Camp-Out

Last weekend (gosh, time really does fly by) we had a camp-out in our backyard.  We set up our sun shade and our fire pit and brought our blankets and pillows out!  We had dinner on the patio and then Carey brought out his guitar and we sat around the fire and sang songs and roasted marshmallows.  That was the best part, for sure.  So fun to hear the kids sweet voices singing and enjoy the kind of family time that is more like in a movie than in real life!

Once the kids actually climbed into their "beds", Seth lasted about two minutes before declaring that his bed was warmer than the one outside and that he was going inside!  Laura and I read with the girls for a while and then they went to sleep.  Haley wanted to go in the house around 1:00 in the morning because the crickets were bugging her!  Abby made it outside all night long!  We really had a great time and I think it will become a Memorial Day weekend tradition!

Seth was singing his heart out!

Auntie Laura told stories about when she was a kid:)

Abby Lost A Tooth

I pretty much count on the blog to be the keeper of all family memories/milestones, since no one has a baby book around here.  It's so nice that it automatically dates each post and can easily be made into a printed book (even though I'm about two year behind on that part).  The problem is, I have to actually post about the event when it happened.  Otherwise, who knows the date! 

I can not remember if this story I am about to type happened last week or three weeks ago!  I'm fairly certain it was about a week and a half ago.  We were having burgers for dinner one Sunday evening, and Abby decided to use her teeth to try to open our mustard container.  She tried so hard that she loosened one of her front bottom teeth!  Until then, she had never had a wiggly tooth so she was really excited about it.  She hardly even ate any dinner after that because she was so distracted by wiggling her tooth.  The following day that wiggly tooth was all consuming.  I mean, I don't think she had any clue about anything that was happening around her because she had a wiggly tooth.  It was starting to make me crazy, and I was dreading how long it was going to take for it to come out, since it really wasn't even naturally loose!  Tuesday morning she was in la la land with her wiggly tooth instead of getting ready for school.  I finally asked her if I could just pull it out, thinking she was going to be so distracted/ing in class for the second day in a row.  She asked if it would hurt and I said it probably would because it really wasn't ready to come out.  Then she asked if it would bleed and I said it would probably bleed a lot since I really wasn't ready to come out.  Despite my answers to her questions, she agreed to let me pull it out.  I grabbed it, thinking for sure that one of the two of us was going to chicken out of this whole thing.  Ughh...just thinking about typing it right now I got all heeby jeeby!  I gave it a pull forward and it literally popped out onto the kitchen floor!  Oh, that makes me shudder, even just thinking about it!

Abby was SO excited (and adorable with that little hole in her smile)!  It did bleed for quite a long time...to the point that we were almost late for school!  She was rinsing with warm saltwater and was such a trooper about it.  I finally just gave her a rag, told her to bite on it, hop in the car, and that it would probably be done bleeding by the time we got to school (it was)!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Puppy!

Yesterday Banjo turned 1 year old and we had a lot of fun celebrating.  Can you tell I love any opportunity to celebrate?!  We love our dog so so much.  I can't even believe how much I love him, since I'm not really a dog person.  He's such a good dog and just fits in the family so well.  He matches the energy level of the kids (he runs and plays with them when they are full of energy, and lays on his bed when they're not) and snuggles with them in their beds at night.  He goes running with me (and has only tripped me once)!  He is so great that we've had multiple neighbors say that we've converted them to poodles and that next time they get a dog, that's what they're getting.  Plus, he makes it look like I've worked so hard to train him, even though I really haven't.  He's just that good!

The day we brought Banjo home.

homework helper

Birthday boy (and no, my girls did not plan to match...just randomly both wore purple and bright green!)

We ate this cake.  Banjo got a special dog cookie from the pet store!

You're Welcome!

Seth the American Child

If you know me, you know that I really try hard to not be a "stuff" person.  I try to not talk about things that I want, and I am generally really thankful for the things that we have.  I do love to get a cute new doormat when ours gets old, and I do have a wreath for pretty much every season, but I also LOVE to get rid of stuff. 

Seth, on the other hand, loves stuff.  Specifically he loves getting new-to-him stuff.  So, on Saturday we took the kids to my favorite thrift store (I try not to buy retail clothes) to let them pick out Easter outfits (the one holiday I let them pick out something new-to-them to wear).  As we were parking I said to the kids "Now, you might find something you love and you might not see anything you love.  What if you don't find anything you really like?" and Seth quickly responded "just get something you don't like"!  Oh, my.  He is truly an American child (and this is one of the reasons I always tell Carey I want to move to a remote farm somewhere and start our own little commune)!

It's Spring!

Sheesh, I have been a terrible blogger lately.  Part of the reason is that nothing super noteworthy has happened.  The other part is that I was one of two people in charge of Abby's school's auction, which was last Saturday.  Needless to say, that took up A LOT of my time for a few weeks! 

Things are just swimming along here in the Webber household.  We couldn't be more in love with Banjo.  He really is THE BEST DOG!  He is so good natured (people often ask me how I trained him to stay in our yard...I didn't!) and lovey and cuddly with the kiddos.  I've recently trained him to run with me.  It's fun to take him along and people seem to be totally entertained seeing a poodle on a run!  Last week my fear of tripping on him came true and I fell all the way down on my frontside.  My elbow was rather skinned up and really bruised, but that's all! 

Haley is doing really well in home school.  The first few weeks were great (honeymoon phase!), then we had a few really difficult weeks, and now I feel like we've settled into it!  She's seems so much more comfortable in her own skin and is more ready to give and accept hugs and kisses than ever before!  I'm learning that I am definitely not a homeschooler at heart, but it's working out for now! 

Haley continues to love spending time with her friends, building and creating forts and cozy spots, and drawing and writing.  She's been really fun to be around lately and is full of great ideas!

Haley spent a recent Saturday afternoon on our curb selling pictures she drew (one of her great ideas)!

Abby has taken huge steps academically this year.  Her reading and writing continue to get so much better every day!  She comes home from school happy and smiley and ready to spend time playing at home.  She's been having so much fun playing with the dog, swinging on our swings and jumping on the trampoline.  She is as determined as ever to see her ideas come to fruition, so matter what the cost!  She's become more self-conscious lately, comparing herself to classmates and her siblings, so we're working on that.  Oh, and she just got a new bike because she is just so tall!

Abby likes to show her creativity in her outfits!  Here's a classic!

Seth is...well, he's four.  I forgot how difficult it is to have a four year old!  He's either so fun and funny and wonderful to be around, or he is hitting and screaming and terrible to be around!  He's working really hard on telling people how he's feeling instead of screaming the "h" word (hate) and hitting and throwing things.  He's LOVING preschool and has made some really good buddies.  Seth tells me more about what happens at preschool than Haley or Abby ever did, which is so fun.  I love hearing about it!  He's totally into super-heros and always tells me who he "was" at preschool!  Usually Spider Man!  Oh, and he can ride his bike with me when I run, now!  He just started a couple weeks ago.  I thought there was no way he would make it three miles with me, but he totally did!

We are all excited that it's Spring!  There has been lots of bike riding and going to bed later than normal, since it's so light after dinner! 

Wisdom from the Wee Ones!

So, this year, my dad turned 60 and I had my kids make a book of 60 pieces of advice for him.   I mean, my kids are fairly certain that they know everything!  Turns out, they are so full of advice, I thought it should be shared with more than just Poppa Phil!

1.     eat normal (Abby)

2.     eat quickly (Seth)

3.     close your mouth when you’re eating (Abby)

4.     don’t eat rotten eggs (Haley)

5.     be polite (Abby)

6.     don’t show your butt at the table (Abby)

7.     Don’t talk potty talk at the table (Haley)

8.     Always look where you’re going (Haley)

9.     Always buckle up (Seth)

10.  Don’t talk on your cell phone when you’re driving (Abby)

11.  Don’t throw stuff in the car (Haley)

12.   Don’t eat too much food (Seth)

13.   When you shave, shave lightly so you don’t get owies (Abby)

14.  Drink a lot of water (Haley)

15.   Don’t forget to eat food and when you’re sick eat food that’s healthy for you (Seth)

16.   Don’t break something new (Haley)

17.  Don’t crumble up someone’s picture (Seth)

18.   When you’re feeling mad, walk away and relax and wiggle your fingers (Abby)

19.   When someone is sick, don’t make them more sick (Seth)

20.  When someone is sick, give them a blanket and keep them away from people and put cucumbers on their eyes (Abby)

21.   Stay away from leopards, lions, raccoons and skunks ‘cause they can hurt you and skunks can spray (Abby & Haley)

22.   Put your dog in the house before the skunk sprays the dog (Seth)

23.   When you see a cheetah, run away (Seth)

24.  It’s good when you see a dangerous animal first, because then you can run away before it gets you (Haley & Abby)

25.  You have to pick up your pet’s poop (Abby, Haley & Seth)

26.  Rufus is so funny, make sure he doesn’t get even funnier (Abby)

27.  Keep all your dogs safe.  You take care of them (Seth)

28.  Always keep your dog with you to keep it safe (Haley)

29.  Always keep your eye on your dog (Abby)

30.  Working is hard, but try your best (Abby)

31.  Try your best to build us a swing and a zip-line (Seth)

32.  Keep going even if it hurts (Haley)

33.  If you want to stop, just keep running until you are there (Seth)

34.   Don’t forget to play with your kids (Seth)

35.  Don’t forget to take care of your children (Seth)

36.   Keep four on the floor (Haley)

37.  Sit on chairs when it’s dinner time.  Don’t sit on the table (Seth)

38.   Keep your pants up when you’re at the table (Haley…inspired by Seth)

39.  If you see a bear, don’t run (Haley)

40.   Camping is fun, but make sure to always go potty (Abby)

41.   Stay next to your dad (Seth)

42.  When someone sneezes, it’s polite to say “bless you” (Haley)

43.   Don’t be offended when someone offers you a senior discount.  Take it and then ask for more. (Carey)

44.   Don’t steal money (Haley)

45.   If you see money on the ground, it’s your lucky day because you’ve got money (Abby)

46.   Sometimes on your birthday people give you money (Seth)

47.   Save money (Seth)

48.   If you have a penny, you can throw it in a fountain (Haley)

49.   Always do your best (Haley)

50.  If you go somewhere, don’t mess anything up (Haley)

51.   Never throw something at a new friend at work or school (Haley)

52.   Don’t hurt someone; just walk away and go in your room (Seth)

53.  If someone has a pond with fish, don’t take them out ‘cause it’s kind of rude (Haley)

54.  When you are scared, huddle under a blanket (Abby)

55.  When you’re scared, just get a flashlight (Seth)

56.   If you go to a movie theater and you accidently spill something, try to clean it up (Haley)

57.  Never ever punch someone (Haley and Seth)

58.   Always guide a blind person (Haley)

59.   When you are climbing a mountain, if there is a nest, never kill the baby birds (Haley)

60.   When you go in your yard to pick up poop and you look up in the sunshine and you spot a nest with 3 little baby birds in it, do not let your cat out, if it’s a low branch(Abby)