First Days

How do you prepare yourself for this day? Everest started Kindergarten last week. It is so cliche, but where does the time go? This year was not as bad as I anticipated with Everest. He is still at Montessori and knows most of his class already. He is in a different class with different teacher (who are all amazing), and he goes 5 afternoons.This year will be more academic than the last 2, but I think he is ready for the challenge.

Ready and excited for his first day! Everest picked out a Planet Box lunchbox. It is wonderful. I gave him the choice of many lunchboxes and this is what he wanted. Thanks Nonnie and Papa.

Nonnie rode a bike to school with us. Everest was so excited she could come. She and Papa left right after he went to school. We miss them!

 Everest putting his school bag into his locker and then changing into his indoor shoes. He wanted Sketchers this year, because Ryan (a girl in his class last year) had them. She is a very cute red head.

After school daddy surprised Everest and was at pick up. We wanted to bike to the ice cream shop, but it was pouring rain, so we drove the 2 blocks instead. The ice cream shop has about 100 flavors, the boys did exactly what I used to do as a kid. They picked rainbow, at least that is what it was called when I was a kid. Today it was called Superman and it was bright red, blue and yellow. What kid couldn't resist that, especially when their was a poster on the wall of Superman with Superman ice cream.

 Guess who got a hold of Leaf's ice cream. Luckily he was in a generous mood and continued sharing with her. I do not even want to think about the amount of food coloring my kids had.

 It is 7am Monday morning August 29, 2011. I never thought this day would come so early, and I have been very surprised at how I am handling it. Leaf started the Montessori Toddler program. He goes Monday and Tuesday morning. He has dreamed about this day for a year. He has been excited about it since I signed him up in March. His teachers visited this summer and then we visited the classroom. He is all prepared. He got his own Montessori bag, with his name on it. He has indoor shoes (Sketchers, just like Everest), he calls them fire shoes because the toes have flames and they light up. There is a flashlight waiting to be taken apart at school, his teachers put it in a special place just for him, when I apologized early about the fact that he LOVES to take things apart. He tends to not be able to put them back together and asks a grownup. Only to show up 2 minutes later with it taken apart again and the request to "fix it". He is ready.....I am not. I thought I would be, he wants so much to be independent and I know he will thrive there. He needs his own space, he needs to get out of his brothers shadow. But...he is young. I know he is not really, he is among the oldest, some kids have just turned 2, he will be 3 in October. I know all of this, but it was so much harder than I expected it to be. I am so thankful that I have 3 children. I had no choice but to say good bye, have a great day and walk out of the room, because I have 2 other kids that need to be taken care of too. Today I needed the distraction of having multiple kids.

Blueberry pancakes, with fresh blueberries. It is his favorite. Nathan put the kids table next to the dining room table as a special treat. Leaf loved it...so did Everest. I made the boys take off their shirts, they had their school clothes on and blueberry pancakes and nice clothing do not go well together.

All dressed up and ready to go.

Wearing his MSGL bag to school like daddy does.

Daddy stayed home to take Leaf to school.

Giving big brother a hug. Everest was so helpful with Leaf this morning.

Giving daddy one last hug.

Silly boys!

 Walking Leaf to class. Everest has grown up so much this past year.

 In the class. He had a great day, no tears and he is ready to go back tomorrow. The kids bring a framed picture of their family to keep in the classroom. Miss Dena said Leaf carried the photo with his all day. He had it on the playground when we picked him up. I guess we were with him all day. That's my boy, very independent, but mama and daddy are never far from his heart.

Day 5 Rest at McCormick Creek

 Monday, August 1. A slow day at the park.

A rare sight. Leaf is bright eyed and happy in the morning. Usually he is groggy, fingers in his mouth and the only words he will say is "up" or "Can I sit on your lap!" (technically- in his mind- it is not a question, but he has been "trained" to at least ask)

 It looks like a biking day, right? Still dark while eating breakfast, biking clothing on, granola...If that is what you think you would be mistaken. No it is the great fortune for us as parents that our first born and last born have this uncanny ability to know the sun is rising 2 time zones ahead of us. And they make it their duty to get up before the sun has a chance of reaching us. In so many ways this is a good thing, except when you are exhausted and all you really want is to look at the clock and not see it start with a 5 when you get up!

And although we have tried everything, the minute Everests' eyes open he is dressed and ready to start the day, and somehow...huuuummmmm...the rest of the family is awake too.

Hey! Are you talking about me?

Leaf making sure every morsel of granola goes into his mouth. This kid...he either eats everything in sight or he takes 2-3 bites all day.

Aurora figured out the "bite me"valve on the water bladders very quickly. She is teething so it felt good to chew on it and get a drink at the same time.

Good morning! I am a little more than tired. I had to make a detailed grocery list for Nathan because we had no food. When we looked at the trip, we knew there was a grocery store in town and in the truck town was not far away. In reality it is not far from the entrance of the park, but when the campground is 3 miles in, another 3 miles to the store is a long way. Plus the 3 miles from town to the park is 2 1/2 miles of a VERY steep hill.

Aurora helping out with bicycle maintenance. It is a little out of true daddy! (I am sure all of our wheels are out of true, some of the pot holes and gravel roads we have hit are anything but idea.)

Checking the bike from all angles.

It has my stamp of approval as an A-OK bike to ride on!

Daddy surprised us all with a big watermelon from the grocery store. He towed it plus all the other groceries up the BIG, BIG hill! You really are amazing!

I love watermelon, it feels good on my teeth.

Nathan cut thick pieces, but it didn't seem to stop Leaf. He dove right in. Luckily he did not have a shirt on, notice the juice running down his chest?

Everest enjoyed the watermelon too. Grrrrrr.

The kids were not disappointed! They ate the entire watermelon. I had a small piece, not because that is all I wanted, but because my 3 little monsters gobbled it up while I was busy feeding the littlest one.

I know it is bedtime, but do I really look tired? We had a hard time putting her to sleep in the tent. Normally I feed her, and lay her in her crib. At most, she fusses for 5 minutes and even then it is usually a half-hearted cry. In the tent, she rolled all over and climbed over everyone for at least the first hour. We started wearing her until she fell asleep at night.

Leaf in his blue fire fleece sleep sac. It was put on in the middle of the night. I realized once I had it on and tried to zip it, it was on backwards. He didn't seem to mind.

Aurora's First Birthday!!

My baby girl is a year old!!!!!!! Wow how time flies. A little more than a year ago, I was still sick all the time, stressed about life with 3 kids, and worried about how to feed a family of 5 (especially because we thought for sure she was a boy- and if you have seen my husband and my boys eat- you understand my worry!). A year later, I (for the most part) am adjusted to 3 kids, and we are not too late to most things. She is an amazing baby, and in some ways, life with 3 is easier than life with 2. The boys adore her and she adores them. She gives them someone else to play with when they have had enough of each other. They have both matured about helping out and watching over their sister. 

Good morning birthday girl! Aurora woke up to her favorite, green smoothie followed by strawberry/cherry one and heart shaped pancakes. I bought condiment bottles at the kitchen store a few years ago, they are perfect for making pancake shapes! (I have seen them at target too).

 Blowing kisses! Thanks Mama.

 Look at my birthday crown!

 It is my birthday and I want PIZZA! She is serious about eating, she takes after her daddy and Leaf! I think she had 3 pieces (and my pieces are not small!)

I can't believe my sister is one.....

Nathan informed me that Aurora had requested carrot cake for her birthday. I used the Smitten Kitchen's recipe, and as always no one was disappointed. It was VERY yummy! (I used the condiment bottles to write her name- I put strawberries/cherries in the icing for color and flavor)

My parents and the Benharts helped us celebrate Aurora's first year.

Biggest brother giving Aurora her first bite of cake. Everest loves to help feed her. She will usually eat for him better than for us.

 Leaf.....what can I say, it's cake. Who needs a spoon when you have 2 good hands that can shovel more in? Now do you see how she takes after Leaf?

 Climbing on the couch and everywhere else in my new birthday outfit. I am ONE! Hear me Roar!

Aurora, you have been such a blessing in our lives. You have completed our family and taught us how to love the baby stage. You are so much fun and your brothers are overflowing with love for you. You love them as much as they love you. You are a cuddly girl who smiles most of the time. But you are also BUSY! There is no obstacle that is too high for you to climb, no barrier you haven't figured your way around, and no toys that seem to be off limits to you. You can be a bit of a drama queen.  When you hear the word "no" you will start to pout, then make a few sad sounds, you will bend over and lay face down while your lip starts to quiver, then the tears start. This takes about a minute, about 20 seconds after the tears start to flow, you will slyly look up to see if we are watching. If not one is watching, you heighten your wailing; if we are looking, you sadly put your head back down and continue the drama until someone picks you up. I am sorry my baby girl, but it is hilarious when you do this. But we love you and always will. We have had an amazing year with you!

Day 4 biking day

Sunday July 31, 2011

We got up at 5 am again. We are heading to McCormick Creek State Park. We are excited to get there because we will have a 3 day rest. We started the day very tired.We didn't carry much food with us because we knew there was a grocery store near McCormick (turns out it was 5.5 miles away). Nathan's load was a little lighter. We weighted his trailer before we left, with just our gear and the trailer weight, it was 82 pounds. Most days we carried a lot of food, enough for 2 days and 6 people. For those of you who have eaten with us, you know how much Nathan can eat. It was a lot of food.
Leaf and I getting ready for the day.

Everest and Grami having breakfast.

Everest at the camp store/office. He wanted to ring the bell so much, but it was 6:45am, we didn't think the other campers would appreciate it very much.

Bonnie and I took off ahead of Nathan and Everest. The first mile was all dirt, I had to go slow so Aurora would not get bounced around so much. Nathan and Everest took some pictures.

There was a gate to get in and out of the campground. We just went around it. Everest loved pressing the buttons and pretending.

Nathan and Everest caught us quickly.

Good bye Hickory Hills. You were a nice campground, but not on a bike.

I love how cute Leaf looks riding his tag-a-long. Both boys have Burley Piccolo's. If you are in the market for a trail behind bike, it is worth it. We did a lot of research on these before we bought them. Most trail behinds attach to the seat stem, which makes you unstable every time they blink. Burley is the only company that manufactures one that connects to your back wheel (via a moose rack). You can still tell when they move around, but it is much more stable. Burley has 2 models the Kazoo and the Piccolo. The Piccolo has the ability to change gears. We decided on it because we knew the kids would use them until about 7-8 years of age, by then they should know how to change gears well. Everest does well, but we still have to tell him which gear to be in. Leaf just likes to switch gears to hear them change. FYI- Burley doesn't make the tag-a-long bikes right now. Not sure why, but they are prototyping one now. We offered to be test them out, but they didn't take us up on the offer. We found Everest's bike through a bike shop that still had one in stock. Leaf's we found on Craigslist in Chicago.

A rare shot of Nathan and Everest biking. It is rare, because I was rarely in front of them. If I was, we usually just pushed our bikes up a big hill and I was sweating to death and they were pushing so I wouldn't get them riding anyway. Other times, I was only a few feet in front of them, because of Everest (and Nathan's) competitive nature, they would do whatever it took to be first.

Taking a break. Everest went exploring a farm road that lead to a field. Indiana can be very pretty.

Here is an example of some of the roads we were on. We were on back roads to the back roads. We did not pass many cars on most of our trip, which was just fine with us. This was a little bit hard on Aurora, so I had to go slow when the road was broken up.

Taking a break after a steep downhill. We got up to 37 miles an hour!!!!!! I didn't realize we were going that fast. Might have been a little too fast for a 2 year old I know. Nathan's top speed was 42 miles an hour!

Around 2:30 we finally made it to McCormick Creek State Park.We stopped at Pizza Hut for lunch (it was the only restaurant near our path), then we pushed our bikes up a 2 mile hill. It wasn't as steep as I thought it would be, but it was long and hard to maintain any speed, so we walked most of it.

Grami and Aurora are hot, sweaty and tired! We set up the tent and went to the pool to cool off.

We had 3 nights to rest this time and we ALL needed it!