Duke is Walking!

I just cannot get vidoe to load to blogger in a timely manner. So, once again, if you know my true identity, check out my videos of Duke WALKING on facebook!!

Girl Scout Weekend...or at least an Overnighter!

I was lucky enough to get to help out with Princess's Girl Scout troop's "Let It Snow" overnighter this weekend!! Here are some pictures!!

Princess is all the way to the right! She had so much fun with her friends that they didn't even ask "HOW MUCH LONGER" until 3/4 of the way thru the 1 hr trip. (You do the math!!)
Princess and part of her troop!!

Princess and one of her AWESOME troop leaders!!

Waiting!

The "SNOW" maker.... Yeah right...

Princess and her foam "snow" suit....

Princess was NOT happy....

Neither were the other girls!

But the sunset after the snow was beautiful!!

After supper, we watched "ELF" (an awesome Christmas movie!!")

Intermission meant popcorn and hot chocolate! Yummy!!!

After the move we met and sang Christmas songs. Fun!!

Some girls danced!!

The last song.....

Breakfast the next day... :'(

Princess and all of the girls cleaned up!!

The Donkey Carts!

Princess Loved the Bunk Beds!!!

She really did not want to leave!!

But we had to get back home!!

Princess's other leader helped Princess get the cart down!!

The girls had an amazing time this weekend!!!!

Princess's Third Grade Program Videos

I attempted to upload some video of Princess's Third Grade Performance, but I gave up after it ran for 5+ hours! I put them on my facebook account instead.

So, if you know my true identity, check out my facebook page and see Princess and her classmates perform!

:)

Third Grade Program

Last night was Princess's Third Grade Program. It was really cute - the kids sang lots of Thanksgiving songs and watching them brought back many memories of being in shows like this when I was a kid. Although I completely understand why, it is still kind of sad that the kids can no longer sing about Christmas and Santa Claus at these things.

When I was a kid (boy, I sound old, don't I?) we used to sing Susie Snowflake, Up on the Rooftop, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. It was magic! As grade schoolers, we would trudge across the street to the Junior High School (no Middle School for us!). We would line up on risers in their auditorium and sing our little hearts out.

One year our class sang We Three Kings and I remember being really ticked off because the music teacher would not let a girl have one of the three solos. I loved that song and everything in my 10-year-old-self wanted one of those solos. Oh well, life goes on.

Watching my daughter up there was such a fun experience! She makes me so proud. She was so pretty up there, sang all of the songs, and kept her composure when the little boy next to her was goofing off. I am attempting to upload some video of the performance so you can see what I mean.

My little girl is growing up!

Knigh-isms

My little 4 year old Knight has been so cute lately. I regret that I have not been writing all of his cute little sayings down. Here is one that happened just the other day.

My little Knight has been fighting allergies. I was working on the computer, and the poor kid had a sneezing attack. He sneezed several times in a row, looked up at me with sad, big, blue eyes and announced, "Mommy, I just had 7 God Bless Yous."

:)

More videos!

More videos!

It's been a while!

I was talking to my wonderful Mother In Law today and she reminded me that it has been a while since I posted! Here are some videos of the kiddos!

:)

Duke Video

Here is our little Duke at 8 1/2 months!

Princess is having a sleepover!

Princess is hosting her very first sleepover tonight. We have new neighbors and as luck would have it, they have a daughter Princess's age. They also have a 6 year old daughter and a 3 year old son. The Knight and their three year old son have really bonded too and have played together quite a bit. Such fun!

The girls had a nice time tonight playing Barbies and creating aluminum foil fashions for them. There was lots of giggling and silliness - just what I want for my little girl! She is surrounded by boys so to have this little girl live so close is really nice! Princess had a sleepover at her house about a month ago. So much fun!

DadOf4 took Prince and Knight to Home Depot for some boy bonding. I hope they are having fun. The boys were exhausted from a very busy week. I hope DadOf4 is doing OK with them.

My little Duke was an angel tonight. He is quite fast with his army crawl now and for the very first time he pulled himself up on my coffee table. It begins! I need to start baby proofing even more now that he is getting around better. I am worried about my oak coffee table. It has square corners and is very scary looking for this momma.

I have been a horrible blogger lately. Life is happening and I am not recording it as I should be. I hope to be better, but life is happening. I will do the best I can.

:)

Duke Video

My camera is slowly "giving up the ghost". It came back from the dead this weekend so I got some new video of my little Duke!

Special Day!

For the last few years, we have had a tradition in our family. DadOf4 takes some time off of work for each child, and they have a "special day" with him. They go out ot eat at McDonald's, go to a movie, and go shopping. Princess's Special Day was yesterday. DadOf4 picked Princess up around noon and they were out and about until 8:30. Fun times!

Just like Pat!

It occurred to be the other night as I was watching Wheel of Fortune with my kids that I want to be like Pat Sajak!

Have you ever watched the show? There are three contestants who take turns spinning a big wheel and then play a glorified game of Hangman. As each correct letter is guessed, Vanna White, dressed to the nines, turns over the letter in a giant puzzle. Vanna may look gorgeous in her designer evening gowns, but it is Pat who holds the show together.

He cheers on the spinners, happily guiding them through the game. When faced with the decision of whether or not to risk all for the off-chance they will turn over a $10,000 pie wedge, Pat does the math for them so they know what they are risking.

Then, when the first spinner guesses an incorrect letter, gets a Bankrupt or Lose A Turn, he easily turns to the next spinner to assist them. He is unbiased, supporting each contestant equally.

That's how I want to be as a mother!

I want to support my kids as individuals as well as a group. When one does well, I want to cheer him or her on without making the others feel like I am playing favorites.

Pat has mastered this.

Will I?

Photo Story Friday - New York!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

My mother turned 70 in April, and the thing she really wanted to do is go to New York City. My sister, my mom, and I had gone with the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines 13 years before and we have such wonderful memories of this trip that we wanted to go again. So, we made reservations at the same hotel we stayed at way back when, booked some shows, and away we went!

Here is the view from our 31st story hotel room. The view is of Times Square.
Mom and me the night we arrived. We were so happy to be together!
Our first stop was to go to the top of the Empire State Building! This little pigeon was just sitting there and made me wonder if he had flown all that way or if he had hitched a ride with the elevator? :)
Empire State Building view of the Statue of Liberty. Without the towers, this is just not the same.

Here is a picture of our tour bus in a very shiny building!

St. Patrick's Cathedral. I love to visit old churches. This one is beyond beautiful. I am holding a medal that my 4 year old gave me so I "would not forget him". I took pictures of it all around town.

Mom, my sister, and me!

We saw Billy Elliot on Broadway. Luckily we purchased our tickets before the Tony's so we didn't have to pay an arm and a leg. We joked that we could probably have sold our tickets for about 3 times what we paid. We were very close to 5th avenue! Ha! The show was amazing. Those kids are scary talented.

Mom and my sister

We saw West Side Story too. Our hotel was the PERFECT location.

Way back when I was in college, I was an RA. One of my former RA pals lives in NYC. He met up with my mom, sister, and me for coffee the day we left.

This was an amzing trip, and New York City felt a lot smaller to me this time around. I have been there several times, but this was the first time I really felt comfortable there.

Happy Birthday Mom!!! Thanks for sharing your birthday with me!!!

Photo Story Friday - The Eyes Have It!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

The kids and I were messing around with my camera, and we decided to take close-ups of their eyes. Here is my 4 year old Knight's eyes:

My 6 year old Prince's eyes.
And my almost 8 year old Princess's eyes:


I will add my baby Duke's eyes when he wakes up from his nap. His are the only eyes that are brown like my husband's. Our three oldest have my color. :)

No longer toothless!

My little Duke has gotten his very first tooth! He is 6 months old. The new tooth does not surprise me because he has been drooling and gnawing on things for the last several months. He is being a trooper about it and is still his happy little self!

If the Glass Slipper fits....

I have been terrible at blogging lately. My 3 Webkinz-obcessed kid have been taking over my computer. Well, that, and there is that certain 6-month-old in the house....

Anyway....

Princess and I went shoe shopping last weekend. We were both excited to escape our testosterone-heavy-household for some girl time. I actually had a goal: Princess needed new shoes. When getting ready for church last Sunday, Princess discovered that her feet would not in any way, shape, or form fit into last year's sandals. How do kids' feet grow so fast??

Off we went to Kohls. We looked and looked and looked. And then we discovered something I wasn't quite ready for.

My almost-8-year-old-future-3rd-grader's feet fit in MY shoes! And she LIKED them. How did she get so big so fast? Wasn't she just that certain-6-month-old of the house?

When did I blink?

Duke's New Trick!

Our youngest hit a BIG milestone this weekend!

He can SIT!

See! No wires or mirrors!

Photo Story Friday - Drought

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

A couple of weeks ago, we had our first significant rainfall in over a year and a half. Unfortunately, it was only a drop in the bucket that is our lake. We need a lot more rain! (The kids are I are going to try rain dancing later today!)

It is not diffcult to see why this boat ramp is closed.
Yes, this boat ramp used to lead to a lake.

Lake-front property.


I don't think they have to worry about anyone swimming here for a long, long time.

Our marina was closed yesterday because they were moving docks. We used to only have to walk down 12 or so steps to get to the water. Last count this year was 65 steps.

The water is getting lower and lower. They say we are losing a foot or so each week.

See the boat up there on its side? The water receded so quickly that they could not get their boat out in time. This is one of many boats in the same situation....

This used to be lakewater too.

We have had 100-107 degree heat down here for the last month.

Come on El Nino!!! Bring us some water!