Afternoon Outside

Camden loves to run around outside with no shoes on.  He will do it with socks and it drives me crazy.  I have given up on telling him to get shoes on and just tell him to take his socks off.  He quickly sheds them.

Camden with no shoes on again.  He is getting really fast on his bike with training wheels.  When we go on bike rides I am the last one on foot.  I think I can start riding my bike with them now.  It's so wierd to have all kids riding bikes and I don't need a stroller.  

Uncle Keith taught the kids what an outie and an innie is.  Camden loves to show his tummy and tell us what belly button he has.

This year the kids have actually started enjoying our zucchini and squash.  I have tried it in a casserole, boiled it and put in with cheese and rice.  The way they like it is cooked in a pan for a few minutes still crunchy with salt and pepper.  I would have never dreamed that would work.

Camden can have such a sad face sometimes.

Boy Adventures: Bike jumping

The boys have tried making their own jumps out of wood this summer.  Rylan has been the most ambitious and enjoys it.    Elliot made a small ramp to start off with and is loving it.

Rylan makes his jumps as high as he can get it without it falling down.  Kaden was very scared at first.  He didn't jump but when he saw Rylan he tried.  Now he says he can do it but is very timid. Rylan's double jump. He was so proud of himself.

Random photos

One evening the kids were fighting a lot so Mike decided they had to make up.  In order to get treats Kaden had to give Elsie a kiss.  Elsie tried to get a way but Kaden conquered.

The kids love it when Mike gets the bb guns out and they all get turn.

The kids think that when it rains it is cold.  They put on sweaters when it is 85 degrees.  They must take after me. The other night our power went out from lightning and the boys were scared.  Even though they were in bed and it was dark the thunder scared them.  That night they didn't get to sleep until 10:00.

 

Here are a few photos I took on my phone camping.  I am very happy Mike invested in a camping trailer.  It's just perfect, although Mike wants one with a toilet.  I don't. It's just one more to clean.  He can get it set up in 15 minutes or less.  My job is to keep the kids out of his way.  So we went on a walk to check things out.

Elsie had a run in with her scooter.  She went face first right into the cement and was in a lot of pain.  My biggest worry was the scar it would leave.  But we kept ointment on it as much as we could and it has healed very well.  She was scared to ride her scooter for a while after that.

Another big thing this year is Kaden got his own bedspread and sheets this summer.  After a long time Kaden finally decided to work at staying dry at night.  We bought an alarm clock for him and went to work.  It wasn't anything wonderful to start with.  I am so glad Mike helped out.  At first I would try waking Kaden up. The first few nights he did great but as time went on he wouldn't get up.  So Mike started doing it and Kaden would hop up and go.  We would have the alarm set for the middle of the night and he started getting up with that.  I was so tired I would sleep right through it.  After Kaden was getting up with an alarm he eventually didn't need it and now goes on his own.  After a month of staying dry he was awarded a lego set and his own sheets. We searched  many stores but everything was expensive.  We finally found what Kaden wanted at Ikea.  Out of everything he picked cars and trucks!  That boy wants nothing else.  We are hoping the other 2 will follow Kaden and be out of diapers soon.  Although I still have Camden to work on, I hope it won't be so hard.

Camden has started doing this thing in his carseat where he pulls his arms up and out of the belt.  It doesn't look very comfortable but he seems to like it.  He didn't want to smile for me.

Rylan made his very own monster box.  He used an old diaper box and spent several days working on it.  His greatest joy was scaring the boys.  Camden was really scared of it at first.

Fun Summer Outings

When Mike started working evenings I  tried to go out more.  We started packing up dinner and taking it to water parks close by.  The kids loved it.

   

    

Ever since we found out Home Depot has projects for kids they have loved going.  Even Camden started enjoying it.  What is it about wanting to hammer things?  Since it was me and 5 kids I made the older kids be buddies with the younger kids.  Even though I end up making Camden's project it is a lot of fun to see them working together.

 There is a park not to far from our house and some days when Mike is really tired (getting home at 4:30am) from work I pack up the kids and breakfast.  We go on a walk to the park and get some exercise.

Mike doesn't like Ikea's food but the kids do and we occassionally go there.  One day we didn't make it for lunch and since Mike wasn't going to be around we tried it out for dinner.  Tuesdays are free for kids and when I have gone for lunch we have to get their early.  I planned to go early and we were very surprised to find no lines and had our food right at 5.

We love the park.  We will be sad when winter comes.  It is a nice break from our daily activities.

I love my kids and if I had a choice my husband would be home after school.  For some reason the kids are a little more obedient when dad's home and it's nice to have dad around to help out where needed.  But when I am on my own it has been a lifesaver to get out of the house.  Fresh air does a lot of good.  I have kept my sanity one day at a time.