Jacob is enthralled with busses right now. It is pretty cool that 5 different buses come to our home each morning for his siblings and 6 different buses bring them all home. I love this picture of Jacob waiting with Gideon for his bus. Mornings are a constant flow of getting the right child out the door in time for the bus, however, it flows pretty well. Lately Gideon asks me to sit on the porch and wait with him for the bus. He still gets so excited when the bus arrives and gives me a great big hug before running to climb onto the bus.
Playing "Let's smother Dad" is a very calm and reverent Sunday activity! :)
What's better than climbing trees in the morning while waiting for the bus to come?
Mary was invited to play with Eva Walters one Saturday. I love when these two girls play together because they are both so much alike. Cute, innocent girls that just love animals and having fun together. I'm also so grateful they are here to stay and not one of the many resident families that move after a few years just as the kids are becoming close friends.
Enjoying Handel's for FHE treats courtesy of Grandma & Grandpa Biggs. Following ice cream a game of tag on the grass behind ensued. We bring a party to wherever we go!
I laughed when I found Sam like this one Saturday afternoon. He had been up late at the HS football game the night before and then had an early football game Saturday morning. He came home and played more football outside for a while and then wanted to watch college football. I guess he had a little too much football and couldn't stay awake any longer!
I guess Sam learned well from his Dad on how to watch college football!
This is a pretty typical Sunday afternoon in our home. They all want to be in the kitchen helping prep meals or making desserts. It's crazy, loud, and often messy...but I would' want it any other way.
Another favorite Sunday activity.
She likes to have some bread to go with her strawberry jam!
I love to check on the kids each night as we head up to bed. There's nothing more peaceful than seeing them sleep. It helps me remember how precious they are to me and helps melt away any frustrations from the day. We thought this evening it was fun to see Thomas and Sam pretty much in the same position. They were even snoring in unison!
Joel, Thomas, and I were talking in the kitchen one evening and Joel realized Thomas and I were both standing in the same exact position. I guess we are a little bit alike...and we both support Stow!
Friday afternoon rest before heading off to a football game. I can tell when Thomas needs a break because he will find Rebekah, pick her up, and then they find a couch to relax. Thomas always falls asleep and sometimes Rebekah does as well!
Home after another win by the Bulldogs! Tradition has it they wear their hats home backward after a win. Last year their only loss was in the State semifinals and so far all wins this year! Fun times and fun memories!
Spring has been working really hard to improve her chair placement in band. During 7th grade she was 3rd chair all year. At the end of the year the top 3 trumpet players all tied for chair placement so there was no change. She worked hard all summer and throughout the beginning of the school year. When chair placement came this year she was nervous but prepared. She scored 117/120 points. FIRST CHAIR!!!!
I'm so proud of her hard work and her dedication. Even though there were moments of disappointment and frustration she never gave up. She pushed harder and kept working at it. I was even more impressed with the grace she handled the situation. She was so kind and understanding to the others in the section and actually felt bad for the two others that she had surpassed.
Football season is synonymous with Marching Band in Stow. The community supports the school in a huge way here. It seems like most of the city is at the stadium on Friday nights. The band, 237 members strong, attend each and every football game-home and away! They play a pregame show, they play throughout the game, halftime, 3rd quarter drum-offs, and after every game the football team and coaches come to the student section and band. All remove hats and the band plays the alma mater while the students and football team sing along. I love the comradare it creates. After each game you witness the football coaches coming to the band directors and exchanging hugs and handshakes. It really is a complete experience for these students. And, we get to witness it as we help sell donuts and spirit wear at the games. Our younger kids love going to the games and seeing their friends there.
It makes for a busy few months but it has become a family affair. We love it! We laugh that Rebekah's lullaby is the Stow Fight Song. It is played each time the football team scores and they are a high scoring team. One game she was really fighting going to sleep until the drum off during 3rd quarter and she instantly fell right to sleep! :)
Sam continues to love scouting. He completed all the requirements for the Arrow of Light in June and was awarded his plaque at pack meeting this week. He is super excited to be with Josh in cub scouts for a few weeks before moving up to boy scouts. He has great plans for scouting and already knows what he wants to do for his Eagle project! He is going to LOVE all the campouts and outings that come with Boy Scouts!
Josh is now 8! He has been anxiously awaiting this magical birthday since the day he turned 7! With this birthday comes baptism, cub scouts, and his first ever "friend" birthday party! He chose to have taco pasta for his dinner and ice cream cupcakes for dessert. He planned a campfire, gaga ball playing, trampoline jumping birthday party with his friends from school. Unfortunately, weather did not cooperate so we improvised and played some minute to win it games. He said it was the best time ever. I think the noise level would have been much more enjoyable had we been outside, but it all turned out well!
My parents are coming for Thanksgiving so we gave Josh the choice to be baptized now or when they come. He was adamant that he wanted to be baptized on his exact birthday. We told him that a Tuesday can be difficult to have a baptism. After we talked to him we discovered the reason for this. He thought he had to be baptized before he could begin cub scouts and he has "waited longer than anyone else in the family to go to scouts! When we told him he could go to cub scouts as soon as he turned 8, he quickly said, "Then I want to wait to be baptized until Grandma and Grandpa can be here!"
The morning of his birthday he came down to me at 5:45 am and asked if he could pass off everything for his Bobcat badge. He had been practicing with Sam and had already memorized the scout oath and law as well as all the other requirements for the Bobcat badge. He was presented with the badge the next day at pack meeting.
I love that he is excited about scouting. I love that he wants to follow in the footsteps of his older brothers. Josh is such a great kid. He will do anything to make someone else feel better. He is silly and happy. He loves to play rough and wrestle, but is quick to give me a hug....but not a kiss...that would be the death of him! He loves to read, especially "Magic Treehouse" books. He loves math. He plays football all day with Sam and is following in Sam's path of coming home from school dirty and sweaty! Josh is my soft spot. He can melt my heart without even trying. I'm so blessed to be his mom.
For Homecoming Festivities the Junior High Band joins the High School Band for the parade and the football game. They practice for 2 evenings together prior to the festivities. I love this part of the program. This year there were nearly 400 students in this combined band! Spring was SO excited to be a part of this and was not ready for the night to end. She kept saying, "I can't wait until next year when I get to do this every week!" Thomas loved working with his buddy, Mason Marquette. Spring's buddy, Julia Moxley, requested to have her again this year as well which made Spring's day!
Mary marched in the parade as well with her school's Student Council. The rest of us were spectators...well the kids were candy hoarders! They come home from this parade with more candy than we know what to do with. The last few years I end up using what is left from this parade as candy for Halloween trick-or-treaters!
A wonderful night and Stow crushed the other team in the football game as well! Go BULLDOGS!
"You have nothing in this world more precious than your children. When you grow old, when your hair turns white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out. It will not be the money you have made. It will not be the cars you have owned. It will not be the large house in which you live. The searing question that will cross your mind again and again will be, How well have my children done?"
~President Gordon B. Hinckley
Eternal Sweethearts
"Having [children] together-building a family together-seemed a natural progression to the union we began on our wedding day. [These little people are] , among many other things, a representation of our love and commitment to one another." -Trish Perry
