Dance Dance Dance

Naomi is doing dance again. 

 Acts shy even though she's not.  

One mention of a candy cane,(yes bribe) and she shakes those hips like crazy.

This is pretty much what he does the whole time. 

Him and his hat.

He picked it out with Grandma Colette.  Like grabbed it and wouldn't let her put it back.

She tried to put different ones on his head, but he wouldn't let her. He wanted THIS hat.

And guess what he brings to me all day?  This hat.

Broseph!

He's all growed up.

Getting his Eagle scout and huggin his mommy.

I'm proud of my little brother. He is such a good, happy boy, man!

Joey needed a last minute picture for the year book.
I would never take someone's senior pics. That would kill me.

He needs to have them taken by THIS girl.  (She is from Baker and amazing!)

We took these in my parents yard.

Even though they are super fuzzy, I like em. Handsome Joe.

Hawaii pictures coming soon. 

 I took 906 of them. WATCH OUT.

After an outing last night, I went to check on the sleeping little ones.

Found this on Cache's door.

Isn't that nice of him to draw a picture of his sister?  

Even if he did circle it and draw an X through her face.

Every time she nears his room today he points at the sign.

"NO Naomi's aloud."  He is not joking.

He is also not joking about his outfit choice to for the air plane:

I can't figure out where he found this shirt!  But he keeps it on a hanger and has been saving it just for this trip.  I've tried to get rid of it 2 times and he spotted it both times in the give away pile.

I am sorta glad he did.  I laugh everytime I look at him.

Also of note, this is the only thing he is bringing in his nap sack for a 6 hour plane ride.

This will help him he says to know which animals in the sea to play with and which ones to run from.

They are either funnier these past couple days or maaaybe I might just be in a good mood heaven knows why....

Most of the day I walk around the house, constantly picking up. I do mean constantly.  This causes me to get frustrated at the things these little people that live here are leaving behind.  Especially the trails of the one we call Naomi.  But somedays, I eat just the right thing for breakfast  and on those days, I walk around laughing all day.

 She was working so hard at the table with a marker and notepad.

Yelled at the baby who was buckled across the room in his highchair.

"Don't touch me peeepo!"(paper)

Later, I noticed that every single cupboard and door were labeled.

For some reason this task was very important in her mind.

I wonder if God laughs at us when we think certain tasks are super dooper important and he knows they are pointless.

This next suprise in the fruit basket got me right in the funny bone:

Gage isn't to be left out. Daily I put on my rainboots to check the mail, only to have to take them off and empty out cars,

rocks, cheerios and whatever else he thinks belong in rainboots.

This Thanksgiving I will be thankful that my life is full of surprises.

Happy Thanksgiving one and all!

I love being a Pit stop

 So I sorta avoid posts about friends because I don't want anyone to think I'm rubbing my friendship in someone else's face.  But these days our time with dear friends comes far and few in between and so it's such a treat when it comes. 

 Brodericks came through town.   Yay for house guests!

The kids took no time at all, and warmed right back up to where they left off in St Louis....

Today in Idaho:

I couldn't believe when the next morning they came running out just like this.  

Superman and Batman. Just like old days.  Cache hasn't been Superman since we left.

Cache use to call these guys his brothers.  He thought they were!

Now Cache and Sky each have real brothers. I got to meet new baby Kien.

It is very convenient that our 3 children are twin ages and gender. I didn't get pictures of the two baby boys together because they were both sick and slept a lot.

When we all graduated. These baby girls were calling each other: "Nay Nay" and "La La."

Weren't they so cute?

Naomi pointing with her li'l finger...

Still cute today in Idaho with their babies and coloring.

 Some of our last days in "The Hood."
On these streets and in these houses, friends became family.

There is something so comfortable about old friends.

I certainly met some choice friends in St. Louis.  Summer is one of them.  One of those people that has influenced my life so much just by meeting her.  Watching the way these girls(both my nieghbors.) approached life made me realize that I had not been tasting all the goodness life had to offer.  There was so much more of real substance found in nature, in food, in literature and in relationships.  They enriched my life in every way!  Someone above knew I needed to meet Summer.   A pure soul.  A true friend.  Because of her I make homemade soups, I employ essential oils when kids are sick, I play dress up with my kids, I make homemade salad dressings and relish in whole foods.  Because of her I read my children novels that are full of people with character and integrity.  I try harder to be like her and never say a negative word about another.(Key word is try.)   I always felt so safe being her friend.
I try harder to forgive, like she does.   Dinner has become a daily priority, a token of love to welcome home my hard working husband, and let us all be nourished by good healthy food, and calm family time to be enriched both body and spirit. If I tried till the day I die, (and I will), I still will not be as good as a friend as this gal, a builder, constantly giving sincere compliments and encouragement. Seeing only the good in people and focusing on it.  I could go on and on.  Her influence has been such a blessing to our home, to my soul.

 LUCKY YOU, the next person who gets her as a neighbor down in AZ.
And lucky for us to be a pit stop and enjoy the Brodericks for a night.

Cache Turns Six.

S

Happy Happy Birthday Cache!

Our eldest child turned a whoppin six entire years old. 

At one point 6 seemed so far away to me.

So far away, that I promised a lot of things: "When your 6 or something."

Some of these things that Cache had not forgotten but I had were:

Chewing gum again(after he put it in his sisters hair.)

Being able to walk in a parking lot without holding my hand.

Eating with regular dishes instead of the: "Baby plastic ones."

He has been asking hourly for gum since the day BEFORE his birthday. "I'm almost six so...." I just change the subject. Then he got some as a present. Aaand I found a bit on the carpet.  So now I changed it till he's seven. 

The parking lot...he may not hold my hand, but I make him hold my coat, or cart or put him in charge of holding Naomi's hand. Which is fine because I'm sorta running out of hands to hold all the hands that need holding.   And finally he is has decided that the colorful kid plates are in the end cooler than the grown up plates. But silverware... grown up ones are better. :)

Cache decided on a Bronco's Birthday.  We filled his room with Balloons to wake up to in the morning. He wasn't ammused as we thought he would be.  

He got to pick out a fun cereal for his Birthday.  And we made Birthday pancake stack of course.

 Devin had a pretty crazy busy day, and none of us could wait anyway, so we let Cache open all his presents before school. He got a sweet jacket, headphones(he calls them Skull Candy but they definately are not), a car, and bronoco's tickets!  I felt like his gifts were fit for a teenager instead of my little boy.  But it made for one excited birthday boy.

 We can't actually get the tickets to this game yet.  So I made some fake ones on photoshop.  Now lets pray the tickets come through!

 He has started a "Bronco's drawer" where he is collecting all things Bronco colors to wear at the game and also made several signs to hold up at the game. Oh I forgot to post pictures of our pumpkins this year  before Halloween.  Cache carved a....

Bronco if you couldn't tell.  

Cache pointed out it's even Bronco colors! So we used it for a birthday party decoration.

After school we had ourselves a little Bronco party. 

Cache's request we had a sub sandwich for dinner, with carrots from Grandma Orton's garden.

And Ovaltine. :)

Cache got to wear this crown at school all day.

 Sarah had me all trained on how to make a cool looking Bronco on his cake.  Went the store to pick out the supplies.  Stopped by the bakery to see if they had any cool little things to add to the cake. The baker brought out this not cute- at- all tie- dye cake, looked Cache in eye and said: "This looks like a pretty great Bronco cake to me if I ever saw one." Convinced Cache on the spot. I immediately told the baker, NO thanks, we had something else in mind, and led a pouting Cache back to pick out frosting colors.  But alas,  I kept lecturing myself: "My happiness or Cache's?"  We went with Cache's happiness.  AND it actually ended up looking cuter at home after I realized I could go to bed instead of staying up all night making a cake.

I was a much nicer mother of the Birthday boy the next day.

Cache has the best primary teacher.  She is just awesome with a room full of rowdy 6 year old boys. (Not a common quality.)  She brought over Cache a birthday gift of FLARP and silly string.  Definitely knows boys!  

Played some football in the backyard for the activity.  When Devin got off of work we took him to Jump Time. It's an indoor trampoline gym that Cache likes a lot. And that was his special day!

Happy, Happy Birthday 

Cache Dearest.

And now a letter to my boy.

Dearest Cache,  Thank you for being a part of our life.  The biggest part. Not that you had a choice, but maybe you did.  We love the passion you have for life.  You are bashful, shy in crowds, strong willed, a leader, (at this point some may call you an instigator.)  You love love love other kids and value friendships deeply. I already see you will be a hard worker.  You often see my needs or the needs of another,  and jump to help out.  A door that needs opening, bags that need carrying, a baby that needs distracting so his mom can go to the bathroom, and you run to do it. "I got it!" I often hear.  You always know what the weather will be because you watch the news in the morning and if you wake up late, you check the weather on the computer.  You've done this since you could talk.  I love this quirk about you. You have so many natural gifts, I am excited to see which ones you chase after.  Which ones that you'll choose to develop.  A forgiving heart, when Mom and Dad are figuring out this parenting thing. You do and always have loved to laugh.  I'll never ever get tired the way you look your  baby brother. You just completely adore that brother of yours. You are so proud of him. I don't even think you know you are smiling but you do every time he is near.

  You are the typical  knock your self in the head, while making farting noises, and laughing at mention of all body parts, six year old boy, but you are anything but typical to us. You are our heart Cache. You are our joy. From the very tiniest  to the largest, YOU are wrapped in every single thought and decision we make in our lives.  Birthdays often come with gifts Cache, and you are truly our gift.  We've always felt that way about you.  We felt that we were not just first time parents, but that we were trusted with someone extra ordinary, extra special.  And you are.  Happy Birthday our dear boy.

We  love you forever and ever.