...to host a birthday party

...at the roller skating rink!

William will be turning eight in two weeks.  And I didn't want Mark to miss out on the joy of celebrating with all of Will's friends.  Thus, we celebrated a bit early this year.

Woo Hoo!

Dad's are so much fun!

Mark and I got to race...

I won.

(only because Mark fell when he was trying to show off.  He is going to have a sore be-hind tomorrow!).

The kids did the limbo...

We ate birthday brownies!

Mmmm 

And enjoyed so many other fun moments:

Audrey didn't enjoy skating as much as she enjoyed being rolled around...

Best Buddies

Abbey & Luke

The gifts were an awesome bonus to a super fun afternoon...

Our evening was deliciously relaxing.  We had a nice dinner, watched several hours of football, and have enjoyed watching William enjoy his gifts.

It's a real good thing Amy and I have been doing our part for this activity.  Because we have saved up several corks, Will was able to enjoy some target practice with his new Nerf gun!

Putting together another of his gifts with his big sister...

What a day!

Happy early birthday little man!

...to figure out

...what this plant/weed/shrub-like thing that I found is

I have been thinking about taking some home for several months now because I love its shape and its coloring.  Then, just yesterday I realized that these were turning this really lovely shade of deep purple.

It appears to 'act' somewhat like tumbleweed might (if I ever visited the southwest  to see for myself I could confirm this suspicion).

It is roundish, dryish, and I have found it on the trail I walk Timber in somewhat sandy-ish soil.  It is sparsely spread around the landscape and has shallow roots which is probably why they 'release' easily from the soil and then bounce along the ground in the wind like I imagine tumbleweed does.

I have googled several different adjective combinations and so far I haven't come up with its name.

For now these gems are going to part of my fall decor until they drop too many seeds, fall apart, or  I realize that one of us is allergic to it.

Any guesses?

...to have a peaceful evening at soccer

...but I didn't.

Let's just call a spade a space and shout out that Monday's are pretty stressful around here.

• I work.
• The kids have school.
• The little girls don't nap.
• We have soccer.  

I tried to improve the experience from last week by trying to be better prepared.

Which meant that last night I:

• set out each child's soccer outfit
• filled all of the water bottles
• made dinner (as I write this in hindsight...perhaps I should have served beef?)
• set aside snacks for the kids for our two-hour-soccer-shift
• made sure our soccer bag was still stocked (blankets, tissues, hair ties, and sweatshirts)

The evening started off as a great night at soccer.  Abbey had her first game, kicked the ball several times on the field, and even ran toward the correct goal each time she had the ball!

Audrey played nicely with her friend Nina.

The big kids worked hard at their practices.

And the best part of all was that Mark was able to meet us at the fields to watch the kids play.

Because Mark was able to join us I was able to head home a bit early with the little girls to get their evening routine started...Herein lies the problem.

Oh. My.

Drama.

Abbey wanted to stay.

She wanted to stay and play with her buddy Luke.  You know, the little guy she plays with for several hours most every day!

And she started screaming.  She screamed the entire walk to the car.

She collapsed in a heap to the ground at least six different times.

Of course there were people around.  

Lots of people around.

I felt like it took us twenty minutes to walk back to the van since she kept collapsing to the ground.  It probably didn't help that I spent most of our trek to the van trying to catch her antics on film.  

The problem was that each time she realized I was still taping her she would scream a little louder or collapse to the ground a little harder.

I probably should have picked her up and carried her to the van.

But I have to record this stuff.  This way, when they are teenagers and are embarrassed by my behavior around their friends, I can bust out these videos to show them they had it coming! 

Tit-for-tat.

I digress.

In this particular clip Abbey says she would like a snack.  As if proclaiming her hunger to all of the bystanders in a five-mile-radius warrants a cheese stick?

I found this particular clip fascinating mostly because of Audrey's response to Abbey's tantrum.  Audrey's response is nearly identical to Abbey's distraught last week.

A paid actress couldn't have performed this scene any better.

And for the record...I have never left, even one of my children, anywhere.

...to go to the cider mill

...on yet another beautiful fall day.

delicious

Someone was super excited!

And someone else loved looking at the pumpkins!

Of course the donuts were amazing!

And the views were pretty sweet too.

I am looking forward to another trip in a few weeks!

...to order for Audrey

...but I guess I am no longer allowed.

Silly me.

It was a beautiful day outside so I rolled the windows down in the car.

Consequently the queen responded that I am no longer allowed to order for her.

As in, place her Starbucks order for her.

You read this correctly.  Because I rolled down the windows in the car, I am no longer allowed to place Audrey's order for her when we go to Starbucks.

This is a true story.

I even managed to catch her chastising me on video.  My apologies on the footage...it isn't smooth.  However, I was trying to video her without her knowledge AND I was not looking at her; since I was watching the road.  

She informed me once again during nap-time that I wouldn't be allowed to order for her.  Apparently this time my violation was that I was requiring her to take a rest.

 

This child has certainly figured out how to give an ultimatum.

Thankfully this story has a happy ending....

And...

Mommy got a little nap too.

...my kitchen to stay clean

...so I took the kids out to dinner

Of course I didn't tell my children that I was taking them to dinner because I wanted my kitchen to stay clean.

I told them it was a reward for their excellent behavior and their ability to complete their chores, homework, and other tasks practically without complaint for the past week.

Isn't this a proven way in which I can expect to increase my children's good behavior?  By rewarding it and by complimenting it?

Perhaps.

No matter...my kitchen is clean and their bellies are full.

Besides they LOVE choice-night at the mall!

And of course each they chose a different place to eat.

After dinner we attempted to do a little shopping at the mall since Will has a gift certificate practically burning a hole in his wallet.  

We aborted that attempt.

Hmmm...wonder why?

And instead finished off our evening with a trip to Sam's club.  The big kids have birthday parties to attend this weekend (we bought gifts) and I am always hoping this is the month they will start carrying the chocolate chips I like again (I found out that the Ghirardelli Dark chocolate chips I buy in 5 lb. bags are in a fact a seasonal item.   Who knew?).

I think they enjoyed the evening....

And I got a few Christmas ideas!

Thoughts on whether or not Mark will veto the giant horse???

...my children to put on nice clothes

...for the school open house this evening.

They did....

I was of course attending this event solo with my four cherubs; two of whom apparently decided to go in costume...as orphans.

Awesome.

Yup...they really did attend the event in style.