Random Happenings!

Since Owen's loves facts he decided he should create his own Jeopardy game. Ga-Ga & Pa come over every Wednesday night for family night so we played then. 

The first time he created a game he didn't have any Daily Doubles or Final Jeopardy, but since then he's upped his game! :) 

Since we have a home cellphone for the kids and it's connected to my Google Photos I'm always finding all these pictures of Charlie that have been automatically uploaded. 

Charlie has taken to laying on Zeke's bed instead of our master bed. He loves Zeke's pillow! It's as flat as a pancake and he loves it so I guess it's no wonder that the cat loves it too. Ella tucked Charlie in here! 

Then sometimes they go check on him and he's in silly positions like this! 

One of Owen's projects in Social Studies was to create a contour map. He chose the Hawaiian Islands. 

I actually love that he spelled Hawaiian wrong....Hawiian! :) 

The different colors represent different elevations. He didn't quite get Maui correct since there is a nice valley right in the middle, but oh well. He also created a grid like battleship....it's just really hard to see! 

Jack decided to dress up like Pa one day. It's hard to tell from this angle, but he stuffed a shirt into his shirt to make it look like he had a tummy! Thankfully this made Pa laugh! :) 

The kids were driving me crazy with not finishing all their morning tasks prior to school. I had this magnetic chalk calendar on the side of the refrigerator that wasn't being used so I decided to make it work. I took black electrical tape and covered the days of the week so it wouldn't be confusing and then I wrote out all the task on top. 

Get Dressed - Eat - Brush Teeth - Make Bed - Set Up School - Fill Water Bottle - Pit Stick

Once they complete the task they can move their magnet over to that spot. It's not been a perfect solution, but it's definitely helped! 

Charlie very rarely gets up on the furniture except the couch...that's his domain! It's always so surprising when he actually behaves like a cat and goes somewhere he normal doesn't....in this instance on top of the TV console table. He's such a pretty kitty! 

Jackson has always loved Toy Story, but for a while he didn't really pay attention to those toys anymore. Recently, they've made a comeback so much so Jackson saved up enough money to buy himself a Slinky Dog. Friday night is Family Movie Night so Jack got all his characters set up to watch the movie with us. 

Here's the side view! Buzz is sitting inside a tissue box andWoody is using my water pitcher as a seat. I just love how Slinky Dog is sitting on his bum! What you can't see is that Woody's arm is actually around the neck of Slinky Dog! 

One of Charlie's other favorite place to lay down is at the top of the stairs. Evidently one of the kids thought he needed something fun to read! 

Recently when Ella went to the orthodontist to get her lower braces put on, we went ahead and had Owen evaluated to see if he needed braces. There were some minor concerns I had with his teeth. My mindset is I'd rather him get these issues addressed now while he's under our insurance. Also it's way easier to have braces when you're younger rather than older. 

Owen was not too thrilled with this decision, but he didn't really have a choice! 

He's just like Ella where he has quite an overbite so they only were able to put his top braces on right now. He'll go back in about 2 months to get his lowers put on. 

After just one day his teeth were already moved apart...especially his two front teeth. Of course he wasn't feeling too good, but thankfully the next day he was already doing so much better! 

Ella's 11 Year Old Pictures & Girly Date!

I took Ella to get her pictures on Sunday, February 28th. Owen and I had been there exactly a week prior to get his pictures. The ladies that were working that day were also working this day. They remembered me and apologized again for us having to wait so long for Owen's pictures. 

This was the first year that Ella picked out her own outfit for pictures without any input from me. I think she did a beautiful job! 

My sweet girly is growing up! 

She chose to bring Kyra and Winter with her. The three pictures above are the one I got digital images of, but the wallets I got to use as Thank You cards have Kyra riding on Winter. I love how JCPenney's encourages the kids to bring something that represents their personality right now. It's fun to look back at the past pictures and see what they chose to bring with them. 

Prior to going to JCP's we had some time before her appointment so we stopped at Value Village to shops or a bit. Ella really wanted one of those plastic Sterlite 3 drawer containers to put her dolls clothes in. We ended up finding one, but it was back in the area where the workers price things. Thankfully I ask a guy if we could buy it and he said yes and he'd price it right away. We ended up getting it for only $2.99!!! I also bought Ella a pretty necklace. 

After her pictures I told her we were going to go out for a late lunch at a restaurant. I wish I could have taken a picture of her face. She was SHOCKED! She stared at me and then said, "Inside!!!" Yes, baby girl inside the restaurant. Thankfully Olive Garden has an online wait list. We had been on the list since we got to JCP's. After finishing up there we headed over and checked in. Our table was going to be ready in about 5 - 10 minutes. We went back to the van to wait, but then Ella realized she needed to use the restroom. We went inside to do that and my phone got a text saying our table was available. 

It was SO nice and normal to be eating at a restaurant! Our waiter was amazing and so friendly. I feel like everyone is so happy to be getting back to normal, so happy to see others and so happy to have a job! 

Ella's Doll Party!

On February 20th, we had Ella's Doll Party. We had been planning it since right after Christmas. I didn't want to make a big fuss, but we did get some fun paper plates to make the table fun! 

Ella's present from us was her dress....she got a matching one for her doll as well. 

We also go her a birthday / tea party set for her dolls! 

We got these rose gold plates and napkins at Walmart. The girls got to use my punch bowl cups to drink their lemonade. 

Ella and Kyra in their matching dresses! 

Kendra and her doll Layla

Lilyann and her doll. Ella says she changes her name all the time. 

Reagan with her doll Caitlin. 

Caitlynn and her doll Kira also had matching dresses. 

Look at all these pretty girls.

Ella wanted a white cake with white frosting so that's what she got. I only had Christmas cupcake liners so I used my silicon liners for the first time. 

Micah and Kim were the only other adults there. Kim and I visited while Michael and Micah working on fixing the door lock on our van. They went together to Costco to pick up pizza and Caesar salad mix. Again it was a super easy birthday party for me! 

From the Dial girls Ella got a jewelry kit with all kind of charms that she can switch out. It's really fun! 

From Caitlynn she got a doll bathtub for her dolls. 

After the party Ella and I were getting ready to head out to go shopping so she could spend her money. That's when I got a text from Papa and Ruth saying they were going to stop by with her present.   

They had recently had a mild case of Covid and were recovery great. They didn't want to come inside though so they watched from the front yard.

Ella read the card they got her. 

And opened her present! 

They got her this cute Robin Egg blue purse. I did tie the strap after this since it was still a bit long for her. She used her purse right away to hold her money when we went shopping for the rest of the doll stuff she wanted! We went to Target and 2 different Walmarts. 

Ella bought a horse for her doll Kyra, an equestrian outfit for Kyra, accessories for her horse, a sleeping bag with a sleep mask and she got a bed since she only has a bunk bed and she needed three beds for her three dolls. 

Ella decided to name her horse Winter. Kyra looks so adorable in her equestrian outfit! Ella did have a bit of money left over so we bought her a couple doll sized backpacks on Amazon. Unfortunately, the backpacks were too small so we had to return them. We ended up going to Target a week later and buying her the backpack set even though she already had a bunch of the same school supplies that came with it.

Ella's Actual Birthday & Presents!

On Ella's actual Birthday she got to open her present from her siblings. 

They each gave her a little bit of money to put towards her goal of buying herself the Schoolroom for her dolls. 

I have no idea what this face is about, but it's hilarious. She might have been trying to decipher what Zeke wrote on her card. :) 

They bought her a little baby kitten for Charlotte. Don't let the picture fool you she loves him. She named him Midnight. 

The very next day Ga-Ga took Ella shopping for her birthday. By this point Ella had been saving for a year in order to buy her Doll Schoolhouse. Ga-Ga wanted to buy it last year for her, but I told her no. I really wanted Ella to learn what it was like to save for something and I honestly thought she'd change her mind about it. 

On her actual birthday we had Mommy & Mimosas at my friend Elaina's house. Her daughter has the schoolhouse so Ella got to play with it up close and she LOVED it. Listening her talking about it I knew that it would be something she would play with and love. After that I got to thinking....Ella had saved enough money to buy it herself and she was willing too, but then it occurred to me that it wouldn't be wise to have Ga-Ga buy her other doll stuff not knowing what her friends were going to get her at her upcoming birthday party. We knew for sure that they would not be buying her the Schoolhouse so it was a safe purchase. After Ella's birthday party she'd then be able to take the money she saved for the Schoolhouse and buy all the accessories that she didn't get at her party. It was a win win really! 

Here is her awesome Schoolhouse! 

Ga-Ga also bought Ella the extra locker set as well! 

This thing is so cute and well thought out. It has a school bell and a fire alarm that work. The black board has a light above it and a clock that both work. The white board lights up as well. 

The teachers desk as a cup of coffee and a pencil sharpeners. The details are incredible! 

Ella has 3 dolls so it's perfect for her to play school them. 

Look at these little desks. It came with a bunch of school supplies as well. Even those cute windows open and the green blinds can come down. Ella has loved playing with her Schoolhouse and I'm so happy that she had to save for it and learn what it meant to have to wait for something you really want! 

Owen's 14 Year Old Pictures!

I took Owen to JCPenny's for his birthday pictures on Sunday, February 21st. It was our first time being back in the studio since Covid broke out. We had to wait about 45 minutes for our scheduled photo session to start. It was so okay though Owen and I talked and did some browsing around while we waited. 

The lady that took Owen's pictures was great and she loved Owen. For each of the kids birthdays this year Ga-Ga & Pa are letting the kids pick out their presents. Owen got to go to the LEGO store and he picked the Razor Crest from The Mandalorian. He built it all by himself! 

Look at this handsome young man! 

I really enjoy taking the kids in for their pictures...it's special time one on one time that is hard to come by with 4 kids. I can't believe there will only be 4 more years of these yearly birthday pictures. I know they tell you not to blink and man they were right!