Presenting.......The Family Of Acrobats!!!

Ok, I know you have been wondering and waiting to see what on earth we could possibly be doing over here that is so much fun and wearing us all out at the same time (just for the record, some of us are more sore than others. Some of us actually had muscles where others of us, cough, only had flab).

When we were at IKEA a couple of weeks ago, we came across yet another exciting find: rings!!!! I know, I know, that may not sound very exciting to you, but to us it opened up a world of possibilities!!! You see, we have very active children and we are always looking for ways to use up some energy!

We bought two sets of rings with the intent of putting them in the upstairs bonus room. And that's exactly where they are. Screwed into the studs in the ceiling, they are incredibly strong and safe.

Every one of us, with the exception of Jasmine, have been on the rings. Flipping, swinging, hanging, pulling, etc. And we all have the callouses to prove it!!! Never in a million years did I ever think I would be doing front flips and back flips again. I was a little (lot) nervous about spinning around because gone are the days of doing anything like that without feeling like I'm going to lose my breakfast. But one day, when no one else was around, I gave it a shot! It was tons of fun! And as long as I don't do flip after flip after flip, I'm ok.

I must say, my kiddos were knocked off their rockers! I heard comments like, "I didn't know you could do that, Mom!", or "That's just weird to see you doing that Mom!" way too many times. They expect it from their dad, he'll try anything! In fact it was so cute yesterday. Just Savannah and I were upstairs. She was watching me on the rings. Her eyes got big when I did a back flip and she said, "Good job Mama!!" Then I tried to do a front flip on the shorter rings (much harder since you actually have to use some stomach muscles). I got about half way and came back down. Savannah piped up, "Come on Mama, you can do it!" So cute!

So there you have it! I'm pretty sure we are the only family we know with 2 sets of rings in our bonus room! I highly recommend them to everyone! They are great for kids.......and adults! ;)

Oh, and Sabrina, no more messing around today when the camera comes out! I am getting a picture of you! Or at the very least, I'm getting a picture of those callouses on your hands!! You too, Savannah!

Talisha!

Tanner, just hanging around!

Yeah, he's one of the ones with muscles I was talking about...

I'm so weird, I know!

Sam!

Levi

Izzy!

Tanner!

Nice shot....sorry.

I'm not sure where his shirt is.....I think he took it off so it wouldn't restrict his movements...um, yeah.

No Really....I'm Back!

Sabrina and Savannah, 'taking a bath' in that warm, warm water!!

Sitting on the step, waiting for her turn to 'swim' with a big sister!

The look on his face says it all!!

Two frogs in the pond!!

I know, I know it's been almost a week since my last post but we've been having so much fun over here that I haven't had time to sit down and write a post. In fact, I'm hardly ever online anymore! Too much to do right now.

We all survived the big "Flu" season over here. Samantha never did get it. Either did Scott or I. Thanks goodness. Who has time for that??? We still have a few coughs but we can deal with those.

We had a busy weekend, lots of little things accomplished. On Friday, the clouds even parted and let some sunshine in which meant we were able to get some of Samantha's Senior pictures done!!!

Earlier in the week (maybe Wednesday?), Scott turned on the pool heater. The water was around 60 at that point. He wanted to see how long it would take to heat the pool so that the kids could swim. On Friday when he checked it, it was 90!!!! Needless to say, there were a few kids in the pool Friday after school! It was like bath water!!! Saturday they swam some more.....like for 5 hours!!!!

My arms, shoulders and stomach muscles are so sore........for that matter, so are most of the other family members. And no, it's not from moving boxes. Can anyone guess why?????? No, don't bother. There is no way anyone will guess this. You would have to really know our family and be thinking totally outside the box and I'm just going to say that never in a million, billion years will anyone guess why we have sore muscles. Stay tuned. I will post pics tomorrow of what on earth we are doing over here!!!!! More fun than you could ever imagine!!!! Just wait!!!!!! See you tomorrow!!!!!!

I'm Back!!!!!

Internet finally got installed today!! It's been a busy past few days. My head is still spinning. More details later. But just so you will know how much fun we have been having: Started moving on Thursday. Finished up on Friday. Levi was the first to get sick, he was asleep all day Thursday, on the floor. We moved around him. The next day, it started to hit a few others, the day after that we had 9 out of 10 kids down with the flu. The good news is, the slept a lot! The bad news is, 9 kids with the flu is the worst!

We were at the doctor yesterday for Samantha's physical for cheerleading and she said that the only flu they are seeing is Swine flu. Pretty much the "regular" type hasn't hit yet....doesn't usually hit until February/March time frame. So she said you can just assume everyone that is down with the flu right now has Swine Flu!

No craving for bacon over here, I think they are all going to survive! Scott, Samantha and I are the only ones that didn't get it. We're feeling extremely blessed!!!!!

More later!!

It's Moving Day!!!!

When we went in to sign papers yesterday, we were under the assumption that everything would be wrapped up on Friday and that we could start moving that day. So when they handed us the keys last night and said, "It's all yours!", we were kind of in shock. Today was supposed to be my last day of packing all the stuff we use every day. Now it's my "shove everything in a box and hope I find it later" day.

We'll be back soon!!!!!!

Brace Yourselves!

In a few minutes I will leave the house, drive to the title company and sign the papers to sell our house and purchase our new house!!!!!! I honestly have felt like a character out of the movie Groundhog's Day for the past month. But that may all be over soon. Hopefully we will start moving on Friday!

There are a few things I won't miss about our house but one thing for certain, I will miss this cute kid!!!!

Thomas and Austin are great friends. His family lives across the street and with the amount of time that Thomas spends over there, I'm sure they have wondered at times if he was joining their family permanently!

We couldn't have asked for better neighbors on our street. They are the best and we will truly miss them all. I know Thomas is going to miss his buddy. Oh sure, they will still ride the same bus, be in the same class at school, eat lunch together but it won't be the same as being right across the street.

I will miss this street and the safety my kids have enjoyed as they have run crazy up and down it. The neighbors will all enjoy a new quiet that usually only comes when we are gone on vacation. The family that bought our home has 5 children but they are older, I think their youngest is 8 and I have a feeling that even if they tried their hardest, they could never measure up to the noise that our family created.

I'm pretty sure they will never have 24 kids in the backyard on summer nights, playing kickball, swimming, shooting hoops, playing tag and having a campfire. It will be a very different neighborhood when we're gone.

Thank heavens we're only 2 streets over.

Look Who Got Her Braces Off!!!!

On her way!!!!

Wow, who is that girl????

Sabrina went to the orthodontist this morning to get her braces taken off!!! In just 19 short months (ha ha), her teeth got their act together and straightened up! Wa-Hooo, way to go!!!

We thought she was pretty cute with braces. And really, she was so used to them, they didn't bother her at all. It was a bittersweet moment for her.

But then, she got them off and the smiles just won't stop! She really likes having her teeth back. She can't believe how nice it feels! She can't believe all the extra room she has in her mouth!!!

We just can't get over how stinkin' cute she is! She kind of lost the younger teenage look and now has that middle teenage look. Oh, heaven help us!

Congratulations Sabrina! Keep smiling!!

Glencoe Crimson Tide! Go Tide!

Wa-HOOOOOOO!!! I just found out great news!!!!! Samantha tried out for the cheer squad last week and she found out today that she made it!!!!!

She sent her dad a text because he's in Colorado and won't be home tonight to hear the good news. She hasn't actually told me yet because I'm sure she's hoping to surprise me when she gets home..........Ha ha, but I already know!!!

Last year they had some trouble with the cheerleaders (bad grades, inappropriate behavior, etc.), so this year it was a smaller squad. Then this year they have had some injuries, etc. so they decided to hold tryouts again before the basketball season starts, to see if they could get a bigger squad. Since she is a Senior, she could only make the Varsity squad. We told her to go for it! She has a great smile, awesome personality and knows all the cheers (that's what happens when you go to every sporting event to support your school!). Might as well go out with a Bang your senior year!!!!

She tried out her Freshman year, but didn't make it. And to be honest, she was a little more quiet back in those days. We're proud of her to want to try it again. That's what kind of girl she is: if at first you don't succeed, try try again!

Way to go Samantha!!!!!

G...pause, G L E....pause, G L E N C, G L E N C O E........Glencoe!!!!!!! T I D E, Glencoe Crimson Tide!!!!!

See What It's Come To Over Here!!!!

This is sick and wrong. Eggs taped to my kitchen window???? Who does weird things like that??? Ok, pay no attention to my dirty window.....

So the story goes something like this: they found the egg outside in the grass. How did it get out in the grass? Oh, that's easy. See, the extra fridge out in the garage is easy access to little hands....that is until I decided to put a fridge latch on it! Anyway, this latest incident prompted the fridge latch. Isaiah had decided to take a few eggs out to the backyard. Of course he was the only one that knew about that plan.

Later that evening, the oldest two mature teenage girls decided to jump on the trampoline. They found this egg and thought it would be hilarious to tape it to my kitchen window. The next morning when I went down to start breakfast, I looked up and saw this disturbing little face looking at me! I couldn't for the life of me, think who would have done such a thing. Couldn't be the girls, they are way too mature for that. Couldn't be the boys, they couldn't keep a secret that long. And the younger kids couldn't reach that high on the window.......hmmm, most disturbing.

When they came down later, they couldn't contain their secret any longer. "Did you find something on your window?", they asked.

I was going to post some cute little pics of them in their younger days as payback, but unfortunately.........THEY ARE PACKED!!!!!

Thought you should know......

I have decided that our home currently resembles that of a Hobo camp. Everything is so haphazard right now, it's hard to make sense out of any of it. From the casual observer, it's probably hard to tell if we are coming or going!

Someone the other day hit the nail on the head when they said that this move is kind of like being pregnant. We don't know when this 'baby' is coming out!!! Everyone asks, "Have you moved yet?" No. "When will you????" I have no idea.

The end.

Happy Fall, Ya'll!!!!

In honor of this beautiful time of year, I thought it fitting that I post one our family's favorite recipes.....well, that and everyone keeps asking me for it! I have made this recipe twice in the past two days and so you can probably guess, we love it!!!!

I double the recipe when I make it. I haven't added the walnuts before but I'm sure it would be delightful with them if you enjoy walnuts! I usually cut the sugar by 1/2 but that's just because we're weird like that. I wonder what they taste like with the full amount???? Somebody let me know!!!

I hope your family enjoys them as much as we do!!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

* 1 cup canned pumpkin

* 1 cup white sugar

* 1/2 cup vegetable oil

* 1 egg

* 1 teaspoon vanilla

* 2 cups flour

* 2 teaspoons baking powder

* 1 teaspoon cinnamon

* 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

* 1 teaspoon milk

* 1 cup chocolate chips

* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Mix in a large bowl: pumpkin, sugar, oil, egg and vanilla. Blend well.

3. In a separate bowl, combine: flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda. Stir into pumpkin mixture, add the milk. Blend well. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.

4. Use a spoon to drop cookies on baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes.

They are soft and fluffy. Mmmmmm.

Still Here........

Just when we thought we were moving......we didn't. To make a very long story short, our buyers needed more time to process their loan. So here we sit amongst our boxes. I think they asked for another 2 weeks.

Let's just say my type A personality is having a hard time dealing with the mess and chaos of living like this. I thrive on order and routine, neatness and clean.......none of which is happening at my house right now.

So let's look at some pictures instead!

On our bike ride last night, we came across this 3-seater stroller, sitting out by the curb with a 'Free' sign on it! We just happened to have a bungee cord with us at the time (don't ask why, that's an entirely different story) so we bungeed the stroller to the back of the bike trailer that Scott pulls and he towed it home. If that wasn't a look, I don't know what is!!! It needed some air in the tires when we got home and a few leaves blown out of the seats but the kids love it!!!!

The 'Squish' Hug!

Sisters......just doesn't get any better than this!!!

Um.....I'm not sure.

"Let's get this thing off the ground!!!!"

Watching airplanes!