Week 29

Last Sunday, I took some pictures of Zaya just because.  I got them on the computer this week.  She is so fun and beautiful.

On Monday, we did chores around the house and then went to the ice skating rink for the first time this summer.  The three older kids did awesome; I, on the other hand, was grateful to have Kaiton as my crutch.  I worked with Kaiton for about 45 minutes.  He was definitely pretty scared, but I think as I get him on the ice more frequently, he will get used to it.

Our week was pretty busy with well-child appointments for the two older kids, physical therapy, gymnastics, 2 baseball games, a visit to Plymouth Park, playdates with the triplets and Austin King, and a visit to Brighton, MI for Hurley's first Kickstart testing.

Wednesday was Brooklen's birthday.  He wanted orange rolls for breakfast and he was lucky enough to get a Fitbit from us for his birthday.  He was so excited and he has been tracking his steps, sleep, and calories burnt all week.  At noon, I left to take Zaya to gymnastics and Brooklen went with the Nymans.  They took him out to lunch at McDonalds and then they went swimming at an indoor hotel pool.  He had a blast.  I felt bad that he spent his birthday with them and not me, but he wasn't thrilled about going to watch gymnastics.  At night, we had hamburgers, pineapple, fries, and corn for dinner.  He wanted a peach cake, so we made a peach cake with dulce de leche frosting.  The cake was pretty dry, but the frosting was AMAZING.  When Hurley got home from gymnastics at 8:15, we had cake outside with the Nymans.

On Friday, we went down to Brighton for Hurley's first Kickstart testing.  She did pretty amazing for a girl who has never really performed in front of others.  She pushed herself hard and I think she got pretty good results.  On the rope climb (they climb with legs in a pike and only use their arms) she had only gotten about a foot off the ground at practice.  At the actual testing, she got about 5 feet off the ground (they have to go 6 feet at her age).  It was a really good experience for her and judging by how much she loved it, I think she will really love competing this year.

Below is my letter to Brooklen since he turned 9 this week:

Dear Brooklen,

I can not believe that 9 years ago you made us parents.  I can still remember wondering how it would feel to be a parent to a little baby.  And then that moment that you were born, everything changed.  I suddenly felt an enormous amount of responsibility, a humbling desire to learn, and my heart opened up and I loved you more than I could ever describe.

Those first couple of years with just us were so much fun.  I look back now and although I thought life was busy and at times tough, it seems so carefree looking back now.  I keep thinking about those years and the things we did together, trying to imagine what life will be like this year when I have just Kaiton at home.

Brooklen, I couldn't be more proud of who you are today.  You are such a responsible boy.  You want to do good and I can always count on you.  When I send you off to school or church, I know without a doubt that you will be respectful, obedient, and try your hardest.  Today, you gave a talk in primary and although you didn't initially want to, you wrote it yourself and gave it without even using a cheatsheet.

Your favorite things are definitely sports.  Your favorite sports are baseball and hockey, but you like to watch almost every sport.  You wake up early and read CNN and your dad actual fact checks with you now.  You are always on the go.  You and your best friend, Jake, are constantly moving from one sport to another.  You just got a Fitbit for your birthday and when you are playing outside, you burn a ton of calories!!

Your favorite part of school is gym and recess.  You are very smart, and you are especially good at math.  You don't love to read, but if you are reading a book that involves sports, you enjoy it!  You read every night when you go to bed for at least 20 minutes.

Things have definitely changes this past year.  You are suddenly "old," and you don't really like going to parks or doing things that you deem, "babyish."  This has made this summer quite interesting, but I understand that you are older now and that you want to be treated like a big kid.

Your best friends are Jacob Nyman, Ethan Menzies, and Carter Greiman.  You have become pretty social and you love to play kickball with your friends at school.  At home, you like to play mini sticks, baseball, hockey, and the Wii with your friends.  On the baseball field, you are a vocal leader of your team and you enjoy calling out plays and outs to your teammates.  You are introverted, but you have learned how to make friends and communicate well with others.

You are helpful at home.  You are especially good at helping with Kaiton and Zaya.  You read to them, help Kaiton get dressed, and you help them complete their chores.  They are lucky to have you as a big brother.

Brooklen, I can't believe 9 years have passed.  You have made life so wonderful.  We love you and can't wait to watch you grow into an amazing young man.

Love,

Mom

Week 28

Yesterday was our first Saturday in forever that we had nothing scheduled.  It was so nice!  Hurley had spent the night at Hannah's house on Friday night and on Saturday morning, we all slept in.  We basically hung around the house in the morning and then Rob took Brooklen to the batting cages while I took Zaya and Kaiton to Great Lakes Ice Cream to redeem their coupons from the summer reading program.  They both got Blue Moon ice cream and it was fun to be out with just the two of them on a "date."  At 1:00pm, Rob took Brooklen to Carter Greiman's house to play.  Rob and I hung around the house with the younger kids while he was off playing.  At 3:30, Carter and Brooklen came back over and they, along with Zaya and Kaiton, did the slip n' slide outside.  After about an hour, we took Carter home and we ran to Meijer to do our shopping for the week.  When we were done, we came home and made a salad for dinner.  After dinner, I took Brooklen to Great Lake Ice Cream to redeem HIS coupon.  I almost never get time alone with Brooklen, so I was grateful for the chance to take him alone.  Hurley finally got back home after 8:00pm.  She had been with the Hills for over 24 hours!  I was starting to really miss her!

On Friday I taught piano to the Hill girls in the morning and then in the afternoon we met them, and the Rudds at the Plymouth Park pool.  We had soooo much fun! Zaya spent the entire time with the Rudd triplets and Hurley and Hannah played while Maddy and Sydona played with Kait.  I wish we could have brought a friend for Brooklen, but I couldn't find anyone last minute.

On Thursday, we had tried to go to the pool, but the forecast said thunderstorms.  Instead, Abigail and Lucy came over to play with Hurley and Zaya and Brooklen played at Jake's house.

The early part of the week was spent with my parents and Ethan.  They arrived last Thursday evening and stayed until Wednesday morning.  We had a blast with them.  We went to the Nature Center, the Cottage Creamery, Dow Gardens, picked blueberries, went to see Cinco's new movie, "The Secret Life of Pets," went mini golfing, and played at the house.  Last weekend, we actually took a trip to Traverse City with them.  It was so fun!  We picked cherries, ate at Slabtown Burgers (the BEST), walked downtown and spent forever at Cherry Republic.  We also stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge.  It was so fun! The kids had a blast at the waterpark, and they bowled, ate pizza, went to story time, and mini-golfed.  We were so busy, but we had so much fun!  I am so grateful that they came and visited.  It was super fun to have Ethan here too!

Week 25 through 27

Summer has been flying by!  Our kids are getting older now, so summer has been filled with a combination of carefree fun and scheduled extra curricular activities.  Hurley turned 7 last week and Rob's parents were here last week visiting, so I'm going to highlight each of the kids and then I will talk a bit about Hurley.

Kaiton: This kid NEVER stops talking!  He is such a joy to our family.  Today at church he told me that they got a basketball hoop in nursery.  Then, he told me that they don't have a hockey net and sticks and puck and that they need to get hockey stuff.  He is so smart and he impresses me so much every day.

Zaya:  Zaya has gotten to go to two vacation bible schools in the last couple of weeks.  First, she and Hurley did one with Nev and this week, she went in the evenings to one with Elijah and Jaycee from preschool.  She got to have a playdate with Lucy this week and she and Hurley also had Kaitlin Menzies over to play.  She has learned to love nature from her big sister.  On Monday, we went as a family to Tawas.  We found a spot with hundreds of super tiny baby frogs and the girls and Kaiton (and I) were in heaven!  Today, on our walk, we tried to catch a snake in the back of our neighborhood.  We weren't successful today, but I hope to be soon!

Hurley: Hurley is so mature for a little 7 year old.  She has been really excited about moving up in gymnastics.  I've been really proud of how well she has transitioned.  She has been really vocal with her coaches and she even won the gymnast of the week award.  She is our free spirit.  When we go to the beach, she is our daredevil.  She wants Rob to throw her super high in the air and she never gets sick of just swimming in the lake.  Yesterday, we went to the Nyman's cottage and both Hurley and Brooklen waterskied.  They both got up on their 4th try (it had been a year since they'd tried) and they both rode for a while.  Brooklen actually stayed up for quite a long time!  I seriously can't get enough of watching my kids learn new things.

Brooklen:  Brooklen started sandlot this week.  He is super excited because he gets to pitch and start the batting line up on Tuesday.  He is super excited about that.  He got to have one of his best friends, Ethan, over last week and they had a blast!

We had a really great visit with Rob's parents.  They got in late Saturday night.  We spent the day at Church on Sunday and then we celebrated Hurley's birthday with cake on Sunday evening.  On Monday, we went to the Nature Center to catch frogs and turtles.  We caught two medium-sized turtles and then Zaya caught a really tiny, baby one.  I was so excited for her!  We had a bbq for the fourth of July and at night, we decided to stay home and watch the Andriot's fireworks instead of fighting traffic downtown.  We had a great time on the front porch, but we almost had a dangerous accident when one of the fireworks tipped over and almost hit Hurley.  So scary!!!

On Tuesday, we took Rob's parents to Tawas for the day.  In the evening, we fished and the kids caught one fish.  On Wednesday, we hung around the house and played, went to Pizza Sams and Cherry Berry for dinner, and then we went and watched Rob's softball game.  He scored a home run!

On Thursday, we went to the museum and then we went over to the library.  In the evening, Brooklen and Rob went to Brooklen's baseball game and I took the younger kids and drove Rob's parents to Flint.  We had so much fun with them and we are grateful that they came to visit.


Dear Hurley,

I can't believe my "mini-me" is 7 YEARS OLD!  Hurley,  I couldn't be more proud of you.  You are growing up to be such a lovely young lady; you are so kind and so bright.  You love life and you are always up for an adventure.  You tackle everything with courage, strength, and ambition and your creativity is so exciting.

You do so well in school.  When I come visit your classroom, you are so serious and focused.  This focus transfers to everything you do: sports, academics, music, you focus so hard when you are learning and growing.  You love to read.  You finished the Junie B series and you have recently started reading several other kinds of books.  You tried to beat a boy in your class all year long at AR points and Rocket Math.  You fell just a bit behind him, but you never gave up!  Your favorite thing about first grade this year was getting to hatch chicks in your classroom.  Once they hatched, your class got to name them and play with them.  You had a wonderful 1st grade year; your teacher had only wonderful things to say about you.

Your favorite things to do are gymnastics, crafts, play with friends, and read.  You like to listen to your ipod shuffle and your favorite singer is Megan Trainor.  Recently, you fell in love with an older Miley Cyrus song, "Party in the USA."  You are a beast when you are working at the gym.  You can do almost 10 pull-ups in a row and you are always determined to pick up your next skill and to improve.  You also had a great baseball season this year.  Your athleticism and mental toughness carried you and it was so fun to watch you improve this season.

Your best friends are Hannah, Laney, Lily, and Aubree.  You love to be creative.  You have always got an idea up your sleeve.  You've made yourself casts, made a robot costume, created jewelry, and today, you even made a sword out of paper that was 8ft long!  Recently, you've also shown an interest in photography.  You are excited to learn a new skill and you even got a polaroid camera for your birthday!

You are good big sister.  You try hard to include Zaya and you even let her join your playdates when you have friends over.  Kaiton just loves you.  Often times we find him in your bed or sleeping in your room.  You are always looking out for him; you have such a nurturing personality and I know that you will be an amazing mother someday!

Hurley,  I love you so much and I am so proud to call you mine.

Love,

Mom