The tooth fairy is coming!

This is the news around our house. Jolie even shared it with her church class as the highlight of her week.

The tooth fairy is coming!! 

Don't you love how Jolie works her way into the pictures?

So, Olivia lost another tooth. And Austin too.

The tally for this month:

Austin 4

Olivia 2

Nyah 1

Ay carumba, the tooth fairy is going to go bankrupt! At least she doesn't have to make another trip to the dentist.

Here's a little reality check for all those people who are dealing with teething babies/toddlers- the end is not in sight. Teething doesn't stop for years to come- as in wisdom teeth don't come in until the late teen years. I've had to stop my older 3 kids from chewing on stuff all month- blankets, sippy cups, stuffed animals- nothing is safe. One of them actually bit through a blanket. It has bite marks.

I guess I forgot...

...to brag about my other kids' tooth-losing abilities, or so they have informed me.

This week Nyah also lost one tooth.

Austin lost 3 teeth. Yes 3!!!  He lost 3 of the 4 teeth the orthodontist wants pulled anyways. So I have him working on the other one too. One less trip to the dentist is a fabulous thing.

Happy Birthday Nyah!

Nyah's 9th birthday was a few days ago.  She had a great day and deserved to be spoiled rotten by everyone.  Love you Nyah!!

Catching up - Star Gazing

I don't know if I posted these or not, but Austin, Nyah and I went to a star gazing party a few weeks ago and had a great time.  It was really neat to see Venus and Jupiter with 4 of it's moons visible.  We also picked out a few constellations, ran around in the dark with flash lights, and laid in the grass next to each other talking.  It was wonderful.  I love these kids!!

My Girls

I wanted to take this picture to highlight Olivia's fashion sense, but it is a wonderful picture of my 3 girls. Olivia and Jolie like to go out on the back porch and eat snow!

Glasses! we picked up Nyah and Olivia's glasses this week.

Snip Snip Snip

After finding scissors in the bathroom along with a chunk of hair, I figured someone had a new haircut, and I knew instantly who it would be. In fact, exactly one year ago I blogged about a certain girl of mine who promised she wouldn't cut her hair ever again. It was by far the worse hack job she has ever done, so I made an appointment with a neighbor who is a hairdresser because I didn't want to deal with it. Well, by the time she came home from playing with friends all afternoon (and hearing lots of comments about it no doubt) she was embarassed and didn't want anyone to see her because she was sure they would all laugh at her.

So I swallowed my laziness and cut her hair. I didn't want to cut it really short, so there are a few places that are much shorter than the rest and the part has to be in just the right place to keep some gaps covered, but it turned out fairly well. And hair grows. And I think this is a good excuse for me to be able to do her hair every day, instead of just letting her brush it out by herself.

Caged birds

Today my kids have chosen to not finish their work- they each have a chore and school list they are supposed to complete before they can play outside or with friends. As a result, they are caged up. From the picture above, let's see if you are thinking what I'm thinking-- Does it look like they are upset about being caged up or in any way motivated to complete their work? Yeah, I thought not. Maybe this will change when the neighbor kids who haven't started school yet come knocking on the door. Maybe. They look pretty happy and content.

The elusive Austin and Nyah birds . . .

. . . older kids? Do I have older kids? I have noticed a couple strangers turning up for dinner, but its pretty unwillingly and they disappear as quickly as the food.

Austin and Nyah have BFF's all over the place, and because said BFF's will be starting school soon and friend playtime will be drastically diminished, they are intuitively milking every minute of every day running around barefoot and in grunge-y clothes, catching grasshoppers and praying mantises, soaking up the sunshine, slip-n-sliding, swimming, trading Pokemon cards, riding bikes or scooters, playing video games and watching movies with friend-- or as Nyah says, being a "wild girl" or boy in Austin's case. (They do get their chores and school stuff done in the morning too- but I'm not taking pictures of that- maybe I should.)

Despite all this, I have managed a few shots of these rare and hard to find species.

Nyah and her BFF Ethan- she has another BFF Luke.

Austin and his BFF Ethan trading cards

(I keep them straight by calling the BFF's "his Ethan" and "her Ethan)

If we didn't have a sand box I don't know if I'd ever see them.
Biking

Scootering

Happy Birthday Nyah!!

2002

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2008

TODAY 2009

Our Weekend & a couple Top 5's

I know its Tuesday, but sometimes it takes a few days to recover from the weekend. And the past couple days have sort of felt like the weekend, because we haven't been in the normal routine of things. We have to leave super early yesterday to pick my mom up from the airport, and today we went grocery shopping. I don't really know why I keep taking all my kids grocery shopping, but I do and I regret it every time. Actually all the young women in my neighborhood are on a pioneer trek this week so no babysitters were to be found.

Saturday

Outside in our PJ's, bright and early.

Playing in the pool later

Austin and Nyah spent the entire day outside, playing with friends.

Kurt went to Home Depot for lawn fertilizer and came home with stuff to make a waterfall. So we (mostly me) spent the afternoon hauling rocks. Its pretty cool.

Thinking about my weekend has prompted a Top 5 List--

Top 5 Things Messing Up Our House

1. Books- With 3 big bookshelves, 5 little bookshelves, many stacks of books all over our house, and 4 kids (Olivia & Jolie in particular) I spend a lot of time picking up books. As the picture shows, I don't really care how they are put back on the shelves.

2. Toys, especially blocks- Those kids again, going about having a good time, what are they thinking?

3. Clothes, shoes, and socks- My kids undress anywhere, even outside, without the least bit of hesitation or shyness. I've been gathering dirty laundry today and had to bring in an armful of clothes from the backyard.
4. Papers- Never-ending piles of paper accumulate on every flat surface, and its not all mine.

5. Blankets- Olivia and Jolie recently discovered our linen closet and are constantly pulling everything out. I, of course, no longer neatly fold each article and carefully place it back on the shelf. Not that I did that in the first place- wishful thinking. But everything is crammed back in at the end of the day, and pulled back out by 8 a.m. the next morning.

Top 5 Mess Makers
1. Olivia- she's tall enough to reach all sorts of doors, cupboards, and drawers, and coordinated enough to climb shelves, and usually has a purpose to her messes, such as wanting to play with things like the blankets, couch cushions, blocks, etc.

2. Jolie- lacks height and coordination of Olivia, but also lacks purpose. I compare her to a tornado, completely empties a drawer and moves on to the next one.

3. Nyah- Most of her messes are art project oriented- crayons, markers, paints, papers- all left out to be destroyed and/or eaten by her younger sisters.

4. Austin- Likes to play

5. Kurt- He knows, and admits, to being one of the kids (sometimes).

Fortunately, Nyah, Austin, and Kurt are also very good cleaner-uppers.

Sunday

We went for a walk, well, the kids rode their bikes, and the little girls were in a stroller, so Kurt and I went for a walk.

Stopping to catch grasshoppers.

"Walk, walk, walk, walk" -Olivia's way of saying she wants out of the stroller (or car seat, shopping cart, etc.)

Jolie and Dade- Still Best Buddies

Jolie will purposely put her face close to his face so he will lick her. And I have seen her lick him before too.

Walk & Playing in the Water

We decided to start our morning with a walk, so we ventured onto a trail we haven't tried before in our neighborhood. It was so STEEP!!

Austin taking a break in dramatic fashion.

At the end of the trail was a fun ride, though its probably not supposed to be.

Nyah started complaining she couldn't jump down. "So climb down," I said, which she quickly did.

While the older two were playing at friend's houses, the little girls and I relaxed in the backyard. Well, as relaxed as you can be when your two year old has a hose and loves to spray you and her little sister.

Jolie loved the sprinkler, and didn't mind being sprayed in the face.

Nature Walks

Oh, we love the great outdoors, and we have been spending lots of time exploring our neighborhood, and some local places.

At the Jordan River Park off 126th S. We played Pooh Sticks. I love Pooh Sticks.

Under 126th S. Playing in the water and watching the barn swallows.
I made the little girls stay in the stroller and they weren't happy about it!! But Olivia discovered she could reach the rocks, so she started throwing them and giving some to Jolie, so they settled down a bit.

On our way back to the playground I let the little girls get out and walk. Jolie's top priority was finding a snack.

What happens when you are on a walk with 4 kids? Everyone gets a little spread out.

Walking on a path in our neighborhood.

Picking flowers

Hunting grasshoppers

Hiding under a tree

Tired of posing for pictures for Mom.