Weekend of May 30, 2009

Wednesday: We didn't have the kids today but Aaron emailed Aina's and Ani's teachers yesterday to find out if there were any end of the year activities and he found out that Aina's field day was today. Ani's field day had already passed but we didn't know about it so we weren't able to attend hers. But we went to Aina's. We only stayed about 30 minutes and watched Aina play ball in the gym and some kick the ball game in the field. She was happy to see us there and we're glad we found out in time to be able to make it.

Aina at field day

Kicking the ball with Mrs. Raymond

Indoor fun

Thursday: We came home and played board games after a fried chicken dinner. Alana sure loves mashed potatoes with gravy! In fact, they all do, which is nice. Thursdays are pretty low key since we don't get them until 5 and we have to take the baby back at 7.

Friday: We took a nature hike around the neighborhood observing leaves and colors and such. The girls ran some races and boy, are they fast. Aaron wants all of them to run track someday. At home, we set up the backyard pool and let them swim. The water was so cold, but it felt good.

Saturday: We went to Pixie Hollow today. The girls flitted around and pretended to be fairies and we had a delicious lunch on the rocks. We got really hot out there so we came home and went for another dip in our cold pool. Before we took them back we made one more stop - to the movie theater to see "Up." What a great movie!

Pixie Hollow Picnic

Weekend of May 23, 2009

Thursday: Karri made a delicious crock pot pepper steak and rice - tummy! While it was still simmering we went to the park and the kids played on the playground. Wow, the kids swing high!

Friday: What an action packed day. In the morning the girls played with dolls, and wrestled with dad. In the afternoon we took another mountain drive - it's such a nice way to pass the days and everyone loves it. We went to DQ again - it's our favorite place for treats, and then at home we made burrows in the backyard. Aaron made delicious chicken bow-tie pasta for dinner.

Saturday: Today we went to the pet store and got a new pet for the family - Curly, the snow corn snake! The girls all love him, which is wonderful. We also took Aina and Aleck to get hair cuts - they had some funky hair and so we got it professionally fixed. They look so adorable now. After all that excitement we finished off the day by showing off our new haircuts at the rec center.

Weekend of May 16, 2009

Thursday: After picking up the kids on Thursday we only have a few short hours before bedtime. Today we made a run to the store and the kids played in the arcade for a while. They enjoyed that and were really good when we all got home. We ate a delicious and nutrious eggplant parmesan, then did our nightly routine before bed: get on jammies, brush teeth, read story.

Friday: We went to the library and got lost in the magic of the books. In every story there is a whole new world and the girls are really starting to appreciate that. We love when the girls ask to go to the library. Are we going to raise a brood of book lovers? We hope so! After the library we got a treat at DQ then went home for family movie night.

Saturday: Today we went hiking in the Pike National Forest. Not only are we raising up book lovers, but they are turning out to be great naturalists too! We couldn't be happier. The kids hike like champs.

Weekend of May 9, 2009

Thursday: Tonight we had a yummy dinner of chimichangas. By the time dinner was over it was close to bedtime and the girls have school so we relaxed by reading some books and then beddy-bye it was.

Friday: After school we went on a mountain drive. We love nature and the beautiful mountains that Colorado has to offer. It was a lovely day. In the evening we took a walk together as a family. We took the dogs with us and it was funny to watch Ani and Alana try to walk them. Those dogs do the leading!

Saturday: Today was fun. We took family pictures and they came out great! After that we went to Uncle Wayne's house for a BBQ. Cousins Abby and Conner were there, making it a fun time for all the kids. Olivia even took the kids on a ride in the wagon attached to the small tractor!

Weekend of May 3, 2009

Friday: Grandma and Grampa Minks came for a visit. We always love it when family comes to see us! They even cooked dinner for us - tummy spagetti (no, I didn't mean yummy, tummy is how we say it around here). Grandma brought a really cool activity book for the girls and they had a lot of fun coloring in that.

Saturday: We went to the Wildlife Experience in Parker today. We stayed for hours! There is so much to do. Rooms full of fun and engaging learning experiences for the kids and they had a blast. It really wore us out and afterwards we came home to relax. Aaron made tacos and we chowed down.

Sunday: Today we went to church in the morning. After that we headed down to the rec center for some fun in the indoor pool. This is an activity we do a lot because everyone has so much fun! Then came the least favorite part of our weekend - when the kids go home.

Weekend of April 18

This weekend was the last great snow of the season. In fact, it was the biggest and best snow of the season! And they talk of global warming...

Lori went out of town this weekend and to help Sam out we took Abby. She stayed with us and it was nice for the cousins to get a chance to spend time together and play. And play they did - in the wonderful snow. They built snowmen and Aaron built the coolest snow cave ever! We all got inside and couldn't move around when all of us were in there, so then we just took turns. It was so neat and a really fun weekend.

They built the snowman all on their own

Aaron coming out of the snow cave

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend was rainy and snowy and so we were stuck in the house and we did get a little stir-crazy. Even so, it was a nice weekend. On Easter we woke the kids up early so they could follow the Easter bunny tracks that led to their baskets!

We planned on going to church but Aleck had a fever and a few other events expired that made the day a weird one.

Wednesday, 4-1-09

Aaron picked up Aina and Ani from school without any problems then went to pick up Aleck and Abram. At home we had breakfast for dinner. Aaron made pancakes with strawberry smiley faces. Yum! The girls watched the Wizard of Oz again - they really love that movie now.
Abram is always such a pleasant and sweet baby full of smiles, but today he was really laughing. It was so awesome and adorable.

Sunday, 3-29-09

Aaron went in the morning to pick up the baby. While he was doing that, Aina and Karri went to the airport to pick up Alana. She returned with her grandma from spending spring break in Idaho.

Aina, Alana, and Karri had breakfast at Burger King in the airport and then took the long drive home.

In the afternoon we all took a drive in the mountains. It was a beautiful day. We stopped by the Platte River and ate blueberry muffins and then we hiked up a nearby hill. The kids all loved it and were so happy. It was Abram's first hike.

Saturday, 3-28-09

Today we went to the Denver Children's Museum. Aaron picked up Abram at 10 then we were off. The place was so crowded. The kids really liked it. There were tons of fun things to do. They dressed up as firefighters and played on a truck. They painted on easels. They shopped with carts. We grownups didn't think much of it though. There were just too many people and I don't think we'll be making a trip back to that museum. There is a museum in Parker, The Wildlife Experience, that is much more mellow and laid back, but the kids like it just as much.

In the evening we watched "The Wizard of Oz" as a family and ate popcorn.

Friday, 3-27-09

Aaron picked the girls up at 5 on Saturday without any hitch. He stopped by Blackjack pizza and then came home and we all pigged out. The girls really wanted to go to the pool but Aaron was pretending like he didn't want to. He said something like, "You'll have to trick me to get me to go to the pool." So Aina pulled Karri into the office and said, "We need to make a plan to trick daddy. Tell him we have to go to the store but we'll really drive to the rec center. You have a bag already packed." Completely her idea!! So Karri packed a bag, got everyone in the car and "tricked" Aaron by driving to the rec center. Aina was so excited!

We had a great time at the pool. We played in the leisure pool for about a half hour, going around the lazy river, sliding down the slides. Then the leisure pool closed but the lap pool was open so we went in there and Karri taught Ani and Aina how to use a kickboard to do laps and practice kicking. Aina was especially proud of herself for "swimming" all alone. Ani was super fast, racing up and down the lanes. It was really fun. The video is kind of long - 3 minutes. 

Wednesday, 3-25-09

After a long week without the kids we got to have them tonight for dinner. The baby has pinkeye and the poor thing could barely open his eyes the whole time. He had yucky green eye gook that just wouldn't go away. :(

Karri painted the girls' nails and put pretty flower decals on them. Aina chose to go with pink fingernails and blue toenails, and Aleck chose the opposite. After seeing how cute Aina's toes looked Karri decided to do her own in blue!

This visit, like all other Wednesday visits, was too short. Thankfully, they will be coming on Friday to spend the weekend with us.

Thursday, 3-19-09

Aaron picked the children up at 9am today. As soon as they got here we went outside to ride bikes for a while. After a little bit, Karri, Aina, Aleck and Abram went inside to watch "The Wizard of Oz" while Aaron and Ani kept riding. Aina loved the movie almost as much as Karri does.

Aleck was really cold and just wanted to cuddle with Karri the whole time. Karri thought she might not be feeling well and a phone call from Andrea later in the day confirmed that.

Andrea picked the children up at noon.

Wednesday, 3-18-09

We went to pick the kids up at 3, but they weren't home. We waited and they showed up about 15 minutes later so we packed them into the car and headed to the playground. The girls all played with Aaron on the slides and then they all took turns swinging "spider" style with Karri. They loved that - especially Aina and Aleck. The laughter coming out of them was so contangious and wonderful. 

Afterwards, we came home and had a fried chicken dinner. It was a nice visit.

When Aaron took the kids home Andrea asked him if he could take them on Thursday morning from 9 - 1. Aaron agreed to take them until 12 because of a 1:00 appointment he already has. 

Sunday, 3-15-09

Today we went to the zoo. Exhausting, but fun. Is anything with five children not exhausting? It was a really nice day and we didn't even need our jackets. We all got to see our favorite animals, some even really close up. Baby got a new hat and looked so adorable.

Aaron tried to get a picture of all the girls but couldn't get them all to look at the same time. Check out the video - it's representative of our day.

Saturday, 3-14-09

Today we had our feast. It was a celebration of our finally being together. It was Alana's idea that we have one, and since we've had a turkey in the freezer since Thanksgiving, it worked out perfectly. (We weren't able to be together for Thanksgiving or Christmas - things are so much better now.)

Aaron's parents came as well as his brother Sam and his family, and his cousin Christine and her husband. It was a full house and it was wonderful, albeit exhausting!

Friday, 3-13-09

Since Andrea took Abram out of the state (without Aaron's permission or knowledge), we didn't get to see him on our regurlary scheduled time Wednesday night. So Andrea brought him over at 3 today to hang out with us for about four hours. The girls will be here at 5 to stay for the weekend.

Abram is just such a sweetie. We fed him prunes for the first time today and lo and behold, he liked it! He was eating it up, but I don't think it was going down fast enough for him because eventually he gave up and cried for a bottle.

He fell asleep eating and we laid him down in his new crib for his first sleep in it.

Thursday, 3-12-09

Another fun day together. The girls played all day and in the early afternoon we all went outside to ride bikes. Even Aleck had her own bike to ride and she loved it, though she needed lots of help.

At around 3 we went to the airport so the girls could see their mommy coming home from Seattle. Andrea wasn't very happy about that, though we can't figure out why - the girls were certainly excited to see her. They chose to ride home with us, however, and we stopped at Chili's for a fun family dinner. The girls were pretty well-behaved but going out to eat as a family isn't something we want to do often!

After dinner we dropped the girls off at their mom's for one night. They'll be back in less than 24 hours for our weekend.

Wednesday, 3-11-09

Today is Aaron's birthday!! He made his own special breakfast this morning of strawberry and banana crepes, then just relaxed around the house for a bit. Karri took Ani, Aina, and Aleck shopping to buy him birthday presents. (Alana was in school and already had picked out a present for him.) They all picked something out on their own (okay, Karri helped Aleck a little bit).

After we picked Alana up from school we all had lunch then went down to the rec center for swimming. They all love the pool, but we don't think any child has ever laughed as much as Aleck does when swimming! Ani and Alana went down the big, dark slide for the first time and loved it.

We picked up a stuffed pizza from Papa Murphy's and came home to watch "The Sword in the Stone," and eat dinner. We sand Happy Birthday and Aaron opened his presents. There couldn't be a happier daddy.

Tonight we have the girls in bed by eight, but sleep isn't quite in the cards yet.

Tuesday, 3-10-09

The kids are on a three week break from school and of that three weeks Andrea is letting them stay with their father for two whole extra days. So they came over today at around 3:30. We had a fun time watching movies, playing, and reading books. Bedtime was a bit of a challenge being as they had stayed up really late the night before and slept way in. We always struggle with bedtime the first night they sleep over but by the next night we usually have worked things out and got them on a normal schedule again. 

Saturday, 3-7-09

We had just baby Abram today for about 4 hours. He is such a sweet baby. He's just all smiles and is rarely fussy. We bought a MacLaren baby carrier and we took turns carrying him close and it was so nice. We got his crib set up in his room but he was awake most of the day so he didn't get to use it yet. We love having him around and just wish we could see him more. It feels like the time we have just isn't enough. We'll miss him until next week.

Wednesday, 3-4-09

Today Aaron picked Aina up from school at 11:30 and then she went with Karri to pick Alana up at 1:00. The two had a tea party with some of their dolls, then they played outside for a while. Aaron picked up Ani from school at 3:30, then Aleck and Abram. We had a little birthday party for Aleck and she loved it. The baby slept through most of it, but when he was awake he was smiling as usual. We fed him baby cereal for the first time and he seemed to like it.

We also gave the girls some Christmas presents that we had been holding on to until we could be together. They were so excited and the fairy dolls made the biggest hit. It was another wonderful visit with lots of hugs and kisses, and we will be sad until we see them again next Wednesday.

Sunday, 2-29-09

Today we took the kids to church. They were all dressed up in matching dresses and Karri curled their hair and they all looked beautiful. We arrived at church on time but too late to find a pew so we sat in the overflow. Aaron left the girls with Karri while he went to find Andrea, who attends church in the same building, different time, so he could get the baby. We stayed through sacrament and the kids all behaved nicely.

When we got home we had "grown-up" sandwiches of turkey and cheese, then put on our play clothes and went to a new Pixie Hollow. The kids climbed rocks, played in arches, and looked for fairies. Aleck is adventurous and we had to keep a close eye on her! Abram loved being outdoors and was happy the whole while.

When we got home the girls all worked together to clean their room and they did a wonderful job. (Didn't we say we're a great team?).

We had a fantastic weekend and we were all sad to see it end.

Saturday, 2-28-09

Today, the girls woke up bright and early. We all had cereal for breakfast then we got ready for the party. The girls all wore matching outfits and looked so cute. Aaron decorated the house with streamers and Karri made a cake. Guests arrived at 11 and all the kids played and laughed. Loud, happy noises were coming from the rooms. Everyone ate pigs-in-a-blanket and mini pizza bagels before singing happy birthday and opening presents. Ani got some great gifts.

We had baby Abram for most of the day and he was just a gem. We held him and played with him and fed him. He smiles and laughs so much and it's awfully contagious. He even played drums with daddy.

After the party, we all just relaxed a bit. We spent the rest of the day at home, just glad to be together. We had a yummy spaghetti dinner (Aaron had leftover meatloaf - who doesn't like spaghetti?) and bedtime was a cinch. This time Aina and Alana slept on top and Ani slept on bottom. Aleck again went to "her" room and stayed in bed all through the night.

We learned a valuable lesson: We are a great team.

Friday, 2-27-09

The kids arrived and were happy as ever to be here. We had a great dinner of pot roast with potatoes and carrots and we talked and laughed at the dinner table.

After dinner the girls all had baths, and put on their pj's. We all grabbed pillows and blankets, turned on the fireplace, and gathered around the downstairs television to watch "Alvin and the Chipmunks." We ate popcorn and rice krispie treats and Aleck had the most!

At bedtime, we tried putting all four of them in the room together but Aleck was just too excited and distracted everyone. So Ani and Aina slept on the top bunk, Alana slept on the bottom, and Aleck slept in the baby's room, which is probably going to become her room after all.

We were a little worried about Aleck since she sleeps with her mother now and doesn't like to be alone anymore. But we tucked her in nicely and Karri promised her treats if she could stay in bed all night. We left the room and Aleck made a loud cry that lasted for all of about one minute. Then she was done and while it took her about half an hour to fall asleep, she never left the bed. She slept there all night and we are so proud of her.