Insane

Jon and I were out with out kids last week and happened to find ourselves at Levin Furniture while they were having a 50% off sale.  We aren't in dire need of a new couch, but its close.  Jon bought our current couch and love seat 15 years ago.  They get harder to get up from each day, the pillows are getting some small holes and one of the seats now has an 8 inch snag.  After lots of back and forth, taping off our floor and bouncing thoughts off Corrie, we decided to get a couch that is basically the one in the picture. Ours will not have the console section and its grey (not as dark as what we have now). Its ridiculously comfortable and/but its huge.  I say that because its a plus and a negative.  Jon and I can lay down at either end on the long section and still have almost 2 feet between us. The six of us can very comfortably fit and we'll have room for more.  Thats kind of awesome.  However, it will pretty much take over the back wall of our family room.  That makes me a bit nervous.  We found one we also liked that was slightly shorter, but this is by far the most comfortable couch I've ever sat on.  We're definitely a cuddle up and watch movies kind of family.  I think we made a good choice and Corrie deserves an award for dealing with a very indecisive sister!  Sadly, because we got a different color, we have to wait 6-8 wks before we'll get it.  Let the countdown begin!

Skating

The boys were very excited to take Jon skating with us last week and show off their moves.  Zach decided he'd give it another try and Ellie wasn't going to be left out.  She did pretty good for basically not lifting her feet off the floor the entire time she skated.  We all had a good time.

5

My baby turned 5 today.  He wanted to be just like his big brother and start the day at Dunkin Donuts at midnight.  I guess all the excitement caught up with him, just for a minute though.  He got his second wind pretty quick.

We went to visit Mamaw this morning who is in town for the week and we went out to lunch. He's been asking to go to Sky Zone for a while so we headed up there before dinner.  For the first half hour we were the only people there.  It was pretty nice.

 Zach requested spaghetti for dinner and brownies for dessert.  

I can't believe my youngest is 5.  That seems like such a big boy.  Hes a lot like Sam.  Hes very athletic and loves to play pretty much anything.  He's generous, most of the time.  He lets Jon and I cuddle with his favorite stufties all the time. He still climbs into bed with me most mornings. He loves everything green and he is the pickiest eater I've ever met. He eats the exact same breakfast and lunch every day.  He will alternate between 2 sometimes 3 meals for dinner and thats it.  He makes meals so much fun!  He makes us laugh everyday except when he loses his giraffe right before bedtime, which happens at least twice a week.  Hes a handful in a good way and we wouldn't change a thing.

8

My baby turned 8 on Saturday.  I begged him to stay 7, but he wouldn't do it.  He started the day with cinnamon rolls and some prepping for his and Zachs birthday party yesterday.  We went out for lunch, stopped in to Chuck E Cheese for a bit and had plenty of play time outside.  It was even better that Gram was able to come stay with us for a few days.  We ended the day with crepes and pumpkin pie for dessert, all per his request.

Sam is turning into the sweetest and most generous little man.  He's the kid who will get a treat or a toy and immediately offer to share with who ever is around.  He offers his sweater to Ellie when she's cold and he's always there to cheer on his siblings in any game or competition.

The highlight of Sams weekend was the joint birthday party on Sunday.  We did a marshmallow theme party and it turned out to be a lot of fun.

We set up barricades that we painted with camouflage paint, had a ladder we put cans and bottles on for target practice and did an obstacle course.

The kids were divided into 2 teams.  While one team made their guns, the other team did the obstacle course.  After everyone had guns made we let them start the target practice.  I think they were a bit skeptical about us actually letting them shoot marshmallows all over our back yard, but only for a minute. Once we put out the buckets and buckets of marshmallows, they went at it.  I think 75% of them were shot in the guns and the rest were eaten, mostly by Zach.

They played a few intense games of capture the flag despite the wind constantly knocking down the boxes.

It was a blast watching them run around the yard with marshmallows flying everywhere.  Jon couldn't resist the excitement and brought out his inner sniper.  

I was kind of shocked we had to practically beg the kids to stop playing so we could cut the cake.

After more play time, we ended the party with one of my favorites, the clean up game!  The kid who picked up the most marshmallows from the grass won a bag full of goodies.  All the kids collected over 2,000 marshmallows from the lawn and we're still finding some outside.  I'm amazed by that. The party ended up being a huge success. I just hope the neighbors don't end up hating us when  kids want to have marshmallow wars all over the neighborhood!

Lighthouse

The Marblehead Light house is another favorite of ours. The kids love all the rocks to climb on, I love the amazing ice cream out there and Jon loves Cheese Haven. 

We headed up there today even though it was really cold. The kids were too busy to notice.

This is Jons happy place!

Apples

We went apple picking yesterday.  We were the only ones there and since it was the first day our apples were ready to be picked, we had plenty to pick from.

Ellie pulled the cart almost the whole time.  Her brothers were willing to lend a hand for a bit at the end of the trip.

We came home with 32lbs of apples.  Ellie can't wait to make some apple sauce.

Ice cream mouth

We found a little ice cream shop in PA that we couldn't pass up.  The boys really liked it!

Fish

Jon and the boys actually started the vacation with a camping trip with their Royal Rangers group.  It was cold, but they stayed dry and they had a great time.  The highlight was Sam catching a fish.  The little ones and I had a camp out in the family room and stayed busy, but it was really nice when they came home.

Pittsburgh

Jon is finally on vacation.  We started it with a trip to Pittsburgh.  We found a great deal on a hotel and spent 2 nights away.  The kids loved being able to jump on the bed and not having to clean the room.

We made sure to get a hotel with a pool. It was a little cold, but the kids loved it.

A friend got us into the Pittsburgh Science Center with her pass.  We went last year and the kids loved the sports complex attached to the science center. Going back was an obvious choice.

Jon tied the robot at air hockey last year.  This time he was out for revenge...he got it!

The majority of our time was spent on the spinner and the rock wall.  Both Ben and Sam made it to the top of the wall and were very proud of themselves!

Video catch up

Progress

Wordless Wednesday: Newest skater

Electric scooter

Ben happened to be in the right place at the right time over the weekend.  A neighbor was getting rid of an electric scooter his kids don't use anymore and he gave it to Ben.  They've been on it pretty much non stop since they got it.

Ellie and Zach are a bit bummed they're too small for it, but they've thoroughly enjoyed chasing the big kids up and down the street.

I'm trying to put up some videos of them on it, but I'm having trouble posting them.  We'll keep working on it though.

Birthday boy

Yesterday was Charlies birthday.  To celebrate we took him to Petsmart and bought him a new bowl and bone.

I think the kids were more excited than he was, but he got lots of love and seems happy with his new toy.