The Seven of Us

This fall Kenna played volleyball.  Isaac played soccer.   He's pretty intense about it.   Corbin liked playing on the track during football games.  Taylor played volleyball. Caleb was kicker and played on the offensive and defensive lines.   He did an excellent job blocking. I always feel awful for the kids he hits. (Football isn't my favorite sport.)

This is a post about Caleb's and Corbin's birthdays.  Caleb turned thirteen last August 13, and Corbin turned four on November seventh. (Just for the record, I don't have a hard time thinking of Caleb as a 13 year-old; in my mind he was thirteen a few months before the fact. He's big, and he's one of my older kids. I'm okay with his age.  And I'm okay with Corbin being four, but lately when I look at him I notice that his features have changed, becoming more defined and a little less "young".  Just the other day I realized he'd be five this year. Five!  I'm having a hard time with that number. I know I'll grow into it, but right now, it's weird. Wow.) McKenna made Caleb some chocolate cookies. Corbin helped Caleb unwrap his gift (two little Mexican people and a cactus). He was soooo happy that Caleb liked it! (Caleb's sensitivity to these kinds of situations is a lot better than it used to be.  He played along really w...

<> When the kids were little, swimming lessons were our Big Event every summer.  In fact, I weaned Caleb  by walking home from swim lessons.  We'd walk and walk and walk until he fell asleep in the stroller, obviously without nursing. Another swim lesson memory is of Caleb in the pool with a bicycle helmet on!  (He was three.) He'd gotten a new helmet and taken it to Taylor's swim lesson, whre he'd waited patiently for thirty minute until the lesson was over, then asked if he could put his toe in the water. Soon he was dipping his feet in, the walking down the steps...all with his shiny new helmet on his head! Wish I'd had a camera that day. Here are pictures of Kenna at swiim lessons this year: These were taken on the last day of lessons, which is usually "fun day".  Kenna got to play some basektball. Here she is doing the front crawl.  Kenna is very graceful; swimming comes naturally to her. Isaac also took swim lessons this year, but I d...

When we moved to Haxtun, we didn't know what to think of Corn Festival.  The whole town gathers for this? Huh. Strange, we thought. But it didn't take long for the tradition to grow on us. The first fall we lived in Haxtun (1998), Taylor was two and Caleb was just two months.  It snowed that year for Cornfest, which was alright, because we weren't really obligated to do anything. We went to the parade and then Caleb and I left for cub scout training in Sterling. Fast forward thirteen years.... now we're obligated! Jared has spent the last twelve years working in the Lion's club hamburger stand, and I wrestle with the kids and try to have fun (it is fun...just tiring). But, the kids are older now, and it's getting easier. Good thing, because we're now there from start to finish.  We begin with the kiddie parade at 9:45 (We don't generally do the fun run at 8am, although one year I did.), then do kiddie games, go to the FFA auction, walk around and se...

Isaac's 8th birthday was on August 23.  This year Isaac reminded me that he'd never had a "friend" party, so we invited a few of his friends to come play and spend the night. I made several pizzas, but first the boys played awhile. Here's "fearless Corbin" giving the slip-n-slide a workout. Isaac with his friends Jacob and Owen, and his brother, Fearless Corbin. The birthday boy, Surfin' the Slip-n-Slide. (That's Isaac's dog, Jess, his birthday present from last year.) Isaac was baptized on Aug. 27th.  His baptism was quiet, and none of our family could come, but he didn't mind.  All of his brothers and sisters were able to participate in the program, which was fun.  Isaac is a special son and we're happy to have him in our family. Happy Birthday, Ike!

I should be working on the 3 posts I've begun.  But I'm not. Here's what I'm thinking about: *Kids and parents.  I had a phone call this morning:  a parent wanting to discuss and keep tabs on their daughter. Isn't that the best?  Know what I learned?  1) Parenting a teenage daughter is difficult. (I say "daughter" because my teenage son is easier to parent than my daughters.  Age? Maybe.  Personality? Undoubtedly.)  Anyway, I love hearing from parents about their kids.  Lets me know how much they care and how hard they're trying to do what's right.  I wonder if Heavenly Father feels that way;   He obviously works a lot harder at parenting than we can conceptualize, and, like our teenagers, sometimes we fail to even acknowledge His efforts, or thank Him. *Abuse.  Collyn Ray's song says,  "I think about you, eight years old, big blue eyes and a heart of gold, when I look at this world, I think about you, and ...

I'm a recycler.  In high school, I had a "Love Your Mother" bumper sticker stuck to my planner.  I liked Birkenstocks, corn rows, andd activism.  (Not that I've ever owned Birks or had corn rows, but if I visited Jamaica I might.  And I've never marched or demonstrated, but I think the fact that we can--and that some are passionate enough to do so--is great.)   But I digress. In NY we had to recycle.  We lived in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains.  When I was young I went with my dad to the landfill, where we tossed lots of trash, as did others. Fridges, couches, paper--it all went to the same spot. We also had a burn barrell, as did most people in the country.  When I got older, laws were changed. Recycling trailers were placed in landfills. Burning trash was outlawed, and we paid a fee to throw away non-recyclable trash.  I didn't mind; I liked recycling--and my pa...