Kaylee's Maiden Voyage

The training wheels came off today! Kaylee rode up and down our street several times (and would have kept going, but Joe needed a break!) Kaylee was so thrilled to be on her bike without the training wheels, especially since her best friend Lily had just recently mastered riding also. Sigh. It seems like just yesterday we were marveling at her learning to walk, and now this...hard to believe she's almost 6.

Ok, I'll stop waxing nostalgic. Enjoy the video!





By the way, our house is the one on the left with all the kids and bikes in the driveway, for those of you who haven't visited.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Like the rest of America, we gorged ourselves on turkey and all the fixings, but our Thanksgiving was a little unique this year. We spent the earlier part of the day enjoying a lovely meal in Sun City, where Joe's grandmother lives. She is 96! We love her to pieces- she's sharp as a tack and still loves a good game of dominoes. We ate in the "dining room" though this place looks nothing like a mere dining room. It's very pretty, like a fine dining restaurant. Most of us had the turkey, though Brad stuffed himself on shrimp from the salad "spread" (way to big to be salad "bar") and then had a hamburger. Nathan had ham and the rest of us had turkey. Except Hannah. She ate cheese. Cheese from the salad spread, cheese from other people, cheese from her entree...and then about 150 grapes. She'd make a great Greek. :)

When our meal was done, we headed back to our house (a mere hour away) and engaged in a rousing game of dominoes, at which I was the big loser. Joe was the winner, and Mom C. and Gaga (Joe's grandma) were in the middle. There, I saved you from having to get Friday's sports section to read those results...stay tuned for Scrabble statistics later in our broadcast...

We also had our second meal (our first had been at 11:30) of turkey sandwiches. We all agreed that turkey leftovers are unbeatable, so I baked a turkey on Wednesday and we shared the leftovers with the family. Mmmmmmm.....

We wrapped the day up with a game of Scrabble and some funny t.v. We had a great day, and are so thankful for the countless ways we have been blessed as a family. We are still slowly seeing His plan for us unfold, and we are looking forward to all the exciting changes that will come our way over the next year. We wish you and your families the very best and please know how very thankful we are for each one of you. Happy Thanksgiving!

On to the photos...I tried to get them in age-order, but for some reason I can't get Lindsay's pic in-between Nate's and Brad's.

And the Grammy Goes to...

This past weekend we attended the Desert Valley Music Teachers' Composition Festival for our second year. Children from several different piano teachers compose songs, and the songs are sent to a professional music composer for critique. Last year, Brad's song, "The Cat's Cradle" received very nice reviews. We haven't yet received the critiques for Brad's or Kaylee's masterpieces this year. But as parents, we give them two thumbs up, way up! Brad's song, entitled "Copper Mine" was very impressive and really showed his understanding of music theory and timing. He is, after all, at heart, a drummer. Kaylee's song, "Church Bells" incorporated a tune she made up on the piano when she was 3. She added to it and it's a lovely little diddy if I do say so myself. Both kids loved performing their songs, and were especially tickled with the trophies distributed to all the participants.



We are grateful for the music that resounds through our home. Even when the timing's off and the notes are sour, I enjoy watching their hands move and seeing the thrill of victory when they play their songs correctly. Brad is also in his school's band and his school's Jazz Band so he is "steeped" in music. :) Hannah enjoys watching Brad practice drumming and tries to imitate him. Who knows, maybe we'll have three drummers in the family! Bring on the earplugs! I'm ready!

Animals and Anger Management

Today was a "holiday." Uh huh.

We got up early-ish and scurried around to get ready. We were going to the zoo. I'm not a big "zoo" person, but I have 5 children so I have still spent a reasonable portion of my life slogging around zoos. When we finally made it out the door, our home looked like a starving mob of dogs had torn the place up looking for raw meat. We fought traffic, dealt with a couple of wardrobe emergencies, and used 4 band-aids in the first 6 minutes after entering the zoo gates. We met up with our friends, and the children instantly forgot the horrors of the morning. I, however, needed more time to unwind.

A zoo filled with 400,000 children under age 5 is NOT the place to unwind. Who knew?

However, what gets me through motherhood is watching other moms. Seriously- I watched one kid go face-first into the sandy creek in the play area, another child spit and scream furiously at her mom, and another mom making a furious beeline for the bathroom upon realizing her infant's diaper was not all it was advertised to be...ew.

Now, perhaps you are thinking that what helps me get through a day is knowing someone else has it worse than I....that's really not it. What brings a smile to my face is knowing I'm not alone. I've been all those other moms! This too, shall pass. I'm working on abandoning my need to look like June Cleaver (let's get real...I've never fooled anyone!) and I'm learning to accept those days when one of my children leaves the house in mismatched socks, with a milk-mustache and blue fruity toothpaste clumped in his or her hair. As long as my kids leave the house knowing Mom is crazy about them, then the morning went a-ok.

Zoo membership: $100
Lunch, snacks and other miscellaneous edibles: $25
Spending a day with 14 of your closest friends: Priceless.

If you know a Veteran, please pass on my family's gratitude to him or her. My grandfather, father, father-in-law and my brother-in-law are all Veterans. Here's to you!

Boys in makeup and other nonsense

Last night was great. In continuing with a tradition, we spent the evening with our good friends, the Trudgens. Chris and Ginger set up a table in their driveway with hot drinks and yummy snacks (no candy!) for the adults and we passed out candy together. Ginger and I both remarked about how much we love getting a chance to visit with our neighbors in this way. We live in a really great neighborhood with lots of kids (though I still have more leftover candy...grrr) and so our kids had a great time. Joe and Chris took the kids around the neighborhood and Ginger and I manned the table. Ginger also put together a great essay on the original meaning of All Hallow's Eve. When I get a copy of it, I'll post it. We passed this out with the drinks and snacks to the adults and we saw several people reading as they were walking.

Now for the pictures you've all been waiting for...or maybe not!
Hannah as Dumbo, Kaylee as Dorothy, Nathan as a pirate, Lindsay as Hannah Montana, and Brad as Cap'n Jack Sparrow. We had a great time giving the boys facial hair. :) Hannah was a great sport as Dumbo, since her tiny head had to support this big fluffy Dumbo head, and it kept tipping to the side or falling off. We joked that at times she looked a little like "Decapitated Dumbo."