It's GREAT to be EIGHT!

Well Mr. Max is now a big time eight year-old! I can hardly believe it. We had quite the celebration. We started the day by attending a kids clinic at Lowes. The kids made binoculars.

Max got a some get up and move Wii games. They played and played those for hours and had much fun.

Once dad got home from work, (about 9:45pm) we had cake and ice cream with dad and the rest of the office. Max was in heaven with his big boy cousins.

Then...

Max got his big gift...tickets to the Reds game (along with some peanuts and Crackerjacks).

Then it was game on... with Wii Party and Just Dance 2 until early morn.

LOVE TO SEE THE TEMPLE

We woke up Sunday morning and decided to make the 4 hour trip to the Kirtland Temple. We are SO glad we did. It was very interesting and a great learning experience for all of us. It was well worth the drive.

The kids were so excited to be able to see and go inside the first temple.

After visiting the temple, we went to Historic Kirtland and saw a few things there.

We (and when I say we, I'm including poor Nate and Ashley) definitely had to wrestle 1 and 3 year olds more that usual Sundays. They all like to climb and touch the things they aren't supposed to much more than they should. I wonder how far in the future a true Sunday "day of rest" will be. For now I will do my best to laugh and enjoy the moment.

HELLO OHIO

Well it was quite the day, but after a two hour flight, a three hour layover, and a 3hr 45min flight...we MADE IT!!! I was probably the worst traveler of the bunch. I'm not very patient when it comes to traveling. The kids were great. A flight attendant even told me at one point (on the 3hr 45 min flight) how impressed she was with the kids' manners...that made my trip. We left at 8:30am and arrived here in lovely Dayton, Ohio at 2:30am.

Notice Number Three with his hands in the air. He did this every time we took off, experienced turbulence, and landed as if we were on a ride at Disneyland. Pretty cute.

1:00am at the Columbus Airport waiting for dad to bring pick the van around to pick us up. We checked nine pieces of luggage. We carried on 4 pack backs, a computer back, a diaper bag, and Samantha and Kaiya (Emma's American Girl dolls), and a small suitcase... oh...and two 19 month olds.

Since we've been here, we've made friends with the ducks, the birds, and a chipmunk. They know we will feed them at least 4 times a day. Although, they have figured out if they run away and hide from Number Three, he eventually will go back inside and then they can come back when it is safe and eat the very large pieces of bread that he has thrown out for them. The babies just run around, pick the bread up off the ground, and eat it themselves.

I managed to take all five kids swimming Friday, and it actually went rather well. Forgive me for not having any pictures to post...I had my hands pretty full. The verdict: Lyza loves the water...Kate...not so much.

The kids have also enjoyed watching and even catching fireflies once the sun goes down. Max is the champion at that. We have been playing lots of card games and making up a lot of our own fun here in the apartment. (the van isn't registered so I haven't wanted to go many places without plates.)

AND SO IT BEGINS..

Here's my three biggest reasons it's been a while since I last posted. They are SO much fun...even when they are all sick with fevers and coughs and need to be held constantly (this week), and even when the babies pee through newly washed (and scrubbed) car seats (the week before that), and even when the two year old decides to empty the bath water thus resulting in the replacement of flooring in both the bathroom and hall (a two week process the two weeks before that). We can't even imagine how life would be without these little people. Life is good.

Happy Babies

Thanks to our amazing, wonderful, irreplaceable Aunt Kris for dressing ALL of our babies SO incredibly cute!!

Gurnee Days

Weeks ago we entered Max and Emma in an ice cream eating contest that was held last Saturday during Gurnee Days. I thought it would be a small event and left the house ten minutes before we they needed to be there. BIG MISTAKE. This Gurnee Days event was HUGE. There were people parking and walking 7 and 8 blocks to the events. Max and Emma were worried they weren't going to make it (and so was I). So, I drove right past the sign that said "lot full" and into the parks parking lot. I very illegally parked in the vendor parking, pulled out the double stroller and backpack, loaded the kids, and headed for the event. It even took us a good ten minutes just to find where the kids needed to be. ANYWAY...that said; it all worked out, and we had a great time.

Before

During

After

We wandered through all of the vender booths, played on the toys in the park for a good hour and a half, and then we met this fine gentleman...

who made the kids a ballon rabbit, an alligator, and a dog. By this time, Max was worried that our van may be towed so we decided it was time to go.

After church on Sunday, we returned with dad for more fun. They had a car show, FREE pony rides and a petting zoo. The kids fell in love with the ponies. Max and Emma would ride them around the course, hop off, and then get right back in line to ride again. They did this for an entire hour. Reed rode them four or five times and then got distracted in the petting zoo.

Of course, Max had to ride the biggest one. He would wait and let others go before him so he could ride this one.

Then...back to the park for more fun

Millennium Park

After church last Sunday, we decided to go into Chicago again. We love it there. It is one of my favorite cities. I have had great experiences with the people here. Everyone has been very helpful and friendly. I also love the architecture. I find myself taking picture after picture. This is a must see for anyone who visits Chicago. We could have played here for hours. Unfortunately, by the time we got to town, parked, changed diapers, walked here, and had a potty break, it was almost dark. What an amazing piece of art.

LOVE THIS!!!

Then we walked to this fountain. The kids played around in it until after dark, and the mosquitos came a callin'.

Happy Days!! We are having such a blast here. Our kids are so much fun! Almost everywhere we go, people stop a stare. Some people make comments like, "Whoa, you've got your hands full" and "Are all those yours?" You can't blame them because we are a sight to see...especially when I am somewhere alone with all of the kids pushing a double stroller and a grocery cart or one on my back. But, I LOVE IT! It is not easy. It is hard. But, it is also so much fun. I can't get enough of Kate and Lyza's smiles, Reed's kisses, Max's use of vocabulary from Word Girl, and Emma's innocence. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE them. We are so so blessed.