Bribe

A couple months ago, Ryan told the kids he would give them $100 if they water skiied.  They both agreed, but as it got closer, Ainsley wasn’t so sure.  By the time we got here, she was out.  Reggie was still wanting to do it because he could buy a lot of toys for $100!  The day came and he was nervous, but Grandma got in the water with him and we were ready.  Ryan was holding the rope handle in the boat and was supposed to let go if Reggie was falling because Reggie’s handle was hooked to the skiies, but it didn’t register in time and the skiies ripped off his feet.  I think it hurt a bit and there were tears and that was the end of it.  Ryan skiied after that and wiped out, but got up and tried again (what a good example!).  So, the next day, Reggie decided he wanted to give it another try.  We did it a bit different this time, dragging him slowly behind the boat, so he could get a feel and then Ryan said, “hit it, he’s ready”.  So, I did and he popped right out of the water, but wouldn’t stand completely up.  The look on his face was sheer terror and he was screaming and crying.  Ryan told me to slow down, but when you are going 10, it is hard to go slower, so he sunk and this time, Ryan let go.  I guess Ryan never told him he was going to go faster than the idle we were dragging him at.  We encouraged him to try it again, but it was too traumatizing and he hasn’t mentioned it since.  All the kids were watching, so although, we have a nice boat, it will likely never get any use :o(.

Happy 4th Birthday K!!!

Wow, 4…hard to believe it has been over 2 years since he first entered our lives.  He has come so far!  When I think back to the first time we went out to eat or when I took him to watch Ainsley’s dance, it makes me cringe a bit.  Having just recently gone to those places and seeing how different he is is amazing!  We still have some work to do, but we’ll get there!

We love K for lots of reasons:
He is thoughtful-I was getting sprect by bacon grease the other day and he went into my dresser and brought me a shirt (I was cooking on the BBQ wearing my swim suit). 
He is full of excitement  :o).

He is content-It doesn’t take much for him to be happy, a sucker, a sticker, etc.

 

He is grateful-grateful just to be part of our family.  He was excited to go on our trip this summer just because we were going as a family.
He is super smart and has a crazy memory-Reggie and Ainsley are even starting to notice that he makes some big connections for his age.
He loves life, loves to go new places and see new things :o).

He keeps us laughing (this can be a challenge because many times he doesn't like to be laughed at!).

He is happy to run errands with me!
He loves to help-I don't know too many 3 year olds who can put silverware away, take out the garbage, put clothes away, clean their rooms and actually ask if they can do it!
He is a cuddler-he loves to be held and give hugs.
Things we are still working on:
Control of his body, especially when excited or angry.
Control of his volume, especially when excited or angry.
Letting go and not controlling his situation (funny, he can’t control himself when he needs to).
Using kind words that don’t hurt people’s feelings.
Getting his urine in the toilet (we’ve come a long way with this and are almost there).

I pray that this is a big year for him and that the court will give him some long-term stability with us.  We had a conversation about middle names a few days ago and I told him his and he wasn’t too excited about it and I asked him if he could pick any middle name, what would it be…he said, “Wade…I want to be K Wade.”  I hope someday that will happen!

Summer fun!

The kids have been playing with the neighbors a lot this year.  Reggie and Carson are the closest in age and have made some big sand creations and built a treehouse using 3 trees!  He worked really hard on it and is so excited to finally have a treehouse (he has been wanting one in Livermore, but it is pretty low on the priority list!).  They are going to be working on the walls soon, so it is a little safer!  Ainsley has found a friend in their 12 year old daughter, Cami.  She has 4 brothers, so doesn’t mind playing with the younger girls.  They draw and dance and have all kinds of fun.  Ainsley told me last night that she wanted to live with her because she is so nice :o).  They are really good kids and a nice family and I’m glad the kids have fun with their new friends.
The girls....

 Tree fort!

We’ve gone on a few walks in the woods since our arrival.  Liha thought it would be fun to find the old beaver dam.  That turned into quite an adventure!!!  We really had to weave in and out of bushes, climb over fallen trees, cross streams, but we were “on the trail” because we could see the colored flags!  We finally found it and it somehow turned into a manmade structure (the damn that has been holding the lake water steady is rotting and letting way too much water out), but seemed to be doing its job.  The lake had an algae bloom that really made the lake stink and it could have been caused by the warm weather and low lake levels, so it really got people’s attention this year.  K’s foot sunk in some mud and he was not a happy hiker.  Things were better when we found water and got him cleaned up, but he seems to be panicking easily these days, hmmm.  Two hours later, we finally made it back to the car!  Let’s just say they ate a lot for lunch!

We also went down to Everett a couple of Tuesdays to watch the Regal $1 movies and then play at the Rinehardt’s.  They have a nice, big back yard where the kids slip and slide and have all kinds of other fun.  We stayed the night this week and went to Elevated Sportz (many trampoline’s and a large McDonald’s type maze) and the kids got nice and tired out.  

Ryan and I spent a lot of time two weeks ago at the Kirkland house.  It has been the most disappointing experience we’ve had yet.  It made sense that a single guy would have been easier on the house than a whole family, but that wasn’t the case.  He completely let the yard go and stained the carpet, both upstairs and downstairs and we had to replace it downstairs.  There were lots of other issues, but the main thing is he didn’t take responsibility for anything (even though he had taken over 100 pictures when he moved in and it was pretty clear who was the cause) and we believe he lied to us about having a pet.  It has been a good learning experience for us and I even shared with the kids how lying and not taking responsibility for things impacts other people, so not a total loss.  The new family signed a 3 year lease, so if all goes according to plan, we won’t have to deal with this for a few years which will be a really nice break for us!  
While I was down at the house working I got to visit baby Marley!  She arrived on Tuesday, July 9th, and weighed a whopping 10 lbs., 6 oz.!  Forget the newborn clothes.  

More fun pictures from the lake:

 Dad's birthday...not sure what was said, but the faces say it was something crazy from grandpa...

Albino deer!

 So happy to have a "pet".  Not sure Maui agrees...

 We went to the maze again this year and we got lost for quite a while.  The kids enjoyed the slide, but grandma treated everyone to ice cream, so according to K, he would go back there for the ice cream, but not all that walking around in the trees!

The kids went to Grandma Peggy's again this weekend and went to see Despicable Me 2 and they loved it!  I had a nice day shopping around and then a night out with the girls.  Jill invited me to Kirkland Uncorked (a wine tasting event downtown) and it was great!  
The dynamic between K & Ainsley was a bit tough this morning and Reggie and Khalif were crying in the car 5 minutes after I got them.  Reggie was tired and K was a mess.  Things were good after K had a nap....they played outside all afternoon and were in the water for a couple hours after dinner without any issues!  I kinda missed them, but after the first 10 minutes with them, I was ready for them to go far away.  I'm glad things were better this evening!  We had a nice fiesta with the neighbors tonight, lots and lots of good food.  The weather has continued to be beautiful and there's nothing better than being at the lake when the sun is shining!

Settled in...

Our  drive to Washington was fairly easy.  The kids were amazing in the car, but we hit some traffic in Portland, Fort Lewis and Olympia which really slowed down our time and made Ryan and I nuts!  We were all very happy to arrive around 9 o'clock, but it is always hard because the kids are so excited and they pretty much have to go right to bed.

The Rinehardt's arrived the next day and the kids played and played.  The volume of 5 kids (2 especially) is a lot.  Mom and Dad sure lost their peace and quiet!  We were at the table the other night and Wade was commenting how K had his brother's loud gene.  K thought about that and about 5 minutes later asked Uncle Wade what his jeans looked like!  Instead of confusing him more, he went with it and they were blue jeans of course!
The kids decorated their scooters for the 4th of July and we went over to the fire hall for the parade.  The kids got to explore the fire truck and K and Spencer ran through the spray from the fire hose!  I decided to run home from the firehall and the amount of cars headed to parties was ridiculous!  We had our usual party and it was a really nice group of people, small enough that it was easy to visit with everyone.  Lacey was about to pop, so it was good Eloisa (the midwife) was there, but Marley decided not to make an appearance!  The lake was as alive as I have ever seen it.  We went for a party boat ride and I think there were close to 20 of us piled in!  My good friend Jill even made it for the festivities :o).  Dad and Ryan usually get some fireworks, but they went to the warehouse and 1/2 of it was filled with those Indian blankets, so we pretty much only had kid stuff.  They were sure happy with the sparklers, smoke bombs and bees.  The s'mores made them even more content.  Not too many hung around for the big fireworks....how the party has changed since most everyone is either really old or has small children!  It gets dark here so late, but there were a handful of us went out on the party boat to enjoy everyone else's fireworks.  We didn't get back until close to 11, so Reggie and K were toast.

That weekend the kids stayed over at Grandma Peggy's while we did our walk through with our past tenant, did a little shopping and then went to see The Heat (very funny and I would recommend it!).  The kids had a great time playing pool, watching a movie and going to the park!  They were very excited about the sleeping arrangements, K and Reggie had a sleepover and Ainsley got to sleep with Grandma.  We picked them up on Sunday and Dustin and his family came up right after lunch.  We got to meet baby Easton....he sure is a cutie and a happy guy.  Both the kids were enjoying holding him and K still talks about what a cute baby he is.  They want me to have one and that is NOT going to happen!  It was a really nice visit and the kids enjoyed the party boat ride, jumping on the trampoline and playing in the water.
The kids loved playing with Aunt Holly's dog....now they want one (glad they can visit grandma and get a dog fix because we aren't getting one anytime soon)!

 Ainsley in heaven with Easton

 Reggie's not quite sure....

 Dustin driving the steam boat...

That night Ainsley completely melted down!  She and K had a rough day on Friday, lots of grumpy behavior and poor listening.  Reggie had his day on Monday and he also completely freaked out.  I was short, Ryan was toast and we've discovered that we need to plan for more down time, with just our family.  Our schedule was shot and everything was a bit out of sorts.  I think we've finally settled in to a new normal here and have found a nice mix of cousin time and family time.

Vacation Bible School

Last week Reggie and Ainsley had VBS (K missed the age cut-off by 1 month) and they had so much fun!  In the past the kids have whined every morning about going, but Cedar Grove Church does an amazing job and it was a cowboy theme.  By the end of the week, the kids had their cowboy hats out and were speaking with a southern drawl at home :o).  They learned a lot of memory verses and songs that we'll be playing over and over on our drive to Washington!  K has his VBS this week at his preschool and is enjoying it a lot.  The theme is kings and knights and he gets to wear a cape everyday.

We managed to squeeze in the Wimpy Kid movie at the theater and went to the fair yesterday, which was tons of fun!  We were there from 1:30-7:30 and Reggie just kept telling me it was the best day ever.  We went on a few rides, visited the animal petting zoo, watched a motorcycle show, saw the pig races and topped it off with the Virginia Batestelli concert.  We did a lot of walking and we were there for a long time, but the kids didn't even complain.  It really was a great time and I love it when the kids are appreciative when we do something fun.  They really are good kids and love them so much!
Reggie walking through a spinning wheel.  This was his favorite "ride".

 The kids wouldn't go on the water ride, but it was hot and they discovered if they stood by the water ride, they could get wet!

 You would have thought these animals never ate!

 Do you think they were a little excited about cotton candy?

Pig races:

Reggie trying to figure out how to feed the goat......

Last Saturday I had a garage sale with some friends and it was really fun.  I decided to clean out my closet last minute and I'm glad I did because most of my clothes sold!  Usually I just donate them, but since we were doing a garage sale, I thought, "What the heck, I'll try to sell a few."  When it was over, I took what was left and donated it and it feels so good to get that stuff out of the garage!  Later that night Ryan and I went to Superman....two thumbs down.  I couldn't wait until it was over.  We saw Iron Man 3 and Star Trek 2 and loved them, so we thought this would be similar, but I can't tell you how boring and horrible it was.  Our usual respite babysitter is not going to continue (they have to sign up for a year), so we have had a back-up come a few times and it looks like we'll be calling her a lot more in the near future!  It is so fun to hang out with Ryan...we love our date nights :o).
We are busy packing for our trip...I say we, but I mean I.  Stuff gets crossed off my list and then more stuff gets added!  It is very busy right now and I'm trying not to forget anything!  We are also trying to make a decision on our new renter.  Our current tenant is moving, so we have been busy posting and e-mailing prospective families.  We had an open house last weekend and about 30 people showed up and we've narrowed it down to 2 families, but are having a hard time deciding, hopefully today.
We are going to the market tonight, swimming at the gym tomorrow and then Ryan and I are going out for Brian's birthday dinner and Bocce and those are our only activities left!  It will be nice to relax at the lake and enjoy some good family time!!!

Last week of school!

We finished the year last Thursday!!!  Both Reggie and Ainsley had an awesome year.  Their reports cards were identical and we are very happy that they exactly where they should be :o).  Reggie actually asked if he could participate in the summer reading program (our librarian did such a good job of getting the kids excited about it-too bad she's retiring.  The kids (and me) will miss Mrs. Goods).  If they read a certain number of pages, they are entered to win a custom bike.  He's already read 200 pages so far, so it should be a piece of cake for him.
It was a busy last few days.... Reggie had a bowling field trip and then lunch at the park on Tuesday and that was great.  I actually got to visit with a lot of mom's I hadn't seen in awhile :o).

 Look at that form....he's a natural!

Wed. was park day for both the kids.  Their classes were buddy classes for reading, so the 3rd graders pair up with 1st graders and help them read.  It worked out great for me because I killed 2 birds with one stone!!!  Ainsley seems to gravitate toward the older kids, so she played with Reggie and his buddies.  She loves the older kids at gymnastics too, so

The weather has been just lovely...you never know here because it can be so hot, but it was good it has been low 80's since the last day of school was Olympic day and it is a bunch of outside activities.  After school, we went and swam at the Williams' pool and it was perfect.  I wish I had taken a picture because there were so many kids, it was nuts!  The moms ended up in some pretty fun conversation and it was 7 o'clock before we knew it :o).

The summer has been great so far.  We've learned that keeping Reggie busy makes everyone happy.  We've started to hear, "I'm bored a lot :o("  Ainsley's gymnastics had a summer kick-off with a live monkey show and it was really fun!  We also learned a lot about monkeys.

Reggie and Ainsley with Mickey the monkey:

The kids started Vacation Bible School this morning and then Reggie went to a friends house.  Ainsley is self entertaining and can play for hours in her room.  I decided to pull out the board games on Friday when Reggie and I had some one on one time and we've been playing ever since.  I think this is going to be the summer of games, which I love!!!

Happy Father's Day!!!

Well, it was a happy father's day :o).  Ryan got a moon's over my hammy, along with some watermelon for breakfast and of course, Ainsley was ready to try a bite.  Seems like she is always all over our breakfasts in bed!

You know you are getting old when you get a nose hair trimmer for Father's day!  Ryan was telling Ainsley and I about a long hair sticking out of his nose a few weeks ago and the good wife that I am remembered and solved the problem.  The thought of how that works is a little creepy!

Then we face timed with my dad and that was fun to say hello and see the whole fam.  Looked like they were having a nice morning too!  After we got back from church, Ryan washed his car and then we headed to the gym to play some hoop.  It was a great game of bump and since we played later in the day (morning work-outs kill me), it was a lot more competitive and Ryan actually looked like he might die.  Thankfully, he didn't!  Our gym has an awesome pool, so we took the kids swimming and that was perfect.  We had to wait for a chlorine issue, so Ryan was relaxing while the kids gave him a foot massage!

 K had a break through today while swimming and finally let go and tried to swim.  Here he is swimming:

All the kids love their dad so much.  K was screaming, "dad, dad" trying to get Ryan's attention in the pool.  He has been calling him dad a bit more and it is nice he feels like part of our family.  They are very lucky to have a dad that is so involved and one that loves them so much!!!!  Happy Father's Day Ryan....we love you!

Rodeo

It is that time of year already and we couldn't miss the rodeo!  Ryan was traveling most of the week last week, so he missed family night and it was the first time it was really enjoyable for me, so a real bummer he wasn't there.  Reggie was watching intently and laughing a lot.  Ainsley was occupied with a couple friends and Khalif was wiggling all over, but he's 3 1/2, so I can't expect too much.  The cow milking is the funniest thing ever and I still can't believe those guys get out there and try to take on a big mama cow!  We went to the market first and loaded up on fruit, kettle corn and shaved ice :o).  That entire flat of strawberries was $12!

I forgot to take a picture of the kids at the rodeo, but we took several at the rodeo parade.  It was a really strange day....almost 90 degrees at 10 in the morning and then as we were watching the parade, there was a fire that started a few miles away and it was controlled quickly, but the smoke blew in and we had some ash on us!  Then we got home and the power went out for a couple hours.  The house quickly heated up to 80 and thankfully the power came back on since the temperature topped out at 108!

 Sucker in one hand, icee in another....K was loving the parade!

We went to the rodeo today and it was 25 degrees cooler and so pleasant.  The bull riders struggled today...only 2 made it to the 8 seconds.  One bull was so angry that he was doing the stomping and getting ready to charge.  I don't know what possesses these men to take that on!  It was quite entertaining for us :o).

Backing up to last week, K had a visit with his family and this picture is just too cute not to post:

Ainsley had a field trip last week at the Lyndsay Wildlife Museum.  Having 4 first graders in my car for over a 1/2 hour was almost unbearable and I was very happy to arrive.  The museum is a small organization that rehabilitates injured animals, so they learned all about local animals (owls, birds, snakes, etc.) and then got to enjoy lunch at the park.  The ride back was much better and I know Ainsley was glad I was there.

Touching a snake....