Boundary Waters Trip

I am finally going through and printing off photos from January all the way through October of this year. In doing so, I found several photos (taken by Elena) from the Boundary Waters trip that Seth, Elena and Sam went on with several of the cousins, uncles and Grandma Myhre. They're a little late, but here they are. I don't have much for stories on the trip. They all survived and had a lot of fun!

Elena also happened to catch a video of Sam falling in the lake pretty much as soon as they arrived. She didn't even notice it happening so you can barely see it.

I also never shared any pictures from Sam's summer baseball season. He did a lot of pitching, which was fun to watch.

And as long as I'm on the topic of Sam, he's also mastered the art of making omelets!

October Happenings

We were able to celebrate my dad's birthday with him. Our gift was bringing all the kids over to help clean up the garden and lawn in preparation for winter. Although, in hindsight, it wasn't much of a gift since he ended up paying them for their work....

Their favorite job was blowing the leaves out of the gutters with a leaf blower. Not only did they get to use the leaf blower, they also go to run around on the roof. Win-win!

Elena also gave him this painting. You might have to read it a few times to get it:

And of course, we finished out the month with the Saints Day Costume contest at St. Edward School and Halloween. Now that Elena is in high school, she was not in the Saints Day Costume and she stayed back to hand out candy with her friends rather than trick-or-treating. (They still dressed up, though).

Here are a few pictures:

St. Francis (Reed), St. Anthony (Noah) and Moses(Charlie)

Blessed Stanley Rother and St. George

St. Joseph

"I'm a monster! Raaaawr!!"

Peter Parker (as opposed to Spiderman who would have to wear the mask)

Olivia LOVED trick-or-treating. She giggled with excitement every time someone gave her a piece of candy. It was pretty dang cute.

Boxelder Bug Days

 We were able to enjoy a normal Boxelder Bug Days again this year. The nice weather even decided to show up for the weekend! I am happy to report that despite increasing numbers of COVID in the area, there didn't seem to be any major outbreaks as a result of Bug Days. I am sure it helps that everything is pretty much outside. 

The highlight of the weekend was when Frank won a wagon after the kiddie parade. We got lots of use out of it right away on the weekend.

He even took a nap in it!

Olivia had a great time on the bouncy houses. She enjoyed the music just as much!

All the kids other than Olivia ended up being in the parade this year. Elena was in the pep band (she's on the edge with the black pants):

Sam and Charlie rode in the ambulance with Seth (if you look closely you can see Charlie's head sticking out on the passenger side). 

And Frank rode in this giant wagon as the winner of the little wagon. That's his head and arms sticking up over the edge.

And Olivia was more than happy to be the official "candy getter" of the family.

"I do it myself!"

We've entered the stage of Livi wanting to do everything herself. Sometimes this is helpful, like when she picks raspberries with me (as long as she doesn't spill the bucket).

Sometimes it's entertaining - like when she does her own hair, gets herself dressed or does her own accessories. (She still adamantly refuses to let us touch her hair ever - bath time is a total screamfest when I wash it)

And sometimes it makes for a lot of cleanup, like when she rubs an entire tube of lipstick all over her legs:

Or when she feeds herself just the frosting of her cupcake:

                             

As much as I love holding and cuddling her, it is nice to see her progressing towards independence!

Summer Fun

As usual August and September had me swamped with the garden and school starting so I haven't gotten around to sharing about our family vacations we had last month. 

We spent a week at the lake with Seth's family as usual. We had to find a new cabin and were lucky to have friends willing to let us use theirs. You would think it would feel crowded with over 30 people staying at one place, but we have learned that where there's a will there's a way. A few people slept in the garage and we pulled a camper up for our family to sleep in. The weather was nice and  the company was great so we managed just fine. I didn't get too many pictures, but I'll share a few.

Charlie loved the outdoor Jenga game - he especially relished getting to sign a block every time he won.

Playing with the silly face coasters:

Here's Olivia hanging out with AJ, who is one of her very favorite people. Even when she is being super clingy to me, and person after person has unsuccessfully tried to take her in order to give me a break. she will never refuse to go to AJ. 

Hanging out in the hammock with Daddy:

Right on the heels of that vacation, my brother came to visit with his two daughters. My parents treated all our families to a weekend at Great Wolf Lodge hotel. That place has more to keep kids busy than I ever imagined - including an arcade which my mom described as her "version of hell." Of course, the waterpark was everyone's favorite. The only downside was Olivia wasn't feeling great and was clinging to me the whole time, but we made it through and everyone else had a blast. I managed to get a few more pictures of this trip, but not many.

It has become a tradition that the oldest 5 recreate this picture every time we get together:

        

                          

The girls (I had to hide behind Mahina and hold Olivia because she wouldn't get in the picture without me):

                                                                         And the boys:

Budding Author

 Charlie has been busy writing books - his favorite genre being non-fiction. Our school librarian has said that our family checks out more non-fiction than any other family she's ever had so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  He finishes every book with a "Coming Soon" section advertising his next book, which keeps him going for quite a while since he very often wants to start on the next book once he has the idea. 

Here are a few samples:

Frank's Latest Accomplishments

Frank has been on a roll hitting milestones this summer. In just one week, Frank learned how to ride a bike with no training wheels (with the help of Sam), blow bubbles with gum, and jump off the diving board at the pool unassisted. 

Here he is doing a flip off the diving board.

Unfortunately the diving has been short lived. Kids are not allowed in the deep end of the pool without a life jacket unless they can pass the swim test (treading water for 1 full minute without any part of their head dipping below water), which he can't do yet. The only reason he got to go was because Seth was there and unaware of the rule. He got in the water for the first few jumps just in case Frank needed help, and I guess the life guard on duty decided to let it slide and allowed Frank to continue jump6the rest of the afternoon. 

Needless to say he was pretty disappointed the next day when he headed for the diving board and was told he couldn't go. And he's so determined to do something once he sets his mind on it, that no substitute will do...so he absolutely refuses to use a life jacket even though he would be allowed to jump with one.

Who, me? (And other recent conversations)

Frankie: Mom, I made you a salad! You need to try it, and then if you like it, you will say thank you and then give me a hug, ok? 

I did like it and he did get his hug.

Charlie: Mom, you know those chairs that have 4 legs to stand on.

Me: So...basically all chairs? Yes, I am familiar with those.

Charlie: Well, we just passed a house that had a chair with only two legs. I think they must be musicians.....no, wait.....I mean, magicians. 

Frankie: (after hiccuping once) Hmmmm...I had the hiccups last night, and I just got one hiccup left this morning.

Charlie: Mom, can I have mushroom soup for supper?

Me: Check in the cupboard and see if we have some.

Charlie: (a few minutes later) We're out of mushroom soup, but if I can't have that, I really want to try sardines.

Me: Really? Do you like sardines?

Charlie: I don't know. I've never tried them and I want to.

Me: Well the store is closed now. I'll have to get some tomorrow.

Charlie: (Starting to get super sad) But I really want sardines!!!

Me: Why do you suddenly want sardines? Did someone tell you they were good recently?

Charlie: No, it's just that I saw some tuna when I was looking for the mushroom soup and it reminded me that I've never tried sardines before so I really want to try them!!!!!!

We found some mushroom soup and he was happy. I haven't bought the sardines yet. I'll keep you posted. 

**Update** He does not like sardines. 

Lastly, Olivia has developed a habit that could get her into trouble someday. Anytime anyone asks a question starting with the word, "Who?" she immediately responds with "Me." It doesn't matter what comes after the word, "Who?"

Who left the milk out? Me!

Who made this made Mac and Cheese and left everything out on the counter? Me!

Who took the last beer? Me!

Apparently she hasn't caught on that the go-to response of her siblings is always, "Not me!" In fact, she usually says "Me" after a 4-person chorus of "Not me." 

The other day she wrote on the wall (she loves to "color"). When asked, "Did you write on the wall?" she immediately said, "No." But to the follow up question, "Who wrote on the wall?" the answer was, of course, "Me!"

Raising a Spirited Child

 I know all toddlers are a challenge, but I sometimes think ours are exceptionally so - especially when my friends say things like, "Our 3 small children regularly go with us on 6 hour car rides and happily stare out the window without making a fuss the entire time..." or "Our little one falls asleep at 8 pm, sleeps through the night until 10 am and then takes a nap in the afternoon." Are you kidding me? These are real examples, by the way,  of parents for whom I am very happy. I'm not complaining....just saying.

 

Olivia resists going down much before 10:00 most nights, and once we hit 5 or 6 in the morning she keeps me awake for a good hour, falls back asleep and then continues to wake up every 20-30 minutes the rest of the morning. There are nights I'm able to put her down around 8:30-9:00 like a normal child, but that for some reason prompts her to wake up around 3:00 am and think it is morning. This is nothing new for us and I have long ago come to terms with the interrupted sleep. 

And then there is the general strong-willed nature each of our kids have. I am honestly grateful for their ability to assert themselves and stick to their guns. I hope it will serve them well one day. In their youth, however, it can get a little old. Based on anecdotal evidence, my genetics are to blame for this so I guess this is the "pay-back" parents secretly (or sometimes not so secretly) wish on their difficult children. Even on our 5th round of toddlerhood, I can still be amazed at the events that can trigger a tantrum. 

Here's Olivia throwing a fit because we  changed her clothes. Oh, the horror. She went through a few months of doing this every single time we changed her. Then it was every bath. Lately it's been most car rides. And also every time I set her down to try to accomplish something around the house. 

Last week, however, Olivia had a meltdown that took the cake. We were driving in the car and she had been crying because, for one, she was strapped in her car seat and then - double whammy - I stepped out of the car for a second. Anyway, Frankie said he was thirsty and I told him he would have to wait 5 minutes until we got home. Improvising, he decided to wipe the tears off of Olivia's cheek to get a tiny morsel of liquid in an attempt to quench his thirst. So then this happened:

Olivia will still get upset if anyone mentions this and starts repeating, "Frankie took my tears!!" with a very distraught voice. Although, sometimes she confuses the word "tears" with a similar sounding word and it comes out "Frankie took my beer!"

Fortunately, I am well aware that the challenges are well worth it and are teaching me patience far beyond anything I ever imagined before becoming a mom.  And the best part is that along with the "spirited" personalities that can be so difficult comes a whole lot of fun on the flip side! Not a day goes by that Olivia doesn't hear "You're so cute!" In fact, that's what she says to her dolls when she plays with them.....if she isn't hitting them for biting which, I might add, we have never done to her. Just for the record.