Kindergarten School Pics

Kate and Liam's kindergarten pictures did not disappoint!

 

Our life in a Meme

This is the truth!

 

School friends

A campfire at Caleb's house with Xander, Caleb, Jack Jensen, Jack Miller, Henry, Logan, Dax, Griffen (Dax's brother), and Cole (Henry's brother)

Fun Run with Tayte

Frosting cupcakes with Kaylee and Tayte.

Claire with Ceili, Lilly and Liza.

 

Coldplay with Jim and Mel

We got Coldplay tickets with Jim and Mel (correction... Jim got 4 Coldplay tickets and was a good enough friend that he sold them to us at face value rather than what he could have gotten selling them on Craigslist or StubHub!). We started the night off at Lardo (YUM!), which was way better than Denny's - albeit maybe not quite as hilariously memorable.

On our way in, we were given bracelets that lit up in sync with the music. Our seats were a long ways away, but it gave an incredible view of the light show!

It was a particularly memorable show because of the recent tragic events at the Las Vegas outdoor music festival. Prior to the set, the band expressed their feelings about the event. They then sung together with Peter Buck from REM a heartfelt accoustic rendition of Tom Petty's Free Fallin as a tribute to Tom Petty as he had died earlier that day.

Their set was incredible - the lights were amazing! The music was incredible! We sang along with almost every song. At one point, as part of the encore, they went into the stands where they had a tiny little stand. After playing 3 songs, Chris Martin (Coldplay's lead singer) called 2 kids up with him and gave them each a guitar!

It was so much fun being there, especially with the Schaffers!

House project - part 4

While John and Vicki came for a visit, Dani decided to take advantage of John's help again for a home project. This time, it was re-doing the mirrors and lights in the master bathroom.

The idea originally was to take the mirror off and possibly cut it down. It was pretty well fastened to the wall, and when Dani and John started taking it down, it immediately cracked and came down in pieces.

No matter - they went and found new mirrors and a new light fixture, and they turned out even better!

Kate's haircut

Dani noticed strands of hair in the dollhouse and realized we hadn't even noticed the little trim Kate had given herself! I guess every little girl needs to experience cutting her own hair at least once!

 

Active Dates

Once we discovered Luc Lac, we had to go back - a few more times! Between the pho, the Bo Thai Chanh, and pretty much every other dish we have had there, it has quickly become one of our favorite restraunts in Portland! Also... maybe not as active as the other dates here, though we do enjoy walking around Portland.

We like to mix in active dates, including going climbing a few times lately. Bouldering is way easier than top rope bulleing. Dani is a great climber! Plus, there's a slack line that is fun to play on when our forearms are exhausted.

We sometimes go on bike rides and go find food afterwards. We'll sometimes go to food carts along the Springwater Corridor, or we'll go for a ride and get Ugly Fish and Waffle Window on the way back.

Biking downtown along the Wilamette River is beautiful. It's a long enough loop to get a good workout and is close to yummy food!

Trampoline time

The trampoline gets lots and lots of use! Sometimes, the kids put on their swimsuits and jump with the sprinkler under it.

Other times, everyone wears capes and become super heros. 

One night, they decided to sleep out on the trampoline. We learned that the dewy Portland mornings end up soaking outdoor sleepers - but they slept right through the morning dew!

There are lots of games and fun that go on with so many kids in the family!

Life with 1 at home

Now that Kate and Liam have entered Kindergarten, for the first time EVER, it's just Dani + 1 child at home every day of the week until mid-afternoon. After a few weeks, a little bit of a routine is forming. Here's what the days often look like:

The workout - in the garage
Torin brings trains and cars to the garage and lines them up along the workout mats, asking "Mama, what color is this car?" He has 'his' own mat, but prefers to line things up where Dani works out and gets mad if Dani uses his mat.

Getting ready for the day master bathroom
Torin Plays in the closet with "Guy" - a magnetic dress-up doll. After Dani is out of the shower, he pulls her into the closet to see what Guy is wearing.

Cleaning the house bathrooms;  other rooms
Torin plays with magformers, toting them around wherever Dani goes.

Emptying the dishwasher
Torin: runs over to his play kitchen, dumps any dish that is out in to his dishwasher (i.e. taking the sink out and dumping thing below)

Vacuuming
Torin follows Dani around yelling over the vacuum, "Mom, I need to talk to you!!!"

Getting a haircut (with Tamara in the kitchen)
Torin brings all dishes and food over to the kitchen table and waits until Dani is done, at which point, they eat together before doing anything else

Any time he's not getting enough attention
Torin: "Mom, I need to do peepee"

Dani is loving having just 1 partner to run errands with and to run with, and Torin is enjoying having his mama all to himself!

a few more random pictures

Claire got braces!!! It's going to be a long process.

Light saber duels on the guest bed

Precoa Fun Run - always a fun event, and turned out to be the last held in the parking area.

We got into Nerf guns at the office for a while this year

Liam loves to spike his hair up

Liam has started reading, and sometimes he'll even read to Torin

Torin loves wearing costumes - and carrying light sabers - and being with daddy

Claire STILL sleeps with her face presed up against the side of her bed

Birthday celebrations in primary are fun even for the leaders

Potty Training - Torin's own school

For weeks, Dani has been telling Torin that when the kids go to school, he would start potty training. So, as soon as the kids left for school - literally - Torin announced that it was time to put on his undies. He, too, needed a "back to school" picture at the front door.

Torin's experience was easily the easiest of all of our kids. From the moment he put on his undies, he started being potty trained. Surprisingly, this included at naptime and at nighttime. When we would get him out of bed, he was dry! He had some accidents, but it was so much easier of an experience!

Back to school - at new schools!

Our day before school FHE this year included a book about being uplifting and kind, called "Have you Filled Someone's Bucket?" We then did our typical 7Up and 7 uplifting things to remember going back to school.

Then, as part of the lesson, we taught that saying things is like squeezing toothpaste - once something was said, like toothpaste, it is difficult to get back in the tube. Claire, of course, was determined to get some back in the tube!

Kate and Liam were thrilled to be starting kindergarten at Boeckman Creek Primary. They were assigned different classes but had nothing but excitement as they left for their first day of all-day kindergarten.

They were thrilled about their backpacks, too!

Because Jacob and Claire's school started super late, they were able to walk with their younger siblings to the bus.

Jacob and Claire were excited because for the second time, they were the first class in a brand new school - this time, it is Meridian Creek Middle School. Meridian is a brightly colored (seriously, the stairs are lime green!), very open school with tall ceilings and lots of windows. It is a beautiful setting to go to school.