Happy 7th Birthday Preston!!!

REALLY LATE!!! April 14th was Preston's birthday. I am late posting but we actually celebrated for about 2 weeks to accommodate everyone and our crazy schedules. We are so thankful to have Preston in our family. We sat down as a family and wrote things that describe him and correspond to his name. Here are our answers:

P is for pizza because that's his favorite food

R is for rambunctous because he loves to wrestle

E is for energetic he has so much we can't keep up

S is for smile it will light up a room

T is for taller than a lot of his friends

O is for obedient...most of the time!!

N is for no one could ever take his place in our hearts

We think he is the greatest. His laugh is contagious and his smile is the brightest. We love you and are thankful for you. Hope you had a great day.

Riley's turn for Mobius Kids

My favorite place to take my kids. I can't brag enough about it...but this time it was all about Riley and her Kindergarten class and their first "real" field trip. We got to take the bus downtown and walk a short distance to Riverpark Square (the mall that houses Mobius). It was time for lunch so we went up to the gallery in the food court (yes, an art gallery just off the food court at the mall) and let the kids eat their food. This was almost as much fun Mobius, because most Kindergarteners still eat lunch at home. Here are the girls enjoying their lunches.

When we got to Mobius, the kids all lined up so they could give them a really quick briefing about the museum rules and being respectful. It was very hard for them to listen because they were so excited about what they were going to do. Riley is an old pro...we have a membership so it's not new, but there were lots of kids who had never been there and were chomping at the bit to get to the exhibits. I don't blame them, it's hours of entertainment and they were having a hard time deciding where to go first.

After close to two hours of non-stop playing( I couldn't get any pictures because I was running around trying to keep track of kids) we hopped back on the bus...which was another first for quite a few of the kids....and came back to the school. Riley said it was the best field trip she'd ever been on, of course it's only the first one!!!

It's Been So Long...

I know, I have been very lax in my blogging lately. I feel like there is nothing to talk about and then I go through my pictures and I realize that there really has been a lot, I'm just a slacker. So here is my attempt at a few things that happened recently. I'll try to keep it short. Keep reading!!!

It's a Boy!!

Todd Wins!! The bet was on and Todd is the big winner. Baby #5 is a boy. No we do not have a name and we probably won't until right before he is born. I voted for a girl, only because I have girl clothes. I haven't had a boy in 7 years, so there are no clothes at our house that work for baby boys. It's really kind of funny, but we are looking forward to doing some shopping!!! Everyone is really excited, even Riley, although she is convinced that she will be naming him.

Cassie cuteness

My family has continuously teased me that my kids are really good. I always said that they just put on a good show when they are not at home. Cassie and I went over to visit Grammy the other day and what happened? Cass plopped herself down and went to sleep on the floor next to Abby. There she slept, with at least 10 people and 2 dogs stepping over her. We did push her out of the way, but I was worried if I picked her up she would wake up. She slept this way for over an hour. OK, maybe she is really good.

Cass has also decided that she is old enough to play the "tendo" (Nintendo DS). Obviously she can't really play it, but she really enjoys telling her siblings to give her the Tendo and "tendo on". She is really funny. Here is her typical stance while playing. Notice she is even trying to use the stylus...

She loves to play with her brothers and sisters things...especially shoes and hats. She cracks us up that she loves to put these things on and parade around the house showing us what a big girl she is. Most of the time she encourages her brothers to play along.

Grammy got a new dog

Grammy Nowels got a new dog, her name is Ava and she is a Visla (pronounced Veeshla). She is quite skittish, but she is really pretty and she loves the kids. She is also a couch potato. If you are sitting on the couch in "her spot" she will come and sit right on your lap...until you move.

Hoagie Night

Monday nights at our house are Hoagie Night...We buy all the fixins' for Sandwiches and the kids get to build their own on these great french bread buns. These are the pictures of what our kids built we had our first Hoagie night. Rob's was so big he couldn't even get it into his mouth, but we were impressed so we took a picture, and then everyone else wanted in on the action.