All Hallows Eve 2009

 As the kids get older, Halloween takes on a fun new chapter with the kids. Every year, they begin to think of 'different' things to be. This year, Spencer has been into reading scary books. One of his favorites has a werewolf named Jack. Spencer decided that he was going to be Jack coming out of transformation from a werewolf, hence the torn up clothes. Spencer also felt like he was a redhead and spray painted his hair red. (Ummm... yes, Spencer is already a redhead :) I thought he did a great job with using his imagination to inspire his original costume.
 Adam's costume started out by being 'Snake Eyes' from the GI JOE movie, but ended up being more like a ninja, vampire, scary GI JOE guy. I can't remember exactly how he put it, but it was something like that :) I love how he also uses his imagination to become whatever he has decided to be. Just add some green vampire teeth to a GI JOE, possibly some kind of ninja costume and voila` you are a ..... whatever Adam was.
 Miss Lily was witch, the same witch costume from last year. She wanted a 'vampress' costume, but they are expensive and this costume already fit her fabulously. So with a little bribery with some new sparkly shoes, she decided being a witch again was an ok thing. Plus she can wear the shoes for the rest of the school year. Her only other request was that she could wear make up. I love putting make up on her. She just eats it up. She was such a cute little witch.
 Sara was originally supposed to be a ladybug. Lily had the same costume when she was little, but Sara keep telling me the the 'ladybug scary'. So, we decided to try her princess dress on her from last year. It was a little snug but fit her fine. I added her cute tights and a big flower and she was a Flower Princess. When I took this picture, it cracked me up that she needed to put her leg up like the boys did. And she was holding her sucker. It was so cute.

 

Before Trick or Treating

 

 

Trick or Treating at Grandma's house.

 

Todd had gotten off Graveyards Halloween morning and was extremely tired, but managed to keep up with the babies while they were collecting candy.

 

Trick or treating all aroud the nieghborhood. So much fun.

 

 

 

Back to School

What's a mom to do when 2 of her 4 children head back to school? Well, I shouldn't feel to sad for one thing. Spencer got Mrs. Martin for a teacher. I haven't had any experience with her before but I haven't heard anything negative about her either other than she is a really strict teacher. Which I absolutely think is great. I hope she helps him with all the things he needs help with. His best friend from last year ended up NOT moving, so that was definitely a highlight. Adam's teacher is fairly new to the Valley. Her name is Ms. Blechel. She is also a very strict teacher. Adam needs strict and a massive amount of structure. Today he was in trouble twice... ALREADY on the first day back to school. O' my. I hope he was just testing his grounds and this isn't a sign of things to come.

So today, I ended up really missing my boys, hoping they were having fun. I know that sounds silly, but 7 hours a day away from them seems like forever. I know they are in a good, safe place. Mountain View has an amazing administration and school system. We are lucky to live in the district we live in. I just felt like everything was way to quiet around here. On the upside, Sara took a 3 hour nap and Lily and I got a whole bunch of one on one time. We watched Grease 2 and made Rice Krispie treats. We also played barbies and giggled. That was wonderful :) I think the next few days will be good. I function really well on a routine, as do my kids. Getting back in the grove of things will take a few days, but will happen. I will probably still miss my boys terribly, but enjoy my time with my girls. I wonder how long it will take for me to burn out on musicals? :) :)

Swimming Lessons 2009

Swimming lessons this year for Spencer was the beginning of the junior life guard program. Doesn't he look so handsome sitting up there :) Anyway, the main thing he did this year is learn the basics of life guard training. He had to 'save' the random victims in the pool. Most of the time it was his best bud Konnor other times it was Adam, but he had to jump in and save them properly. It was so cool to watch him know what to do. I totally understand this wasn't a 'real' drowning scenario but he was still awesome. He loves swimming, I hope it's something that he continues through school.

 

 

My sweet little Adam was in level 4. It's a pretty difficult level to pass and usually takes a few years to get all the strokes down. He did really well for having such short little legs. His teacher said he is always the life of the party, always making her smile. She was my teacher in church when I was younger, so I've known her most of my life. And I was really excited she was Adam's teacher. She's actually been Adam's teacher the last 2 years for swimming so I guess we just got lucky :)

 

 

Miss Lil' was in a level that is kind of a beginner of level 2. It's basically where she is learning to be comfortable in the water, to hold her breath under water and to kick her legs and move her arms. She's pretty good at it. She loves the water and had a great time with her teacher and hanging out with her friend Kamryn.

 

 

 

It was a successful year, even if Lily looks like she wasn't having a great time :) The Bates/Hutchinson Clan rocked swimming lessons this year. Whoooo-Hoooo....

 

Mirror Lake and Sulfer Creek Adventures

 

So about a month ago my sister-in-law Barb invite my kiddo's (our niece Zoe too) and I for a picnic at Mirror Lake. I had never been up that way and the kids were itching to get out of Dodge. So we packed some sandwiches, chip, soda and grapes, jackets, swimming suits and set off on an adventure for the day.

 

Our first stop was Sulfer Creek for lunch and a 'stretching your legs' break. I took most of the picutes there because the kids were just happy exploring and looking around.

 

My beautiful little girl is constantly finding flowers to bring to me. And with all the wild flowers that were everywhere, she was in heaven. She was picking flowers for both Barb and I. (She just loves Auntie Barb :) My little Sara Rose also loved all the flowers especially the little yellow ones. She was so cute checking out all the new things around the little camp ground area. And she hung out around these little yellow flowers for a while.

 

Miss Lily wanted pose with some beautiful flowers that she picked and arranged all by her big girl self. Sweet girl.

 

When we got to Mirror Lake there was a little 'log' that was hollow and had a muchroom on top. My kids that that was pretty cool. The rest of the pictures are of our adventures throughout the day. We had such a great time just hanging out with Uncle Gene and Aunt Barb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lagoon

We recently headed to Lagoon with Spencer, Zoe, Adam and Lily. And guess what, I didn't get one picture of Spencer and Zoe. It was the first year that I let those two go off all by themselves. So through cell phones and check in points we only saw their faces when the weren't on a ride. But we had a blast. Adam and Lily (who usually fight constantly) were the best of buds all day. Adam was a wonderful big brother and helped her onto all the rides and rode most of the rides with her, even when he thought they were a little baby-ish. It was adorable. And of course Lily just loved having Adam all to herself. They had a great time. I think it was the perfect day to go, although there was a huge crowd, everyone was pleasant and the weather was cool and the kids got along great :) YAY!!!! Lagoon ONCE a year rocks.
 
 
 
 

Movie Night

Most Friday nights we have a pizza and movie night. Well, tonight
we decided on breakfast for dinner and Men in Black. What a great movie.
The boys of course loved it. They giggled all the way through it. Lily was a little scared at times, but thought the bugs were really cool. Will Smith is such a Hottie McHotterton. Man I love him in this movie. Anyway, that didn't pertain to movie night at all, I just had to throw that out there. While the older kiddos were watching the movie, Sara set out (naked, cuz that's how a real explorer does it) in search of new things. She loves to take the bathroom stool around and climb up and see new things. I swear she's getting so big. Maybe a little to big. Tonight she was all over the place. First she had to check out what was in the sink. She is a little to short to really see what is in there but she can still feel around for cool
things. Luckily, there was nothing in there but she was still looking. Then, after searching for cool things in the sink, she was off to the stove. Again, nothing there. That was boring. But still worth checking out. When she was done there, she was off to the next part of the counter. Dang it, still nothing. But man is she cute. I can not believe how busy my tiny baby is. Good heavens, she just doesn't slow down. There is just to many things to check out and get into. She makes me giggle everyday. I love what a little ham she has turned
out to be. She is constantly doing something that cracks us up. She has a cheesy grin the she flashes frequently. She also has a sweet little eye flutter when she's realized that someone has noticed she is silly. She has also found a love of songs. We sing 'Itsy Bitsy Spider', 'Little Bunny Foo-Foo', 'Paddycake' and 'Baby Shark'. Baby shark is a song that Lily learned at school. And we sing non stop. She also LOVES 'Poker Face' by Lady Gaga. Her little booty shaking just explodes. She just loves songs. Anyway, a Friday night at the Bates' is pretty interesting, it's full of awesome movies, sweet kiddo's and silly, busy babies. Life is Good.

Blessings

Today I'm going to blog about how much I love my kids. I know, don't roll your eyes, I talk about this all the time. But this morning, I couldn't help but to think about how much I adore these babies. How they breath life into my life. I think about blessed I am to be the Mom of 4 kids, 4 healthy, beautiful and extremely, ummm.... spirited kids. And very active when cooped up for an entire 2 weeks of Christmas vacation. As I sit in my very clean, calm house this morning, I realized as much as I am blessed to have my babies, I am also very blessed that they.......... go to school. YAY!! Woot~Woot. Hip-Hip-Hooray. Woo-Hoo:) Not just any school, but a school that I love. Even Lily. I love Miss Holly and the Child Development Center. And while those said children are at school, I get a few lovely, warm, and busy hours with my ever growing and exploring baby. O' and my sweet husband is finally home from graveyards. I miss him so much when he is on this shift. And Val made it back to school safely. So, I figure I'm blessed, anyway you look at it. Life is definitely very, very good.

Christmas Morning

Christmas is quite the event at our house, like most homes with little ones, the excitment can be overwhelming for the kids and stressful for the parents. This year was no different. Christmas Eve started off with dinner, new jammies or sleep pants for all of us, and Christmas stories. Then off to bed for the kids with wishes for Santa to bring the coolest stuff. At our house, Santa brings one thing and then all of us get something for each other. It doesn't seem like a ton, but with a family of 6 (7 with Val), it seem like the tree was loaded. So here's where the real adventure begins.
Santa Claus made it to the Bates' home. Look at all that loot. Santa spoiled us rotten. He must love us:)
My boys were crazy insane for Nerf guns this year. However they could get them. Spencer got 2 Nerf guns. One is called a long shot which Sara shopped so hard for and the other is a Gatling gun (whatever the heck that means) that Adam found for him. He also got a Nerf Wii game from me, movies from Todd and a ball thingy from Lily. Santa brought him a Didj. (Which is an advanced version of a leapster.) And a game and case to go with it. Santa also brought him a Star Wars DS game and candy in his stocking. He seemed very pleased with his haul. No complaining, only happy smiles and lots of shooting.
I don't know if Spencer thinks this is flattering or annoying but none less, Adam asked for almost the exact same things as Spencer did. He got 2 Nerf guns (same kinds as Spencer) from Sara and Spencer. He also got a Wii game called My Sims Kingdom from me, and a Lego chess set from Todd and Lily got him a marker coloring set thingy. Santa brought him a Didj with a game and a case also, but Santa didn't test it out very well and it will need to be returned to the North Pole for a replacement. He seemed ok with that. He had his guns. He could still fight Spencer. O' and he also got a Lego Batman DS game and yummy candy in his stocking.
I just hope the Elves aren't on vacation yet. I heard they were heading to Fiji for a break.
Miss Lily received a vanity set from Santa. She loved it. Todd got her the cupcake maker. I got her a dolly, Spencer got her a Dora Leapster game, Adam got her a Barbie and Sara got her a hot pink and black dance bag for her dance shoes and costumes. She also got a Barbie Christmas Carol movie which we've only watched once. (What the heck?) And her stocking had a Mommy and big sister that goes with her Doll house from last year and candy. (The Mommy from that doll house had a tradgic accident that somehow involved Adam and some missing arms. Lily just said she died. It was pretty sad. Poor Mommy.Poor Lily.)
Quick funny story. Last year we (or Todd rather) had a hard time getting Spencer to stay in bed. So this year the kids were warned that if they came out of their rooms for any other reason, than to go potty, I would text Santa and ask him to come back get everything that he left my kids. It worked, no peakers. And at the designated time of 6:01 am all the kids were up and ready, although not totally awake yet.
This year Sara was so funny. She was told over and over "No, No, No" when she started to open presents. (Todd even started keeping the tape in the tree. Like a pretty ornament:)
So, when it came time to open the presents she was a little unsure of whether this was allowed or not. She seemed hesitate at first but she quickly caught on and opened the presents with vigor and was even searching for more when hers were all opened up. She got a caterpillar ride on thingy from Santa. Her Daddy got her a Dolly house, I got her a Dolly, Spencer got her a baby (that she loves), Adam got her a Little People camper and Lily got her a clipo table thing. She was in heaven. It was a fun year with her and all the kids for that matter. Val got a
 really cool hair dryer that you can see through, a jacket, a shirt and a gift certificate to get her hair done.

I have to say that I was a Grinch for a while this year. It took me quite a while to 'get into the Spirit', but Christmas morning and all the kids faces will melt even the coldest of hearts and I again started loving Christmas. And I am thankful I have 364 days left to shop for the next one. Happy Holidays everyone.