My Name is Earl

 

I love the show "My Name is Earl". It reminds me so much of where I grew up and the people that lived there. It made me laugh every time I watched it and it made me go "awwww....that is so sweet" at the end of each show too. But what I found particularly hilarious is the little details they added to the story line. Every time they showed a photograph of Earl, whether it be an old school photo, wedding photo, mug shot.... his eyes were always closed. Well, Molly should have been named Earl. I kid you not, every time I try to get a photograph of this girl the eyes are always closed. I have to take about 6 shots before I finally catch her with her eyes open. And for some reason she doesn't seem to understand that it's the camera that's capturing her image. She tends to look out into the great beyond. Nevermind I've explained to her that by looking at the camera lens I can get a great picture of her. So if I want to catch her with her eyes wide open I need to turn of the flash and put her some place where the flash is then not needed. What is the female equivalent to Earl? Earlvaline, Earlvette, Earlina, I don't know...

My Ballerinas

We became good friends with a family from Adam's baseball team. They also had a little girl that was getting used to going to all the practices and games and they introduced us to a wonderful Christian based Arts Academy. The girls started taking ballet classes with a wonderful instructor. They began every class with a prayer and they danced to songs that focused on God's love for us. I loved taking my girls there and loved watching them dance.

Adam's Birthday

 

Adam's birthday was on a Monday this year. I thought it would be fun to take a break from school and go on a special field trip on his day. He had been participating with the online school Connections Academy for three months now and so it was easy to get away from school. But I also kept Clarissa home so that she could join us in the fun too. Adam had just finished a research paper on the bombing of Pearl Harbor. So it was quite fitting for him to visit the Arizona Memorial. He was able to meet one of the veterans from that day. He had a great time and is now hoping that every year on his birthday he can skip school and take a fun trip. I think that sounds like a lot of fun too.

Clarissa's Birthday

Yeah, it's a little late in the making. But what a special day we had with Clarissa. She is fabulous!!

A scrapbook by Smilebox

Princess Party

Another free invite card by Smilebox

Happy Halloween

It was another great year for trick or treat. I wasn't sure if I was going to allow it though. Adam has a serious issue with candy. It's a disease. And I'm not joking. After our trunk or treat I allowed the kids to keep their bag of candy in hopes it would be gone quickly. Adam had it gone in two days. Molly took a couple more days. Clarissa never really finished hers. But it came with a penalty. They couldn't get to sleep very well at night. They couldn't stay very focused at school. And there were some emotional meltdowns. After Halloween night, though, I decided to keep the bags hid. First I threw away the stuff I didn't want them to eat. Then I took out a few of my personal favorites. The rest I have been rotating around the house just so no one finds it. And I know Adam is searching for them every chance he gets. If they behave well during the day then they may have a piece or two after dinner. There is a tradition I heard of recently. Apparently there is a mom out here who after trick or treat gives each of her a children a sandwich bag. They are to fill that bag with whatever candy they want. The rest of the candy is placed into a bowl and offered to the Great Pumpkin. I wish I would have been that clever from the very beginning. It might just be our new tradition for next year. We haven't had any junk food in our house for several months. It makes me sad to have it around again. But enough of the candy. The dressing up part was so much fun. The girls were amazing if I say so myself. It was all inspired by Clarissa. She said she wanted to have her face painted green for her witch costume. And that led to painting Molly's face for her kitty costume. I asked Adam if he wanted me to paint his helmet design on his costume for the church activity night but he declined. His loss : ) I still have a lot of practice yet to do but I kind of hope they want to do something like this again next year. Yeah, it's time consuming. But this is the stuff I really enjoy doing for them. They actually appreciate it and have fun with it. Watch out Olivia! You have some competition. (That's for you Jerseylicious fans out there : )

Oh, and wasn't the dog adorable too!!

New Determination

OK, so I know that I'm way behind on posting photographs. And then the last couple of days I was reminded why I avoid coming to the blogspot. It is way too time consuming and it becomes a real source of frustration. I want to share our stories, I want to show it creatively, but I want it quick. Well, you just can't do that quickly. And since my computer doesn't seem to allow for easy uploading of photographs, (yeah, I know there's a double of the jack 0'lanterns photo. It won't delete, grrrr!) I have that much more difficulty. Also, I like the idea of going in chronological order of events. I'm just too far behind for that at this time. And so new strategy! No order. Time limit. If I only get one done then so be it. And since Jonah has been telling me now for about 10 minutes that he is all finished with his snack and would appreciate a diaper change, as well as a change of scenery, I say good day to you!

Aloun Farms

Molly was able to go to the local pumpkin patch for a field. (And I got to chaperone, yeah!) But of course the others were jealous about not going. So we spent a couple of hours one Saturday morning to go pick out pumpkins and ride the rides. It's just not the same though. I miss the cooling temperatures, the colors, and definitely the scent of Autumn.

On the Chopping Block

I bought one of those booklets that have carving templates last year during the halloween clearance and wouldn't you know it that when it came to taking the pumpkins to the chopping block I couldn't find it anywhere. Luckily I have Clarissa around me. "Go to the internet, Mom. They have everything on the internet." Of course she was right and we found some templates that each child was happy with and they carves to their hearts content. They were a bit contented quicker than expected so it ended up with just Todd, me, and the Wee Sing for Halloween music. Jonah stayed but then again, he was stuck in a chair with no way out. The jack o'lanterns were completed and all were happy. Oh and we learned our lesson this time around. We carved the day before Halloween. And yep, they were shriveled and rotting the day after.

Puppy Love

Just before Molly's birthday we decided to get a puppy from a family at Schofield. She had been asking for a puppy when Todd told her that we could get one after we moved and got settled into a new house. And wouldn't you know that just as soon as our belongings found a snug place she asked about that puppy. I decided to get a Jack Russell mix and Molly named her Daisy. She was very easy to train but then she started to challenge that training. She still needs a little more work to get her back on track but she is a sweet little thing to have around. We recently bought an agility obstacle course for her so I'm hoping that she will learn a little more obedience while she is having fun. All the kids love to play with her, even Jonah. She loves walking the kids to school every morning and afternoon. She knows that it's time just from the shoes I put on. She is also a great jogging partner. But when necessary she is the perfect lap dog. We think she is very adorable!

Jonah Elliott Bell

Our 9 pound 4 ounce boy was born on Wednesday, February 9, 2011. We were so blessed to have my Dad stay with us during this time. He came the week before to help me get ready and then he continued to help me in tremendous ways for the rest of the month. The kids loved having him with us as much as I did. It gave them the attention they needed as I tried to take care of yet another umpa lumpa baby. Yes, just like the others he had jaundice so he was eating every three hours without fail. But now he's healthy, happy and is wonderful enough to sleep through the entire night. He didn't like baby cereal or food so he went straight to table food, very helpful when it comes to preparing meals. He has his four little teeth with more trying to push through. Yet he smiles and coos and loves to be around his siblings... and Daisy. We have a lot of fun during the day running errands, cleaning, hiking, or just sleeping in my arms while I either zone out in front of the TV or sit in my rocking chair with a book. I am loving every minute of it because I understand all too well that this time flies by too quickly and I will not be able to enjoy this again for a long time. He's absolutely the best baby ever!

Photo Book

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