Too coordinated?!

Every once in a while we think back to the crazy random things that seemed to happen each time we went to Riverfront Park in Spokane. One of the crazy stories came up the other day...let me tell you about it, then I will ask for some participation on your part...

So, one day we went to the park in Spokane, and we had just been swimming, so Wes was wearing his swimsuit and a matching shirt. He walked over to the bridge to check out some fish that a guy was catching while the kids and I played at the water thing. While he was there, a guy stopped and started asking Wes about the fish the other guy was catching. At first Wes just thought the guy was interested in the fish like he was, but it became apparent that the guy was not at all interested in the fish, just Wes. So, Wes just said something about his wife and the guy pretty promptly lost his interest.

Yes, Wes got hit on at the park by a homeless gay guy-seriously. Honestly, it weirded him out a bit and ever since then he is always a bit leery of wearing his swim suit anywhere-even when we are going swimming. As a matter of fact, the other day when we were going to the swim party, Wes purposely put on his green hat with his blue/grey swim shorts and his shirt so he would not look too coordinated on the way to the swim party.

So, why do I blog about this now?! Here's why...

If you read my deep thought about weight loss, you may have noticed that I mentioned that Wes runs (or roller blades) quite a distance every evening. Well, the other day as he was getting ready to go, he worried that he may have been too coordinated. I took pictures of him so I could post them and ask-what do you, the readers, think? Too coordinated? Note the shoes have all the colors he is wearing in them...

I will make a poll on the side so you can vote on whether Wes is too coordinated on his jogs...

I Roll...

So, K rolls well now, and prefers to sleep on her tummy, so even in her boppy she tries to turn onto her belly. Here is how I found her when I went to check on her during nap time the other day. FYI, I did not leave her like that initially, nor did I let her stay that way. But here she is... So, I turned he back on her back, and look at her right away again...

(notice how annoyed she looks that I interrupted her comfy nap...)

I am pretty sure this look is saying "Mom, do NOT turn me again-DO NOT!!!"

Catching Up...Photo Shoot...

I am still not quite done with Breaking Dawn (less than 100 pages to go), but I thought I would take a break and blog to catch up! Expect many blogs right now! Here's a good starter. Last week Wes took Kindle and had a little photo shoot with her in the living room using our guest pillows. Of course the other kids (except Armour) did get in on the action! Here are a few of my favorite pics:

E & K S (Please note E & K in left side background-cute!)
3 of the buddies
again...
As he had just woken up from his nap, Armour was a bit grumpy and here he is refusing to be in any pics with his sibs...
"I not dood it mom!"
meaning-I won't do it!
Cute girl

This next one cracks me up-look at that look on her face! Hilarious-also take note that evidently Wesley's eyebrows are a dominant trait as they all have them-down to the smallest Who in Whoville...



Funny that she was wearing blue and posed on blue pillows, but hey-check out her eyes-they really pop!!

Finally...

It has arrived....don't call me, I'm reading!!

Deep Thoughts by Beckee J: Weight loss

Do you ever wonder why it is so hard to lose weight, especially after having a baby? This morning as I ate carrot cake for breakfast, I sat and pondered the same thing...I guess we'll never know why it's so hard...

And why does it seem so easy for husbands to lose weight? Maybe I'll ask Wes to think about that as he is taking his nightly 5 mile run tonight...

Kids Q & A

Questions as submitted so far and the answers from these kids:

Question submitted by Natalie:

When are you coming to our house again???

S: "I think maybe close to my birthday."
E: "I think maybe on MY birthday."
A: "Because I want to go get ice cream."

Also, what do you like best about Nebraska?

S: "What I like best about Nebraska is that there are tons of mountains and no tornados...or wait, never mind, that's Spokane. What I like about Nebraska is that there are wonderful trees and wonderful houses."
E: "I love the people of Nebraska."
A: "Because I don't know, but I love my house."

What kind of car do you want to drive when you grow up?

S: "A pink truck."
E: "A pink one. A pink van."
A: "That car" (He's showing me a hot wheel that is an old turquoise station wagon."

(Who knew they had such crazy taste in cars?!)

Questions submitted by Stefanie:

1. If you could only choose one dessert, would you rather have cheesecake or chocolate cake?

S: Chocolate cake
E: Chocolate cake
A: Cheesecake

2. What is your favorite thing you did this summer?

S: "Hanging out with my brothers and sister before I start all day school."
E: "I liked getting a bunk bed!"
A: "I like to play with Kindle!"

3. If you could be an animal which animal would you be?

S: "A baby Lion!!"
E: "A mommy giraffe."
A: "A Whale"
K: I pretty much am a monkey...

4. Do you prefer Hannah Montana or Spongebob?

S: SpongeBob Square Pants
E: Hannah Montana
A: "Sponge Bob's pants"

5. Did you know people pose as letters? I would like to see each of you try to make the first letter of your name with your body... I figure Mom can work the camera.

We will do this later today!

Happy Birthday Xiaxia!!

Today is my Xiaxia's (that's grandma in Greek) birthday! She is one of the spunkiest, most energetic ladies in the world! She is also one of the kindest most thoughtful people ever and you've never seen someone that cares for her loved one with such patience and love! She is amazing and I only hope to be like her when I grow up. It has been a rough year this past year, but I know it has been wonderful in some ways too. I think we all learned to appreciate life and family, to have fun, and we learned to work hard!

I know this next year will be great! Enjoy it! We want to wish you a very, very happy birthday!!

Thank you for teaching me to be the person I am and for being an example of the person I am trying to become!

Solace wants me to say that her great Xiaxia is the best! Ender wants me to say that he loves you so much! (Army is asleep, and Kindle doesn't speak yet, but I know they love you too!)

Happy Birthday Xiaxia!!

From the Mouths of Babes-all about Sol!

Last night I wrote in my journal notes and drawings about what I wanted to say on the blog. Here are some pictures of my journal:

This is what the pictures and notes mean to me. This is what I wanted to say. I want to tell you a little about me.

1-I smile all the time.

2-I love flowers more than anyone.

3-I love princesses more than anyone. I am a princess.

4-I love my whole family more than anyone else, ANYONE! More than all the people.

5-I will always love tomato soup, even when you're not alive.

6-I am really smart! I even know how to spell! I can sing my ABC's. (mom's note-she is singing them now)

I hope you liked my blog, and if you have any stuff you want to tell us just comment on this blog!

Love,

Sol

Kids Take over!! Getting to know the younger generation...

Solace has asked me if I will put up a new blog thing where the kids can tell me what to type and I will. She also wants to be able to have you, the blog readers, ask the kids questions and they will answer them. For example I will ask them all right now what their favorite food is and report it to you:

Solace: "Tomato soup, eggs, and even fruit and vegetables."
Ender: "Um...macaroni. Macaroni and cheese, and even tomato soup too. And don't forget a grilled cheese sandwich with the soup!"
Armour: "Um...what's for dinna?!"
Kindle: Although she does not respond verbally when asked, I can see in her eyes that her answer is breastmilk.

So, in a moment, Solace will tell me what to type for her first blog. If you have a question for the kids, please leave it as a comment here, and I will ask them and post it. I hope you all enjoy this new blog section...

Bunk Bed!

So, we were going to buy a bunk bed when we arrived here, but as it turned out had enough expenses that we were unable to (plus bunk beds are WAY more expensive than I thought once you get the mattresses and everything especially...) So, Anyway, we put it off for a while, but that means Armour has not really had a bed, he has been the floating boy, sometimes he would sleep in Sol's bed while she slept in the guest bed, or he would sleep in the crib while Kindle used the playpen, or for a while he just slept in the play pen (until he announced one morning that he wanted a bed again!). So, anyway, all this bed swapping has made our bed routine totally screwed up. SO , it was getting to the point for me with Sol starting school soon (like 11 days!) and everything that I wanted the bed routine back set in stone and solid! So, it was getting very important to solve the bed crisis of '08, but we cannot afford the $450+ that bunk beds cost. I had an inspired thought, I thought "Hey lots of my friends have raved about Craigs list-maybe I should look there." I did, and by that night I had committed to buying a bed. As I said, we had not enough money, they are $450 plus once you get the bung frame thing and the mattresses and everything. So, This one was listed at $200 obo with both mattresses (the bottom is actually a full size futon). I told them I only had $150 and wondered if they would take that, and they did! Yeah!!! So, we took all the car seats out and the next night Wes went alone in the van to pick up said bed. This is what is is supposed to look like assembled: This is what it looked like in our house all day yesterday until Wes got home and we could put it together (not something I could have done alone-especially with 4 kids in tow!)

(Yes-that is K in the Boppy in the background...)

All put together...(Sorry no putting it together pics-Sol was not there with the camera-she was banished to the basement with her brothers to watch Enchanted so we could work!) Note the looks on Wes's face in these next 2 pics at the kids arrived upstairs to look at their new bed and to "help."
"I LOVE my bed-it is so efficient!!"

(When asked by mom what efficient meant, he told me it means "comfortable")
We put the sheet on the beds, and A wanted his another way-he is quite picky-this is him trying to put them how he wanted them (which I am still not clear on what his vision was-in the end we took the top sheet off and just let him sleep on the bottom sheet with his favorite blankie...)
Still lovin' my "efficient" bed...
Just checking in... Still working on the sheets...
STILL working...
Yeah-we are cute!
A was told he couldn't climb up-we knew this wouldn't last long, but thought maybe at least like a second or two...we were wrong...here he is at the top milliseconds after we explained that he can't go to the top...

Just Chillin...

Thought I would share a few cute pics of us just hanging out...

King of accessories?! Yes, I think so...

In this old post, I showed how Army's outfit that day consisted of a belt and a diaper. In a comment, my sister-in-law noted that he can accessorize...boy was she right! He dressed himself again yesterday, and check him out:
Note the little lunch box thing and the hat. Also note the socks and shoes he picked and put on himself. The next picture is to make sure you notice the shirt is actually inside out which when I tried to fix it, he told me it was just like he likes it!!