5 YEARS

Andrew had been counting down to this day for a long time. (It doesn't bother him at all to have a birthday close to Christmas, even though it stresses me out. I should try to remember that.) His special day happened to fall on a Saturday and it started with opening presents.

Do you think he was happy with what he got? Just a little! Andrew is so expressive and so genuine in his happiness. Look at that smile!

Checking out the details on his Ben 10 Alien Force game (similar to Perfection if you know what that game is) with Eden.

A picture of the sugar (over)load that day. Frosted Flakes for breakfast and a candy bouquet from Daddy.

We spent most of the day playing with his new toys, and enjoying the menu Andrew picked out:

Breakfast: Frosted Flakes

Lunch: Chicken Nuggets

Dinner: Fish & Chicken

(Andrew actually wanted to GO FISHING for his birthday, but I was able to convince him to have some of the trout from the freezer that the kids caught with Scott before he left. And then we ended up saving that dinner for another night because we snacked on junk during the day and had a late lunch, so no one was hungry!)

Snacks: mini Chips Ahoy! cookies

Ice Cream Cake: Berry Rainbow Sherbet with Vanilla Cookie Crust- no toppings, no coolwhip, just some Star Wars Heroes on top! (and 5 candles!)

The first time we sang, Andrew blew out the candles halfway through. So, this is from our second go at it.

He also got to have a 'friend party' at Chuck E. Cheese's a few days later, but we have no pictures. I completely forgot the camera! Oops! At least we do have some evidence that Andrew did indeed turn 5 this year. Happy Birthday buddy, we love you!

Christmas photo shoot..... first round

For some reason, the captions won't show up on the blog, so I will narrate. 
Eden was trying so hard to be a good helper and keep Jakey happy and still for the pictures.  Andrew IS smiling and saying 'cheese', apparently its almost unbearable.

This is what I got after I asked Andrew to look at the camera and smile with his eyes OPEN.

And finally a pretty good one (minus Jake mid-blink), they actally look like they love each other and just love taking pictures for Mommy!

Theo's back!

Some of you may remember Theo, our colorful, thankful turkey we created during a blizzard in November of last year. Well, we pulled him out yesterday for Family Home Evening, and had some catching up to do. (I can't believe how fast November is flying by already!) It's awesome to see the kids being so self-motivated about it this year. They constantly want to add feathers to Theo, and work together on it a lot better than other things they try to do together. I am so happy this has turned out to be a meaningful family tradition. It makes this Mommy proud!

Happy Halloween!

Eden decided she wanted to be a cowgirl after we bought the black boots in our school shopping. She thinks they're cowgirl boots, and I wasn't going to argue. The hardest thing to find was a cheap cowgirl hat (there are lots of places around here that sell nice 'real' western hats, even for kids). Luckily I found hers at the seasonal Halloween store in the mall for $8, so her costume was pretty cheap and pretty easy. Andrew had said he wanted to be a padawan, so I was going to make a brown cloak like he used in his Jedi training at Disneyland, and he already has a light saber. But, being the indecisive 4-year-old boy that he is, he kept changing his mind. We ended up buying the Boba Fett costume, at least he's happy! Jake is a tiger (Andrew's old costume, actually from the last time Scott was deployed). Coincidentally, Scott is deployed with the Tigers right now!

This was the best 'portrait' I got during our 'photo session'. At least cute kids look good even if the photographer has zero skill.

Andrew is pretending to be dead, I thought it was pretty funny.

Strike a pose!

And this is the best evidence I can provide that Jacob has decided walking is actually kind of fun (finally, at 16 months!). I have some cute video clips but can't get them to load on Blogger or YouTube. Sorry Daddy!

Badlands Excursion

Back in September, when we still had summer weather, the kids and I tagged along with some friends for a Badlands excursion. We explored a bit in the Badlands, had a picnic lunch there, then headed to 1880's town. I think they hadn't cleaned parts of it since 1880, there were lots of cool spiders and webs. It was fun and we enjoyed sarsaparilla and snack at the saloon. Then we went to Wall Drug for dinner on the way home. Considering we had 8 kids under 7 (it was before Eden's birthday), we all fared quite well. Thanks again to the Kennards and Shirleys!

Since I don't know how to load more than 4 pictures and keep them in the right order.... Jake figured out how to put is fingers in his ears on the way home. I don't know if he just couldn't sleep with everyone around him, he should have been plenty tired. But he kept his fingers in his ears for a while. He did spend a lot of time in his stroller, but this is what he really wanted to do- explore, explore, explore! It would be a little cleaner if he could stay on two feet, but how could I deny him a little happiness?

Andrew and his buddies, they found the perfect hideout! Getting ready for lunch- yum!

Andrew and Creed at Wall Drug. Lucy and Eden at 1880's Town. We all had a great time!

Preschool already?

For Andrew, it was more like 'Preschool, finally!' since his preschool didnt' start until a couple weeks after Eden started. He was so happy that he got to take 'school supplies' too. It really is hard to believe he'll be 5 soon and in kindergarten next year.

First Day of School, First Day of School!

(Time for a September update)

Eden was super-excited to wear her new boots, despite the summer-like weather. Going from half day Kindergarten to a full day of school was a big change this year. Andrew was so excited for her too- what a sweet brother!

This last one was taken at the school when she line up to go inside. I'm pretty sure she was thinking "Why are you still here, Mom?"