Seth Turns 12

Twelve is usually such a big deal, but with the church moving up the ordinations and youth group participation, I felt like Seth already kind of did all that 'big' stuff. Plus COVID kind of ruined any big birthday plans. But thankfully he had a few friends who were able to come over for some water fun and video game playing! 

I had no idea this was going to happen.

Just perfect timing on Seth's part!

And, despite my concerns, Benjamin did NOT kill Seth moments later. 

Lighting the candles with Gabe's careful supervision.

Out they go!

(Notice Jon holding the towel to keep the wind from blowing them out?)

Since Seth's birthday was on a Sunday, he got to have his no-restriction device time on Saturday instead. Thankfully Timmy & Jon were there to entertain him. 

Bunch o' nerds

Timmy stayed the night and woke up in time to make sure Seth's birthday morning was extra special:

A very almost-teenager morning smile with his Krave birthday cereal:

Opening gifts with several siblings around for immediate assistance if required:

He's getting to the stage where he mostly gets clothes, money, gift cards and candy, so not much to photograph. We were supposed to take him and Gabe to Hershey Park for our gift, but...COVID. Next year!

Elijah Life

Little Stinky... 

You finally decided to start walking...the day AFTER we got home from Grandpa and Grandma's house. Jerk. You went from no walking to all walking in the space of one week. Still won't talk, though.

Friends talk about what an easygoing kid you are, and they're mostly right. You're pretty easygoing as long as you get to go whatever YOU want to do. And usually that involves being outside. Even better if it also involves being naked:

Check out that diaper tan!

You love corn. Like, LOOOOOOOOOVE corn. Like, if Dad puts corn on the table and you can see it, you freak out and go into hysterics until you get some. And then you shovel it in like it's candy. You would eat nothing but corn if given the option.

You HATE the word 'no.' Your siblings like to make you scream/cry/rage by saying, 'No!' to you repeatedly. Even if it means nothing in context, you are SO offended by it. 

One morning I was off doing something and Dad had you at home. Somehow you started looking at old family pictures. Every time you saw a picture of me you whined and pointed at me. Like I belong to you and you're offended that I'm in the pictures and not with you at all times. 

Who wore it better?

You still look so much alike that it's scary...

Whiny babies who refuse to take a second nap get put into the back carrier.

Then taken out because they are too heavy. 

Just a little snack after breakfast...

Seth had a fun kayaking activity at Eden Mill for YM. We decided to tag along and let the kids play in the water. The Knoxes joined us as well, so it was a perfect evening. You especially enjoyed the mud:

Eventually we just gave up on the diaper entirely:

Other fun things: you're starting to love cars, which is adorable. You like to take exactly one nap a day, usually around 10 am. This is not cool. You rarely sleep past 6:30 am. Also not cool. You've learned how to open markers and now think it's your right and privilege to open all markers on sight. You love your shoes because shoes = outside. You still bite me entirely too often. I love everything about you, little Stink!

July Things

One day for history we learned about embroidery. Much to my surprise, all 4 kids wanted to give it a try! 

Seth's staircase

Aaron's spiderweb

Catherine's road

Elise's rainbow of colors

Catherine was intrigued and asked to try real embroidery. I pulled out one of the cloths Grandma Danice gave me decades ago and she went to town!

Advanced embroidery 201

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that if you hold one, you must hold both."

We went tubing with Knoxes and Kraczeks and it was insane and so much fun and I may have had to save a couple of my kids from drowning repeatedly (I'm looking at you, Elijah). Next time: only with Jon around!

Our most favorite babysitter/friend was heading out to Utah for school. She was so sweet and stopped by to say goodbye before she left. We hadn't been able to see Kaia from closer than 6 feet away since March, so it was SO nice to get some last minute snuggles and hugs before she left. I feel like I lost a friend and daughter all at once. 

With COVID and the awfulness of virtual school, several of our friends have turned to homeschooling. We have LOVED getting to spend more time with such awesome people! Tessa invited us over to learn about the Susquehannock tribe and to make pottery with oyster shells. And this is why I LOVE homeschooling so much! 

Random Elise moments:

Much like Catherine's "Poor Girl Named Sara", Elise has an alter-ego named "The Girl Who Lives In The Forest" (actually the trees behind our house). She shows up occasionally and asks about "the girl named Elise who lives here" and tells me about her mom who lives in the woods. 

A typical Elise experience:

Jon: "Why did you put soap on the mirror?"

Elise: "Because I was washing my hands and I accidentally put soap on the mirror."

This girl is going to be the death of us, but at least it will be an interesting death!

Aaron Life

Time for another installment of Aaron's Works of Genius:

Ah, Piranha Plant Hands Man!

I'm not sure, but I think that's a positive battery terminal in the middle of his belly.

Trees.

Trees with SO MANY EMOTIONS.

Have you ever seen such longing?

At first I thought it was a wraith.

Then I thought maybe it was Jesus.

And now I'm confused and feeling kind of uncomfortable.

What a lovely bag of 'My Poop.'

The "OOH, Oman" ghost of doom.

I feel like this drawing is the personification of my feelings most afternoons.

I'm not sure what curse word is 6 letters long and starts with 'RU', but Aaron seems to know it.

Horns?

Giant muscle arms?

You decide!

I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure this is the intro to Avatar.

One day he wanted a lava lamp. Due to several random circumstances, I happened to have all the necessary ingredients to make one that very day. He was delighted and we didn't make THAT huge of a mess all over the counter and floor.

I wish I could spend just one day seeing the world through Aaron's eyes. I sure love my best friend!

Catherine Life

Aunt Lori sent taffy!

Good thing I love Catherine enough to share...

A piano story: Once upon a time we had a piano. It was my piano when I was little. It was my mom's piano before that. And my grandma's before that. And some old church's piano before that. It had literally been moved across the country and back but still kept on working great. Sturdy little thing. Not very pretty, but with a nice sound. 

Out of the blue I got a text from a friend. She was moving and didn't want to bring her piano. No one used it and she was sure the move would destroy it. She wanted me to take it. For free. Her piano was fairly new and super pretty. I absolutely said yes. 

And so, for a week or so, we had two pianos in our piano room. Catherine would pop from one to the other, trying them both out.

Catherine and new piano

Catherine and old piano

After several days, she announced that we needed to keep them both. The new one was prettier and had a muffler pedal that actually worked. But the old one just sounded better (new piano was pretty horridly out of tune). Old one had a nice, bright sound. New one was more muffled. 

It was hard for me to decide as well. The sound was better, plus I had a pretty strong emotional attachment (4 generations playing on one piano!). But in the end I couldn't pass up a generous gift from a friend. We passed our piano along to a friend who immediately painted it white, much to my horror. But it made it easier in a way--it's completely hers now! 

New piano, which will hopefully sound better after several tunings and lots of Catherine playing.

Found in a random notepad:

Catherine signs her name in plant roots, apparently:

Latest obsession: ninjas. She'll come down wearing all black clothes and with her face wrapped in scraps of black cloth. She even demanded a short haircut so her hair wouldn't stick out the back of her head covering. Most days she'll practice her stealth by spying on me or Jon. Or hiding from Elise. 

Catherine drew the ninja and blood.

Seth drew the bear. 

Not sure where the label and 'im so fat' came from...

Still climbing all the trees.

I didn't even take this picture. 

A friend did when she spotted Catherine way up in the tree at the playground.

Every morning we read aloud for 30 minutes outside together.  Catherine usually chooses to listen from up in her favorite tree. One day she grabbed my phone and was snapping pictures. Apparently this is what I look like from 15 feel in the air:

Tree selfie:

Despite church at home, Catherine still chooses to get dressed up every Sunday for our 'church at home'. She took this picture one morning. She's definitely growing up to be a beautiful girl.

My camera roll is full of bug pictures, I have to force her to shower, and she likes to sass when she's tired, but I still think she's a pretty amazing person. I'm lucky to be her mom.

To WV We Go

Original plan: visit Daniel & Wendy during the summer while we go see the last Hill Cumorah pageant.

Post-COVID plan: meet Daniel & Wendy at Mom & Dad Blood's house for a week.

Turns out WV is full of giant spiders.

Or Catherine just zoomed in really, really close.

Someone was a bucket of fun to drive with for 7 hours.

Notice the tear in his eye? 

Lots of hysterics. Not much sleeping.

Selfies were the only thing that brought him joy.

Thankfully when we got to Grandpa & Grandma's house, there was JOCELYN.

Jocelyn was his most favorite of all time.

Thankfully the adoration was mutual.

"This is my Jocelyn and I will never leave this place."

My project while I was there was massive: raid all Mom Blood's pictures and scan them.

I think I was scanning for literally three days straight:

Timmy was not scanning.

Timmy was taking over Middle Earth.

Thankfully I was able to get it done before we left. 

Next project: raid old computers for digital photos.

In the grand tradition of all my kids, Elijah spent the entire time pushing this broken wagon in circles around the house. Even better was when he could con someone else into pushing HIM around in the broken wagon:

Dad had just gotten home from a hospital stay and wasn't feeling too great. He took a lot of naps on the couch. Thankfully Elise was inclined to participate in said nap-fests:

Aaron found a most magical item in Grandma's playroom: a toy where you push buttons to reveal the answers to multiplication facts. He was enthralled. Before we left he petitioned Grandma to borrow it. She was unsure, but after sitting next to him and going through the entire array, she relented. (Said toy is not in Elliot's possession as he and Aaron were very clearly made from the same mold). 

Grandma, shocked that we would try to steal her precious multiplication toy.

It was stupid hot the entire time we were there. We tried to go on a hike one morning, but it was pure humid misery. Thankfully Mom & Dad's neighbors had kindly offered to let us use their pool while we were there. IT WAS AMAZING. The kids would have gone absolutely nutso without their daily swimming fun. We are so grateful to Ms. Kathy and Ms. Rose!

Little pool mermaid

So many Bloods (and a dog) in the pool

Elijah hanging out with Ms. Rose.

He almost fell asleep on her lap.

Stinky and Daddy swimming.

Aaron leads a good life (until Elise jumps on him). 

Sometimes I got to go to the pool as well.

Once scanning was done, that is!

On Friday we brought a bunch of food over to grill. Perfect (almost) 4th of July!

Elijah was pretty sure Jocelyn needed to come home with us.

Grandpa & Grandma with 10 of the grandkids.

Jon with Mom & Dad

Time for another awesome 7 hour drive!

All fireworks/parades were cancelled, so we didn't have plans for the 4th. Knoxes invited us over to watch their fireworks, but we just sent Seth & Catherine. We were hoping the littles would just fall asleep, but no. 

Apparently fireworks make Seth dance a jig.

WHERE IS JOCELYN AND WHY ISN'T SHE HOLDING ME??!

It's so good to be home...