Ava's First Blog

Hi I'm Ava. Lets me tell you a few things about myself.

1. I am 10 years old

2. I love coffee ( especially Starbucks) 

3. I am kind, nice, brave, and I love sports

 

This me when I was little.

                                                                                                A classic

                                                                                                   

 

 

 

 

 

The Fabulous 4th of July

Soooo....years, and I mean years have passed since I've last posted on this blog.   Several times I've contemplated going back to blogging.  Last night after the kids were asleep something made me look up our old blog posts.  These memories that I read about and pictures that I saw made me miss it so much!  My three babies have grown up and I realized that I REALLY want to continue to use this as a journal for them to look back on and read as they grow older.  With that being said...I'm going to just resume as if  I never stopped. 


Yesterday was our towns annual 4th of July celebration.  For being a small town, Slater sure does it right and offers so many neat activities on the 3rd and 4th.  We are so fortunate to be a part of such an amazing community and to call this our home!

For years the kids have participated in the Kiddie Parade that takes place on the 3rd.  Ava and Isaiah have become too old for it and are now spectators of their little sister.  Violet is all ready to ride down the street with her bike all decked out in red, white, and blue.

Mama and her sweets

The flag...now that's a must in this parade!

Peddling down the road.

After the Kiddie parade, we went to Nelson Park to watch a juggling act, eat snow cones, and bounce on the inflatables.  The kids loved this one. 

The goal was to knock someone down with the inflated ball. 

The morning of the 4th we were all up and ready to go.  Look how much my loves have grown.  Ava is now 10, Isaiah is 8, and Violet is 4. 

Each one of my kids has been chosen to be a princess or prince for the 4th of July parade.  This year one of my former students, Lauryn Broer, asked if Violet would be her princess.  At first Violet was a bit hesitant since she was afraid she may not get candy in her bucket.  After much assurance that we would collect some for and would be back to watch most of it, she was 100% all for it. 

My sweet baby

Getting ready to go...and ready to throw LOTS and LOTS of candy.  The turnout for this year's parade was apparently a record so they only had a few pieces left by the time they got to us.  I had to laugh when Violet kept sneaking pieces of gum out of her bucket to chew.  That kid loves her candy!

Isaiah, Ava, Isabelle, and Avrey all ready to catch some candy.  We have made it a tradition to entertain our families for lunch over the 4th.  I absolutely love cooking for people and look forward to it every year!

Lauryn and Violet driving by.  Violet did remember to save a big Tootsie Roll for Aunt Jody.  She promised her she would. 

At 6:00pm on the 4th they announced the winner for queen.  They didn't win but we had fun selling tickets to our families and neighbors to support the community and the girls had a great time together.  Violet adores Lauryn.

How cute are they!!!

Violet and Lauryn on stage together.

I have no idea how another year has flown by but it has.  We have about a month and a half of summer left before we start another school year.  Time to soak up all that family time doing lots of things together.  Those are the moments I remember most and the moments my kids will remember growing up.  We have a list of some fun things the kids want to do this summer and will try to get to as many as we can.  Sometimes I feel I can get wrapped up in cleaning the house, worrying about what's for dinner, folding laundry, and thinking about all the stuff I have to do to prepare for another school year.  A wise lady, Julie Astarita (one of my teaching friends) has always told me..."Family First."  That's the truth!

My Three Happy's:

1.  It's 8:30 and I just finished a cup of nice hot coffee.  I must be getting old when I can drink a cup and it doesn't effect my sleep.

2.  I've been doing a lot of reading at night and Emily Giffin is one of my new favorite authors. Her  books are great.  Sadly I'm on her last one and need to find a new author to follow.  I really enjoy my reading time...even when it is 11 at night when I settle in for a  bit.

3.  My love my neighbor Krissy.  This evening I spent about 20 minutes chatting with her.  We do that often in the summer.  We are so lucky to have such an amazing family living next to us!

A Little of This...and a Little of That

Are you thinking...here she goes again?  It's been two months...yeah I see a blog...but will it be another two months before she posts again?  No promises people...just doing what I can.  I've gone back and forth with what to do about this blog.  For starters I have thought...what if something happens and this blog doesn't exist in 20 years or something happens and I lose everything?  Then my kids will never get to read all of this.  I've been doing a journal on the computer a few nights a week when I haven't been blogging to keep us with all the stuff that's been going on.  Then I thought...are my kids really going to want to store all the paper that I print out somewhere in their house when they're older?  How much will it cost if I decide to print out this blog into a book...from what I've gathered it's EXPENSIVE!  I have no answers...just what ifs.  So my conclusion to all this is...do the best that I can.  I may not post for 2 weeks, it may be 4 days...who knows.  It's all good!

 

Now for a bunch of randomness:

 

Ava decided to use some of her left over birthday money to buy a pair of American Girl Doll pajamas to match her doll Julie.  When those came in the mail you would have thought it was Christmas again.  How cute is she!

As you know, I love crafts!!  This was inspired from a blog that I read and I made these in school with my class.  Ava wrote a math story problem on the bottom of hers and the snowflakes represent the answer.  Isaiah just tore whatever he wanted.  I love how they are looking up at the sky in awe of the snow.

Story time with her bro.  Little Miss Violet is growing like a weed.  She adores Ava and Isaiah and is SO excited when we all come home from school and can be together!

 

This peach is too cute for words! She loves her bath time.

Why can't she stop growing...she's my last baby...so she needs to stop now and be little forever. 

Favorite fruit at the time...raspberries.  Yum-O!

She loves her sippy cup with ice cold water.  She has one bottle at night and drinks the rest of her formula from her sippy cup throughout the day.  Love those big blue eyes!

Someone and a little puppy have decided to team up around dinner time.  Sometimes Jackson eats right out of her hand.  He's so gentle with her!

A little spaghetti makes for a fun and messy dinner.  There's not much that Violet won't eat.  She loves green beans, peas, and carrots.  She's had pork, chicken, beef, fish...you name it.  She seems to really enjoy casseroles that I make.  I made a taco bake the other night and kept the seasoning low key...that kid devoured it!  She's going to be a great eater like her bro!

The other night at Sam's Club Andy bought this seafood bucket that you cook in the oven.  It's just like the one from Joe's Crab Shack and comes with a fun bib to wear.  I've never seen Isaiah eat so much...crab legs, sausage, corn on the cob, potatoes, shrimp, scallops, and clams.  He was lovin' life that night!

Miss Ava looks so old in this picture.  She was invited to a salon birthday party and had her hair and nails done.  She's my beauty both inside and out!

Two sisters in their matching pajamas.

We went to Ballard West night at the high school a few weeks ago.  The kids and I, along with other Ballard West kids, danced to the Interlude at half time of the girl's game.  Well...Ava danced...Isaiah just stood there.  They still enjoyed the concession stand food and buying stuff at the Ballard Shop.

Violet does this when we say "So Big!" or "All Done!" 

She's been doing great drinking from a straw too!

So good.

We had Beach Day at school a few weeks ago and here is a picture of the kids in their beach attire.  They also brought towels and ate lunch on them with their friends.

Me and my little love...she's got some crazy hair if it's not pulled back!

Giggle, giggle

Our 10 month beauty is a full out walker...down the hall, around corners.  When she's had enough she'll sit down and crawl; but for the most part she's cruising.  And why is it that with all the toys she has...she loves anything that's "NOT" a toy. 

Heading from the family room into the toy room

Hard at work with Handy Manny!

My Vee-vee

Ava and I went on a field trip to the science center last week.  I love being able to go with her class and hang out all day.  Here we are riding on the bus together.

In a pretend submarine

Exploring a "bat cave"

Baby it's cold outside...but it was nice enough to get out the other day.  Violet is all about being outdoors.  Spring can't come soon enough...but she had fun getting all bundled up and watching her big brother and sister build a fort.

The kids and Jackson made a huge fort...this was just the beginning.  Andy took snow from all around the yard and shoveled it into a heap. 

My Boo digging away!

Ava trying out the little slide she made.

Today someone was helping me bake in the kitchen. 

Then it was time to walk around and check things out!

She's learned to blow us kisses too. 

Ah...so there you have it.  A quick recap of a few fun pictures and moments.  I am so thankful for my family and all the amazing time we spend together.  Life is busy and crazy, but I wouldn't trade what I have for the world. 

My Three Happy's
1) The Sweetheart Snatcher is back this week.  The kids hide candy hearts around the house each night and wake to find a clue that leads them around the house to a small gift up until Valentine's Day.  They get so excited about this!

2) Making homemade valentines...so much more fun to make than store bought.  The kids have tags that I printed off that say "The world needs S'more friends like you."  The baggie contains 2 graham cracker squares, heart marshmallows, and a small Hershey bar. 

3) My friend Tracy raised enough money to publish the book she wrote.  She lost her son when he was almost 6 months old to an undetected heart condition.  In his memory she wrote a book for children that address questions kids have about heaven.  I've read the first few pages and it's wonderful.  I can't wait to see it published and to have a copy for my family.  She is such a strong, courageous, and loving person!

My Favorite:
*Girl Scout cookies...it's that time of year again.  I've ordered 10 boxes so far from some girls I know...sooooo yummy!