Happy Halloween!!

We ended up having a great Halloween despite the rain and drizzle.  A local restaurant was offering free kids meals to those who came in dressed up so I scheduled a doctor's appointment (6 year check-up) for Spencer mid-morning so we could go out to lunch afterwards.  Spencer had come here for a school field trip and thought it was very cool to come back, wearing a costume, and to eat lunch with us rather than at school.  It was conveniently right by the doctor's office so we got Spencer back in plenty of time to make it to P.E., his favorite special of the week.


 

We had a break in the rain right after dinner so Daniel was able to take the kids trick-or-treating around the neighborhood for an hour before it started raining again.  Esther kept asking all day long when it would be night time so they could go and Spencer could hardly sit still during dinner he was so excited.  Ammon was just as eager to get dressed up and was very proud of his bucket of candy when they returned.

Spencer is 6!

Spencer woke up early knowing that he got to open his presents before he went to school.  Esther and I got to join him for lunch at school and brought a birthday treat in for him to share with his class.  I forgot to snap a photo but they were nutter butter cookies dipped in white chocolate with two mini chocolate chips as eyes, so they looked like ghosts, a cute October treat.

Saturday morning he had his first ever birthday party with friends and it went really well.  He was very excited and everyone had a good time, including me!

He decided to go with a pirate theme and I found this super easy cake to make and was thrilled with how well it turned out.  We lit candles on the side (so as not to light the sails of fire) and it looked like canons firing, very cool!

This was our "Pin the flag on the pirate ship" game.

I told Spencer he could invite 6 friends since he was turning 6, and I didn't think I could handle more than that!  It was a hard choice because of all the good people here, we still feel so lucky to be in such a great ward and neighborhood.

Spencer's First Day of Kindergarten!!

Because Daniel is out of town and doesn't get to see Spencer for himself, I am actually doing a post the day of an event, amazing!  Spencer was awake early this morning, he was obviously eager and excited, and we had plenty of time to get ready.  I got to drive him to school and go with him to his classroom where I stayed with the other parents to get adjusted.  The kids read books while we filled out papers and then another teacher came to get them to give them a tour of the school and a recess on the playground.  Spencer had no problem going when he heard that!  The teacher then gave us some more instruction and let us ask questions and we left before the kids got back.  It was probably because of Spencer's positive response and that he's always been so comfortable in new places that I didn't have any tears for him today, just smiles of excitement, and, yes, pride for how much my little boy has grown up.  He is very ready for this big step and I'm looking forward to seeing him learn and grow even more throughout the year.

Thanks Gramma DeVocht and Aunt Emily for the cool backpack and T-shirt!

The reading corner in his classroom.

At the end of his first day--he made it!  He told me that he liked recess best and that his teacher was better than he expected.  He also said he wanted to buy his milk tomorrow so he could get chocolate milk.  He liked the bus and has a few friends on it already.  Tomorrow he'll get to ride it in the morning, and we'll start adjusting to a new rhythm with Esther as the big sister at home.

Fourth of July

We had a relaxing day together at the "zoo park" in town, taking advantage of the rare 70 degree weather in July.  I couldn't ask for a better way to hang out with the ones I love most.

Esther was super excited to ride the train after finishing lunch.

Daniel was pretty excited too.

 The kids could have spent all day playing in the water, their favorite part of the zoo.

 

Love you guys!

Garden and Grandparents

I finally worked up the courage to plant a little garden this year.  I was lucky enough to have my parents visit one weekend in May and they were a big help getting it set up.  I'm trying the square foot garden method and everything I read said to start small the first time, so we're starting with one 4 by 4 foot raised bed.  Spencer and Esther were as excited as I was to play in the dirt and then to plant the seeds and plants.  We planted carrots, cucumbers, green beans, peppers, onions, yellow squash, and tomatoes.  My goal this year is to make mistakes so even if nothing survives I'll know what not to do next year!

Here it is two weeks later.  It's like magic to see how the seeds turned to plants and the small plants got bigger!

Ammon surprised us by not being as shy as we thought he might be and made fast friends when food was involved.

Thanks for the puzzle, Gramma!

The park was another big winner.

The main motive for their trip was to see Spencer's last soccer game.  For his first season he did a great job, though Daniel and I observed that he seemed more excited about socializing with the other teammates than actually playing the game!

Here's his first game back in April when it was COLD outside.

We also had a bonus visit from Daniel's parents last weekend.  Once again we discovered the best way to warm up to Ammon is with food.  Thank you again for going out of your way to come see us!

This and That

Time for a little catch up from March now that April is almost over!

We don't have picture perfect pictures from Easter but here are some snapshots of the eggs we dyed.  Fortunately the kids really like hard boiled eggs too, so they actually ate them as well, helping to balance out all the sugar they got!  Spencer and Esther make a good team because Spencer likes the white part and Esther likes the yellow.  Ammon still eats the whole thing.

After a morning outside in the snow (back during that big storm) the kids had some hot chocolate and we pulled out some candy canes to put in it.  This is what Spencer came up with when I wasn't looking.  These will be the little things I'll miss when the kids are grown.   Good thing I have grandchildren to look forward to!

With the blog time "Becky's Blurb" it's funny how rarely Becky shows up.  That must be because I do all the blabbing.  Esther wanted a picture of the two of us so we snapped this the day the big storm started.

Ammon absolutely LOVES going outside and gets very upset when Daniel leaves and doesn't bring him along.  It took some adjusting to get used to walking outside with shoes on but now he is constantly bringing his shoes to us, begging to go out.  (This is the photo I told you about Nancy!)

The reason we no longer put the gate up.

I just love this picture Spencer painted.  He is the blue person and the orange people are friends of his, with Ammon the little person next to him.  Once in a while we do get an art project in and it amazes me what they come up with.  Esther is now old enough to join him in another art class (taught by a friend in our ward) and I can't wait to see what they create.

Ammon Getting Around

I tried posting this like two months ago, but for whatever reason it didn't work.  This was from his first birthday, when he still needed his little walker to get around.

When it Rains it Pours

We had a huge puddle (mini pond) in our back yard after a very heavy rain this week.  Spencer and Esther were really sad to see it gone the next day, but we are just grateful our house was okay.

My goal was to have a monthly post and, for anyone who still checks it, I completely missed March!  I'll have to split it up with a few different posts, but here are some photos from our crazy snow storm, which the kids also loved.  I couldn't complain too much seeing how happy they were.  And if it's going to be cold and yucky there might as well be some snow to play in, we didn't get near enough this year.

Ammon's 1st Birthday

Our little Ammon is one!!  We had a great day celebrating his birthday (February 7).  Spencer and Esther were so excited for him to open his presents and played with most of them the whole day.  Fortunately for them he didn't mind sharing :)

 Spencer and Esther helping make the birthday cake.

Ammon is our first child to like cake!  Perhaps it was just the fudgy chocolate frosting but he had no problem gobbling it all up.

 

 It looks like we have another climber.  I've had to hide this rocking chair because he uses it to reach all kinds of things.

 More climbing, he loves the piano!

He took three steps on his birthday and has been increasing since then.  He still prefers to use furniture and toys to hold on to but he's getting there!