Twas the week before Christmas...

Twas the week before Christmas and it did nothing but rain,

The kids were home from school, and drove Mama insane...

OK that's enough poetry. But really, what do you do with 3 active kids who can't go outside and play? We did not have big plans since Greg worked all week, so we turned to the old stand-by--creativity. The kids did some pretty cool things.

This is the map they made of San Francisco. They worked on it for hours together, each one adding details and including their favorite places. The next time we visit the city, we'll take it along so we don't get lost!

Jaren made a vacuum out of a wrapping paper tube, pasta box and candycane box. Too bad it didn't actually work--that could have been really helpful since he spent a ton of time pretending to vacuum when he finished!

Kaelyn and Kenna fashioned this paper ensemble. In true Kenna style, she shows us that she is most definitely NOT camera shy!

The kiddos decorating sugar cookies. A tradition we just can't go without!

Don't be surprised if you see a Fabulous Dickson Kid Bakery opening in your area soon. These guys mean business! Each cookie was a work of art...and they tasted sooo good, too!

My good friend Bryn gave us a soap carving kit to make a nativity set using Ivory soap and plastic knives. It was amazing how even the little kids could carve a rough shape. Of course we had one mishap: Jaren was lamenting that his sheep didn't look real, so Kenna leaned over, cheerfully cut it in half and said, look Buddy, now it's a stable! He was not so happy about that, but overall it was super fun and made the kitchen smell so nice and clean!

What in the world is an Agribee?

Agribee. A-g-r-i-b-e-e. A spelling bee competition using only farming words, that requires participants to both spell and define words. Agribee.

Kaelyn's 4th grade class had a spelling bee in her class to determine 2 representatives for the Regional Agribee Spelling competition. She qualified as a rep for her class, but little did she know what she was getting into!

She had 6-8 weeks to prepare and a list of almost 200 words to spell and define. Her teacher suggested she work on these instead of her usual spelling assignments. She worked hours on those words, in fact, we all did! The big day arrived and Kaelyn was cool as a cucumber. Nothing rattles that girl! I was nervous for her, but she was cheerful and unaffected. She did so great! She placed 6th overall and received a $40 gift card as a prize.It was so much fun to cheer her on and watch her be rewarded for all her hard work!

A Happy Halloween

We made it through a couple of crazy weeks leading up to Halloween. The kids each had their own Halloween parties/ costume parades/ celebrations to go to throughout the day on Friday, and then Trunk or Treat on Saturday, so we got double use out of the costumes this year! (We discovered it is NOT easy to keep costumes clean for 2 days in a row!!

You probably won't recognize this super Secret Spy...

Jaren picked Robin Hood for the sole purpose of carrying a bow and arrow. He had the perfect stick he found in the back yard and HAD to make it into a bow. And so he became Robin Hood. He couldn't take the bow to school-(no weapons rule)-so he was worried people might think he was Peter Pan. We realized there is a very fine line between Robin Hood and Peter Pan costumes!

I'm not sure how Kenna decided on a bee, but I do know she picked about 68 different things until I finally made her commit and choose one so we could create it. For some reason, she thought "bee hair" would be to have two little buns on the side of her head. She was pretty insistent on it, and it was very cute, but I'll never know where she gets her MANY ideas...how does she know how bee hair should be??


So, 3 new costumes were added to the ever-growing dress-up bin. And I'm sure my kids are already thinking about what they could be for next Halloween!


The kiddos got a ridiculous amount of candy as usual. We had them each pick their favorite candies and we traded them Silly Bandz for the remainder of the stash. (And Greg's guys at work love us for bringing them the leftovers!) The kids hooked us up- so I've got my own personal stash of Twix bars and Greg has his Snickers. I like to think of it as food storage-my one year supply!

We miss them already!

We feel so lucky to have such fantastic family in our lives! Greg's parents came down in August to watch the kiddos for a few days while we went to Greg's manager meetings for his work. The kids always love their fun Grandma and Grandpa time and we of course love our grown-up time. We loved having them spend a few extra days with us and enjoyed our time staying up late playing Phase 10, laughing, shopping a little, and putting their mad skills to use with projects around the house. It was a great visit and we love them so much!

Grandma looking lovely. Kaelyn--sweet. Jaren--mischeivous. Kenna--sassy.
Typical!

So glad Kelcie flew into to see us for a few days! We're going to miss this girl, but are sooo proud of her deciding to go on a mission. She is always so kind and fun with the kids and a great example to our family.

Lesson learned: Never try to take a picture of yourself with someone a foot taller than you!

Soccer and School!

We have had an abrubt transition from a laid back, carefree summer to a very scheduled and insanely busy school year. It's amazing what a difference a week can make! We're running all over the place these days but I tell myself it will calm down. (It will, right??)

Jaren finally was old enough to start soccer and he LOVES it! And he takes it very seriously. His first games were Saturday--he had 2 mini games as a kick-off to the season. He puts his boundless energy to good use and runs from one end of the field to the other. He is the first guy back on defense and he is usually the guy bringing it towards his goal. He is very entertaining to watch--when he scores a goal, (3 on Saturday) he does not smile, wave, or do a thumbs-up to his parents like all the other kids. No, he hands the ball to the ref, rests his hands on his hips and gets himself ready for defense. It cracked us up watching him!

4th grade for Kaelyn--how is this possible? We crossed our fingers, wished, and prayed really hard to get into a certain Charter School. Just a few days before school started, we found out both kiddos got in (they pull names out and make wait lists...) so we were thrilled! It's a smaller school, a fun, integrated approach to education, and a mandatory parent volunteer policy so each class has extra hands throughout the day. The downside? It's on the other side of town and with Jaren being in half day Kindergarten, I drive it 3 times a day!!

Sadly, my little man is growing up and off to Kindergarten. I would have been perfectly happy to keep him around another year but I guess I have to let him grow up. :( Jaren has the absolute nicest teacher ever and loves going each day. He is in a room full of busy little kiddos and for the first time ever--he does not stand out as the most energetic kid in the room. Phew!! (That may have been a little concern of ours...)

Kenna didn't want to be left out of a first-day-of-school-picture so, here she is! She does not quite know what to do with herself without her sidekick around. She turns five next week and I can't seem to convince her she is not starting school next week. She believes she will just go ahead and start after her birthday... At least I get to have her around this year!! I love the beginning of a new school year, so full of energy and change, but I am looking forward to settling into a less chaotic routine. (Hey a girl can dream!)

Tri for Fun!?!

I'm still not sure why I decided this would be fun, but I trained for a Sprint(half distance) Triathalon this summer. The race was called Tri for Fun, and all the serious competitors race the next day in the Olympic distance race so it was a fun and non competitive atmosphere--which was nice.

And we're off... one of those yellow caps bobbing in the water is me! My wave was one of the last waves to start so I was glad to finally get going--the anticipation was awful!

Here I am at the transition between swimming and biking. See the big butterfly balloon? My friend put that there so she could find her bike faster-lucky for me, I was right next to her so it made it easy for me, too!

The home stretch...just a minute or so away from the finish line. I could hear my kiddos cheering me on and I was elated the end was in sight!

I know you're supposed to "walk it off" when you finish, but I was too tired. I just dropped to the grass. This was as much of a smile as I could muster up so it's hard to see how happy and relieved I really was in this moment!

July 4th

The 4th of July was pretty mellow this year, especially with it being on a Sunday. We drove to the happening town of Biggs for the fireworks on Sunday night-we had heard they put on a pretty good show, so we gave it a shot!

It's always such a long wait for it to get dark, but we brought snacks and games so it wasn't too bad. Plus with goofballs like this to entertain us- we are always laughing!

Kaelyn likes to play around with the camera a little bit. (Which is kind of nice to prove that Mom really IS at all the family events--she is just usually behind the camera!)

The fireworks were great, but for me the best part of the night was watching Jaren comfort Kenna during the fireworks. She thought they were way too loud and was worried that we were too close and the fireworks were going to "burn" her. Jaren kept telling her it was alright, and patted her back to comfort her. It's always a joy to see your kids show love to each other!

Iguana Art

Apparently using the formal dining room in our house as an art room is paying off! The kids were all winners of the coloring contest at our local library and each won a book. We were there for story/craft time and a local author was there to read a few books he wrote. One was " I Wanna Iguana" and so for the craft they had a coloring contest for the iguana hats they made. They gave 2 awards to the older kids and 3 to the younger kids and our kiddos were each winners in their age group. They were so excited and thrilled to each get a new book, signed by the author.

Can you see the spunk in this girl?

Jaren finally found a hat big enough to hide all his curls!

Kaelyn playing it cool--she might be getting a little too old for these pictures (how sad!),
but she's a good sport!

Welcome home Uncle Scotty!

We have waited and waited for Scotty to come home off his mission. He had such an eventful mission in Chile--first his appendix burst and he had to go home to have that fixed, then he had bunion surgery on both feet. Then he returned to Chile and got Swine Flu. Then of course he survived the huge earthquake which was very close to Talca, where he was at the time. We are so glad to have him home safe and sound. The kids and I drove to Idaho to join his homecoming celebration!

Everyone in our big ole family came home so there was a full house and lots of laughter!! It is always so fun (and a little crazy!) when we all get together!

Jaren very much enjoyed all his uncles and said I was lucky to have so many brothers. They were always teaching him something--like how to perfect his shot in basketball, throw a football, or in this case, "look cool" for the camera.

The kids loved playing with their cousin Lilya who is now old enough to run and play with them.

Poor little Kenna felt sick for 1 day and missed out on singing with the cousins at Scotty's homecoming--that was the only downfall of the trip. The kids travelled beautifully and were happy and helpful throughout the drive. I was so proud of them and told them they were doing great and they said, " We told you we would be good!" Maybe just maybe we'll attempt it again... but hopefully next time Greggor can come with us!

First trip of the summer!

My good friend Bryn invited us to join them on their trip to the coast. They have a Trendwest condo they were going to stay in, but her husband couldn't get away from work. Of course Greg was working as well so we decided to spend a couple of days with just the moms and kids. We had such a good time!

Kaelyn with her buddies Porter and Mason showing off the starfish they found in the "secret cove" they were exploring. Fort Bragg, CA has one of the most beautiful beaches ever!

The crazy moms taking a picture to document that we were there, too!! Bryn and I had a fantastic time each night after the kids were in bed-- we would stay up late and talk, laugh, and eat!

Jaren is definitely not afraid to get down and dirty!

A close-up of a face I just can't resist!

Cute Ethan showing us how to find sandcrabs and all kinds of hidden creatures.

Jaren, Kenna and Ellie spent their time digging in the sand, making castles, running from the waves, and squealing when the big kids showed them the sandcrabs they had found! We had a wonderful time and are so blessed to have good friends in our life! It was a great kick-off to summer!

Velveteen Rabbit Ballet

Kaelyn has been working hard all month long practicing for her big ballet performance. This year her ballet studio put on a theatre style ballet of the story, "Velveteen Rabbit". It was sooo much of a time commitment(3 times a week practices and rehearsals for the month of May)! I didn't expect to say it , but it was worth it!! They did a beautiful job and it is always a joy to watch Kaelyn dance.

Here's a better shot of her entire costume, backstage after the play. They were "the flowers"--they designed such cute costumes. You can't see it but she had a flower in her hair as well. And she had dark, heavy stage make-up -- Jaren kept asking at one rehearsal when Kaelyn was with her class just a few feet away, "Which one is Kaelyn? I can't see her face, she looks so different!"

What are big brothers for?

There is a long list of things Jaren has taught Kenna, and she being just 7 months younger is usually pretty eager to try them out. Most of those things have landed the both of them in trouble! But on this particular afternoon, Jaren taught Kenna how to ride a bike without training wheels and it was the cutest thing to watch! He convinced her to abandon her training wheels bike and try his old 2 wheel bike.

Next he steadied her in the correct position, then gave her seat a little push! The whole time he is telling her "you can do it Kenna, you can ride a big bike like me!"

We were all amazed to see her take off!! Apparently Jaren is a very good teacher!!

Here's our girl feeling pretty proud of herself. I love so much that these two always have each other to play with. They do nothing without one another and they truly are best buds. Except when they're fighting--but we don't have great pictures of that! Way to go Jaren and Kenna!

Pretty in Pink

The girls said they wanted a pink room and pink is what they got. Really pink. In fact, when the sun shines through their window just right, the hallway gets a pretty pink glow coming from their doorway. But they love it and it is sooo girly and fun.

Kaelyn used pastels on canvas squares to create the pictures on the wall behind her. She sketched out what she wanted and worked on them for days. She's pretty proud to have them decorating her walls.

Kenna just chillin' on the bottom bunk--her favorite place for reading her books and magazines.

Kaelyn's view from the top bunk. Now if our girls can just keep it this clean...