The Biggest Blog Catch-Up Ever in the History of My Blog

Wow! Things have been so busy since my last update, so let's back up a couple of weeks.  Kayla started 1st grade with Mrs. Johnson on August 15th.  She has been enjoying school again this year.  It's been quite an adjustment on homeschool days.  Last year Brooke was still taking a morning nap so we could knock out most of the work during that time.  Now she only takes an afternoon nap and she wants to always be involved in whatever is going on.  I'm going to have to get creative with her in order to get Kayla's work done.  Of course Kayla is always more interested in what her sisters are doing than what she needs to be doing.  Oh, and she is the kind of kid who always wants to be around someone else, so sending her upstairs to work on some things is tough on her.  We'll keep trying new things and hopefully we'll get in a groove soon.

Tuesday, August 16th was our first day of Timothy classes.  I am only teaching two classes this year so that I can work with Kayla on her school work for an hour.  We have been getting so much done and it's such a blessing to have a long uninterrupted time to focus on the work.  Kayla is taking a cooking class, my science class, and a dance class.  Macy is taking a learning to read class, a safari class, and a handwriting class.  

It was also my birthday on the 16th.  What did I do, you ask? Homeschooled, worked, unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned the living room, and vacuumed.  Oh how times have changed.  I did refuse to do laundry, however.  We did enjoy a nice dinner with family followed by lots of yummy cakes.  Marc picked up a cookie cake and my mom picked up a small iced cake as well as a few red velvet cupcakes.  I was also given several gift cards, so when the cooler weather comes in I will be doing some clothes shopping!

Brooke is really starting to grow and change into her own little person.  She runs around all the time, squeals like her sisters, tells us what movies she wants to watch (usually Bubble Guppies), and has an opinion about EVERYTHING.  One thing that has not changed is her sleeping position.  I have no idea why the girl won't turn in her bed.  I always lay her down in the other direction, but she very quickly rotates.

She's always busy at work. :)

One afternoon I needed her to take a late nap.  She fell asleep in the car, so I thought if I laid her on the couch she'd wake up. I told the girls they didn't need to be quiet because I wanted her to wake up.  After about 15 minutes I finally decided that she must be wiped out and I took her upstairs to her bed.  Kayla and Macy thought it was so cute to see her sleeping on the couch.

In other humongous news, we sold our house! Within 3 hours of them seeing our house we had an offer, and 24 hours later we came to an agreement.  Then began the search for a home to rent while we build our next home.  That wasn't easy since we needed somewhere where we could stay 6-9 months with some flexibility.  Most owners wanted at least a year commitment.  We checked out a town home this weekend and signed a lease a couple days later.  God has been so good to us through this process and we are so excited about moving on and building our home.  

The girls have loved playing in the boxes.

And last, but not least, today was Relative Day for Kayla's class.  They have been talking about family, and today it concluded with a surprise lunch.  The kids walked in and their families were there to have lunch with them.  What a special day! (Kayla wants to grow her bangs out so we are in the awkward stage when they too short to pull back.)

Kayla was able to enjoy lunch with mommy, daddy, Macy, Brooke, Nini, Nana, Grammie, Grampie, Jackie, and Molly.  Her teacher said it was the first time a great-grandmother was able to join them for lunch.  

 

Well, that's about it for now.  I'd better get back to packing some boxes.  We will have access to our rental in 10 days and hopefully be closing a week later.  I will be sure to keep the blog updated often with the house building.  I know we will be taking lots of pictures, and I want to document the process. 

Splash Park

We went to the splash park this week.  We tried to go last week, but because of the rain we had to postpone.  Kayla and Macy were SO excited, but after an hour all 3 girls were ready to leave.  

Macy played for about 30 minutes and then laid on her towel whining about how hungry she was and how she wanted to go home. 

Brooke started off pitching a fit for her juice cup that I left in the car.  She'd walk around fussing and when she saw me looking at her she would get louder and start stomping her feet.  It was hard not to laugh.  I tried to get her to go in with her sisters, but she wanted to do it on her terms.  One time when Kayla was walking back out she started asking for her hand.  Kayla led her out and she had a good time.

Lake Lanier

Marc's company picnic this year was at Lake Lanier.  We were given free admission and a cookout.  We started out the morning at the kids play area.  The girls had so much fun!

After lunch we ventured over to the wave pool.  The girls put on life jackets and we stayed for a while enjoying the waves. They were pretty freaked out about them at first, but we went deep enough out that we rode out the swells rather than the crashing waves.  They really like that.

Brooke enjoyed herself too.

Marc, Kayla, and Macy ventured down to the lake.  I don't do lakes.  Bleh. I want to see what is in the water.  If I can't see I don't go. Brooke walked about 5 feet into the sand and got upset.  She did not like the sand on her feet and just stood there saying "dirty, dirty" while trying to brush it off.   I reluctantly agreed to stay with her at the pool. ;)

 My girls eat a lot of goldfish.  Remember the little goldfish jingle that goes, "I love fishes 'cause they're so delicious"? We occasionally break out into song in our house, so Macy knows these couple of lines.  Well there were fish in the lake.  See where this is going? She would sing out, "I love fishes 'cause they're so delicious" and then dive into the water.  From what Marc said she got some very strange looks. ha!

We headed out right as a dark cloud was moving in.  The girls had a fabulous time and we enjoyed doing something a little bit different this weekend.

A Little of This and a Little of That

It's rare that any of the girls fall asleep in the car these days.  I can't remember what we had been doing, but it obviously wore them out.

We did do a little school work over the summer.  Not much at all, as evidenced by the workbooks that remain void of writing and coloring. Every once in a while the girls would want to do a few pages in their books.

Even Brooke wanted in on some of the fun.  She is just now getting to the age where she enjoys coloring.  Of course it only keeps her interest for approximately 12 seconds. 

We have also found time to make cookies.

Brooke isn't a huge cookie fan, but she sure did enjoy eating the dough. Who could blame her, though?

Her first ponytail.

And although she doesn't really care for cookies, she does enjoy some cupcakes.  She has very quickly added the word cupcake to her vocabulary. 

This is a picture of the video monitor one night after we put the girls to bed.  We made it clear that there was to be no playing and that it was bedtime.  It's hard to get upset when they are in the same bed reading together. 

Same night, but Marc went to their room to get a picture.

Horseback Riding

The girls have been looking forward to Annie's birthday party for a long time.  In fact, so has Annie.  When I took her to school last year she would tell me about how her 8th birthday party would be at a horse farm.  I started hearing about it in August - 1 month after she turned 7! Guess the girl knew what she wanted! Anyway, Kayla and Macy were thrilled at the idea of riding real horses, and not just the little ponies that are hooked up to a carousel type contraption.  Last Christmas when Macy got on one of the ponies she was not happy and wanted OFF. We weren't sure if she would ride at the party, but the lady took extra time to talk to her about the horse and what to do.  She climbed on and had the best time!

Macy's horse was Mystery, and Kayla rode Amber.

Brooke enjoyed seeing all of the animals and petting the cat.  I had to keep a watch on her because 18 month olds aren't known to be gentle with animals. She would pet the cat and then stand up and giggle. So cute!

She didn't care for the puppy as much, but she did lift up her shirt for it to lick her tummy.  I don't know where that idea came from, but after one lick she was done with the dog.

Molly Marie Barfield

Welcome cousin Molly! My sister had her baby a little over a week ago while we were out of town.  The girls have been so excited to finally meet her.  Kayla would hold her for hours if we let her.

Nana and her 6th great-grandbaby.

Brooke LOVES baby dolls.  She thought that Molly was a baby doll and she was NOT happy that everyone else was holding her.  Of course we gave her a turn.

Four girls.  We wouldn't have a clue what to do with a little boy!