Princess Logan

My friend Megan watched Logan one afternoon a few weeks ago and this is what happened while he was there. Needless to say she has two girls who love to dress up and Logan totally got into the act. More pictures are on her blog (Megan's blog link to the right). What a funny boy!

Alex's Star Wars Birthday

Alex had a super cool Star Wars birthday party last Saturday. He invited several friends from church and school and was so excited when his cousins from Columbus also came for his party. As everyone arrived, they were adorned with a Jedi cloak (I made 10 really simple Jedi cloaks the week before). We played several games including--- 1- Pin the Light Saber on Darth Vader; 2- Light Saber Toss game (like hot potato); 3- Jedi, Jedi, Darth Vader (duck, duck, goose); 4- Use the Force game (keep your balloon off the ground the longest); 5- Darth Vader's Secret Treasure Mission Game in which I told the kids, "Darth Vader has stolen a secret treasure and hidden it all over the galaxy (our backyard). It is up to the Jedi's to save the day and find the treasure! But be careful - A Sith Lord might find you and stop you!" Spencer ran around in the backyard with his black cloak and tried to stop the kids from finding the treasure. They loved it! I think it was everyone's favorite game.

For lunch, we served "alien face" pizza, light saber sticks (pretzel sticks), moon rocks (grapes) and Yoda soda (lemon-lime soda tinted with green food coloring). We also had really fun cupcakes decorated with C3P0, R2D2 and Darth Vader rings. I think the kids had a really fun time. I hope it will be a special memory for Alex.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the party. Jessica was my assistant during the party. She helped keep the kids in order and explained some of the games during the party. Spencer really enjoyed chasing the kids around while they were finding the treasure. Joshua drew the Darth Vader poster. And the night before the party, Kim helped me decorate, color the Darth Vader poster, frost cupcakes and get the "treasure" ready for the party (candy wrapped in foil).I couldn't have done it without any of you. Thank you, thank you!

On Monday, I took some cupcakes to Alex's school for his birthday. I was going to make them on Sunday night but fell victim to a really bad migraine around 9pm. I'm so grateful Kim was here! She really saved me and spent several hours making 30 cupcakes for Alex's class. THANK YOU SO MUCH KIMMIE! Every time she comes to visit, she always saves me. Last time she helped me when I hurt my foot last June!

We had a family party for Alex on Monday night. Jessica, Josh and I made Alex's favorite dinner. He wanted breakfast for dinner which included pancakes, scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage and bacon, but he mostly just wanted the sausage. He loves sausage!! Then he opened presents -- We gave him a new Nintendo DS, just like Spencer and Jessica have -- and he also got several games to go with it ("Ultimate Spiderman" from us and "Mario Cart" from Grandpa and Grandma Wiliams). When he opened the box that contained the game system, it was empty. He didn't say anything, just gave a confused look that said - "What's going on here?" I joked with him and said, "Just kidding. I guess you don't get a DS after all! You'll have to wait until Christmas!" He looked back and forth at Josh and I for a minute trying to figure things out, and then said, "You're just kidding, aren't you?" We didn't tease him for long and assured him it was in a different room where it was charging so he could use it right away. He thought it was a funny joke even though he was a little confused for a moment. Besides the DS and games, he also got some Spiderman action figures and a Darth Vader costume from Grandpa and Grandma Dyal to wear at his Star Wars party. It was a fun birthday weekend for Alexander! One I know he'll always remember.

Thanks to those that remembered his birthday with phone calls and presents! It really made his birthday a lot more special.

A Mid-September Weekend

First things first -- Spencer made the soccer team!! He is so happy to be on the team. Out of thirty-something boys who tried out, the coach only took 16. A good confidence boost for Spencer! We talked to his coach at the open house last week and he told us it was obvious Spencer has training in soccer. Spencer has actually been on one soccer team after another since kindergarten. He says it's his favorite sport now, with basketball being a close second (He'll try out for basketball in January). So anyway, he'll have soccer practice almost every day after school and has already made a few friends on the team. Yay! Congratulations Spencer!

I spent all last week getting ready for our second garage sale of the year. We had a gigantic one last May but I still had so much stuff leftover! When my friend Laurel said she was going to have a garage sale at her house in the Fall, I put all the leftover stuff aside in my basement. We got it back out this week for a last ditch effort to make some money on it. The garage sale took place at her house last Thursday - Saturday and was a moderate success -- We made almost $500---my share was almost $200. When you count the $400 I made last spring, that would be a total of $600.... Not too shabby, but I still had quite a few things that never sold. It makes me a little bummed because they are nice things, still in really good condition. I've decided instead of storing them anymore, I'll be giving them away now. I'm not having another garage sale for a long, long time!! It's so much work! We've decided to take all our leftover baby stuff to Joseph and Brittany (Joshua's brother) at Thanksgiving. Hopefully their new baby boy will get a lot of use out of the clothes and baby toys we still have!

On Friday night, Spencer and I went on a 12-mile bike ride. I loaded our bikes into the car, packed a picnic to put in my backpack and we took off to a nearby metropark as soon as Josh got home from work. It gets dark around 8:30 now and was a little chilly (between 55-60 degrees) so we had to cut our bike trip shorter than we would have liked but we had a great time! We're already making plans for a 30-mile biking trip next summer!

Our Bird Nest

About a month ago, a mother bird laid a few eggs in the hanging basket on our front porch. We've kept an eye on these eggs for a few weeks and they hatched about about a 10 days ago. One day last week when the mother bird went to find some food, Jessica and I went outside to look at the babies a little closer. We got the stool out and took some pictures with our camera. After about 15-20 minutes, the mother bird came screaching down and dove at me and Jessica! We screamed and ran inside. It really scared us, and we laughed and laughed for a long time! We watched out the window as the mother fed her babies. It was a very interesting, educational experience for the kids to watch, but they did think it was a little strange that the mother bird regurgitated the food for her babies. I wanted to get a picture of the babies eating but I was too scared to go back outside to get the snapshot so Jessica said she would draw a picture of it for me (see below).

Do you see two baby birds? This was taken a few minutes before the mother bird came diving down at us.

Jessica drew a picture of the mother bird feeding her babies. (The stool that we stood on is below the nest at the bottom.)

I took this picture this morning, almost a week after the first picture. The babies are getting a lot bigger!

Middle School

Joshua and I went with Spencer to his Middle School Open House last night. He led us around to all his classrooms and we met his teachers. Spencer was embarrassed when I went in the boy's gym locker room with him and Josh to check it out and see his locker. I saw other moms going in so I went in too. He was a bit uncomfortable but got over it pretty quickly. He also showed us how tidy his hallway locker was and how fast he could unlock it. It was A LOT faster than when we practiced a few days before school started.

Spencer tried out for the 6th grade soccer team last Friday. He had practice after school almost every day this last week while the coach decided who to cut from the team (he only wants 16 members). Spencer made the first two cuts but the last and final cut will be posted today at school. If Spencer comes home on the bus today, I'll know he didn't make the team. But if he doesn't, I'll know he made the team and is at soccer practice. Here's to hoping he doesn't come home!! We'll keep you updated!

He's pretty happy with his school except for the very frequent swear words he hears in the hallways, on the school bus and at soccer practice after school. This has really bothered him. He's actually confronted his friends about it. He told them he doesn't swear and will never swear. He comes home every day concerned about it. I told him he's being a good example and doing the right thing so keep it up and don't worry so much about what other people do. But he is very concerned that, in his own words, they are "sinning". He really wants to make a difference. I told him he is making a difference by being a good example---you never know how being a good example will touch someone---but he wants to see immediate changes. I told him if any of his friends decide to make a change, it will probably be a slow one so he needs to be patient. I am very proud of him. He is such a sweet, good boy!

Back to School

I wasn't ready for the kids to go back to school. It made me sad just thinking about summer vacation being over, most especially the warm weather coming to an end soon. But last Tuesday, which was the first day of school, I was surprised to be relieved about getting back into a routine and have more structure around here, even though I know it'll be a lot more busy and hectic. It's been a good first week of school.

Spencer was a little nervous on his first day at middle school, but not as nervous as he would've been if we hadn't practiced opening his locker and rehearsed going to each of his classes several times the week before. We went to an orientation/registration for 6th grade a few weeks before school started where he picked up his schedule. While there, he really wanted to spend several hours memorizing his locker combination, becoming familiar with the layout of the school, and learning his class schedule. We even met a few of his teachers. We were also told that the school would be open until the first day of school so the kids could come in and practice their locker and familiarize themselves with their class schedule. We went again a few days later so he could practice some more and really feel confident about everything. The first day of school seemed to go well for him, although he's still working out a few kinks like when to use the restroom in-between classes, when to get a drink from the drinking fountain (which is across the school) or when to go to his locker and how much stuff he should bring to each class. (He only has 5 minutes between classes.) That kind of stuff will take some time to learn along with trial and error. He was glad to have several friends from elementary school in his classes. There are 3 different elementary schools that go to Stevenson Middle School so he didn't know if he'd know anyone in his class. It was relieving to have people he knew with him. He also needs to learn a new locker combination for gym class --- He's worried about getting his two locker combinations mixed up. But he's really excited about taking band and will choose an instrument sometime in the next few weeks. He's leaning towards playing the drums. I hope he gets his first choice. After school today, he's trying out for the 6th grade soccer team. I hope he makes the team. Cross your fingers!!

We went to Walker-Winter Elementary School's open house last night and met Jessica and Alexander's school teachers. Since Spencer is in middle school, he didn't feel like going back to elementary school so he opted to stay home, but the rest of us went. Jessica is in 4th grade this year and has a really great teacher. She loves her already and raves about her every day after school. I'm so glad! Alexander is in the 1st grade this year and has Jessica's former 1st grade teacher. We really like her too, and she's familiar with our family, so we feel one step ahead of knowing what to expect for Alexander this year. There is another boy named Alex in his class, and for the first few days of school our Alex went by "Alex D." I don't think he liked that. It's always been important to him to have his own identity and his teacher told us he came to her during class a few days ago and said he preferred to be called Alexander instead. He also came home and told us to call him Alexander from now on. No more Alex? I hope I remember not to slip. Even though I like calling him Alex, I couldn't ignore his request---it may not last for long anyway. I read an article the other day called "How You Can Help Your Children Form Their Own Identity". It was a good reminder that my children have own individual personalities and by really paying attention and letting them be themselves, I will learn a lot about who they are and what is important to them. Those things may not always be as important to me, but I should respect their individualities. Sometimes I catch myself trying to program my children into what I want them to be and then I remember I shouldn't---Their individual character traits are something to be celebrated and valued. Part of the Lord's plan is that we are all different and unique---It's what he intended!

Logan is anxious to start preschool. He begins in a few weeks. I also signed him up for a library class and he'll also have a weekly playgroup. He'll be a busy little guy!

Anyway, the first week of school has gone well. I hope it stays running this smoothly for the rest of the year. Did you see the picture of the kids with their backpacks at the top of the page? Don't they look cute?! I plan on changing that picture regularly according to our family activities or holidays, so stay tuned!

Here are some pictures of Alex's first day in 1st grade ---

Getting off the bus at school

Alexander waiting outside his classroom before school

Alexander at his desk

At his desk - with his school supplies in the bag.

Labor Day Visit to the Toledo Zoo

What can we say? We love going to the zoo! We're hoping to go as much as we can while the kids are still young and excited about going. That's why I renewed our annual pass a few months ago. We do have a zoo in Detroit but we like the Toledo Zoo (in Ohio) a great deal more, and both are about the same distance from our house. Toledo is just south of the Ohio/Michigan border so it's not far---about a 45 minute drive. So when Alexander (He told us to call him "Alexander" now---Not "Alex" anymore) requested a family visit to the zoo once more before going back to school, we decided to go on Labor Day, the day before school started. Josh had a Labor Day off so we were excited to have him come with us. The last time we went to the Toledo zoo was on Memorial Day with friends. (See our blog archive in May.)

We had a fun and relaxing day! It was hot, about 88 degrees, and we were very sweaty but I loved it, mostly because I know this weather wouldn't be around much longer. Joshua doesn't have the same opinion as me. He doesn't like it when it's hot outside. Anyway, here are some pictures of our day at the zoo ---

Alex loved the wolves

The boys heard the sound of a rattlesnake under the woodsticks. Lift if you dare, Logan!

Daddy and Jessica playing a drum in "Africa"

A giraffe family

A hippo swam past us in the "Hippoquarium"

Mom (Renee) and baby elephant calf (Louie). We learned that his Dad was sent up from Disney's Animal Kingdom to breed with his Mom.

Daddy is not as tall as an adult female elephant but Alex is almost as tall as a baby elephant.

We loved watching the meerkats run around -- One of our favorite exhibits!

My three little butterflies

Inside the "Butterfly Conservatory" we saw hundreds of butterflies!

One even landed on Mommy, and then stayed on my leg for a good 10 minutes before fluttering off.

We arrived at the gorilla house as they were eating dinner. We got a really close-up view!

Is Alex's armspan as big as a gorilla's?

The sloth bear looked like it was smiling at us

Jessica sitting next to a bird statue

Taking an elephant ride.
I took a picture of Spencer and Jessica on this statue the very first time we came to the Toledo Zoo in June 2000, just after moving to Michigan (see below).

Spencer was 4 and Jessica was 2

Kensington Metropark Fun Day

The kids and I went with the Selthofers to Kensington Metropark on Friday. It's about a half hour drive from our house and since there is always so much to do there, we had a really fun day. First, we went to the Farm Center. We saw lots of animals. The kids especially loved to see a new litter of baby pigs that were born a few weeks ago. After that, we had lunch next to the boating docks and then played on the beach for several hours. Before going home, we took a boat excursion on the "Island Queen" pontoon boat. It was a 40-minute ride that took us completely around Kent Lake. We saw turtles, swans and other interesting birds. The captain of the boat let all the kids take a turn driving the boat. The kids loved it!

I came home with a terrible headache and was sick the rest of the evening, probably from going so hard this last week. I've been trying to have a fun last week of summer with the kids before school starts. I should've known I'd "hit the wall" by the end of the week. But we have had a fun summer. I'm probably just as sad as they are that school is starting on Tuesday. I've loved having them home and doing fun things together. Plus, the weather has been so great this summer! We've really enjoyed playing outside a lot. I'll be sad to see the weather get cooler in a few weeks. The leaves are already beginning to show signs of changing color soon. Fall is just around the corner!

Logan liked feeding grass to the baby goats. Alex and Jessica were too scared to try. This child has no fear!

Looking at two huge pigs!

Logan thought the baby pigs were stinky!

Spencer learned how to carry heavy milk buckets on a farm

Jessica thought it was a piece of cake!

Ride em' cowboy!

Logan tried out some farm tools

Spencer learned that lifting a 20 lb. bag of flour was easier with three pulleys than two or one.

Exloring the flower garden at the Farm Center

Jessica and Katie liked the "Lamb's Ear"- It was soft!

At the beach. The water was warm.

Logan liked swimming in the water

Jessica and Alex tried unsuccessfully to catch the little fish we saw in their pails

Logan had a great time playing in the water

Here we are on the boat ride

Logan loves babies

Cap'n Alex driving the boat

Logan took this job very seriously

Stealing a kiss