Blue Hair

I seriously have no idea what I am doing...I try my best, as we all do! But, why don't we get a manual...seriously, raising kids is not an exact science, I rarely understand!! I have a 14 year old with blue hair...am I mad about that, no, but why? nobody told me I would have to deal with this kind of crazy request from my newly minted teenager!! Maybe it is fitting in, or maybe it is her distinguishing herself from the pack, but ultimately it comes down to the fact that it is JUST hair! I can do this, it is no big deal. I ADORE her and I love her desire to set herself apart, so, blue hair is not too much to ask!! Let's just hope she doesn't ask for tattoos or crazy piercings in the near future...I may not be as open minded on those aspects!!

Back to School 2013

Well the kids are now finishing up their second full week of school and we have, for the most part, gotten into a routine. I always try to make the kids a "special" first day of school breakfast. This year they wanted strawberry crepes and although I was hoping to do some creative food art I ultimately just ran out of time. I made the crepes the night before so that I would just have to fill them and cook the hash browns and sausage, but I also had to make lunches and help Anika straighten her hair plus what felt like 50 other random little tasks so grade numbers were as creative as I could get! Turns out my camera was dead, so all these pictures were taken on my cell phone..thank goodness for cell phones or I would have been SO mad at myself for not getting first day of school pictures.  Don't pay any attention to the fact that Celtin's plate looks like he is going into grade 15...I didn't even notice until I was looking at pictures later on that the hash browns make it look like a 15. Turns out Adam noticed that morning but didn't say anything because I seemed overwhelmed...Oh well!

Anika is enjoying 7th grade! The middle school includes grades 6-8 so she was a little worried that everyone else would already be comfortable with the layout of the school and using lockers. We went to the school a couple times to walk her schedule and practice opening her locker and since school started she hasn't had any problems finding and getting to each class on time or getting into her locker. Yay! I drove her the first day, but since then she has started taking the bus. She has to be ready a little earlier and gets home a little later (she catches the bus at 7:35 and gets home at 3:45), but she seems to prefer the bus so she can visit with friends (which of course she has already made plenty of). :) She really likes most of her teachers and so far her favorite classes are girls choir and Bon Appetit. She gets to start cooking today and is super excited!:)

Celtin and Lochlan start school at 9:15 and get out at 4:05. Although there is a bus I have been driving them to since it is only 5 minutes away. Lochlan usually wakes up shortly before Anika leaves and Celtin wakes up around 8:00. It is a little strange...I was used to the kids starting school at 8 so it feels like we have sooo much time in the morning!  It has been nice because I can actually get ready before taking them to school...pretty sure our old neighbors thought I was a complete hobo since I was always in my pj's and rarely brushed my hair before dropping them off at school in Utah. :)

This will be Celtin's last year in elementary and he has 4 teachers plus one specials class each day (music, art, PE and Library). He loves it because it makes the day feel like it goes by much faster. He has made a bunch of friends and has started bringing home phone numbers. :) Makes me so happy! He really likes his Science class and has enjoyed all the experiments she has already had them doing. His home room teacher is male...and he seems to really like him too. It is a little crazy that he has had a male teacher every year since 2nd grade!

I WAS NOT prepared for Lochlan to go to full day kindergarten!! :( I was ready for him to go off to school, but I will be honest I was very worried about how he was doing that first, very long day and both Declan and I were so sad that he was gone ALL day. At 5 he still seems too little to spend 7 hours away from home!! They have rest time in the afternoon where they have to lay down and not talk or get up for 20 minutes. When his teacher told us about this at Kindergarten curriculum night both Adam and I laughed out loud. Lochlan definitely struggles with this and most days he has to sit at his desk with his head down because he is moving to much or talking. He was so proud of himself this week because he was able to lay quietly the whole time and got a star punch at the end of the day. I hope he is able to keep it up until November when they no longer have to lay down and can do quiet activities. He says he loves school, especially lunch and recess! :) So proud of him and I can't believe how big he is!

Kids FINALLY See Downtown

Adam and I have ventured downtown on several occasions, but this past weekend was the first time that we took the kids. We are still learning the "cool" places to go and where/when family friendly stuff is happening. We saw that there was a Luau and concert for families on Saturday at the P&L (our usual destination for free country concerts!) we packed up the kids and headed downtown.

They had a treasure hunt for the kids, little carnival games and blow up slip and slides. They had to find and go to 7 different locations (restaurants and stores) and get them checked off to earn the chance to dig for buried treasure. AKA: cheap junk that they will inevitably break or lose and proceed to freak out as if the world was coming to an end! :) They didn't like the music...most of them thought it was way too loud! We did finish the treasure hunt, along the way we had some seriously yummy pizza at one of the stops (Adam and I eat there pretty much every time we go to the P&L!) and ice cream cones at another.


We didn't do the water blow ups and Anika was the only one that wanted to get her face painted, but since the lines were pretty long she decided to skip it. It was pretty low key, but I think the kids had fun (beats sitting at home). Lochlan got very tired of walking and after the ice cream cones he went with Adam to relax at H&R Block while the other kids did a few more free activities.

We joined Adam and Lochlan and they all got to go up and see Adam's desk which I am pretty sure was the highlight of the entire trip downtown!:)

Thirty Five...EEK!

So this last weekend was my birthday and I turned 35...I am not that old am I? Most days I don't feel that old and I like to think I don't look that old. :) I can remember thinking 30 was old and now I can't even see 30 in my rear view mirror. I know that I still have plenty of great, hopefully healthy, years ahead of me. What I am really worried about is whether turning 35 means I actually have to start acting my age. :) Adam and the kids spoiled me with perfume, my favorite treats and a shopping trip for some new clothes! Yay!

Anika watched the boys so we could go out to dinner at a fancy restaurant (thanks mom for the groupon!) and then we went to a free country concert downtown. It was so fun!!

We took advantage of the great weather and took the kids to the KC Zoo. It is a huge Zoo...200 plus acres, so there was lots of walking. We bought an annual pass so that we didn't feel like we had to get to everything in one day. It is a good thing we did because the kids were pretty tired after walking about half the zoo. I'll be honest my legs and ankles were pretty sore too...next time maybe I need to leave the flip flops home and bring tennis shoes! :)

We decided to get a giant pizza for dinner and have Root Beer Floats for dessert! It was a wonderful weekend and definitely made turning 35 feel pretty darn great!

Fireflies and CrAzY Frogs!

We are so happy to see fireflies again...love the little flickers of light from these guys at dusk...they make me smile! The kids love running around catching them, it is nearly impossible for me to get pictures since they are always on the move. I will have to try again next time. I did snap one of Anika; she caught several and put them in a container. Declan accidentally let them all go before I could take a picture.

Got a video of a couple crazy frogs that were hopping around on our back deck the other day. ;) They loved the rainy, warm weather and were a couple of the cutest frogs I have ever seen!

Burr Oak Woods

We decided to do a little exploring over the 4th of July weekend and headed to a local conservation area. First things first the kids found some good climbing trees right next to the parking lot. Anika has always loved climbing trees, spending a good part of every day in the nearest climbing tree. Sadly our current house doesn't have any trees big enough for her to climb. :( We have tons of trees across the street...but she hasn't found a good one. The boys have definitely followed in her footsteps and I think they would have been happy to go there just for the tree climbing! :)

Next we headed to the Burr Oak Woods Nature Center that was filled with all sorts of information about local wildlife and plant species. There were also live animals so the kids could see them up close and a tree fort, slide and hollow log to play in.

Next we headed out to the Bethany Falls trail which was a 1.3 mile loop. The hike was pretty easy, but it was hot and we didn't see much wildlife or water so the kids were getting a little bored...that is until we reached the middle section of the trail that takes you past a bunch of limestone boulders! The kids loved climbing up the crevices and jumping from one boulder to the next. We also found a thick vine that everyone took turns trying to climb....Anika was the most successful one making it up about 15 feet. (In my defense I was in super slippery flip flops) We all had fun and will definitely go back to this trail and try some of the others. Sorry for the picture overload...it was just such a pretty area and I LOVE taking pictures of my kids! :)