Party Number One

Yesterday, Dillon had his first birthday party. He invited over the Johnsons and the Olsens and we had pizza, grapes, watermelon, cupcakes and ice cream, He loved it, especially the opening of the presents. Now he can't wait to get to Idaho and Wyoming for party numder 2 and 3!

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. The kdis were so excited. They went to the open house last night and got to see their rooms and some of their friends. I felt some excitement too because I would once again have a schedule and only three children to haul around the countryside. When the alarm went off this morning some of my excitement left me. As I watched them go to the bus stop, I felt a little sadness. Each year means different experiences and each year means that they are growing up. My little cowboy is in kindergarten. That's not supposed to happen yet. I did enjoy the day though. I traded my 2 seater stroller for Pam's 3 seater stroller and the 3 little kids and I went on a 4 mile walk/run. It was quite windy and that stroller with Dillon in it is much heavier than the other one so we only ran down hill with the wind. We stopped at Lorie's and they ate a green apple and then we went home. Later in the morning we headed to Walmart and Runnings. It was nice to have a smaller crew with me. We got home in time to set things up for the Backpakc Fairy to come and then the kids came home from school. They all came home happy and had loved the day. I was actually more excited to see them than I had expected to be. Overall it was a good day. I guess ready or not, the kids are growing up and I will have to grow up with them!

Garden Harvest

Saturday we went through our garden and got out everything that was ready. We had green beans, corn, and potatoes. Zane even found one carrot. We still have some corn growing, squash, pumpkins and watermelon. Then there is the never ending tomatoes that seem to ripen overnight. Luckily I found out you can freeze them raw and whole. Then you can take them as you need them. That certainly simplified my life. The zucchini is also coming. I made 6 batches of zucchini bread over the weekend. The kids love the chocolate zucchini bread. I do too of course. Along with freezing tomatoes, I froze green beans and corn on the cob. There wasn't much of it but we will get a few meals out of each. Our stake president told us to grow a garden and if we did we would have food when we needed it. I hope that is true. We didn't grow as much as we wanted to but we did what we could so hopefully we will be blessed for that.

School starts Wednesday. This is our last summer night. After this we will be having to tell the kids they have to go to bed because there's school in the morning. We have been practicing. The kids have to pick out their clothes the night before and I have drawers downstairs that they put their clothes in. Last night they had to go to bed around 8:00. Tonight will be the same. Tomorrow they get to meet their teachers. Zane is especially excited. Hopefully he'll stay that way. I have my concerns about his teacher. Oh well, we all survived teachers we didn't like.

Getting ready for school

I spent the morning today going through kids clothes and trying to figure out what fits and what doesn't. We are lucky to have a stock pile of clothes down in the basement that people have given us. I brought up one of the girls' buckets and Zane's bucket to see what we had. Zane was excited for a few minutes and even gave Dillon a couple of shirts and then they were off to play. I caught the girls before they could run away. We went through the bucket and kept out what fit and then they had to bring their clothes down one drawer at a time. We made a keep pile, an Olivia pile and a thrift store pile. It is insane the amount of clothes that were in the living room floor. Of course the girls wear the same size so we need double the amount for them. I think we got through most all of their things. The floor is still a mess but Olivia needed a nap so we had to stop for the time being. Next we'll work on the boys. That may wait for another day because I get to go on a date tonight! I haven't been on a real date in 16 months. That's a long time. Michael has travelled a lot this summer and I am feeling like we need to spend some grown up time together. I think he feels the same (although probably not with the desperation that I feel it). Anyways, school starts in 5 days and we leave for Idaho in 11 days, both are a cause of great excitement in the Christiansen home.

Crazy Hair!

When Olivia's hair gets fluffy it gets really crazy looking. Here is a picture of her after a long day of playing.

Back to School party

Yesterday was our back to` school party. The kids had a lot of fun. We had 16 kids all together. We had some relay races, played in the water, and had snacks. Then the kids got to go home with a lunch sack full of school supplies. It lasted about 4 hours. Next week school starts. All the kids are excited. I must say that I am too. I am looking forward to a routine again and to walmart with only 3 kids!

Scar face

Maddi's head has healed up nicely from her meeting with the side walk earlier. There is just a little pink mark from the scab and her hair is starting to grow back. It healed just in time for her to fall off a 4-wheeler and scratch her face again. This time there was no blood and it was on her cheek. She and Makenna spent the night with the Olsens Tuesday night. Wednesday morning Claire was giving her a ride. No one knows exactly how it happened. Claire said she was steering and Maddi was working the gas. Maddi said that wasn't the case. Anyways, they found a little hill to go over and as they were doing it somehow they tuirned and hit the gas at the same time and both fell off. Luckily they don't know how to go out of first gear so they weren't going really fast. Maddi hit the ground with her face, once again. She landed on one cheek and then she rolled. Both cheeks ended up with scratches on them and the cheek she landed on is bruised. Claire was fine. Luckily that is all that happened. Pam, once again, felt horrible and now the 4-wheeler is off limits. Michael calls her scar face.

Playdate with Trevor

Yesterday Mrs. pearson, the first grade teacher, brought her grandson out to play. He had never really been on a farm and she wanted him to be able to play with the kids. They played inside for a whle and then went outside to explore. He had a blast and so did my kids. Mrs. Pearson brought lunch. The kids thought they were in heaven. There were hotdogs, cheetos, strawberries, watermelon, jello and chocolate pudding. After lunch Michael got out Okie and Trevor got to pet her. That was the first time he had been that close to a horse. It was a fun afternoon and Trevor invited the kids to come play at his grandma's house next time.

Basketball Camp

Maddi had basketball camp this week at the school. She absolutely loved it. She has been begging for a ball and a hoop so she can "shoot hoops". They also did another Bible school this week - actually part of two different ones. The one we went to last night was the most fun. We all ate supper there and then the kids had their classes, played games and got to earn tickets to buy prizes. Olivia, Zeke and I played on the playground with Sadie while we waited for the other kids.

Trip number ?

Michael left again today for another Kentucky trip. The kids were all sad to see him go. I wasn't too excited either. He will get back during the night on Thursday. Maddi is doing basketball camp this week. She loves it. Her friend Josie is doing it with her. That starts at 8:30 am. Makenna goes with Claire to Bible Camp at 9 am this week and then Maddi and Josie go over there after basketball. Tomorrow night is the program. I'm not too excited about it since I will be there by myself with the kids but they are very excited. There will be rootbeer floats afterwards. Today the boys, Olivia and I stayed at school all morning helping the first grade teacher get math packets ready for the school year. The books had 600 pages and there were 22 books. We had to separate the books and then put all the pages together. Sounds confusing but it really wasn't. Anyways, It took us all morning. When we finished she took us to the park and we ate pizza. Then she took us all for a ride on her golf cart. We drove all over town and through the "forest". Then we went to the lake and the boys threw rocks and sticks into the water while Olivia slept and Mrs. Pearson and I talked. The kids love her and she seems to like them too. We got home aroiund 1:30 this afternoon. The girls will get home around 2:30. We have a PTO meeting tonight trying to get ready for the open house in a couple of weeks. The girls have Tae Kwan Do. Hopefully we will make it through the meeting without too much noise. Tomorrow we will finish helping Mrs. Pearson while the girls are doing their things. Just another crazy week I suppose!