Long overdue with much to catch up on, isn't it always the way? Why yes, I believe, with myself at the helm of this blog, it is always the way. With myself at the helm of most things, it is always the way. Such is the life of a busy wife and mother like myself. A blessed mom of 4...
Way back in June we celebrated my sister Kimberly's bridal shower! Isabella made cake pops for the occasion.
I was very proud of our centerpieces and wish I had been able to get a better picture before my camera died.
The mother of the bride pinning a lovely corsage on the bride-to-be.
My nieces (who I love to pieces) gazing longingly at the sweets at the shower.
Random cute baby photo...there will be many in this post.
The boys, Amelia and I took a field trip to the Turner's Falls Fish Ladder with some of our homeschool friends. Isabella was away spending a special week at Rara and Papa's.
Amelia was a good girl for the whole trip. She learned a lot about fish migrating upstream to spawn.
Bella had her dance recital. She LOVES dancing. I have rarely seen her enjoy anything as much as she enjoys her dance classes. She loved performing in the recital and was so sad when it was all over. I'm thinking I might have to get her into some musical theater soon...I wish there was Summer Theater here but I know there are similar alternatives.
RCB- Random Cute Baby
At the end of the school year we did some forensic science. It was so much fun. I gave the children a mystery to solve and they had to take finger prints of each other,
take measurements and chart how "blood" splatters from different heights,
make some dental implants,
and eventually apply their knowledge to solve the mystery of the "blood" spots on the deck. They determined that Amelia had bitten our cat Gretel in excitement and that blood had dripped when Gretel jumped away. Such imaginations! Sadly, I will report here, that Gretel passed away a few weeks ago. She was hit by a car. It was very sad to tell the children. Even more sad, was that the day after they found out about Gretel, Isabella's bird Sapphire died! It was a tough weekend.
RCB
RCB sleeping amid much color, print and texture
Father's day came and went way back in June. I don't want to overlook it because Jason deserves a shout out on the blog, at the very least, for being the most amazing, wonderful dad. I am so blessed to be his wife and the mother of his children.
RCB in cute pink booties with CBB (cute big brother)
The kids attended a research group all year. I must admit, I was a total slacker and used the "I just had a baby" excuse waaaaayyy too many times when I missed group or didn't have the assignments completed as I should have. Such a bad example! In the beginning, all the kids were participating but in the end, Ian didn't have much research because I just didn't make the time to do it with him. I decided that staying up all night and pulling together a last minute research paper wasn't a great 1st grade skill to introduce and I let him off the hook.
Isaac, Isabella and Hannah, however, did a lot of independent work over the course of the school year and they had great presentations.
Isaac did his report on Komodo Dragons. These are the pear "dragons" that we made to share with our friends after our presentations.
Isabella did her paper on the Titanic. I was ridiculously impressed, as I didn't really help her much at all. She presented her information in a theatrical way, acting as a passenger writing in her diary over the course of her trip.
Hannah did her presentation on optical illusions. She made these awesome illusion cupcakes. Her presentation was done as a movie. I, sadly, messed it all up during presentation time and it was barely audible but that didn't negate the amazing work she put into her presentation. Please enjoy watching her hard work below.
The warm weather has drawn us to the lake a number of times. Our little bathing beauty LOVES the water. She gets so excited when we even get close to it. She doesn't even mind going under! She is such a crazy baby.
Our city does something called Third Thursdays every month from May until June. It is like a little street fair once a month with vendors and music. On this hot June day, they opened a fire hydrant and let the kids play. The boys had a blast!
Our church has a tent at every Third Thursday event where we give out free water, bibles and other books and pamphlets. Jason and Don also make balloon animals for any children who want them. I used to paint faces but our little Choochie keeps me too busy for that this year.
Isaac and Ian's favorite TV show is called Wild Kratts. It is about 2 brothers who rescue animals. They were just like their favorite characters when they rescued a snapping turtle recently. It was a feisty little guy but I think he was grateful when we brought him to the lake instead of leaving him to be pecked at by crows in the middle of the road.
Going all out w/ the RCB now...
Isabella's birthday came and went last month. My baby girl turned 11!!!!! We had a little surprise dance party for her. She was so cute and blessed. She and her friends had a great time.
My dad took us all to a Red Sox game!!!!!! We had so much fun. It was a great game and the Fenway experience is always such a blast.
Amelia had a great time too. Here she is chewing her her Teething Bling that Auntie Kimmy got me for my birthday. All the cool moms have Teething Bling...thanks Kimmy!!
Amelia took a brief nap in the 2nd inning all snuggled up with Auntie Kimmy.
Then she was up and rearin' to go for the rest of the game. She cheered the Sox on until the end!
Thanks Papa!!!!!!!
Check out these handsome fellas. They are headed to golf camp. All three of the kids really enjoyed themselves at a parks and rec camp called Sticks for Kids.
Bella even won a prize for being the best dressed golfer for her age group lol!
My birthday came and went too. I'm 34 now and I am so grateful to have so many blessings in my life. We all went to Tanglewood for a family fun night on my birthday. It was so great. The kids got to play all kinds of different instruments and do a scavenger hunt around the grounds. We had a delightful picnic on the lawn and I was filled to the brim with happiness, gratefulness, joy and all kinds of other spectacularly warm and fuzzy adjectives.
We also participated in a Spanish group throughout the school year last year. The kids worked hard under the tutelage of two of my wonderful friends, Amy and Michelle. They learned a lot and our families got together for a fiesta to show off their new Spanish skills. Amy made the girls matching skirts and Michelle made the boys sombreros out of newspaper and duct tape!
I didn't do much this year, because my friends graciously allowed me to be more of a spectator while I adjusted to motherhood the 4th time around. I did however, help the kids make these decorations called papel picado. Pretty, colorful, easy...
Fourth of July rolled around and we had a great time. We want back home to participate in the parade and Summerfest. Last year it was cancelled because of the tornado that had gone through town a month before. We were happy to be a part of the festivities this year. Isabella dressed up as a garden fairy and she pushed Annika and Amelia who were a lady bug and a bumble bee. They one a prize for being the prettiest entry in the Bike and Doll Carriage portion of the parade. Isaac, Ian and Madilynn were in the big parade on the Meadows Driving School float! My sister and her husband opened a driving school last year and they are doing great! I'm so proud of them.
Ian doesn't usually wear hats. I was surprised that he kept this on almost all day...
Then I discovered that he was keeping his stash of candy inside the hat and it all made sense...
So that brings us up to the 4th... Then I put my camera away and didn't take it out for 2 weeks until we went on vacation. I decided 65 pictures was probably enough for one blog so I will blog about our vacation in a few days. Stay tuned for more awesome family adventures including the cutest little beach baby you ever did see!
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