More Pictures...

Here are some pictures from this week. Bennett and Maggie's costumes for the kid's musical at church. Ruth and Lydia wanted their pictures made too.

Here's the group shot from this afternoon. I needed one to send to South Africa. Bennett was trying to help out by tickling the girls. He tickled Maggie first, said "now hold that smile" and then tried to tickle Lydia.

That's Kit Kat in the background. He's afraid he might miss out on something... like the pretzel crumbs from the girl's bags!

Tooth Day... Lydia's 1st trip to the dentist.

Everyone says I'm crazy for taking all 4 kids to the dentist by myself. It went fine. The only thing was I didn't get the pictures of xray time because I was helping Ruth or Lydia hold still in their chair. Maggie's such a trooper. She always wants to go first. And I didn't get any pictures of her in the chair this time because I was holding Ruth's hands. I did get an "after" picture.

Bennett did better this time than any other visit. He did everything they said without the first grunt or complaint. They even did xrays which he's not fond of.

Of course, I guess he could have been complaining and I didn't hear him because Ruth was fussing in my ear. She didn't want to sit still or open initially, but eventually warmed up and did fine.

Here's a shot of the girls looking at the pictures of their teeth. Ruth finally got her x-rays. She's been saying that after she turned 4 she wouldn't be scared anymore and they could take her pictures. I missed it, but it was probably for the best. They can't complain if I don't listen! :)

Lydia surprised me by sitting just right and opening wide. First things first... Lydia had to check out her goodie bag! I think she liked her timer a whole bunch. It was a great distraction initially. :)

The hygentist (?) was able to do all she needed without any trouble until she started the whirring, spinning thing that tickles the teeth and gums. I don't think Lydia would call it tickling though. After that she was done. Done opening. Done sitting. Until the word "sticker" came up. Then she suddenly was ready to do whatever! It's a funny thing about those little bribes. :)

All is well. No cavities x 4... and Maggie came away with one less tooth. The dentist pulled her front tooth which was barely hanging in the wind... and she used her numbing cream to make it better. I called it cheating! :) Gotta call the Tooth Fairy again!

Here's a pre-dentist smile from Lydia. Peanut Butter toast and all!

Bennett's Dance Party

Bennett had a dance party for his 7th birthday. He has wanted one since we went to cousin Heather's wedding back in June. It has been a consistant request so I really wanted to make it happen. The kids don't get big parties around here to begin with and I've been trying to get birthdays to be a big deal every year. I don't want big parties... just special days for the kids. Ruth and Bennett have shared their birthdays in the past. Most years it's just the nearby family who end up eating cake with us. That's certainly sufficient... but I wanted to dance! Actually, I wanted to see Grammy dance again too. She was showing off at the wedding and we enjoyed the entertainment. The kids love to dance. They have very little inhibition and don't care at all what we say about them... at least for a little while longer. Bennett is generally reserved and very aware of people watching him. He doesn't show off... unless he's on the dance floor! ;) He has this robot dance that he came up with last year in kindergarten and it was a big deal when he showed his teacher "the dance". He's keeping up with the steps because he has already shown his 1st grade teacher his moves. If only I had it on video! I think I could add it.
Initially, I was going to have a big shin-dig in a place away from home, invite tons of friends and family, and party the night away. But it turned out that I just can't plan and make things happen like that. All the great ideas in my head just can't get to reality. I think it's a disease! Plus, I asked Bennett multiple times who all he wanted to come dance and he never did come to any great conclusions other than his entire class (which wasn't happening!). We opted for a much smaller, at home shin-dig. Would that be an ankle-scoop?

He had a couple of boys from his class that got to come as well as cousin Micah. If was a Friday night home football game so the parents went on to that while we danced and ate pizza. It was actually a great time. I enjoyed having just the kids and no adults! We hung up a black light and covered the windows. It was quite fun and the adults seemed to enjoy the glowing just as much as the kids. We borrowed a dance mat that plugs into the TV and watched them attempt to follow along. It's very difficult... for me. They had a great time being completely goofy. We downloaded a bunch of dance-party songs and did the YMCA, Electric Slide, Cha-Cha Slide, Chicken Dance, Hip-hop, and head banging. Actually, Maggie and Curtis did the head banging while I did all the sliding and hopping. We sent the boys home with their very own copy of DJ C's dance mix and a microphone that transmits over the radio. Very cool!
Oh yes, the boys all went home with real "White County" teeth too. My favorite picture is the one of Micah... because the way he poses it actually looks real. And his eyes match... those silly little eyes. His Daddy stayed for the party too. I forgot to mention that. He was supposed to go get some work accomplished while Micah was playing but he was too excited about the black light! He sang a great rendition of Happy Birthday on the radio (with the microphone). What a great Uncle!

Cousin Birthdays in October

Once again I've posted more pictures than anyone really wants to see... but this is my way of scrapbooking for the kids, since I never actually print any of these pictures.



The first weekend in October my sister Lara had her high school reunion of many years. I can't say which one because it would then also date me! :) I do remember she graduated in the '80's and I didn't! Anyway, she debated whether to drive south from PA and see her old friends or stay home and decided they were worth the time. So we planned a big family weekend of it. There are 6 cousin birthdays within a few weeks of each other and we used that as an excuse to gather and eat. (Like we need an excuse!)

My brother, Rob and his wife, Stacy offered their house for our gathering place. Actually, we were supposed to go to a nearby park but it was under construction or had another reunion there or something major. So we defaulted to their house. They were so gracious the entire weekend. We stayed there Friday - Sunday of that weekend, visited at Adam's baseball game, played a Grandma and Grandpa's a little, but mostly we just stayed at Rob's.

Speaking of Grandma... did you notice the table of cakes in front of the grandkids? Each of the 6 kids got their own cake or pie. Of course, we all had to sample each flavor to make sure they were all ok. She did a pretty good job keeping them happy. This picture of kids... Ruth (4), Briella (6), Bennett (7), Adam (8), Jared (8), Zack (11).

Rob and Stacy also rented a HUGE inflatable slide to entertain the kids. We were certainly thankful for the good weather so they could stay outside!

Eventually we mosied inside for the kids to all open something special from the other aunts/uncles and Grandpa/ma. It seemed like Christmas in October there was so much stuff. Here are a couple of shots of Ruth and Bennett. He got some Dale, Jr. stuff that made him smile ear to ear. It was a huge hit and he's since made a special shelf on his bookshelf just for his Jr. display. Aunt Lara brought special Princess dresses for ALL the girls to dress and dance in. What a site to see them swinging each other around the living room in their beautiful dresses. Here's one of my favorite shots of the girls lined up on the couch... Ruth, Anna Grace, Briella, & Maggie.

Here are some more fun shots of the family... Uncle Seth

Aunt Leslie

cousin Emily who must take after her Uncle Seth

Bennett

Ruth



Here are all the cousins... well most of the cousins. I'm not sure where the missing 3 were.

Back row: Esther, Emily, Anna Grace, Zack, Marci. Next row: Maggie, Ruth, Briella. Front row: Adam, Jared, Micah, Bennett.

That means Lydia, Titus, and Tyler were missing. Probably either napping or whining about not napping. :)



And then this is Ruth Sunday morning waiting to leave for church. She was resting so sweetly with Puddin.
Here's the one token shot of Grandpa and Grandma. They will not like that I put this on a public domain... but when it's all I got, it's all I got!! I still love you though.