Bedtime books.
Month: February 2023
Wade sent me this picture and I died laughing. Evidently he “won” a makeover from the youngest two.
Wade brought a working Ms. Pac-Man home after a year of it sitting in a workshop waiting to be fixed. It works! Now we just need to find a home for it in our house.
Kaitlyn once again lost out when it came to getting the desired book at her school library. When I went to buy the book on Amazon, we decided to go ahead and buy the next 6 books in the series. Kaitlyn has now read three books in two days.
Ben was adamant that all of his monster trucks needed a bath. Thankfully we have a monster truck wash.
Alex and his friends often walk up to the town Common and visit the gas station for snacks and then hang out at the Library. Alex almost always stops by home and drops off his backpack and waits till his friends walk by our house before he runs to catch up with them. Having a house between the Middle School and the local hang out isn’t a bad thing.
I still haven’t convinced Teague it is better to get his homework done as quickly as possible, but at least there are fewer incidents now.
Kaitlyn was so excited to bring her valentine’s bag home and check out everything inside.
A winter hike with friends.
Ben and I woke up today and decided to hike. We asked some friends to join us and had a great morning exploring the woods (and eating snacks).
This year Kaitlyn and Ben agreed to the same valentines. Ben is celebrating all week at school and Kaitlyn needs to take hers tomorrow for her party.
We had four extra houseguests this weekend so the mail definitely didn’t get checked. There were several birthday cards waiting for Alex in the mailbox today.
I went to find Teague and caught him catnapping….Get it?
Kaitlyn came home from school and couldn’t wait to get started on her valentines.
Today was a magnatile-kind of day.
While we were visiting with our Milwaukee friends, an old picture of the three boys popped up on Facebook. It took a lot, but we finally convinced the boys to recreate the photo twelve years later.
We didn’t quite fit in Alex’s cake yesterday so of course we celebrated today.
Kaitlyn is showing the missing girls (Iris and Glenna) the items we bought for them when we were out shopping today.
Ben loved having more “bothers” around.
Alex turned 14 today! I expected the big boys to sleep till late, but by the time I got back with donuts, Alex was dozing downstairs while the little kids watched cartoons. We went ahead and had our traditional donut birthday breakfast.
Then we split up for the day. My friends and I went to Salem for the day. The big boys played video games, walked to Subway for lunch, and got into general trouble. When we returned it was time for presents.
It took a while, but we finally got everyone rounded up and out the door for the Mexican dinner Alex requested. Then the girls played a little more Headbandz and the boys had a little more electronics time.
Birthday donuts are the best.
Birthday donuts are the best.
Birthday donuts are the best.
Birthday donuts are the best.
A while ago, my girlfriends in Milwaukee and I tried to plan a girls’ weekend. But we were slackers and couldn’t make decisions. Then one of the girls suggested that they bring their oldest boys and come to Boston for the weekend. Tickets were immediately bought and they arrived this morning! Alex and I picked them up from the airport this morning and then we did a bit of exploring. We settled on Harvard for a quick stop to walk around, a gift shop stop, and lunch. Then we headed to Grafton. The girls and I sat and talked. The big boys headed upstairs to play games. A few hours later the middle kids got home from school and Ben woke up from his nap. Then Teague was convinced to make cookies, my friends helped me make cheese dip, we played a few games, and then there was more talking, and a late night for the big boys.
Alex has been waiting for these visitors all week and they are finally here!
Our guests requested cookies so Teague made cookies.
Kaitlyn roped our visitors into a game of Headbandz.
The boy in stripes just reading his book.
Family gaming night.
Ben was so excited to get tattoos at swim lessons. Then he told me exactly where to put them. He proudly shows them off when asked and then says they are exactly like his swim teachers’. She’s this amazing young girl, who definitely has a lot of tattoos, that has endless patience when it comes to Ben and his silliness.
There are definite perks to living 10 minutes from a ski hill. Having weekly lessons is one of them. This year we rented skis for the kids for the season and that means they have to carry their skis in and out (last year they were waiting for them at the lodge). The parking lot is a mud pit. I always wear my snow boots just because of the mud. Teague does great navigating the mess. Kaitlyn can carry her skis about halfway before walking in her ski boots and carrying her skis becomes too much. Then she asks for help.
Alex rarely eats breakfast, but on occasion he finds something that interests him. Today it was some special bread.
Last night of skiing lessons.
Last night of skiing lessons.
This birthday horn’s hours are limited. I’m thinking from now till when I get back from dropping Ben off at school.
Ben has always liked to keep things he isn’t supposed to have under the chair in his bedroom. We haven’t noticed anything missing from Kaitlyn’s room in a while so I thought he had matured away from this behavior. Then I happened to nudge the chair back into position as I walked past it. I heard a sound and felt something large. I got down to look and realized there was a large rock under the chair. I have no idea how long it has been there or what made it special enough to bring inside and hide.
Laundry day.
Some days not everyone wants their picture taken…
Kaitlyn saw Ben’s light up toothbrush and asked for one herself.
Bedtime routine. Ben loves his new toothbrush that lights up to show how long we should brush. Ben gets to brush himself in the mornings and I brush at night.
Alex roams the downstairs late at night even when we tell him to go to bed. Tonight he showed up in my office looking like this and I ran to get my camera.
Alex asked why I take his picture so often while unloading the dishwasher. I reminded him that he rarely ventures out of his room unless doing chores.
Snack packing.
Swim lesson time.
These two have had so much fun with the balloon Ben brought home from his birthday party yesterday. This morning they played “keepy-uppy” until it was time to get ready for church.
Sunday lineup.
Ben had a birthday party for one of his preschool friends today. He has been looking forward to this party for weeks. He knew it was at a local play place that he loves. We went and he had a great time. He played; he ate; and he had a great time. As we were leaving he was given a goody bag with a balloon attached. When I walked by his room later in the day, I saw that he was holding the balloon even while napping.
Chore day.
Chore day.