Dutch Wonderland

For years friends had been telling us about a theme park called Dutch Wonderland that was designed for kids. It sounded like a great idea, but the price just seemed excessive for a kids' park. But a combination of a Groupon deal and Aaron's birthday finally gave us the nudge we needed to go.

Jon and I split the day: I took the big kids for the morning, then we swapped and I had the littles for the afternoon. My kids are not daredevils by any stretch of the imagination, so I may have had to use coercion and/or deception to get them on a few of the more intense rides. They ended up loving all of them except the old wooden roller coaster (which even I didn't enjoy as much: too much brain-joggling).

On the log ride (which ended up being their very favorite)

Bumper cars

Seth may have caused a traffic jam with his excellent steering abilities.

Ready for the dive show and braving the splash zone.

Seth chose to sit literally as far from the splash zone as possible.

Riding the Sky Ride with Daddy.

Elise had no fear of heights and constantly crawled around during the ride.

I was sure she was going to fall out under the guard rail.

Very proud that they were big enough to ride solo.

I put the youngest three on this ride thinking it would be a fun, relaxing ride.

I didn't realize it would whip them around the corners crazy fast.

Aaron took a few turns to get used to it, but Elise... Elise was ECSTATIC.

She was laughing hysterically every time it whipped her around.

Riding the train together

Monster truck drivers

There was really only one ride in the park that was super thrilling: Merlin's Mayhem. But, of course, my kids were terrified of it and refused to go on. Jon finally made a deal with Seth: if he went on the ride, we would go to Golden Corral for dinner (Seth's favorite). I didn't think he would do it, but I guess food is a good motivator! 

We all had a blast! Definitely worth doing at least once or twice while our kids are little. The day after we got home Elise was already crying, asking to go back to ride the "baby rockets" (her favorite). Good thing we happened to get free tickets to go back again!

Elise

This little girl is still just too much of everything. Her teachers always tell us how sweet and cooperative she is: guess I should be grateful she saves all of her...enthusiasm for home?

Reading about dinosaurs has the same effect on me, too.

Sorry, Aunt Bubba.

August means time to start prepping for school to start (Nooo!).

Elise was happy to model Catherine's backpack:

Another "ready to go to bed" ensemble:

And yes, she did sleep in her swimsuit.

Several times.

Sometimes (most times) it's just not worth the battle.

Aaron & Ashley

We were so excited to have Aaron and Ashley come visit for a few days! In fact, (my) Aaron was so enthusiastic about sharing a room with Seth during their visit that he literally emptied his drawers and moved EVERYTHING in:

Things didn't quite go as planned for their visit, sadly. We enjoyed a lovely dinner/date night on the bay (Timmy joined us as well) while our favorite Kaia watched our kids. Unfortunately, Elliot managed to hurt his leg on the trampoline while we were out. It was serious enough that Ashley took him into Urgent Care the next morning to see if it was broken (it was very similar to Catherine's broken leg trampoline injury). Thankfully it was just a sprain, but it did put a damper on our plans to hike Kilgore. 

We loved playing games, getting to know Annie, and getting my computer fixed (thanks, Aaron!). Wish we could do this more often! Also, I should take more pictures. This one that Catherine took of Annabelle is all I have from that entire weekend...oops.

Catherine

Catherine's big goal for the summer was to learn how to sew. I am not a seamstress, but we did manage to get a pillow made! Thankfully I was able to find her a sewing class in the fall so she'll be able to learn from a pro.

I didn't manage to get a picture of one, but at some point Catherine and Uncle Timmy were discussing unicorns and realized that "corn" was involved. We then had several weeks of Catherine drawings involving corn cobs with eyes and unicorn horns. Uni-corns!

She is still my most willing food-cooking helper. She can make Pasta Roni and Ramen all by herself (minus the draining of boiling water). I love having a Catherine around!

Aaron

Aaron discovered numbers and math and now they're his favorites. I found this popsicle stick with a cryptic Aaron equation hanging around the house and had to laugh. 

Possibly my favorite kid drawing ever.

I think it's related to Plants vs. Zombies, but it's basically just pure awesomeness. 

Still rocking The Hair.

I sure love this sweet boy and his uniqueness!

Summertime!

We had so much rain this summer that we didn't get a chance to do a lot of the things we usually do during the summer (like the beach). Thankfully the rain paused long enough to give us a lovely afternoon at Rocks with friends!

Minus the part where Elise stepped on a bee (she refused to keep her shoes on) and would only be comforted by Bente (she kept shoving me away when I tried to take her from Bente), we had a blast! 

Luke and Elise.

These two spent most of their time trying to escape down the creek on boogie boards together. The water was deep and fast enough that I really had to keep an eye on them to prevent drownings. Two little troublemakers!

Seth and the other big boys spent all their time jumping off this rock. The water was so fast that they had to start swimming about 30 feet up the creek in order to get across in time, plus start swimming for shore immediately after jumping off in order to make it back across. Catherine also (after much persuasion) jumped off the rock and immediately swore she'd never do it again. 

Happy water baby!

Since our neighborhood is super lame and there are never any kids home during the summer, we have to improvise. Our friends host a summer camp at their house every year called Camp Apple Juice. They have an amazing backyard with huge trees and a creek. They schedule a few activities (like a craft) each day, but most of the time the kids are just roaming free in the yard and woods. It's heaven! 

One day he will regret these faces.

One day.

Elise wasn't actually able to attend camp since she isn't potty-trained, but I tried to stick around after drop-off for 30 minutes or so to let her play. She LOVED it! Next year, little one! 

I wasn't sure how Aaron would do, but he had a blast! He loved swinging on this cool swing with Lauren. Myka (one of the counselors) told me that Aaron was one of her favorites. During snack time the other kids would eat and run, but Aaron and Luke would come sit at the table with the counselors and eat their snacks slowly and purposefully. Aaron was also deeply concerned after the first day that there was no apple juice at Camp Apple Juice, so Myka grabbed some for the next day. (The family's last name is Wine, but they thought Camp Wine would probably not be the best option for a kids camp. Thus, Apple Juice). 

Catherine was fully in her element here. There were several other girls near her age that I thought she would play with, but, true to form, she was Miss Independent. She did spend a lot of time following Gabe & Seth around. She seems quite comfortable running with the boys. 

The best part of camp was the toads. They were everywhere. Much of their time was spent catching toads and building habitats for them. There was also some toad-stealing from other groups of boys. It was pretty hilarious to look in their "habitat" (5 gallon bucket filled with moss, rocks and wood) and see it swarming with toads! 

We LOVE Camp Apple Juice! Can't wait for next year when I can send all four kids!

And, finally, the new trampoline was assembled! Seth happened to be at a friend's house when I was ready to purchase one, so Catherine and Aaron got to choose the color. He's been much more accepting of the pinkish-purple than I expected. Now we need to buy more anchors to prevent having to buy trampoline #3!

Seth's Birthday Interview

1.) What is your favorite color?
"Hard to say. I have lots of favorite colors. Maybe gold and silver? It's really hard to say."

2.) What's your favorite food?
"PASTA RONIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!"

3.) Who's your best friend?
"Gabe. Jack."

4.) What's your favorite movie?
"Captain Underpants" (ugh).

5.) What's your favorite toy?
"My computer!"
Not electronics:
"A Wii?"
Still electronics:
"Perler beads!"

6.) What's your favorite game to play?
"Imagination games (meaning games he makes up)."
Board game:
"(corny jokes about 'bored' games), Settlers of Catan."

7.) Favorite thing to play on electronics?
"Minecraft."

8.) What's your favorite snack?
"Marshmallows!"

9.) What's your favorite animal?
"Let me think about that one. I don't really know."

10.) What do you want to be when you grow up?
"Video game tester!"

11.) What's your favorite song?
"Demons (by Imagine Dragons)"

12.) Favorite Primary song?
"I have no favorite Primary song. They're just all sorta kinda boring."

13.) What's your favorite book?
"Ares!" (He's been reading graphic novels of the Greek Gods).

Seth at Ten

Dear Seth Man,

Just like I knew it would, ten years just flew by. The next ten will be even faster. I'm trying to soak it all in while I can. I know it's just a matter of time before your world expands and I'm not as close to the center anymore. 

You are still a happy, helpful kid. You want to please. You're still slightly allergic to work (especially math) but you get it done eventually, especially if you're motivated by electronics usage. 

Electronics are still your favorite. You bounce back and forth between Minecraft and Roblox. Fortnite didn't hold your attention for some reason. I was shocked, but pleased. We don't need another reason to be online. 

When you're not on devices (which is frequently, thanks to time limits), you love playing war games with blocks in the basement, reading books, or making various weapons out of Perler beads. 

You love people and ask daily for someone to come over. I love that you can ride your bike to Jack & Gabe's house whenever you want. You make friends easily. 

You are definitely a ten-year-old boy with all the obnoxious, loud, silly stuff that goes with it. Sometimes I worry about you, but then I see other boys your age and realize it's all part of the fun. I'm enjoying the little boy stuff while I can: I know it's not long before you'll move on to big boy stuff. Good stuff, but harder in a lot of ways. 

Thank you for being my easy kid, helping me figure out this parenting thing before some of your strong-willed siblings get to this stage. 

I love you, Seth Man. Happy birthday!

Here's what you've been up to recently:

*Our friends got two new kittens recently. We think it must have triggered something because you're now suddenly allergic to cats and dogs. 

After a few hours at Jack's house with his dogs

*We had a LOT of Ikea furniture to assemble for our office. I offered to pay you to assemble the shelves. Minus the couple of times you got too confident and put things on the wrong way, you did a great job. 

Power tools are always fun!

*Since the ward split, we haven't seen much of Angelina. After talking about it for years, we finally got together! It was fun to see the two of you together again!

2009:

*We've had lots of cardboard hanging around recently. One day you and Catherine made riot shields:

Action shot:

Tragic (but heroic) death on the battlefield:

At first I laughed and asked you why you needed riot shields.

Then I came downstairs and saw you protecting yourself from attack:

She may be small, but heavy wooden blocks still hurt when thrown across the room!

Maybe I need a riot shield, too...

*You are very inquisitive and are constantly asking questions. Google Home has made my job a bit easier now (unless we're in the van).

*You hate being alone. We gave you a later bedtime when you turned 10, but generally you just follow me & Dad around while we get ready for bed (until Dad kicks you out). You're supposed to turn off lights at 9:30, but since it's not enforced (we're in bed before that) I think you stay up until who knows when reading books. Just like I used to.

I can't wait to see what your future holds. Here's to a great tenth year!

Double Digits

Instead of sugary breakfast cereal for his birthday, I surprised Seth with these: 

They were quite a hit!

He also asked for raspberry mousse instead of cake.

I think I like this growing up thing!

It took a few days to get to present opening (much to Seth's dismay), but he was quite pleased with his spoils. We just gave him money, which is what he wanted. He's easy to please. 

The next week he had his party. I gave him the option to do something big with a couple of friends or a simple party with lots of friends. He opted for lots of friends. 

We had a water party in the backyard with waterballoons, squirt guns and sprinklers. That's really all is takes to keep boys entertained! After lunch they came in for a couple hours of Minecraft together. We may have overloaded our WiFi. 

This time he wanted cake.

Rice Krispie cake.

Done.

Seth and company.
Gabe, Jack, Aaron, Catherine, Khan, Benjamin, Nathan & Seth.
And yes, they are all just as special as they appear in this picture.

I still can't believe my oldest is 10!

Swim Team

Another summer, another round of swim team! I tried to get Catherine on board this year but she declined. I told her next year it's not optional. 

Seth gets ready to swim backstroke

Ready to race!

I didn't get many pictures this year, but I was proud of Seth for working hard and not complaining about the early mornings (practice was M, T, Th, F at 7:15 am plus Wednesday evening meets and Saturday meets at 7 am). He swam his first breast stroke this year (got disqualified for incorrect arm motions, but that's pretty standard), plus actually started off the dive block for every meet. We still love Coach Doug and the team and hope to have several more years with the Piranhas!