Father's Day catch-up

I don't remember what we did on Father's Day. I remember offering Andy a chance to go for a bike ride. Maybe we had some steaks. Maybe we were too tired to do much because of the new baby and Andy having to do homework. I didnt even get a picture of andy with all the kids. Regardless, a few of the kids did a Father's Day craft I children's worship that morning and I finally got around to 1. Finding them and 2. Taking a picture of them to post for posterity.

First is Ewan's. He thinks Andy is funny.

And, Ewan also colored a nice picture. Looks like a tent, but I'm not sure.

Apparently, someone in children's worship think Andy is strong. Could be Kella, but I'm placing my bets on the actual writer. Kella holds a pencil great, but this is advanced sentence structure for a 2 year old :-).

Last is Cale's. he thinks Andy is a mastermind. I'm pretty sure this is I reference to a game we have called mastermind and not to being an evil genius.

There we have it. Better late than never.

The big 3 got to go to Colts' camp

The older boys got a nice treat this week when they got to go to the Indianapolis Colts training camp with the school Andy is working with.  I can't say that we're Colts fans, but we are experience fans.  And, we live in Indiana-the boys might as well get excited about the local team.   According to Andy, the practice was just like any other practice he has ever watched or been a part of.  The cool things for the boys were the bounce house, obstical course, fan shop and autograph signing.  It was a great, extra trip to wrap up our summer fun.

clearly a colt's head, but also an inflatable slide

trying to catch a pass

 

       
   

Hmm.  Looks like a trophy.  Probably from when the Colts won the Super Bowl.

They came away with some trinkets, also.  Fatheads and an Andrew Luck card for Cale, a wallet and a little football for Marcus, little robot people for Ewan.  They also got their autograph football signed by some players nice enough to hang out after practice.

Kinley is 2 months old!

Kinley turned 2 months old last Wednesday.  In the past month, she has started to show her little personality more.  She likes to coo and loves to be talked to.  We can get her to laugh by tickling her feet.  We have christiened her with a new nickname "sweet baby K". She is wearing size 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers.  She eats whenever she wants, which works out to be anywhere from every 2 to every 4 hours.  Her sleep habits are still being worked out.  Kinley likes to stay up late and not fall asleep until around 11pm.  She gets up 2 to 3 times a night.  In the morning, she takes some great, longer naps and then in the afternoon the naps are shorter and she starts to get fussy.  Evenings are a bit tough, because Kinely doesn't want to take the nap she needs and we are usually trying to get dinner made and take care of the other kids.  This will pass also, I'm sure.  Right now, we have started sleeping Kinley in her little crib at night (with the head of the bed elevated) and sleeping in her bouncy seat for naps.  Her 2 month check up is this week.  I am curious to know how much our girlie weighs. 

Kinley and Daddy

Kinley and Mommy

 

naptime underneath her name quilt (made by Aunt Sharlyn)

VBS 2013-Armor of God

Last week was VBS for our church.  This year's theme was the Armor of God.  It turned out to be a pretty cool theme, because we put a medival spin on it complete with knights and castles, swords and shields.  This year, I did not teach the 2 and 3 year old class.  Turns out, there was a sign up list for teaching that I missed.  I thought I would be asked, but they found some willing victims, I mean, volunteers, for the class. I volunteered to help in the kitchen.  Let me tell you, it was so easy!  And, it's a good thing I helped in the kitchen with snacks, because that left me free to take care of Kinley when she needed me-which apparently was all the time.  The first night, she scared off one the nursery workers with her inability to calm down.  Mommy came to the rescue.  Andy was there for the rest of the nights of VBS to help handle Kinley, too, as needed. 

We were a little late the last night due to meet the teacher night at the kids' schools.  Luckily, we made it just in time for Liam to run up to the stage to sing with his class.  His teacher was nice enough to drag the singing out long enough so he could do a couple songs.  That made his day.  (What made some other peoples' day was Liam yelling "Hey guys, I'm here!" as he went running up to the stage to be with his class.)

The kids loved it.  Even Kella went to her class every night, no problem.  One of her class helpers mentioned that Kella was always so happy.  During snack time, Kella was sitting, bopping her head and singing the VBS theme song.  "castle" and "heart" were the words that could be made out.  How cute!

So, here are some pictures from the last night of VBS.  One of the high school-ers was kind enough to walk around with my camera and take pictures of my kids.


Liam, in time to be with his class.  Yes, he does have his beloved blankie with him.

 

Ewan's class.  You can see Ewan's head in the back, second over.

Cale's class.  with their swords.

Marcus's class marched in and did a chant and then had a sword fight.  I tried to get a picture, but I was trying to hold Kinley and calm Kella at the same time.  

A picture from the VBS slide show.  Kinley with "Grandma" Kathy.

Some of the royal actors.

Marcus with his sword.

 

more sword play

Liam with some of his friends-Erin and Kayleigh

and one more of Kella

Ephesians 6:10-18

New International Version (NIV)

The Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

the boys went back to school!

Our school switched to a modified schedule for this school year.  This means that we go back to school sooner, get two weeks off for fall break and two weeks off for spring break.  Probably going back earlier is the biggest change, but maybe more for the parents since I'm pretty sure the earlier start date didn't phase my boys. 

Meet the teacher night was Wednesday.  Marcus (5th) and Cale (3rd) are in the elementary building and Ewan (1st) is in the primary building.  The same bus will drop them off at each building (which are right next door to each other).  We met all the teachers the boys will have.  Cale and Marcus will each have two teachers-1 for reading and 1 for math/social studies/science. 


Cale at his desk in his reading class.  I think he was excited, but nervous about starting at the elementary school. 

Thanks for sticking out your tongue, Ewan.  I forgot to get a picture of him in his classroom.  And, I forgot to get a picture of Marcus at all. *sigh

  
The boys at the bus stop the next morning.  How convenient that it is right in front of our house.
The bus picks up at 8:15.  They were out the door by 7:50.

The bus stop crew this year for our street.

They all had a good first day. Ewan said his teacher was nice. Marcus was happy he did not have homework. I even got Cale to admit that he had a good day.

One more state to visit this summer...

Just for "fun", we decided to swing by Lake Michigan on our way home from the cousins' reunion.  Specifically, we decided to try out Warren Dunes State Park in Michigan.  Kinley gets to add another state to her list of states traveled to and the boys get to swim in Lake Michigan.  Win-win.  And, we knew that from there, it was a straight shot down into Indiana for the 3 hour trip home.  Very manageable.

We stopped to eat at the Michigan welcome rest area.  There was an awesome playground there that had some cool climbing equipment.  The boys equated it to American Ninja Warrior climbing challenges.  Whatever keeps them entertained.

 

 

From there, it was about another 30 mins to the dunes.  Of course, we had to wait in a line to get into the park, but once we were there, the parking lot was right between the sand dunes and the beach. Perfect.

Andy and the kids walked about halfway up the dune.  It was so hot and bright out.  July. Midafternoon.

Kella was not interested at all in the lake.  She chilled with me and a sleeping Kinley.

The big 3-Marcus, Cale and Ewan

When Kinley woke up, I took her to the water to get her picture in Lake Michigan.  She wasn't a big fan of the water temp or the waves.

We left there and, with the help of Garmin, took a country road trip to find the road that would lead us home.  Thank goodness for our big van, DVD player and headphones.

We made it home around 10pm.  Pretty late for the kids.  Everyone held it together pretty well until the last 20 minutes of our trip.  Tired, thirsty kids began to cry and complain and whine (mostly Marcus).  Thankfully, we weren't too far from home.  Even though they were exhausted, I know they had fun and I'm glad we took that little detour to the lake.  It's something they will remember as part of our summer.

OK.  These last two pictures I just included for fun.

Kella does enjoy wearing her cape and flying around the house.  I think she likes to feel the cape fly behind her.  We call her "Super Kella".
 

And, one from Kinley the other day, relaxing outside.  She is wearing a 3-6 mos outfit.  Can't believe she's big enough to wear that size and that that size fits her great.

The annual cousins' reunion

2 weeks ago, we ventured back into Illinois.  This time we drove north, almost to Wisconsin, to go to a reunion on my side of the family.  We try to go every year.  It's the one time I get to see my aunts, uncles and cousins with their kids.  The cousins that host it have a nice, shady yard to hang out in and a pool to play in. It always makes for a relaxing afternoon of catching up with family.


The annual balloon toss.

Kinley, snoozing outside

The annual kids balloon toss

Kella and Aunt Sue.  Kella followed her all over and tried to go home with her.  We think it's because Aunt Sue has short hair and glasses like Grammy Pammy.  Kella was devastated when she got handed back to her actual family.

The annual piñata filled with Tootsie Roll candies

The kid cousins play so well together.  It's fun to see that they remember each other from year to year.  It's nice that they have cousins their age to play with when we come.  This year Joe taught our kids how to play bean bags (or cornhole as it is known here).  Marcus and Joey were on a team.

playing against Cale and Catherine

Another nice thing this year, was that our hotel was not that far away.  We did have to stop to get some sandals for Liam since he left his shoes at home (and his parents didn't check to see if he was wearing any before he got in the car).  We got two rooms again and everyone went to sleep earlier than the last time we were in a hotel.  Even Kella had a better night.

Kella and Liam chilling in bed, watching a video on the computer.  So glad we brought the computer to use in the hotel room.  Slowly, the kids are getting better and better to travel with.  I'm looking forward to many more trips in our future.