September 2017 - Part 2

Soccer Saturdays!

Katie gets in there! She'a a pretty quiet little cutie but, we've had the best time watching her be one of the more aggressive soccer players! She gets in there and can dribble down the field. She runs and kicks and even scores some goals and gets some blocks. She's super happy and cute too!  

 Andrew's coach chose him to be one of the team captains for a game, after playing great and making big contributions in the game before. The team captains wear an arm band during the game. We learned that the arm band drives him crazy and is a big distraction. He held his arm as if it were in a cast. I told him to take it off from the sideline but, he wouldn't listen to me and was embarrassed I had said it. Then another mom told him to take it off and he did. Much later he was made captain for a game but, he declined to wear the arm band. Haha. 

 Hailey loves soccer and loves her team.
Hailey and Stella

This is blurry but, I love it anyway. Remy, Lucy, Hailey and Stella.

Hailey is tough, runs hard, kicks hard and tries so hard. She has a serious look when she plays and then is all smiles when she has to sit out. She gets goals and is a great little player.  

 A trip to the State Fair is always fun. 

 Hailey took these pictures of June and entered one in the Photography category of Reflections at school. It won! 

 Katie and Andrew got to go to the Utah game! Go Utes!

 Meanwhile, Ashley was invited to Lagoon with Teagan Chipman's family. 

We took a walk and bike ride to Skyline to play tennis after dinner. Everyone had a great time.  

Hailey and Katie had a combined, BIG birthday party this year on September 23rd. I sent out identical invitations except for the names, of course. 

Hailey invited her entire first grade class, other school friends from Kindergarten, her primary friends and soccer team friends. She had 31 friends that could come plus family and cousins. It was fun, crazy, BIG and a real Hailey kind of party. We told everyone no gifts or small gifts, which helped cut down on that, and she didn't even open the gifts until after the guests had left. 

Katie invited her primary friends, soccer friends, a couple preschool friends and neighborhood friends. She had 15 friends that could come, plus family and cousins. In hindsight, we shouldn't have done a combined party because that totaled 46 friends. Add in our family and cousins and it was a real zoo! 

 The party was a Farm theme. Here are the cute Piggy Cupcakes I made. 

 When the kids arrived I put sticky name tags on them and split them into 5 groups. The idea was that they would rotate through 5 stations that went around the outside of the house and then we'd sing Happy Birthday and eat cupcakes, and the kids would rotate to all the same place but, the activity or Station had changed to something new. 

The 10 stations were 

1. Cookie decorating on the back patio (run by Kim) 

2. Riding Bikes and coloring chalk in the front driveway. We drew a course with chalk and they raced through it. It wasn't much but, actually went pretty well. (Run by Andrew) 

3. Craft in the kitchen making a Cow Head piece, like a hat (Run by Richard and Marianne). Plus a coloring page for kids who wanted it. 

4. Fishing Pond for Prizes over the Fence at the north gate of our Fence (Run by Dave) 

5. Duck, Duck, Goose in the south side of the back yard (Run by Ashley and Lizzie)

Then we did stop for singing and cupcakes. Then the stations changed to...

6. A 7-11 Store in the Family Room where they could shop for candy with Hailey and Katie bucks and put it in their 7-11 bag (run by Nana)

7. Visit to the Petting Zoo! We hired a traveling petting zoo that brought 8 baby farm animals for the 2nd hour of the party. The kids could go in the little fence and pet and play with them. They were adorable and it was very fun. My own kids were so excited and could've stayed in there for hours but, many of the friends only liked it for a couple minutes, which surprised me. 

8. Pin the Tail on the Donkey in the Driveway (run by Andrew). He tried his best but, it was too hard for him to keep their interest on this. 

9. Potato Sack Races Near the Trampoline (run by Dave)

10. Trampoline free jump

The stations were all very good and fun. Hailey's friends started out rotating very well while, I quickly learned that Katie's friends were not able to move from station to station. They were easily distracted and were more like herding cats. After a while, it was obvious that is was impossible to get the kids to go to the stations you wanted. There were waaaay too many kids and so if they wanted to move on they just did. So, it started to feel kind of crazy for the people running the stations. The lady who owned the petting zoo said to me that she had 2 ponies in her parked trailer and would bring them out for pony rides for an additional $75 for the remaining 45 minutes of our party. That was just what we needed! The stations kept running but, the kids just went from place to place as they pleased. I formed a line for pony rides and the petting zoo lady's 2 sons led the ponies for quick rides to the Wharton's driveway and back. The kids could go as much as they wanted, or could go pet the little baby animals or go back to our 7-11 Store, or craft, or whatever. The ponies were really a party saver!  

The petting zoo had a goat, pig, sheep, bunny 

 The next day was Katie's Real Birthday! Happy 5th Birthday sweetheart! Katie is a treasure. She is sweet, kind, loving, fancy, funny, shy, silly, happy, cuddly and a good friend. She loves to learn. She is timid and nervous about new things. She loves to dance and learned that she loves to hike. She loves art and spends lots of time crafting, coloring and creating. Katie has fragile feelings and is delicate. But, she is so physically tough! When she falls or bonks she usually hops up and says 'I'm good'. She likes to clean and organize. She loves to care for little ones. She doesn't demand a lot of attention. She is grateful, sweet and loving. She is usually a peach maker, though she can be stubborn too. We love our Katie Kate so much. We're so proud of her. She is beautiful inside and out! 

Katie's birthday was a Sunday, so we headed to church and she got to be sung to in primary which is always fun. Then, some after church pictures. 

 Katie is a beautiful child. 

 Family dinner was at our house. Katie's favorite food is steak, so we had steak of course. 

Big Thanks to Nana for making the amazing birthday cake! 

Katie is easy to please and loved her little presents. She loved this chubby puppies set, a princess costume and an Elsa microphone. 

The cousins brought Nathan his present too, since it was his Birthday eve; it was a painting coloring book. 

Good Morning Birthday Boy! Nathan is 3! He started the day with a tub with his newly 5 year old sister! I love these 2 birthday babies! My heart could burst that this sweet baby boy is growing up so fast. Nathan is a bundle of cuddles and love. He exudes cuteness and is pretty irresistible. He is super happy, friendly, smiley, sweet, loving and painfully handsome. I feel so lucky that he came to our family and completed us! 

Katie was off to preschool. I love the outfits she chooses and so I document them often. 

Nate and I went for a bike ride/walk along our street and to the church and then trying to catch bugs in our yard. He loves his peddle bike and loves to be outside. 

  When the big kids came home from school we went to McDonald's. He loved the Happy Meal toys and playing in the playland. 

I love how much his siblings love him! 

At home he opened lots of small gifts. He loves tools, Bob the builder, trucks & vehicles, bubbles, weapong and the pretty typical little boy toys. He has so many toys, being the youngest, that it's hard to know what to give him. 

I was pretty 'caked-out' and I think everyone else was too so we just had ice cream only. Nate liked blowing out the candle! 

Happy Birthday sweet Nathan! Good night my wonderful boy! 

 The next few days he carried his new pirate sword everywhere!

 Upland Terrace playground. Nate and I are there often, doing an art project with Hailey's class, or getting things for/delivering the school directories I make, or volunteering for class parties for Andrew, Ashley and Hailey's classes, etc. Nate is there enough that by the time he's in kindergarten it won't ever feel new to him. 

Hailey got to do the Share and Teach bucket in Mrs. Baxter's class. She taught about balloons and static electricity. I can't remember why I was there but, I got to watch her do it. 

 Another cute outfit for miss Katie. 

 Katie's preschool program for September was about Nursery Rhymes. She chose to recite Jack and Jill, and dressed up as Jill of course. She was nervous but, did a great job and felt excited and proud.  

 Lilly, Wrenly and Katie

 After school playing. Katie and James B in the background. 

 Katie made a dog shelter. If you look close you can see June and neighbor dog Jackie, who we watched for a few day. 

 Hailey had a birthday party to go to at the Park. We stayed so the little kids could enjoy the sun and play too. 

Hailey and some friends. From left to right I see; Addy, Mary, Hailey, Brooklyn and Harper.

September is a busy month for our family. Not only is it busy with school and sports but, we get to celebrate a LOT of birthdays. I wouldn't have it any other way! I am so lucky that these 5 kids came to be mine!