Logan at the Museum

This is Logan's last year at home with me before he starts full-day kindergarten next year!! I'm extremely sad to think about it so I don't dwell on it very much, but I have decided that every Friday during this school year will be our special "Friday Fun Day", where he and I do something fun together all day long. We've done many things so far this year and sometimes we invite friends to come along with us. Because we have an annual Hands-On Museum pass, we've gone and done several of those together. Here's some fun pictures of one of our adventures to the museum:

Spaceship Head

This is where my Loger-boy got soaking wet!

Cute smile!

Logan sat in this "play hospital" Admitting Desk typing away on the computer for at least 20 minutes. I asked him if he wanted to be a doctor someday and he said "Yes!"

Happy as can be!

Playing with K'Nex

Climbing a rope in the children's play area

Capturing a Beautiful Sunset

About a week before Halloween, we were eating dinner one evening and I got up to get a drink from the fridge. In the corner of my eye I noticed out the front window a glowing, bright red light shining into our living room. I ran to the window and noticed everything outside was glowing red. The sun was setting and the whole sky lit-up in blazing red, purple, pink, orange and yellow tones -- I couldn't believe how stunning it looked! The sunset reflected onto everything in our cul-de-sac tinting it different shades of pink and red. But the sky is what was totally breathtaking. It was absolutely beautiful! I told the kids to stop eating and run outside to look at it; I took pictures but they don't do the sunset justice. One of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen!

Stevenson Saints Junior Varsity Soccer Team

It's almost been a month since Spencer's soccer season ended but I wanted to post a few pictures of him in action. First of all, it was quite an accomplishment to get on the 6th grade soccer team since the coach cut more than half the boys who tried out for the team. Spencer was thrilled but I wasn't too surprised. He is super quick on the field and a very determined and aggressive player. Even one of his teammates, named Charlie, told me that Spencer was "one of the best players on the team."

The only time I worried about him being on the soccer team was after I took him in for a "sports physical" at the doctor's office. They told me for being an 11 year old, he was in the 35th percentile for height and 25th percentile for weight. I knew he had always been smaller than average for his age, but suddenly the mother in me kicked in and I imagined all the other boys mowing him over during the practices and games. But, of course, I was wrong. He totally held his own!

I went to almost every game; Joshua went to the ones I missed. Of course, I never had my camera ready for some of his best plays, but I took a few pictures of him in action. He was definitely one of the best players on the team. The coach stuck him on defense and he was always right there blocking the ball every time he was needed. The ball hardly ever made it to the opponent's goal when Spencer was on the field. Anyway, I'm proud to say that the junior varsity "Stevenson Saints" soccer team was undefeated this year!! Good job, Spencer!!

Spencer's orange and blue uniform

Spencer is the third soccer player from the right; He's going after the ball

Run Spencer, run!

The entire team talking to the coach during half time. Spencer is to the left of the coach.

October Updates

School is in full swing. And we're done with birthday parties for the year. Spencer's soccer season is over. But the fall colors are in peak season right now. I love how beautiful this time of year is! I spent most of September mourning the summer being over but now I'm loving the Fall! The only thing is, we haven't been to a cider mill yet! Today would've been a perfect day except for a half million we're trying to get done around here. Joshua and Spencer went on an overnight campout with the scouts last night. They got back at 10:00am. Right now, Joshua is mowing the lawn (hopefully the last time before the grass is dormant for the year)and also needs to fix a few tiles on the roof, the kids are doing their Saturday chores and at 1:30 they have a primary program practice/primary party at the church. Alex and Jessica both have parties to go to tonight (Alex's is a Halloween party and Jessica's is a B-day party) and Spencer is going to a friend's house after the primary party. I'm going on a girls-night-out with one of my girlfriends. So, maybe we'll go to the cider mill next Saturday. They usually close by November and it's always been a fun fall tradition for us in Michigan---Cider and doughnuts - YUM!

We're planning to take autumn pictures of the children tomorrow after church. Hopefully the weather cooperates. It's been raining and extremely windy all week. But tomorrow it's forecasted to be pretty nice with a high of 76 degrees and sunny. Josh and I expect that it'll probably be one of the last warm sunny days this year so we thought we'd have a final BBQ while eating and relaxing on our deck furniture before putting it all away for the season. Sigh.... Au revoir, warm weather! We won't be seeing you again for 6 or 7 months...

Last weekend, I had to unexpectedly go out of town for my Grandma Millett's funeral. My mom is an only child, so my three sisters, one brother and I are her only grandchildren. We all made our way to Utah for the funeral, thanks to my Grandpa who flew us out. My Grandma was always so good to us so it was appropriate that we were all there, although very sad. The funeral and viewing happened to be a first for me. I've always stayed away from funerals, and especially viewings. I've never had a close friend or family member die until now (except my Dad's father who died when I was 10, but I don't remember a lot about him), so funerals have always been easy for me to avoid. The worst thing I can think of is loosing a loved one. I don't like dwelling on it, which is why I've always avoided funerals. But I'm glad I got the opportunity to go and support my Grandpa and Mother in this difficult time.

Besides the passing of my Grandma Millett, the rest of October has been fun but very busy. It's been difficult to find time to update my blog and I may not get a chance to add any more posts again until November. But, really quick, I captured a cute picture this week of Alex trying to teach Logan to tie a shoe. Alex has been so proud that he finally learned to tie his shoe and has been practicing every moment he can, then he'll show his talent off to everyone who will pay attention. Besides Mom and Dad's clear enthusiasm of this accomplishment, Logan has been his only other genuine cheerleader. Probably because of Logan's interest, Alex decided to teach him to tie his shoe too. But, after a few minutes, he determined this process would take longer than he was willing to spend since it was obviously a bit more difficult than he expected. Logan was clearly not ready. But I thought it was cute that he tried....

Logan's Spiderman Birthday Party

Logan had a Spiderman Birthday Party a few weeks ago on October 6. He invited several of his good friends to celebrate with him. I think everyone had a really great time!

Logan's 4th Birthday

Logan turned 4 years old yesterday! Can you believe it? My baby is 4 years old and only 1 year away from kindergarten! He had a really great day. In the morning, I took him to storytime at the library. Then we went to Chuck-E-Cheese for lunch. Logan was telling everyone that it was his birthday---at the library, store and at Chuck-E-Cheese. He told one of the workers at Chuck-E-Cheese and they gave him a crown, balloon, 30 free tokens and Chuck E.Cheese himself came out with an ice-cream sandwich w/ candle and sang Happy Birthday to Logan. What a great suprise! It was a beautiful day yesterday so in the afternoon, Logan rode around the neighborhood in his little motorized F-150 truck. After Jessica and Alex got off the school bus, we went and got Spencer from soccer practice and met Joshua at McDonald's for dinner. Then we went home and had cake and ice cream and Logan opened his presents. Both sets of grandparents called in the evening to wish him Happy Birthday! I believe he had a really fun day!! See pictures below --

He also has a Spiderman birthday party on Saturday morning. He invited 6 friends to come over and is so excited to dress up in his Spiderman costume. Alex had a Spiderman party a few years ago and I'm glad I kept most of the decorations and activities from that party. Logan will have a very similar party. Look for pictures to come this weekend. I feel like we've had nonstop birthday parties for the last 2 weeks. I guess we'll be done with birthdays for awhile after this weekend.

Canton Fall Festival

Last Saturday was the Canton Fall Festival at one of our local parks. We look forward to going every year and have attended every year since moving to Michigan. I'm always on the lookout for fun, free activites and one reason we love Canton is because it has many enjoyable events for the family. We ran into the Larsen and Selthofer families and hung around with them for awhile. The weather couldn't have been more beautiful! Pictures of the activities we participated in below:

Overnight Scout Camping Trip

Last weekend was the 11-year-old scout camping trip. Spencer and Joshua both went. I sent the camera with Josh and told him to get some really great pictures. When they got home he told me he didn't take very many pictures. He's not as shutter-crazy as I am. These are the stimulating and thrilling images that Joshua captured on film!




Another campout in two weeks. Look for more exciting camping pictures to come....

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