Avery's Dutch 4x4 Tournament

 

Soccer season hasn't quite started yet, but a couple weekends ago our city held a Dutch 4x4 tournament for the under 9 and under 10 soccer teams. Avery was interested and we figured it was a good way to get in some excercise and also get excited for soccer season.

 

In this tournament, all the boys and girls play together which I thought was great. I knew Avery wouldn't be intimidated because she plays soccer with the boys at recess sometimes. Plus I figured it would help her be more aggressive. I used to play on a boys soccer team growing up so I was excited to see her play against the boys... she did very well! We had parents coming up to us really impressed with her.

 

You received points when your team scored goals and if you were on the winning team at the end of the game. There were five, 12-minute games all on miniature fields. After each game you ran back to the tent to see where you were playing next and what color you would be. We had brought so much stuff with us for the other kids to do that it was like we were packing up each time we moved! Luckily our last 3 games were all on the same field. In one of the games, Avery got slammed in the face with the ball. Seriously, it was bad! But she hung in there... even through the tears. She's so tough! She actually had a headache for the next couple of days.

 

After all the games were over, they tallied up all the points and Avery came in first place for the girls under 9! I couldn't believe it! She played good but she was also on some really good teams. She won a $5 giftcard to Blockbuster. All in all, it was a fun Saturday and got us all pumped for the upcoming soccer season!

Back to School!

 

I'm still trying to play "catch-up" on my blog! The kids started back to school on August 12th. It actually came pretty fast this year. Last year I remember thinking it was a long summer, but this year was harder to let the kids go. Austin started first grade and is now at the same school as Avery which makes life for me a lot easier! He is really enjoying his teacher, Ms. Mims and his class. Even though it's his first year, he already has a lot of friends both from his old school and neighbor kids. He adjusted very well!

 

Avery was, as always, excited for school to start. She got the teacher she wanted, Mrs. Hindman, and most of her friends are once again in her class. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not... but for Avery it is a very good thing! I can't believe she is in 3rd grade.

 

Avery has enjoyed helping Austin get used to her school. The first day she saw him out at recess and she ran up to him to give him a hug and he kindof shrugged away. I asked Austin why and he said he was playing and all of a sudden a big kid came running over to him and he didn't know what to do! I laughed!! He told Avery the next day if she saw him he wouldn't be scared this time!

 

Addie's first day at "school" was the next week. She just goes to a mommy's day out once a week but she calls it school. She LOVES it, and loves her teacher Ms. Jill. She had a hard time with the older kids going back to school but she stays busy now with gymnastics, "school", story time and music makers. Yup, she is doing gymnastics now... that will be another blog!

Addie's Birthday Dinner

So as I mentioned on my last blog, we took Addie out to dinner for her birthday. We actually chose Monterey's Tex Mex because they make a big deal out of birthdays. We kept asking Addie if she wanted them to put a hat on her and sing Happy Birthday. She told us yes over and over again. Until we told her the music playing was for her!! Notice the smile on her face in this picture... it didn't last long! Watch this video!


She didn't smile the rest of the time... but she sure ate her dessert!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Addie!

 

Randy and I came home from our anniversary weekend in Branson, MO on Addie's birthday. The kids were gone to church with my mom (quick side note: Thankyou Ed, Shirley, and mom for all your help with the kids so we could go away for a long weekend! We couldn't have done it without you, and it was such a nice break for me! I really appreciated it!), so we hurried around the house to have it decorated when Addie got back from church. My mom told me that Austin tried to sit in Addie's chair at church and she told him he couldn't sit there because it was the birthday chair! Too cute! Anyway, we had some cake for her but later that week we took her out to dinner and had some friends over for sundaes. She really enjoyed her birthday and loved all her presents! It's hard at this age because she has to go through all of her siblings' birthdays before it's her turn. She loved being sung "happy birthday" to, except when we went out to dinner (more to come on that). Happy Birthday, Addie John!!! We love you sooooo much!!

Looking back on 10 years...

Spending some time in Tennessee

We've always gone to TN for Thanksgiving, so finally we decided to go during the summer time to try out a new season that included swimming! Randy was already using vacation for a trip he and I had scheduled, so Joe and Lindsay said they would come down from ID and drive the 11 hr drive with me and my kids! I couldn't have done it without them! Here's a pic of them with the kids at one of our many stops along the way to TN.
Like I said, we had every intention of swimming lots... and we did! Our first day we swam, went home to eat/play, and then swam some more! Here's Austin and Kimball enjoying their "horse" noodles.
Amy and I tried to stay out of the pool (it was a little cool for me) so thank goodness for Joe and Lindsay who kept the kids entertained with lots of games. And take a look at Kinley and Avery's swimsuits! We had no idea they had the same suits!
Karrington had soccer camp every morning so she joined in the fun in the afternoons. Avery had to get in some "twin" action with Karrington too! That swimsuit was actually Kinley's though. Here is the trio doing their best "Charlie's Angels" move.
The next day was rainy, but that didn't stop the fun! Here is Joe bringing Addie back in from playing in the rain... she got a little cold!
Here is one of the cute pics I got of Austin and Kimball. I had another one of them going down the stairs holding hands that was adorabale too, it's hard picking and choosing between all the pictures I took! Believe me, there are a TON!
There was lots of dancing in the rain and twirling kids around in the rain. Lindsay is getting ready to take Avery for a little "helicopter" ride.
After playing in the rain, the kids came up with other things to occupy them inside. We watched lots of skits like this one with the "crazy legs" and others with "crazy hands" trying to feed and put makeup on eachother. It was a crack-up!!
There was also the "hair styling". Here is Addie doing Kimball's hair. But I think my hair was put in bows more than anyone else! And of course we had the piano playing and dancing going on in the house. The rain didn't slow us down!
With a break in the rain, Amy and I took the kids to the park to get some energy out. You can kindof see the rain cloud behind her.
Here are the girls on the tire swing. They had that going pretty fast... in fact I think we had some sick tummies after that!
This picture of Addie and Kimball shows the rain clouds a little better. Of course this is Addie's favorite thing to do at any park! The kids hurried to get in as much time on everything that they could before we had to rush into the van as it starting pouring!
The next day we decided to look for some indoor fun that the rain couldn't keep us from. We went to Bounce U, this huge warehouse of blow up toys. The kids had a blast! There were two huge rooms just full of fun inflatable toys. Here is Addie and Kaylee after going down the slide.
Kyson took Austin down the slide too. They also raced in the obstacle course and up the spider web to a slide, and played basketball in another toy and dodgeball in yet another!
And here's Avery and Karrington at the bottom of the slide. This was the easiest place to get pictures of the kids. This was fun for all ages! Joe, Lindsay, Kaylee and Kyson were playing as much as anyone else... and Ashton even made it into some of the toys! All we heard the rest of the week was "can we go back to Bounce U!"
Jordan and Jen came later that night... we were so excited they were able to come up from Georgia!! The next day the big kids went to Nashville Shores- a big water park. They had a BLAST and happened to go on a day that not a lot of other people were there so they spent a lot of time on rides instead of in lines! Here is Kyson, Lindsay, Joe, Jordan, Jen and Kaylee. Kyson and Kaylee made sure they stood on opposite sides so no one would think they were a couple! :-)
While they were all at Nashville Shores, we took the younger kids to Discovery Kids. It was so much fun. We stayed there until they kicked us out! I had to really narrow down the pics I took there. One of the kids' favorite things was this car. Avery and Austin put on their jackets and changed the tire, the battery, the oil and put on the muffler underneath the car. They even had a cart to wheel yourself under the car. And there was a gas tank to fill the car up. Lots of fun!
The other big hit was this market! It was adorable. Here is Austin and Addie picking from all kinds of fruits, vegetables and breads to put in their basket and take to the check-out counter.
Everyone took turns... here is Kinley checking out all the groceries. You turned the big wheel to bring the groceries to you. They could have done that all day!
And the moment Austin had been waiting for all week... THE BONFIRE!!! He was so excited when the night finally came. He was right there along side Uncle Joe helping him get the fire started. It took a little longer because the wood was wet from all the rain, but the eagle scout got it going! Here is Avery, Lindsay and Kaylee waiting patiently to roast their hotdogs!
Here is Austin enjoying his hotdog that he cooked all by himself. Once again, he made me some AWESOME smores! He was the first to the fire and last to leave! I had gone upstairs to take a shower and get the girls in the bath when I came into the bedroom and saw him crashed on the floor! I hurried and gave him a bath and he went straight to sleep. The next day he was asking to do it again!
We had such a great time!! We really appreciated Jordan and Jen taking some time off work to join us! It was awesome to spend more time with Jen and of course to see Jordan again. Thanks for keeping him in line, Jen!
I felt so lucky to be with my brothers and sister. Jordan will be leaving Georgia in December and this is Joe's last summer break before graduating BYU Idaho in December... so it was a great chance to be with them! Here's Joe, Amy, me and Jordan!
And we can't talk about this trip without bringing in a picture of Macy Gray!! We LOVE Macy Gray! I took a picture of Addie and Macy last November so I had to get another one of them and their bows!
And here are the kids right before we left to come back to Oklahoma! Thanks for the great memories. This was our favorite thing we did all summer!

Ashton's first time to Kiddie Park

 

Avery and Austin had left to Branson with Aunt Julie, Uncle Derek, Tanner and Grandma- so Randy and I thought it would be a perfect time to take the girls to Kiddie Park. We hadn't gone all summer because it was so hot and it gets so crowded and Avery and Austin are too big for a lot of the rides so its not too exciting for them anymore. It was finally time to introduce Ashton to the fun!

 

I was worried how Ashton would handle the rides. We started on the cars, planes, and then the horse and carriage. She did great!! She was a little concerned the first time she saw me walk away... but she adapted very well. The only ride she was a little concerned about was the ferris wheel. I love how she is holding on to Randy!

 

Every ride we put Ashton on, she loved! Even when she was probably a little on the small side! Addie was a big help- they rode most of the rides together.

 

This was one of the rides Ashton didn't make it on. Addie was very happy here because her boat had Dora the Explorer on it (you can't see it in the picture).