Summer Holidays 2011-2012

I can't believe that the school holidays are nearly over. They seem to have gone by so quickly. We didn't go anywhere or do anything really special but I think that the kids have still had lots of fun. 

There have been plenty of sleep overs and play dates with friends. There have been trips to the zoo and Monarto. There has been swimming, especially in Grandma's spa, and plenty of playing at the park. There has been lots of movies and video games, balanced with lots of jumping on the trampoline and riding on scooters. All in all we have had lots of fun but had plenty of time to relax as well!

Here are just some of the pictures taken over the summer. We still have one week left and lots of plans to make the most of it, including birthday celebrations for me!

At the Zoo.

Monarto Zoo

We waited a while for this giraffe to come this close.

Buried at the beach!

Thanks Aunty Lisa for the Christmas present. They love it!

At the beach

My handsome husband!

I love this picture. She loves so grown up. This is also before she got her hair cut off!

Trying to catch some waves, but they were too small

Amie's New Dress

A couple of weeks ago we discovered that Amie had grown out of nearly all of her church dresses. Being just after Christmas there wasn't lots of extra money lying around to go buy her one so Mum suggested that we make one. I looked through all my patterns and found a cute, but simple one. Then I looked through my stash of fabric and found one that I liked.

Here is the finished product.

Amie loves it and so do I. It is made of cotton so it is nice and cool for summer. It looked a little plain so I added the buttons on the front and the sleeves.

I also added a ribbon to tie in a bow at the back. This actually worked out perfectly because the dress is a little big and it pulls it in nicely.

I also added the lace around the bottom hem which I think finishes it off perfectly.

While making this dress I have decided to use this same pattern to make Amie's Baptism dress. Mum has some nice white fabric left over from making all of our wedding dresses, so we will be using that. I'm so excited to move on to making that dress.

Of course the other girls also want a new dress made my mummy so I went out a got some more fabric but haven't had chance to put them together yet. I'm hoping that when the kids go back to school I'll have the time to do those too.

I also want to thank my mum for helping me with the sewing. She did a couple of the trickier parts, including the zip! Thanks Mum!

(Sorry all the pictures were taken on my phone)

Where have you been?

It's been so long I almost forgot how to blog! But I'm back and hopefully I can catch up a little bit.

The month of December was crazy. The kids finished school which meant class parties, Christmas cards, bringing lots of things home and getting reports. They all did a fantastic job this year.

 Lachlan really like his teacher and enjoyed doing lots of maths and science. They studied rocks and minerals at the beginning of the year, so now Lachlan has an ever growing rock collection and will tell anyone who will listen lots of interesting facts about them. He also got very interested in space so he got a telescope for his birthday and enjoys looking at the moon and planets. He is one of the fastest readers I know! He loves to read and I'm constantly looking for something new for him to read. When he went to the States with Buzz in the middle of the year he got a series called, "Tennis shoes among the Nephites." He has also been reading a series called 'The 39 Clues." Those books are a bit thinner and so it only takes him a day or two to get through each one. He already had the first three and got the rest (11 books in total) for Christmas. He is already up to number 10! I love that he loves to read! I will often find him in his room laying on his bed or sitting in his bean bag for hours reading!

Amie also did a great job at school this year. This year reading finally 'clicked' for her and she has been blazing through the reading levels and gaining confidence in her reading ability. Amie has always loved to do art and craft and that desire to create has gotten stronger this year. Both of her teachers have commented on how neat all of her work is. She is an amazing drawer, much better than I'll ever be. She won a prize around Easter time at school for the Easter egg that she coloured it. It was pretty amazing the details that she put into it. Amie is also very much a social butterfly and loves to have friends around. She has one friend at school in particular that she is very close to and I'm glad she has that friendship!

Caitlyn went from Kindy to School in the middle of the year and enjoys it a lot. She had a fantastic teacher and had enjoyed learning to read and doing homework like Lachlan and Amie! Caitlyn is my helper and is always cleaning up when no-one else will. Caitlyn also really loves to sing. She can often be heard singing in the other room and often asks me to turn the radio up in the car so she can sing along. She has missed having her cousin Zoe around for the last six months. They love playing together and having sleepovers. It will be great to see them together again!

Haylie has grown up so much in the past year. She went from being a toddler to being such a grown up little girl. Since all the other kids are at school all day she has been my little buddy. She loves to go to the shops, visit Grandma and help me around the house. She is such a cute little character. She says the funniest things and has such a funny attitude. She loves to have time with just me but she looks forward to playing with the other kids after school each day! It is going to be really weird for me because Haylie starts Kindy in February. She starts with just one morning a week until May and then she will go four mornings a week. It is going to be really weird to have all this time to myself each day. Haylie is really looking forward to going to Kindy. She got a new bag for Christmas and she also got a choose a new lunch box and drink bottle like the big kids. She asks me every day if it is a school day today. She is going to be really upset when the kids go back to school on a Monday, but she doesn't start until the Thursday!

We are looking forward to a fantastic new year with lots of adventures, changes and new things to experience!

Thankful November - Day 26

Last night we had our family Thanksgiving dinner. No-one's house is big enough to fit us all in so we ended up going to the chapel. It turned out great because it wasn't too crowded, the kids had their own little table, and the kids could run around freely in the hall.

Yesterday I was Thankful for . . . . . spending time with family enjoying all the yummy food!

My day started off with Lachlan's tee ball game. When we got home it was straight into the baking. I made Chocolate Brownie Trifle, Pumpkin pies and homemade bread rolls. While I was busy baking the kids were busy watching some new movies, including a couple of Christmas ones. We went up to the chapel early to set up the tables and to finish getting the food all ready. Everyone brought something to share. It was all so amazing. I had two plates because I just had to try a bit of everything! We then spoke about things that we were all grateful for. Next came the desserts! Apart from the things I made, Nana made apple pie and we had some ice cream. I love my Nana's apple pie. She makes it all from scratch and it is delicious!

I am also grateful for a husband who cleaned up the kitchen and lounge room when we got home. I totally just crashed on the couch. I was exhausted and didn't even want to look at the kitchen. It wasn't a complete disaster zone because I had been pretty good and tried to keep it clean while baking, but I still didn't want to do the dishes that were left. So thanks Honey for doing that for me!

What are you Thankful for today?

Thankful November - Day 25

Today I'm Thankful for . . . . . . refreshing rain.

As much as I like sunshine and beautiful clear skies, I also love to wake up to the sound of rain on the roof. Everything feels so fresh and clean after it rains. When it's warm outside the kids love to run around in the rain and splash in the puddles. When it's cold though we like to curl up on the couch, under blankets, and watch a read a book or pop some popcorn and watch a movie. Life would get pretty boring if all we ever saw was sunshine. The rain helps us to appreciate the sunshine even more, especially when we have lots of laundry to do, like I always do!

What are you Thankful for today?

Thankful November - Day 24

Today I'm Thankful for . . . . . having a healthy family.

I'm grateful for healthy children who rarely get sick and can run and play all the time. I'm grateful for a husband who is healthy and fit to do his job which involve's climbing up and down ladders, crawling in roofs and lifting heavy TV's. I'm grateful for my own health. To be able to keep up with the kids. To be able to run, walk and dance. And to be able to give hugs to my family!

What are you Thankful for today?

Thankful November - Day 23

Today I'm Thankful for . . . .  being able to watch the kids in their school concert tonight.

I love seeing all the kids singing, dancing and playing instruments. This year Lachlan's class played two songs on their recorders. The kid next to him was watching Lachlan's fingers the whole time, following him. Amie's class played xylophones. She did a great job. Caitlyn's class did a song and dance. It's so funny watching five year olds trying to remember dances! I love that our school is so involved in the arts.

What are you Thankful for today?