Blake the Artist

This is a boat and skateboard

Blake is so fun. He doesn't like coloring with crayons.. He likes coloring with pens...Red and Black pens to be exact... forget mindless scribbling too.. He gets very serious with his "pen" work. He concentrates really hard making small object..He seems able to identify what he is coloring too. One piece of work is a "skateboard", another is a "boat". I had Tate do a practice spelling test last night and Blake was right there with his pen and paper doing a test too.. so cute.

This is his spelling test..

New Shoes

I LOVE MY NEW SHOES!

Enough said...they are soooo comfy..and I match the boys..hehe

Ranch Chicken Pizza

I've posted recipe before...
Just pre-heat oven to 375... bake crust for 7 minutes. Add chicken mixture to top and then add cheese.. Bake for another 7-8 minutes. Drizzle with wing sauce.
You may not need both rolls of cresents. I used 1 1/2 cans.
Hope you enjoy!

Lake Time

We had the best day today at the lake with our friends Annette and Craig. Oh, and of course their sweet little boys, Alex and Zach. We went out to Saguaro lake and soaked up some of the last of summer!

Here are some pictures of the days activities...Thanks Zahn family!!!! You rock!!!

Catching up

Blake sleeping, mouth wide open

Kalvyn at Forever 21..

My little bookworms

Soccer kid

So school started a month ago...sports started 2 weeks ago... We've been up and running ever since.. I can't believe I was ready for school to start.. We have Tate a little overbooked this semester. I feel like his personal assistant/driver. He has soccer Tues/Thursday with games on Saturday. He has Cub Scouts Wed. and the later that night he has R.O.C.K. at church.

We were a little smarter when it came to Kalvyn. She has dance Thursday's. She was set for soccer but we found out practices were 2 times a week til 9:30pm...hey, a girl needs her sleep, so we dropped it.

One exciting thing happened this last month..Blake is now potty trained.. I am in heaven..except for the fact that my bathroom has smelled like pee for the last couple months. Even though I am still helping to aim, it ends up everywhere. I clean it everyday and it is still gross!

The Big Kids

Last weekend we decided to take Kalvyn and Tate bowling. Every once in a while we have to shake things up a little and get a sitter (grandma) for Blake and let the bigger kids let loose. Anyone that had children with a 10 year age gap can relate to how hard it can be to find activities that everyone can do together. There are still a lot of things that Blake is too young to do. Things like movies, shopping, bowling...that the bigger kids want to do.
We had a blast with Kaly and Tate!

I LOVE YOU!

Today Blake walked up to me and said.."I love you" and hugged me.. acutally is sounded like "I Yuv You" but I know what he was saying.. He usually says it back if you tell him first, but today he just said it out of the blue...Ahhh, I love being a mom (most days)!

These are all the kinds of kisses we do in our house:

The classic "butterfly kiss"=blinking eyelashes together

The eskimo kiss=rubbing noses

The monster kiss=pretening to bite the cheek but then turns into a big kiss(this one requires a monster type noise as you move in)

The chubby kiss=squeeze the other persons cheeks together for the chubby face effect and go for the big smooch.

Eventful Week

This week has been quite eventful. We had the start of a new school year, an unexpected visitor and lots of fun family time, and it's only Thursday.

Wednesday threw me for a loop.. I actually had to get up at 6:50...not usually a big deal, but I have been sleeping til 8:30 all summer. I know, poor me.. We got Tate off to his first day of 3rd grade. I don't know what it is with these 8 year old kids, they won't hug and kiss you good bye on the playground anymore..come to think of it, neither will 13 year olds. The day was good. We picked Kalvyn up at almost dinner time (kidding, her school gets out a 3:50) and she had a good day as well.

We got to have Koriyn over for a couple of nights too. Her parents had to leave town for a funeral. It was interesting driving 3 kids to 3 different schools. She is such a joy to be around..




Today Kalvyn fell in the pool, accidentally. She was running and one foot went in, one didn't and she scraped her entire thigh up on the side of the pool. OUCH! It looks awful.
(It's hard to tell, but this is the inside of her thigh... ouch, ouch)



It is certainly never quiet around here.
Here's to a less eventful weekend!!!
PS- Zach, we missed you this week at school.. really, really bad!

OUCH

Who says this guy is cute?





Not Tate... he was stung by one of natures little creatures last night in the pool. We were just minding our business, splashing and having fun, when all of a sudden Tate starts screaming bloody murder. He lifts his arm out of the water and there was gross, pulpy sac with a stinger in his arm. He jumped out of the pool and screamed "Mom, there's a bee on your shoulder". I don't think I had anything to worry about since they only sting once. His arm swelled a little and turned red. The whole event, including the "fire stinging" pain only lasted a matter of minutes. Within an hour the swelling was fine and this morning he couldn't remember what arm it happened to.

Happy/Sad!!!


Happy=no more diapers
Sad= Blake's growing up

Happy=School is almost starting
Sad= School is almost starting

Happy= my mom is retiring
Sad= the reason she is retiring

Happy= I love my friends
Sad= one great friend just moved

Happy= Kalvyn is a responsible teenager
Sad= Kalvyn is a teenager

Happy= Date nights
Sad= not nearly enough of them

Happy= Tate is growing up SO fast
Sad= Tate is growing up too fast

2

Just look at this face... so sweet, cute, funny and loving....apparently with a touch of multiple personality, crazy, psychotic, and bi-polar..haha
The 2 year old tantrums have started, officially...






I forgot the magnitude of a toddler tantrum. I had a rough day with tantrums today..I just keep telling myself, this too shall pass. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming"-Dory(from Nemo)

If anyone could give me some reminders on how to diffuse a tantrum quickly and quietly, I would truly appreciate it! It's been too long!!!

A Few Things

My mom had her PET scan done a month ago and had it read...GOOD NEWS! The cancer is pretty much gone from the lymph nodes.. the lesions in her liver have shrunk "significantly".. the lesions on the bones are about the same and the mass in her chest is much smaller..Yeah..can I get an amen from the congregation..??!!!She is on an Alaskan cruise as we speak.. I am so happy for her. She will continue the same course of treatment for now..

Kalvyn turned "13"...We had her birthday party earlier in the month..She was in California for her big day this year so we sent her some yummy LUV BUG COOKIES. She said they were great. We will make her favorite dinner this weekend..BBQ chicken sandwiches w/green beans and fruit..We love you Kaly.

We had a horrid flu run thru the house last week.. Thank God we are over that. There is nothing worse than cleaning up throw up- unless its' someone elses' kids throw up..

I am on a gym high! I have been going and getting my butt kicked several times week since we got back from vacation. I guess all it took was a few unsightly vacation photos to get me motivated. Why is it so much more fun to put on 15 pounds than to take it off? I watched a weird episode of Intervention last night. This girl just chews her food and refuses to swallow anything.. hmmm. maybe I should try that.. kidding!

I can't believe I haven't posted in a month...

Hollywood Stars

Magic Mountain
Sand Castles



I guess life with 3 kids and school being out has caught up with me... I am usually pretty on top of things.. lately I can't seem to keep up with the smallest things??? School ended with a bang.. we had an end of the year party in Tate's class. It was bittersweet because one of Tate's very best friends found out that they are moving toward the end of the summer..we will miss you terribly Zach!

We jetted to Venice Beach for a week for our summer vacation.. We rented a house just steps from the beach.. boy I could get used to that life style. We brought my niece Jordyn with us too. The kids had a great time.. Vacation is definately work though... I am hoping it will get a little easier every year as Blake gets older..We spent 1 day in Hollywood, shopping and sightseeing.. We spend a day at Magic Mountain.That was so much fun.Rick and I both felt like we had completed NASA training by the time we left. The rest of the time was spent relaxing at the beach, the way it should be! We did have one little incident... on day 5, we were getting ready to go on our bikeride...we were about 2 blocks from the house and Tate hit some sand and biffed it. He fell and caught himself with his right hand and broke his thumb..he actually broke the growth plate too. A quick trip to the er and he was back to his busy self..it literally did not slow him down a bit.

We are back home to reality now. Tate had his thumb reset and a cast put on and life has hopefully slowed down for now. Now I just have to find a way to keep a very active eight year old busy with no running, jumping, swimming, sports ect....

Birthday Fun at Jump and Shout

My mom and I took Blake and my niece Mady to Jump and Shout for Blake's birthday last week. They had a blast! Blake LOVES his Mady...he asks for her all the time.. and from what I've been told, Mady has a liking for us too..hehe. I know the two of them will be lifelong friends.

Kalvyns Award Ceremony

Last week we were invited to Shepherd Jr. High for an academic award ceremony. We weren't quite sure what the award was for. Kalvyn has had a stellar year as a 7th grader. She has done way better than I ever did in jr. high, as far as adjusting. She has grown so much this year and is an excellent student. She ended up getting an award for 7th grade reader. This was great because that hasn't always been her strong subject. We are very proud of her for her accomplishments this year and mostly for just being such a wonderful, responsible, respectful girl. We love you Kaly!

Happy Birthday Little Binker...we love you!

I can't believe Blake is already 2! I woke up this morning and looked at him and thought of all the wonderful things he has added to our family. He has such character and just loves life! I can sure tell we have a toddler running around the house now, the mess all over, the tantrums, ect.. but I wouldn't change a thing. Some of his favorite things are tractors, books, playing in the water, doing everything himself and of course, mom. He still is a mommy's boy! I don't mind.. Blake, we love you, you are so special..I thank God everyday that you are in our lives.

Ouch.....

Oh, I feel so bad. Kalvyn cut her hand with scissors today...really deep. Look how gross! After a trip to urgent care and 5 stitches, she is feeling much better. Poor thing was just trying to help me around the house.She fell, cut herself and screamed bloody murder for 5 minutes before she would let anyone look at it. Blood was everywhere..
Just kidding. This is Kalvyn being Kalvyn. She loves to put on a show and act silly! It was only finger paint..hehe