Derek's Phone

For all those times when our only camera was Derek's phone, here are some of my favorites. :)

furniture shopping

fun place to skip rocks and ride bikes

we spend many, many hours riding our bikes here :)

it's fun to play baseball without worrying about where the ball will land :)

fishing with Dad :)

some bb gun target practice :)

row, row, row your boat, Kaleb!

silliness in a parked car :)

it's almost time for turkey season 2011, and 4 boys in our house are VERY excited!

bye-bye!

Pondering and Wondering

Today is my grandma's 88th birthday. I wonder if she feels 58 on the inside. Or maybe 28. I wonder this because I'm 35, but inside I feel more like 25. Or 15. And then I wonder, "How can I have a middle school son when I vividly remember being a middle schooler?" Aren't adults just supposed to be old--on the outside and on the inside? That's what kids think. Adults were never young, and even if they were, they sure don't remember what it's like to be young. So why am I an adult, yet I feel like I'm not? And how did my baby become a middle schooler?

Just in case you think I've turned into a basket case--fear not. :) I've been rather proud of the way I've handled my emotions this week. No tears! No heartbreaks! When Braylen's friends ring the doorbell signaling it's time for him to walk to school, I give him a fist bump. No hug and kiss--that comes at bedtime. (thank goodness!)

I watch Braylen walk away with his friends, and I hear Kaleb and Aaron playing demolition derby with their hotwheels. It's like I'm living in several different dimensions--standing in the gap between full-fledged adolescence and child's-play, and yet trying to find my way as the parent in all of this. Did my parents (gasp!) feel young when I was Braylen's age? Did they struggle with letting go of their baby? Nobody tells you this when you have a baby. You never imagine yourself reaching these milestones and releasing your kids bit by bit. One day it just happens and you're left thinking, "Huh?"

I look ahead 2 years and envision Kaleb walking to middle school with Braylen. And then Aaron walking alone in 6th grade, because that will be the year Kaleb starts high school. And just like that--our time with our kids in our home will be over. When they hand you your baby in the hospital, you think you have forever. When you're up late with feedings and diapers, you think you have forever. When toilet training is a real pain, you think you have forever. When did I stop feeling like I had forever?

The title of this post should have warned you--taking a peek inside my mind can be a bit...dramatic. That's probably why I don't spill it online very often. My lucky husband (ha!) hears enough of my ramblings day in and day out, that I usually don't feel the need to type it all out. I guess 4 days of a quiet house finally got to me. :)

I'm trying to learn the art of asking good questions. Braylen doesn't offer up much information about his day, so I need to get creative with my questions. I also need to be willing to listen when he's finally ready to talk. So far I've learned that his science teacher wants kids to fail, since it's better to fail in 6th grade than in college. How comforting! (did you catch the sarcasm?) I've learned that lots of kids are weird, that he has no trouble opening his locker, and he sits with different kids at lunch every day. I don't know their names, because when I asked, Braylen didn't know. That about sums up what I know about middle school.

4th grade seems like it will be another good year for Kaleb. More is expected of him this year, but he'll adjust. I'm trying to keep up with the technology--much of elementary school is online these days. Long gone are the math fact sheets--they take timed tests online. Last night he logged on at home and showed me how he needs to practice his facts. There are multiple websites our school uses for all sorts of subjects, and just when I've bookmarked them all--there's more! My inbox fills up fast when the boys take tests, since I receive an email for every test they take online. I also receive their daily planners through email. Information overload! But at least I know what they're up to! :)

Because of the new addition at our elementary school, Aaron's 1st grade class is now in one of the former 5th grade rooms. Weird for me, normal for him. His teacher is a new college graduate, and has to be all of what--22 years old? Again, weird for me, normal for Aaron. He's happy to be back at school with his friends, not so happy when it's noisy and he tells me he's the only one who was quiet. He says his teacher repeatedly makes a certain sound throughout the day, and when he asked me why, I told him it's probably just a habit she has. He answered back, "Well, my habit is farting!" Oh, how I love having a 1st grader! :)

We have an international theme at our elementary school this year. Each teacher chose a country for her/his classroom, there are hundreds of tiny flags hanging everywhere, and a HUGE globe suspended in the entrance. Kaleb's in Ireland, and Aaron's in Sweden. After visiting Kaleb's curriculum night last night, I felt Irish. :)

And that's enough pondering and wondering for today. I even threw in some rambling. Here's to another good school year!

Right Before School

Yes, school has started for us! We're all adjusting...

But before I talk any more about school, I need to wrap up our summer. We kept busy right up until the end.

Derek, Braylen, and Grandpa went on a fishing trip, which was one of the items on Braylen's birthday wish list. Derek and his dad used this time with Braylen for some middle school talks. I am thankful for a husband who sees the importance of doing this.

We concluded our (kids) summer Bible study with a family night at our friends' lake house. Several families stayed for supper and more fun in the water. The dads joined us after work and we really had a good time. :) I love this group of moms. We did our best to pour truth (and fun!) into our kids all summer. Now that we've sent them back to school, we're left with memories of our times together.

Aaron and Kaleb paddle out to the island on the knee boards

3 of our 6th graders eating supper on the dock

Aaron tries to convince his dad to run down the beach into the water.

It seems like our summer just started, and now it's over.

One more birthday gift for Braylen--a trip to see Casting Crowns in concert. He and Derek had a special time attending this concert together. Braylen came home beaming. :) He also took dozens of pictures with his new camera. They're not downloaded on our computer, otherwise I'd use one!

Right now we're transitioning into our fall schedule, while the heat index outside climbs to 113 degrees. Aaron's recess was even cancelled this afternoon because of the heat index! It's hard to believe that in a few short months we'll be talking about snow and wind chills. For now, I'll choose to dwell on the fun we had together right before school. :)

The Birthdays

The middle of August=birthday time in our family! Braylen on the 11th. Me on the 15th. My mom on the 16th. My niece on the 22nd. Sprinkle in a few friends' birthdays and some anniversaries, and August gives us lots of reasons to celebrate. :)

This is one of those posts where the pictures tell the story...

Braylen's model car from Uncle Eric and Aunt Amber...a Mustang of course!

Aaron made Braylen his favorite Star Wars character--Anakin Skywalker

Kaleb bought Braylen a binder for his sketches

some wall decals for Braylen's bedroom

Another gift for Braylen is a pair of concert tickets to see the group Casting Crowns. They sing a song called, "Courageous." It's become Braylen's favorite song of the summer. He looks forward to an evening with his dad all to himself as they attend this concert! Grammy and Grampy bought him some gifts while they were here in July, and they also gave him a rack for the back of his bike. I see him wearing his new Cubs hat from them almost daily!

Braylen's birthday supper

Now for some pictures from my celebrations. Even though my actual birthday was a bit bumpy, turning 35 wasn't all bad. :)

My birthday supper: orange chicken, fried rice, pasta salad, and fruit!

opening my big present--a new under-cabinet toaster oven

All together for cake and pie. :)

What a beautiful night to celebrate our birthdays outside on the patio. The bugs weren't even bad! Braylen LOVED this gift from his grandparents...

Since receiving his camera, Braylen's taken tons of pictures. Thankfully he deletes most of them, because I don't know where we'd store them all! He takes videos of his brothers, and even sets up a tripod so he can be in the videos too. (I'm sure you can imagine what goes on in these brotherly videos...)

My sister-in-law kidnapped me for lunch one day and invited two of my friends to join us at the restaurant. She's so sneaky! (and super!)

The only thing missing from these birthday celebrations--my mom. The busy pace of life keeps us apart on our birthdays. :( Good thing we have phones and computers to make the distance seem not so great. Her birthday gift from me is late this year, but I sure am excited for it to arrive. It should be soon, Mom!

I've been told turning 35 is hard physically, since it's all downhill from here. But mentally and spiritually? It only gets better. I guess I'll take what I can get. :)

Today I'm choosing to be thankful for 35. And I'm so thankful to have Derek to share it with. Since he's 36, he can teach me all about what it's like to be 35! :)

Around Here

I have another birthday post yet to come. But first--what have we been doing around here besides camping and celebrating birthdays? Like last summer, our boys once again built forts in the basement. The entire downstairs becomes one huge mess and I pretty much avoid going down there. That must be why I haven't watched TV since before July 4th. I miss my TV. But it will be there when my boys are back in school, right? Here are their forts:

Sometimes these forts provide lots of great play time. Other times...not so great. We had to tell them to quit shooting nerf guns at each other, since two were gaining up on one every time. There's that number three again, making things difficult!

While Braylen was at church camp for 3 days, the rest of us went to the demolition derby. This might shock you, but it was my first one! Aaron enjoyed explaining it all to me, and since the derby he's watched countless videos of demolition derbys on youtube. He's obsessed! :) I enjoyed my time with my boys, I really did. They wanted me to come along, so I figured I'd better say yes! I slipped while walking down the bleachers and landed hard on my right lower back--ouch!--and spent the next 4 days visiting my chiropractor. Of course life doesn't slow down when Mom gets hurt, and I needed to shop for birthday gifts and groceries while disabled. Thank goodness for shopping carts! I really wished I could sit in one and let my kids push me around. What a sight that would be. :)

We all had summer colds after our latest camping trip, and Aaron needed breathing treatments for a couple of days. Doesn't this sound like the beginning of our summer?

Braylen loved his time at church camp. This camp teaches incoming 6th graders about missions, and the kids spend a day serving through work projects at the camp. Braylen did lots of deck painting. The other two days are spent playing in the water--jumping off the docks, swimming, and swinging on a rope swing. How fun that must be to let go and fall into the lake! When I picked him up after camp, I discovered he had a bad fall from a deck the day after I fell down the bleachers. We compared battle stories and I was grateful we have more than one good ice pack. Braylen sampled all 5 types of salmon, caught in Alaska by the camp's owner. He also had Mexican sweet corn, grilled in the husk and smothered with mayo, hot sauce, and Parmesan cheese. He says he liked it! Braylen's always been my best eater. After sleeping in a tree house for several nights, (a very nice tree house, I must say) he was ready to come home.

Kaleb and Aaron built "boats" while Braylen was gone.

Our lovely piano teacher got married last Friday, and her wedding reception was beautiful! Look at the flag in the picture--no wind! The white twinkle lights, full moon, and music made for such a pretty night. I felt like I was near the coast. Must have been the fountain in the pond. :) We've unearthed the piano this week so Kaleb and Aaron can practice again. After 2 months off they're a little rusty.

Aaron skipped the wedding to attend a school friend's birthday party. He came home a Jedi, complete with his own homemade robe and light saber. This party reminded him of the fun he'll have with school friends pretty soon. :) Oh, and to explain the look on his face--he's been doing this to me all summer long. Just when I'm ready to take the picture, he makes a funny face. This time I decided to post the funny one instead of the "normal" one. I figured that this one is his normal one. :)

Last week I put up sweet corn for winter. (bad back and all!) Yes, I've lived here for 13 years now--I guess it's time I act like it. :) Some friends of ours have a huge garden and like to share their corn, potatoes, cucumbers, and carrots. When someone gives you all that produce, you don't want to waste it! Speaking of gardens, my little garden is doing so great this year! I picked 13 tomatoes and a bunch of green beans today. A fresh tomato from the garden is so yummy. I sliced one up and ate it for a snack. Oh my, I must be turning into a country girl! Remember those sunflower seeds Aaron planted in May? Look at them now!



They tower about 14 feet in the air! Dad, I hope they don't scare you! :) Their stalks are like tree trunks, and their leaves are like dinner plates. Aaron is so proud! And that's what's been going on around here. :)



Thirty-Five

It's much more fun to write about my son's birthday than it is to write about mine. 35. Hmm. I have to be real honest--today wasn't all sunshine and roses. Parts of it were hard. My kids woke up crabby. Feeding them didn't help. Neither did getting out of the house. They fought and bickered and whined...and I wanted none of that on my birthday. I wanted a special day. A day to feel appreciated and celebrated. I mean, a girl only gets one birthday a year, and I am the lady of the house and all! *sigh* When I had enough of my boys and their fighting, I fixed lunch for them at the table...and took my lunch to my room. Okay, so that sounds childish--but at the time it sounded like a great idea. I took my unopened birthday cards with me and enjoyed a few moments of peace. After lunch I sat down with each of my boys and we prayed for a "do-over." I desperately needed God to redeem this day. He is Faithful, and from 2:00 onward I had a great birthday. :)

I received lots of texts, emails, phone calls, and facebook messages from friends and family today. I loved each one, and feel blessed by them all. Derek took us out for supper and when we arrived, we discovered kids 12 and under eat free on Mondays after 5:00. Hooray for a cheap birthday supper! This evening I sat on my deck in my new chair, directed Aaron and Kaleb to their dad when they decided to bicker in my presence, and rejoiced in the ability to do so. I caught up on the newspapers and had a great phone chat with my brother. Here at the computer with a piece of blueberry pie, my version of birthday cake, I've decided turning 35 might not be so bad after all. :)

Twelve

Braylen turned 12 years old today. It blows me away if I think about it too much. How did 12 years go by that fast? One day at a time--but those days sure added up quickly.

My goal was to make today fun and special for Braylen. I love the fact that school hasn't started yet, and that means I could enjoy him all day. He really is a pretty cool kid. I mean, young man. :)

12 things we did on Braylen's 12th birthday:

1. Woke up early to hear his birthday announcement on the radio. Thanks to Aunt Pam and family for a really nice birthday tribute!
2. Made french toast for breakfast. Braylen's favorite. (and mine!)
3. Took Braylen shopping for new school shoes...he LOVES his new shoes. He's had his eye on Adidas Climacool shoes since last spring. Now he has his own pair! While we were at the mall, I found new shoes for Kaleb and Aaron too. I've never seen a group of boys so excited to buy new shoes!
4. Came home for lunch in time for Braylen to see his dad. Truly a highlight of his day. He also opened his gifts from my parents. The rest of the presents will come later.
5. Took Braylen, his friend Matthew, Kaleb, and Aaron to Dairy Queen for afternoon treats. We sat in a booth and had a nice little talk about the upcoming NFL and college seasons. I know so much more about football now than I did before our outing!
6. Stopped at a friend's house for paper route instructions. Braylen and Kaleb will share a paper route for a couple of days while these friends of ours are on vacation. They're excited. :)
7. Enjoyed a short visit with Braylen's cousins and aunt. They made him some really sweet cards.
8. Braylen had plenty of time on the wii with Matthew and his brothers.
9. When Derek came home, Braylen opened the rest of his presents! Concert tickets, wall decals, a headlamp, and more.
10. Braylen picked the menu for supper: sausage and egg casserole, cinnamon rolls, grapes, and orange juice. YUM!
11. Since the weather is so nice this week, we took a family bike ride with the dog. We all thought the sunset was especially pretty for Braylen's birthday.
12. Sang "Happy Birthday" to our 12 year old son, watched him try to blow out 12 candles on a plate of cupcakes...and thought about all the blessings we have wrapped up in Braylen.

Yes, today was fun and special--for Braylen and for the rest of us. Mission accomplished! I feel very, very blessed. Happy Birthday, Buddy. I know you're 12 and all, but you're still my sunshine. :)

Camping with Friends

Like I said earlier, we had one more trip to take this summer. Some friends of ours recently bought a camper, so plans were made to camp together! Squeezing this trip in so close to our time at the lake was a bit stressful...but I kept telling myself it will be worth it when we get there. It was so worth it. :)

Aaron's ready for some fun on the 4-wheeler!

I took one supper and Rebekah took the other. Tostadas one night and pan-fried chicken the next!

The weather was beautiful, the humidity was low, and we were blessed with a sweet time together. The guys (including the little guys) did lots of 4-wheeling. That was the main event--as far as they were concerned. The ladies (including little Miss Ashly) stayed behind at the campsite and did plenty of visiting. It was so great.

We purchased helmets for all of our boys--aren't you proud of us Mom and Dad?!

Braylen rode solo on his own 4-wheeler, while Kaleb and Aaron rode with Derek. Kaleb drove the blue 4-wheeler by himself around our campsite, and he also drove it to and from the trails. It's a manual, not an automatic, so he needs to get a better feel for shifting before Derek allows him to drive it by himself on the trails. Derek had a first aid kit strapped to the front of his 4-wheeler, and I'm happy to say he never needed to use it. :)

The scenery was beautiful

Besides 4-wheeling, we all enjoyed our times together at the campsite. Aaron did lots of digging in the sand, Rebekah and I prepared meals and caught up on life, and Derek and Shawn tinkered with the 4-wheelers and Shawn's camper. Aaron even caught a toad. :) Braylen carried my camera around and took lots of pictures. Kaleb kept driving that 4-wheeler around and around his own little track. Our boys were the dirtiest they've ever been, which means they had lots of fun being boys!

only Aaron can dig in the sand while posed as a human pretzel

shucking corn from Rebekah's garden

I used the 4-wheeler for a seat!

Ginger came along of course.

We took several walks with Ginger. During one of those walks, Aaron brought along the walkie-talkie so he could talk with his brothers back at the campsite. They did more loud noises and sound effects than talking, but am I really surprised? No. :)

Here's Aaron on the walkie-talkie.

We ended our camping trip with a campfire on our last night. I lost count of how many marshmallows the kids ate. Kaleb especially loves s'mores.

We're thankful for good friends to camp with. For the time off work. For the camper, of course. For the 4-wheelers. For the safety. And when we got home, I announced that I was thankful to be HOME! :)

We made it home just in time for the demolition derby...and for Braylen to go to a 3 day church camp...and for me to prepare for our son to turn 12!!! But all of that is for next time!