Friday, September 30, 2016

Easter Sunday, 2016

We had a nice time on Easter, keeping to our traditions as well as adding to them.
Easter Breakfast, adorned by various winnings

Easter baby pics
Them's some good-lookin' young'uns!
Obligatory uncomfortable-in-the-grass pictures
Ellie shows off her missing tooth, her chicks, and her pretty Easter egg.

Not sure what to make of this face...!

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Easter Saturday 2016

Our neighborhood did an egg hunt and we were actually able to make it, so we went! The kids all woke up to brand new bikes--their big surprise of the season--so they were only too happy to ride them down to the Sports Park.

Noah got one of the winning eggs, which entitled him to a gift card to a frozen yogurt joint--yippee! Natalie bonded with a friend/neighbor of ours who seems to be a baby whisperer. Everyone enjoyed it and there was only minimal drama at the beginning from a little girl who was freaking out about not being quite ready to ride her bike without someone right beside her. There were animals to pet and breakfast to eat, so she got over it pretty quickly.

Not long afterward, we headed to Government Canyon for a free kids' race we had just heard about.

I think it's safe to say that we rocked it.

Lucky for us, there were two heats. Our friends, who had arrived on time, were already racing when we got there. It worked out beautifully, because they won prizes in their heat and we won prizes in ours. No bitter competition among our ambitious children!

First, Isaac came barreling down the trail with some high school kid who was just checking on his brother--Isaac took his competition very seriously and narrowly beat him. I actually thought the kid was helping coach or encourage Isaac, but nope. Isaac was helping himself.

Right afterward came Noah, killing all the rest of the competition for several minutes. He fell at the end from giving it his all. They each got to choose a little creature given from the rangers as a prize, and they had nifty hand-made "medals."

The 3 winners of the boys' race
 One older girl beat Ellie, but she beat all the rest! I wish you could zoom in on the picture on the right to see her happy face-- just content, confident. Perhaps it's because the boy behind her was crying.
 Nothing like a tiny, non-publicized race to boost some siblings spirits about running. Of course, they'll still be siblings (see picture on the right). Great Easter Saturday!

Monday, September 26, 2016

One Year Old?!

Natalie is ONE. What?? Yep. Her little birthday party was super enjoyable for all of us; we just love watching this girl so much.

Some BUNNY is turning 1!

Birthday girl and her cake.

A little surprised by the song, but she clapped at the end with us.

First step: eat the marshmallow. She approves.
Next step: eat that cake. She really approves!

Cake messes are the best; they even sweeter with a little snot bubble.


Birthday girl and her brothers

Gotta have all the kids' profile shots taken.

Presents? I can HAVE? Yes!

The party "guests" enjoy the party, too.





Sunday, September 25, 2016

34th Bday for La (Just call me "Ma")

It's kind of unfair that Jared will always be 4 years older than me. One reason is that he pioneers these "old" ages and then they don't seem as old for me (Laurel). Still, whenever my kids call me old, I usually snap back with a retort that I'm not that old. And I have Jared to thank for that.

Thirty-four! It's kind of a great age to be with four cute kids and a totally fabulous husband. Here were my several celebrations of that milestone...

Jared brought me home a cupcake the night of my actual birthday.

Someone wanted to lick the box.

He always does the coolest cards!

The next night was my birthday dinner, complete with silly kids.

SUCH a delicious meal Jared made!

And this cheesecake...it tasted even better than it looked!


I got to make another wish!
The next morning was my unofficial birthday breakfast. Amazing.
We like to stretch out our celebrations, don't-ya-know. Yep, I am blessed.

Spring Break at Mustang Island

Some friends invited us to go to the beach with them during Spring Break. Baby's first trip to the beach! It wasn't hot, but that didn't stop my older three from getting wet and wild. Babycakes had an ear infection brewing, so she was content to stay on Ellie's chair or in Momma's arms. She didn't want anything to do with that sand stuff anyway!
Our Spring Break party--lots of fun!
Noah collected way too many shells, Isaac fed the seagulls, and Ellie rode the waves between chasing down that surfboard-shaped float whenever the wind blew it down the beach. And Natalie chilled with me.

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Excuses, Excuses

I didn't want to ruin my September Streak! But I did. In my defense, I've been a tiny bit busier today because Isaac was hit by a truck while riding his bike. So I had to farm out all his siblings to friends' houses and take him in to get checked out. He is going to be fine, incidentally. Just a bruised sacrum. Thank Goodness! It could have been so so so much worse.

Here he is, waiting for his X-ray.
 See? I told you he's fine! He just can't sit down or stand up without pain; can't do anything strenuous for several days, and can't get in fights with his brother for a while. Not all bad.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

My Babies and their Bikes (and other vehiculars)

These kids love their wheels. It has been so much fun watching Ellie this year as she has literally taken off on her bike. Granted, she did knock down a defenseless little boy on her way to school a few weeks ago, but she's much more careful now. And I remember when Isaac first learned to Ripstik; he kept at it and he's amazing. Noah learned soon afterward.

Here is Ellie in February. On the left is at the skate park, which the kids love to go to (the only ones under 13). On the right is one of her last bike lessons with Jared.
 
Ellie learn to ride independently just in time to participate in the Kindergarten Bike Rodeo. 'Twas a proud moment.

The boys also participated in the Bike Rodeo...and both won first place in their grade! I am ashamed to say that I was quite surprised. That school had like 1200 kids in it! Ellie was very supportive for the picture and insisted that Isaac display his trophy from a previous year's bike rodeo as well.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Somebody Turned 38!

On Jared's birthday this year, he received a "no" from one of his choice universities in regards to his med school application. So that was a bummer. However, he still had a nice evening with his adoring family, who showered him with antics and cards and gifts.

The kids like to mold him and make him do silly things as an unconscious being

Then came the cards and gifts. Who enjoyed it more: givers or receiver?

Lots of candles to blow out!

Blackberry cheesecake. Scrumptrillescent.

Rodeo Field Trip for Noah!

Second graders a Krueger get to go to the rodeo in February! Noah had a blast, and so did Natalie and I.






Sunday, September 18, 2016

In the Back Yard

At the beginning of February we finally got our shed built! It was tempting to have someone else do it for us, but we are lucky enough to have a wonderful friend named Joe. Joe knows pretty much everything, we've decided. And Joe offered to teach Jared how to build his shed. He let us use all his tools, too. Jared enjoyed learning and building with Joe. And now we have a shed!
 


Various heads popping up around these parts.
 Meanwhile, Ellie and Noah got in some quality time with the punching bag.



Coming along
Even Isaac got to help put on shingles.
 And now that we have it, we don't know how we ever did without it!