August 2011

I know it's been a while. Since I haven't posted since July, I thought it would be a good idea to update by months. Feel free to read at your leisure... Life has been hectic in our house and I barely have time to sit still. August was mid-winter for us. The house gets awfully cold with no insulation, but with space heaters we made do. I would often find the kids in the morning sitting on the floor eating breakfast while the heater would blow on them. The sun wouldn't come up til almost 7, so we all slept in, keeping warm in our beds!

Ammon and Kyle got fishing poles for their birthdays. I think they've used them once since then. It was a great idea. I hope we get to use them more soon!

Most weekends from March to August were spent at the Rugby Union. We had a good time figuring out the sport. Ammon was particularly keen on bashing fellow players.

Ammon's birthday party. We had a safari theme. I have never had such a time trying to get 6-year-olds to sit still and play a game. I was pretty exhausted after that. 

Aaron's favorite chore. He loves helping me with the dishes.

Sheep shearing at the Ekka. The Ekka is basically the state fair. It was sooo crowded, but was really fun. I especially loved the animals. The kids were more excited about the rides and the showbags. The showbags are bags put together by different commercial companies to sell their stuff. It's incredible how much money you can spend on junk. I got sucked into buying one for each of the kids. Pink Panther for Ashlee, the mega candy thing for Ethan, Kyle got a Batman one, Ammon a Bakugan, Aaron got Barney and Wyatt...hmmmm...maybe Wyatt didn't get one :( Ammon got called out of the audience at the sheep shearing to help with a game. He loves the stage!

 Love the Smurfs...

 The equestrian events were really cool. We watched while we waited for the fireworks to start.

 Kyle's 9th birthday party. I love trying new cake designs.

 Ammon plays soccer too! He's pretty athletic. Here's a funny story. At the athletics carnival this year, he was running a race and lost his shoe. He was a little confused as to what to do. He started to run back for it, then decided to just finish the race with one shoe. Wish I would have gotten it on tape. I thought I did, but somehow it got deleted :(

 Ahhhh.....my cute kids :)

Ashlee also auditioned for the cast of Mary Poppins. That was a great learning experience. She made it to the 4th call backs before being eliminated. I was awfully relieved I must say. She was disappointed, but we agreed there would be more opportunities later.

That's all of August that I can think of. I'll try to update for September tomorrow night. Lots of traveling that month and some family visits.

Updates...

Here are a few pictures...



Sorry...It's been a combination of computer issues, mommying, home maintenance and church stuff keeping me from blogging. I think I might have the computer issues figured out. I'm sort of cruising with the mommying and starting to figure out the church stuff a little more. The home maintenance will never be done, so I'll sit here writing while Aaron takes his bath and write.

Where to begin. I'll just start with this week. I got back from the US on Monday morning. What an amazing whirlwind trip. I'm so glad I was able to see my brother marry Brooke. What a great couple they make. It was nice to see all the family even for just a short time.

Robert did a great job with the kids and thanks to Juli for braving 10 children for 2 days. The kids had a great time. Robert took the kids to the beach for a couple of days. It's so good for him to have a chance to be one-on-one with the kids for a little while. Usually it's me telling him all the cute things the kids did while he was working. Now, he got to tell me some cute things they said or did while I was gone. The kids wanted to watch a movie on Sunday night, so Robert turned on "The Testaments" for them. It shows Christ being crucified and then as the Resurrected Lord visiting the people in America. Robert looked at Ammon during the depiction of the crucifixion and he was starting to tear up. All the kids were. After the movie, Robert asked him about how he felt. He said "I just got a little teary." I love it when their hearts are touched. They often feel the Spirit without even knowing it.

I can't remember how Monday was spent. The kids were still off school. Tuesday, life began again with loads of laundry. We went to Harry Potter 7, part 2 at Midnight. It was amazing! So many people were dressed up. Juli made capes for her two kids that were awesome. Staying up late was not good on my jetlag though.

I've been noticing the trees lately. They bloom at different times of the year. Right now, I've seen a lot of orange flowers. I love trees and flowers.

Aaron helped me with cleaning this morning. He's getting good at spraying products all over. Ashlee's been home from school the last couple of days. We took her in today and it looks like she's got tonsilitis. Hopefully, she'll start getting better tomorrow after the antibiotic.

I think I'll be going to bed soon. Still a little jetlagged. The kids are watching "Charlotte's Web". I love that movie.