A Little of This...A Little of That...

Busy times!

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 18:50:00 +0000

I know I've been neglecting this poor blog of mine, but I do have good excuses. We've been very busy with various activities for the kids, projects around the house, and just life in general. But we have done some very fun things these last few months, so I thought I'd share.

It is warm here (where you expecting anything less?!) so John picked up a small pool for the kids. This thing gets daily use, and with the wonderful patio and cover the kids can play outside for hours without getting completely fried. Yah for shade!

William's Trail Life group went to an archery range and we all got to shoot for the first time. I have to say that while it was quite fun, it's a lot of work, requiring a good amount of strength.

Grandpa and Grandma were here visiting for awhile so we all went to the Aquarium of the Pacific for a day. Such fun!

It was so nice to have another adult along!

Aunt Gina and Uncle Andy also were here a few weeks ago. They got the kids tennis rackets, and Aunt Gina did her best to give them their first lessons.

We celebrated Maggie's second birthday. Seriously!?!

Took in a little mini golf.

Took a ~~quick~~ trip to urgent care to check on the status of a swallowed quarter.

Went to see the shuttle Endeavor at the Science Center.

Found some time to feed the ducks (and turtles!).

Trenched the backyard-to-be. (This picture doesn't do it justice. John spent weeks of grueling work on our cement-like dirt to get it ready for sprinkling. He will have it finished in the next couple of days. In the fall we will lay down sod! After 11+ years I will finally have a backyard again!)

And now...please excuse us. We're tired.

Rock Climbing

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 03:49:00 +0000

William is part of a new boys' scouting group called Trail Life. They are just getting off the ground, but they are already doing fun outings. Their first big outing as a group was going rock climbing at the air force base.

After all the boys were finished climbing Abby had a chance to climb.

Tres.

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 22:55:00 +0000

I think the reason it takes me so long to write a post and then post pictures about the post is because I can no longer just upload my pictures to blogger but have to instead upload them to photobucket and then upload them to my blog because my blog can't take anymore pictures because there is just not enough space. (Anyone want to diagram that?!?)

Or maybe it's because I'm just weary. I have several small people that demand much out of me and I don't have much time to go along with said demands. So blogging and pictures get tossed to the side.

I did promise a few more pictures of our totally awesome vacation, so here they are.

*********

After we left Ohio we drove on up to Michigan to see my family. Last November my parents bought the cutest cottage ever, so we spent several days enjoying life on the water!

In the evenings we enjoyed sitting around the fire roasting marshmallows and making hobo pies.

Uncle Jared and Grandpa helped William fish for the first time, and he caught several small fish.

The smile on his face pretty much sums up everything!

A long-time friend of mine was able to come up and visit us for the day, along with her three kiddos. It was so fun seeing our little girls play with each other!

Have I mentioned I have the cutest niece ever? Well I do.

Maggie and Kierra enjoyed some pool time together.

And Aunt Lynnelle was brave and took both kids out for a ride on the floaties.

I can't find pictures to prove this, but William and Abby also got to go tubing around the lake behind my Dad's boat! I really couldn't believe that wanted to go, but they did and had a blast doing so. William went by himself and Abby went with her friend. John and I also went tubing! Jared managed to get John to flip off the tube, and the kids were a bit concerned watching John try to get back on the tube (to no avail). They truly thought we were going to have to simply leave him in the water and, well...leave. Obviously that didn't happen, but it was still funny to see the looks on their face when time after time John could not pull himself on the tube again.

Here are Grandma and Grandpa with all their grandkids!

We had such a great time at the cottage that I think we will have to plan summer vacations to Michigan now!

Part deux

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 22:35:00 +0000

Here are a few more pictures from our vacation.

Aunt Gina took us to Milligan College where we took some family pictures and walked around the beautiful campus.

After we left TN we went through Cumberland Gap. Some nice gentleman took our picture while the kids waited in the car. Sometimes it is a lot of work to get all three of them out of car seats for a photo!

We drove around the park and found a fun hiking trail (with a board walk for nice stroller pushing!).

And what visit to Kentucky would be complete without a visit to the original KFC?

As we made our way north we stopped at the huge Air Museum in Ohio.

Little sister is getting so close to walking!

After we left Ohio we headed up to Michigan to see my family and enjoy a stay at my parent's new cottage. Pictures are coming!

Vacation, pt. 1

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 22:10:00 +0000

We recently returned from a two week vacation back east to visit family and see the sights. It was such a fun trip. We flew out to North Carolina, stopping first to see the last home game of the Durham Bulls. It might be the first game that I actually caught John snoozing. In all fairness, we did leave for the airport at 1:30am PST, so trying to stay awake for a 7pm EST game was exhausting. Let's just say that we didn't last much longer than the 7th inning.

The next day we cruised through the Smokey Mountains.

We stopped at the farm that was at the visitor's center, admiring the chickens and wild hogs.

Then we hiked Clingman's Dome, the top of which is the highest point in the Smokey Mountains. It was a bit foggy, so after the exhausting climb up we couldn't really see anything. Note to self - Maggie HATES being in Ergo carrier. Staring at my back/front was not her idea of fun. And having her on me was just plain hot. Next hike - stroller!

This was a park we could have spent a lot more time in. The beauty was just incredible.

After we left the Smokey Mountains we headed off to Blountville, TN, to spend Labor Day weekend with John's sister and husband. We had such a relaxing time in their beautiful home, seeing the sights of Eastern Tennessee, and enjoying wonderful food.

We spent a day at Tweetsie Railroad, an old fashioned carnival-type theme park in the Appalachian Mountains.

I think this old Ferris wheel might have been my favorite ride!

I'll post more later, but for now...enjoy!

Maggie with her walker

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 00:08:00 +0000

She is so close to walking...she will push anything along so she can walk, but she loves this toy the best.

Legoland!

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Sun, 11 Aug 2013 23:24:00 +0000

We took the kids to Legoland for a few days. We went to both parks - their water park and their dry park.

John took the kids on this ride, which thoroughly soaked them all!

You may all laugh at my poor timing on taking this picture, but it was the best pic I had of them coming down this slide.

John's timing was much better.

Although this picture doesn't show the enthusiasm of the kids, they all had a great time! Maggie was pretty wiped out, due to being at the beach the day before and getting too much sun.

Abby just loved these water slides! William for whatever reason was in a funk and wouldn't go down. However, he went down the adult water slides the day before.

Oceanside beach! It was packed!

There was this huge pier with a Ruby's Diner at the end. Obviously we stopped for shakes.

For my Dad...you asked for pictures...and now you shall receive them.

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 22:15:00 +0000

It's been hot here. As in very warm. Here the girls are (trying) to chill after church. On this particular day the temps got to 116*.

I caught Maggie drinking my water. She still can't control the flow of a straw or sippy cup yet - when her mouth is full of liquid and she can't swallow fast enough she'll just open her mouth and let everything run out!

We had the opportunity to go to an Angels game - and sit literally right behind home plate! William was one happy boy.

Look who decided to eat food all by herself! She has always loved to eat, but until now has never put any food in her mouth on her own.

Playing with the water table...another toy that has been much loved.

I came home one morning to this adorable scene.

Happy 4th of July!

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Sat, 06 Jul 2013 04:58:00 +0000

We did something a little different this year. We took the kids to Fort Tejon to see the various reenactments and the 31 cannon salute. (The 31 cannon-fire salute signifies the 31 states that had joined the union around the mid 1800s.) I was originally under the impression that the period was going to be the American Revolution, but the reenactments were from the Civil War period. Oh well. I don't think the littles realized the difference.

The cannons they were using were impressively loud. One was a replica, but the one shown is an original. Maggie was so excited after every boom that she clapped and danced!

The Fort docents put on quite a few period games, tug of war being one. They pulled with all their might but alas...the other side won. William jumped right in to play the egg toss, but due to the incredible heat (it was pushing 100*) we decided not to risk the high possibility of him getting egg all over himself.

There were sack races, pie eating contests, apple bobbing, as well as an old-fashioned baseball game!

There was a little something for everyone. We braved the laundry "station" and the kids dipped candles. I say braved because there was a roaring fire just next to us where the kids could scrub laundry. The fire was not for the laundry per se, but it did encourage us to continue on from this station. Adding a fire to 100* heat was too much for me.

At night we watched fireworks. It was an exhausting but fun day!

Happy 4th of July!

Look Who's One...almost a month late. Opps.

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Sat, 06 Jul 2013 04:38:00 +0000

Our baby turned a year old Jun 9th. I made a wonderful gluten free cake for her...but then splurged on the frosting - chocolate butter cream, baby.

I had a bit of a hard time getting the three of them to look for me, but this shot just cracks me up. The day before J and I went to the home school convention at the Disney Hotel and J picked up the crowns for the kids. Maggie wanted nothing to do with hers but was still completely enamored with Abby's.

It is a little strange to think that it's been a whole year since she was born. She is now cruising along the furniture, slowly and a bit unsure of herself, but determined. She doesn't like being left behind when the older two run off so she has perfected the army crawl. Man I wish she'd learn to either walk already or crawl the normal way - less wear and tear and her clothes!

She is finally sleeping the nights. It took her till about two weeks after her 1st birthday to start, but that's okay. She's on her own schedule. Now that she's sleeping well I moved her into Abby's room and moved Abby into William's room. I had her and Abby together, but that didn't turn out so well. Abby had joined Maggie in her bed and had literally shoved all the blankets and stuffed animals in the bed with them. Maggie was screaming for her own space. So until she gets a little bigger and can defend herself a bit more with an overly loving big sister, she will have the girls room all to herself. Which is just fine with Abby. She's so excited to join William in his room.

Ready or not...

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 22:58:00 +0000

Apparently Barnes and Noble has jumped on board with the Common Crap. I mean Core. And what kills me is that so many parents don't even know what this is. The book in the red lettering sums it up for me.

On a much more beautiful note, I ran across this today. Sums up pretty nicely why we chose the schooling route we did. A purchase might be in order.

Happenings....It's been awhile!

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Thu, 30 May 2013 17:14:00 +0000

This little car is her current fav! She loves sitting in it, thinking she's a big kid.

A poor picture (taken with my phone) but it's a classic - she's clearly a third kid. I'll leave her in the living room to play with the other two and more likely than not they will include her in whatever they're playing. I think they like the fact that whatever they decide to do with her is completely fine with her. There are never any arguments.

Last Saturday we took the kids cherry picking. John had never gone before (gasp!).

We ended up picking 11 pounds of cherries! I'm so thankful for my dehydrator, as I was able to immediately dry about five pounds of them.

Ballet

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Thu, 30 May 2013 16:57:00 +0000

John and I took the kids to see the ballet Cinderella. I got the girls all dolled up in their pretty dresses and posed them outside for pictures.

Maggie did surprisingly well sitting through the ballet, considering it was over 90 minutes long.

This was the third fine arts performance we took the kids to this year. We saw Stone Soup, Snow White, and Cinderella.

Early Birthday Party

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Thu, 30 May 2013 00:07:00 +0000

Grandma and Grandpa were over a few weeks ago and we decided to celebrate the kids' birthdays early. Super early. But they were okay with that. Presents and cake - who can say no?

I can't believe my little baby is going to be a year old in a few short days! She's still small, but she's learning to crawl now and can stand up against furniture.

William won't be six for a few more months yet but he did get to open some presents as well.

She tried and tried but simply could not get the candle to blow out.

Busy Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 23:19:00 +0000

Things have been busy here. I have finished planting my garden for this year, we have had thousands of pounds of rock dumped on our front lawn and moved to the back, many trees have been planted (or await planting), William has had lots of Little League practices and several games, and we have taken a trip to the zoo. And it's only the end of March! I will say that I do like the busy, especially the work that we are doing around our home. Things are coming together nicely, and I can see a really cool backyard taking it's final form.

When things get too crazy, Abby jumps in and feeds her little sister. She's getting to be such a big helper. Maggie loves to eat so that helps matters.

All three kids play so nicely together.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here's our little group at the LA Zoo. It was such a beautiful day! Overcast (thing smog covering, but who cares!) and no crowds. Reason #457 why we choose to home school - we can do activities on our time table!

This past weekend we had another 7,000+ pounds of rock delivered and dumped in our front yard. It took all day to move them to the back, but now we are ready to trench the backyard and lay grass, then complete the water fall.

We spend every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at the ball park watching William practice and play games. This was my view not too long ago. Little sister loves her Daddy!

Maggie love to just sit in the grass and play with whatever is around her!

The kids memorize like crazy. Here is a fun little poem they learned about directions.

They learned Psalm 1, although they were a little goofy and never finished it for the video.

Spring!

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:44:00 +0000

It was quite warm yesterday - in the 80s actually. William had ball practice and it was so nice to sit outside in the warmth.

Maggie didn't seem to mind the glasses one bit. They din't have a strap on the back so they slid off quite easily, so I had to be quick with the picture.

In other news my garden is springing up quite nicely, with peas, asparagus peas, kale, and sunflowers all sprouted. In a week or so I'll plant the rest of the veggies. I'm waiting because the nights can still get a bit chilly.

First Little League Game

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 22:56:00 +0000

William had his first Little League game this past Saturday. They played the Dodgers on a real field, with a real score board, AND an announcer! It was so cool to hear, "And next up to bat is William!"

They had a 30 minute warm-up before the game started.

They are allowed four strikes/misses before they are allowed the tee. The very nice thing about this year is that the fans (me!) have bleachers that are enclosed. So no sun burns or wind chaffing happening this year! And if food is forgotten the snack bar is a mere three feet away. Win-win!

William was up to bat three times yesterday, only needing the tee for one time.

Here he is scoring! The Angels beat the Dodgers 21-17. He plays with his friend, so he knows someone on his team, and Abby and I also have someone to talk to at the twice-weekly practices. I'm excited for this year. It seems like he is learning a lot and having a great time!

Flying along

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:59:00 +0000

Life has been extremely busy lately. A good busy, and a busy that I'm really loving. Adding a third child (who is extremely needy, I might add) has really kicked my butt. Maggie is an easy-going child with me, and pretty much only me. I've tried nursery with her only twice, out of sheer necessity, and both times I was called in to relieve her agony of mommy-separation. In the last week she has learned to say "maa...maa...", which sounds like a bleating little lamb. Yes, I am her hero. And I love it!

She continues to wake during the night to nurse, something I'm not used to, as the other two kids were already sleeping a good 10-12 hours at night by this age (almost 9 months). My little squirt continues to eat an incredible amount of food and oddly enough is still very small for her age. I have noticed her filling out a little bit, but not much. She can sit pretty well, but when she's excited will tumble over.

She's a horrible sleeper for naps, something I really thought she'd eventually start to learn to do better with age. But no. She hates sleep. I'm fairly certain if I were lay down with her she'd sleep like a baby (heh heh!), but that ain't happenin'.

William is doing very well with kindergarten this year. I've had to lower my expectations for both me and him, as I had many subjects planned for him to complete. I've since discovered that the best for him right now is to learn to read well and get lots and lots of outdoor play. He's a diligent worker when it comes to school work, though.

The highlight of his days are going outside to play and explore. I just love the weather we have in these early months of the year!

Ah...my middle child. Every time I look I her I do a double-take, as she looks just.like.me! when I was her age. She is so smart, that I'm thinking she'll be reading right along with William sooner rather than later. She writes all her letters and numbers, memorizes Bible verses and poetry with ease, and lovingly cares for her little sister.

But don't let that adorable smile and braids catch you off guard. This girl is a Pistol. I capitalized that word on purpose. The things she comes up with to do...I just have no words. She gets into everything, and then will deny, deny, deny. But really. When the word "Abby" is written in bold, inked letters on the end table, there really is no denying who did it. And just because the word "Mom" is written in ink on my panty door doesn't remove the blame from a certain little pig-tailed chica.

On the weekends (and some week nights) we have been working hard in our backyard. We had to pull and replant the fruit trees we planted last year due to root rot. Apparently one can water too much. William can be found working hard right alongside of John.

We had a truckload of boulders delivered last week, and John and a group of guys hauled them to the backyard. I'm so excited with what we are doing back there. John has put so much work into our dirt patch and it's almost finished. I can almost call it our yard.

The kids have enjoyed many afternoon stories with Oma via Skype. She read The Mouse and the Motorcycle to them, and has since read many more picture books. Ah...the memories it brings back, listening to her read the stories she used to read to me as a child. Love it!

William is in coach-pitch Little League this year! After only having one year of tee-ball he does remarkably well for jumping into coach-pitch. Last weekend was their opening day and pictures.

His friends who played with him last year are taking a season off, but some long-time friends of ours signed up their son to play ball, so we asked to be on the same team. There is a year + difference in age between the boys, but they get along so well, with R taking William under his wing, so to speak.

I know I've not been diligent in blogging, but I'm hoping to get better in the future. I know, I'm laughing about that over here, too. But keep checking back here...

Christmas 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:18:00 +0000

Christmas came and went without a post. Sigh. I'm trying to keep up this blog but I only have so much time and my family comes first.

We had John's parents and Aunt over for Christmas. The kids were so excited when they finally arrived! They had snowy weather coming down from their house so the trip took much longer than expected.

I love this picture...just wish we had thought to move the dirty dishes!

William specifically asked Santa for a crockpot and Abby asked for a torch. And the Man in Red delivered! (Yes, I do realize that technically William received a rice cooker and Abby a princess wand, but hey. Santa sometimes has to make last minute substitutions.)

John also got exactly what he was wanting - a LARGE, NEW bath towel. (Ours are going on 10 years old.) I mentioned this in passing to my mom, so she went out and bought this beast of a towel for him! It was love at first sight.

Maggie was quite into opening her presents! She loved all the crinkly paper the best, though.

Later on Christmas day Maggie tried her first bites of solid food - sweet potatoes. She choked and gagged down a bite or two, but wasn't too keen on it. (Since the last week or so she has really taken to food! She will eat anything put up to her lips. It just had to be on her time.)

Both kids got Razor scooters for Christmas! They were a huge hit. And I love them because it's an outside toy that allows them to burn energy. Double score.

Going out

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 20:01:00 +0000

All ready for church, wearing a knit sweater and bonnet MY grandma made!

Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 00:29:00 +0000

The girls and I took a little vacation back east to visit my family and meet the newest member of the family - my sister's beautiful new daughter, K, born October 28.

Watching my sister in her new role as a mother was so fun! My sister, who I never believed would even HAVE a child, has shunned going back to work (doesn't want to miss.a.thing with her!) completely embraced nursing (she has a closet FULL of formula, because she was not going to be a cow!) and is already plotting with her husband on which mini van to buy (they want more kids!). I told her she would love being a mom, and she absolutely does!

My dad also got to meet Maggie for the first time on this visit.

We had such a busy schedule while there - old friends to visit, family to see and catch up with, places to see, stores to shop, restaurants to eat at, and Christmas to celebrate! It's really no wonder they just had to take a time out and catch up on their zs.

My brother also had a very stressful week of studying for his final exams. He's a senior this year (when did that happen!?!) and gearing up for a new job he landed in an accounting firm. He's not actually sleeping in this photo...but the more I look at it the more disturbed I am by it.

That's better. Sort of. K is such a good little dolly, sleeping wherever! I have a feeling those days will be coming to a close rather soon, though.

I do declare! I love little girlie tights!

My mom took me (and Maggie) to a Getty concert one night which was so great! (Until the end, when we left the building and completely forgot where we parked. After 20 minutes of wandering around in the pitch dark we eventually found the van.)

Thank you all so much for such a wonderful vacation!

I was so excited to get back home to my boys! William was very happy to be reunited with Abby, although he had a wonderful time with John working in the lawn and around the house.

Thankful

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 01:48:00 +0000

Hello there!

I haven't updated in a bit....

but the last few weeks have been a whirl wind of activity. Lots of school activities, park days, shopping, grocery shopping for Thanksgiving, you name it.

The weather has cooled down some, so our days are 60-75 degrees, with cold nights. Of course we are taking advantage of it and going to the park as much as possible. Maggie enjoyed going down her first slide!

With colder day time temps comes hauling out the baby snowsuits!

We were at the mall the day before Thanksgiving. When we walked in the kids noticed Santa's chair and the Christmas trees all set up...but no Santa. I told them that Santa would not come until after Thanksgiving. We walked on, but after a bit heard a rather loud boom. Thinking it was a sonic boom or something, I paid no attention to it. William was convinced it was Santa and talked me into walking over to his chair again. Sure enough. There was the chubby man in red, waiting for his first children to sit on his lap! Santa asked the kids what they wanted for Christmas, and William leaned in and whispered, "A crock pot." Puzzled, Santa looked at me and I, too, said that he wanted a crock pot. "Okay", said Santa, "I'll see what I can do." He turned to Abby and asked the same question. She responded, saying she wanted a torch. I about died laughing...a crock pot and a torch! (I should clarify...Abby got a pink pumpkin "torch" from her Aunt Gina for Halloween and now she wants a Christmas one. It's really the only thing on her list.)

On Thanksgiving day the Abby helped me in the kitchen, peeling hard boiled eggs. William was outside helping John with "the birdie".

We had the pleasure of having some of our family over for a wonderful meal!

Fall is in the air!

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:26:00 +0000

Finally.

I only had the time to carve one pumpkin so I was grateful that Abby really wanted to paint hers.

I took the kids down the road to small farm where they had baby goats and potbellied piglets.

Some time ago we went with some friends to a pumpkin patch for a picnic! The kids also had a blast jumping in the jumpie.

Happy fall, y'all!

5 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:01:00 +0000

My babe is 5 months old (tomorrow, to be exact). I've been bombed with cuteness of my new niece, Kierra, so I thought I'd break out the tutu and take some pictures of my little princess. The tutu was made by my sister in law, and the blanket was hand-crocheted by my friend. (If flipped around it has all the ABCs!)

I imagine taking tutu pictures would have been much easier at a younger age...everything these days goes straight into her mouth, and the skirt was no exception.

She would. not. smile. for the camera. The other kids were in the room and she was very distracted by them. It's hard to tell by the pictures but she has the bluest eyes! My first blue-eyed baby! John says they're so blue "they sparkle"...and I have to agree.

What we've been up to...

noreply@blogger.com (Leah) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 21:56:00 +0000

Since Maggie has joined our family I've been a little off my game. I had all these great plans for kindergarten - cool science projects and experiments lined up, music lessons, art plans, you name it - but this third child has been a game changer for me. This last month has been so much better than the previous months, as Maggie cries way less now and is happy to be in her swing a bit more. Needless to say, I've had to reevaluate my school plans and simplify a bit. William is doing great with his phonics and reading skills, I've switched our math curriculum to Singapore math (which I love!), and we are taking Story of the World (history) waaay slower than I had originally planned. We are doing these fun unit studies for science and currently we are learning about weather.

The kids are just sponges when it comes to memorizing! They memorize large chunks of scripture in a matter of a few days. I have to admit that memorizing doesn't come easy to me, but I figure if they can do it so can I.

Here is Abby reciting our 2012 homeschool theme verses. Keep in mind she's barely three years old!

And here is William reciting another excellent verse ~~kids~~ everyone should know.

Well, that will have to do for now.

You're welcome, Jared.