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Showing posts from 2014

William's school buddy

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At 91, they have a unique program (the only one in the Canby school district) that pairs up 7th and 8th graders with kindergarten buddies.  The goal is to make the transition into school an easier one for the kindergarteners as well as give the older kids someone to mentor. There have been multiple times, while I walk William to class in the mornings, that he's excitedly pointed out his buddy.  I have been in the class when the older buddies have come in for some time with William's class.  They usually get some instruction from Mrs. Ruwitch and then are asked to pair up and work on the project at hand.  Just the other day, the principal sent out an email explaining a recent video that the 7th and 8th graders had put together for the School Board to promote the buddy program.  William and I caught it playing on one of the broadcast tv's up next to the office and were able to hear his buddy talk about him...You should have seen the smile on William's face (o; Here th

Our Gingerbread House

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Continuing our annual Gingerbread House tradition...Although Mom put the house together and whipped up the frosting, the rest is a 2-5yr old (William, Calvin + the help of a few friends) masterpiece.  I love how it will change over the years as they grow older (o; I think the boys enjoy playing with the dough and cutting out the pieces just as much as decorating it.  Of course, I let them play with the dough like play dough since we don't eat it (o; Calvin in all his goofy glory...Not sure what he's cutting out here, BUT he's having fun! William takes his work very seriously...Meticulously shaping his gingerbread man. This was just pure, crazy, super fun, chaos (with WAY too much sugar consumed)! The goofies and their final product (Josi-4, William, Jaclyn-5, Trent-2 & Calvin) Don't you just love their touches...we helped intertwine the pretzels so our fence wouldn't fall down.  Then they got tired of putting it up about halfway through (

Turkey + Family= Thanksgivivng

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It was one of those rare moments when I get both of my families for the same holiday (o;  Love it when this happens...Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures of us all together, but none the less, I'll remember these times.  There's something special about having both of my families together. Luke and Calvin showing us how to really  eat olives... The classic finger trick Why play with your food when you can eat it?! William's made some pretty fun stuff in Kindergarten this year.  This is a few of his creations as they learned about the first Thanksgiving... And Calvin was really  excited to get to dress up to! I was the most thankful this year for the time I was able to spend with my California family.  I especially am grateful to my brother in law who "let go" of my sister and Z so that they could spend some extended time here in Oregon without him.  SUCH a special time for me to have them here.  Babies just grow WAY too fast

O' Christmas Tree!

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Just a few weeks after William was born, we planted some Christmas trees on a portion of our property.  This year was the first year that we decided they were big enough to celebrate Christmas with...Almost 6 years later (o; The sweetest part about it was that Auntie Mel was visiting when we cut it down so her and Z got to be in on the moment.  My friend Karyn and her kids were also here.  It was a definite family affair (I consider the Hartley's like family since I've known Karyn since I was a wee one!). We learned a few things...Pruning of Christmas trees is usually done in July.  There's a reason for that (as evidenced by the dripping sap on our floor).  And we should have been pruning a little each year, as to shape the tree into the "normal" Christmas tree shape (o; How many kids does it take to screw on the base?! Despite these facts, the tree is beautiful.  It was so tall we actually had to cut some off to fit it to our ceiling (of w

Calvin's first apt at Great Grins

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This kid just rocked it at his very first dentist apt.!  Given our experience with William, I was a bit nervous.  This apt reminded me just how different our boys are.  Their unique personalities give each of them separate perspectives to the same experiences.  And although I was still a bit fearful that Calvin might be intimidated by the dentist chair, I (as well as the rest of the dental staff) was proven wrong. Look at this kid!  He doesn't even know what he's smiling about yet! Mouth wide open the entire time...Amazed me. He even let them take some bitewing xrays...They were doubly impressed at this point.   They even took a few pics and posted them on their Great Grins Dentistry page and if I could get them to upload here, I would have (o;  They told me that they couldn't remember a three year old ever doing as well as he did on their first visit.  They were even more impressed when I told him he had just turned three a little over a week ago. Overal

Veteran's Day

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I asked William why he didn't have school today and he told me, "So the teachers can work without us bugging them."  (o; It was time to learn the real reason why he got a day off of school for Veteran's Day... Hands on activities are the best way to learn when you're five...(or two (Avery)...or three (Calvin)!) Flag fun with friends Evan and Avery! Evan was so proud of his flag. These two crack me up. They giggled pretty much the entire time they glued stripes on (although they're looking pretty serious in this pic). Apparently it's a lot of work to hold up a flag so Mom can take a picture (o;   Minus drawing ALL the stars on our flags, I was proud of these kiddos and their flags.  And whether or not they took anything away from our little lesson, at least they had fun.

Calvin's Third Birthday!

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Was it really three years ago that we welcomed this little guy into our world?!  Never ceases to amaze me at how time flies by (and I'm sure that's probably the hundredth time I've written that in this blog). Yes, Calvin's now three.  We couldn't be more thankful for how God has blessed us with his life.  In his short three years he has become quite personable (with whomever he comes across), extremely lovable (both to his family as well as his friends), compassionate (always asking about others) and yes, even a bit stubborn, rough and gruff (isn't every three year old little boy?!).  It's amazing how different him and his brother are.  And yet, they compliment each other so well.  They have their brotherly squabbles, but for the most part they get along and, you can tell, love each other deeply.  It's so neat to see the brother bond continue to grow. Along with being another year older, comes the task of getting another finger up on your hand when s

Happy Halloween!

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Both boys are fully aware of everything scary that starts arriving in stores as the 31st approaches.  There have been many times they've closed their eyes as we've strolled past something they didn't want to see.  We've had conversations about the reason behind it all and it always provides me an opportunity to explain.  Along with these conversations has also come the opportunity to explain how we view this time of year (and how I grew up celebrating it). Growing up on a farm, the turn of Fall meant that things outside were wrapping up and Winter was fastly approaching.  The boys understand the work of the blueberries and our garden and how that when it starts raining and getting cold, we don't spend as much time outside.  I remember the anticipation of Dec. as a kid.  Dad wasn't in the fields as much and it meant that our Christmas vacation and road trip to see family was right around the corner.  It's a time of thankfulness for all that God has blessed

Pumpkins!!!

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We always try to grow at least two really big pumpkins in the garden each year.  One for William and the other for Calvin.  Here's our entourage of orange harvest... It's fun to watch the boys excitement as they grow bigger and bigger.  And then getting to pick them off the vine and roll them out of the dirt. We chose just one to carve this year.  William picked the face design he wanted, and everyone helped gut it and separate the seeds for roasting.  Only a few words to describe it all...Sticky mess.  Which, especially in a little boys mind, equates to SO much fun.  I will admit, I enjoy the gutting process too (o; Tada!  Our finished product...  Until next year!