Spring Break

Spring Break= Snow and freezing wind

 When you hear multiple times that it is going to be an early spring, you know its not.

Due to snow days Aubrey's musical was moved and when it finally came we loved watching the home movies.  Aubrey enjoyed a daddy-daughter night out!

 Tate's first weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Griner's house.  This was BIG!  Tate had been packing his bag for 3 days.  He had his backpack on at 6am ready to go.  We drove to Lone Jack for the drop off and he had the funnest 24 hours of his life!  Park, books, movies, outside, yummy food...Tate's kind of day.   It kicked off spring break and was 70 degrees.  While Tate was gone we spent the afternoon at the Marinov's house playing on their new swing set!

 By Monday the weather was chili.  I checked the week forecast and since Tuesday looked to be the warmest day of the week we met friends at Crown Center and planned to go to the Zoo on Tuesday.  

As many crafts as you can get done in 45 minutes was heaven for Aubrey, she disappear hoping for craft to craft.  Caleb made me a card and then hung out in the glow in the dark paint area. 

 I followed Tate.  He took painting seriously and found scissors quickly!

 Ainsley her best friend Makiya were side by side and by the end of 45 minutes everyone had a bag full  of crafts (except Caleb who had glow in the dark paint all over his fingers)!

After a sack lunch we took the kids to the exhibit.  "What do you want to be?" was the theme this year. The boys spent their time on the Chiefs football field throwing passes and the girls surfed, performed surgery, cooked, and many other fun things.  Aubrey spent a lot of time in the library.  It was fun to get the kids together with some friends!

Tuesday we woke up early and headed to the Zoo...it was freezing.  The good thing about that is the Polar Bear and Sea Otters were doing all sorts of flips.  The bad thing was the train wasn't running or the sky lift.  We left just in time for the heavy snow to start.  

Bad weather kept us indoors for the rest of the week and on Friday we had visitors!  Hide and Seek, Tag, and Wreck it Ralf was the prefect end to a cold week.  Grandma Griner came up also!

Fun, cold week...when it gets warmer hopefully we will make it to some parks when they are out of school in April.  

February

February

Once we got past the sickness of January, I thought February would be a great month.  The kids would all finally be back in school, no early morning fevers or sick days.  But it seems that I have not had a full week of the kids being back at school since before Christmas Break.  I am not exaggerating.  Regular daily schedules...when will they resume??  

Tate wakes up every morning, shoes in hand ready to go outside.  Sprinkle rain, mudd, snow, wind, burrrrr cold.  It doesn't stop him.  Creative begging and bribing him to come inside is getting more inventive and challenging each new day.   His hair causes lots of laughs when he takes off his hat.

Tate's lion face... 

 More then 3 times I have gone to check on Tate during nap time and have found him, pillow stacked by his window asleep.  

 With parent teacher conferences, holidays,  snow days, and teacher work days keeping the kids at home February has been the month of "I do not like my options!"  Since I have continued to make everything from scratch, no more quick snacks has been a "Mom, how will I survive!" sort of life.  I try to tell them eat more dinner, each more breakfast, just eat more when its time to eat and "you eat what you get and you don't throw a fit." Knowing that they were going to be out of school for multiple days from snow I told them they could make a list of a couple of things they would like:  apple sauce, oranges, bread, pancakes, jello, watermellon, grapes, cheese its, muffins, deserts, spaghetti , lunchables, chips, green beans, bacon, lemonade, and syrup.  On a separate list watermellon was written on every other line.

 I only have 2 kids who like playing in the snow.  Aubrey and Tate.  Ainsley and Caleb lasted until this picture was taken and then hurried back inside.  The 1st big snow storm brought thick heavy snow...Tate constantly fell and Ainsley lost a boot! 

 The 2nd big snowstorm, Aubrey built a master piece tunnel for Tate!  Andy got stuck over by the golf course trying to make it to work and we spent 4 hours with power turning on and off.  

Nothing can stop the creative aspect of snow days though.  Endless coloring, drawing, and full coloring books...sad to say that Tate took advantage of his access to markers by taking them to the walls in 3 rooms, the upstairs hall, 2 doors, and base board molding on the stairs all within a 30 minutes dinner preparing time frame.  UHG!

February did have some fun things...Ainsley went to kindergarten Round-up,  Parent Teacher Conferences for Aubrey and Caleb, a birthday party at Power Play, a Science birthday party, and a Swimming party has kept us pretty busy. 

Falling one by one!

Falling one by one!

Brutal doesn't really cover it.  I remember flu season always being really bad. BUT I though,  I keep the house really clean,  the kids always wash their hands, I keep the house REALLY clean, and I haven't been feeding them processed food, only healthy food that will "stick" to their bones and make them strong.  Then during soccer seasons Ainsley got the stomach flu...no one else did.  That is not our normal Griner thing.  I felt good.  Then during Christmas break Caleb got the stomach flu.  I contained and we moved on.  School was finally starting.  After a really really long Christmas break I was ready for everyone to go back and they were ready to go back.  After one day back it started...Ainlsey first.

 Of course, she missed hat day (OF ALL DAYS) and since I couldn't get her temp. down she had to take a bath 4 times that day.  Kind of like a sick holiday.  The final decision was that she would be wearing her swimsuit  because I couldn't get her temperature down and that would make up for missing hat day (kind of).  4 hours later Caleb's nurse called and I had to go and pick him up.  Same very high fever, aches, and his face was so bright red I wish there was snow so I  could put it on him right way.  

There isn't really a funny part to this but if there was.  The school is really far away so I told Tate to get his shoes on and get in the car so I could help Ainsley who was so sick she couldn't really walk or get winter clothes on.  He grabbed the hand-me-down size 2 spiderman shoes (more for an 8 year old), put them in the car, and buckled so when I got in the car and was driving (almost half way there I noticed) I was so embarrassed!  When Aubrey saw him she laughed right away.

Well, Tate (and wienie dog) finally came down with the fever Saturday.  It makes for an almost Month long winter break.  A sad one....I think the kids have watch every Super Hero Movie,  They have finally got to take baths but not the play fun kind, and we have gone through crackers like no tomorrow.  Tate does not like a disruption in his day and he just doesn't understand why everyone doesn't want to watch The Hulk over and over.

Caleb will have missed a full week a school and his class party.  Hopefully no more missed school, we got to work on those high frequency words.

In the mist of the sickness our dear friend passed alway.

When he first fell and got hurt my kids would make him pictures.  He help Caleb earn his Tiger Badge, he was so funny. He was such a big part of our daily routine, the kids were always so excited to see him every morning and evening and they loved watching him practice his golf stroke in the front yard.  He gave Caleb and Tate a couple of balls every now and then.  I went to his funeral on Saturday.  We were so luck to have lived across the street from him.

as a side note:  spending 5 days watching Tate cough all over wienie dog makes me need to wash it badly but he wont let it go

Ainsley is finally back to school

Aubrey went to her first 2013 party...big step for both her and us...we found out they were going to be watch a Taylor Swift movie so me and the kids spent an hour on youtube showing Aubrey who Taylor Swift was and trying to teach her some fun songs.  I think Caleb might kind of like country now.  (now I do not live in a barn but we don't have cable and the kids watch movies in the van so, my kids do not listen to the radio)

First week in 2013

Starting the New Year off independent and older!

So...if you do not know baths are not done here.  Those are more of a specialty once in a full moon, yahoo type of thing because I feel like it turns into a monsoon and nothing gets accomplished at all.  But that is just in my motherhood experience I am sure that if YOU are a mom YOU know how to do it right, with yourself dry in the end...floor dry in the end, and minimal towels used.  Oh, and happy thoughts.  It's just not on my bucket list.  So we do showers.  In the new house the 3 oldest are old enough to take this important responsibility and do it correctly, after which they can get dresses alone.  The problem is with Ainlsey the dressing part.  She often times gets lost.  I find traces of her down the hall.  It is like she get half way to me, very excited to show me her outfit and then thinks of something to add to it and leaves it on the ground and runs to get the next item.  When all is said and done I usually find her still naked deciding on the perfect socks or which princess underwear would be best for the day.

 I mean...it must be so hard to be 5.  Of course, she has a lid on her underwear box.  You wouldn't want anyone to know.  She is very seriously about these things.  

 Aubrey likes to write letters to us on her dry erase board.  It is really fun!  I am not sure why we are all riding camels.  My parents were in Israel over Thanksgiving again and Aubrey thought it was cool that they road camels.  We do not know but Florida is about as far as we travel.

 Ainsley got new running shoes...

 After a weekend at Grandmas and a trip to Grandpas office to check to make sure a tooth was under the baby one she lost her first tooth!!!!  Yay!!

The biggest thing to happen the first week of 2013 was for Tate!!!!  Our SUNBEAM!  This is BIG on a couple of levels.  First he was so excited and he did great!  Second that means we do not have any more babies.  Third now we have 2 in junior and 2 in senior primary.  BIG!  Maybe it wasn't a big deal for any other parent there on Sunday but it was a big deal for me because who would have thought....it wasn't like crowds cheering and bells ringing it was more like a peaceful, we have arrived we made it. We did it!  

New Years Eve 2012

New Years Eve 2012

 Not just the last day of a busy year but a morning full or endless cheering and excitement because snow!  Really, big, fun, fluffy snow!  Now we had snow a couple of week previous in the evening but it was more like ice and it cancelled their last day of school for the year, closed the roads and caused frustration.  Not to mention our lights flickering.  (super fun)   This...this was exciting.  Now, I have a 10:00am rule.  Just because they wake up at 6:00am doesn't mean the neighbors do.  If I was a neighbor AND was retired AND didn't have children I think I would like to sleep until 9:00, wake up to silence OR nice relaxing music.  Maybe have some hot chocolate, take a quiet shower....not hear a bomb of yelling.  So 10:00am.  It is the right thing to do.  They were pretty worried that the snow wouldn't make it, it would vanish but it just kept coming.  

 The kids were excited about the snow...lasted about one minute but not Tate.  He had to make his mark.  He found a bunch of sticks and stuck them in the ground all over the place.  "TATE WAS HERE" Aubrey, Caleb, Ainsley and I sat and watched him for over 10 minutes just talk to himself.  He meant business.
After they played outside I sort of, kind of tricked them into watching one of my favorite movies!  While You Were Sleeping is a classic.  I mean it has to be watched and I knew that if I didn't make it sound exciting that I wouldn't be able to talk Caleb and Tate into it.  Aubrey and Ainlsey would watch it because it was about LOVE but no way would Caleb and Tate so with my years of experience I showed them the cover and said, "Do you want to watch this?  It's about a guy who almost gets hit by a train!!!!!!!!!"  I had them!  I showed them the train on the cover and they were in.  They actually loved the movie.  I am pretty sure I can get them to watch Little Women next because "technically" batman is in it.  I mean not batman the character but batman the actor and he saves someone who falls into the icey water so...I'll have to work on that one.

 New Years Eve Night came. After dinner and some fun snacks we played twister.  Caleb was always out first.  He is not a stretcher!  Ainsley usually won or the game ended all of a sudden.  At "midnight" (Yes, this might be the very last year we are able to set all the clocks ahead 4 hours,  the kids are getting really smart) the kids were so excited they opened the doors and screamed 2013! 

Aubrey 

 Ainlsey

Caleb

Tate 

I am not sure what 2013 will hold for our little family.  What path we will follow.  What new friends my children will make, toys they will be introduced to, or sport they will play next.   How many time I will have to chase Tate with markers, ask Ainsley why she changed her outfit, tell Caleb "Manners Matter", or beg Aubrey to "just wear this today."  I would like to hope that I get my kitchen table out of my garage and into my kitchen and that I am able to avoid getting a pet for another year.  I've made it this long I can come up with a couple more good solid reason why, I hope!  In 2013 we will leave behind a huge part of our life, Ainsley will begin Kindergarten, Caleb will get baptized, and Tate will start Sunbeams.  It does look like pillow pets will be a big part of 2013 since Andy's aunt gave each of my children one for Christmas...funny how those things have stuck around.  The question is...will Aubrey and Ainsley both end up with a 3DS by the end of the year and will Beyblades still be so super fun to watch Caleb play?!  Who knows,  maybe next year?  I do have a feeling that the tooth fairy will be here soon.  Ainsley is such an over excited child when she looses a tooth I hope she is at home and not at school...oh boy!!!

As we end the year...lets highlight!!

Highlights over 2012...

A picture with all 4 kids together...take 1...take 2...take 3... oh well!  

 Aubrey's baptism this year.  She received fun necklaces from her AZ grandparents, bookmarks from her Utah Grandparents, and a small scripture case and scripture set from her Florida Grandparents.  She loved having her friends and family come and watch.  She had a blast at her "Yellow Brick Road" birthday party.  Tate dresses as the lion, Caleb as the tin man, Ainlsey as Dorthy, and Andy was the Wicked Witch.  It was so incredibly hot outside that day.  But it was a blast!    

 As her 4 season on the Super Girls...they were ready to go!  Defensive End, we were even learning the positions!  Aubrey even scored a goal this last season!  She loved swimming over the summer and was tall and brave enough to go down the twirling slides alone!  

Caleb's hair turned green over the summer!  Oh boy!  He loves the water.  Loved the sandy Navarre Beach and when he first saw the sand he thought it was SNOW!  Caleb's favorite thing in 2012 was going to Florida.  He didn't want to leave.  He loved that you never had to wear shoes!  We took the kids to McDonalds one day and once he noticed that some of the locals didn't have shoes on he knew that Navarre was the place for him!!!  When we finally went home he brought home a big back of shells and such!!

Caleb also enjoyed visiting NAS.  Sitting in the planes, messing with all of the buttons and he got a fun pilot sticker!  

 This was Ainlseys year!!  She was finally old enough for everything!  Soccer was it and she was ready.  I was shocked actually,  I had no idea that the little girl who wanted to wear a dress everyday and have her hair done in millions of bows would get out there and steal the ball.  Quite aggressively for peewee!!  I loved cheering and yelling for her.  Even her little friend Emsley came to a game and clapped and cheered!!  One weekend it was "silent weekend."  No talking or cheering allowed from the parents, only mild clapping when a goal was scored....I must say...it was pretty hard.  I just kept giving her a thumbs up!  Something funny...in the first game.  She was running to steal the ball and I yelled," STOP IT AINSLEY!!!!, GO.. STOP IT, AINSLEY!!!!!!" Meaning, good job.  Go and stop her from scoring.  But Ainsley stopped right in her tracks!  She thought I meant stop it. All of the parents started laughing when we realized she didn't understand the difference from "at home" talk and "cheering!"  But Ainsley..YOU ROCK!!!  When all was said and done the Cupcakes only lost 1 game and Ainsley ended up having a fun birthday Yellow Brick Road birthday party with a bunch of her soccer friends!!

Ainsley was also old enough to start pre school this year.  She ended up getting the same teacher Aubrey and Caleb had when they were in preschool.  Ainsley had waited all summer to start preschool.  And to start with her very best friend by her side!  She was also a swimmer this summer.  Swimming in the deep end and doing a lot of belly flops!!  She loves to swim and she loves to unload the dishwasher so she can earn her a little extra money so she can eat breakfast as school!  

When we were in Florida Ainlsey loved going out to lunch with my neighbor Gin.  Coloring next to her and talking to her, building sand castles were fun too!

 Tate...this was the year that anything they can do I can do to.  Even if it is for kids who are taller and already know how to swim.  He refused to wear a life jacket. He jumped into the deep end and that is how he learned how to swim this summer!  Markers are my enemy and his passion.  If they are left out, they are found all over his face, body, or a wall.  

 After having ear problems for the past year, a serious strep pneumonia was found in his ear, and spending the summer going in to the ENT 3 times a week to have his ears drained he had surgery.  He had a bad reaction from the surgery and so the next month went badly.  He will have his hearing re checked in the next couple of weeks.  He is a tough little buddy and we love him.  Lack of hearing hasn't slowed him down, he is definitely my super hero!  

Tate's funny story is on Easter. He just walked over to the neighbors on Easter morning.  Opened their front door, and all of a sudden there was Tate in his pjs.  I guess he wanted to see what they got from the Easter Bunny or pet their dogs.  He just thinks their family...they've been their his entire life!

Wording we've used over 2012...

*SERIOUSLY!!!! (when something bad or crazy happens)

*REALLY...REALLY!! (when something bad or crazy happens)

*Caleb came home one day from school (it was Drug free week) and said very seriously, "MOM!, Did you KNOW...it is very bad to Drink Drugs!"I replied, "Drink Drugs?'  Caleb with a very serious face even using his hands, "YES MOM, It is so bad to Drink Drugs."  I was pretty sure times hadn't changed so much that we were drinking them now, so I tried to keep the straightest face and said,  "I am so glad you taught me that.  Are you sure it isn't Do Drugs or Smoke?"   He was so admit and I couldn't stop laughing!  

*JUST SAY NO...
*Tate your shirt looks sharp!! (at that point he flipped out saying his shirt was sharp and he had to take it off TOO SHARP, TOO SHART.  It hurts!!!) haha!  Now that he understands that it means he looks handsome, he tries to get dressed at leased once a week!
*It builds character.
*Make good choices. (I always say this in carline when I would drop the kids off for school and one day I turned to say it, and Caleb looked me in the eye and very seriously said "I know MOM, make good choices...YOUR SEIOUS!)
*You know you want to...  (example: did you make your bed? (uhg) you know you want to!  did you pick up your legos? (uhg) you know you want to!  did you say thanks? (huh??) you know you want to say thank you to the mother who gave birth to you!)

I found out in 2012

*While shopping for skinny slim jeans for Aubrey (she is so darn skinny she cant just have slim jeans and she cant wear a smaller size they are too short) I saw a 1D t-shirts.  I was like, "What is 1D?"  Ya, I said that out loud.   Boy was I an idiot because they were, at the time playing on the radio in the store.  It's One Direction.  There was a big poster of them at the mall with 1D plastered all over them as well.  At least I found a store that sells skinny slim jeans!!  Wow!!  They are still baggy but eventually she will gain weight!

Congrats 2012

My brother Spencer graduated from PT school and his family bought a house

My brother Seth and his wife added their 2nd, a baby boy on my dad's birthday

My sister Steffaney got married!  He is awesome!!

My sister Sydney graduated with her MBA and is under contract on her first house!!

The Jespersens added their 3rd baby a boy to their family!

Christmas Day

Christmas Morning

 6:00am sharp the kids were up and ready to go downstairs!  Santa has come!  Of course, Aubrey had been up since 4:00am AND had already been downstairs (I am not sure if she even went to sleep she was so excited).

 Since Christmas presents do not get put under the tree until Christmas Eve after the kids go to bed the excitement is EXPLOSIVE!  Santa came and we get presents under the tree...Just WOW!!  

 There was a lot of excitement.  Everyone was mostly excited for Tate and waiting for Tate's reaction when he realized he got what he asked Santa for.  This is how it went.  Tate ran to Santa before we could get there and sat on his lap...  Santa asked "What would you like this year?"

Tate, " A Wiener Dog!!!!"

Santa tuned to Andy and Me

We looked at each other completely shocked...

Santa replied something like, " Okay, a stuffed Wiener Dog!"

Long story short....wiener dog found!!!  Tate was Super Happy!!!  So were the rest of the siblings!!!  My kids are so odd.  Why he would ask for that is beyond me?!!!

 Tether ball...$14.  Pretty awesome...homemade...do not get directions from ask.com because if you live in the middle of nowhere you will have to drive back to home depot for more cement and the length of the pole..just don't look there.  Every 8 year olds dream, right here!!!  Just watch out Aubrey because Tate will be practicing while you are at school!

Opening presents was fun!  Ainsley is just so excited about everything.  Tate and his wiener dog opened every present together and Caleb thought the $4 mini pinball game I found was pretty cool.  Although, I found it to be a lot louder than I originally thought.  

After presents we ate breakfast and watched The Odd Life of Timothy Green that my Grandma gave me (I maybe got to eat 1/6 a handful of nuts and she sent an entire canister....I wonder who's little fingers got into those).  I think that if you combined all my kinds into one they are pretty ODD (actually they are pretty odd individually) and maybe by next Christmas I'll figure out the Mom thing.  That movie had me crying and busting up laughing.  Merry Christmas to my little family!  

Andy's parents drove up and we had dinner and exchanged gifts.  The kids all got piggy banks with their names on them and they got quarters!  Ainsley has her very first loose tooth so she has been waiting to show her grandpa!!  "I just know he will know what to do," says Ainlsey.

It was the Christmas of 3DS (yes, it took me a couple of weeks to learn it wasn't called a DS3...I get all the electronics confused), the American Girl Doll (can you believe that the sales lady tried to talk me into getting my daughter matching pj's for $59...bahaha!  Is she out of her mind?), Mario gocart, and Captain America.  It is also our first Christmas without fisher-price and playskool.  Thank you!