Thursday, April 29, 2021

Happy Birthday to our Oldest Child

 Yesterday was a very good day to have a good day! And we really enjoyed it by celebrating our own Miss Payton and her 8th birthday. It will probably never cease to amaze me on how fast the time is going. 

                                                  

This girl loves her birthday so much, she basically talks about it nonstop once Christmas is over (because it's the next big holiday to her). In the end, she's so excited she gets almost a month of celebrating. And we wouldn't change that for the world. 

We sent donuts with her to school on her birthday. I made sure there were plenty for her class and enough extras to bring some home. Of course, I should have known to plan for zero to come home. She happily handed out the excess to teachers and staff she saw throughout the day. And, it was her favorite part of her day. 

Even though she got donuts at school, we did celebrate with a donut that night as well. Can you really ever have too much donuts?
We also did our own family party at home. Grandma is here also so she got to be a part of the party as well!


She had her birthday party with her classmates and a few family friends last week. 
                                    

We tried to keep the party small but still ended up being a bigger group than we anticipated. But, fun was had by all! 

Payton got a little wild and decided to put her whole face in her piece of cake!

She also requested a jojo themed birthday cake and was so excited her wish came true! She's been putting that topper into any food she can think of to keep the celebration going!
                                                         
I put together a little sign for decoration to help us remember all about Payton as she turns 8!
                                                

The kids also took this questionnaire and turned it into a family game. It was so fun getting to know everyone better! It's amazing how much my children have grown and changed.

We also had the little town's billboard where our school is wish Payton a happy birthday. She was so excited to have ended up on the big sign. 


Payton, we hope your day (month) was as fantastic as you are! I pray you went to sleep at night just knowing how fully loved you are. We can't see what God will bless your journey with in the next year! We love you so much! Happy Birthday!

Sunday, April 4, 2021

How March Went for Us

 March was a quick one for us. But, as I went through my pictures from this month I realized it was such a fun one. The sun is coming out again and we are just so ready for spring and all the outside time we can get. In fact, we kicked this month off with a park trip:

We even went on chilly days:
The kids also started soccer: 

                                                       

We got new chickens! Just four babies and are so thrilled with them and it teaches kids so much about their life cycle and how to care for them:

                                                         

One day this month, Monte took Riley on a little outing. Bowling for just the two of them. They even got to eat pizza as well, Riley couldn't have been any happier, he was on cloud 9 for days:
Ice cream outside. There isn't anything better, am I right?
Also, so grateful that we can still eat all the fun stuff even with food allergies. Gratitude for this will hopefully never be lost on me, we just have to find the ways to make it work.

One night we went for a drive after a few days of rain. We found a rainbow and got the most beautiful pictures:


Riley got out and got to shoot his bow and I just love watching him practice.
Riley also enjoys the challenge of putting together puzzles. He's been pulling out all that we have and putting them together as quickly as he can.

St. Patrick's Day was also a fun time around here. Payton got dressed up for school and the kids enjoyed a scavenger hunt our leprechaun left. 
The boys made a lucky rainbow and colored some leprechaun pictures for preschool:
Riley got a hair cut:
I got Payton's picture back from the father daughter dance. Such a sweet memory for all of us:
We had a birthday party out of town and so we got a fun girls day out of it! One of our best friends and her mother (one of my best friends) took the day for some fun. There were a lot of laughs and even more when I forgot my wallet and so my friend had to spot me all day. We will probably still laugh about that 20 years from now.
We spent an afternoon fishing! Jayden was the only one to catch anything but the real fun was in being together doing something we all enjoy.

Even on a few colder days, we still went to the park. It's just one of the top things the kids ever want to do. We love our parks here so much and appreciate them greatly.

The boys and I clean on Friday mornings and, a few times this month, for a change of pace we had a park date after cleaning. We completed this outing with a stop at our local coffee shop that makes lots of treats:
As always, lots of time was spent outdoors at our house. We love our little space in this world. My husband build raised garden beds and I love our kids being a part of the process.
If the above picture(s) don't say country kids, I don't know what does. Dirt road playing, frisbee with metal circles, and chickens all sum up so much of our life out here.

Picnics outside have also been requested whenever the temperature is slights above freezing (and sometimes when below freezing and they get so bummed I say no):
                                                           

I found this gem of a picture Riley left for me on my phone:


I have been working hard at making all the food I can and making it so Jayden can eat. Here is our scotcharoos that are allergy friendly for him, can you tell he's excited?
During the pandemic our library has had virtual lego club and one challenge was to build a flying vehicle:
To pass the time, we are trying to get out and explore more areas nearby that we rarely go to. It's been fun to venture into newer territory:
We still do church at home and Payton has started to take notes each time. After church, we discuss and she reads her notes to us. She then cuts her notes up and gives us each pieces to use for inspiration during the week. I just love this idea she had:

Riley is really into the Magic Treehouse series and in it one of the characters has a notebook he uses all the time. Riley has started to do this as well. He can be seen below writing and drawing notes at the park:
I just love watching how creative he gets!

We got creative with our art this month and decided to make some Easter decor. 


                                                         

We are hoping to make some eggs for the kids to paint to go with the bunnies. But, for now, they have been painting their art creations from nature:
                                                 
Here are some other preschool pictures I have:
I am starting to really savor these days as it won't be long and Riley starts school. He has kindergarten round up next month and I just don't want to send him. But, the time has come. 

Riley and I did get out for a special date this month and went to a mother/son paint class followed by lunch as the place of his choice (he chose Chinese food). We had the best time together. 

                                                 

We got to see my parents briefly. Although, it wasn't the same kind of "normal" we are used to, it was so, so good to see them for the time we got. 

It was another month of good homemade food. The kids requested banana bread and pie:

My extended family and I took on a bible study and met via zoom. It was probably one of my favorite bible studies to have ever done. I highly recommend: 
Lastly, we all got a stomach bug. Well, the kids and I did. My husband was spared. It hit us hard and was gone quickly. As I type this today we have good health and for that I am extremely thankful for.
Onward we go for another month ahead at full blast! Happy Easter!

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