rest. It worked till T. decided it needed to be sand and then there was nothing special about a boat full of sand, there was sand everywhere to be found.
What kid wouldnt want to be buried in sand by shovelful? N. was loving it, pretending they were all stuck.

T. tries out the skim board after watching the big boys wiping out so successfully, what fun!
Z. making sandcastles with her new friends(hasnt had those before-wink) to be destroyed later by her evil teenage cousin.

And on to.....

Cub scouts probably shouldn't be allowed to make the FHE treats(when sticky marshmallow is the main ingredient) but he asked and boy was it good!

The kids are really getting the life's worth out of the back yard boxes. Tonight they were turned into a slide for the tramp(T.s innocent feet helping things along). Tomorrow? N. is thinking giant cut out dinosaur armor. Who knows.

We are officially not having any more babies

Okay, so thats usually not something you would go around telling people but the kids reactions were just so funny.

N: got very emotional, teared up and just about started bawling. Wondered why we couldnt have like 14 kids. Always thought we would fill up the extra van seats and is confident we could fit several more kids around the kitchen table, we do it for visitors so why not? Eventually got used to the idea that if Daddy is going to be a school teacher, its in his best interest that he doesnt have any more siblings that might need stuff, it took half a year to save up for lagoon so just imagine how long 14 park passes would take to save up for! Actually has several childrens names chosen for his own kids since mom wont be using them( hope his better half is into video game characters as well).

Z: in fact did cry. It wasnt out of love for a big family though. Heard the words surgery on daddy and flipped out. Is so sensitive to how others are feeling especially physically. And is just so concerned about others pain she has to consciously think of good things like kitties or she cant stop crying. Was a little confused though as to why if mom is the one who has the babies ,why was it that daddy was having surgery and was so happy about it?

T: was quite confused about dad hanging out in his bedroom (recovering away from the whirlwinds we call kids) when he was supposed to be at work. Saw dads truck and motorcycle both home and was convinced he must have walked to work, dad never can be found in his room, ever. Cant quite get used to the idea that headbutting dad while dad is standing isnt as funny these past few days.

S: doesn't have a clue anything is different, she was born the baby and will remain so forever more.

Bear Lake and Backyard

Does life get any better than a visit to a lake and giant cardboard boxes for the backyard?
Cousins invited us on a trip to the Idaho North end of the lake. Fantastic! Sand, Sand, sand(and some water and some wind).
The shoreline was shallow quite a ways out so the kids felt like they were real far into the lake and the parents felt like they were relatively safe.
T. changed between dry clothes and swimwear a bunch of times. It was a little cold there at first.Fun times!We scrounged up some huge boxes from the play equipment being installed at the daycare behind us. Boxes are just as fun as the actual equipment(not nearly as sturdy though).We are officially W.T. Neked babes with a chocolate face in a box in the backyard. All we need now is one of those Missouri couches turned "porch swing" with a rope.Its not possible to get a picture with just the parents in it but, crop the extras and its just not as cute.

Daddy a.k.a. Hot Rod. Nuff said.
The kids have a lot of fun together most of the time and the swingset is a great "together" spot.

This ones for Roo.