Quote of the day.....and then some......

While excitedly telling me everything about her first day of school (the assembly, her teacher, PE, the naughty boy in PE, etc.) Ains described her new friend Hannah like this...

"She's very kind. And she's very polite."

I'm not sure this should have made me laugh like it did. But it caught me off guard and I suddenly felt like I was raising an 80 year old woman. But I'm still very glad Hannah is polite. Although I'm not sure what she did to make Ains think she was polite.

Ains also told us that her teacher, Mrs. Harris, was nice even when she was mad. I'm thinking it could have been a rough day for her teacher.

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And now for a little scenario I have to share. It was most likely a fluke, but a great story either way.

The other day Emmie came crawling around the corner and I could see she had something in her mouth. So I said, "Emmie, what's in your mouth?"

She then pulled her little treasure out of her mouth and showed me.

So then I took it a step farther and said, "Bring it to me!"

And sure enough, she crawled across the floor and put it in my hand!

Crazy I know. I still can't decide if it was a fluke or not. But John and I both just sat there in awe as it all happened. And then John was sure to point out to Owen and Ains that Emmie had just made herself the most obedient child in the family!

First Grader at Last

Ainsley started first grade today. And for some reason I'm more nervous for this year than last. That could be because she only knows 2 kids in her class this year, neither of them well at all. And I've also heard interesting things about her teacher. And it could be because she's been nervous about first grade. But this morning she woke up excited for school and to make new friends. And didn't she just look adorable this morning?!

A whole day at school suddenly seems like a really long time. I can't wait to go get her to hear about her day!
And to celebrate the beginning of a new school year Emmie took her first steps last night!

According to John she took 3 steps twice. And I missed it both times! She won't perform on demand, only when she tries to get to her walking toy. She's been close to walking for a while now. So I knew it was only a matter of time. And I'm thinking we have quite a while before she's considered a walker!

Girls Day Out

Years ago I remember a friend telling me about how she took her girls to get pedicures and go shopping before School started each year. And since I'm a huge copycat...I took Ains to get a manicure and go shopping today. Since I'm not made of money we went to the beauty college for our outing. All I have to say about that is, wow. There are some very interesting people in beauty school right now. I don't' think I've seen so many tattoo's and so much crazy face paint and make-up in, um, ever. I was worried Ains would say something about it. But she didn't. And although the girls that did our nails were a little interesting looking, and obviously students, they were nice and we had a good time!

After we were all pretty we went to lunch at Arby's, as per requested by Ainsley, and then went shopping. We both got some cute clothes, and I spent too much money, but it was a fun day out. And totally worth it! I can't wait to do it again next year!

And just because, here are some cute pics of Emmie. Could she be any more adorable? I think not!

Decisions, Decisions............

We will have an extra check coming to us this year that we thought we would do something fun with. Usually we use it for projects or just save it.

So the debate began.

Should we.....

A. Go on a cruise for our 10 year anniversary.
(We've always wanted to do this and cruises are so cheap right now. Perfect way to celebrate a 10 year right?)

OR

B. Take the kids on a quick 3 day trip to Disneyland and the beach.
(We'd make it a quick trip so that we could leave Emmie behind. Kind of rude I know, but a 1 year old sounds miserable at Disneyland and if we left her behind we could really have fun with Ains and Owen. They are both just at perfect ages for Disneyland.)


Luckily our decision making and debate has come to and end. Our decision has been made for us. By the reality that is our life.

So instead of a vacation this year we will be getting the following....

1. A fence. Because ours blew over last night. Again.

2. A bunk bed. Because Emmie is still such a terrible sleeper that she has to have her own room. So Ains has to temporarily move into Owen's room.

3. A water heater. Because we like warm water. And our children have become accustomed to warm water. And we're worried they would revolt if we took that away from them.

I'm not gonna lie. I'm bummed. I feel like the couple at the beginning of 'Up'. So feel free to cry a little for us like I always do for them.

Maybe one day we'll get to go on vacation. **sigh**

Meet the Maid

Slightly haggard huh? That could be because of the myriad of duties she performs.

But she's getting a little feisty.

Today the maid took away juice indefinitely because she was sick of mopping the floor.

Ya, she's kind of mean.

Maybe even a little scary.

Quote of the Day

Tonight after watching Jumanji for the first time Ains pointed out......

"See, that's why you don't just open every game you see."

And then she said.....

"This is one of the greatest movies of all time."

I guess I always knew Jumanji was good and taught great moral lessons, but not that good, and not such important moral lessons.

Four

This little guy turned four on Sunday. It was a much anticipated event. He's been asking how many days until his birthday for about a year now! Okay, probably more like a month, but still, he's been anxious. Owen decided that his birthday meant he was king for the day. And he took that quite literally. Ains even made hims a crown. Here he is watching Spider Man while eating skittles and wearing his Batman cape. Ahh, such a life of luxury!

He had quite the birthday weekend. His birthday coincided with the Welch Family "stay-cation" this year. The whole family was in town. Michael even brought his girlfriend. Friday was pizza, s'mores, and a sleepover outside at the grandparents. Saturday was a bike ride on the greenbelt (that Ains and John missed because Ains woke up throwing up that morning). Then there was swimming, a bbq, and a movie outside on a big screen. It was a lot of fun and Owen thought the whole weekend was about him. And here is the one picture I got of all the festivities.....

Owen and his cousins looking at the fish at the nature center along the greenbelt. Breath taking isn't it?

John let him open one present a day early. His big boy bike. It's all he's been asking for. Other than his own tv and wii, a nintendo ds, and a few other minor things.

(That's Michael's girlfriend Courtney on the left. Good thing her name is spelled differently than our Kortney or that would be confusing :o)

Sunday the party moved to our house for Owen's little celebration. Sunday birthday's are kind of a bummer in my opinion. But what do I know. I'm pretty sure Owen had fun though.

He requested spaghetti for dinner (after I talked him out of mac n' cheese from a box because no one else in the family will eat that). He has recently decided that he loves noodles and rice and hates sauce. He even wants his pizza without sauce. So when he said spaghetti, he actually meant noodles. Yum!

He chose a Batman themed party (thanks to Batman Legos).

His day was filled with Batman, Spiderman, and Star Wars. A four year olds' dream come true.

The Life Jacket

A few months ago I bought Owen a life jacket. I knew we would be in lakes or rivers more than once this summer, so I decided it was time he had his own. He's been very excited to use this life jacket. So much so that on occasion he would wear it with his myriad of other protective gear while riding his 3 wheeler on the sidewalk. Lookin' good Owen.....Lookin' good!

Finally he had an opportunity to use his life jacket. He technically didn't need one, seeing as how the river we were in was only about 6 inches deep, but he didn't let that stop him. He fully submersed himself in the FREEZING cold water. I'm sure it was to check out the floating capabilities of his life jacket.

Days later he was excited when he was able to pull out his life jacket and use it again. This time however the life jacket was mandatory for water play. We spent the day on boats and jet ski's (courtesy of my ritzy sister and her in-laws :). Owen was very brave. But soon discovered he liked his life jacket more for swimming than cruising on the water. Let's just say that speed was not his thing. I did love it though when he held onto a handle every moment that he was in the boat. He thought of it as more of a ride.

And then, only a week later, he got to use his life jacket again!!! Lucky boy! This time it was for our little day trip to McCall. (Camping trip turned day trip due to my back suddenly going out. Boo.)

None the less, he had fun in the lake swimming, and playing in the sand on the beach. Pretty much a little boy's dream come true.

Oh, and Ainsley got to use her life jacket too. She was much more excited about speed than Owen.
And enjoyed her time in the lake and on the beach just as much as Owen.

And I got to use my life jacket too. I was joking when I took this picture. Ironically, we tipped over about 10 seconds after this was shot. So my life jacket got good use. I also used my life jacket a lot when I tried to wake board, after a 10 year hiatus. Lets just say I'm not able to do that anymore. And I have the battle wounds to prove it.

And last but not least, while Emmie had a life jacket made available to her, she currently lacks a neck. And therefore was very uncomfortable and hated her life jacket. So she spent her time on the beach in her pack n' play in the shade. She was very good considering she spent 2 Saturday's in a row in that thing. What a good baby!