A Reason to Grin. . .

Justin has been waiting ages to loose his first tooth. Most of his friends lost them in kindergarten. The rest lost them in first grade. According to him, he was the only 2nd grader in the school (and quite possibly the planet) that hadn't lost a tooth yet. He's had a wiggly one for weeks, and today it finally fell out. Hooray!

Another Perk of Being a Little Sister. . .

Piggy back rides whenever you want them. :)

On to the tournament

Spencer's city league basketball team was undefeated this season. This is a totally new concept for us; it has never happened before with any of our boys. We're much more familiar with the feeling of being on the other end of the spectrum. His accelerated team only won a couple of games, so don't worry,  he's also learning to be a good sport. ;)

One of his teammates had a brother that coached, and he did a really great job. When we started the season I never would have guessed that they would end up winning every game, but I guess you just never know. Spencer has had a lot of fun. And I'll be the first to admit that it is more fun to watch my boys win then it is to watch them loose. The last game was so intense! I did feel really bad for the other team. They had some great players and played an amazing game. We were behind the whole game, but came back at the end.

Spencer ended up shooting free throws from a technical foul with less then 4 seconds left. He made both shots, and we won the game.

His team:

Our little raptor

Have you seen Jurassic Park? Remember that part where the velociraptors keep jumping at the electric fence? The guide says it's because they are checking for weaknesses in the fence so they can find a way through.

Well we have our very own velociraptor. We put a gate at the bottom of our stairs because Rachel could get through all barriers. No joke. The problem was that it's only a tight fit at the bottom, because the newel posts are rounded at the top. She learned that if she pushed on it hard enough she could get it to lean far enough in that she could make a gap small enough to squeeze through. Clever girl.
So Wes pulled out the bungee cords to attach it more securely.

Just minutes after he re-enforced it, this is what I found:

Thankfully there is no way that little noggin will fit through those posts! 

What will she think of next?

I am surrounded. . .

by crazy people. Just in case you were wondering.

Rachel's favorite part of the day

Rachel gets SO excited when her brothers come home from school. If the weather is warm enough, I can open up the front door so she can watch for them out the screen. When she sees them coming she starts squealing and bouncing up and down.

They of course are always happy to see her too.Who wouldn't want to be greeted by this cute face?

Tyler is 11!

Yesterday was Tyler's birthday. Number 11. Now he is officially a Boy Scout and can go on overnight campouts. So crazy. Just like with Brandon, we had a quiet night at home. I made his favorite dinner (he requested meatloaf), then we had cake. Which was actually Symphony Pie, also per his request.

And last but not least, he opened presents.

Which turned out to be a little less than stellar because we somehow LOST his most important present. No joke. I've turned the house inside out and I can't find it anywhere. Total mom fail. :(

Tyler, we hope that we know that we love the heck out of you, even if we did somehow manage to misplace your birthday present. It has nothing to do with you. Promise.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 We had a pretty quiet Valentine's Day this year, and I didn't take many pictures.

Tyler made a lego Valentine box for his class party, and won the award for the most creative.It actually had a lego slide that went with it that the other kids could slide their Valentine's down. Unfortunetly he dropped it on the way home from school and it fell apart. So no photo of that. :(

 Justin and I made some cute little Valentine games for his class. I swear I took picures of him putting them together, but I can't find them anywhere. This is what they looked like when they were done:

And of course I had to make an outfit for our cute little Rachel. Isn't she the cutest little Valentine ever!?
 

Science Fair

The Science Fair. A rite of passage for all 5th grade students. At least all the 5th grade students in our school district. Since Tyler is in the 5th grade, he got to participate this year. He decided to do his project with his friend Finlay. His teacher was fine with that, so I had no objections.

They decided to test water vapor to see if it could contain other substances.

They added different things to water, boiled it, and collected the steam.

Then they did a taste taste to see if they could detect a different flavor.

They had a lot of fun and had very minimal from parents. Yes, I am learning that school projects should be more about the students learning then about the parents competing for the most professional looking results. Proud of me?

I think they did a great job!

I Have a 17 Year Old?

Brandon just celebrated his birthday.

#17 to be exact.

Holey moley, how did he get so old? 

Wes keeps reminding me that he will be leaving in a couple of years. And then I have to punch him. Wes, not Brandon. ;)

We had a small celebration at home with German Chocolate Brownies, present opening, and a family game. Just the way that Brandon wanted it.

Brandon we love your guts! Even though with each passing year you make me feel one step closer to the grave. :)

She Takes After Her Mother

I am not a morning person. Never have been. When I wake up in the morning, this is what I usually feel like. And look like for that matter:

Haha! I'm sure that later on Rachel will be less than thrilled with this photo. But it is so hilarious I just had to share. Apparently bedhead makes her one angry girl!