the Olympics

 Our adventure challenge this week was to create our own Olympics, we had to come up with 5 events, keep score and hand out medals at the end. The time commitment said 1 hour but we took 3. The events were more time consuming then originally planned. We did a 1 loop dash, tennis ball target shot, lightsaber battle, long jump, and a paint-a-thon. It was all fun and FREEZING to be outside. Should have thought that through better.

This is the winners circle. 

Obviously there was an age advantage and poor Anchor was so disappointed he didn't win any events. So he recruited all the medals at the end. It was good to have everybody participate and try their best.

Thank goodness we have Jack for all the puppy loves that we need. And all the dog hair.

We had a busy week doing all the things we always do. Brevick has his first basketball game this Saturday so he is really looking forward to that. We were asked to watch pets for our friends up the street so we have to get up at 5:55 AM and we are all running a little slower than we thought we would be. 

Funny story, Charley has tons of time in the morning before school so he spends it getting all of his responsibilities done and then messing around on the Nintendo switch. I must be reminding him of the clock often because now almost everyday Anchor asks if he can play the switch and if I say no he instantly responds "But I will watch the clock!" Which he does. He can totally tell time on a digital clock which is a blessing and a curse. 

Ben is gearing up for tax season and starting to get busy at work. William is gearing up for class selections, internship applications, summer jobs, and Rugby season so he is one busy dude. Good new, starting next week he can drive at night!!

Thursday

 Well, everyone was disappointed today to realize upon waking that it was only Thursday not Friday.  Or better yet, sleep in Saturday. It's just been one of those weeks that goes by slowly. We are busy but not much is going on if that makes sense. Brevick started basketball this week which he loves. What he doesn't love is that some of the boys on the team named them the "Bum Bum Boys" he is mortified. He is also about a head taller than everyone else on his team. He is getting so tall. William is loving rugby and is looking forward to when they can start tackling. I think they are waiting until it is nice enough to play outside because right now they are in the gym and I think that would hurt. Charley got Mario Odyssey for his birthday on the NIntendo Switch so he has been working hard to best that game. Emmerlyn is loving Young Women's activities during the week but was dismayed that during dodgeball yesterday she got hit in the back. By Charley. She also is working hard to take care of her two pet hairless rats. She is super funny with them, kind of embarrassed that she has them but loves them dearly and wants to tell people about them. Anchor is working hard in preschool and on Tuesday he made his teacher text me a picture of him so I could know what he was doing. 

He was painting snow. 

Ben and I are just hanging in there trying to survive the dog hair, drool, and endless chaos that is our household. So there is that.

William is working on his Macaron making skills. They are coming along but the practice ones taste delicious.

This week our adventure challenge was to go play the claw machine. This goes against my soul as a mom but after we drove around town trying to find one everybody got a turn playing. Nobody won anything which helped to settle my point. It was fun to spend the time together so thanks Allyn for the book.

We got to babysit Quinlee and Montgomery for a little bit on Monday. They got to go in and meet the rats. They loved sticking their hands in the cage and petting them. It was super cute. The rats loved the attention and the opportunities to escape. 

If you zoom in you can see that Emmerlyn created this adorable little nursery for her little baby doll. She did such a good job making a crib, changing table, toy box, and bouncer chair. She is so creative I am always impressed.

We also did some screen time and Pollee took the opportunity to lay with her two least favorite people in the family. (Because they don't always remember that she has feelings.)

New year new Us.

or something. We have been pretty much doing the same old stuff.

Like packing Pollee in blankets on the couch (that poor dog puts up with so much)

Allyn gave us this adventure challenge book for Christmas and the first on that we did was to try something you have never had before blindfolded and then guess what you ate. Everybody did it and we had a good time. They are excited to see what comes next.

We got some good snowman snow so that kids have been busy.

They made 5 I think in total. Pollee was super stressed upon first seeing them and wouldn't go outside. She warmed up eventually

The rats took a field trip to the living room. They are so cute, Emmerlyn really loves them.

Emmerlyn had her first YW activity and they made wedding dresses. She got to be the model. She had a great time and is loving being in with the older kids.

Anchor is staying busy with his Christmas toys. He got this ice cream stand and spends a lot of time putting together sundaes and forcing people to come buy them.

 William started Rugby this week and so far he loves it. he is excited for when they get to start hitting people.

Happy Birthday Charley!

It's official, he is a teenager. I am not quite sure how that happened so quickly but it did. He wanted an ice cream cake for his big day which I was like "ok I will just get one from Dairy Queen" and he was like "uh, mom, we don't have a dairy Queen. " Which is true. I found one nonetheless so it all worked out. 

He has grown so much this year taking in hard school classes and full contact sports. It's amazing what he can do when he wants to do it. He is working on staying more organized and planning ahead for things which is awesome. He loves to play video games, board games, and computer games, and he has recently mastered the rubix cube. He is helpful when he wants to be and is an expert at avoiding doing more work than absolutely necessary. That is a skill that I don't love but I do think it is essential for a well rounded life. He has a really sweet side to him when he shows it and I LOVE his sense of humor. He is always up for a good dad joke. He takes great care of Jack and has been doing great as a dog owner. 

Happy Birthday Buddy.

 

Christmas 2022

 Quick Shots from the Nativity scene we reenacted on Christmas Eve. Emmerlyn was Mary, William was a shepherd, Charley was an innkeeper, an angel, and a wise man, Brevick was Joseph, Anchor was an angel and Baby Jesus, Pollee was a sheep and Jack was a donkey. The baby yoda squishmellows in T-shirts were also wise men. 

Anchor wore his Jeans for Jesus because "they kinda sound the same."

It was a little wild.

Emmerlyn left this note on my bed on Christmas Eve. I am amazed at her sweet thoughtfulness, I think I want to be just like her when I grow up. I am lucky to be her mother. 

Christmas Eve Doggy bunkbeds. Don't feel bad for Jack, he doesn't like soft things in his kennel, he just pushes them out. Pollee on the other had likes to fluff up her bed every night.

I love taking this picture in the quiet stillness before the chaos erupts and the quiet is filled with laughter. It just reminds me that there is a time and a place for everything and if we look for it we can find all the facets of life that we need. 

6 am always comes so early but these kids were ready to go as soon as those numbers changed on the clock.

We opened presents until about 8 am then we had to stop and get ready for church and go to church. Anchor had the hardest time with that, he was ready to go and very cranky about having to stop. The kids got some fun presents like scooters and bikes, cameras, and their favorite, an Xbox.

Anchor got this little ice cream stand and has been making delightful treats ever since. 

We had a relaxing Christmas Break. Honestly we didn't do much of anything but we did play some games, spend time with family, enjoy screen time and catch up on some much needed sleep. The kids were not excited to get back on the school bus this morning.

Thanksgiving and Stuff

Per the usual, late fall was busy enough for all of us. The kids had plenty of fun activities and of course the Christmas Prep that gets thrown in there on top of it just makes for just the right amount of chaos. 

Here is a quick rundown of some of the highlights.

Anchor had a Christmas program at his school. He did a great job and sang all of the songs. As soon as he was done we raced to the other side of town where Brevick had HIS program. (I thought I had a picture of that one too but it seems to have gone missing.) Brevick did such a good job and even smiled while he was singing. He later said that he chose not to have a speaking part because that is just way too much memorizing for him. I know he worked really hard with his class to learn all the songs and I am proud of his efforts.

Anchor has been spending a lot of time with the legos switching between the big legos and the little legos. He likes the big ones because you get so much more bang for you buck like in this swan sculpture, it's almost life size. 

I love it when my kids play with the nativities. Anchor snuck in this little praying man to see the baby Jesus and he fits just perfectly. 

 

We had some screen time too. Computers just suck everyone in.

Anchor spent some quality time with Pollee.

Jack figured out he can use the curtain's to tuck himself in. He does the often.

Ben and I had a date night where we made indoor smores and watched a movie. Naturally we had 5 extra wheels for the smore making portion of the date.

Cool dude tablet time.

Brevick rocking a wig while on his tablet. He doesn't look half bad with a head full of fluffy hair.

The kids were dying for watermelon so I got some. This is how I found William after he had helped himself.

Poor Pollee, she is such a good sport with him.

William all prepped and ready for his Christmas concert and being photo bombed by Jack.

William got to play in an all area tuba ensemble during the festival of trees at ISU. He had a great time and it was fun to see him get involved and stretch his skills a little. (He is in the black and red plaid shirt in the back with the santa hat.)

Emmerlyn and Brevick made turkey cupcakes all by themselves to get into the Thanksgiving spirit.

William was showing me that he could still hunt in all of his layers, it just looked a little stiff to me. He has been really getting into hunting and loves going even when it is cold. One day he fell into the pond. He didn't like that. It took some hot chocolate, a warm shower, and a heating pad to get him warmed up.

Anchor was helping with the Thanksgiving prep and got these two cups out specifically for him and Montgomery. 

We had a great Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa Rydalch, Simeon, Fletcher, and Dora Jean and her family. Games were played, food was eaten and memories were made. 

Happy Fall