Steel Lake Park...AKA The Wooden Playground!

Back during the week of spring break Kim and I tried to take the kids to Steel Lake to play, but upon arriving we saw that they had completely taken down the playground. Thankfully they were building a new one, but it wasn't going to be ready until May. 

Going to this park is one of the things on our Summer Bucket List so when we had a chance to go I took it! You might notice in the above picture on the left that they still do have a section taped off since they aren't quite finished. 

It is by far my favorite park ever! The nice thing is they updated it, but they kept the layout the same! So it was new and excited, but still familiar for the kids. Love that they did that! 

After a little while even Zeke opened up about climbing around on it. 

There were of course new and improved challenges to overcome! 

Hanging around! 

Another thing I love is all the secret places to crawl through. They really pulled out all the stops. 

They even decorated the playground in a castle theme. 

Zeke started to climb into the slide in the previous picture, but then kept saying, "No no!" I held onto him and we slid down, but when he found this cool little tunnel he liked that much better. 

He also liked this kiddie bridge just for him. It was over in a section that is more geared toward little guys. 

Jack liked to challenge himself and of course show off his skills....I must hear, "Mama watch this!" about 100 times a day!

More of the neat decorations....love the attention to detail! 

Ahhhhh....DRAGON!!! 

Owen having his turn at the bridge step thingy! 

Slinking along the sides! 

This was a cute fire boat I think! 

This challenge was a bit difficult even for me. I was super surprised that Ella even wanted to do it. She did great though until that last circle. The step from the circle to the platform was further than the other ones so I did have to help her at the end. 

When we first got there a whole day camp group was there, but then after a few minutes they all went over to the cover picnic area to eat lunch so we had the whole playground to ourselves. This merry go round was definitely a big hit so it was nice that the kids got a turn on it while the other were eating. 

I had fun teaching the kids how to slide down the pole. They all did really well! 

After tuckering out ourselves playing we decided to walk on the dock and then we came back to sit on the concrete wall and eat a snack. 

Of course the older boys thought that scaring ducks would be more fun! 

Allergy Testing!

About 6 months ago Zeke went from a happy baby all the time to a pretty grumpy baby that wanted to be held all the time. At his 2 year appointment I talked with his pedi about seeing if he had any food allergies. Mainly because he is such a horrible eater! He usually eats a good breakfast and then an okay lunch and then he refuses dinner. I was curious if maybe he was allergic to something that he was eating throughout the day and by the time he go to dinner his stomach just hurt too much to eat. 

I was warned that this appointment would take 3 hours so I came prepared with snacks and entertainment! 

Here is Zeke's back after the poke test. He did so well! The first couple of pokes he didn't even flinch, but then he really started to cry. I felt so bad, but knew it was going to be good to know one way or another! 

Bringing the portable DVD player to doctor appointments is by far the best thing ever! The appointment ended up being almost 2 hours, but without McQueen I think it would have been much worse! 

I don't think I blogged about Jack's appt. This was a trip I was dreading. 5 kids stuck in a tiny exam room...not my idea of a good time. Anyways the night before it dawned on me....I have a portable DVD player. So I brought that and Ninjago and the kids did great! 

The results from Zeke's test was he has no allergies! Yahoo! He does still have to have a blood test for a few things they don't check with the poke test, but the doctor was pretty sure he wasn't allergic just based on his symptoms. He is concerned about Zeke's eating habits and in his words...."I can't fix food allergies, but we can fix behavioral issues!" So he wants me to take Zeke to Mary Bridge for a food eval. He has some texture issues and absolutely refuses to try new foods so this might be just the thing he needs to overcome these behavior issues.  

Proof The Miracles Do Happen!

Zeke has hated bananas since he was a baby and I gave him a spoonful of banana baby food and he gagged. He has never eaten a banana! The only way he'll eat bananas is when I make banana bread. Plus he does not try new foods....ever! 

That's what makes this that much more amazing! 

He only ended up eating a few bites, but still that's a big step! 

Logan's Last Day!

Back in December 2010 I remember sitting in bed on my laptop when a message popped up on Facebook from my SIL's best friend Jen. She was inquiring if I knew any mom's that would be interested in watching her 2 month old baby when she needed to go back to work. By this time Michael had been unemployed for over a year! I remember thinking 'I could do that!' It would be nice to have the extra money and since Ella was the only girl it would be fun for her to have another girl to play with....eventually...Logan was only 2 months old! 

So on January 3rd 2011 Jen dropped Logan off for her first day with us. At first I was only watching her 3 days a week. I think it was Monday - Wednesday. It's changed a bit through the years! For the last year I've watched her Monday - Thursday. 

Ella was 10 months old when I started watching Logan....thankfully she was already walking so that helped. If she wasn't I'm not sure I would have been so incline to say yes. As you can see from the picture above even though Ella was 8 months older than Logan, size wise it was like having twins! Of course I did and still do get asked all the time if they are fraternal twins. 

During the course of Logan's stay with us I have always said that we have 4.5 kids! She went everywhere with us from day one. In fact on her first day with us she went with me to MOPS and screamed her head off for 45 mins! 

And just like I hoped, Ella and Logan have been the best of friends. Of course they are as close as sisters and Logan even says that Ella is her sister, but they also can bicker like sisters too! But for the most part they enjoy each other and have so much fun playing baby/mom or Elsa/Anna. 

This year has been a bit rough on me though. One of my personal goals is to improve and maintain both my physical and mental health. Having 4 children alone is a challenge and then adding another one into the mix just adds to the chaos. After praying about it and discussing it with Michael we came to the decision that my time of watching Logan was coming to an end. Honestly when I first started watching her I thought I would only do it until Michael got a job! Of course when he got hired he wasn't making nearly what he used to so me continuing to watch Logan only made sense. But that was also something I wanted to be very aware of....are we only doing this for the money? See my mom went to work in 1986 to put my brother and I through Christian school. I graduated in 1999 and she is finally retiring next January! I didn't want that to be me. Not that I was going to watch Logan for over 20 years, but I think you understand! 

Another main reason for this change is that Ella is going to preschool in the fall. This is my last summer before she starts on her education journey! Also this is the first REAL summer break for the boys. They are getting it....you go to school for 9 months and then your home for almost 3 months. It's a special time and I wanted to spend it with my 4 kiddos. These years are so short! 

So today is Logan's last day! I have watched her a total of 3 years 6 months exactly! Crazy! I know that Ella and Logan will miss each other and I'm sad about that. I'm also sad that I won't get to see Jen as much any more. She started out as my SIL's best friend, but she's my friend now as well! I will truly miss our chats! We'll just have to make sure we get the girls together for play dates! It's going to be really odd coming school time to only be home with one kiddo! Oh my...it's been years since I've only had one! 

Thank you Jen and Richard for letting me watch Logan...for being that need that God placed into our lives during a time when we really needed it. We were trusting Him then and we are trusting Him now to take care of us! It's going to be really odd thinking I don't have to rush downstairs in the morning and unlock the door waiting for one of you to bring Logan over. I'm sure that it will take Ella a while to get used to the change. She's always asking, "This day Logan coming over?" I'm sure that Logan will have to adjust as well. I never really imagined that I would watch her this long, but it's been so nice for the girls to have each other! I hope that Logan has a blast with her new daycare lady...she lights up a room and I'm sure she'll light up their home! 

Angle Lake Sprinkler Park!

A couple Monday's ago the weather was going to be so nice so I asked Kim if her and the kids wanted to meet us at the sprinkler park. I also put out an invitation on our MOPS Facebook page. We love hanging out with other MOPS moms during the summer! 

At first the kids wanted to walk down to the beach. I thought they'd just want to check out the water and then come back up, but no! Almost all the kids ended up getting in an splashing around. Once a few the kids got hungry though we made our way up to the sprinkler park area and sat down for an early lunch. 

While I was packing our lunch I noticed that the bread I had on the counter had started to get moldy! YUCK! The only other bread I had was in the freezer so I took that out and then just brought all the condiments with us so I could make sandwiches when the bread was thawed out. 

It's funny how the kids are always hungry so early when we go to the sprinkler park! I think we must have eaten at 10:50 or so! 

Chomping on his Cheetos! 

Kim came and brought her three kiddos - Andrew, Josiah and Caitlynn

Alicia came with her three kids - Tyler, Emma & Evelyn

Emma and Ella got along so well. I think Ella would be her shadow if she could! 

Heather and her daughter Miriam came as well. 

Also there was another MOPS mom...Melinda and her two kids, but I didn't get a picture of them. 

At first the kids were a bit timid! 

The water is cold, but it was hot outside so it felt nice! 

Zeke wanted nothing to do with the water until I swung his legs through one of the sprayers. He thought that was great fun and laughed so hard! 

Handsome Jack! 

Stepping on some of the sprayers make the other ones go higher! 

Beautiful baby boy! 

The kids have actually gotten into wearing their sunglasses now! 

I love how Zeke is looking at Owen in this picture. He loves his Owie! 

Cute little weirdos! 

I am loving having all my kids at home! 

Learning New Things...Both Good & Bad!

After the boys played with their helicopters for a little it was time for a break so they got busy doing other things. 

Owen was bulldozing some dirt over in the dirt corner of the yard. 

There used to be a bush in this corner, but then when we had the tree cut down it got taken out. We have some plans for the yard so we aren't worried about it right now. The boys sure have fun playing in it right now so that's good. 

Zeke has been getting more and more interested in the slide. He can climb into the playhouse, but then he gets to freaked out to slide down unless someone pushes him or I hold his hand. I've been waiting to catch him at the bottom of the slide, but he's still too scared. 

Of course he thinks climbing up the slide is a way better idea! 

Cute little bad example!!! 

After playing on the slide for a bit Zeke wanted to swing, but this time he didn't want in his bucket swing. I was so surprised he wanted to hold on, but he did a great job. He even tried to move his body like he was pumping! I just had to take the chance of letting him go so I could get this cute picture. He's getting so big!!!