Smarty Pants

 

I am so grateful to have children that are so intelligent.  I love to see them thrive and I am saddened by their failures.  I know that they are capable of so much.  However, I try to allow them to make their own choices.  It is surreal to me sometimes when I lecture them, because I remember being talked to about the same things.  We try to remind the boys that they should be the bread-winner's in their home, so they need to take school seriously.  The girls seem to be pretty self-motivated in schooling.  Jonah is very well rounded in his subjects.  Ethan is so good at memorizing and retaining facts.  Amber is quick to pick things up and has always excelled at reading.

 

Christmas 2011

 

We always spend the Eve at my brother's house.  We have a yummy dinner, white elephant, a skit, and of course chocolate (surPRISE) mousse cups.

 Amber and cousins

 Gigi and Gabriel (foreign exchange)

Uncle Jas always produces the play.

Jonah and Ethan waiting for the go. 

 Two cuties playing little squirrels.

Jonah looks over his parts.

Amber takes ballet (2012)

I was able to get some shots of her practicing for the recital.  The recital turned out well. 

 

 

 

 

Crafty Food

We made these for Jonah's class party.  A craft idea that actually turned out!  Love cooking with my little man.

Life through Jonah's eyes

I found these pics from Jonah's old DS the other day.  They are from last year, spanning from goofing off to the birth of a cousin.  He loves photography.

 

Five...I'm alive!

Gigi turned 5 in June. She wanted a "Garden Party". Which was brought on by a song on the show Team Umizumi. She had a great time with her friends in her garden.

What a Lady

A is such a beautiful girl. I'm so blessed to have little girls to dress up. A was invited to a fancy birthday luncheon, so I had her looking lady-like. I wanted to capture such an innocent scene.

Date Midnight

We went to see the new Batman movie at midnight with E and J. It was a lot of fun!

Last moments of Elementary School

Found this goodie on my phone. E is in Middle School now, and it makes me realize just how much he is growing up! I'm so glad that I was able to stay at home so that I could catch these moments.

Nanny Time

Amber, Giana, and their cousin were able to spend the night at Nanny's house.  Nanny had been concerned that the boys were getting all the attention.  I will say, there is quite a shortage of grand-girls in this family, they are out numbered!!  They were also taken to the Zoo by Grandpapa and Nanny.  They always enjoy their time spent with them.  Nanny has always been good at being aware of what children like to do to have fun.  She turned out 7 wonderful children who LOVE their Mama!

Amber's Birthday Highlights

We did a Western Theme this year. 

Amber and her friend trying out the "Old West town".

The Saloon, where we had food and dancing.

The scenery was painted by Gabriel and Ethan.  Ethan is a good artist!  He painted the whole right side.

A Lasso the horse game.  Things not seen: A fire, bow & arrow shooting, & horseshoes.

Amber with her cousins, opening her barbie present.  She had a good time, what a cute 7 year old!

Pretty sure she slept the night like this!

Giana

Wedding Cake

Made my first wedding cake!  Prob won't do that again!  He's such a good sport.

Yo-Yo Fad

Curse these schools and their darn fundraisers!  Amber and Jonah just had to buy yo-yo's.  And they only set them back $12!!  I wonder where those things are now...

Halloween Highlights 2011

Most of these pics were taken at Trunk or Treat at church.

Here's Minnie Mouse (I mean Giana) and her little pirate friend.

We had a chili cook-off.  One of my besties, Milo, got 1st place.  I came in at 2nd, not too shabby!  That lady can cook!!

 Amber was responsible for taking care of her class "pet" for a weekend.  So, there are many pictures with him!  Amber was a cow girl.

My crazy kids!! Jonah (barbarian), Ethan (Drako Malfoy), Amber, and Giana

We had our 1st year of Trick or treating our neighborhood.  They were quite successful!

Soccer

Ethan finished his 2nd season of Soccer (not consecutively).  We discovered that he's got a defensive side to him.  After practicing, he began to improve.  He really became quite an asset to the defensive line!  We are proud of him.  Although Ethan doesn't care much for sports, he is good at them.  He plays with a church team, and they will regroup in the Spring.

Preschool Party-Halloween

As I said, I'm jumping through hoops to keep Gigi engaged this year.  So, we decided to have a Halloween party for some of her friends.  Here are some of the things we did.  Not seen, reading time and Preschool packets.

 Cute little spider plates that Amber helped me make.

 We had to counter all of the sweets with a veggie jack-o-lantern.

 Mummy juice boxes, ghetto style.  I suggest springing for the crepe paper instead of using toilet paper.:)

 We made "Haunted Houses" for our sweet treat.  I was able to introduce the kids to Pop Rocks!  That was a lot of fun.

 They played Ghost bowling, where our pumpkin got split.  We never did carve him!

This is why I do all of the craziness. 

Meanwhile, at the beach-

Here are a few pics from our vaca at the beach:

 Rocco and Gabriel goofing off at the beach.  We had to take Gabriel to experience one of these stores. 

 Some indoor pool time, Jonah, Ethan, and Giana

Notice Giana's feather.  She had to go along with her sister and take part in this fad.

What to do ...

...when throwing a baby shower and you won't be there!!  My family decided to take a vacation together. The only weekend that they could do it, was the weekend of a shower I was throwing.  So, I had to leave the event in the capable hands of my Single Adult friends.  I had thrown a shower with them before and knew they could handle it.  So, I pre-cooked most of the food with them.  We set up my house days before (the day I left).  And lastly, decorated.  Other than an exeptional amount of Walmart runs, it went well!

My "Friendly Reminders"!!

**Breaking News** The Tooth Fairy has been abducted!!

This is what Ethan left for Amber when she lost her tooth.  I always wondered why his handwriting was so bad, because he is a TROLL!!LoL