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)

Oh My, Oh My, Oh Disneyland!

For Christmas this year we gave the kids each a little slip of paper that said that we were going to Disneyland in 19 days!  This past Sunday was finally our day to leave!  We were all packed and ready to go, with the kids all buckled in the car, when I looked at Abby and she just had that look in her eye; the look of sickness.  We took her temperature to discover that she had a fever.  Ughhh.  Such a bummer.  So, I ran in the house, sent a quick email to our church's prayer team, updated facebook asking for prayer, and we headed out for a long drive down to So Cal.  The fever made Abs super mellow, which made the ride down fairly easy.  She did throw up twice, but caught it in a bag both times.  She was a total star for being a sicky!  Haley was a super star car rider, as usual, and then there was Seth.  Seth is not quite as patient as his sissies and frequently asked when we were going to get there, and why Disneyland had to be so far away!  Daddy was a super star, too, driving all the way down.  After hours of being in the car, including a slight detour, thanks to the GPS (Carey and I totally disagree about how helpful that darn thing is...I swear it steers us wrong more often that not) we made it to our hotel, ate some food and went to bed!

Monday morning we woke up ready to go, super hopeful that Abby would be healed.  I had prayed over her the day before and really felt like she was supposed to be healed, which I've not ever had that happen before.  Poor thing did not look good and was really hot, but, awesome parents that we are, we took her to Disneyland anyway!  When we got there, we went to California Adventure first.  We started by going to a Playhouse Disney show, which was a cute, interactive show with some characters from some of Haley, Abby and Seth's favorite shows.  Seth and Haley had a lot of fun, and Abby just sort of flopped in my lap.  After that we headed over to Cars Land, which we were all excited to see.  We hopped in line for Radiator Racers, which is the main attraction of Cars Land.  We waited about 40 minutes, with myself holding the 50 pound sicky, and were almost on the ride when they experienced technical difficulties and stopped the ride.  Not such a great start.  When we got out of line, Abby asked to go back to the hotel.  You know your kid doesn't feel good when they are at Disneyland and ask to leave!  I walked back to the hotel with her and Carey, Haley and Seth stayed for a few hours before coming back to the hotel for a break.

Ready to enjoy Disneyland, despite a sick Abby:(

The street actually ends at the rope behind them, and the rest is a painting!  Disney magic!

Haley catching bubbles at the Playhouse Disney show.

Lovin' the rides!

Daddy time!

 Haley and Seth were full of stories when they got back, and it was so fun to see the delight on their sweet little faces.  It felt bittersweet, though, since Abby was missing out on all of it.  Her fever had gotten up above 103, so we decided we needed to bring it down.  We gave her Advil and after about 45 minutes it hadn't done anything for her, so I headed out to Target to get some Tylenol.  I got back to the hotel to find Abby bouncing around, fever gone, dressed and ready to go ride some rides.  When I was gone, Carey had prayed over her and she was immediately healed!  Wow.  So crazy!

That night we all went back to California Adventure and had a blast.  Abby went on her first up-side-down roller coaster and loved it (Haley was so sad she wasn't quite tall enough).  The girls and I went on the highest ferris wheel ever and didn't love it!  Well, Haley liked it, but Abby was gripping my arm so tightly and I was laughing to try and pretend like it was fun, but it really wasn't.  I just wanted off!  Oh, and did I mention that we were pretty much walking onto all the rides?  Other than the new one in Cars Land, there were really no lines.  It was awesome. 

Cars Land was so awesome!

This is a picture of the picture that they took on the big, huge roller coaster!

Tuesday morning we woke up, ready for a full day of Disney fun, only to find that Haley had a fever!  It was not too high, and she seemed okay, so we figured everything would be fine.  Grammie Lori had given the girls princess dresses for Christmas and then made Seth the most awesome prince outfit, and they got all dressed into them, ready to meet the princesses.  I put on my wedding dress, since it was our 8th wedding anniversary and I always wear it on our anniversary.  So, yes, I decided to wear it to Disneyland!  When we went through the security check point, they told me my dress was a tripping hazard!  They did let us take a picture before I had to change out of it, though!

As soon as we walked through the gates we saw Goofy, Micky and Minnie.  After taking a few pictures we started riding rides.  We walked right onto It's A Small World and then waited about 3 minutes to get on Space Mountain!  That's pretty much how all the rides were.  Other than the new rides in Cars Land, we never waited more than 10 minutes, but most rides we just walked onto!

This is before we gave Haley medicine, so she didn't want to get out of the stroller:(

You can tell how mellow it was by the fact that there's no people in the background of this picture!

The picture they took on space mountain...don't worry, the kids did like it!  They LOVED it!

Haley and Abby and I went to Pixie Hollow and met Periwinkle (Tink's sister) and Tinkerbell:)

Hanging out in Goofy's house!

The houses in Toon Town are Haley's favorite part of Disneyland.  She just loves them:)

When we went to see the princesses, Belle was walking away for a break.  She walked past us and saw Abby in her Belle dress and put her hand out and asked her to walk with her.  They walked, hand in hand and Belle chatted with Abby.  They stopped and twirled and then walked some more.  It was so precious.  When Belle got to the "cast members only" door, she twirled with Abby once more, gave her a hug and waved good-bye.  That was definitely a high-light for Abby (and watching it was a high-light for me).  Throughout the rest of the day Abby would sigh and say "I'm still thinking about Belle."

By the time we were leaving Disneyland Tuesday night, Seth was feeling feverish, so Wednesday morning, when he was really lethargic and not wanting to go to Disneyland, we were not shocked.  I got us all packed up, gave Seth some Tylenol, Carey checked us out of the hotel and we went off for a few more hours of Disney fun.  We went back to some of our favorite rides and had some more fun before loading up into the car and heading back home.

Ready for one more day of fun:)

The kids asked for cotton candy the whole time we were there, so the last morning we got them some!

  The ride home was super easy, since the fevers had returned and the kids were totally lethargic.  We made it home fairly quickly and came home to a super happy puppy and clean house, thanks to Auntie Melissa and Uncle Judah:)  Oh, and the next morning, around 7:00 Auntie Laura showed up with dinner to put in the crockpot.  What could be better?!

Christmas Re-Cap

As much as I wanted to be in bed before the New Yorkers rang in the new year, I wanted to do one more 2012 blog update more! 

This year, with our Christmas season promising to be a busy one, we decided to skip going to the Christmas tree farm and just get one at Home Depot.  I took the kids after school one day and they picked out a great tree (I think it's the best one we've ever had, actually.  I just put it out on the curb and it's still totally green and gorgeous.) and named it Fred.  We paid for Fred and I pulled the van up to the curb while the Home Depot man trimmed the bottom and netted our tree.  He brought the tree out to me and handed me a bunch of string, stating that he was not allowed to put it on the car for me.  Awesome.  The next half hour was a little on the stressful side.  I was trying to get Fred tied securely to the roof of Nermous (that's our mini-van's name) but was fairly constantly interrupted by the three fighting children inside the mini-van!  Plus, every time I would open one of the doors to help settle a fight, the dog would try and jump out.  I was sweating like crazy and trying not to yell and scream and my precious children, keeping in mind what a fun special thing getting a Christmas tree is supposed to be.  I just about broke down and cried right there on the curb of Home Depot when Seth told me he needed to poop.  I couldn't take him into the bathroom of the store, since my van was illegally parked.  I couldn't move the van, since the tree was not tied on top.  Now, if you know me very well, you are probably wondering why I didn't just have him use the "car potty".  Well, it was sitting on the front porch at home.  I ended up having him poop in one of the sand toys (which I recycled when we got home) that was in the back of Nermous.  When I finally pulled into the driveway of our house, with Fred still securely attached, I felt like I had accomplished a major feat!  A couple nights later we decorated Fred and he looked lovely for the rest of the Christmas season!

Haley was such a good helper getting Fred secured in his base.

Seth put the star on top...and was very serious about it!

The happy decorators, sitting back and admiring their work!

 One of the first weeks of December we went to The Streets Of Bethlehem, which is a big living nativity that a church over in Salinas puts on every year.  When I told the kids that we were going to go Seth said "Oh, is that the golden street?".  He was thinking of heaven!  Anyway, it turned out to be a really confusing concept that there really is a real place called Bethlehem, but what we were going to was a place that was supposed to be like the real Bethlehem when Mary and Joseph went there and had baby Jesus.  We looked at a lot of maps!  Our friends, the Hughes, went with us and we had a great time.  At the very end they have Jesus risen from the grave, and, even though it's really weird, we took it as a photo op! 

Abby and Haley with Aubrey and Micah and fake Jesus!  I know, it's really weird (and so not what real Jesus probably looked like)

We also took the kids to see the Christmas lights at Vasona Park this year.  Other than Auntie Laura, none of us had ever been.  We got a little bit of a late start, so Seth was already asleep by the time we got there.  I woke him up, though, and we all had a lot of fun going through the park and seeing all the super random Christmas light figures (dancing tooth, dinosaurs, fisherman, asparagus...random).  Oh, and while we were in the line to get into the event, we heard our new favorite Christmas song; Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey!

Thanks to our wonderful friend who gave us tickets, I got to take the girls to see the Nutcracker for the first time.  My mom got to come with us and we had a great time.  Seth was really disappointed that he didn't get to go.  I showed him some on tv, thinking it would convince him that he didn't even want to go, but he loved it.  Maybe next year, Seth! 

On Christmas eve morning we spent time celebrating with Carey's family.  We had a great time with Grandpa Steve, Grandma Jackie, Auntie Danielle, Auntie Kelly, Uncle Rick and Brannon.  We had a delicious breakfast and opened lots of presents!  For some reason, I took zero pictures!

That evening we went to the Christmas Eve party that my family has been going to since I was an infant.  We haven't been able to go in a few years, and were really excited to be able to make it this year.  We got to see friends we haven't seen in a long time, eat yummy food and exchange white elephant gifts.  Also, we went Christmas caroling, which is a long time tradition of the evening.  This time, though, Abby and Haley would run up and knock on the door, and then announce to the person that answered the door that we were caroling.  Then Abby would stand in front of the group of us and wave her arms around like a conductor.  What a perfect job for her...getting to be in control of a big group of people!

Cutie cuties ready to go caroling!

Christmas morning we got up and opened stockings.  I love that Seth reminded his sissies that before they opened them they all needed to sit and let mommy take a picture!  At least they are finally learning that the sooner they all look at me at the same time, the sooner they get to open them!

After the kiddos opened their stockings, we got to work making breakfast burritos.  Abby was a big help rolling and wrapping them.  Once we ran out of tortillas and potatoes we all hopped in the car and headed downtown.  We met our friends, the Hughes, and handed out socks, breakfast burritos, cuties and muffins to the homeless people out in the cold Christmas morning.  I heard Abby tell one man that first they were giving Jesus his present, which was giving people socks and burritos, and then they were going to go home and open their presents!  So sweet.  We had a good time sharing with people, shaking their hands, hugging them and praying with them.  The rain even held off until the very second we headed towards our van!

We went home and opened presents, leaving our poor living room looking like this:

 The kids played with new toys and we all just lounged around the house.  At some point in the afternoon we had birthday cake for Jesus.  I made an ice cream cake this year and it was really good!

Christmas evening, Auntie Laura and her wonderful parents, Bob and Julia, came over for dinner.  We had a delicious meal and a really fun night spending time with them:)

The day after Christmas we went to my parents house to celebrate with them!  Auntie Melissa's boyfriend, Uncle Judah, had his family visiting, plus Uncle Noah and Aunt Kellie were there, so it was a full house (we missed Uncle Nate, though).  We were super excited to give them their gifts and had a really fun gift exchange.  Oh, and my mom had wrapped up a jacket for Seth, who currently only wears t-shirts and shorts.  He unwrapped the jacket and she told him it was just in case he ever wanted to wear it.  He threw it behind him saying, "I'm not gonna wear it!"  Seriously, I don't know how that child doesn't freeze!

Gingerbread House Building

For the 4th year in a row we got together with my family for a fun afternoon of gingerbread house building.  Uncle Nate makes the houses from scratch and we have so much fun decorating them (and eating a lot of candy)!  This year all three kids really LOVED it and spent more time decorating than in years past!  The houses all turned out super cute (of course) and now we are looking forward to our new tradition of destroying them on New Years eve.  Last year we smashed them with bats.  This year we have talked about burning them, catapulting them, or maybe making a teeter-totter type contraption and jumping on it to launch them!

Ready to get started..candy in hand and mouth!

Hard at work!

Seth was very focused on picking out only green candies for his church building!

Look at those hands...covered in frosting!

Grammie Lori helping Seth find green ones!

Uncle Noah and Aunt Kellie made an awesome saloon.  This was the first year they were able to join us!

Auntie Laura worked hard on making a Santa Claus for the sleigh.

Auntie Melissa makes such cute things!

The finished barn, complete with rows of crops.

Log cabin that got attacked by native Americans and then red-flagged!

This is the school with hopscotch, a swing set and monkey bars.

The manger scene in the church yard.