We've Moved (sort of)...

This will be short and sweet but we wanted to let everyone know that we have officially moved. 

It's been a roller coaster ride with our builder and we will continue to have workmen in and out of the house for the next two weeks or so fixing tile, floors, cabinets, paint, and more...but we are mostly in our new home and out of our old house (except for the garage with is still full of all of that fun stuff you use maybe once a year but have to keep "just in case"). We have piles and piles to go to Goodwill, stacks of boxes yet to be unpacked, cardboard coming out the wazoo, and lots of decisions to make as to what goes where. Mom and I got the kitchen mostly unpacked yesterday while Brian built beds, set up entertainment systems, hung blinds, etc...  

The kids have slept great in their own rooms- even with us sleeping downstairs. That's a huge load off my mind as many of you know that bedtime and sleeping is not our kids' forte.  They have been using the trampoline a ton and are enjoying the bonus room upstairs. Jake has friends down the block and Tanner's best buddy lives 14 doors down (yes, he counted). Faith is pretty flexible- as long as she has her "guys" she is good to go. 

This move has made us really appreciate our neighborhood and our friends. They have been so great to us.  We have also had friends take the kids on and off the last week to give us time to get organized which has been great. Neighbors have delivered meals to us the last few nights and dropped by bottles of wine, etc... Mom brought over a case of Hefewiezen which was immediately shared with neighbors that came by last night after dinner. Love it!! 

Our yard faces the opposite direction of our old house so we get morning sun on our back patio and in the afternoon it is shaded and perfect for outdoor dinners and drinks with friends. Our old house was unusable in the late afternoon summers so this is huge for us. It is quiet and peaceful and open. We heard coyotes last night, saw pheasants behind the house yesterday, and are keeping our eyes out for the deer that supposedly show up in herds on the hills behind our house.

We have a crazy few weeks ahead of us. We will spend today getting the old house cleaned out and room made in the new garage for all of the miscellaneous stuff we don't know what to do with. Brian leaves for a business trip early Tuesday morning, returns late Thursday night then I leave Fri and Sat for the PTA conference, return Sunday only to depart again Tuesday-Friday. Phew. Add in baseball and tball and school and homework and everything else and it's going to continue to be wild around here for the foreseeable future. A big shout out to my mom who is always willing to lend a hand and do whatever she can to help us with the house or kids. 

In typical Brian and Marisa decision making fashion we decided to move, built a house, and moved in -all within a 6 month period. Needless to say it's been a little stressful. But we survived. The kids survived. We are both still employed and none of us turned to drugs, alcohol, or gambling during the process.  Of course we are both saying emphatically, "NEVER AGAIN!". And, yes, I know some of you are saying, "yeah, right!"...You know us too well!

Easter 2012

I am an Easter Scrooge.  Even though I have fond memories from my childhood of hunting for eggs, dyeing eggs, and waking up and searching for my Easter basket I just never found the joy in Easter as a parent. I gave up egg dyeing several years ago and for whatever reason the whole easter bunny thing just seems more like a chore. Being as uninvolved with religion as we are, there is no "real" reason to celebrate the holiday- it is strictly parental guilt that leads me to the pastel colored grocery aisles- thinking about my children lying on therapy couches years from now lamenting how the Easter Bunny visited all of their friends growing up but he shunned them. I'm sure they'd be warped forever. 

So I bought candy and filled eggs and my mom and I hid them Saturday night while Brian (even more of an Easter Scrooge than myself) heckled us from the couch.  The kids did enjoy searching for the eggs the next morning but they were especially excited about the eggs that held clues in them. We started the "clues in the eggs" idea when Jake was very young. This year just five of the eggs held clues- a scrambled sentence that led them to our new house. We had been intending to get them a trampoline for the new yard so we used that as our Easter present. Throwing robes on over our jammies we headed to the new house where the trampoline was discovered in the garage (still in boxes since we didn't officially own the property yet).  The kids' enthusiasm was lackluster- especially Faith who was very subdued and later told me that she had really been hoping for a "guy" (another stuffed animal). Needless to say, my attitude about easter and the easter bunny was not markedly improved by their reaction. To be fair, two big boxes with a picture of other kids jumping happily is not quite the same as being able to run out and jump on your very own trampoline. The delayed gratification is a little hard for  a 5,6, and 9 year old. I know once it is set up they will be appropriately excited. 

The big hit of the day was Grandma Mary's gift that she left for them- they each got a chair for their new rooms and a Hex Bug. The Hex Bugs got a full days worth of play as the kids built lego houses for their bugs, homes out of cardboard, obstacle courses, etc... Now they are gathering dust on one of the many packing boxes lining the halls of our soon-to-be-vacated house. 

Opening Day 2012

As usual for us, Easter weekend means Opening Day of baseball season. The last few years have meant all day Saturday at Opening Day pictures and festivities, the only difference this year being ALL of the kids were involved. 


Jake ended up making the AAA Giants. He is the youngest player on the team and is so far struggling with the fact that he is not one of the best players on his team. They won their first game last week 15-1, their pitcher pitched a no hitter and their big hitter hit a three run home run. Jake played all three outfield positions and walked once and struck out twice.


Tanner and Faith are on the same TBall team (we are the Yankees again). We had our first practice last week. It's a small team, only 9 kids total, and looks to be a fun season.



Opening Day followed the same format that it has for the last several years, photos followed by running, throwing, hitting and obstacles course stations. They kids and their teammates all had a good time. Tanner came is first in hitting on his team, Jake came in second in hitting on his team and Faith hung with the boys all day. As it seems to be in the genes, all of our kids came in dead last in the running the bases station on their respective teams (Tanner beat Faith for second to last on the TBall team). We had a good time, but after seven hours at the ball field, came home exhausted.

Update on The House

I love my key lime tile!!

Entry way lockers and drawer for each kid. Still need hardware.

It's been such a long time since we posted about our house and I have had several requests for pictures so here they are! It has been really hectic to stay on top of the build between our trip, work, and the kids. There have been several instances of the workmen saying, "We didn't get your selection choice so we just guessed". Ahhh... no. All of the instances resulted in them redoing it the right way. Anyway... it's been an adventure and we have both learned a lot. Move in day is only weeks away, as long as they can locate our "cabinet guy" who appears to be AWOL (our contractor thinks he is either in jail or hospital or dead). 

Back exterior

Kitchen sink, staircase, dual sided fireplace

Powder bath

Tanner Rides

Last year it was time for Tanner to get up on two wheels. I took his training wheels off and we tried a couple of times on his old little bike. He was terrified and I was impatient and put the training wheels right back on....So THIS year it was time for Tanner to get up on two wheels.


Jake got a new BMX bike for his birthday, so we stepped Tanner up to Jake's old bike which is a little bigger and doesn't have training wheels to start with. It was sunny today and we were all out front, so I got Jake's bike down to see if it would fit Tanner. The plan wasn't to try anything today, I was still preparing for that down the road, remembering our last experience.


Anyway, he got on it to size it up and it fit him perfectly. He seemed confident and ready to go, so I asked him, "Do you want to try?". He nodded yes and bing...bang...boom he was off down the street. Took literally five minutes and he did it! He was so proud of himself and I felt awesome about it.


I guess there's something to be said about being ready when you're ready and not before. He was ready today and is off and riding.

Paradise

Our five days in Hawaii were beyond paradise. It was so luxurious having just the two of us- from the plane ride where we read OUR books and watched OUR movies, to waking up and going to sleep when WE wanted, and eating, drinking, napping, etc... when and where we felt like it. Did I miss the kids? Yeah... but not really until the last day. The weather wasn't great- in fact we really only had two nice beach days-but we found that it really didn't matter. I think we could have been in Iowa and ALONE and enjoyed it. Yep- it was nice to have the time away to reconnect and remember how much we truly like each others company. And it was a little unsettling to realize how very very relaxed we both can be away from the stresses of work, kids, and building a home. Now the trick is bringing the mellowness back to "real life". Hmmm. I need to work on that!

We ate so well- including breakfast in a beachside restaurant each morning followed by ice cream sometime before noon. Lunch was casual and dinners out were delicious, decadent, and all included beautiful ocean views (or a table right on the sand). We wandered around Lahaina and shopped, read our books by the pool, took naps, drank lots of boat drinks (Well, I did. Brian mostly stuck to Red Bull and Diet Coke), and basically just hung out together in a "child free haze of delight".  

Our flight got into Portland at 1150PM so we spent night #6 in a airport hotel. We got in and went to IHOP for a late dinner (OK... a VERY late dinner) and the next morning we woke up late and walked over to Ikea for breakfast and a leisurely stroll through the entire store. Even that day was heavenly. That's what I mean about Iowa. I guess the location really doesn't matter as long as you are with someone you truly love and enjoy being with (and that person, for once in 9 years, isn't under the legal drinking age). 

The vacation wasn't completely stress-free: We arrived in Portland at 630AM to find that our flight to Honolulu was delayed.... BY 15 HOURS! Our arrival in Maui was going to be delayed by an entire 24 hours. Ummm... not what I was hoping for. Hawaiian Airlines was less than helpful in getting it rescheduled but eventually we lucked out and found a flight to Seattle with a connection to Maui that would get us there even earlier than we had originally been scheduled to arrive. Unfortunately Hawaiian Air wouldn't pay for our tix from Portland to Seattle and 400 dollars later and a VERY tense full-on run through the terminal and we made it on an 8AM flight to Seattle and no further delays (coming or going) were experienced. 

The Grandmas took great care of the kiddos in our absence. I don't think any of the kids even really missed us too much. (Could it be that they needed a break from US as badly as we needed a break from THEM?). However, they were very glad to see us in the airport and had made us welcome home signs and decorated the house for our arrival. I was definitely ready for some kid snuggles and they were happy to oblige. Grandma Mary had homemade potato salad, broccoli salad, deli sandwich fixings and homemade lemon meringue pie waiting for us and Nana had bought me a bunch of tulips. Seriously? They were still spoiling us even after we got back? There is just no way to properly thank them. Their willingness to take on our chaos for the week is priceless. The fact that we were given a week to decompress and reconnect is priceless. Somehow I think the Starbucks cards did not do their work justice so I hope that by reading this they understand how very, very grateful we are to them. 

Aloha, everyone. 

Jake's 9th Birthday

So for the last few years it's been, "football, football football" for Jake's birthday. This year he said he wanted to do a sleep over with a bunch of his buddies, which was fine with us as truthfully, I was running out of football themed ideas anyway. 


He invited seven of his friends from school (six of them spent the night).  Tanner and Faith also joined in. It was more than a little heartbreaking to see Tanner's face fall apart when he learned that he couldn't sleep in with the big boys and was sleeping in our room. To be fair, we had told him three or four times from the time we scheduled the sleepover until the day of the sleepover and he said "okay" each time, but when the time came, he just lost it.


As a surprise, I spent most of the day on Saturday installing the projection TV system from the new house in the boys bedroom. I hung it in the closet and shot it onto a king size white sheet across the room. I also hooked up the surround sound and brought the Wii upstairs (right, sometimes I over-do it) so they could watch movies and play larger than life size video games all night. 

As soon as his friends started to arrive... they all went across the street to the green and started a flag football game. Tanner took up his usual position of ref and they played football for a good 45 minutes, returning to the house in full hyperactive sweaty 9 year boy mode, which they would be in for the rest of the party.


We had Papa Murphy's take and bake for dinner and then Jake opened presents. He got a bunch of Raiders stuff, water bottles, chewing gum and sunflower seeds, and gift cards to two different sporting goods stores. Then it was upstairs to play, what else..Madden on the big screen. 7 sweaty, smelly 9 year old boys locked up in a room with a heat generating TV projector, had about the effect that you would assume and when they came downstairs a little bit later for cake, I went up and turned on the ceiling fan and opened all of the windows to try to air the room out. It made us realize that maybe a conversation regarding deodorant and personal hygiene wasn't far off in the future.


After cake it was upstairs for the evenings movie selection....Rudy. We pulled all of the mattresses onto the floor and popped popcorn while they all watched Rudy on the bigscreen. Towards the big game scene at the end we could hear them from downstairs chanting, "RUDY, RUDY, RUDY" (because all the windows were open up there, so could our whole street actually) as they got really into it. After the movie it was more video games until bedtime. Eventually we closed the windows and they all fell asleep about 10:30. They made a pact for the first one up to wake everyone else though, so they were back at it at 6:00 am the following morning.


Jake wanted very specific donuts for his birthday breakfast. I hit the road at 6:00 in the dark and rain to make sure I got the one's he wanted. In the photo, you can see him with his local favorite "bacon maple bar". After breakfast? You guessed it, more video games until pick-up time at 10:00. 


After about 8:00 am, pickup time couldn't get here fast enough for us. It was a lot of fun, but the constant noise, chaos, smell and need to make sure everyone was having a good time started to get to me. 10 minutes after his friends left, Jake came in and announced that he was bored and he literally almost didn't get any older. 


It was a looooong rest of the day with three tired kids and tired parents. But Jake got the sleepover he wanted, which ended up being football themed anyway and had a really good time with his friends. As he continued to complain (along with Tanner), they spent the rest of Sunday cleaning every room in the house, making beds, putting away laundry. The real lesson here is when Dad works all day to make sure you have a fun birthday party; 1. you BETTER say thanks, and 2. you BETTER leave him alone to clean it up in peace.

Faith's 5th Birthday Festivites

Faith had her friend birthday party on Saturday. This was the first one she wanted to invite friends to. She invited four girls- three from preschool and our next door neighbor, Ava (who is in first grade). She didn't want any organized party games, she just wanted to play with everyone. It was a beautiful day so they played out front with sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and jump ropes. Mostly they chased each other around on the lawn. We played some Disney Bingo, then had cake. She picked out a dog cake (this was pretty much the "theme" of the party... animals). After about two bites she called Nana over to her chair and whispered, worriedly, "Nana, I don't like the cake".  She wasn't upset about it she just wasn't sure if she was required to eat it all. Mom assured her that she could leave whatever she didn't want. She was very excited to open her presents and clearly had a favorite: a "Pucci Pup" golden retriever. She couldn't wait to take it out of the packaging and start playing with it.

On Sunday we took her to Build-a-Bear to spend her birthday money from Auntie Sue. She picked out a Weiner Dog, weiner pup, dog bed, and a bathrobe (for the dog). She proudly carried her two bags around the mall for the rest of the morning. Guess what she brought for Show-and-Tell today?

Monday was the day we designated to do our Family Party since Brian and Jake were at baseball tryouts during her friend party. Brian picked her up at Miss Wendy's early so he could take her out for her special birthday dinner. She chose Burger King, of course, hence the crown in the picture above. Grandma Mary and Nana came over tonight and she opened lots more presents. Again, her favorite was an animal- a baby bird "Furreal" from her brothers that "drinks" from a bottle. She got an iPod Nano from us (for her lullabies at nighttime and to listen to Colder Weather over and over and over again!). From Papa she got a new purple bike helmet, Mary got her cool speakers for her new room to go with her iPod. Some magnetic ballerina dolls from The Crebars and a snuggly guy that lights up when you squeeze it from Grandma rounded things out.  More cupcakes, one more round of "Happy Birthday" and we called it a night. 

Tomorrow is her ACTUAL birthday (905 AM to be exact) but because it is a work/school day and she has dance class from 530-615, I am glad we decided to celebrate tonight. Her big request for her big day? Pizza for dinner.

Happy Birthday to my Faithy-Faith- my best surprise ever. I love that little girl so fiercely and can hardly believe she is five years old already... seems like only yesterday I was shocked senseless by that little pink line staring up at me :)

Won't You Be Mine?

On Valentine's Day I got home from work, Faith in tow, and we discovered the boys all playing baseball on the Green, my mom making us dinner in the kitchen, and a tall vase of tulips on our counter. The note read, "To my Forever Valentine, Love Daddy".  Faith couldn't believe they were for her. Her eyes lit up. She ran over to the Green to give her daddy a hug and to say thank you then sat there at the counter smelling them and marveling at them with a huge smile on her face.

The roses Brian sent me arrived an hour or two later but really, I didn't need them. To be surrounded by such love with Nana doing something just because she knew I'd be tired after a long day at work, getting to watch my boys have a blast playing pre-season ball on the green with their favorite guy in the world, and witnessing the pure joy of a little girl receiving her first bouquet of flowers... I was good. The roses were just icing on the cake. Yep, it's sappy... but "lucky" doesn't even do it justice. Happy Valentine's Day 2012

Studio 54

In preparations for our impending move into the new house, where the kids are going to be upstairs by themselves (the new Master BR is downstairs), and the boys are going to be in their own rooms, we have been trying to be proactive about getting them comfortable at night. Part of my strategy was to make as many changes before we moved as possible, so that the main change wasn't accompanied by a bunch of little changes as well. 


To that end, we let the kids all choose new night lights for their new rooms, and put them in now so that they were used to them by the time we moved. We allowed them free reign to make their choices on amazon on where ever. Faith chose a butterfly night light which has a back-lit rotating screen where you can watch the butterflies fly by. It's very bright and very loud, but she likes it and since we were leaving a light on in her room anyway, the brightness wasn't really an issue. 


Jake and Tanner both chose the pictured disco/dj rotating light balls. Since they are both in the same room still, their room looks like a Spanish disco after lights out. They both really like them though and have been sleeping better, so whatever works. If it helps them to sleep in a New Jersey Bar Mitzvah reception, who am I to quibble?

Step 2- Stucco/Paint

Front elevation stucco completed. Interior drywall primed. Finish trim delivered.

Step 19 - Stucco

Sides and back stucco'd, front next. Interior drywall textured and ready for paint.

FEB 2012 - Lots to Remember

Wow there's been a lot going on... and I haven't been writing nearly as much as I usually do. 

A few highlights from the last few weeks:

Globetrotters

One of the Harlem Globetrotters ("HiLites") visited the boys school a week ago and did an assembly for them in conjunction with their annual Heart Association fundraiser, Hoops for Heart. I guess he put on a great show and the boys were dying to go see the Globetrotters play while they were here in Boise. They used their own money to buy their tickets and to buy one for me to take them. They watched videos on you tube leading up to the event- which was last Monday night. It was a big deal since it was a school night. The boys wanted Nana to come and I told them that she would have no interest in seeing them, but then when they mentioned it to her she lit up and said, "I have always wanted to see them! Can I come along?".  So it was me and Nana and the two boys for a night on the town. Brian and Faith stayed home and had a Movie Night with cookies and ice cream and Black Beauty.  I had no idea what to expect and I definitelyI had more fun watching the boys reaction to the show than watching the actual show myself. Hokey and silly but we had a great time. A ton of Hidden Springs residents were there so the kids knew a lot of people that were near us in the stands. We didn't get home until almost 10 at night, but surprisingly we didn't pay for it the rest of the week for once!

Faith's Dance "Recital"

Faith's dance class is held here in Hidden Springs in a resident's converted garage. It is a small space so most classes we are not really encouraged to stay and watch. But the first class of each month the teacher has all the parents take a seat around the outside edge of the dance floor so we can watch the whole thing. Faith was so excited for her brothers, Nana, daddy, and I to come watch her. The class is for 4/5 year olds and so many of the girls really don't listen and just goof around, but Faith takes it very seriously, listens to every direction the teacher gives, and clearly is trying so hard to get the steps right and to stay on the beat. Her brothers loved watching her and were so complimentary of her afterwards. It was literally heart-warming to hear them gush to her about how good she was and how proud they were of her. Of course, her Nana also loved watching her dance- especially the tap dance routine to Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. 

TBall/Baseball Returns

Sign-ups were several weeks ago and all three kids are raring to go. We didn't know if, when push came to shove, Faith would actually want to play- especially because we won't allow the kids to do two activities at once so to play tball she will have to stop dance lessons. But she was very clear that she wants to play this year.  Both of her brothers have lots of advice for her on how to pitch and hit and throw. She really hasn't shown much interest prior to now in wanting to practice these skills, but now she is asking Brian all the time to practice with her.  He is really good with her and, surprisingly, she accepts his instruction very gracefully. She and Tanner will be on the same team and Brian will be the coach. I can't wait for the season to start! Tanner has been practicing catching pop flys in our yard and on the green and I am amazed by his tenacity. He loves to "take batting practice" with Brian at the local field and I know is looking so forward to being on the team not only with his sister but also his best friend, Evan. Jake has to "try out" this year to be on the Triple A team so he has also been practicing as he really wants to "make it". If he isn't selected then he will have to play double A again and I am pretty sure he will be heartbroken. Several of his buddies have opted out this year, preferring instead to play soccer. He is a little disappointed but his heart is really with baseball and football and though he plays lots of soccer at recess, he has shown no interest in joining a team. Whew! Three sports a year are all I can take!  Even though baseball season will be hectic and crazy and will coincide with our move (more than likely) I am so excited for it to start in April. I love watching the kids play and also love the social time with the other moms and dads. Hopefully we will continue to have this mild winter and spring will be warmer this year so we can go to the games in sweatshirts and not parkas!

One Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed

We had our first trip to the ER last week. I was at work late and when I walked in the house Faith was on the couch screaming bloody murder and Brian's shirt was covered in blood. The kids had been bouncing on the bed (Hmmmm... did I need to tell them 238 times NOT TO JUMP ON THE BED before it sunk in??) and Faith took a header into the headboard. She had a deep cut on her chin and two bad cuts inside her mouth. We called Nana who came and stayed with the boys while Brian and I took a trip down the hill to see a Dr. Luckily she didn't need stitches and he was able to glue the cut together.  She was a trooper through it all. When we got back home, she played it up to get lots of extra love from Nana on the couch. 

Step 18 - Stucco Wrap

Stucco Lath Finished/Drywall Taping

Step 17 - Stucco/Drywall

Drywall Hung. Stucco lath going up.

Rear shot. Check out that roof line

Step 16 - Roof

Roof is complete. Drywall stocked, ready to hang tomorrow.

Step 15 - Exterior Carpentry

Fascia/Soffitts up. Apron Poured

Step 14 - Interior Work - Downstairs

Living Room out to Back Patio

Kitchen with Island Stub Outs

Master Bedroom out to Back Patio

Tanner Loses a Tooth

Look Ma, no tooth!

In the kids never-ending quest to make me feel old (of course they do it on purpose), Tanner lost his first tooth last night.


In a perfect example of the current state of their relationship, Jake actually knocked it out while they were getting ready for bed. The tooth had been really loose for awhile and ready to come out and they were horsing around in bed and Jake knocked Tanner in the mouth and out it came. It is interesting to see how they are getting used to the idea of each having their own rooms in the new house. They still like sharing a room now, but are starting to show signs of getting big enough to need their own space. Fights are becoming more common, as are their desires to be doing different things at the same time. It will be cool to see how their own rooms change their relationship and the way they interact.


As a bookend to this event, we were just watching some old home movies the other day of when Tanner was really little. He was still not talking in full sentences, still had the lispy kind of enunciation that toddlers have and was still in diapers. As the middle kid, he always just seems so much younger than Jake did at this age, which brings me back to my opening point. 


He's not so much younger that Jake was when he was six, I'm so much older than I was when Jake was six. Tanner is getting ready for sign-ups for his second year of baseball, he reads anything and everything and is just cruising through kindergarten and just yesterday it seems like he was getting rid of his "night-nights" (pacifiers). The time flies by. I am amazed and very proud of the little boy he is now. Love you bud, your OLD man.

Step 13 - Install Windows/Plumbing Rough In

Windows/Doors being installed. Rough in plumbing being done.

Step 12 - Roof Deck and Felt

Aside from Doors and Windows, we're pretty much weathered in, just before the 1st big snowstorm hits

Step 11 - Exterior Sheathing

Roof Trusses up, Exterior Sheathing on

Step 10 - Roof Trusses go Up

Continued Framing and Roof Trusses Up

Step 9 - Second Story Goes Up

The second story framing is started and the roofing work continues

Step 8 - Start the Roof Framing

Roof and Second Story Framing going up.

Step 7 - Framing Coming Along

Hey Look! A downstairs!

Step 6 - Begin Framing

The start of a Garage

Faith, Tanner, Jake - January 2012

I had to take a second to jot down some things I want to remember about the kids these days. Just this morning I was sitting on the couch with the three kids surrounding me and we were all looking through our blog book from 2008 and I was reading it aloud to them and we were all just cracking up at the stories and pictures. There is so much that I had completely forgotten. I was so glad to see it all in print and to be able to relive it with the kids now that they are a little older.

So....

At Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Faith. She is my creative, artistic soul. She has taken to making up complete songs and walks around the house singing them. They make sense and sometimes they rhyme. She has a decidedly country-music feel to her singing and inflection (Hmmm.... could be that's because that's what she hears her Mama sing all the time?).  Seriously, though, she is almost "soulful" in how she sings these songs! She still loves to color and draw- lately she has been into making rainbows and drawing us under them. She is such a smart little girl in so many ways. She is book smart- she loves to write and sound out words - but she also just "gets" things in a way that I think is remarkable. I am constantly looking at Brian pointedly with my eyebrows raised after she has said something particularly insightful. She really bonded with Papa this last trip. The highlight of her time with him was probably the day we went to Old Navy to return something. She and Papa played hide-and-seek in the store and "chase". No, not behavior I would normally condone in a store, but both she and her Papa were having so much fun, I just had to let them carry on! She began her dance lessons last week and LOVED it. She did ballet and tap and the videos I got are hilarious! It remains to be seen whether or not she will have any actual talent for dance. Right now she mostly just jumps around and makes lots of noise! She loves preschool. This month they are studying space and she is so excited that she gets to do homework (they have to draw a picture of the moon each week for the month to follow the stages). 

We have no idea why he's a Packers fan...

Tanner.  He is doing so well in Kindergarten. He, too, is such a smart, attentive little boy.  He has never had any behavior issue at school. He is a good listener (at least at school...).  He is reading words and sentences and likes to look over my shoulder at whatever book/magazine that I happen to be reading and find words he knows. He is very good at math and amazed his Papa with double digit addition (I had no idea he could do that so I was pretty amazed, too!). He loves school and loves his friends there. He plays football nonstop with his brother and the neighborhood kids. He has all the makings of an excellent wide receiver- however, he needs to put on some pounds. This boy is all skin and bones. A good word to describe his present body type is "scrawny".  All my kids are cuddlers, but he takes the cake. If I start my morning without immediately giving him a hug he finds me (usually by the coffee maker) and says, "Mommy, I don't think I gave you a hug yet today!" and then just grabs on. He often asks me to bend down and then he kisses my cheek and tells me how much he loves me.  Apparently he is quite the "ladies man" of the K class. We tease him about a little girl named Emma who has a crush on him. He gets all embarrassed and turns red. Too funny.  He is definitely in a bit of a "testing" rebellious phase. Listening and following directions at home is not his strong suit right now- Sometimes he is naughty just to be naughty and see what he can get away with. Normal kid behavior, I guess, but it is getting a little frustrating to both Brian and I! 

This poor soul has decided he's a Raiders fan like his Daddy...

Jake. What's up with my eldest these days? Well, he was invited to his first girl birthday party (where the entire class wasn't invited- just a few kids). It was him and one of his best friends, Braeden, and three girls from his class. He was so funny getting ready for it. He spiked up his hair the morning of the party and he used some of his own money to augment her gift (we only let the kids spend 10-15 dollars for party gifts and what he wanted was 25.00 so he used his allowance that he had saved to pay the difference!).  It will be interesting to see who he wants to invite to his bday party this year.  He has had a little trouble lately with some boys at school making fun of him for being small- which hurts me to see but I also think its a great learning situation for him because so many things have come easily to this kid. He wants to play football so badly and some of the bigger boys tell him he will never be more than a ball boy and things like that. He doesn't get too upset- we just remind him how to react and give him ammunition with all the smaller NFL players, NBA players, etc... If heart has anything to do with it, this kid will go far in sports!  He still likes school, even as it is getting more challenging. He tends to "freak out" a little over projects so Brian and I are working with him on taking things one step at a time. He has been starting (finally!) to read books for fun and not just for the minimum for school. Of course, they are all still sports books... but one hurdle at a time!

Step 5 - Flatwork

Flat work done. Ready to frame

Step 4 - Grading & Material Delivery

Grading is done. Utilities stubbed out. Framing delivered

Step 3 - Backfill and Run Utilities

The backhoe was back and working