Pirates!

I have 5 kids who are patiently waiting to move, so that they can unpack their toys!
So I am grateful for my sister who threw a pirate party for my other sister..and herself!

When I opened my bin of pirate outfits....my kids went CRAZY!
They had so much fun mismatching all the pirate stuff to create a pirate for their personality!

Every year, I just keep adding to my "everything pirate" bin.
It seems every fall we have a pirate day....or two!

This year the girls even found the fake eyelashes!

I am so thankful my sister squeezed in this pirate party before we left.
I may be moving 5 pirates....I'm not sure they will ever return their pirate clothes and swords to the bin...we will my travel with lots of ARGGHH'S!

She had super fun pirate party ideas, I will post them later, so that you can have a pirate day this fall! =)

Worries!

I am typically NOT a worrier....
But...
I have been filled with all sorts of worries...
I am leaving such a blissful town...
I am leaving fantastic neighbors!
I am leaving friends that I am afraid I may NEVER be able to replace!
I am leaving a comfortable, safe, and easy life!

I worry...
What if the kids don't find friends right away???
What if our neighbors are not kind????
What if I don't find a good friend???
What if?????
What if????
What if???

Then today I was trying to catch up on all your blogs...and loving every minute...but I want to share a special post about worries!
It was just what I needed to hear!

(Click here for a great read!)

There are so many unknowns right now....
We just have to have Faith!!!!!

Focused and Determined!

"Dad will you run with me?"

Chelsea loves to run!
She loves to race!
She wants to WIN!

This race was so fun...it was at a farm...and everything was FARM FUN!

The course was lined with pumpkins!

Mile two was literally in the CORN MAZE!
"GET LOST"...reads the sign!

I was so thrilled to see her make it through the maze!

I wasn't able to see all of the obstacles...but from what I hear...there was LOTS of them!
Rivers...fences...mud....

These obstacles are HUGE for a little 8 year old girl...but she never stopped!

Even when her ankle rolled!

Even the fans had FARM FUN!
Her cheerleaders loved standing high on the hay...to cheer her in!

She ran her heart out!
All she wanted was to WIN!
She wanted that medal!

Covered in dirt and scratches!

She patiently waited for AWARDS!
There was NO rewards!
I thought my little girls was going to die..she ran her hardest EVER!
She was the first for her age group and only one other woman beat her.
I was so proud!

This is a must do race for all you Iowa people...and all the proceeds go to cancer!

I bought Chelsea a special 1st place medal....engraved with her name! =)

From Puppy to Bride!

If I had 12 kids, I would expect one of them to stay young forever!?
Kristina is my youngest sister....the youngest of 7 girls!
I still remember when she was the house puppy....She greeted all my dates with a great BIG "jump on the lap"...and "lick to the cheek".
She got all the "hand me down" toys. And let me tell you, after 11 kids...they were worn out!
But nothing could stop her imagination.
I remember the pooh bear that was my older brothers. It was riding toy and very fun.
By the time Kristina got it, it was unrecognizable...but she loved that "dog" more than life itself.
She made a leash for it, and would pull it behind her everywhere she went...the wheels were not in good condition, so how she pulled it I will never know??? She taught that brown blob, (which is what it looked like not...no ears...no eyes..nothing left), all the tricks in the book! Her favorite was how it could jump up in her arms on her single call!
Then slowly...and slower than others her imagination left.
She tells of the time that she yearned to be little.
She put her bowl under the table, and went under to eat like a puppy again...but it just wasn't the same...her imagination was slipping.
We never thought she would move into a stage of caring what others thought. She was Tina..and that was that!
No worries...with time, she became a star athlete, and a beauty queen. (She didn't win a beauty queen title...but let me tell you, she is gorgeous!)

She never lost her love of being a kid...and I don't think she ever will.
My kids love and adore her!

How she changed from a puppy to Bride -to -be...I'll never know!

I wanted to share this proposal with you...because I can...it's on You tube!

Check it out!

I don't want my kids to grow up...and then again...how fun will it be to see them BLOSSOM! =)

Sticks....can fit anywhere!

Chelsea has picked up a new hobby!
She loves to whittle!
She kept asking me to buy her a little pocket knife, but I couldn't really see it being a necessity!
Well, after she showed me that she truly loves it...by whittling her cousins name in a stick...I broke down and bought her the cutest hot pink knife ever!
She treasures that thing!

Along with this new hobby comes the gathering of sticks...lots of them!

Well we are moving in a week, and I keep telling her, to wait until we move to build up her stick collection!

Yesterday, I was taping up 4-5 boxes that have been waiting to be taped and I noticed that tucked into all the corners are sticks!

I think we may be moving more sticks than anything else!

What surprises have your kids brought on a moving adventure???

Pause Button!

I don't know what my kids would do without a pause button. We rarely have time to watch a whole move at one time, so we take full advantage of "pause"!

Well, as a mom, I reserve the right, TO PAUSE!!!

Sometimes life can get moving so fast that I start to feel like I'm stumbling...this is when I PAUSE!
My kids have all grown to understand that a PAUSE is just that, a mini break, for mom! We still may do fun activities, but everything is spontaneous and pressure free. I usually leave the camera behind. It is interesting to me, how when I am in PLAY mode, I can hardly stand to miss a camera moment. But during times that I need to PAUSE, I have NO problem allowing life to happen, uncaptured. I can't say that they are completely uncaptured...the memories of feeding ducks, having picnics, painting, and putting together puzzles, are still forever with us.

About a week ago, my oldest asked me, "Mom, what are we doing today?" I replied, " I'm not sure, I'm taking a PAUSE. She knew exactly what I was talking about, so she put together a week of activities. I would hear her tell the kids, "This is our week, Mom, is on PAUSE!" =) Luke did ask me today if I thought I would be unpaused soon....I felt so good, that they love when I plan the week. So I told him I thought I was ready to roll. "Well, you can take another week, if you need, we had a great week!" =)

The moral of this whole PAUSE post, is that it is okay for us to take a PAUSE. We can still be just as involved and interested in the lives of our children...but everyone needs to step back. It's okay!

Cabin Princess!

Annika's actual birthday happened to be while we were in Minnesota!

The kids got busy to make her a princess for the day...even if we weren't home!
They made her this precious crown out of materials they found.

Each one of them insisted on buying her a present at the local store....let's just call it a convenient store! =)
Wrapped in cabin blankets!

They got up early and made birthday signs to decorate all the doors of the cabin!
They truly made her day special!

This was awesome!!!! BLACK BEARS!!!!!

Orr, Minnesota has a free roaming bear feeding!
We were a bit nervous of what to expect!

IT WAS AWESOME!
One of the coolest things I have ever seen!
NO fences...bears are free to come and go as they would like!
There was 50-60 bears eating...hanging out...climbing trees!

I have never heard of anything quite like this before....

DO YOU KNOW OF ANY OTHER WILD LIFE EXPERIENCES LIKE THIS??????

*I need to note that there was an observatory deck, that we watched the bears from. We were not in any danger at all, which put my heart at ease!

Minnesota Vacation.....Lake Kabetogama!

This was the real deal....a family vacation not tied to Dad's work!
I purchased a week at Lake Kabetogama at Charity Auction for our Local Christian School...
This was the last week we could redeem our vacation.

We had a great relaxing time!
Lake Kabetogama is almost as North as one can go in Minnesota without hitting the Canadian border.
Our resort was more like camping than resorting...at least in our terms of resorts!
It took a while to get use to...but the kids loved every single minute!
We enjoyed having Dad's undivided attention!

A Sisters Treat!

Brooke offered to treat us all out to lunch...to give me a break!
She said that I make food all day long, and that I must need some time off!
Is she way ahead of her years...or was I slow??
It took me until I had my own kids, to finally grasp my mothers efforts!

At first I said, "NO".....I hated for her to spend her hard earned money on lunch!
But she was very disappointed and so I agreed!

It was the meal of Brady's very first "funny" face!
=)

We spent the whole afternoon bonding!

Brooke,
Your an exceptional example to your younger brothers and sister!
I am very lucky to have you as a daughter!
Thanks for the wonderful lunch, and special afternoon!
Love Mom!!!