Katie-girl went to a Seahawks game to sell programs to raise money for campfire...

Brother TJ discovered that if he helped sell those programs, HE would get to watch the Seahawks!


So, Dad was willing to take them both. They worked hard, had successful sales, then was able to watch the 2nd half of the game....

...and there goes the opening of the 2nd half kick return...

HE'S AT THE 50, the 45, the 35...

...HE'S AT THE 10...no one can catch this guy...

TOUCHDOWN! ~insert crazy crowd noise~

101 yard kick return

only to repeat a 99 yard kick return

for a secure WIN!

WOOT WOOT!!

umm, yes, we love our seahawks~ I'm a die hard fan since 1983, weathering the storms, and fanning those flames of VICTORY! =)

btw... Katie-notsomuchafan,lol, but she was quite the trooper!

LEARNING, LAUGHING, LIVING with the LITTLES!

Our Seasonal Tree will see many changes throughout the year...

Activity Time includes a variety of fun things to do...

...



A place where hands-on activities reflects a literal meaning...

Children are small for such a short time;
smile,
embrace the fun,
enjoy the writing on the walls!
(or back, in this case =)

FLAT BRAT CHARLIE...


is our summer time guest!!

Charlie belongs to a fun family in another state. We are going to spend our days showing Charlie some fun sites, sharing our interests, and spending time doing every day activities.

psssttt....Where's Charlie? Why playing with puzzles, of course.

~Thank-you BAILEYS!!!
He has had a very warm welcome (you must of sent the sun with him), and he has dove right into the flurry of activities around these parts. =) Blessings to you all!

THIS HAS BEEN OUR SUMMER THUS FAR...
ok, today, is actually sunny, but the last few weeks have been exactly like these pics!

Our summer break officially begins on Jun 01.
With all this rain, my kids are getting restless!!

With school out, am I suppose to get a break too?..

Hmmm... must find something for the kids to do...

must create a routine to base our days off of...

MUST have FUN!

well, I am working on a flexible summer schedule. If I don't, my kids would stare at a TV all day.

Ummm, have you seen what's on TV nowadays, really seen?

and even if we DID find something of value,
have you seen the commercials? really?

cheap entertainment, maybe;
but NO thank-you.

Ofcourse there is always exceptions ;^)
as the WORLD CUP ROCKS.

but then again, commercials, ugh!
(I won't even mention the ones that really disturb me, blech!)

OUR SUMMER DAY

Up n at 'em- our morning routine
Fitness Fun- gym or nature walk
Yard Work- 30 min.
Backyard Basics*- ball, sandbox, chalk, tag, etc..
*(This is where Mom can get inside chores done)
LUNCH/DEVOTIONS
Power Hour - French practice/ nature journal/ silent read
'nap' for Bryson, quiet time for Andrew
= GAME time for the rest. no, not video ;^)
the good ole board games, uno, dominoes, cards, etc...
FREE time by 3 p.m.

Schedule is subject to change due to-
such things as field trips, dental appointments, park days.

Geocaching and Letterboxing will be a point of interest...
when the weather cooperates. ;^)

THAT WAS THEN......

THIS IS NOW!!


School is officially out for the summer.

The kids took the year-end-make-the-state-happy tests last friday.

Our to-do list:

1) continue French lessons.
2) start weekly visits to the library.
3) grow a garden.
4) begin a "flat Stanley" project w/ a few families overseas.
(details later)
5) explore biology hand-on style.
6) get re-focused w/ daily devotions.
7) a handful of college showcase soccer tournaments.
8) weekend outings fishing w/ Dad.
9) to find a class, camp, or VBS to participate in.


How's your summer going to look?

FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT...

so what could we be watching on this Disney Themed night?...

With a house full of 7 guys, a Grandma, and a Princess?

~

SNOW WHITE of course!

~



(the boys were great to hang out w/ their sister...gotta love it!)

WELCOME SPRING...

...HELLO backyard!

It is Science Day!

And since Andrew & Bryson were learning about the letter Aa this week...

We thought aerodynamics was a great Science Topic of the Week!

There is never a lack of participation in our house when creating paper airplanes!!
~

Much time went into internet research, along with time consumed at the assembly of their latest productions...

Out of the
MANY
photographs
taken,
I was only able to capture one plane in flight...clearly I am not the photographer in the family! Nick, our photographer, was occupied with test piloting!

What do the littles do while the rest of us watch football all day?

Katie-girl was quite creative making a spinning merry-go-round w/ Tinker Toys...

Bryson was quietly, yes quietly, playing with a Bristle Block airplane that brother Andrew shared w/ him!

I could not get a good shot of the "airplane" ...

because...

...it was flying at jet speed!

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW....
NOT!

Snow seems to be falling everywhere...but here!

Sooo, we headed to the park!

I chased these two, played pirate ships, went on a nature walk, and had a blast.

Baby Bryson, on the other hand, was entirely content to play soccer with his older brothers!! An hour of non-stop ball dribbling, shot taking action was all in his game!

RECESS

Nice BIG field to play in!

Watchin' TJ....

Ready to take a shot?

Nope... the Goal Keeper is not ready!

WHAT A DAY WE HAD...

Our
"plan"
was to go to the Zoo... first thing in the day so it would not be so crowded, of course. We woke up late, then it started to rain, but we ventured out anyways... the drive is only about 30 minutes, and there became a glimmer of hope as the rain subsided. "zoo parking FULL", so we follow the SHUTTLE parking lane, which winds us up, and around, and through the 'zoo parking', back around, back down to the on ramp of the freeway we just got off?? down several miles to the next exit, that I missed, in which I turned around at the following exit, to yet again miss the exit...round 3? sheesh! only to discover that the whole right lane of traffic on the freeway is going to SHUTTLE zoo parking, which, BTW, has NO parking! hmmmm, no thank you...

Plan "B"... Out of This World Pizza! My first visit ;^D For those who don't know us (me) well, let's update:

Me> outgoing, friendly, extrovert...but... when it comes to my many kids, I am not fond of crowds. I am known for making my children (and any who may be in my care) all wear the same very bright color, and we use the 'buddy system' of having to have pair up.

Umm, yeah, this was not the case today. This place is a huge warehouse style building where you pay-to-play. Entertainment for all; bounce houses, a huge play structure, rock wall climb, kitchen & doll area, babies only area, little race cars, etc... It was crowded, no tables available. I had my whole lot of kids, plus Fred's little sister (15), along with my girlfriend and her 2 kids... so we were bold enough to ask if we could use one of the empty party rooms...and WOO HOO we scored (thank God, literally). The pizza was great, everyone had fun. Andrew did get popped in the nose once by some other little boy (yes, on purpose, ugh), but he regrouped well. Baby Bryson had fun too. My wonderful friend Angie use to be a nanny, so she is gifted at making things fun for all! She even gave me "the look" when I started tidying up the baby area, so I just plopped down on a near by couch and relaxed, lol. We stayed for several hours.

Our day did not end here, oh no, we continue...

At home we....

learned how to play Cribbage
rearranged toys

Later we...

had friends over
played w/ Lincoln Logs
used a microscope
played word games
had a pillow fight
played follow-the-leader
wrestled
enjoyed breakfast for dinner
and had craft time! (Note: the picture)

On a side note:

After much consideration and research, Nick and I headed to the city for a camera shop, in which we had to have the camera we wanted ordered and shipped to us??? sheesh, I coulda dun that myself on the internet, eh? So you lucky viewers will soon have quality photos to see, hopefully very soon, lol!