Rye

I wish I were a better photographer because Rye looked picture perfect.  I just couldn't quite get the right photo to capture the moment.  Here is the best I could do...

Moments in December

Our whole family had a tough time adjusting to being back from Cancun after Thanksgiving.  The boys handled this transition by setting up their own Cabana in our play room.  Ben requested a "Mexico sandwich" every day for the first week of December.  (translation: I served him a double decker ham sandwich in his cabana)

Solid Food...

Rye found his first attempt at eating Cheerios a bit challenging.  He never actually got to taste any on his first try, but he was close...

Packages...

We all get packages over the holidays.  I bet I got the cutest one.

Reading time...

Noah is making great strides in reading this year.  It is fun to watch him become aware of all the things that are communicated through words (on signs, cereal boxes, etc.).

Rye is also learning to read...okay, he actually just likes to chew on the books.  But I'll take any interest in books as a good sign for the future.

Ben is also learning to read.  He does a great job sounding out 3 to 4 letter words.  Unfortunately his favorite kind of reading in done on a screen.

Christmas with my mom...

My sister is due to have another baby in June.  For their family photo, they borrowed Rye (just to get an idea of what is to come).

Christmas with my dad...

My dad introduced a new extreme sport to our kids...  Tractor Pull Sledding

I will try to download some video footage later.  It takes a while on our old computer.  :)

As I was showing this blog post to Ben, he wanted me to add that his Papa and Uncle BoBo put an extra element of danger in the sledding activity by launching snowballs at the kids as they flew by.

Cancun...from a professional perspective

We have been back in the country for less than 24 hours, but I can't wait to post some pictures from our trip.  We had a professional photographer take our picture on the beach and here are the pictures from our "photo shoot".  You will have to wait until Christmas for the best family photo.  :)

Cookie Monster

Wild Animals

Here are a few pictures of the wild animals that live at my house.  They are acting very domesticated in these photos.

In these two pictures, Rye looks more like my friend Sara-Beth's kid than mine.  (except that he is a boy)

I am doing home school preschool with Ben this year.  Our first field trip was to the zoo this week.  Noah, Rye and Grandma got to come along too.  Ben and Noah got plenty of lessons on how to act like a wild animal from the Orangutans, Tigers, Elephant, etc.

An elephant trainer showed us how they get this 5 year old male elephant to do tricks.

The Orangutans were actually using their climbing ropes while we were there.  They swung back and forth over our heads as we walked through the zoo.

We also got to see the new baby gorilla.

The tiger paced back and forth in front of us.  I think Noah and Ben may have looked like a yummy snack.

Don't let this picture fool you.  This is one of the only moments during the whole trip when Ben and Noah held still.  I believe Noah looks grumpy because he had to stop so that I could take his picture.

It was a perfect day to spend at the zoo.  I had some tired wild animals in the car with me on the drive home.

Where the Red Fern Grows

Noah had to dress up as literary character for school today.  He went as Billy, the boy for the book Where the Red Fern Grows.  (I'm so glad his Storm Trouper costume is too small)

A Chance to Play Golden Ball

There is nothing my kids like more than a chance to be with their cousins (on either side of the family).  For the entire month of September, I answered questions like...

"When are we going to the beach?"

"Will our cousins be there?"

"Will Uncle Steve play Golden Ball with us?"

Finally the day arrived and we headed to the Outer Banks to spend a long weekend with my siblings, their spouses and children.  (Total count: 6 adults & 7 children...during last year's trip, the adults still outnumbered the kids) 

It was even better than expected!  We walked around the lake, played tennis, swam in the pool, hopped in the hot tub, went to the beach, rode a kayak in the surf, played on the sand bar, ate fantastic meals and played Golden Ball (more on that later).  We had so much going on that I rarely had time to think about pictures.  Here are pictures from the few times I remembered to bring a camera.

It is amazing how much gear we took to the beach every day.  Chairs, towels, tent, shovel, sand toys, football, boogie board, surf board, kayak and snacks/beverages.  The kids waited patiently on the front porch swing while the adults collected all the gear.

Grace and Ben race back from the beach.

Golden Ball...

Golden Ball is a game that Steve made up and is played regularly in my sister's neighborhood.  A parent throws a football at a group of kids and the kid who brings the ball back and puts it in the adult's hand gets a point.  Basically your can do anything to get the ball from another player.  The only rule is that you can't grab someone's neck.  Even as a mom with three boys, I am amazed at how rough the game gets and how much the kids love it.  Here are a few pictures from a game at the beach.

These pictures don't show any tackles, but I promise there were plenty of them.  This last one is a picture of Ben getting his first point.  The rules don't change for the younger kids, so Ben has been playing for a while without scoring any points.  My kids are waiting for golden ball to catch on in Harrisonburg.

We also had a few moments of non-violence at the beach.

 Millie spent her time watching her cousins and playing with people's shoes.

Philip, Noah and Grace loved the hot tub

Ben did not like it in the hot tub. 

Instead he sat in a swing nearby and was used as a pillow for his Uncle Bobo's nap.

He didn't seem to mind too much.

Here is a picture of the whole family.