8 is Great

Caelan turned 8 years old last week. HOLY MOLY - where does the time go? She had a simple birthday here at home with the family (we will have some other festivities next weekend when she gets baptized). Aunt Charity was here visiting, so she made Caelan an awesome sign and came up with the idea for her birthday banner. Caelan chose a Tinker Bell cake (which turned out pretty cute), and lasagna for dinner (delish). She got a fun shirt that changes color in the sun, a baptism dress, a Tinker Bell fairy set, a flower hair band and some art and craft supplies.


Some Fun Things About Caelan:
Favorite color: orange
Favorite food: lasagna and pizza
Favorite school subject: math
Favorite animal: horse
Favorite movie: Tangled, Princess and the Frog, Meet the Robinsons, Chronicles of Narnia 1 & 2 (the 3rd was pretty scary for her)
Favorite TV Show: Psych and Monk
Favorite Singer: Taylor Swift (she loves to belt out her songs)
She will try almost any food, and she is really good about eating vegetables and things she doesn't really like at dinner time. Almost every night while I am making dinner she asks, "Have we had it before and have I liked it?" She has always been a "negotiator" and it continues today. She is a real "explainer" too (why she is doing what she is doing, why she wants something, why we shouldn't do certain things, etc, etc). One of our favorite phrases that she says is, "I was going to ask...." and then she asks the question. HE HE HE. So funny. She is a good helper. She likes to cook and/or make her own food and help me in the kitchen. She loves to swim and asks to go in our jacuzzi almost every day. She is playing baseball and really likes it (and has a really great attitude). She makes friends easily and wants to include everyone. There isn't a "clicky" bone in her body. She has awesome hair and gets comments on it ALL THE TIME. She loves music: singing, dancing, practicing the piano. She loves to be busy and go places and have projects to do. She is a great student and is really responsible about getting her work done on her own. You never have to discipline too much with Caelan - a stern tone can sometimes bring tears (she's tender). Plus she has a great heart and has a real desire to do what is right and make good choices. She is a great oldest child and we are so lucky to have her.

Memorial Day at Duck Creek

*Cabin in the mountains with the whole Dick clan
*Riding quads and the 6-seater along trails, through running streams, down mountains, etc
*Exploring caves
*Seeing deer and deer and more deer
*Barbequing and eating tasty food
*Going to church in Alton
*Family Home Evening about being kind in word and deed
*Family talent show (of sorts) with singing by Caelan and Ben and dancing by Corbin and Bee and Hailey (and really, all of the kids)
*Swinging on swings on the porch
*Taking naps
*Playing on the tree-trunk teeter-totter
*Fishing (even though it didn't last long - it was cold and windy)
*Doing puzzles
*Having lots of FUN!

Moving onward and upward

Ben "graduated" from Kindergarten (that always seems like a funny way to put it). His program was actually referred to as "Kindergarten Progression" - which seems more appropriate to me. Anyway, they had a cute little program with lots of songs, and then the teachers gave out the certificates. And we ended the morning with cake and snacks. On to first grade.

To the Sunshine State We Go

Sean and I had a great trip to Florida. Sean went out for an interview, and they offered to fly me out as well. We flew Sean's mom in to town to watch the kiddos for three days and we headed across the country. Neither of us had been there before, so this was a new experience. We went to Pensacola (on the panhandle). Our hotel was RIGHT ON the beach. We literally walked out the back door of the hotel and onto the sand of the ocean. We went to the Naval Air Museum (one of the best in the world - and it really was awesome), we climbed to the top of a lighthouse, we toured an old army fort, Fort Pickens, we swam in the hotel pool, we walked along the beach, we swam in the ocean (and the water was PERFECTION - warm and not too salty), we ate lots of delicious food and we just hung out together...with no kids. It was a fantastic get-away (and even more great that is hardly cost us anything to go)
And even though it was beautiful and Sean really liked the plant and the guys he interviewed with, we both kind of left knowing that we wouldn't be coming here any time too soon. So, it was a pressure-less vacation. Love it.
We forgot out camera, so these are all phone camera shots.

Happy Birthday to the Perfect Mom (for me)

Who did all the "little" things that made a HUGE difference. I love You!

Father and Son Campout

This weekend was the Father and Sons camp out. Ben was counting down the days all week long. I told Nathan on Friday that he was going to go camping with Dad. I don't think he really knows what the word, "camping" means, although we've been several times before, but he was pretty excited about the idea. When Sean got home and we were packing up the truck, every single time I walked out there he waved at me and said, "Bye Mom." He was ready to go. The boys grabbed dinner at McDonalds and then headed to the campground. It was really close, so it didn't take long. They had fun setting up camp and playing around. There was a fireside that night. Sean let the kids have a graham cracker and a piece of chocolate (because they couldn't build fires to make proper smores). Eventually they headed off to bed. That night Ben woke up at around 12:30 and had thrown up all over his sleeping bag (poor guy). Sean got him cleaned up and the sleeping bag out of the tent. He let Ben use his bag, which meant he now didn't have one. He tried to go sleep in the car where it was warmer, but Nathan woke up and FREAKED out because Ben was sleeping right by him. Sean went back to the tent and calmed him down and tried to lay down by him, but soon realized he was going to freeze all night long like that. So he quietly packed up the boys and their stuff and headed home at about 2:00 AM. They were bummed they couldn't stay the whole time, but they did get some good playing time in on Friday night.

And Ben was totally fine for the rest of the day. It must have been something he ate.

A Little of This and A Little of That

I've been meaning to record a few little things, and now it seems that there are more than just a few, so here is a list of randomness:

*Caelan has become a serious fan of Taylor Swift. I hear "Love Story" and "Our Song" and "You Belong With Me" multiple times every day (plus others). And she really belts them out. The other day I took her and her friend, Tessa, to dance. I came in a couple of minutes after they did and noticed that their dance teacher and all the girls were sitting on a bench. I looked through the window and saw Caelan and Tessa in front of the class singing, "Love Story" a capella to their dance class.
*Sean went to an Elders Quorum activity last weekend to a shooting range. He had a blast shooting targets and clay pigeons. It made his itch for owning a gun grow.....but I'm not sold. HE HE HE.
*Caelan got her first hit at her baseball game a week ago. She made it safely to first base and her hit brought in a runner (their team's first score of the season). I was a screaming, crazy parent. It was so fun!
*One of my favorite things is watching Ben get up to bat (he is playing tee-ball). He looks out to find me and smiles, and half the time he gives me a thumbs up before he gets to the plate. I love it!
*Caelan bore her testimony in church two Sundays ago. It was her first time ever. She likes to share her testimony during Family Home Evening, and it was sweet to see her desire to get up and share it with everyone. I love those moments - when you know the stuff that you've been teaching is really making a difference.
*Nathan has recently adopted all "tooting" noises as his own. Whenever anyone (anywhere) toots, he immediately says, "That's me," and smiles. Where do they get this stuff?
*I got released from serving in the Nursery at church and got called to be in the Primary Presidency. Nursery and then this have been my first experiences in Primary...and I am loving it. It's so fun to spend time with the young kids every Sunday and listen to them sing and hear their sweet comments.
*I am feeling like an official "soccer mom" these days (just without the soccer). I have kid activities going on almost every day. I've been pretty careful about trying not to over-schedule us (I'm not a fan of running crazy all the time), but with this baseball season there have been practices and games (on different days and times every week), plus the one class of dance that Caelan is in, plus the one class of gymnastics that Megan is in, plus mutual and scout activities that Sean is involved with, plus piano lessons (I teach Caelan and Ben myself). It's fun to see them learn and have fun with their activities, but I'm kind of looking forward to a little break in the summer. I'm thinking this is kind of what my life will be like for the next......lots of years. I feel so lucky that I get to be involved (that I'm home with the kids and have a chance to run them here and there on some days and work with them on homework in the afternoon and spend other days just hanging out at home and go to their games and school events). It's a great job!
*This is one of the kids' favorite Family Home Evening activities (or anytime activities for that matter).