Run-a-thon and volleyball

Yesterday was St. Mark's preschool and kindergarten's annual run-a-thon. It's a cute thing that the kids look forward to. It raises money for the school, and the kids really enjoy it. It was a very pretty day - too hot actually.

Last night was Beth Ann's second volleyball game. They did a great job. The other coach was kind of a pain, but what can you do? We got lost looking for the school, but we still got there before the game started.

Beth's choir performance

I completely forgot to post this yesterday. The Chalice Flames performed this Sunday at church, and here it is!

Ray's first basketball game this season

Ray decided that he wanted to play basketball this season. Today was his first game. Unfortunately, we only have five players on our team, so the entire team had to play the whole time! They did a fabulous job though. It is a non-competitive league, so there's no winners or losers at this level - which I think is great. They each get a wrist band, and their job is to guard the person with the wrist band on the other team of the same color. Beth Ann kept count of our baskets today and our team made 22 or 23 baskets! Ray made at least 6 of them. He was so proud. He did a great job! I was proud of the whole team, and I think they had a lot of fun.

I can't believe my big girl is 9!!!

Yesterday was Beth Ann's birthday. She and Ray had the day off school, so we kept Livi home from school, and Trey took a vacation day. She wanted to go to the Aquarium and to the mall to Build-a-Bear. I thought maybe she had gotten a little too old for a Build-a-Bear trip, but she wanted to go. She built a black lab and made sure it was filled enough that it would stand on all fours.


After the mall, we had a lot of fun hanging out at the Aquarium. Beth Ann and Ray climbed the tree, and Louis and Livi fed the stingrays.

Beth Ann also had her first volleyball game last night, but after a day of taking pictures - somehow - we forgot the camera!

Time for a little fun

For today's Tuesday "fun day," Livi wanted to spend some quality time on her bicycle - which, of course, meant some good quality time standing in the sun for mommy! It was a gorgeous day, and Livi loves her bike. Louis had a lot of fun pushing himself around on his little scooter. I really hope my children look back on their childhood and remember all the fun. I hope they have enough days filled with fun and love that they'll forget the times we screw up. At least, I hope the fun and love will be more important than the screw ups.

Our little gymnast!

Isn't she cute?

Tonight was Olivia's parent observation night at her gymnastics class. She has so much fun at her class, and the child is fearless. Here's some video just for you mom!

The Children's Museum

We spent a couple of hours at the children's museum yesterday. We took Louis there for a birthday party, but the people had changed the day and time and hadn't bothered to tell us. Nice, eh? Ah well. We stayed and had fun anyway. There was a special exhibit outside. They had earth moving equipment that they kids could get inside. Beth Ann, Livi, and Louis were very interested in checking those out.







Ray was more interested in hanging with daddy and building stuff!

We decided to spend the evening in. We rented a Wall-e Wii game, made fries, hot dogs, and chili, and watched The Pacifier for the second time. It was a great evening.

Louie's video

Here's the video of Louie playing Pin the baseball on the ballfield!

Birthday Party!

We had Louie's birthday party this weekend. I think he had a really great time. There were 16 kids total. When he was born, I was worried about him having friends his own age! I was worried for nothing because he has several friends his age. I was going to have the kids sing some songs and have a little musical parade, but they were all way more interested in playing, so we just let them play! Then we ate, sang happy birthday, and had banana cupcakes. Most of the kids did play the "pin the baseball on the ball field" game, and they seemed to like the tattoos! I love throwing parties for my kiddos. I really never care if they turn out like they're planned - I just want them to be fun, and I want the kids to feel special. So, based on that criteria - I think the party was a success! Here's some pictures from it -










I want to add this picture of Tessa and Louie. She made this blanket for him for his birthday. It was so sweet!

I have a cute little video of Louis playing "Pin the ball on the ball field," but I can't upload it to YouTube right now. I'll try to get it on tomorrow.

Last first day and first "fun" day!

Today was Olivia's first official day at preschool - her last year before kindergarten. I kept telling her that she didn't have to go - that she could stay home with me! She wouldn't go for it though. I'm really glad that she loves preschool so much. She has great teachers, and it is a wonderful school. It's just hard to let her go. It's just another part of growing up, and we know how okay I am with them all growing up! I didn't even have to prompt her about getting ready this morning. I was going to have her get dressed after we got home from dropping off Beth Ann and Ray, but when I got out of the shower - she was dressed in her first day of school clothes! Isn't she beautiful?


We actually got some with mommy and with daddy pictures this morning! You can see who takes the best pictures, right? LOL.


Here she is in front of her school and with her teacher, Mrs. Norris. Mrs. Norris also taught Ray two years ago.


I'm trying to get very organized. With four children going different directions all the time and two adults trying hard to carve out time for themselves, I have to be organized or get drug under! I chose to be a stay at home mom though, so that I could send quality time with my children, not just quantity time. I have planned one day a week (one of the two that Olivia is home) as a "fun day." I try to dedicate a good chunk of the day to taking the little ones somewhere and having fun. We have several memberships - zoo, nature and science museum, the children's museum, and the aquarium. I try to make good use of them during the year! For our first "fun day," Livi wanted to go to the Children's Museum, so we did. The kids had a blast grocery shopping, being firefighters, and playing in the center for the young child.


(Notice the bottle of dish washing liquid they brought me with my meal? So, apparently after I eat I have to wash my own dishes. Kind of like being at home! LOL.)