We played games as a family for Nicole's birthday. They are searching for the hidden wildcat in the room!
Nicole wanted a wild cat party. We got her some books and toys with that theme.
The tiger cake turned out pretty awesome. I can't believe she is 11! She's so much fun and a real sweetheart.
Diana has done really well in school. It is sometimes hard to believe she can sit still and focus because I remember how far she has come. She works so hard to get a "Green" each day for behavior and she is a good student. Her teacher said she has been really well behaved and obedient, a gets along great with everyone.
We performed "What Makes You Beautiful" with our family band for the ward talent show. It was so much fun to perform as a family.
John has discovered the trash can. He takes things in and out of it if we forget to turn the lid backwards.
At a soccer game the kids got in this goal and it made watching everyone so easy we wondered why we had never thought of this before!
Jake kicking the ball. He was a big defense man on this team. We really wished they'd have played him more on offense, but this team was pretty intense- they scouted out players the last two years, have three coaches, have a specific offensive line, etc. Way too much for a rec league. So it was over the top that way, but Jake rocked it where he was and despite his size was not afraid of anything.
We had a lovely General Conference. This was the best one yet and the kids did a wonderful job of listening.
Some seasonal treats- iced pumpkin cookies- for Jim to deliver.
Mike is an amazing goalie. At the quarterfinals, he stopped goal after goal. The other team had an older kid that was quick and was used to annihilating teams with his many goals. Mike was like superman, stopping at least 5 direct goal shots. Rushing the player if they made it past the defense. Jumping and stopping the ball with just the tips of his fingers. He was amazing.
His coach said he was the MVP, the reason they won the game, and the best goalie in the league. Mike was on cloud nine. The team played again on Sunday and were so sad Mike couldn't play. They didn't win the next game, but it that last game for Mike was a great way for him to end the season.
That afternoon we planted a gardenia in between the other two that have thrived in that spot and some grassy shrubs. The boys did their best to dig the holes and the girls helped plant.
We went for variation in our front planters and I love how they turned out.
Katy and John get lots of time together with everyone else at school. The other day they were playing hide and seek, squealing and running with their little feet all around the downstairs.
Jake loves to drum. He and Jim will play together many mornings.
We went camping with the ward the other weekend. I took the youngest two home at dusk so the kids would have a better chance of sleeping :)
It was fun to have them help set up the tent. The fire was, of course, the most riveting aspect of camping. Michael also spent a good deal of time with his pocket knife to make a skewer to cook hot dogs. Despite his best efforts, it didn't work out so well and he ended up eating hot dogs off the grill.
Who needs a dog when John is plenty willing to put bite marks on everything, including my sandals?
For the church primary program, everyone except Katy and John was up on the stand. Jim was even up there with his class. So I got up close with my littlest and we had a wonderful time watching the kids sing and recite their lines.
Diana and Jacob with their grand creation!
Michael and his K'nex creation
Katy learned about police officers at preschool and wanted to wear her hat until it wore out.
John loves ripping apart the sandwiches. I try only giving him one at a time but Katy always sneaks the rest onto his tray.
I enjoyed making some sugar cookies for teachers and the front office.
We were invited by some friends who have a real estate appreciation day to come to this farm and have lunch for free. It was so awesome and we also got free pumpkins to carve. For our big family, this was so nice of them!
Wagon ride through the farm.
Giant play tube. The kids loved getting inside and having someone rock them back and forth. It looked like a claustrophobic hot seasick adventure to me, but they loved it.
Cow train
John enjoying a semi-bath from the waterbottle while waiting for the kids.
Racing in these enormous tubes. The girls could barely get these moving, but they did it. Katy about tumbled head over heels a time or two it was hilarious.
Diana showing her muscles she used to get on the giant chair.
The kids were racing to see who could dig the best pile of gravel. Jim was with Jake at one of his soccer tourney games. He had already dropped of Mike from his game, grabbed lunch, and then was off with Jake.
We tried having legos in the boys room for a few weeks. They loved it but the mess was too great. We'll try again some other time.
Jake was the Pirate of the Week and took pics with this parrot so he could show his class. We were prepping our pumpkins for carving.
Jake had his two final tournament games on Monday at 6 and at 7:15. The whole family came for the 6pm game and with the wind it was chilly so the kids wore rain ponchos while playing games. Then we put the kids to bed after they won the first game and Nicole babysat while Jim and I were able to watch the last game.
The game tied, went into overtime with sudden death but nobody scored, then went to kicks on goal. They went back and forth at least eight times and finally our team won. It was a hard fought battle with two skilled teams. The craziness of the team paid off with a victory. Funny enough, we prefer being on teams that win and lose and give our kids chances to play all positions. But this was fun and Jake felt great about winning.
We went to Sweet Spoons to celebrate. It was a fun time with just us and Jake.
Our school had Fine Arts night. The kids have an elective each quarter (instead of rotating to art, pe, music, etc each day). This allows the kids to really get more fine-tuned instruction and we are loving it. Mike had art first quarter.
Diana singing her ducky song. She was front and center, singing with all her heart and totally unafraid to perform. All of the kids did really well, and I will be a bit biased and say Diana's turkey solo was the best.
Jake's class played bells by looking at notes. She teaches them notes and it is so much more than our last school could teach. Awesome instructor.
Russian dance where they were singing and dancing.
Nicole was so happy with her friends. It was amazing to see that this was not a choir, this was all of the kids in her regular class singing and performing.
One of Nicole's favorites is the bucket drums they get to play.
More art from Mike.
Getting Jim's Woody costume ready. The pull string was the perfect touch.
I looked up online how to make some of our favorite things to eat at Disneyworld. This is LeFou's brew- frozen apple concentrate, toasted marshmallow syrup, passionfruit juice, mango juice, whipped cream...
With giant cinnamon rolls, we felt like we were back at Gaston's Tavern :)
Mike showing his muscles. They were so happy to eat these and we watched Beauty and the Beast for fun.
At our ward trunk or treat. We had a hodge podge of costumes that all tied into Toy Story. I was Jesse, Nicole was a shark with Woody's hat, Mike was Slinky dog, Katy was riding the horse Buster and Diana was riding the dinosaur Rex. Jake was a green army man and John- well, he was a lobster but it was all we had so oh well.
Love this costume.
My cute little lobster.
Taken at church when the kids were starting to go nuts. We survived but it was a close one that day.
We finally got around to carving pumpkins! The kids saved every last pumpkin seed hoping to toast them.
John watching the world go by. He heard the tree cutting truck and perched on the bench to watch.
All the kids spent time helping with this puzzle from Grandma Kathryn, but after they went to bed Nicole helped me finish. We all enjoyed doing the puzzle.
We took Kathryn to the farmers market in Raleigh and had fun getting some apples to make apple butter. John wanted to roll these pumpkins around. We also got some very hardy bushes for the backyard and two more blueberries for the side of the front yard.
Trick or treating was a big success. I let the kids eat, sort and trade. Then they get to keep as many pieces of candy as how old they are. So Katy kept three, Nicole kept 11. Then we pour the rest back into our bucket and hand it out to trick or treaters.
Jake exploring his candy.
Wednesday night after school, I drove Nicole to the beach. We had a beautiful balcony to watch the moon over the ocean.
The next morning was a gorgeous sunrise.
The hotel was at the top of the island so from our hotel hallway we could see the sound side inlets.
Tons of little fiddler crabs.
Nicole and I took stand up paddleboarding lessons. The instructor had his dog with him.
We both caught the hang of it and never fell it. It was fun to explore and learn about how the tide and current affect where to go. We saw oysters spitting, crab traps and birds.
After taking these pics, I saw something behind the instructor. I thought it was a dolphin fin but because it was so close I thought for sure I was wrong. But then it surfaced a few feet away and sure enough two dolphins played near us for a half hour. Nicole paddled after them and was in heaven. The wind was so low and there weren't any other boats around so you could hear every time they surfaced and could hear as they breathed when they came up. It was enchanting to see the sun glisten off them and see their eye as they came up. It was a sweet blessing to have such a rare experience.
We changed and went to Old Wilmington. Overall, we saw a few neat things but it wasn't much of a destination. Lots of old buildings for sale and things that would look amazing if they got some tlc. I bet in 25 years it could be amazing, but it's pretty few and far between now. Fortunately, I'd done some research and we were able to see some highlights. We chose this random place for lunch because it was busy. The fried tilapia was a great lunch.
The magic spot was Kilwin's. They were making fudge in front of these huge glass windows on one side and rolling waffle cones on the other side. The smell alone was heaven.
I chose s'mores ice cream and Nicole chose superman ice cream.
Then we took a horse carriage tour of old beautiful homes and waterfront buildings. It was amazing how many homes are so old-many over 100 years- and well-kept.
The horses were rescued horses and were absolutely beautiful and huge!
We made it back for some good beach time.
Moonrise
Sunrise the next morning
We explored the northernmost part of the island and walked next to the protected dunes. So pretty.
Lots of little inlets of water away from the waves that make a fun spot to splash and play. We also found some great shells.
Nicole found crabs.
And then, incredibly enough, more dolphins appeared! This time a pod of at least 10. Nicole is a dolphin-whisperer! We didn't know if they would just swim by and Nicole said if there was anything she'd wish for it would be that the family would get to see the dolphins (they were driving up that morning to join us).
She ran up and down the beach as the dolphins drifted north and south. There was a huge school of fish (looked like a cloud when waves came) in the water. They would jump out the water like crazy when the dolphins were near.
Then the family arrived! They ran and ran in and out of the water and up to the dunes. They were so full of energy.
Diana was so incredibly happy!
Then Nicole got her wish. It was an answer to prayer. The dolphins appeared and stayed there for hours and hours.
John had the biggest grin on his face. He was so happy. He ran, he crawled, he got wet, he laughed, he tried to eat sand and shells but thankfully preferred to follow his siblings. It was a joy to watch John get to know the ocean.
All my kids. The ocean is such a happy place. No crowds, no lines, perfect weather, 73 degree water. It was an amazing day and such a sweet ending to my girl time with Nicole. It was especially nice to have Kathryn there and enjoy the time with the family.
Mike trying to surf. Jim got him up several times and Mike got to ride at least 3 waves, so as Jim says "he got his surfing bug out for this year."
John was so happy to run down the beach. We were lucky the kids had off Thursday and Friday when the regular school system doesn't, so there was hardly anyone there even though the weather was 80 degrees.
We've had some cold weather so it was nice to have wonderful weather and the kids running around playing at the beach.
Jim went out and surfed by the dolphins. He was a little nervous with all those bait fish but said he had never seen anything like it being able to surf by the dolphins. The dolphins did some surfing too and it was jaw-dropping to see them inside the wave or when they jumped out of the water playing.
Mike spent hours digging. I asked him what he was building and he replied, "anything!" It was just good for him to dig in the sand I guess :)
Katy and Diana ran and ran. Squealing and happy for hours.
Rolling from the dunes to the ocean.
Grandma got in the water a bit with the kids.
We drove home and I relaxed with my little sweet baby John. He had a checkup and is 23 pounds (36th %) and 31 inches tall (71st%). What an adventure this month has been! Love my sweet family.
