Goodbye 2019, welcome 2020!

At our New Year's Eve party (movies and frozen appetizers in the great white north), we all shared our favorite 2019 memory and something we're looking forward to in 2020.

DJ: Favorite memory is going to Michigan Adventure this summer. He's most looking forward to playing baseball this spring, hopefully for Grand Ledge.

Nellie: Favorite memory is Christmas, getting a Hamilton ticket which she was not expecting! She's excited to turn 13.

Annie: Favorite memory is going on her first upside-down roller coaster and being in Frozen Jr. She's most looking forward to trying new things in 2020 now that she's older, like auditioning for plays and riding bigger amusement park rides.

Eddie: Favorite memory is going to Michigan Adventure and "all the other good things that happened." He's looking forward to next Christmas.

Mary Cate: Favorite memory is finding treasures. She is looking forward to "nothing."

Jamie: Favorite memories are watching the kids gain new experiences and interests. For the girls, definitely being in Frozen Jr. with Midway Theater Company. For DJ, starting to love reading. For Eddie, starting kindergarten and Mary Cate, starting preschool and learning to tolerate it. Running regularly starting this summer with Kevin was a favorite personal memory (especially the ledges on my birthday). I'm most looking forward to a couple of travel opportunities this year and of course, the great blessing of seeing the kids learn and grow.

Kevin: Favorite memories are playing football with DJ, turkey hunting with the kids. Running with Jamie (and sometimes Mary Cate) all summer and fall. He's most looking forward to the next hunting season.

Papa Mike: Favorite memory was backpacking in the mountains, especially the hike up to Lava Lake in Montana. He's most looking forward to "surviving" in 2020.

Christmas season = Christmas concerts

When we decided to have five children, no one prepared me for the fact that someday, some Christmas season, we would have six concerts/performances to attend in the span of two weeks. When I filled in our calendar over Thanksgiving, I'll admit, my stomach turned a little. That's a lot of quick dinner/get dressed!/get in the car!/we're going to be late!/sitting through a lot of music/taking lots of pictures/driving home in the dark and cold.

But I was also unprepared for how much I love to hear the kids sing and play. Yes, I have heard them many times before, but this was a year of firsts with Nellie's first year in choir, first year in middle school, Eddie in kindergarten, etc. And they love it so much (with the exception of DJ, as we know.)

Some highlights were when Mary and DJ actually got on stage and sang--it's always questionable until it happens, Nellie's descant at her choir concert, Annie's solo in the church show, and Eddie's joy throughout the elementary concert!

16 years of bliss

For our anniversary this year, we decided a night out with the kids would be a fun way to celebrate 16 years of marriage AND kick off Christmas break. We basically recreated our date from last year, during which we kept saying, "the kids would love this!"

We started with dinner at Olde Peninsula. Then we took a walk through the lights at Bronson Park, stopped in an interesting downtown candy store, gave the kids a driving tour of Western's campus (Nellie asked if the whole point was to make them want to go to WMU), and got coffee at Water Street.

I suppose a rare night out alone would have been nice, too, but we had a great time with the whole family!

Where Kevin proposed in front of the nativity

Kiss pose to embarrass the kids

Fall adventures

It's been over three months since my last post. I'm slipping! Most of that time is spent in our very full two-working-parents-five-kids routine. It looks something like this.
---
5:30 am - Alarm rings, go running. I typically achieve full wakefulness sometime around 5:50 while on the treadmill. Always mysterious how I got there.

6:15 - Shower.

6:30 - Wake up Nellie, Eddie, and Mary Cate and try to help them get ready while blow drying my hair.

6:40 - Downstairs for breakfast.

7:06 - If we're going to be on time, I'm buckling kids in the car.

7:19 - Drop off Nellie at school. After 7:20, things get crazy in the carpool lane.

7:45 - School. It takes 10 minutes just to get out of the car and across the parking lot.

3:00 pm - Pick up the little kids.

4:00 - Leave school

4:30 - Home. Chat with all the kids about their day and help with homework, sign practice records, empty school folders, etc. while I clean the kitchen so I can make dinner.

6:00 - Eat dinner. Clean up dinner. Make lunches and repack backpacks. (All this assumes an open night. Most nights there are practices and rehearsals and lessons.)

7:30 - Start the never-ending bath and bedtime routine.

8:30 - Grading, emails, laundry, sending kids back to bed.

10:00ish - Bed
---
But that's just the daily stuff. There have been a lot of new and exciting opportunities for the kids this year, too. Here are some highlights:

• Nellie is in band and choir. She is taking flute lessons and earned a I rating at her first Solo and Ensemble.
• Annie and Nellie were cast in Frozen Jr. The performances were in October and were amazing! I went every night. I learned a lot about stage hair and makeup...thanks Youtube.
• Annie played basketball through the Grand Ledge rec league and liked it so much she signed up to play again this winter with DJ.
• DJ has grown increasingly devoted to baseball, football, basketball, and reading. He doesn't do much else than read or watch sports with Kevin while playing catch with a Nerf football.
• Eddie started talking in kindergarten. He's perfectly happy at school...just quiet. 
• Mary Cate is resigned to preschool. This is a big accomplishment for her. She's grown up so much in a short time being around all the four-year-olds! 
• Annie ran cross country. She and I ran two 5Ks together and I loved every minute of it. Annie maybe not so much. 
• We went to Silver Bells in the City and watched the parade from the warmth of Emily's office.
• We visited John and Sue in October and my dad over Thanksgiving. We were surprised by a snowstorm at my dad's and fun bundled up in our pajamas over our clothes!

On this, the first day of Christmas break, we're definitely happy to have some slower days together. Of course, we had to spend hours and hours picking up the house and folding laundry first...the kids were not super happy about that, to say the least. For once, I wish they believed in Santa.

Love this smiling runner!

Hair and makeup ready for the show. Mom not ready for teen years.

At the bridge

At the cider mill (as usual, in early November when we have the place to ourselves!)

Watching the parade

Snow day at Papa Mike's!

Mary Cate is three! Heaven, help us.

Oh, this girl. She's the same at three as she ever was, though (after a rough couple of weeks) she's settled into preschool. I've seen a lot of growth since then--Mary has all kinds of new songs to sing and friends to play with. It's always so cool and a little surprising when one of the kids starts preschool and learns things that we didn't teach them!

Mary still loves reading, music, and playing outside. She really loves to be with me...all the time...morning and night. She has a strong will and a mind of her own, which we're convinced will serve her well someday! We have to believe that so we don't cry.

As our Labor Day baby, Mary celebrated her special day at Aunt Pam's house at the lake. Here's what she has to say about it all.

How do you feel about being three?  

I AM three! I feel happy when I'm three, but when mommy goes to her class I feel sad that I'm three. [She's not thrilled about preschool, yet.] 

What kinds of new things do three-year-olds do?   
Be happy. Share toys.

Who is your best friend?

Eddie-buddy.

Who are your favorite people to play with?
Eddie-buddy. I love Eddie-buddy so much. At school, Christian. Marina. Annie and Nellie and DJ!

What kinds of things are you good at?

Hugging Eddie-buddy. Hugging and kissing Mommy and Daddy, and Nellie, Annie, and DJ. I'm good at going to a different house, like grandma's,

What do you want to be when you grow up?
A princess. A cleaner.

What’s your favorite song?   
Psalty songs.

What's your favorite food?
Soup. Just soup.

Favorite movie?   
Hm. Frozen!

Favorite book?   

Frozen.

Favorite color?   
Yellow and blue.

Favorite place to be?

Our house. MY house.

What are your favorite things to do?   
Play with Eddie-buddy. Play in the basement, watch a movie, play with mommy.

What was your favorite birthday present?
Gum. That was the best!

Is there anything else you want us to know about you?   
I have Ellie elephant at school. I don't cry at school. I cry when I have tears.

First school weekend

Kevin took Nellie, Annie, and DJ to fishing camp, so I got to spend some quality time with Eddie and Mary Cate! We were tired from our first week of school but also ready to have some fun.

Friday night McDonald's playtime

Saturday morning Flour Child playtime

Mary Cate is (finally) losing the bottle! Me: There's Minnie Mouse, Paw Patrol...
Mary Cate: I want these ones!
This is what I saw when I turned around. :)

:"Mary, smile!" Just...no.

Fun with Otto and Emmy! They would have stayed here all day at the water table if we let them.

Farewell summer break 2019!

The kids start school tomorrow! Annie had the idea for everyone to share their favorite summer memories and write them down so we could look back on it. 💓

Here's the summary:

• Michigan's Adventure was right up there for everyone--particularly the log ride and pirate ship.
• Making pretzels at Flour Child Bakery (Annie)
• Running the 5K on the 4th of July then jumping in the lake (me)
• Playing in the backyard (Mary Cate)
• Tubing at Aunt Pam's (Kevin)
• Blueberry picking (me)
• Going to John Ball zoo (Nellie)
• Ice cream on the boat (me)
• Playing at the park (Mary Cate)
• Spending time together swimming, around the campfire, Michigan's Adventure, and at Buzz's Lakeside Inn (Annie)
• Buzz's Lakeside Inn (Nellie)
• Going on a camping trip (Nellie)
• Lugnuts game (Nellie and Kevin)
• Playing outside (Annie)
• Going to the lake (Annie)
• Running at the ledges (me)
• Climbing a lighthouse (Nellie)
• Going swimming (Nellie)

And...

• No AC in the car or house--not the happiest memory but it was memorable!

It's hard to believe we've been "doing summer" for 2.5 months. It's easy to think it flew by, but really, the days were long (I can't believe how much you can fit into a day when there's no work!) and looking at this list, we have a lot of experiences and memories to carry us through the colder months.

So bring on the school supplies and lunch packing and baths and bedtimes and late nights grading/switching loads of laundry and delightfully slow weekends and fires in the fireplace and football and concerts and musicals and basketball and all the rest. I think we're ready.

A few of my favorite (kid circa summer 2019) things

Mary Cate doesn't say the "s" sound at the beginning of words starting with "sp". So we hear a lot of, "Ooh, that's so 'pooky," "I'm dizzy from 'pinning," "I don't like that toothpaste, it's too 'picy" and "My dress is 'parkely!"

She has generalized the expression "soaking wet" to think that "soaking" is synonomous with "very." As in, "The hallway is soaking dirty!" and "Can I sit with you? I'm cold and you're soaking warm." My favorite--she came walking in pretending to drink from a wooden pop bottle saying, "This beer is soaking GOOD!"

Eddie has come to me with two big questions in the last few weeks. The first was how all the big kids know how to swim without a floatie. So we set right in to learn how to swim and he's an eager learner. He's going to be taking off soon! The second was how DJ can just look at a book and know what the letters mean. Music to my ears! So I sat down one morning and taught him to read. His favorite sentence: The cat is fat. I'm not a reading teacher for a reason--specifically, no patience. Lucky for me (and him) all I had to do was sound out a few words and he had it. Zoophonics for the win, all the way.

Speaking of reading, this has been the summer of reading for DJ. He's into the "Who Was" series. This summer I think he's read about Dr. Seuss, Einstein, Jackie Robinson, The Beatles, Steve Jobs, NASA, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington. Maybe some that I'm forgetting. The best part is that I'm learning a lot, too. Because he reads me everything he thinks is interesting or funny. Which is a lot of things. Did you know that Ringo Starr narrated Thomas the Tank Engine? Or that Theodor Geisel was once paid thousands of nail clippers by a magazine? Reading isn't quite at the top of DJ's list of favorite things to do--that falls to the monkey bars, I think--but I'm happy that he's found some chapter books he likes.

As for Annie and Nellie, our favorite things are their two favorite pasttimes--baking and preparing to be in their first real production, Frozen Jr. Bring on the sweets and singing!

Lake Michigan vacation

We just got back from our annual Lake Michigan trip with Lisa, Genny and Jason, and Sarah and Alex and the girls. It was delightful, if sleepless, fun. And a bit of an "adventure" this year. Here are some things that didn't go right:

1) There was a septic issue that closed down two of the buildings at the inn where we've stayed for several years. This led to some room-shuffling, which led to us assigned to rooms that were too small to accommodate all the sleeping bags we need to throw in there. So Lisa managed to book the two Wernet families in an apartment that's part of the inn--enough space for 13 people, plenty of togetherness, but only one bathroom.

2) There was a middle-of-the-night storm that knocked out the power for almost 24 hours. Going to the bathroom in the dark, keeping refrigerated food cold, and dragging buckets of water up from the lake to flush the toilet was...interesting. The kids hardly even noticed, because the pool was still there.

3) When the power came back on, the water didn't. It was fixed the next day, but the water in the house was never quite the same. It sort of trickled out of the faucet along with what looked like sand. What do you suppose is the minimum number of times 13 people need to flush a toilet in a day?

BUT, overall I think we'd all agree the trip was a success. We got to spend time together, both with extended family and then "just us" because we extended the trip by a couple of nights. There were game nights, many swimming hours, long walks, Lake Michigan sunsets and sand dunes, great views, and delicious dinners. Our day at Michigan Adventure was definitely a highlight. I learned that Eddie and Nellie are fearless on the rides. Annie and DJ are more reserved but grew increasingly adventurous. Mary Cate will probably never trust me to take her on a ride again--they were all too 'cary. We hadn't been since we went with the girls seven years ago. In the words of Annie, "I loved that so much, we'd better not wait another seven years to go back!"

Our view of the (soggy) inn and White Lake

Tailgate lunch!

The only ride Mary liked--driving me around

Waiting for their favorite ride: Zach's Zoomer

Late dinner at Dog 'n Suds. We were exhausted.

Current chapter

If this chapter were one chapter in my life, I think the title would read something like this:

Chapter 157

In which we stay close to home 

because the Trailblazer has an exhaust problem 

and no air conditioning, 

but the air conditioning at home is also not working, 

so we learn how to be okay with sweat, 

always.

The highlights would be the newfound joy in simple things like driving above 30 mph with the windows down (heaven), sitting in front of a fan, eating watermelon for dinner, and standing in the shade of a tree.

Nellie, age 12

I'll be honest. I don't know how to raise a 12-year-old! But WOW is this a fun and exciting age. Middle school! Band, choir, musicals, softball, babysitting class, youth group--and probably lots of things I'm not thinking of. Nellie remains her clever, reading, singing, and activities-directing self. But she's increasingly independent and thoughtful. We love her infinity, as Eddie would say!

Nellie at the ledges with a turtle in the background!

Good friends from LCS

What was your favorite memory from the last year?
I guess going to Michigan Adventure. That's the thing I remember most--it might not be my favorite.

What is one way God's been working in your life this year?
Helping me through trying something new this year--going to a new school, making new friends.

How do you feel about being twelve?  

Happy, I guess. Nervous about middle school.

What are you most looking forward to in the next year?
Being in band and choir--I've heard both teachers are really nice. 

Who are your best friends?

Avery, Leah, and Emma.

What are your strengths?

Swimming, reading and writing, math I guess. Making iMovies.

What careers are you considering?

Being a writer or an English teacher so I can write. Or a marine biologist.

Why are you interested in those fields?
Because I love marine animals and I want to swim all day! Maybe that doesn't actually happen if you're a marine biologist, but you get to be around the water. I love writing stories because you get to make things up. 

What’s your favorite song or type of music?   
Hamilton music. That's really all we ever listen to, so...

What's your favorite food?
Carrots and celery with Aunt Pam's dill dip. Herbed chicken and tomatoes. Blueberries, obviously (as she eats the whole carton.)

Current favorite movie?   
That's hard, I have a few new favorites. Captain Marvel, or Aladdin--that was a good one.

Current book you're reading?

The Lunar Chronicles--right now, Scarlet.   

Favorite color?   
Blue. [Mary: No, your favorite color is PINK!]

Favorite place to be?

At home or Aunt Pam's house.

What are your favorite things to do? 

Read, swim, find a spot where it's cool...sleep in the basement. It's so hot.  

Is there anything else you want us to know about you?

I just got a turtle for my birthday! His name is Petoskey (Peto) because he looks like a Petoskey stone. If you have a pool, please invite me over. I'm dying over here. [It's 86 degrees and humid and our air conditioner is broken. Please, invite me too.] 

Fourth of July, 2019

It was another fun long weekend with this crew!

We swam for hours and hours, ran a 5K, went to the parade, did sparklers and poppers, watched the fireworks from the boat, relaxed through a few rainstorms, celebrated Allison's birthday, read lots of books, saw family from out of town, camped out all over Pam's house, and made happy memories! I'm feeling very fortunate to have another year in such a beautiful place with some of my favorite people and all the kiddos. Although, as many people pointed out, the average height of our little group is growing every year.

Annie, age 10 (two hands!)

I can hardly believe Annie is 10! She is, as always, a ray of sunshine in our lives. She loves baking, fashion, caring for others, and narwhals. For her first-ever "friend party," Annie and five friends took a baking class at Flour Child Bakery and she was totally in her element! 

Annie has grown so much this year as she went to a new school. She was a loyal friend, participated in the LINK program to partner with children with autism in her class, learned double dutch, played basketball for the first time, and became a fierce tetherball competitor. But let's see what she has to say!

What was your favorite memory from the last year?
I don't know...I've had too many good memories! I think about how when we changed schools, we made new friends. Bringing together my old friends from LCS and my new friends from Beagle.

What is one way God's been working in your life this year?
Even though we changed schools, God helped me make new friends, get used to it, and have fun during the year.

How do you feel about being ten?  
I feel older and more mature, and excited because it's double-digits!

What are you most looking forward to in the next year?
Well, for school I'm excited to be in 5th grade, because it's almost the end of elementary school. I'm excited to spend time with my family and stuff.
What new things or skills are you learning?
I'm learning more about how to play my ukulele...lots of different skills! Learning how to play Mario Kart, because I'm terrible at that. I'm working on diving and swimming without plugging my nose. I'm excited to bring my baking to the next level, making bigger things.
Who are your best friends?
I'm pretty much friends with everyone, like especially my family. For my school friends, Lael, Kylie, and Bree, and from Beagle Chloe and Ronin and McKenna.

What kinds of things are you good at?

Baking, ukulele, swimming. I'm good at doing the bar for gymnastics. I'm good at math. [What are some things other people would say you're good at?] Solving problems.

What careers are you considering?
Teach, or be a doctor. Or teach at medical school! Or own a bakery or work at a bakery.

Why are you interested in those things?
Well I've kind of always wanted to be a doctor or a teacher because I want to help people learn, grow, or feel better. I want to work in a bakery because I really love baking and it would be fun to take that farther and maybe work with Avery and Nellie or something.

What’s your favorite song?   
I don't have a favorite. I hate choosing favorites! [What do you choose to listen to right now?] Kidz Bop, the radio.

What's your favorite food?

Pretty much anything sweet. Pasta with alfredo sauce, cheese. Anything with cheese.
Favorite movie? Or just a movie you like. 
Some I can never get tired of are Disney movies, like the live-action Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella. Back to the Future and old movies.

Favorite book?   

I love the Harry Potter series and one of my favorites is the Penderwicks. I love graphic novels like The Babysitters' Club.

Favorite color?   
Purple.

Favorite place to be?

The beach, or somewhere calming. Reading in Aunt Pam's yard by the lake.

What are your favorite things to do?
Pretty much the same things every time. Baking, reading, playing ukulele or other instruments, having fun with family, swimming, making plays and iMovies.

Is there anything else you want us to know about you as a ten-year-old?   

I'm not nine any more. 😜

Summer kickoff 2019

As with the past couple of years, the school year ended with a sprint toward the finish in what had felt like a marathon since about February. The last few weeks of school saw all the normal craziness of May plus chaperoning the 8th-grade trip to Chicago, grading exams, and planning the final day of professional development.

Anyway, it's taken two full weeks for me to settle in and get used to the slower pace of summer break. We're into our new "routine," if you can call it that. Kevin and I get up early to run, then maybe get in a cup of coffee and devotions before kids start waking up. At that point, I pretty much enter a cycle of getting drinks/meals/snacks - cleaning the kitchen - breaking up squabbles - shooing everyone outside - thinking up activities everyone will enjoy - managing screen time - repeat - repeat - repeat.

And like muscle memory, we're doing all our favorite summer things again--playing at playgrounds, taking walks and riding bikes, visiting the library, planning birthday parties. As one of our favorite books says, "We like the things the summer brings!"

They made this for me. Mary watched this and said, "That's me and my sister!"

Summer library program kick-off+

This video pretty much captures my summer life. Hello, summer!

Eddie, age 5

How do you feel about being five?  

Mmm--sort of like when I was 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, but now I have a Luigi. 

What kinds of new things do five-year-olds do?   
GO TO KINDERGARTEN!

What are you most looking forward to in the next year?
Playing games and now I'll be able to say I'm five. Like playing house.

Who are your best friends?

Maxwell and Ellie [the friends he had over for his birthday party.] 

Who are your favorite people to play with?
Mary Cate, Maxwell. Ellie again. DJ and Otto. Colin and Avery.

What kinds of things are you good at?

Video games! Riding my new scooter. 

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Run on the treadmill. I don't know what I want to be when I grow up yet.

Why do you want to run on the treadmill?
Because it's fun!

What’s your favorite song?   
"Jump to the left and jump to the right." [A preschool song. He made me guess, though.] 

What's your favorite food?
Cheese, of course.

Favorite movie?
The Lego Ninjago movie

Favorite book?   

Knufflebunny Too

Favorite color?   
Green.

Favorite place to be?

District 5!

What are your favorite things to do?   
Play games. Playing house.

What is your favorite birthday present that you received?
Art supplies.

Spring brings change

Between the end of the school year and the ability to finally get outside and go, I'm acutely aware of all the growth and change happening with the kids.

They're trying and learning all kind of new things, they're more independent, more on the go. I think I'm still getting used to not having a baby/toddler in the house, but with the exception of a few fleeting moments, I don't miss it too much. I am loving the fun and interesting phase of having kids at all different ages saying and doing fun and interesting things.

Mary's chattier than ever, still highly spirited but the better she can communicate, the happier she seems to be.

Mary rode her scooter all the way to the park by herself!

Eddie graduated from preschool and can't wait for kindergarten. And he's finally five!

DJ got a new, bigger bike and is enjoying his neighborhood-wide independence. He survived and ended up thriving in 1st grade at his new school.

I guess it's not a change, but Annie has continued to be a fantastic help with Mary Cate and in general. She made a good friend this year and finished her year with sharing her Laura Ingalls Wilder project with hundreds of parents and students.

I showed this to Mary Cate and she said, "That's my big sister, Eenie." So sweet! They made me this for Mother's Day.

And Nellie! She graduated from elementary school--again. She performed with the ukelele club, ran cross country this spring, is mowing the lawn and babysitting for us with regularity, and played flute for a second year and performed a spring concert at the high school auditorium. Nellie is more than ready for a long summer break.