spring!!

7:23am. You all ready for this?!

Donovans first hike up pine mountain walking all by himself!!

Road trip brotherly Love

Josiah: "Donovan, smell my foot, smell my foot! It smells like cotton candy..."

D smells outstretched foot...

Josiah: "does it smell good?"

Donovan: "naaaaw"

Josiah: " haha! I tricked you..." 

Brotherly love at its finest. 

Morning gifts...

Bad night.

Someone stayed up late last night, coming out of his room saying he was "done." We walked around the corner this morning to see he had woken up this morning and brought his trash can with him...

Saving the world

#harddayfightingcrime

Stuckinapruiswith3kidsfor7hoursandnocdplayer

"Josiah: Kaila, how many philistines fought Sampson? 

Kaila: 3

Josiah: No. 1,000. 

Kaila: OH! I was going to say that. I knew that. 

Josiah: aaaaaarrrghh, Kaaaila...Kaila, who won the first battle...."

"Ryan: Donovan has cute little feet. 

Kaila: unless they cut them off, then they're dead."

"Kaila: Daddy, do grandma and grandpa have enough beds for us? 

Ryan: yes.

Kaila:No they don't. 

Ryan: Ok Kaila. 

Kaila: No, we are going to sleep at the race tracks. On the grass. The race tracks on the grass. 

(Nobody in the car knows what the heck she is talking about, there are no 'race tracks' anywhere)

Josiah: Will the grass be comfortable Kaila? 

Kaila:  No."

Bundle up!

"Bundle up cuz it's June and today it was 104 degrees! Throw on the snow gear, it's 80   Degrees in the house and time for bed!" 

        At least  I think that's what my kids were thinking tonight...   

Trump Card (not the presidential type)

Kaila has unwittingly stumbled upon the Ultimate Trump Card, and believe me, she's playing it every chance she gets.

  Example:

Josiah: Mommy's flowers are beautiful, aren't they?

Kaila (in a know it all voice): I know who's flowers are more beautiful....GOD!

Josiah (in a know-it-all voicw): I know that Daddy is stronger than mommy! 

Kaila (in a know it all voice): I know who is even stronger...GOD!

Camille: We have alot of books.

Kaila (in a know it all voice): I know who has even more books...GOD!

Ryan: Wow! You two are fast!

Kaila (you get it): I know who's even faster... GOD!

 I asked her:

Camille :"Who is the strongest person in the world."

GOD

"Who is the smartest?"

GOD

"Who has the silliest  faces?"

 GOD

Saving Childhood

I'm sure there are books out there about this stuff. I haven't read them, but I think I would probably like them. They would be about letting your kids play in nature, letting them have free time, letting them rest and not having someone hovering over them all the time. In fact, I'd like there to be a book called  called "Saving Adulthood"  where grown ups get more of that stuff as well. I think I would like that one too.

Honestly though, I'm not complaining, I think Ryan and I actually do a pretty good job of living like that.

 I remember back in the day, learning about how developmentally important free play is to children (I majored in Psychology). Now as I raise my children, I see opportunities everywhere to "Sign them Up" for great things. In reality they are all great things. There's soccer, gymnastics, piano lessons, dance, karate, sewing, swim lessons, awanas, t-ball, pre-school, kid-hiking groups, library story time...and the list goes on ( most of these things have been options for a while now and my kids are only 4 and 5! Not  even in kinder yet). Of course, I'm not opposed to doing any of these thing. We have signed up for and loved many of these great activities.

It's just that I am thankful that I am in a area, and have a home where our kids have the option of, (or are forced to take), ample free-play time. It's restful, it encourages creativity (and messes;), and it helps build my kids relationships with each other.

I recently read a quote, it was referring to having "too many toys," having "too much information," and "too much speed," without any down time. It said:

"Too many choices erodes happiness, robbing kids of the gift of boredom which encourages creativity and self-directed learning."

When it comes to my kids and my childhood experience, I  agree. 

I have seen boredom give birth to amazing creativity in my kids. I'm quoting my mom verbatim when I tell them...

"OK, if you can't find anything to do, I'll find something for you to do, and it will involve cleaning the house with me."

Win-Win Right?

Sometimes they clean -Win. 

Often they run away at the terrifying prospect of folding laundry screaming 'Nooooo!" and their imaginations take over-Win (I get it kids. I get it. If I could I would, and sometimes I do!). 

We literally had a town made of paper and masking tape in our closet for weeks..a house, mailbox, car...We have a hole dug to the other side of the world by an oak tree. We have a 20 gallon bucket of 'treasures,' commonly known as rocks and sticks, that has been guarded upon penalty of death.   There is always an art project secretly being stashed in the trash can, proudly displayed on the fridge.

Creativity can be exhausting from a parent's perspective.

         This summer I'm doing a study on the Sabbath. I've done one like it before with Ryan. Keeping a day of rest (however you define it) really made a big difference in our everyday lives.

I'm looking forward to what God will teach me about rest this summer. It comes just in time because next fall we enter a new season of life.... Kindergarten and soccer season : )

Beliz

I can't seem to move on with my blog-life or pictures without posting this momentous trip. Ryan and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary with a trip to Belize. It was awesome. A little bit of beach, a little bit of jungle, a little bit of central american culture, a little bit of history, and a little bit of luxury. Looking back now, (it's the end of May and we went in March), I see it as a sweet adventure with my best friend, the man I am lucky enough to call my husband. I love that when we get away from everything, we still thoroughly enjoy each other's company, laugh together, and adventure together just as well, if not better, than we did when we first met, a little over 11 years ago. 

Home

...my flowers and my yard, my happy place.

My happy place

Communication Skills Course: Child-Led Training in Non Verbal Communication for Adults.

This is a rigorous training schedule. The course lasts for many years and the training is practiced almost every night. Participants are guaranteed to improve their Non-Verbal Communication Skills. 

Ry and I have bought into this course. Here's a sample from Wed night's session.  Ryan and I are tired, we are sitting at the dinner table eating gross leftovers. This whole conversation is directly recorded from a mere 3-4 minute sample of this course...

Camille: " Ry, how was your day?"
Ryan: "Good, what did you do today..."
Josiah: "Mama did you know I watched this movie...sooooo, there was this zebra and a lion so a zebra was like right here and he was like and there was this bridge thing and penguins were flying and then a lion was he passed a bush there was a lion in it the lion was creeping up on him which was his friend then once they came to the stop place the zebra looked around and the lion scared him. um and then there was this school and the school came out to came out, actually a whole crew of friends to do this stuff there was a lion zebra hippo giraffe which the giraffe didn't do it, but the other people did and they all took pictures of it and then what happens what happens next what happens ummm and then they were on a boat and they were all in boxes because they were getting taken back to their beach and i love their beach and thats where their zoo was and instead the driver of the boat got tied up because penguins were loose and the penguins were trying to scare them except they were trying

Kaila (wiggling her bum on the chair to the tune): "I like to move it move it, I like to Move it move it..."

Josiah:  and ummm and then they got sent to this island where uggn and there was this place and they went inside it and there was this whole. crew of people and they were singing I like to move it move it...

Donovan: "AArgh! Mo (aka, more water)" 

Kaila: "I like to move it move it, I like to Move it move it! They were all singing it, lets Dance it!! (jumps up and begins dancing around watching herself in the window reflection singing "move it move it")

Josiah: Can I tell you more yet? and then...and then there was this baby of little types of animals, actually let me tell you something, there were all types of creatures singing it...Like this

Josiah: (now dancing) "I like to move it move it..."

Kaila: (still dancing) "they were like, I like to move it move it...."
Josiah: "I like to move it move it.." 

Kaila: "I like to diddo it diddo it..."

Ryan: "Come sit back down, and it's mommy and daddy's time to talk now..."

Josiah: and then and then and then there was this tree that could turn cotton candy on the tree and the lion could turn the cotton on and off on the tree, and thats as much as I know actually. 

This course has done wonders for our non-verbal communication skills!! Ryan and I have gotten really good at desperate eye contact, exhausted head bobs, sympathetic grins, secretly plugging our ears for a moment in silence, sharing a moment of mutual amusement with suppressed laughter.... 

he's got game...

We chose the jumpsuit, he chose the chain...

          

With his hipster man-bun, Donovan is ahead of us all, he's got some serious game! 

Daddy Daughter Sweetheart Dance

Kaila talked about her last dance with Ryan all year, he is such an amazing dad/friend/husband, and our littles are turning out to be pretty amazing themselves!

Josiah and I went on a date out to dinner and frozen yogurt, and Donovan made out pretty well himself with two middle school babysitters ogling over his cuteness and pandering to his will all afternoon. 

...baby steps...

...they don't even realize what's in our backyard yet...

The Facts of Life

I just looked out the kitchen window to see the two kids staring, frozen, at the ground below their vantage point from up in the play structure. I looked to see what could possibly keeping a 5 and 4 year old standing still for that long, to see a rooster and a hen mating. She was not pleased.

I watched my kids for a second then tested them by asking " hey!? What are you looking at?" Josiah turned to me and gave me the rundown...

"He's putting fertilizer on her. She was running  all around before because she didn't want him to put fertilizer on her....daddy told me that"