Crazy Hair Days

Chelsea certainly has some very crazy hair days. Ryan snapped these pictures of her the other day. He was watching her and claimed that he can't do hair so he just let it be. Oh my will she be proud of this hairdo when she is 15!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

The kids were eager to get out and play in the first inch of snow for this winter. We ran a few errands this morning and stopped at Grandma and Grandpa Miller's house for a bowl of chili. Great day for a nice hot bowl of soup! After lunch we headed home so Chelsea could get a much needed nap. The other two kids never came in, they wanted to stay and play in the snow. After I got Chelsea to bed I went outside to play too. It was a nice day to play outside. Not horribly cold yet...but I'm sure it will come. We shoveled the cement pad, had a little snowball fight, built a snow castle, and of course ate some snow! After an hour or so of playing they began asking for hot chocolate. I think that's become the tradition. Every snowy adventure is followed by a cup of hot chocolate. So they drank hot chocolate while watching "The Grinch" Seems that is their favorite Christmas movie this year. It has be be about the 15th time they have watched it! We had lots of fun and I hope more snow is on the way...I would LOVE to have a very snowy Christmas!

Christmas Cards

Audrey is trying really hard to be convincing that she is happy but really she is on the verge of tears. She had just finished a crying episode..I think because she couldn't hold the ornament in front of her face.

Casey...Can he get any more excited? Audrey...tonsils are beautiful. Chelsea was actually doing pretty good with picture taking. Once she found out what the candy cane tasted like she didn't move!

A little two second click....Doesn't seem like it should be that difficult. Take a nice picture to send out to family and friends....cheery...everyone smiling....hands at your sides... and we are done..fast as that! Yeah right! On two occasions I gathered the kids together to try to paint a picture of our cute happy family. Approximately 50 shots later I still didn't really have a picture I was satisfied with. Children screaming in some, tonsils showing in others, worst day of my life looks just didn't seem appropriate to send out as our Christmas cards. I thought about not sending any of the pictures I took but then I reconsidered thinking that anyone who knows kids knows that life is a lot like a circus so I'm not going to try and pretend that it's not a little crazy at times and VERY difficult to take a good picture of 3 kids. Here are some of my favorite shots that didn't make the Christmas card.

Audrey's new Dollhouse

Audrey was thrilled the other day to get a nice big package in the mail. Grandma Kauffman had told her that a dollhouse was coming in the mail to her as her Christmas present a little early. The first day she got it (after I spent several hours putting it together...staying up until midnight) she played with it pretty much all day. Casey played with her a lot of the time. He was the zookeeper and all of the dolls would visit the zoo. On this particular day the dolls got to take the baby tiger home but on the way home the baby was lost. I'm not sure if the tiger made it home that day but in a different scenerio an adult tiger was spotted right outside the dollhouse. That tiger had to be darted to put it to sleep so it could then be transported back to the zoo. In the meantime the baby tiger had somehow crawled up onto the roof of the house. Police officers were needed to rescue the tiger. Oh the joys of the imagination!

McKinley Museum Christmas Open House

Not sure who the girl on the right is...guess she wanted to be in our picture!

Last night we went to McKinley Museum for their Christmas Open house. They had crafts for the kids, experiments for the kids to try out, live reindeer and of course Santa! The kids had fun getting out of the house a bit and we saw some nice lights on our way as well. Here are a couple shots of our evening.

Fall Traditions

Every fall the kids and I spend some time with mom and dad. The week after Thanksgiving is Ryan's favorite week of the year as it is gun season. Since he is usually gone for most of the week, we take a break from the normal routine and head out to Indiana. We left last Saturday and came back on Thursday. The kids really enjoyed their time out there. When I asked Casey what his favorite thing we did in Indiana he told me it was making this marble maze with Grandpa. They spent several hours making it and it really did turn out cute. Other activities Casey enjoyed were shooting his bow and arrow with Caleb and Kadin and playing jungle with Grandma. Audrey had some special time playing tea party with Steph and her babies. She absolutely loved it! Chelsea had a bit of a rough time away from her natural surroundings. Since there were so many new things she thought she should just attach herself to my leg! Not fun! I did manage to get away for an afternoon one day in which mom and dad pampered me by scheduling me a day to get a massage as well as a haircut. Oh how relaxing! Thanks again mom and dad! Thursday we headed home and I was happy to hear that the two does Ryan shot while I was gone were already in the freezer. I love having the meat but don't exactly care for the processing of them.

Cleveland Zoo

After much begging Casey finally got his wish and we headed to the Cleveland Zoo. This poor child has been asking all summer to go and we just didn't make it there. I thought we better get there before it's really too cold to go. It was a little on the chilly side yesterday but the kids didn't seem to mind. Most of the animals were out with the exception of the elephants and hippos and they weren't out because they are redoing their pen. Not sure where they are in the meantime. We waited for it to warm up a bit and didn't get there until a little after noon. Heidi Yokom went with me as I didn't really think that I could handle all 3 of them in a wide open place such as the zoo. I was glad I had her since I spent most of my time chasing Chelsea because she had her own little plan as to where we were going. She was not very fond of sitting in the stroller. They all enjoyed seeing the animals and their tricks. Chelsea would look at the animals and begin to say a whole paragraph...trouble is no one knows what she is saying! I really wish I knew what was going through her head. Toward the end of our visit the kids discovered the many leaves that were all over the Zoo. I think they would have spent the next hour in them if we had let them! Maybe I need to be a kind neighbor today and go rake leaves for someone just so my kids can jump in them. It was a fun day and I'm glad we went. Maybe the next time we can do the Rainforest and the Dinosaur Exhibit.

Trick-or-Treat Fun

The bumble bee didn't want to go anyway!

On Saturday we set out to do some trick-or-treating. Chelsea only did a modified form of trick-or-treating. She went with us when we went to the grocery store and did her trick-or-treating while being pushed along in the grocery cart. Little does she know we just took her so mom and dad would have some candy to eat! Casey and Audrey get pretty possessive of their loot. So after getting treats at Giant Eagle, Chelsea went to spend the afternoon with Grandma while Casey, Audrey, and I headed for the streets. (Of course Ryan was some 15 feet up in a tree.) First we went to Matthew's house in North Canton to help pass out candy. When the trick-or-treaters got pretty sparse we made a loop around the block and they got some of their own candy. Then we headed off to meet our friends for a little more trick-or-treating. The kids had lots of fun and were most pleased with all their candy.

Kingsway Pumpkin Farm

Several weeks ago we took a nice fall evening and headed to the pumpkin patch. At this particular pumpkin farm they have other things as well such as an animal petting zoo, hay bale tunnel, corn box to play in, and train rides. The kids had so much fun. Audrey asked to go back the very next day. I'm sure they could have spent many more hours playing but since it got dark pretty early we were only able to spend a couple hours. Casey is asking to go back and get a pumpkin so he can make a jack-o-lantern. Maybe one of these days when Ryan is hunting and we need something to pass the afternoon along. I could go for some good roasted pumpkin seeds!

A Hunting we will Go!

Casey had been asking Ryan for the last week when he will be able to go with him hunting. Since it was a nice day today and Ryan had some things he wanted to do down at Bert's land he told Casey they could go hunt in his ground blind for a couple hours. Casey was excited to say the least! We packed books, puzzles, and of course a snack bag. Too bad the first hunting experience ended without even seeing a deer. It was a good father/son day anyway. Ryan said there were a couple factors that could have influenced the deer to stay away. 1. Casey's rattling snack bag, Casey talking, and Casey's cough. Oh well, dinner at McDonalds made up for the fact that they didn't see any deer....at least for Casey. Icing on the cake....a Happy Meal toy that was ultra cool...some weird guy that can shoot out of his arm. Doesn't take much to make him happy yet!

Bedtime

Bedtime is often a struggle with Audrey. Some days she naps and other days she does not. On the days that she does take a nap it is very difficult to get her to sleep. She obviously is not tired enough to just go to sleep so we will let her look at books for a while instead of going to sleep. She reads to her babies and as you can see lines them all up for a good book. I thought this was too cute not to share. She looks ever so sweet now getting ready for bed. But watch out when she hears the dreaded words "BEDTIME"!

Silver Park

Last night Holly and I took the kids out to do a little trick-or-treat fun at Silver Lake. There were so many kids there but the kids had a great time. The evening started off with a costume contest which we didn't enter. Then we were off to do some crafts, a little playground time, refreshments and the trick-or-treat walk around the pond. There were some really cute costumes. I just wish it could be for dress up and not for scary costumes. After the fun at the park we were all hungry and I was ready to just dive into the candy they had just gotten. Only problem is that they didn't get that much candy so they would know if something was missing! So we headed back to our house for soup and grilled cheese. And of course with 7 kids...lots of craziness...but good craziness!

Where does the time go?

So I've been slacking a little in blog posting. Maybe for one of two reasons. I can find a million things that need to be done around the house so blogging has not been high on my priority list. The other reason may be that there has not been that much interesting stuff going on here. Seems like kind of the same routine each week. Casey is nicely settled into preschool. Audrey, Chelsea, and I usually make a couple trips to the Y each week where I get a chance to exercise without being concerned what my kids are getting into. That has been a nice break for me and I think we will enjoy being able to use the Y and get out on cold snowy days. Sometimes even a 1 year old can get cabin fever! On Wednesdays we have been attending story time at the library which has also been a nice time to get out for us. Other than that it seems like we have just been at home trying to make each day new and exciting. Little update on the fam over the last month.

Casey can now write his name and many other letters in the alphabet. He is becoming more interested in trying to do things like that himself. He is doing a great job with his Bible memory verses and can say verses beginning with letters A-I. Preschool is going well and he really enjoys going. I think the interaction with the other kids is good for him too.

Audrey spends hours each day rocking, feeding, and playing with her babies. She is learning some of the same things Casey is. She loves to color and does a very neat job. She is also learning verses and can say them through "I" as well.

Chelsea is growing up into a little toddler now. She has a small vocabulary when she feels like talking. She can say, puppy, mama, banana, and I'm sure others but we haven't quite deciphered them yet. She loves attention and gets a little jealous if I'm holding the other two. Her biggest accomplishment in the last month has been her sleeping. She can now sleep through pretty much every night. She still struggles from time to time but is doing much better.

Hunting season has just begun so that means several things. 1. some long days at home 2. lots of cutting and grinding is right around the corner. (Well, I guess how much cutting depends on how good of a hunter Ryan is this year)

Wash Day is Difficult for Audrey

I thought this picture was just too cute. It says a lot about Audrey and her attachment to her blanket. She has a hard time making it through a couple hours without it. That is why it is so difficult for her when I have to wash it. She can hardly stand it that she can see the blanket hanging on the clothesline but she can't hold it and cuddle with it. So this is the next best thing I guess. She was also very tired today and that made the separation that much worse. When she saw that I had washed it she cried big crocodile tears for 15 minutes or so and then settled for just standing by the clothesline cuddling it and sucking her thumb the best she could.

Labor Day in Indiana

Audrey was like Jake's little mommy at the zoo. She loves it when someone smaller actually listens to her. It's like having a life size doll!

The cute baby tiger at the zoo got lots of attention.

Casey and Caleb are holding pet snakes that Brad found in the yard while mowing. The snakes got rides on the slide and got lots of attention before being released later that night.

Since it seems like it had been quite awhile that we had been out to Indiana we decided to head out over Labor Day. We left Saturday morning and came back Monday afternoon. It always seems like kind of a quick trip when we go just for the weekend but we were able to pack a lot of fun into those couple days. Saturday the kids enjoyed just playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Dad got a "new" bike for Casey which he was thrilled about. After his first ride on it he was already trying to make a deal that he would trade his bike at home for this one that dad got him. He said that it goes a lot better in the grass. They played ball in the yard, held snakes that Caleb and Kadin brought over, and enjoyed running around with Chip, mom and dad's dog. Friday night dad made a campfire and we made smores and then the kids had an "outdoor theater" night. By 8:00 they were pretty much all ready to crash. It's was baths and to bed for all the kiddos! Sunday we had planned to do something outside since it was supposed to be nice. It didn't turn out to be quite as warm as we had thought. We went to a park that has a little beach and the kids played in the water a little bit but turned blue pretty fast. So mostly we just enjoyed the park and a picnic lunch. Saturday night Ryan and I had "date night" and left the kids with mom and dad. We went out to eat and intended to go for a walk on a scenic trail through the woods. Our supper was very good and extremely relaxing. Our walk....not so much good or relaxing! We made it about 100 yards and were both getting eaten alive by mosquitos. They put an end to our walk pretty quickly. Monday was probably the highlight for the kids as we headed to an outdoor Amish run "zoo". They had all kinds of animals. The first thing we saw was a baby tiger. It was the cutest thing! The kids all got to pet it. They also enjoyed feeding the animals, milking a "cow", and riding on a pony cart. After eating a few snacks at the zoo, we headed for home. The trip home was kind of long as Chelsea didn't sleep much and she's kind of hard to entertain for that long. We were happy to be back and were also glad for a nice supper than Ryan's mom had waiting for us when we got back. We all pretty much crashed when we finally made it home and to bed!

Casey's First Day of Preschool

I sent my little boy off to preschool this morning. Getting out the door with all 3 kids by 8:00 was quite a challenge and we will have to keep working on that one. I woke Casey up about 7:30 to eat breakfast and get ready. He was fine and ready to go by 8:00. The other 2 were a different story. I have decided that Audrey is not the kind of kid that can wake up quickly and just jump in the van. When I woke her up she proceeded to fall as dead weight onto the floor. After I finally convinced her to get her pull-up off, she insisted that she needed a bagel to eat in the van. I really didn't have time to make her one so I told her a banana would have to suffice. Oh....let the whining begin! Needless to say she needs some wake up time so I think for Wednesday I will plan to wake her up when Casey gets up. Chelsea happened to wake up before we left as well, and I don't think she was all that fond of the fact that I didn't feed her before we left either. I gave her some cut up bananas in a bowl to eat on the way. About halfway to school bananas were everywhere in her carseat and on the floor....o.k. so maybe that wasn't a great idea either! We got to school and of course couldn't find a parking place because everyone else was dropping off their kids. After making a trip around the school and then finding a parking place, Casey did eventually make it to his classroom about 5 minutes late. So a little tweeking to the morning events and hopefully we can make it on time on Wednesday with a little less fussing. He went right into his classroom and plopped down next to Taelor on the story carpet. I said goodbye and gave him a kiss as he was already engrossed in the story. After I left I took a deep breath and could have shed a few tears but I didn't. The time he was there went quickly. When I picked him up he told me all the things he got to do....play with Lego, play with the trucks, play on the playground, read some books, and get his whole body traced. Sounded like he had a good day and he said he's ready to go back. So although it was kind of a rocky start at home, I think it ended up being a good morning.

Chelsea's First Birthday

I can't believe that Chelsea turned one today. I was thinking back a year ago when I had just delievered her and was sitting in the hospital room just glad that labor was over. In some ways it seems like it was just yesterday but in other ways it seems like she's always been here. There were some pretty crazy days in the last year. I definitly think that going from 2-3 was harder than 1-2. But I'll take the crazy days to have my second little princess around. She is really developing her own personality and she is so much fun. Into everything and a mind of her own but she's cute even when she's being naughty! Her birthday party included a trip to the Randolph Fair. She enjoyed seeing most of the animals but she got a little too close to the pigs and needed a little extra secuity from Daddy! We had a good night at the fair visiting all the animals, and letting the kids ride the kiddie rides. Her party was small...just Grandma and Grandpa Miller but she enjoyed herself anyway. She made a mess with her cake but I guess that's what you're supposed to do when you're 1! She dove right in, picked up the whole piece of cake, smushed it, and had cake everywhere. Some did manage to make it to her mouth too! By the end of party time we had 3 very tired kiddos. It was bathtime and bedtime and I'm pretty sure they were all sleeping within minutes of hitting the pillow. I want to get to bed here soon too so I can fall asleep to the rain. I love to hear it rain on a warm night like tonight when I can leave the windows open.

Emotional Week Ahead

I've been feeling a little emotional these days as I think of sending Casey off to preschool. I guess for me it's his first realization that the world can be a cruel place. I'm just afraid for him to get hurt by friends, experience disappointment, and know that mom will not always be there to intervene. I know they have to grow up sometime but it seems that it has come all too quickly. But on the other hand, I'm excited for him to make new friends, learn new things, and develop more independence. It will probably be a harder week for me than for him!

Chelsea's one year birthday is coming up too which makes me again...sad but happy. My little baby will soon be running circles around the house instead of wanting to be rocked by mommy. Why is it so hard to watch them grow up? Yesterday at the doctor's office I saw a very tiny little baby. All of a sudden I'm ready to have the next one. What am I thinking? I don't even have Chelsea sleeping through the night and I'm ready to be up every 3 hours again!? No not really...it's just the realization that I don't have a baby any more. She is quickly turning into a toddler. I'm glad that God gives us seasons of life because with each season that passes another new season begins. It's just starting that new season that is the difficult part.

Chelsea's First Ponytail

Last week I noticed that Chelsea's hair seemed to be getting too long and kind of starting to get in her eyes. Barettes just seemed to fall right out of her fine hair. So along comes the first ponytail...the fountain. Here is a picture of it nicely in....and then after naptime....it comes out! Talk about some crazy hair! Chelsea also had her first goose egg this past week. Her newest trick is standing up on the little chairs we have. She had a little rocking chair she was standing on and it happened to be a little too close to the fireplace. It fell sideways and she knocked her head on the fireplace, pinched her finger in between the chair and the bricks, and bit her tongue. Needless to say she was not happy. Did she learn her lesson? Um...no! In less than 20 minutes she was back up on the chairs!

Our New Swingset

A couple of weeks ago one of our neighbors approached us and asked if we would like their swingset. Their kids had outgrown it and it just needed a good cleaning and a couple new swings. Finally on Saturday we were able to get it set up. We had been thinking for awhile about getting a swingset or a trampoline. This just kind of fell in our lap and it was the right price....free! The kids have been enjoying it but I'm sure the newness of it will wear off eventually. At least they still have a few months to enjoy it while it's still nice outside.

A wrap up of the weekend....

Friday - I spent a lot of the morning in the kitchen making desserts for our Sunday School picnic. Then Friday night we went to Gary and Charla's house for the picnic. The weather turned out to be beautiful which was nice. The kids played outside on the swingset, rode bikes, and went fishing in the pond.

Saturday - Casey and I ran some errands in the morning. It was sooooo much easier to run errands with just 1 rather than 3 kids. We got stuff for our MCC school kits, some screws to fix the swingset, and a few groceries. We were home most of the day working outside on Saturday. It was a nice day to work as it wasn't so hot. Saturday night, Jr. and Syl, and Matthew and his friend Damon, came over to cook-out. It was a chilly evening and rather windy so our fire was really struggling. We all sat outside shivering wondering if it was August or October!

Sunday - We all went to church then I headed up to Solon for a baby shower for Matt and Heidi. They will be going to the Ukraine in the next 6 weeks to get their 2 kids. It was a fun shower and kind of made me want to adopt kids....just a thought. It was a nice time to get away from the kids for a couple hours and talk to friends without interruptions. T and I rode up together and we saw Jodi, Ellen, Dawn, Danielle, and others from Malone. Matt and Heidi are in for some serious changes here soon but I think once they make it through the transition period they will be fine. From the shower we headed over to Steve and Holly's for Taelor's 5th birthday party. She is such a cute little girl! The boys played outside most of the night while the girls stayed inside playing with Taelor's new Polly Pocket toys. They all played so nice...I don't think there were really even any fights! All in all busy but good weekend.

Summer Fun

I love this weather for playing outside. The kids are not going to know what to do when the snow starts flying. On most days the first words after breakfast are "I'm going outside" or "Can you put the garage door up?" They have such great imaginations that outside keeps them busy for many hours. Yesterday they spent probably a half hour cutting up paper tickets. Then Casey probably spent a half hour shooting his slingshot at the wastebasket that was a rabbit. FYI for anyone reading this, I did supervise this activity as we don't want to end up in the emergency room with a slingshot wound! They also spend many hours riding bikes and giving their stuffed animals rides.

Chelsea loves playing outside too. One of her favorite thing to do is play on the slide. She likes to see if she can climb up it. She usually just ends up sliding down on her belly. Other than the slide though she is content just to be outside. She gets into her share of trouble as she tries to eat rocks, or climb up the porch steps. She is beginning to take more steps. The most I've seen is 7. Seems like she gets a little better each day. I have a feeling her days of crawling are coming to an end soon and before I know it she will be running! As you can see from this picture of her she is also enjoying eating food other than baby food. She loves chewing on corn cobs. The other night she was double fisted but I didn't get a picture of that one.

Chelsea's First Steps

Chelsea has started taking a few steps over the last week. She is up to about 4 before she plops on her tushie. She gets so excited with herself that she just falls. I think it won't be long now before she takes off walking though. We'll see if she gets the hang of it before she turns one. She is still working on popping some teeth through. I have never seen teeth take so long to get through. I feel like I have been able to see them through her gums for weeks now but they don't come through! I can see 3 of them coming. She is also turning into a little beggar. She begs for anything anyone else is eating. It is impossible to eat a snack, lunch or anything without having her pulling on your leg. Casey and Audrey are pretty good at sharing dates, crackers, or pieces of fruit with her. One of her favorite foods is cheese. I wasn't too sure how she would do with me being gone on Friday but she did amazingly well. It was probably good for both of us. I don't know what I'd do without her blanket though. She sucks on the corners of her blanket to go to sleep and that is the best calming trick for her. Sometimes if she's mostly sleeping but still halfways nursing I'll take her off and stick the corner of that blanket in her mouth and she calms right down! She is still a little stinker about sleeping at night as most nights she is still up to eat at about 3 o'clock. I have news for her that very soon that will stop! At 11.5 months she doesn't really need to eat after only sleeping for 6 hours. It's just so much easier to just feed her and put her back to bed. It will be a struggle for both of us when I decide that she is done with that feeding!

Fishing on Lake Erie

I thought I had to post something about our trip to Lake Erie since it was a first for me. On Friday, very bright and early, Ryan, Steve, Jr., and I toook off for Lake Erie to do some perch fishing. We were meeting my mom and dad somewhere close to Toledo at 7. Ryan was very excited and had a hard time sleeping the night before. I had a hard time too but not that I was that overly excited...just a little nervous about leaving Chelsea. We got there in plenty of time and by shortly after 7 we were headed out on the lake. As we were going out the 12 miles to the place where we would fish the waves were 2-4 feet a little larger than the boating forcast was calling for. I thought it was kind of fun.....like a really long ride at Cedar Point. By the time we got there some of the others weren't thinking it was a very fun ride. But it got worse. Once we anchored, and were rocked back and forth by the waves, mom, dad, and Jr. knew they were in for a rough couple hours. It just was really unfortunate that they all got so sick because it was a beautiful day. After several hours of leaning over the side of the boat, the waves started to subside a little but by then the damage was done. They were already sick. We fished until we got our limit which for the number of people on the boat was 175 perch and we headed in a little before 1. Maybe next time we should all take Dramamine that didn't expire in 1993!

Into Everything!

Chelsea has decided that it is her job to make as much work as possible for her mom. She has gotten to that stage where it is so much fun to pull everything out of drawers, cupboards, and containers. Some things she has gotten into are worse than others. My other two little babysitters are pretty good at making sure she isn't into something she's not supposed to but she still finds times that no eyes are watching her and she makes the most of it. The other day she got into the trash and pulled out a styrofoam raw meat container. Before I got to her she was chewing on it. I know....GROSS! (along with very unsanitary!) I think she is cutting about 4 teeth right now which would explain her need to chew on any and every thing. I just wish they would come through already! She now stands by herself for a little bit until she realizes what she's doing then plops back down on her tushie. She walks behind some of her toys and just grins because she knows she is big stuff. The last little while she has discovered that her food is not the same as ours. If we happen to be eating she will not eat her bsby food but wants to have what is on our plates. It's pretty difficult to give her what we are eating sometimes considering that she only has one tooth. Right now I'm trying to figure out if cutting all these teeth could give her something that looks like pink eye. Her eyes have been red and itchy for the last week or so. I keep waiting for it to go away on it's own once these teeth pop through.

Summer fun with the Cousins

Sunday night we headed to McKinley park for a picnic with Paul and Rhoda, PJ and Amy, Syl and Junior, and Steve and Holly. A little later Mary and Joe showed up as well. We climbed many steps and ran numerous times around the monument. After we ate LOTS of great picnic food at the top of the monument we spent some time playing in the park. Monday was more fun with the cousins. Taelor and Braidon came over for lunch and since it was a nice hot day, we decided to get the slip n' slide out. That thing sure has been worth the five dollars I paid for it! It has proven to be much better than the pool where the water gets so gross and the kids have most of the water splashed or dumped out in the first 10 minutes. Tuesday was even more bonding with the cousins as we headed to Kim Tam for a swimming day. I had some reservations about going and taking Chelsea since she would probably need to sleep at some point. She did surprisingly well. The kids had so much fun playing with Grant, Carter and Dayne. Chelsea played for a while then took about a 45 minute power nap while tractors were literally driving a few feet from her head! The kids played and played, then took a lunch break and played some more. You would have thought with all that playing that they would have taken nice long naps that afternoon....Nope! No nap for Casey or Audrey. Chelsea did take a nice nap then once we got home. It was a really fun day and I'm so disappointed that I forgot to take my camera. I came in to get it at one point when we were loading up but then forgot what I came in for. The true sign of a mom gone crazy right? Today we are getting ready for more cousin fun as Brad, Steph, Caleb, Kadin, and Jake are planning on stopping here on their way to Cape Cod. The kids have been counting down the days. This is such a special treat since we don't see them that often.

Summer Days

It is summer but some days really don't feel like it. I kind of miss the hot days but I'm not really missing air conditioning. I hate going in and out of that. I think we need some more hot days for swimming and playing in the water. Yesterday the kids wanted to get the slip n' slide out and they had a blast. They invited the neighbors over and they played for a long time while I snapped beans, beans, and more beans! I'm done with the tedious part...the snapping..now just for the pressure cooking and I'm done. I think I will have close to 45 quarts. It's a good feeling to get that done but I know that I should start canning something else right away. Pickles, hot mix, salsa, peaches, applesauce and corn are all yet to come! Earlier this week I made a run to Beilers and got 20 lbs. of blueberries to freeze. That particular day Casey ended up spending with Koby so I had some time with Audrey while Chelsea was sleeping. We had a very fun tea party in which Audrey was allowed to wash her dishes afterward. It ended up kind of sad as she broke one of her plates. Oh well...still 5 more left and she had an absolute blast. She loved the attention and the permission to play in the water while washing dishes.

Family Fun at the Akron Zoo

On Saturday we went to the Akron zoo. We have been promising Casey all summer that we will go to the zoo. Saturday seemed like a good day since it was supposed to be a little on the cooler side. We got there shortly after opening hoping it would be less busy. The big attraction that we were all looking forward to seeing were the baby jaguars. Casey thought it was rather funny that they named one of the cubs Lebron. The way our route took us though we didn't end up seeing them until the end. We saw the lions, tigers, bears, snow leopards, and all kinds of other animals. The lions roared for us and the sloth bear gave us kisses on the window. We then walked through the farm area to see the goats, pig, and sheep. They weren't quite as interesting but Casey did find some crumbs on the ground and they ate out of his hand. Then it was in to view the relatively new jellyfish exhibit and climb the sea wall. They really liked the jellyfish and also spent quite a bit of time trying to climb the wall. Chelsea was glad for some time to crawl around too after being strapped in for an hour. The jaguars were last and then it was time to head out. Since it was about lunchtime, Ryan thought it would be a nice end to our family day by letting the kids stop at McDonalds for lunch. They were thrilled....that is all except Chelsea who wanted to go home to her bed! She did eventually make it there a little later than usual. Next time maybe we'll be a little more adventureous and head to the Cleveland Zoo. I really miss some of the animals like the monkeys, elephants, zebras, and kangaroos. But it was a fun family day anyway.

Off Track with my Goal of 3 Postings a Week

Yes, it has been awhile since I have written anything. I do have a good excuse though. My computer somehow contracted some horrible viruses. It was very sick but is feeling much better now! For a little catching up....Last weekend over the 4th, sadly enough we didn't even see any fireworks. We spent Saturday and Sunday at Steve and Holly's lakehouse. Saturday was a little chilly for my liking especially for being in the water. The kids still played in the sand and went tubing though. We also ate lots of good food. I think Holly had enough food to feed a small army! After a day of playing and relaxing, the kids went to bed and the adults (Steve, Holly, Scott, Kami, Ryan and I) spent some time at the fire. Sunday dawned a little overcast but ended up being warmer than Saturday. I did get in the water to go tubing and to witness Casey's first experience kneeboarding. My tubing experience was fun but I ended up with a black eye. I happened to be holding Taelor between my legs and we went over some rough water and her head came back and smacked me in the eye. Oh well...black eyes make you look tough right? And Casey's kneeboarding...I was so impressed. First, I was amazed that he actually would try it. He's usually pretty cautious about things like that. He got up and stayed up for a bit. I was afraid that he would be really scared when he fell off but he told me when he was done that the scarier part was going over bumpy water. He wasn't scared when he fell in. Sunday we packed up to come home and this week has been busy but good. Wednesday we went swimming at Kim Tam with the cousins. I was so amazed by how wonderfully they all played. There was really no fighting and the best part was that they entertained each other so we moms could sit and chat! The worst part is that Audrey spent a large majority of the first hour shivering and I think ended up with a cold because of it. Last night was NOT a great sleeping night for her which means that it was not a good sleeping night for me either. Argh! She is taking a good nap now so hopefully that means she will sleep better tonight and not keep me up coughing for hours. Time to get something together for supper and wake her up so she's not up until midnight!

Casey's Newest Accomplishment

Yesterday was a magical day for Casey as he learned to ride his bike with no training wheels. He hadn't really even been practicing. I had given up really even trying with him because he got frustrated. But yesterday when he asked me to take the training wheels off..I did. And he took off. We went to Metzger Park with our Life Group last night and he asked to take his bike to ride around the path there. He did so well even on the little hills! It's amazing to me how something like that all of a sudden clicks. It just reminded me that kids do things in their own time. It is no use for us to force them into something, they will do it when they are ready. Chelsea is getting very good at pattycake these days and really is starting to enjoy playing with Casey and Audrey. That is very nice when I'm trying to get something done. She is at a difficult age for being outside since she can't walk yet. When I put her down outside she immediately goes to her knees and starts crawling and trying to eat whatever she can off the ground. Last night at the park it was a woodchip diet!

Weekend at the Cabin

I know I'm slacking a little bit here in my goal of writing 3 times a week. I guess not much to write about until right now. We were at the cabin with mom and dad this weekend. We had a great time of fishing, four-wheeling, berry picking, campfire sitting, and relaxing. We got there Friday night for supper and spent a good share of Friday getting set up so we could enjoy the rest of the weekend with minimal work. Saturday was a beautiful day. In the afternoon while the kids were sleeping dad and I went for a bike ride. It was a nice ride but pretty hilly. We went 11 miles and surprisingly enough my legs didn't even feel bad. I thought for sure I wouldn't be able to walk the next day! Sunday was a nice day too....not quite as humid. It rained just a little but not enough to put a damper on our weekend. Ryan and Dad went fishing in the morning and caught about 12 fish. We planned to have them for supper but by the time supper rolled around we decided we didn't feel like cooking. We went to Pizza Hut instead. While Ryan took naps with the kids mom and I hiked out to the power line and picked a bunch of black raspberries. It was quite a hike but fun to see all the berries. Then Monday rolled around...so sad it had to come so soon...but it was time to pack, clean and head back home. We had the cabin cleaned by about noon and then waited for Chelsea to wake up from a nap. We left shortly after 1 and stopped at McDonalds on the way home because Casey thought that he had to get a new Ice Age toy. We made it home around 3 from our wonderful weekend. Now today it's laundry, grocery shopping, and getting everything back in order. Ugh!

Birthday, Birthday, Birthday

Audrey's birthday seems to go on and on but I think it is officially over now. We had Ryan's family and a couple friends (that Audrey requested, T and Ruth) over last night for cake and ice cream. Prior to the party Audrey refused to take a nap but at 6:00 she was really struggling. I laid her in bed and she took about an hour nap and we woke her up at 7:00 when the guests began arriving. It took her awhile to wake up but she did eventually and proceeded to eat her supper and then had a good time with her presents and her cake. She played very nicely until 10 when I decided tired or not it was time for her to go to bed. She was up until close to 11 but then did settle down and is still sleeping this morning. Today is Braidon's birthday so there will be more celebration tonight. At least I don't have the craziness at my house though! Looks like a rainy day today...oh what to do???? Probably should do some cleaning but I really don't enjoy that. I'd rather dream up projects for the kids to do!