Merry Christmas! (finally)

Tuesday night John and I went to see Celine Dion in concert. Wow it was great! It was our second Celine concert, and as I'm a super fan, I loved every minute of it! The tickets, although, were a gift from John last Christmas happened to fall in our anniversary week. How exciting to have such a fun event that works as both Christmas AND anniversary! On our actual anniversary, I believe we have dinner and a movie (at home) planned. Ok, back to the concert.... she sang all the songs I like, and plus a few new ones that sound pretty good. She also did a tribute to Heart and Queen. We saw a few friends there, which was awsome, and either waved or chatted with them. Did I mention that we had an AWSOME time? It was such a good concert! Yay!

Look how we've grown!

The kids have really grown! I decided a group shot of all the kids was needed to document how big everyone is getting. Keira is almost 16 months now and a very active little girl. She loves swings, eating grapes and being tickled. She is learning to talk, and says about 5 clear-ish words that we can understand. Sariah is an active 4 year old. She loves to "read" books and rollerskate, her favorite food is burritos. She is in the process of learning to read short easy words through phonics. Katie John, almost 7, is doing well in school. She loves to go on playdates with friends, read books with mommy and play dress-ups. Katie John is happy that I'm sewing her Halloween costume this year, she will be Fauna the green fairy in Sleeping Beauty. Jonah is a busy boy. Between cubscouts, school and chess club, he's a happy boy. Recently he and his dad worked down at a neighbors' house, moving bricks and digging holes for about 5 hours (with a lunch in there), he came home super excited to be paid $.30 and 4 cookies. Our goal is that all our children grow up to be good workers, and Jonah is well on his way to learning how to work and the value of hard earned money.

So now you have an update on the kids and what they are doing. I just can't believe they are growing up so fast!

Quilt

Over the last month or so I've been working on a quilt for the Humanitarian Aid with all the scraps I have. I just made the top, but I'm excited for how it turned out. The kids (especially the girls) kept asking if the quilt was for them. I told them it was for another family who needed a warm blanket. They were happy with that answer, but quickly wanted to know when I was going to make them a quilt....

Miss Me?

We'll, it seems i've been neglecting my blog. It's not that we've not have updates to post.... it is that my camera broke (the button just popped right off) and I'm a little down about that. Suddenly my kids are super cute and doing wonderfully clever things... all undocumentable because I don't have a camera. GAG! My new-to-me ebay camera is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow (monday). Yay! Let's hope the kids are still doing cute stuff tomorrow!

(check out the new poll at the bottom of the page)

Bobcat Jonah

Jonah has officially earned his cubscout rank of Bobcat. He worked really hard and was able to pin me at the Pack Meeting this month. He is so proud of his accomplishments. He also earned several belt loops and badges. Good job Jonah!

(many thanks to Shannon for letting me borrow her camera)

River Cats -vs- RedHawks

Last night our whole family went out to a ballgame. John got the tickets from work, enough for all of us. So off we went to West Sacramento to see the River Cats play in their first playoff game against the Oklahoma RedHawks. We were in section 106 which is on the first base side in row 19. The seats were very good, the kids could see all the action. John and Jonah brought their mitts in case a foul ball came our way. It was amazing how many foul balls came our way, landing several times just a few seats away, unfortunately none landing in either glove. Plenty of home runs kept the action going as well as John getting on the big screen. Ok, Ok, it was as he was returning to his seat that he crossed the camera's path, but he was up there! To the kids delight, we ate cotton candy, ice cream, hot roasted peanuts and hot dogs.

Remember the Chicago "fanatical fan"? Well, it applies here as well. Jonah learned the art of "making noise" every time something exciting happened or the big screen told us it was time to "make noise" just the same as his dad. What a combo they were. By the 7th inning Keira was done, she had just passed her wild cranky won't sit still phase (that lasted about 3 innings)and just sat quietly on my lap for the rest of the game.

Jonah, still looking for that special foul ball, was surprised by a nice man (who had caught a foul ball just a few seats away) who handed him his ball. What a nice thing! Jonah's excitement could not be contained, he had a real foul ball! Katie John and Sariah had fun for a while, but soon tired out, we took a lot of trips to the potty and to the drinking fountain. We hadn't planned on staying the entire game, as it was a school night, but the game moved along quickly and didn't go into extra innings. On our way home all the kids but Jonah fell asleep on the short 15 minute ride home. I'm sure the kids will have great memories of our family trip to the ballgame.

Jonah hard at work

Recently Jonah decided he needed a new bike. He had discussed with us several times the possibility of getting a new bike. To his initial dismay, he would need to earn the money to pay for his new bike. His attitude soon turned positive when he discovered money jobs. Mowing the lawn is one of them. Funny story: John and I had talked about how much we would pay Jonah for each lawn. We figured $2 per lawn was fair, not too high, not too low. Meaning we'd be paying him $4 each time he mowed the front and back yards. When I sat down with Jonah to talk about how much we would pay, I said, " We'll pay you $2 to mow the lawn." And he said after pausing a moment, " One dollar a lawn, yeah, I think that's fine." A little surprised with his interpretation but willing to go with it I said, "Do you think it's a fair amount?" He said, "It's a lot of hard work, I sweat a lot, but I think it's worth it." Apparently $1 is big bucks at our house and I didn't even know it!

Jonah is a really hard worker, and mows the lawns with great efficiency. We really appreciate his happy attitude and gladly pay him his hard earned $2 each week.

Melt Down!

BREAKING NEWS! Yesterday, on an ordinary stove on an ordinary day, disaster struck the innocent. Mr. Taco Seasoning was quietly sitting after assisting with dinner in the kitchen. The night was quiet, the kids were in bed and the dishes washed. The air smelled of fresh baked brownies.... when suddenly a distinct burning sensation was felt by Mr. Seasoning. He couldn't move, the air thick with a burning, horrible smell. The heat intensified and began to take it's toll, there was no way out. The unrelenting heat badly contorted his once smooth exterior. Seasoning knew his time was coming to an end as he slowly slumped over.

Mr. Seasoning was later found by his associate, John Matthews, but sadly it was too late. After a quick investigation, it was determined that Matthews had set the oven to Self Clean and neglected to move Seasoning from the stove to the counter, his regular hang out. Mr. Taco Seasoning will be missed until his replacement arrives later this month.

Case Update: Mr. Matthews was charged with spice neglect and fined $8.00 in restitution.

Labor Day

On Labor day we went out to my sister Christina's house for a BBQ. Everyone ate, swam and chatted all afternoon.

(Keira and I are enjoying a root beer float together)

After a while Justin got the tractor out and a lot of the kids climbed into the scoop, then Justin raised it over the pool and the kids all jumped out. Katie John thought it was great and jumped many times. Even John got in and dove from the scoop. The funniest thing that day was when they tied “harnesses” around those big green bugs that Christina’s house has.

(this is Katie John's bug)
All the kids had one on a string and they flew around, just tied to the string, like a live kite. It was great. Katie John and her bug just walked around (because it couldn't fly anymore). She felt sad for the bugs on strings and wanted to keep hers as a pet, and wanted the other kids to stop being mean to the bugs. (of course the end result for most of the bugs was death)

Jonah was able to ride a mini motorcycle for the first time, and was actually a good little rider. He buzzed around the big field with great speed and won the admiration of his Uncle Jonathan.


Our day ended with tired but happy kids.

(John and Keira having a ball together)

CHICAGO ! ! !

On Wednesday night John and I went back to the fair for a Chicago concert. We sat in the "not so free" seats. It was a good concert with lots of songs that I knew, and of course John knew every song they played. John is a very fanatical fan, he’s the kind that likes to jump up waving and clapping and woo-hooing half the time. He sings along sometimes and is always having a great time even if they are not playing his favorite songs. Of course John bought a t-shirt (his 8th one!) and is wearing it to work today. We then got a chocolate frosty on the way home—yum yum. What a fun date night!

Off to the State Fair

Tuesday I pulled the kids out early from school and we all went to the State Fair. We got there about 1:00pm and immediately started off to have fun. The girls (and Levi who comes to play everyday) got temporary tattoos on their arms. Then the girls made “salmon egg” bracelets. They were actually orange beads, but they loved it anyway. Then we went off to the forest center, where for the first time we didn’t get a free tree. We don’t have anyplace to plant a non-productive tree. I only want fruiting trees growing around here. By the way my peach tree is as tall as the fence! We had a really great time on carnival rides. The kids each got to choose 4 rides. The first ride was a Dragon coaster which Katie John and Sariah went on, though a little scary, it was fun. Jonah chose a roller coaster ride in the “big kid” section called the Hi Miler and had a GREAT time. He did feel like he might fall out a little, but John kept a tight hold on him through the drops. I went on the swings ride. It’s the tamest “big kid” ride and I really like it. Jonah and Katie John, who went on it with me, thought they were pretty scary. We saw the biggest goats I’ve ever seen in the animal pavilion. Of course we saw big cows, and we saw some very woolly sheep, poor things all hot in this weather. In the animal nursery we petted baby goats and saw a big pile of baby pigs. In the Expo Center we saw the Delorean and Herbie up close, tasted cheeses and honey (not together) and saw brand new baby chicks just hatched. Keira's favorite was the kittens. She parked herself in front of the cage watching them jump and play, I think one even licked her finger. I liked the high dive show where these divers jumped and flipped and did all sorts of amazing things. The highest dive was from 80 feet! Wowzers! Everyone had a great time at the fair, thanks to Sariah for letting us tag along on her super fun day!

Note: Jonah and Katie John went to Raging Waters last week with John as a reward for being good Duckettes. Sariah was too little to go, so she chose to go to the State Fair instead.

Google This!

OK, I wanted to do this the moment I saw it on Helen's blog. All you have to do is go to google and type in 'your name' and then 'needs'. So I typed in 'Sherry needs' and here are the top 10 things it came up with:

1. Sherry needs...THIS!
2. Sherry needs to keep pub plan simple.
3. Sherry needs a lot of time to care for them. (talking about my four special needs kids of course!)
4. Sherry needs the flor, once considered a miracle.
5. Sherry needs no introduction.
6. Sherry needs instruction in phonics.
7. Sherry needs a myspace by Grandma Bettyboop.
8. Sherry needs more support!
9. Sherry needs to be phased out. (hey.....)
10. Sherry needs investment partners.

Other honorable mentions I thought funny:
11. Sherry needs out!
12. Sherry needs snuggles now!

First Day of School

The long awaited day has come. Katie John is finally a 1st grader. She seemed happy to be going to school again. She is excited about her new lunch box and drink bottle. We met Mr. Barnes and he seemed very energetic, very organized and very excited to be teaching 1st grade. Jonah is a late reader again so he had plenty of time to buzz around finding friends. He was very excited to go back to school and see who ended up in his class. I only saw Mrs. Walker in passing, but she seemed quite put together. We look forward to a productive year with her. The excitement of the first day has been tiring for me (and Sariah) and soon we'll be off for the afternoon pick up. For now this is all new and exciting, and I'm sure by next week this will all be old news. But for now school is cool!

Eagle Scout Brother!

My brother James is officially an Eagle Scout!! His project of building a bathroom in the old pioneer cemetary was quite the monster. (well, actually I haven't seen it yet, but I plan on it soon) We are so very proud of him, Good Job James!! He joins my other brothers Shaun and Jesse as another Eagle in Troup 291. YAY!

School starts next week?

Wow, our summer seems to have flown by super fast. Already I find myself pressed to get the kids back on schedule, clothes sorted for the new year, shop for the things they still need and somehow find time for all the other things that need doing. Two days ago i started in on the laundry. The mound of clean clothes last night was amazing because I had the kids dig out all the hidden items of clothing (under beds, back corners of closets) so they could be washed and sorted. Of course there were all the other normal items mixed in so our sorting was quite the task. Luckily John started in on it all while Jonah and I were at scouts. We finished the sorting while being entertained by the olympics. We sure like the olympics... they are very entertaining this time around. Four days left... I'm sure we'll make it. No need to panic here.