a little six kids

We tried taking a photo of all six kids ... this was the best we got :) 

a little bit of gunnar-isms

Got him new PJs and while in the van, asked what was on them. I said, "Stripes and balls." (They were sporty, and I thought he wouldn't "approve.") And Gun replied with, "Um, no thanks." But now he wears them ... ;) 

While riding in the van he says, "When I grow up, I'm not gonna be in your family."
Me: "You aren't?!"
Gunnar: "Nope. I'm gonna have my OWN family."
After a few seconds of thinking ...
"But...I'll come visit you, on my MOTORCYCLE."
(This was just after a conversation with him about how dangerous motorcycles are, which ended with him saying he'd give Halo a ride on his motorcycle that he was getting when he grew up.)

He says "Bam! Gotcha dude!" to all sorts of funny things. And to his sisters, "Bam! Gotcha lady!" (Though sometimes he slips and calls them dude too.)

He came in from playing outside and says to Ezzie, "I'm gonna sing you a song!"
(Playing an air guitar)
God is always with you!
He's never with anyone else!
God won't go anywhere!
God will never leave you.

Talking to Baby, You have two ears, two eyes, one nosey, one head, one mouth, two arms, 5 and 5 is 10 fingers, two legs, 5 and 5 is 10 toes, and one butt. 

He is a crazy "kisser." He loves to give kisses - I used to be the main recipient, but since Baby was born, Gun smothers Finney with kisses. And he always has to give back ones to his sisters, if they sneak one on him.

Everything is about war and guns and camo with Gun (and Ezzie) right now. The first thing he analyzes, even when getting new clothes/shoes, is "are they army"? His new rainboots/snowboots: They use these in the ARMY!

The middle boys marching in their army-getup

a little back to school, yet again (part i)

It's September again. Last school year seemed to fly by! Hayley did some photos of the kids today (minus Ivy and Jensen - they'll be later).

Halo, age 17 - junior in highschool and freshman in college.

Ez, age 8 - 3rd grader

Little Gun, age 4 - K4

And this adorable one of our oldest and the current (not for long) littlest :)

a yummy heart

"Wow, G!  I can't believe you're almost four!"  I said.

"I'll still be small and I'll still be so nice to Mommy," he replied.

"You're so sweet," I told him ... "You make my heart feel happy."

"And YOU make my heart feel so yummy, Mommy."

This kid is a charmer :)  He has helped lift my spirits many times ...

a little Wyoming - Part 1

This is our third...well, fourth major family trip of this year. We've made a trip to Florida, a trip to the farm in Huron, and a trip to Rapid City where J's folks live, and our final trip has been to Jackson Hole, Wyoming! (Maybe more about those other trips later)

Jackson is about an 18 hour drive, so we stayed over night with J's parents on our way out and plan to do so on our way back! 

Some photos from the drive!

On our second day, we went on a three mile hike along Snake River. All the kids came and did really well. Scenery was beautiful, and ... we saw a moose!!!

Some rock-throwing was done

And running

 These two were taken right before the moose-sighting!

We got super close to this moose!

And that's a story in itself! We were down by a little branch of the river, admiring a beaver dam and some trout visible in the crystal-clear water. Then Hayley heard branches snapping and a grunt. She told Jeff and they tore up the little incline to the path ... where we saw this moose. Hayley began screaming and the moose started trotting through the woods. We thought it would be gone, but then it stopped and came over the barbed wire and up onto the path we were on! We kept our distance and assumed the moose would keep it's, but it started coming towards us! At one point some of us could have reached out and touched it, it was so close. It galloped up to the boys, and E did a "stop, drop, and roll" down into a ravine to get away from the moose!!! It was quite an adventure. 

a ranch and a cop

When we were driving through Wyoming, we saw lots of animals and farms/ranches.  At one point, Halo said, "I want goats!  I want horses!  I want a ranch!"

Then G said, "When I'm big I am going to be a U.S. cop and I'm going to GUARD Halo's ranch!!!"

Normandy Beach

I should be in a painting class because I can make World War Two.  See?  I made Normany (Normandy) Beach!  (photo coming)

more from G

If I was Hayley ...
and if I was taller ...
and if I was a baker ...
and if I made coffee cake ...
I would put ICE CREAM on top!
3.6.17


I want to be in the army ... but I don't want to be Nazis.
I want to be a general and have a bomber plane.
3.8.17

a little encourager

G is my cheerleader :)  He says endearing and encouraging things to me almost daily.  Here's a couple I happened to jot down ...

"You are the goodest mommy in the whole world and so sweet and so nice.  So nice. So nice. SO NICE!"  ("so nice" about 10 more times).

1.13.17

"I always want YOU for my Mommy!"  (He sang this a few times.) 

2.20.17 


"I love you so so bad, Mommy!  I'm so glad I have you!"
3.8.17

burnt toast and Methuselah

"There's only a bunch of days til we die," said G.

"If you eat a LOT of burnt toast you'll live for a long time ... I bet that's what Methuselah did," replied E.

"Did she get fat?" asked G.

"No.  And it's not a she; it's a he," concluded E.

childrens music

I was looking through some of our CDs and DVDS the other day looking for one in particular ... although I can't remember even what at this point.  Anyway ... as I was thumbing through them I realized we have a bunch of children's music that hasn't been played in years.  I played some of these CDs a lot when I only had three little kids ... but as those little kids got older and began selecting the music a lot of the time we had stopped listening to all of this *music made for kids*.  In fact, when Ezzie was two ... some of his most familiar music was by Matt Kearney.  So ... determined to expose Ezzie and G to some music geared towards littles ... I grabbed about 5 CDS to leave in the van.  

A couple days later ... it was just me and G in the van driving to pick up the other kids.  I popped in a Cedarmont Kids CD and after a few lines, G asked, "Mommy, do you know who is singing this song?"

"No, I'm not sure who it is," I answered.

He listened a little bit longer ... "I think ... I think it is Gunnar!"  he said with a bit of wonder in his voice :)  

for the love

Foof was bugging G -- and therefore me too -- by trying to make him wear a new sweatshirt ...

"For the LOVE!" I said with some irritation ...

"OF PETER!" G finished {without missing a beat and in the same tone and way I would say it}.

It was hilarious.  We all laughed and G got out of wearing the sweatshirt.

a funny reminder

Christmas Eve, which was last night ... when E went to bed ... he made this sign and hung it on the door.  

{Daddy had been teasing him that he might sleep in and we might forget him when we left for Rapid City ... and perhaps E thought there was a chance it actually might happen?}

(photo coming)

"Don't leave me behind!  Ezra! ZZZZZZZ"

nuts to the world!

I let G wear shorts while we went to Panera last night.

*** This morning ... ***

Is it cold this day (always says "this day" instead of today)?

Yes.

Oh nuts. 

It's winter.  

Nuts to the world!

It will be cold until it's summer again.

Well ... can I wear shorts today because I am three?

I don't know.

Camo shorts?
I got you some new jeans last night that you could try ...

Are they short jeans? (shorts)
No, they are jeans ... long pants ... because it's winter.

Oh.  Am I three years old?
Yes.

Can I wear shorts this day because I am three?

We'll see ...

a little conversation

G and I were talking about something and I was explaining something and I said ...

"Well ... remember when J and I went on the cruise?
G: "Yes ... and I was so so sad.  And I missed you.  And I cried.  And I wanted you to come back.  

And you DID!  You did come back and I was YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!"

Mommy: "I did come back." 
G: "Was I a baby then?"
Mommy: "No, you were three ... and now you are three and a half.  We celebrated your birthday when it was your last day of being two. Then, the next morning it was your birthday ... but I didn't see you because J and I had to go to the airport so early."

G: "Will I have another birthday?"
Mommy: "Yes, in May you will be four."

G: "And I'll be as big as E!"

Mommy: "No ... you won't.  He will still be older and he will be turning 8.

And when you turn 5 he'll be 9.  And so on.

When you turn 6 he'll turn 10."

G: "What the heck???  I have a bunch of birthdays!?!"

more about the darling bear outfit

This morning ...

G knows I think his bear outfit is so cute -- but he doesn't like it.  I hadn't even mentioned wearing it -- but apparently it was on his mind and he was trying to figure out how to avoid wearing it.

G: "Can you wear bear shirts to church, Dadda?"

Daddy: "Yes, you can."

G: "No, you can't.  It's against the law!"

Mommy: "No, it isn't.  You can wear bear shirts to church."

G:  "No.  The pastor says you can't!"

a little moon sliver

Gun: Ezzie called me a dork so I'm going to make a "wanted" sign.  (E often makes signs about his older brother being wanted.  They're pretty funny ... but the oldest brother always destroys them before I can get a photo taken.)

So Gun plopped down with a marker and pape ... stared at the paper briefly and put his hand on his head ...

Gun: I can't because ...

Daddy: You don't know how to spell?

Gun: Uh-huh.  So I'm just going to make a moon ...

He started drawing his moon.

Daddy: You're making a sliver.

Gun: Yes, it does look like a sliver (meaning tiny foreign object in your hand/foot) ... but it's a moon :)

fun fun fun fun fun

Out of the blue G started telling me this ...

"Once last winter I remember a giant funfunfunfunfun!

Halo was pulling us in the tube and she was going so fast 

and Ezzie was not holding on.  

I had to hold on so I didn't fall off.

I was like hold unhold hold unhold hold unhold hold unhold."

Me: "Why were you unholding?"

G: "For fun!  Just for fun!"

Me: "You just told me a story."

G: "Uh-huh."

Me: "It's good practice for school ... when you get older and have to write journals and stories."

G: "Uh-huh.  It's a good idea."

G: "Oh,and once she flipped me up then down.

And I was holding on. The whole time I was holding on.

I was holding on for a long time and holding on and I didn't fell.

Isn't that so funny, Mama?"

Then he proceeded to sing "I love my mama!"  

He probably sang this a dozen times.

Three year olds can be so delightful :)

Also, G is so thankful ... for even the most basic things ... 
Like ... thank you for taking me to church ... thank you for taking me to school (he says this and he doesn't even attend ... we drop the kids off and pick them up and he says hi to people so he loves it anyway).

foofie-isms

I like to over-achieve every time!

I was thinking I could do my math book in a month and then I'd be math-free the rest of the year! 

Don't drive behind cars with "baby on board" signs ... they are always slow.

blue jacket for sale

I think this was 6 days ago (or maybe 13?).  G and I dropped Foof and Ez at Awana and then we were going to run a couple of errands.  It was pretty chilly but G wasn't dressed for it.  He has been protesting wearing pants all fall ... he is slightly open to wearing pants if his camo pants are clean ... otherwise no way.  We've had lots of issues trying to overcome his pickiness.  I got him this darling outfit at Costco ... it has a vintage look to it and it has a big bear head on the shirt ... but the sweatpants are tight at the bottom.  I made him wear them this outfit and it was painful for all of us.  Anyway ...

It was chilly and he was in shorts and a tee short ... and lucky us ... I found a jacket stashed under one of the seats in the van ... and it was even one of G's jackets!

Me:  Hey, look!  Here's your blue jacket ... now you don't have to be so cold walking across the parking lot.
G: I won't wear it.  It's we-ud!!!  (weird)
Me: No, it isn't.  Why do you think it's weird?
G: It has bullet pockets.
Me: Well, I would think you would like bullet pockets.  You could put your bullets in them ...  Where are these bullet pockets anyway?
G: Inside, I think.
I couldn't find any inside pockets ... and only two regular pockets on the outside.
Me: I know you don't like the bullet pockets ... but some people get upset when they see little kids without warm clothes on when it's cold outside. So let's just put it on anyway ...
G: I'm not wearing it.  I'm SELLING it.  Seven dollars.  Sixteen dollars.  Nineteen dollars.
I laughed ...
G: Actually it's FREE.
I laughed again ...
G: It is, Mama.  It is!  It's FREE and it's not mine.
He won ...

Then ... a few days later while we were in the van, G spilled on himself and that's always upsetting to him.
I jumped in the back and looked for something to dry him with and all I could find was the blue jacket.

Me: Here ... we'll just dry you off with this jacket you're selling ...
G laughed :)

a little math vacation

NOTE: I started this 3.5 months ago and it isn't done ... but I'm putting it out here anyway :)  Maybe I'll add more captions and edit more ... in the future.  Just trying to get back into it however I can ...

J and I went on a cruise in early May.  He won the cruise for two because he was selected to compete in a math competition.  

Foofie bought each of us some treats and wrote notes on them.  She woke up early and rode along to the airport.  When we got out of the van, she surprised us with goodie bags :)

Daddy "bumped" us up to first class on the way there :)  We enjoyed the extra space and tasty breakfast -- and (of course!) he only wants to fly first class from now on ...

Fluffy, friendly-looking clouds :)

Mini-golf ...

New friends ...

Lots of ice cream ... because it's hard to pass up free (already-paid-for) ice cream ...

Rode in this van with a driver named Jimmy ... prayed for safety most of the way and for Jimmy to be patient about passing enormous dump trucks and the like.  About a half hour ride ... no seatbelts ... and the only signs on the sides of the road were things like "SLOW DOWN!  ARRIVE ALIVE!!!"  and "DRIVE WITH CAUTION!" and my favorite ... "UNDERTAKERS LOVE OVERTAKERS!  DRIVE CAREFULLY!"

Thank the Lord, we did arrive alive.  Paradise Cove ... where it's $4 per person just to step on the beach. Another $5 per person if you want to sit on a chair and so on :)  This was our adventure day before the competition.  I said we don't need a planned excursion ... we'll just make our own :)

This guy was supposed to tell us where to snorkel and where not to snorkel -- and the painting above his head was used as a map to point out the dangerous and safe areas.  Unfortunately, we had trouble understanding him ...

Yes we did :)  And ... why is Deadman's Reef in Paradise Cove???

Favorite lunch.  Two burgers and fries for his first course ... and then another plate of whatever ... and then ice cream ...

Butterfly I spotted on the ship ...

Alligator bites ... kinda weird ...

Our dinner booth :)

J and a few of his friends ...

Doing card tricks ...