Sunday Night

This is how I found the kids when I checked on them, each with their little comforts.

Ammon with his froggie blanket and new doll he got for Christmas.  He has been taking it to bed with him every night which I think is just too cute.

Esther with her blanket and "soft" doll.

Spencer with his rice bag to keep him warm and his Pokemon book that he got for Christmas.  He has spent hours looking at it, it really was a good find.

Tuesday-Thursday: Still Haven't Left The House

It's amazing that we haven't all gone crazy yet, not having left the house since we came back from Spencer's basketball game on Saturday.  Somehow the kids have managed to stay entertained without too much interference from me and fortunately we were well stocked with groceries so we haven't had to go out for anything.  I think Esther is going to go through withdrawal when Spencer finally goes back to school, which is supposed to be tomorrow.  Good thing it will be the weekend right after that!

Spencer was very proud of this pyramid he built and wanted to keep it up until Daniel came back from Spain, but decided the next day that the picture we took would be sufficient since he needed more blocks to build with.  He and Esther have played with them tons this week.

Here are the "invitations" the kids handed out this afternoon.  They were probably at it for over an hour, long enough for me to put Ammon down for his nap and catch up on some emails.  They placed a card next to all these duplos and then all over our bedroom on random objects, inviting the dresser, our pillows, and anything else they thought of to Esther's "party."

I was taking a close up and Esther was being a stinker and sticking her foot in the picture.  At first I was frustrated and then decided that it made the picture all the more funny.  She's barefoot, of course.

Ammon wanted me to put his blanket on his head as he walked around the house after his nap.  He must not have been quite ready to wake up, even though it was after 4:00.  (He still went to bed by 8:30 so he must be needing more sleep with whatever sickness he has.)

Monday--Snowed In

It didn't look like anyone in the neighborhood went anywhere today.  Spencer and Esther really wanted to go out so I bundled them up and set the timer for 10 minutes and let them check out the snow drifts in the backyard.  They said they weren't cold when I tried calling them back in so I let them stay out for another 5 minutes, by which time they were ready to come in.

Our kitchen window:

Playdough entertained them for over an hour and a half this morning!

Spencer reading to Ammon while I got dinner ready.  He is feeling really proud of his reading skills and willing to try new books now.

Sunday--Snow Day

With Daniel out of town, I'm hoping to get more photos up for him to see.  The rest of you are welcome to look as well :)

We woke up to snow coming down and it just kept going all day.  Somehow we managed to keep occupied, having our own church at home, getting some outdoor time in the snow, and watching home videos before dinner.  The wind picked up towards the evening and kept Ammon up a little late, but other than that we all felt safe and cozy inside.

Here's our Nursery/Primary lesson about families.  The kids did great with it, finishing up with coloring pictures.

The snow was perfect to play in before the wind picked up and Spencer and Esther had so much fun in it.

Enjoying hot cocoa after coming back in.  Yum!

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.