Every Day is my Favorite

Just a few random pictures to finish off September:
With the weather turning colder we needed warm shelter for our outside dog. Jake is not a very handy guy. But he wanted to try his hand at building an insulated dog house. He did an awesome job.

I am not an animal lover, especially pets. I am surprised to be saying this but getting this fur ball was one of the best unplanned decisions. She is so loving and all the kids adore her (and I'll admit, she's grown on me as well). She is smart and patient with the kids. Evelyn loves to help her eat. She'll hand her one piece of food at a time. Mako (dogs name) will just sit there and let her dole out the food.

The boys elementary school was doing a chalk fight fundraiser. The kids really wanted to go. But we could not do $10 a person for one small bag of chalk. I'm sure it would have been fun but $60 was not feasible at the time. Jake decided to crush up the kids chalk and we would have our own chalk fight. I think they still  had fun even though we couldn't attend the activity:

Kaleb got his new glasses.:

some days were all about snuggling and that was just fine with me:

Evelyn is always excited when it's time for dad to come home. She eagerly stands at the window watching for him:

the girls like to gang up on their brothers:

Some days it seems all the kids do is fight. Then I catch them in these quiet moments and it makes my heart melt:

Alexander is a very loving and sweet boy. He loves taking care of everyone around him.
 He is for sure the peace maker in the family.

Up in the mornin' and out to school

It didn't take long for all of us to get into the school routine:
I am very grateful the bus takes the boys to and from school:
We are up by 6:45. Boys are on the bus by 7:30. School doesn't start until 8 and they get dropped off by about 7:40 so they have lots of time to play before the bell rings:

 

the bus brings Alexander home by 11:15. Kaleb doesn't get home until nearly 3:00

the girls are very excited for school. Evelyn loves wearing backpacks:

my mom and dad got to come visit for a night. My aunt and uncle were home from their mission and mom and dad were here for their homecoming:

my grandma and another aunt and uncle even stopped by for a quick hello:

just a random picture of a daily occurrence in this house. Lots of book reading:

And then it was time for Breahna to go to school.
We had Breahna registered for a local preschool. A lady in the neighborhood does one out of her house. It was the best deal I could find so I got her accepted and paid the initial fee. Earlier in the year I had sent in paperwork for Headstart but never heard back. With Jake now working I figured we wouldn't qualify anyway. A few days before Bre was supposed to start school I got a call from Headstart asking me what day would be good for orientation. Uh, say what? I didn't know she was accepted? Well, I have the paperwork right here. Do you still want her to attend? YES! The other preschool was $35 a month attending 1 1/2 hours every Tuesday and Thursday. Headstart is free, 4 days a week, 3 1/2 hours each day, including breakfast and lunch. Can I say yes any louder?
Alexander had attended for 2 years. It is primarily for low income families so acceptance is based on income. I guess there had been one spot open at the last minute and one of the teachers, who knows us, wanted us to come back. Yeah! Jake got elected to their policy council so now he gets to go to important meetings once a month, including a week long, out of town, big regional one in May.

she was excited to show off her new backpack and FINALLY go to school.

Jake takes her on his way to work. He then uses his lunch break to pick her up and bring her home. She loves school, especially art. She spends as much time as possible at the art table and brings home stacks of creations.

Babies - Babies - Babies

My sisters Emily and Shawna both had baby girls in 2015. We were able to join the family as Emily and Jonny blessed their baby June:
Lots of cousin fun:

 babies June and Gretl

 we all enjoyed a crepe feast:

 we were able to stay a few more days. Of course a trip to my parents wouldn't be complete without a stop at Menchie's

 

sometimes I'm sad we don't live closer so I don't get to see these babies (and my sisters) very much. But it's always fun to visit.

You've Had a Birthday

Alexander's 2nd day of school was his 6th birthday. He is the oldest in his kindergarten class because his birthday was one day shy of being able to start kindergarten last year. With it being the first days of school there wasn't much time for a party. We decided to just invite a few friends over to watch a movie and eat pizza and cake. Alexander wanted the movie Big Hero 6. The boys ended up ignoring the movie and just running around playing:

because when it's your birthday you are more than welcome to put Swedish Fish candy in your Nutella sandwich:

I found a place online that would print any edible image you wanted. It didn't cost that much either. Alexander wanted a Minecraft birthday. I had all these ideas of how to make the sword but it would have required a lot of work. This was much easier and looked great. I made the cake. Peeled off the backing, pressed it on, and done (and now that I can get an edible image from Menchie's, even better!)
(one of the guests poked the cake before I could get a picture)

I think Alexander won't have elaborate parties or cakes as I used to do in previous years. His birthday will probably always fall the first week of school. He didn't seem to mind though. Everyone still had fun.
We love having Alexander in our family. He hasn't changed much with his likes; he still loves weapons, Star Wars and now Minecraft. He is still the sweetest boy who loves to take care of everyone and gets sad if someone else is sad. Although his temper can snap at the drop of a hat. He loves school and learning and still loves Nutella sandwiches more than any other food. He is venturing out though to also enjoy corndogs, grilled cheese and quesadillas. He easily makes friends wherever he is. He's very animated and loves talking and performing. We sure love our 6 year old.