Girls just wanna "Accessorize"

Avery is my "girly girl." She loves fashion and has her own sense of style. Her outfits may or may not conform to what is typically considered "a match." Don't stand in her way...you won't win. Yesterday she wore bright fuchsia pants (cute in their own right) paired up with a cherry red tee-shirt complete with brown sparkle flip flops. Not terrible, I've seen worse. I tried to explain"it just doesn't match." But, really... who cares. She went to the store that way. She also loves bracelets, lots of them. Anything will do. As of yesterday morning she was still wearing several brightly colored rubber bands and was perfectly satisfied that they were bracelets. I wasn't. We made plans that afternoon to head over to Micheal's, purchase new beads and string bracelets. You get to do that when you are the youngest child home with mom all day. She picked out all the beads. Prize of the day! I wish you could see the smile that stretched across her face. We came home, sat down and strung beads; just the two of us. Avery is a little fashionista, shopping lover, chatter box, lunch partner, and girl after my own heart.

A day designed just for her

Today Ellie attended her first ever workshop for siblings of children with disabilities. This award winning nationally affiliated program is uniquely designed to fit the needs of these children. Often, they feel a very different yet real set of pressures and responsibilities that a "typical" peer or classmate may not understand. Ellie is the perfect age for this workshop. This program, entitled "Sibshops" will meet every other month and she is so excited! She loved every minute of it. Ellie understands Zachary's disability, she will go out of her way to help him, and is so patient with him. But, this can be hard work, especially for a 4th grader! She deserves some recognition. And this program offers the children just that. Or, at least an avenue to "vent" followed up with a pat on the back. Like I said, it's an award winning program, they have done their homework they know what these kids need and how to boost them up. All in all, it well, I think. Really, we as parents were encouraged not to ask to many questions (to preserve the "honesty"and "openness" of the group time.) Ouch! I don't like that one bit...I'm a detail girl. Ellie and I chit- chatted for a minute, I then asked if she was up for just a FEW questions ...to which she replied," no more questions!" So, as much as I'd like to give you more details, I'm trying to respect the wishes of all parties involved. But, I think Ellie's favorite part of the day was meeting a new friend, Olivia. She lives in the next neighborhood over. Looks like a playdate on Monday.

It's moments like this...

That make all the other parenting struggles worthwhile. Last night's Family Home Evening started out just like every other...a few "time outs", a few hurried, tense moments with the tone of "let's get on with this, already"and lots of chatting with no one settling down long enough to listen for the opening. Finally, we make it to the lesson. Jeff's turn. He prepares on the fly but always makes the best impression (I wish I had his gift of teaching.) Now, Zachary takes center stage for a moment to teach Avery something. Oh, No. He started in with his famous "plastic bag" object lesson, referring to the likeness of the Holy Ghost. It's a stretch but he came up with himself and he uses it in every lesson he gives and at some point in every family home evening. I start to giggle (I know, not very mature) But, then only moments later my heart begins to swell and I am so touched with the spirit. Now, tears. My sweet tender boy was teaching his little sister a lesson and in the meantime bearing his testimony to her. He spoke of the "indescribable and wonderful" feeling of coming out of the waters of baptism. He also began to tear up as he told her "it's hard to explain how great it felt to be baptized" He has something very special to share and he holds it dear to his heart.

So, as I watched my little boy bear his testimony to his family I was reminded of the countless hours that we as parents have literally forced our children into 3 hours of church each and every Sunday. It is for this very reason, that they develop personal testimonies of the Savior, that they know they are children of God and they are loved. It's moments like this that make all the other's worthwhile.

Back to School

What, 4th grade you say? Yep, Zachary and Ellie are officially 4th graders. Summer vacation is over. Gone. Finished. Final. We had ourselves a doozy, and enjoyed every minute of it. This was quite a summer. Most definitely filled to the brim with family fun! Now, we look forward to a new action packed and interesting year for the twins in 4th grade. I have a good feeling about this year. Ellie is (of course) very eager, excited and ready to begin 4th grade and will do so with ease. Zachary is ready to take another vacation! But I know my little guy, and he will make it through the challenges that lay ahead with his feisty attitude, sense of humor and witty charm. Wish them both luck this year. I love you, Zachary and Ellie.

Ellie and her teacher, Miss Bailey. You can bet, Zach did NOT want a picture at the school with his teacher Mr. Schutte. But, Darn it I tried.

Niobrara River

Who knew floating down a river in Nebraska could be so pretty. Beautiful. We had a wonderful time on our mini trip to the Niobrara. We joined our friends the Bischoffs and Cleggs on this quick jaunt to Valentine Nebraska. When I say "float" the river I mean it... it was so relaxing and casual. It was enjoyable for all, even the "wee ones." The kids loved to jump on and off into the river & ON the tubes and bounce around. We had some kayaks, Ellie's personal favorite. My personal favorite was stopping at the many waterfalls along the way. Wow. I was surprised to see such sights. This is "Smith Falls" the largest waterfall in Nebraska.
Ellie and Avery down at the bottom of this huge waterfall. The neat part of this waterfall was the hike back to it, you could walk part of the way through the falls run off. Soooo, icy cold. Stair Step Falls, gorgeous.

Done floating for the day. The best part, we had hired Graham's outfitters to organize our river ride & set up our camp. They prepared everything from the tents, tables, fire and grilled the food. Time to get our "grub on" A big thank you to Bruce for arranging the details and planning this fun trip.

Can't camp without s'mores.and good friends

Zachary's souvenir

We returned home this weekend from a little trip to the Niobrara river and Zachary brought home this souvenir.

I must say, he was quite a trooper and rarely complained, cried, or even whimpered. But, at the slightest touch of his arm he felt pain so Jeff knew to have it looked at as soon as we returned home.

The trip was wonderful, and I will post more later. Now, Zachary and I are off to his special education open house for school. He has the chance to meet his teachers and aides. He is excited to show off his cast. Although, the cast is starting to itch right now, so the thrill is going to be short lived, I can tell.

My superstar husband...

fixed my super-slow computer so, now it's super fast! Ask him how he did it , and he will be forced to blog!

Thank you, Jeff. I love all the "little things" that you do for me that make my life easier and more enjoyable. I heart you!

At this very moment...

I want to freeze time. I want to remember and cherish these moments forever, however small and insignificant they may seem to me right now. I know I will someday look back and need to remember these little moments of my children growing and blossoming into what I hope will someday be happy and well adjusted adults. But, at this very moment they are still the simple and carefree children who love to play, giggle, swim, snuggle, sing, dance, and dip all their food in RANCH Dressing!

Last night at the dinner table Jeff turned to me and said " milk and Ranch dressing are sustaining Zach's life". Yes, it's true these are main stables in his diet. He dips everything in ranch. So, when do your taste buds mature to the point of not dipping absolutely EVERYTHING in ranch? This is definitely a phase of his life. And, a phase I'd like to remember. The simple time... when his food tasted better drenched in ranch dressing.

I wanted to record this time in their lives so I took a little survey with the kids at dinner.

At this very moment...Zach's other favorite food is sesame chicken. He loves to watch "30 minute meals" with Rachel Ray. His Favorite pastime is to help me cook in the kitchen. So, it should come as no surprise that he wants to be a chef when he grows up. He has had a busy summer swimming and going to camp Monroe. One of his favorite TV shows is the" Antique Roadshow" and the other is "Arthur". At this very moment, I will always remember Zach's soft, sweet smelling skin and his love of snuggling!

At this very moment....Ellie loves steak and BBQ chicken. Her favorite pastime is to read the "Friend" she will even wait for it to come in the mail. She also loves to have playdates and play her DS. She is taking piano lessons and swimming this summer. She is an incredible reader and it should come as no surprise that she wants to be an author when she grows up. Her favorite pop culture icon happens to be Joe Jonas ie, the Jonas Brothers. At this very moment...I will never forget her eyes. Her baby blues sparkle like crazy and have such a pretty almond shape.

At this very moment...Avery loves burritos, or should I say all things with refried beans. She likes to play with our cats but is especially thrilled with dogs. She loves animals. Which is why it should come as no surprise that she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up . By the way, she has wanted to be a veterinarian since she was 2 1/2! She has had a fun summer having Ellie and Zach home and taking swimming lessons. She is excited for her dance lessons to start in the fall. Avery loves Curious George! Everything from the character, the show, books, and cd's in our car. At this very moment...I can not get enough of her contagious giggle, that belly laugh of Avery's that inevitably shows off her cute dimples!

Photos taken last night at our friends beautiful pool. We had a wonderful night, enjoying good company, food and even the weather!

missin' this girl like crazy

It's Ellie's turn for vacation to Gigi and Papa's house, she's been there since Sunday. She is having the time of her life. We are feeling like "something is missing" at home. Truthfully, it's such an important time for everyone. The child that is on the vacation feels special while the ones left behind have some unique time with mom and dad as well. Such a good thing. Thank you for everything, Gigi. We love you. I pick Gigi and Ellie up at the airport late tonight. I can't wait to see her big, beautiful smile.