Losing!

Nathan has now lost 4 teeth.  He lost both lower middle teeth, which have now been replaced with permanent teeth as well as a front middle tooth, and the next one to its right.  He lost the side tooth first, then the middle tooth.  We are realizing now that it's likely because his new tooth is so large it needed a little extra space.  We'll have to put an update photo on soon. (and perhaps pray that braces are not in our future:)

Love him!

Snow Holiday!

Nathan's favorite subject in school is American history.  We've been learning about the Pilgrims for several weeks, slowly reading through The Story of the Pilgrims.  It's a great and easy read, and usually Nathan wants to keep reading more (and I do too:).

The Pilgrims obviously faced religious persecution in England, but before they sailed for America, they lived several years in Holland where they could worship freely.  One thing we learned about Holland was that every year on the first day it freezes they would have a holiday, and the people would stay home from school or work and enjoy ice skating on all the channels throughout Holland. 

So, this year we decided to imitate this tradition by having our own Snow Holiday!  Thursday, October 25 was our first snow.  It was unexpected (at least by us), so all the kids were excited to see the yard covered in snow when they woke up.

We decided to go out first thing...so, the coats and snow pants just went over the jammies.

The girls were up first, so they got to leave the first tracks.

Nathan got up soon after and didn't waste any time! 

They made snow angels, threw snow, ate snow, and Nathan even started to make a snow man.  However, the snow was so wet and his snow balls were so big that they were impossible to lift by us!  Instead he decided to roll them next to each other and make a caterpillar!

Of course, we called off school, went out for hot chocolate, and made paper snowflakes.

And lest you think the day was perfect, we did also have appointments that afternoon to get flu shots...definitely not a fun part of the day!  And though the snow looks thick, it was gone by the time we got home that afternoon.

Evie (with glasses).

The 3 older kids were playing outside, so this is what Evie and I were doing.

I dare you to look at these and not smile:)

Trick or Treat.

And here's the bunch all dressed up!

Our little monkey, Evelyn.

Addie, 2-years running as a giraffe.

Ella had lots of options, due to our large dress-up collection, but chose Belle like last year.  She didn't want to wear a wig, but instead we curled her hair for special princess do.

She also opted for her very well-worn boots.

Nathan went as Obi-Wan Kenobi. 

 He liked the costumes at Target, but unfortunately they were $35...So we bought some fabric for $2.99/yard and I found a tutorial for how to make a Jedi costume online. It took 3 yards, so I spent a total of $9.58...not too bad.  It definitely wasn't perfect, but it worked,  (especially since I made it the day before Halloween).

A few people (all guys) referred to Nathan as Obi-Wan Kenobi that night.  Later Nathan told me, "Mom you're really good at making costumes because everyone can tell who I am."

Yes Nathan, a Jedi seamstress, am I!

Pumpkin Carving.

This year, we sadly did not get out to a pumpkin patch.  But, Nathan, Ella, and Adeline still each got to pick out a pumpkin (at Wal-Mart).  It is fun how each kid is different.  Nathan just wanted the biggest pumpkin he could find, Addie wanted a tall skinny pumpkin, and Ella went for something with an interesting stem.  They decorated our front steps for a while, then the day before Halloween it was time to carve.

 I got the tops cut off and we started to scoop, but carving pumpkins is definitely a Matt project.  Unfortunately he's still working a lot, so it was somewhat of a late night...but something fun and special for the kids (and probably Matt too:)

Nathan claims to not like the smell of pumpkin...funny that I actually bought a candle to smell like pumpkin.

Matt is great.  He let Nathan and Ella design their pumpkin faces on a piece of paper, then he copied it onto the pumpkin.  Too bad Ella's stem is covering up Nathan's pumpkin's mouth (he did slits to look like Darth Vader...what is it with boys and Star Wars?!), Ella wanted a happy pumpkin, and Addie just gave Matt input as to what to carve.



Party Time!

Adeline's big day was Friday October 26.  As a general birthday rule, the birthday boy or girl gets to choose his favorite food/activities (within reason) for the day.  Addie's breakfast choice was doughnuts and "big oranges".  Easy enough!  (Though she should have said frosting and big oranges because that's really what she ate).

That morning she also got to open a package from Aunt Angie & Uncle Josh (and Logan and Julia).  It was a purple purse book!  She loved it, of course!

 The rest of her birthday was spent doing ordinary things, added in with lunch at McD's (though her first choice was Papa and Nana's), a visit from Papa and Nana, and dinner out with Grandpa Jeff and Grandma Lois.

Saturday was the big party!

Here's the birthday girl with her cake.

 I decided to go for a Fallish theme, so made an owl cake.  Addie honestly would have been happy with anything that I made.  She is easy to please:)

 The whole meal was pretty easy.  Per Addie's request, we had hot dogs, pizza, chips, apples, clementines...in a nutshell, we had party food!

 The kids, there were 9 present age 6 and under, went on a scavenger hunt as little squirrels.  Addie got to lead the way, with Nathan reading all the clues.

The prize...Acorns, of course!

After games and lunch, it is time for cake! 

Ella was doing a countdown all week long until Addie's party.  She said she could not wait to get her tongue on that cake!

Addie loves to open presents, but again she is easy to please and would be happy with anything.  A paper cup was accidentally placed in a gift bag, and she got excited over that thinking it was a gift for her!

Here she is with a couple of "real gifts". 

Cinderella Barbie

 & a bike from Papa and Nana.  This one is very similar to Ella's (same size and is princess).  However, it has a baby basket in the front, which cause for much excitement.  It may be next Spring until she rides it outside, but she is looking forward to it!



3.

Our sweet little Adeline Marie is three years-old!

You are definitely one of a kind.  Filled with spunk and attitude- a my way or the highway kind of girl.  You are a challenge and a blessing.  The other day, after battling with mommy most of the day over obedience, you were singing "Trust and Obey" to Daddy when he got home from work.

 You are full of life, and find such joy in all the little things.  You love to laugh, and to make others laugh.  You are always affirming that you are "bigger" and can do whatever your big brother and sister get to do. 

You  love to snack-always coming to me with a string cheese, apple, or "omons" (almonds).  You are also more determined to satisfy your sweet tooth than anyone I know.  Today you were quiet in the other room for too long.  When I went to check on you, you had your blanket draped over head and your treat bucket in your lap.

 You are so expressive and very social.  You love to ask people "what's your name" when we are out...and yet, shirk back if anyone ever talks to you:)  My favorite word of yours is "chicken", which is kitchen. e.g. "The snack is in the chicken."  A word we're not as fond of is "goody-guss".  We're not sure what it means, but you use it frequently, usually when upset (it may be your 3-year-old version of swearing).

My favorite times are spent praying with you.  You like to pray nose to nose, one time you even said "Mommy, get close."

We love you Adeline Marie.  We can't wait to see what amazing things God has planned for your life!

New Home!

So, as the lack of attention to the blog would indicate...life here has been BUSY!

I have all these lovely photos of the peaches we canned (ok, I have a photo), and the sweet corn we froze, not to mention our trip to the Cities for the Great MN get together, Evelyn meeting her only living great-grandparent, and so on.  But, life happens, I'm glad I have the photos-They just may never be seen here:)

In the last month, we have successfully closed on a new home...which meant all the usual business of packing and cleaning one place, getting paper work in order, and then getting everything over to new place and slowly unpacking.  It's a process in itself, but add 4 kids 6 and under, homeschooling, and a husband that was working 80 hours a week, and it. was. work.  Not to mention that the cooking, errands, and laundry refused to take a break to let us catch up a little.

None the less, the storm has passed, we are pretty much unpacked, just with some little messes here and there that need a home...and big messes in the basement and garage.  We are no longer living out of a box, searching for clothes each morning, or sleeping on the floor!  Woot!  And, we are loving our new home and our new neighborhood.  Praise God!

I'm excited about doing some little projects here and there to make it our own, and we've had our first labor has home owners...raking!  (Matt and the kids did about 15 bags!)

Here is a photo of our lovely new home.  As Nathan once said, "It's just a big, ugly brown house."

We do also need to give a special thanks to Grammy and Grandpa for watching the kids closing weekend, and our awesome friends, the Logans and Reynolds, for helping us move the next weekend!

1st day of school!

Today, August 29, was our first day of school!

Ella (4) started pre-school, while Nathan (6) started first grade.  We were pretty laid back today, much to the kids' disappointment. I needed a day to judge how much time things will take (since a couple of interruptions on any given day are a given)....verdict: I think it will take more time than I thought!  But, still doing actual school will be about 2-2 1/2 hours of our morning.

For Ella I bought a pre-school book of worksheets at Barnes & Nobles.  These will mainly be things to keep her busy while I work with Nathan (and she likes to do them).  She'll also be doing some Saxon Math K, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, Letters of the week, hands-on science experiments, a story of the week, and of course play time and nature study. We'll also be looking at classic paintings and poetry as a whole "class".

This year Nathan is doing Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory by Heart of Dakota.  I'm excited as it goes through American History (one of Nathan's interests) while applying writing, Bible study, science, and social studies.  I also purchased their reading program to do with Nathan this year.  It is for second and third grade, but I want to encourage Nathan's love of reading, and he's easily reading at this level (and you can choose whatever books you want to use with the curriculum).  He is also finishing up Saxon Math 1.  He did most of the first half of the book last school year.

As for my other pupils, Addie did great today.  My goal is to set up stations for her to work at when she gets bored.  Today she kept herself occupied making a bead necklace.  I plan to also set out blocks, the chalkboard, puzzles, coloring books, etc.

Evelyn did take a nap during school, though I need to try to convince her to sleep for two hours instead of one:)

Finally, here are some token first day of school pictures!

4 months.

Evelyn is already four months old! 

It has been fun these last couple of weeks as she has started to coo and laugh more, fall into a good routine during the day, and even regularly sleep during the night.  She has brought such a joy and completeness to our family, I can't imagine life without her here. 

Though life is not all sunshine and roses, I count my blessings everyday!

At her four month check-up, Evelyn was 24 1/4 inches long & 14 lbs 3 oz., which were 40th and 60th percentiles...so a little bit of a chunkster.:)

  Obviously all kids are different, but I did a little research just for fun.  At four months, Addie was 24 1/2 inches & 13 lbs 7.5 oz (50th percentile), Ella was 24 inches & 15 lbs 0.5 oz. (85th percentile), and Nathan was 26 inches & 16 lbs 4.5 oz (90th & 75th percentile).  So we have had 13, 14, 15, and 16 pound 4-month babies...all beautiful and all healthy!

 Evelyn Jane Lucille

four months old.

Black Hills Trip 2012.

 Number 51 on the Summer Fun List was to take a trip to the Black Hills (which was easy to add to the list since I knew we were doing it anyways:)

We went again with my parents, sisters and their families.  Total it was 9 adults (one husband couldn't make it) and 10 kids ages 6 and under!

Here are a few highlights from the trip:

Bear Country!

 If you haven't been, Bear Country involves riding in your car through an area with bears, elk, mountain goats, etc.  Overall the kids enjoyed it, though Addie got mad at me once for breaking the rules and rolling down my window.

There is also a zoo like area at the end with baby bears and other forest animals.  This was nice because then we could walk around some.

 Evie did a good job of sleeping most of the time while we were in the car watching bears.  I did have to feed her once she woke up, so I can say now that I've fed a baby in a moving car!  (in case you're worried we were moving at a slow crawl in a line of other cars inside the park).

 Another memory of Bear Country:  changing a poop explosion in the van.  Oh the joys of traveling with babies!

 Though the whole group went to Bear Country, each family split up the next day and chose what they wanted to do.  Since it seems like the "thing to do" in the Black Hills and Nathan is somewhat interested in presidents, we went to Mt. Rushmore.

We had a really good time (though it may not seem this way from the first photo).

 For Sunday brunch we ate at a restaurant in Lead that used to be a roundhouse for trains.  The kids thought it was neat-though it was definitely more of a "practice your manners" place than a "let's play" place.

 And of course we had lots of fun just hanging out at the cabin we rented.  Here is a view from the loft looking at the main floor.  

Papa grilling steaks.  Looks like there's a little flamage.

Silly Time!

There was so much talk about smores, but never enough time before the kids' bed time to actually make them.  So, on the last night we decided to roast marshmallows on the grill and save ourselves the time of making a fire (in the indoor fireplace...outdoor fires were prohibited because of the dry weather).

The kids didn't mind, and it worked!

Addie may have chosen and extra-large mallow!

And of course you gotta work out!  Matt thought he would be cool and sneak a pic:)

It was another busy, crazy, fun weekend in the Black Hills. 

Here's what the gang looks like this year!

&

The Thompson crew with Nana and Papa. 

(Addie was being a stinker, but I know I have pictures of myself as a kid doing the same thing!)

Finally, it's not a road trip to the Black Hills without a stop at Wall Drug.  We ate lunch there on the way back and of course picked up some doughnuts.  There's a great backyard area for the kids to play before they get back in the car again!