Big Milestone!!!

Owen has a friend!!! 

I know that might seem like a funny milestone, but seriously this is huge! My sweet Owen is very much like his Daddy. He enjoys people in general and he enjoys being out for the most part, but if he had a choice he would choose to stay home and play on the computer. He very much likes solitary things or games that are designed for just two players and he's a huge reader!!! Owen is quite confident in himself and honestly he hasn't really seen a need for friends. I mean sure he is good at playing with others most of the time, but for the most part the boys he plays with have all been Jack's friends. 

Now I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that at all. God made Owen the way he is and his sweet personality is perfect for him. Since I'm a super social...I need friends in my life person it's been hard for me to relate to him and understand his lack of need for friends in his life. I've also thought in the past that he might be sad or feel like he's missing out on something because he doesn't have any true friendships, but that's simply not the case. That's how I would feel, but that is not how Owen feels at all! He is super content with his life and feels like nothing is lacking! I love that about him!

Just recently my friend Natalie watching the kids for me after school since I was on jury duty and couldn't pick them up on time. She has 3 kiddos....her oldest is Owen's age. Owen and Kegan have gone to the same school for 4 years now and they are in the same grade, but they've never had the same teacher. When the boys were younger Natalie and I attended a play group together at a church, but one of Kegan's other friends was there as well and they knew each other better so the boys just didn't hit it off. After going to Kegan's house Owen was so excited to tell me all about Minecraft and how Kegan showed him how to play it and how he wants to save his money to buy the game and so on. I honestly don't know that much about Minecraft except that it's a building sort of game I think. The people all looks like blocks so it looks funny to me, but he was super stoked about it. He actually asked if he could go to Kegan's house again to play with him and learn more. WHAT?!?!

The next time Natalie came over to pray with my Mom's In Prayer group we got to talking about the boys and I found out that Kegan really likes solitary things as well. He likes computer games and chess and reading. The boys really have so much in common. So we planned to have Owen go home on the same bus as Kegan and get to play until Daddy picked him up on his way home from work. Owen had so much fun! 

The following week on Veteran's day Natalie has to take her daughter to the doctor's so we watched Kegan and his younger brother. Owen had just recently gotten some cool snake cards that you play War with. Owen want to show Kegan how to play and they had lots of fun. 

It was so nice listening to Owen play with another boy his age. They were laughing and being silly and just having a great time. 

I've already talked with Natalie and Kegan is going to come with us for Owen's 10th Birthday in January. See with our kids I plan themed birthdays until their 10 birthday. That is the their big special birthday where we will pay to go out somewhere. Owen is going to Game Works in Seattle. On Thursday nights they have a special where you can buy an unlimited game card for only $10 per person. Also happy hour will be going on when they get there so Michael will order a bunch of appetizers for the kids and adults to munch on. When we started planning this birthday years ago....yes I plan that far ahead...the only kids we had in our mind that would come were actually Jack's friends. Now Owen has an actual friend that is his that's going to come. There is also another boy at his school that he gets along with that we are going to invite as well. 

I'm so excited for Owen...I know that he will probably never have a huge amount of really close friends, but that's okay. Maybe he will have just have a few really close buddies that stick with him for the rest of his life. What a gift that would be! 

Playing At The Mall!

I've recently been trying to make sure I'm doing things with Zeke that I would have done with Owen or any of the other kids when they were younger. For some reason I don't necessarily take just Zeke and go somewhere. I usually wait until the other kids are home. Last week we needed to go to Target so I thought this was the perfect time to just do something fun with Zeke. So we headed down to the toys at the mall. 

Sometimes it can take Zeke a while to open up and go play with the toys, but he did great and just jumped right in. 

There were a few kids there, but it wasn't overly crowded so that was nice! He get a little nervous when there are a lot of kids around. 

I'm swimming in the water mama! 

Taking a trip down the river in a kayak!

It was fun watching him play and it really just hit me that this time next year I won't be able to do this stuff with him during the day. He'll be a big boy and he'll be off to Kindergarten learning and having so much fun at school. It made me a little sad, but I'm also excited for him too. Honestly he could probably go to Kindergarten right now he's such a smarty and he wants to learn so badly. It has made me realize even more that I need to do this stuff with him more often. Not necessarily go somewhere so I can check it off my list, but to take Zeke somewhere fun for the sole reason of going somewhere fun with Zeke. 

The very day after this outing we were on our way home from MOPS and it was so gorgeous out that instead of going straight home....even though Zeke hadn't had lunch yet...we drove to the park to play. I swung Zeke and went down on the slide with him and we even walk around the track at the park. Then to top it off we got a Slurpee on the way home. It was so much fun to take that time to just focus on my boy. Life gets crazy and my to do list is long...especially since the holidays are coming up. I'm going to try to be more intentional during this phase of Zeke's life! In just a few short months his life is going to look completely different and so will mine! 

The Best Timing!

On Tuesday the 1st of November the kids and I were on our way home from the free mini LEGO build at the mall. Owen mentioned something about BFF's and Ella piped up and said that Logan was her BFF. A few minutes later she says, "Mommy I feel like I'm going to cry!" Then she just burst into tears and starts saying over and over "I miss Logan!" It was the most saddest thing ever! Ella and Logan hadn't seen each other since our trip to Eastern Washington in August and she hadn't really mentioned Logan all that much. She for the most part does really well, but on this particular occasion she was just so distraught! Later that night I called Jen so we could try to get Logan and Ella to talk on the phone together. Getting two 6 year olds to talk on the phone though is almost impossible. It's just not natural for them. They want to SEE each other! 

The amazing thing was that a couple weeks prior to this Jen had messaged me and asked if we were going to be in town the weekend of the 6th. Jen and Logan were coming over to Seattle so Logan could go to her audiologist on Friday the 5th. It seriously couldn't have been better timing! Logan and Jen ended up coming over on Friday night for dinner and they stayed for 5 hours! It was just what Ella's heart needed! 

I honestly think that Ella and Logan are closer now than they were when we saw her every day. Before it was just a given that she'd see Logan, but now that it's few and far between they both cherish the time they do get with each other. They also just pick right back up where they left off and start playing. They never even had the slightest disagreement! 

It was also so fun for Michael and I to get to chat with Jen for hours as well. When Jen would come pick up Logan at night when I was watching her all the time, at least once a week she would stay until after 6pm and we'd just chat and chat. I miss that time with her as well!

It was such a wonderful evening and it sure filled Ella's heart with joy to get to spend quality time with her BFF!!

Thankful Leaves!

My position at MOPS is technically called the Creative Activities Coordinator. I'm more known as the craft lady though. I haven't really done many creative activities. This year I thought that it would be fun for me to provide the materials to do a creative activity at home with their families. So I found some leaf cut out patterns and asked the lady in the church office if she could print them out on colored cardstock. The ladies were able to take a bunch of leaves home to their families to do the creative activity. 

We have chosen to do ours after dinner every night....now every night is a lofty goal, but still it's what I aim for. Really because life gets in the way we usually don't cut them out every night and then we just make up for it the next night by cutting out two leaves instead of one. 

Each of the kids got their own bundle of leaves and scissors. 

They can chose whichever leaf they want to cut out that particular night. 

Then they write what they are thankful for on that leaf. 

It's been fun seeing what they write down. For example Owen was thankful for school....love that my big guy sees school as a blessing! 

We have chosen to put our leaves up on the sliding glass door in our dining room. We have to put them all up high since Charlie will try to jump up and get them. This was after the first night of cutting out leaves. Michael and I are participating as well. After we cut them out and write down what we are thankfully for we go around the table and say what we wrote and why we are thankful for that particular person or thing. I love this activity and it's really so easy!

Charlie Had Surgery!

On Wednesday November 2nd Zeke and I took Charlie to the Vet to be neutered. We were originally going to wait until he was 6 months because according to the first Vet office we took him to that's when they suggested that it get done. But lately Charlie had been trying to dominate our arms and legs. Thankfully he didn't know what motions to do, but he was straddling our appendages biting them and not wanting to let go. Yep...it was time! 

The first Vet office we took Charlie to was in our city and I really really wanted to take him there. For some reason the older I get the more I want to support the community we live in. So his first check up, shots and blood draw for testing were done there. To the tune of almost $200. I about choked when they told me the total. After that one of our friends took their cat to the Vets For Less clinic in Federal Way and said they were great. I asked what the cost would be for neutering and he texted me back saying it was $38 for the neutering and another $19.50 for the pain meds. AWESOME!!! Michael did want me to find out what the Vet we originally took Charlie to would cost since we had already established a little bit of a relationship with them. So I called and they emailed me an estimate for him to be neutered.....$400!!! That did include his second round of shots, the exam, the neutering (which by itself was $120) and it also included getting him micro-chipped. No thanks! Vets For Less...here we come! 

They were SO amazing! If you have an animal and want to get excellent care for a fraction of the price take your pets there. Honestly the sweetest people work there and it was an amazing experience all around. Charlie did so good! The total bill did come to $107...that included the neutering, pain meds and the rest of his shots. Still doing all that was cheaper than just the neutering at the other clinic. 

After picking Charlie up at the Vet we still had to run a few errands around town. Charlie does great in the van. He never makes a peep....he just sits there and chills out. 

When we got home I let him out of his carrier and he was happy to come right out. 

All the kids had been so worried about Charlie. We had told them what the surgery would entail and why we were having it done. We also let them know that they shouldn't be picking up Charlie for a few days. 

The lady at the clinic warned that Charlie might go through what they call Morphine Madness and run around like a crazy animal, but he never did. He was extra alert for most of the afternoon and didn't fall asleep for a few hours, but he was just fine. He was able to start eating again at 1pm, but he didn't really have a good eating session until later in the evening when I set him down in front of his food and then he went to town for about 5 minutes just stuffing his face! 

Charlie is now doing great. His nether regions had to be all shaved for the surgery so he's not quite modest right now, but once the hair grows back he'll be more covered up down there. He bounced back quite fast and thankfully never had to be put in the cone of shame. We've also noticed that he's mellowed out a teeny bit...especially at night. Thankfully....I've been getting full nights sleep every since his surgery! 

Happy Halloween 2016!

Michael was still on-call on Halloween so once the kids got off the bus we went directly down to Ga-Ga & Pa's...yay for beating traffic! 

The kids weren't in a super rush this year to get going. We had dinner and then they were watching TV. We normally wait until Ga-Ga & Pa get their first Trick or Treater before we head out, but it was starting to get dark and with it being a school night we needed to get the show on the road. 

Yes Sir!!! 

Beautiful Princess! 

The Captain is ready for action! 

The knight is ready to slay a dragon! 

Let go get some candy!!! 

The kids did SO great! Since Michael wasn't there Ga-Ga came with me and the kids while Pa stayed back at the house to give out candy. I had the kids practice saying Trick or Treat as loud as they could in unison. They were really good. I also had to keep reminding the bigger kids to wait to ring the door bell until Zeke could get up to the door. At almost every house Zeke would be running up the driveway behind the older kids yelling..."Wait for me!" I wish I had a video of it. At a couple houses they had Seahawks flags and banners so instead of saying Trick or Treat I told the kids to say GO HAWKS!! They got a kick out of that! At one of the house the guys said, "Well that just earned you two candies!" As we were walking away from that house there were other kids coming up and we told them to say GO HAWKS so they could get two candies as well! Lots of fun for sure! 

When we got back to Ga-Ga's the kids dumped all their candy on the floor and after I went through it I had them put it in a gallon size bag. They each got to eat 3 pieces of candy that night. 

Ella with her bag stuffed with candy! 

That's a lot of candy sir knight! 

Jackson of course was the last one to put his candy away because choosing just three pieces is almost an impossible task! He finally did it though! We packed up all our stuff and were home around 8:30. It was off to bed since they had school the next day. I think that all those teachers that teach the day after Halloween should be given a medal. I tried my best to make sure the kids weren't too sugared up and got a decent amount of sleep, but I'm sure that wasn't the case with every parent. I honestly think that Halloween should always be the last Friday in October. It would be so much easier for parents, kids and their teachers! 

Riverview Community Church Trunk Or Treat!

Our church had their Trunk or Treat on Sunday October 30th. Michael and I had both signed up to help out. I was going to help at the registeration desk and Michael was going to run a carnival game from the back of our van. Unfortunately Michael happened to be on-call during that week and he had a record number of calls....one of which came right before it was time to leave for church so he wasn't able to make it after all. I ended up going to church and they found another person to run the carnival game from the back of our van. 

Because I had to be there early Ga-Ga & Pa came up to help the kids get into their costumes and they brought them down to church later. 

This years costumes didn't cost a dime. Ella got her Anna dress for Christmas last year, Owen reused his Army costume from last year, Zeke wore Jack's old Knight in shining armor costume from years ago and Jack reused his Captain America costume from last year as well. 

Pa of course took lots of pictures of the kids for me since I wasn't there when they got all dressed up. 

I did braid Ella's hair for her and she was all ready prior to me leaving. Getting her to wear that white long sleeve shirt under her dress was a chore, but I did compromise with her shoes. I wanted her to wear these black Mary Jane shoes, but she wasn't having it. Open toed clop shoes it was! 

Jackson was quite sure he wanted to wear his worker man boots and they did look great. I'm guessing they weren't the most comfortable though because the next night he did not want to wear them again. Last year Jack used a cardboard shield that I made him, but since then he's gotten the plastic magnetic shield that sticks to the wristband that's attached to his arm. It's pretty cool! 

My army boy was ready to go get some candy!

The church was set up differently this year. Of course the trunks were outside, but not all of them were typical trunk or treat trunks. Some of them had carnival games like our van did. Last year the carnival games were inside the church, but this year they wanted to have a giant bouncy house in there. 

Cute kids all ready to go! 

Since I was out working the registration table I didn't get to go around with the kids until the very end. They had so much fun with Ga-Ga & Pa and since there was two of them they were able to divide and conquer at times. 

Cute buddies!!! 

This is the back of our trunk. Nathan one of the leaders' sons was willing to run it for us. 

At first it was only sprinkling and then it really started to rain. Thankfully the kids didn't care one bit. 

It was crazy busy too....so much so people were having to park in the neighborhoods around the corner because the parking lot was full! 

Even though it was crowded it sure looked like everyone was having fun!!

We invited Lance, Rachael and their 4 kids to come and have fun with us. Jaymes was nice and snug in his front pack while his big sisters got to enjoy all the festivities! 

Besides the trunks, carnival games and the bouncy house....there was also balloon animals being made, popcorn, a cookie walk and face painting. 

Rain did not deter this Super Hero!!! 

Our pastor and his wife had just gotten back from attending a wedding in Hawaii so it was quite fitting that their trunk was tropical! 

The boys loved the nerf gun trunk! 

Once they came in the kids did the cookie walk and got lots of yummy cookies! 

Then it was time for face painting. Ella's hearts looked so pretty and they even stayed on all night so she was able to show everyone as school the next day. 

Owen got bat eyes and there were cool! They also got itchy though so we washed them off right before bed. Jack's "face" painting was the fastest since he just wanted a puppy paw on his hand. So fast I didn't even take a picture of it! 

I'm so thankfully that Ga-Ga & Pa came and helped with the kids. It would have been impossible for them to go around since I was working and even if Michael was there he would have been working as well. I'm thinking next year we are just going to have to choose who's going to work because it would be nice for one of us to get to go with our kids. 

One nice thing about Michael getting called out to work was he was home when we got home and he had made a really nice dinner for all of us.