DALLIN IS 5!!

If there is a place where delinquent mothers go when they die, I'm going there. You know, where they play videos all day of all the times where you have forgotten to post about your child's birthday until 3 weeks after the fact, or forget to put water into your child's lunch or put homework in their folders or forget about a school performance until it is over (yeah, I did that). Or when you let your child's lip get so chapped that he looks like he has a kool-aid mustache(see below). Well anyway, Dallin turned 5 right before Thanksgiving and the poor kid is just now getting his birthday documentation.

Dallin got a couple toys, some money, a book, a treasure chest to paint and some trains.....but not all from us. Here he is opening the treasure chest that came with paints. He was super excited and painted it the next day.

I love my sweet dude. He is so dang funny but he hates when you laugh at his funniness. We can't help it though. Everyday when he gets in the car after school he says to me, "mom, ask me how my day was at school". I love it. I normally ask him anyway but lately he doesn't even give me time to ask before he says that.

How can I not love this kid when he asks if he can help with the laundry? Especially since it is rare that he wants to help with anything.....particularly the stuff I want him to clean.

I was laughing so hard at this moment.....he almost dropped them all and I had mercy on him and helped him up the stairs after I had a good laugh and took some pictures. He was a good sport about it.

A LITTLE STORY FOR YOU

I have a story about this sweet little girl. She has been potty-training for a few weeks and I can say I think she is done. AWESOME!! Anyway, I was headed upstairs today to gather clothes to wash. As soon as I got to the top of the stairs I smelled something funky. I immediately checked both upstairs bathrooms. Nothing. So then I find Cami and check her. Clean as can be. I asked Cami if she pooped somewhere and she looked at me like "good luck finding it, mom". I noticed the smell was stronger in the hallway. I didn't immediately see anything so I assumed she had a really stinky fart so I went on my way.

I came back upstairs a few minutes later and noticed the smell was still there. I started checking rooms. Nothing. Started checking the toy drawer in the hall. Nothing. Then I notice the little people farm.....and the brown finger prints. You see them?

Everything inside looked fine until.........do you see it?

Here's a close-up for you. Yep. Cami must have done it earlier when she was running around without underwear on. What I am wondering now is.....what does she have against cows? She had any animal bed in the barn to choose from and she picked the cow's space. Or maybe she just has something against me. I love my Cami....*sigh*

BTW.....sorry to my in-laws who don't like potty talk and look at this blog.. All I have to say in my defense is that I told Ben I was saving it for him to clean up(as a joke) and he said why don't you take a picture of it and blog about it. See.....you guys raised a sick-o!

MY LIFE AS I KNEW IT IS NOW OVER.

What do I mean by that title, you ask? What I mean is that now I can no longer lounge around at home with my children and go out if I want to and stay in if I want to(yes, please). We decided it was time for Mia and Dallin to start soccer......do you see where I am going with this? Mia has practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Dallin has practice on Wednesdays. They both have games on Saturday.....which wouldn't you know are never back to back (ok, once they were). Mia, sadly enough, got a totally crappy coach. Crappy with a capital "C". Dallin has a decent coach but you know, he's 4. Dallin, not the coach ;-) But, they have been enjoying themselves and have learned a lot. I have been enjoying watching them grow in their confidence and team play skills and I also like that they get tons of exercise and that they have learned to endure to the end of a 45 minute game. I don't like all the driving and dragging of kids and finding cleats and shin guards and socks and wrestling with my child's leg to get the shin guards and socks on and filling water bottles and looking for balls and that Ben has church on Wednesdays so I don't even have the option of getting his help those nights. But, he makes up for it the other nights. It only gets worse from here, right? Dang it! I think Ben is just stoked that his kids are playing soccer. I think I am going to try and convince him to coach in the spring. We'll see. Please enjoy the pictures of Mia and Dallin's skills on the field.

This poor little toot has to come along to every practice and game. Actually, she REALLY likes it. Her turn will come soon enough.

Mia LOOOOVES being goalie. Who wouldn't? Less running, right?

MIA IS A LITTLE WISER

DUDE! I am really starting to perfect this month-in-between-blog-posts thing, aren't I? We have had a few exciting things that have happened recently. MIA TURNED 7! Whoa, wasn't she just born like yesterday? She thinks it is just rad that she is now 7 because now she only has 1 more year until she can be baptized. Her birthday was, ahem, 2 weeks ago.....so now she only has to wait 11 1/2 months!

If you are wondering why all the pictures are pretty much the same, it is because we didn't really get any great pictures. Much to my chagrin. And, if you are wondering why Mia looks a little nerdy with her hair parted down the middle and plastered to the sides with barrettes.....keep reading below.....

this is why.....Mia got her head split open at school just 2 days before her birthday. A beam that separates the double doors at her school was not secured properly and fell right on top of her. Her nose bled like crazy and so did her head. She got stitches and a concussion and now has a nice wound to prove how tough she is. I was NOT happy about it at the time but we are so blessed that she wasn't hurt more badly. She was a trooper through it all.

ALKI BEACH

okay, OKAY, PEOPLE! Yes, it's been over a month, so sue me. I promised more pictures from our trip this summer and here is the first installment. Then I will post more.....and then first day of school pics.....and then first soccer game pics. I should get that all done just in time to be behind on the holidays too.

ANYWAY, our first excursion in Seattle was to Alki Beach. We started with a picnic and then let the kids explore and have a great time.

Mia and Cami ready to dig into the food so they could go play.

Cami spent plenty of time just running up and down the park area.

Mia with all of her "treasures" A trip anywhere wouldn't be the same if Mia didn't collect something to bring home.

Cami's excitement for being outside could not be contained. She LOVES the outside. Well, this was the end of July/beginning of August and in GA it was about 110 degrees. So, we weren't spending a lot of time outside . We might have melted....or died. But Seattle was a WHOLE LOT cooler. It was on the edge of being too cold for us southerners. But Cami......oh, she LOVED it. She spent a lot of time outside the whole trip.

Cami and Addy spent a lot of time digging around in the rocks. If you think Cami looks HUGE compared to Addy, I AGREE! Aren't they cute?

I LOVE this picture of Dallin running with a seagull. His inner boy could not be calmed.

Loved this picture too! Dallin had a great time exploring everything. I am sure he was saying, "hey, look at this!"

Not a great picture but it shows that we are all having a great time.

SWEET CAMI

I will make a much larger post about our recent trip to Seattle and Spokane but as I was looking through the pictures, I just kept stopping on these. I think these are the sweetest pictures of Cami. The last one is my favorite!

Father & Son Campout

I (Ben) have decided to catch up on a few events. And rightly so, since Diane wasn't at this event.

Dallin is taking a break from running around with some of the other boys.

We went out on a night stroll and took a look at the pond.

Dallin decided to eat his breakfast in the tent.

Who doesn't like to play in the sand, right?

Summer Fun

WARNING: This is a post made by Ben.....the captions are a bit boring!
Mia and a little ice cream treat
Dallin had a batman treat
Cami playing in the pool
Diane, Mia and Grandma Engstrom out on the Tombigbee Waterway
Diane riding the wakeboard

Ben jumping across the wake
Cami enjoying her time on the boat
Captain Dallin driving the boat