Young Author's Picnic

That young author is Boston.  Zane and I got to have a picnic lunch with him and all of his written stories on Friday. It was so nice to be there with just him (and not any extra siblings - thanks Vicki) and hang out for an hour in the school courtyard. He is a very good writer and it was fun to see how much he had improved on spelling, composition, and handwriting from the beginning of the school year until now. Plus, it didn't hurt that it was a beautiful day.  It was kind of hard for Zane to take the time off of work and since we were down to one car, I really needed him to come and get me to go, so I am so glad it all worked out.  I love all the little plays, picnics, parties, and field days at the end of the school year.  It means that summer is almost here!

What We've Been Up To

In pictures...

One Peaunut Butter Sandwich Later

It took a week and one sandwich to finally pull Boston's other front tooth out!

Ahhh... The Joy of Motherhood

I do love being a mother and I am working on liking it more when times are rough.  I have a great example in my mother.  I am trying to be more like her everyday.  I love her tons.  I love my children tons as well.  This morning, with the help of their dad, they brought me breakfast in bed.  They do it every year and it's is always a huge breakfast - so huge, that they sit in bed and eat along with me.  I like this tradition a lot.  Along with breakfast comes a card that each child signs. They all say sweet things.  This year I got a card with lots of sweet and a little advice.  The advice came from my seven year old with freckles.  Can you guess who?  

He said, "Mom, you are the greatest mom in a million of mom's.  Mom sometimes you yell at me. It hurts my feelings. That is something to work on.  Your a great mom. "  (His spelling)  

So, I have things  to work on, but I am still loved.  That's about all I can ask for.  

A Night at the Ball Park

One Down, One To Go

the before smile

not quite ready yet

dad attempts to take it out

his new toothless grin - can't open his eyes with the flash!

the baby tooth

It was hanging by a thread for several days.  Zane and I kept asking if we could wiggle it and he was having none of that.  He said he would work on it on his own.  After many days (okay, just 3 or 4), he said he would let us help.  So, last night, we delicately went to work on removing one of Boston front teeth.  First Zane pulled and couldn't quite get it.  That freaked Boston out a bit and we had to put some Oragel on it in order to calm him down.  Finally, Zane convinced me that I had the right fingers to do it.  I was a bit hesitant as well, but with one little pull it was finally out.  He was so excited and a bit surprised.  He has the cutest smile now and the other front tooth is now hanging by a thread as well.  He said we can work on that tomorrow night! 

Happy 13

(he always does this)

13 is my lucky number because in spanish 13 is trece (treh-seh) which sounds like Traci.  So, today Zane and I celebrate 13 married years together.  I think it will be a lucky year (even though I know we are going in to our 14).  It's been pretty darn great so far!

This Boy Just Realized....

He can successfully climb the tree outside. It's his new addiction. He asked if he could go out and climb it this morning before school at 7 am in the freezing semi dark. Okay little monkey!

This Kid Cracks Me Up

Let me introduce you to my four year old whom most of you know. He can having me laughing and crying all in the same minute. Yesterday I took an intro SLR photo class at the local camera store. I won't be posting any fabulous photos any time soon, but I do know more about the settings on my camera and learned enough to practice with white balance, shutter speed, ISO, and aperture. I had fun being out and with my friend who gave me this class as a gift for my birthday. Now, we both want to take the next class that goes beyond. She is ready for it, but I still need mucho practice. I took these photos yesterday in the evening when I came home from the class. I was going through all the photos last night (many of them blurry after changing the shutter speed) and had to show my husband these ones of Gage. He is badly in need of a haircut (it grows like a wild man as soon as I cut it) and I don't know why his shirt is missing, but that's just how he rolls!

Searching For Baskets

Trevor - the last to find his. It was hidden under a table in the dining room. He got books, a DVD, a Pac Man t-shirt, a German Shepherd Webkinz, and some sweets.

Boston - found his in the dryer. The bunny gave him 2 puzzle books with mazes, word searches, etc., more perler beads, pez dispensers with candy, and a black stallion Webkinz.

Gage - was the most exited about finding his. It was in the dirty clothes basket in his bathroom closet (hopefully the goods weren't tainted by the dirty clothes). His was filled with a chicken Webkinz, a Pokemon puzzle, 2 sticker books, Silly Putty, a baseball bat, and chocolates.

Mallory - didn't quite understand, but was happy when her basket was handed to her by Trevor who found it near her toy bucket. The bunny thought she needed a Dora hat, a wooden bear "fashion plates" type puzzle, and a purple Care Bear. She stole the boys chocolates out of their baskets when they weren't looking.

Egg Dying Time

We really had to quickly squeeze this in to a busy Saturday schedule. The boys came home from helping grandma get her house ready for a showing and were taking off a half hour later to a Louisville Bats baseball game. So, we quickly dyed the eggs. This year I hard boiled three dozen because they usually fight about how many they get to color and I wanted there to be plenty. It was another moment when I realized that Trevor was getting older and didn't really want to do it (as much as he used to) and that Boston hurried through. The upcoming game may have been the reason, but as quickly as they finished the ones they wanted to dye, they were gone in a flash. I was left with my two trusty helpers Gage and Mallory. I finished up a few more with the youngens and then they took off. So, I sat at the table decorating the rest by myself. I will admit that I was patient and let those babies get nice and bright in the dyes. They were beautiful, in my opinion. But, I wish the older boys would have been there to help. At least we now have a few dozen eggs to make plenty of egg salad sandwiches this week!

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

The Thiesses hosted an Easter Egg Hunt for the neighborhood. We all just brought filled eggs to share and they hid them throughout their backyard. Each child had a limit of 12 and went crazy trying to collect them. Gage was working hard at finding places that others did not to think to check - the gutter for example (where he found two stuffed inside the down spout). Mallory took her own sweet time and just got a few. Trevor felt a bit old, I think, and just got 4 and then said he was done. Boston went searching in a voracious manner trying to reach maximum amount of eggs in the shortest amount of time possible. It was nice to meet some of the neighbors that Zane and I had never met and the kids loved it too.

Acupuncture for Trevor

Here's Trevor's first go at acupuncture. He did it with my pincushion and I am thinking it wasn't successful. It really just hurt. I left my pincushion downstairs with a few pieces of fabric I wanted to cut out during Conference on Saturday. While I ran up for something else, Mallory pulled it off of the counter and left it on the carpet upside down. That's when Trevor accidentally stepped on it. It looked pretty bad. I didn't realize that he got that many holes in his foot. We iced it and it took awhile for it to stop throbbing, but he could walk on it by that night. Poor guy!