A New Start

I never thought I would take so long to start blogging again. I decided that we've stopped doing a lot of adventures that would mean anything to most people, but then I realized that our family in Oregon doesn't get to see what we're doing on a daily basis, so I should really try to keep this up.

Friday was Celeste's Birthday! We had a family party while Uncle Mike was in town after his business trip. We went up to the walking bridge here in Louisville that crosses over into Indiana and let the kids play. After the baseball game that was a few blocks away, they had fireworks that we tried to talk Celeste into thinking were for her, but she's too smart for that now, darn it!

 

She also got to celebrate her birthday with her friends on Saturday afternoon. A friend of mine had given me her idea for her girls when they turn 12. She was going to have a party with a Mary Kay consultant or take the girls somewhere where they could learn how to put on makeup correctly. She didn't want them putting on makeup that was right for them and they look silly, so she wanted them to learn how to do it correctly. I LOVED the idea and when I presented it to Celeste, she was totally on board. Our friend from church just happens to be a Mary Kay consultant and was more than happy to come help. It was a great way for the girls learn about makeup. They learned what colors are best for their eye color, what kind of makeup they should wear, where makeup should be applied, how it should be applied. It was such a great experience. Of course, Celeste now wants to wear it all the time and I'm fine with it if it's the correct amount for the activity.

Thomas is potty trained!!!! He's been working on it for a LONG time now, but he finally has it down. He's still wearing pull-ups at night, but during the day he goes potty in the toilet. He has accidents occasionally, but not like he used to. He was having to go commando for a while because underwear were too secure and felt like pull-ups? I think that's what the issue was, but commando was fine. So, after doing that for a while, he has decided he wants to wear underwear and is doing a better job of keeping them dry. I've decided that it's probably because he has nothing better to do with his brothers and sister gone all day, but I don't care, I'm just glad he's figured it out!

Gordon Turns 5!

Gordon turned 5 in January! I can't believe it was five years ago that he was born in the middle of a cold slowly melting snowy night. The doctor was so scared that he was going to be born in the middle of a big snow storm, but he wasn't and we made it safely to the hospital with no problems. This year, we had some snow during the week and I was afraid we would have to cancel his party as well, but we lucked out and it was just cold, but snow free! So, we went to CHUCK E CHEESE and both Eddie and Gordon got to go in the ticket blaster (which is all Eddie really cared about anyway!)

 Look at all these kids! It was a BIG group, but they sure had fun.

 The ticket blaster was the favorite part for both boys. Eddie had so many tickets, but didn't trap them well, so he didn't get as many tickets as he originally caught, but he loved it and still got hundreds of tickets to get cool prizes.

Gordon didn't get many tickets, but that didn't matter to him. He's ready to do it again next year!

Over all, it was a great day. We were all exhausted by the end, but boy did all of the kids have a good time. The cost was completely worth it too. They provided pizza, soda, tokens, souvenir cups, balloons not to mention the paper goods and table clothes and all the set up and clean up that I didn't have to do. Yep, the cost was worth it and I didn't have to provide entertainment either, that was obviously covered!

Gordon will be starting school in the fall. We're planning that he'll get into the same school Eddie is already at. Gordon isn't completely excited for school because he doesn't want to do homework, but I think the idea of being able to read and not be stuck at home with mom all day will win out. He gets so bored at home with me, so school will be a fun change for him. My little boy is growing up!

Thomas and Eddie's Birthday

I wanted to get pictures up from Eddie's Birthday and realized that I haven't posted pictures from Thomas's birthday either. Man have I been out of it. The computer wasn't working well and it just turned me off to even trying to update the blog. Ugh!

Thomas's birthday a fun event with some family friends and Uncle Casey! He got a few new toys and enjoyed his cupcakes thoroughly. He enjoyed them so much he had THREE. Mom and Dad gave him two and he got a hold of a third that his brother left behind. Definitely a cute kid though. We are so thankful for him and his great personality. He's sleeping through the night and taking great naps in his "bedroom" (closet) in Mom and Dad's room. Yes, he will have to eventually got to the boy's room, but for now, he's sleeping and is such a happy kid when he's awake and Mom's not ready to give that up yet. :)

Eddie's birthday was definitely eventful. We were all scheduled to go to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday. He wanted to go in the ticket blaster and then it started snowing and snowing and snowing. School was cancelled and it just wasn't going to happen. I felt so bad for him. We decided to walk to a local pizzeria that is right behind our neighborhood. It was a crazy last minute party, but the best that we could do. Eddie was happy to be with his friends and the kids had a snow day. What's better than that for your birthday, right?

We have great friends here in Kentucky and we're so blessed to have their support when we need it. They are willing to help anyway they can and be apart of our lives. Eddie had a great 7th birthday and is already looking forward to being baptized next year. Boy does the time fly!

Back on Track

I feel horrible that I have gotten off track and haven't written in so long. But, I'm starting fresh and even though I definitely need to post pictures from Eddie and Gordon's birthdays, I just want to start by announcing that we have some good news!

Celeste got straight A's! We're so excited for her. She has been working so hard and her teacher, as well as her mom and dad are so proud of how well she is doing. She's always gotten A's and B's, so it's not like we've ever worried about her, but all A's is big for her, especially in math. She's applied to middle schools, but we have a few months before we will know where she is going next year, so she's just going to keep studying and working hard at keeping her grades up.

Eddie is doing well too. He has all S's and O's, which is great. One of these days I'll have to post a video of him reading because he's really doing well. He's even able to read the scriptures well, which is great for a first grader!

Life is going well and I just wanted to share our good news!

(Celeste with pink hair because that's what girls do!)

Celeste turns 10!

Today, my baby girl is double digits! She’s in fifth grade this year and so far, is loving it. She’s a sweet big sister and a wonderful help to Kyle and myself. I love her so much and hate that she is growing up so quickly. She loves to read, dress up, swim, play with her friends, do art of any kind and she has recently started sewing. I’ve had to hide any fabric I have plans for because if it’s out, she’ll use it! She’s just learning, but she can sew straight lines with a sewing machine, which at her age, is more than I could do. She mostly enjoys making pillows and bags because they are all straight lines, but I’m waiting for the day when she asks me to teach her how to make clothes because it’s coming soon! She’s also learning to cook from recipes. She’s had a few mess ups, but she’s learning and I love that she wants to do it.

She loves shopping, shoes, make-up and anything girly. She loves Monster High, zebra print and pink. She is planning to start playing the viola this year at school, which I am very excited about!

I couldn’t be more proud of this sweet, spunky young lady who has a knack for getting her baby brother to sleep when I need her help and willing to play with her older brothers when they are getting on my nerves.

Ocean Trip and Hunter Family Reunion Week 1!

Yes, we’re getting to the end of our first week of our vacation! We were able to spend some time at the beach with Grandma Hunter in a hotel right on the beach!

Kyle and I were able to take a walk on the beach after swimming at sunset. It was so beautiful to watch the sun set over the ocean. We haven’t ever done that together before, so it was really nice. After that, we walked the boardwalk by ourselves. Most places were closing, but we enjoyed wandering around without kids for a little while. The next day, we actually went to the sand to play. Thomas was introduced to the sand and LOVED it! He crawled around putting his hands in it and letting it fall through. He also covered himself nicely in it (as most babies do when they love something!)

The kids didn’t want to leave when it was time to go, but we were done when Thomas ended up with sand in his eyes. Thankfully we could promise them that we would be back the next week with the Dover cousins, so they got over their sadness quickly!

Saturday was a big day for the extended Hunter Family. We have officially gotten big enough to have to have a family reunion! Of course, we live the furthest away, but Kyle’s brother lives far enough away to not be able to come home all the time. There is also a wedding coming up and a student who just graduated and will be heading off for bigger and better things, so it may be awhile before we have everyone together again.

We also have my friend, Amanda take family pictures for us. We needed an updated picture with Thomas in it. It’s also been awhile since the grandkids have all been updated, so even though it will probably be out of date soon enough, for now, Grandma can have all of her grandbabies in one picture. Here are the pictures from our photo shoot!

The WHOLE Hunter family. We have definitely gotten big!

All of the grandkids with Grandma.

The original Hunter kids with Mom.

The oldest and youngest cousin. I LOVE THIS PICTURE!

Water Fun–Week 1

We had the opportunity to spend some time on the Columbia River with the Dover family. The kids loved going out on the Wave Runner and Thomas LOVED playing in the water, as he normally does. He is definitely a water baby! We loved all of the time we were able to spend just playing and letting the cousins get reacquainted and play together. Later in the evening Cavan took out their bounce house for the kids to play in.

Look how happy Tommy is in this thing. He enjoyed bouncing and crawling around all over the place. We’re seriously considering finding something like this for our family here for birthdays and special occasions because the kids had the best time and were totally worn out at the end of the evening.

When we lived in Oregon, we had been to Grant park many times, but Celeste had never been very interested in the Ramona books yet and didn’t understand the statues that were there by the sprinklers. So, we decided to take a picnic when Grandma and Auntie Erin got off work. We packed a dinner and enjoyed an evening at the park. The kids were ready to play in the water, but it was quite cold, so they played on the other toys more than anything. Celeste did want to get pictures taken with the statues though, to show her friends here in Kentucky.

Next post will finish up week 1, I promise!!