Our Second is Ten

The Hunt

{all pictures by my daddy-o: the grandpa}

isaac got to go hunting with his grandpa this year.

they didn't get a deer.

he did bring home some antlers. he's pretty happy about that.

This Moment

House of Cards

What do one of these...

Plus some of these... Equal?

One very "pleased with himself" boy!

Isaac: "Can't you believe I made this?"

Me: "Yes, I can!"

With this boy I can believe anything. Especially when it has to do with him making something.

Sidenote: It didn't take too long before his little brother came along and knocked this house of cards right down! And as I post, that same little brother is in the bathtub for "washing" his belly with butter.

Swear WORDS

Little A knows how to say his name...

I have to say that after we'd named him, I began to wonder just how he would say his name. The other kids have had a hard time with the "R" sound, making it more of an "O" sound. Or the "SH" sounding like a plain "S" sound. So I wondered if his name would come out sounding more like a swear word...

Well, as you can see, we're safe so far.

Speaking of swear words...

I also have to say that I thought the words to the song I chose for Isaac's dance said, "Go out and smash it. Like all my cars..." I have since learned otherwise. So well, ummm... OOPS! My bad!

I will be the first to admit that I make mistakes. LOTS.OF.THEM. Every Day. Therefore I have taken his dance off the previous post until we can get a more edited version. PeACe.

{As of March 25, 2010...i've added the edited isaac video.}

Those Dancing Blair Kids

"If you're five or eighty-two, this is something YOU can do!!" --Miley Cyrus (For all of you closet home dancers, here is the link to how we learned the dance. I'm sure Big A would be happy to give you all lessons as well! And here is proof that I can do the dance as well! One more thing...who recognizes that awesome gold shirt? Yeah, it was mine, back in my old clogging days.)
"And tonight's gonna be a good, good night."--Black Eyed Peas (He's at it again. He's added some new moves to some old moves. And he's even added a prop...the bathroom stool! Here is a fun link for inspiration. Gotta love, Jack Black.)
"Dreaming"--Amy Beach (This is a dance she made up all by herself. She's taken ballet since she was 6 years old, and now is becoming quite the choreographer. Her teacher is Tazia Murie of Adagio Dance Studio. Here is a link for more information on the composer. I think the music is beautiful. It reminds me of something from Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.) It has taken me the last few days to figure out how to get these videos on here. Sheesh! I wanted to make sure their Grammy had a chance to see them dance!

Soccer

Soccer started Thursday and Friday.

Aryn and Isaac wanted to play. SO they are.

Zoe did NOT. Now that she's seen all her friends playing, I think she's changed her mind for next year!

Asher is just happy to play on the playground. (Wearing his much-loved river shirt.)

Rappelling Adventure

The two oldest kids went adventuring with their dad and some friends!

This Boy

This boy.

how do I begin? where do I start?

There are so many feelings, so many thoughts, so many dreams for this boy.

He turned eight years old in August. EIGHT. Even though I've been here for all of his life...it still seems almost impossible. I look into those eyes, and I see the baby he once was... I look into those same eyes, and I see the man he is going to become...

It's hard for me to describe all the feelings that go into loving a boy like this. Because there are so very many. But when you're a parent, you know.

And when you're a parent, you know about the many and varied thoughts that go into loving a boy like this... the anxious ones and the joyful ones.

And the dreams, well the dreams. They seem almost endless because there is so much potential and so much yet to know, when you are loving a boy like this. And being a parent sometimes means that you keep the dreams to yourself because what HE dreams for himself is so much more important.

I LOVE this boy. I'm happy and humbled to have him in my life. (that's where I begin. that's where I start.)

This boy.

Isaac's Birthday

YUM!

Lining up!Thanks to my Aunt Claudia, the boys had some serious fun.


We sang "Five. Five Dollar. Five Dollar foot long..." every time he got a Five Dollar bill.

The long-haired birthday boy!

The Spanking Machine!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISAAC!

Get Ready for Summer GIVEAWAY

So, today is the last day of school. Aryn and Isaac have really liked their classes and their teachers. They've learned so much. One of the best things is that they both really love to read! I can't tell you how happy I am about that. We decided to make a little Thank You gift for their teachers. I found the instructions to make these cute bookmarks here.

Aryn and Isaac drew the pictures, and picked the colors for the fabric on the back. Pink for Isaac because he said that was his teacher's favorite. And green for Aryn because she said that was her teacher's favorite. I did the stitching for Isaac, but Aryn did hers on her own!

We thought it would be fun to get this summer started with a GIVEAWAY. So here you go... This time around, there's going to be a few twists...Just to add to the excitement!

1. I'll draw TWO winners. One for "Martian Man" and one for "Les Fleurs." (Original artwork by my children.)

2. Since it's mother's day month, if one of your names or one of your mother's names matches either of Gene or I's mother's MAIDEN name (does that make sense?), you get an extra entry. Their maiden names are: HEATON and EDWARDS.

3. We're going out of town, so the contest will close Tuesday @ 12:00 noon. Just leave a comment to enter.

4. Good Luck! And have FUN with the kiddos this summer!
I have to share one more piece of excitement. While Aryn and I were stitch, stitch, stitching away, Zoe wanted to try. I got her a little yellow hoop (her favorite color), she drew the picture on the fabric, and off she went! Now she's stitch, stitch, stitching away! She can even thread the needle! She's getting so big. She's so happy with herself too. And that makes me so happy.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The contest is now closed!!! I will draw the winners and post them soon!

The winner for "les fleurs" is... the TONIOLI'S

And the winner for "martian man" is... the MOORE FAMILY

CONGRATULATIONS! I'll get these sent off!

That Boy! has a Secret

polliwogs.

tadpoles.

So. When I took the kids to school this morning they were whispering in the back of the van. All three of them. Aryn, Zoe, and Isaac. I dropped the two older ones off, and when they left I said, "Zoe, what were you guys whispering about?" She said, " I can't tell you. It's a secret and if I tell, Isaac won't let me play with them."

Them?Well, that sure got my curiosity a-going.

When we got home I asked her about it again. In a round-of-about way, I learned that Isaac has taken into his possession a small amount of polliwogs. POLLIWOGS. I don't even know where he could have gotten them! She said he bought them from someone. What?! That boy has definitely got some explaining to do.

I looked up some information, here, on how to take care of them. Which as soon as Isaac gets home he going to read. Let me tell you.

Actually though, now that the initial shock has worn off, I think this could be a fun learning experience for all of them. The transformation from a tadpole into a frog could be an amazing thing to watch. As long as nothing dies.

A Wonderful Time

My brother and his wife came down for a visit. They decided to go camping. (Her sister and two children came along as well.) We decided to join them Monday night for dinner. It only took a little more than 30 minutes to get to our destination. Gene and I were so happy we decided to go. So were the kids!

We cooked hot dogs and tin foil dinners.

We all enjoyed the fire. (especially Isaac)

We played a game of Skipbo. (Nicole, Alex, and Gene)


We had so much fun that I decided to take the kids back for lunch and the afternoon today! It was so nice to be in the outdoors, away from our regular schedules and lives. It was calming and grounding, to stretch our bodies and our imaginations... to do something a little different and out of the ordinary.

We built and added to the woodland fairy houses we'd started the night before.

We scrambled up rocks and crowed like roosters. (He thinks he's king of the world!)

We ran through the trees and picked up bits of nature. Most of all, we enjoyed ourselves and each other.

It was a wonderful night and a wonderful day.

sO YoU THinK yOu CAn dANce!

Not only can the baby boy dance, but so can his big brother!

Isaac decided he wanted to enter his break dance moves into the Imagine Contest. I'm not sure about his bow staff skills or his numb-chuck skills, but dance skills...I'm so happy I decided to go ahead and let him share his talents! (he does not take lessons, he comes up with this stuff on his own. a born choreographer. chuckle, chuckle.)

The first is his performance in front of the judge. Aryn filmed the second one in front of the school, but the battery was low, so only some of it recorded. It does show his cute strut though. (napoleon dynamite, eat your heart out. Enjoy!)

Industrious

Last Saturday we went over to my grandparent's house. Isaac had been wanting to help my grandpa with some outside work. My grandpa thought it was too wet to move manure to the garden, but Isaac was determined.
My grandpa showed him how to shovel the manure from the bottom of the pile instead of from the top. He told him to keep everything at one end of the wheelbarrow. By the time Gene got there to help, Isaac was giving him pointers!
This little brother is learning how to work, just like his big brother.

After he was finished with his work, Isaac kept asking his dad to build him a tire swing. Gene was helping me cut wood for the garden boxes. He was busy, and told him "later." Awhile later we went to check on him and the other kids. And guess what? Isaac made a swing for himself!

I'll bet you can't tell I think a lot of this kid.