Happy Birthday Big O!

Our Owen turned 9 yesterday and with that came an entire day celebrating!

It started out with bacon and cinnamon streusal muffins for breakfast.  It was a muffin recipe I had not made before. Owen said they were "weird, but good."  I'm not sure what that means.

Breakfast was followed by lunch with Mom and Dad at Pizza Pie Cafe, which was then followed that afternoon by a party with yelling and active boys.

Pizza, cake, presents and candy later, all the boys were satisfied and happy as they went on their way home!

Owen 
- Loves sports
- Does not love taking piano
- Loves the early bird schedule
- Does not love wearing pants
- Loves playing with friends
- Does not love taking practice spelling tests with mom
- Loves being crafty
- Does not love tomatoes and mushrooms (he's no son of mine!)
- Loves knowing exactly what/when things are going to happen
- Does not love uncertainty
- Loves Legos
- Does not love his eczema and allergies
- Loves asking a lot of questions, especially "What if" ones
- Does not love vague answers to his questions
- Loves wearing sports apparel and his Nike shoes
- Does not love reading out loud
- Loves meat, meat and more meat
- Does not love putting on lotion after his shower
- Loves stonewalling when he doesn't want to do something
- Does not love putting his shoes and backpack away in his cubby
- Loves being very active

Pictures & Words

Yesterday, Owen opened up iphoto and was looking at old videos of himself.  After he had gone to bed,  I sat down at my computer and continued the trip down memory lane and looked through some of my old photos.  A lot of them made me laugh, some made me tear up and others made me shudder (Think Owen and his naughty toddler years.)  I stumbled upon these pictures taken in April of 2009.

I remember taking them, but I do not remember the story behind them.  Did they all just pile in my bed or did I put them there?  Were they singing a song?  What are they laughing about? What are they doing with their arms?

I don't remember.

I checked my blog to see if I had written about it.  Nope.  I even asked Taylor who has an amazing memory if he remembered.  Nope.

Even though it is impossible to record everything that happens in my family,  it just reminded me about the importance of 2 simple things.

Memories fade.  Quicker than we oftentimes think.

A simple picture and a few words are priceless.

The pictures don't have to be fantastic and perfectly edited (case in point).  The words don't have to be funny, eloquent or witty to be of great worth. 

I must remember.  Simplicity is very effective in getting things done that are important.

Oh, those curls he used to have.  How I loved them.

Ben Ben and his silliness.  It can't be beat.

I can't think about it too long.  This boy is a man now!

What can I say about my Chasey love? Keep it simple. Love. Love. Love.

The memory trip was fun, but now its time to get back to the present.  There is a fight I need to break up downstairs. :)

My Favorite Pastime

I love this time of year.  The weather cools down, the leaves start to turn and my garden is over flowing with tomatoes.

I love these little babies.  Sweet 100's.  Anytime I get the munchies I just step out my back door, pull them straight off the vine and pop them into my mouth one by one.  They are delightful.

To me, this is what summer tastes like. 

3 weeks and counting

Have I mentioned how busy the past two weeks have been around here?

Up until this point I have managed to avoid all 4 boys participating in a sport at the same time by alternating seasons that they play. However, I knew that at some point I wouldn't be able to avoid it.

The other day as I was working on my schedule and coordinating practices, game times and carpools, it dawned on me what I felt like. An air traffic controller. Kids coming and going constantly to practices and games. Add in scouts, piano and an occasional birthday party and it gets nuts! Sometimes I have to use some serious brain power to figure out how to get everyone where they need to be. Maybe that says something about my brain power.

The good news is that it is only like this for 5 weeks and I am 2 weeks into it.
I don't schedule much during the winter for this exact reason. My family needs downtime and togetherness. For us, winter is the perfect time to stay at home and hang out together.

Good thing I have all this extra time during the day to work out the schedule. Until then I keep my calendar close by, my cheering voice ready and my phone handy for all the carpools.

Labor Day weekend

On Labor Day weekend we made a quick camping trip up to our lot.  Now that there is a port-a-potty up there for the workers, it is doable for me.  I refuse to camp without a toilet.  I know.  I'm spoiled that way.

We did the simple things.

Ate tinfoil dinners because we love them.

 

 Owen decided to dig a hole because he wanted to.  No other reason.  He worked on it all night and by the time he was done, Chase could stand in there with his head at ground level.

And the boys did a little target practice with an air rifle.

That's it.  The end.