Random July 2015

Grandma and Grandpa Heaton got us a mini pool table for Christmas of 2014 and we FINALLY broke it out and started playing it in July. The kids LOVE it and it is so fun to have out! It was kind of a fun present to remember in the middle of the summer when life started getting "boring". 

 The Bentz family was getting ready for their big move to Hawaii for the military and we had one last big park day with all the kids. Brianna and I would visit with each other about once a month and go to a park, go for a walk, or just hang out. Our kids keep asking when we are going to Hawaii to go visit our friends! Now we have a great reason to go to Hawaii. We miss them so much!

This picture has 9 of our 10 kids. We now have 11 kids between the two of us and had 9 kids between us when we met. We make cute babies.

 I have always wanted a finger sucker and I finally got one! Connor sucks on his thumb or a couple fingers or sometimes he even shoves a whole fist in there. I somehow got lucky and snapped a picture for proof that I wasn't crazy and he does sometimes suck his thumb! He is so stinking cute I can't help but just stare at his pictures sometimes! His yellow grumpy shirt he is wearing is a preemie onsie and he is at least 2 months old in the picture!

 Odin misses Derek all day and can't wait for him to get home from work. When Derek sits down to study on his computer Odin gives him a big "pug hug" and wags his tail... It's ridiculous... But, super cute.

 Our friends the Bell's have 3 cute kiddos we get to have over sometimes. They all were super excited for a movie night with popcorn and we had to get a picture of all the hooligans.

 Elara LOVES Connor and being a big sister. This was the first time I let her hold him without my holding on to some part of him. He kind of flopped around, but she seriously loves holding him and being the big sister to "her" baby.

Just because I love his silly faces!

 

Because big brothers LOVE to hold their little brothers.

Tried out a new fancy bun on Eden's super long Rapunzel hair. She loved it.

 We made paleo donuts. They taste yummy!

 Kael caught a lizard outside and brought it inside to show me and it got away... I am becoming a lizard whisperer if you didn't know and I was able to catch that thing and get it in a tupperware without even touching it with my hand. Because, I'm cool like that. This doesn't account for the one Kael lost under the oven... Still not sure where he went.

July 4th

July 4th was one of my not so awesome ideas. We gave it an awesome effort though. Derek had it off this year and it was officially his first holiday off here in Texas so I was all ready to do something just memorable! It was memorable for sure. I used to love parades as a kid where they would throw candy and you could wave and have fun music playing that you could dance to. There was suppose to be a big parade for the city of Schertz so I thought it would be a great way to spend the morning. We got all red, white and blue and off we went. We got parking super close because we were early, but little did we know once you park everything is blocked off until the parade is over. 

To be frank the parade was an epic disaster. It had barely any music, it was already 90 degrees at 8 am, and there were zero treats for the kids. They had zero interest in watching the people go by and I don't blame them because I had zero interest in being there. There was nothing fabulous to keep our attention! We waited through a 5k race, then it took forever to start and then the dang parade didn't end for over an hour and a half!!! What parade lasts an hour and a half! We left about 45 minutes into it and tried to get in the car, but realized there was no side exit from the parking lot we were in and then we had to find a bathroom and a playground because the kids were done. Did I mention the 90 degree heat wave at 8 am? Ya. Flop.

But my hopes were high as there was suppose to be a big bash at the park after. We were able to finally leave the parade around 11, yes 3 hours later, and grabbed McDonalds and went home for a nap. Being hot and miserable is exhausting. We braved going back to the park for the "carnival rides". They were suppose to have a fun kids section. When we got there it was a disaster again. It was creepy, broken down, carnival rides in the dirtiest part of the park, no bounce house and it was $4 for one ticket! We walked around hoping for something any redeeming factor and there was none. This huge entire park was filled with people in lawn chairs BBQ'ing in the now 100 degree weather waiting for fireworks that night... No entertainment at all. We paid for one merry-go-ride that Kael's didn't even go up and down and left. At this point we were feeling defeated, so Derek got the idea of pie and slurpies. 7/11 slurpies make everyone feel better and cool you off.

We went home and cooled off for a bit, had some dinner, and took off for fireworks. There was no way we were going back to that awful park full of probably drunk people.

We found a great spot on the air force base to park our car that would have a good view. This was the first year we were letting the kids stay up late to see the fireworks. We waited forever, and had some good friends wait with us. When they finally started they lasted forever and the kids were done after about 15 minutes. There was no music to go with it. Just one firework at a time slow and steady for over an HOUR! We got done again and were eaten alive by ants and mosquitos! It was awesome... They finally did the finale as we were driving off base and did more than one firework at a time. We have learned we will need to go somewhere different if we are going to have a better 4th of July experience here in Texas... I think the kids still had fun though. We tried so hard!

Lesson learned!

We even brought bags for candy. :(

Minions Movie

 Derek took the 3 big kids on a movie date to the Minions. He spoiled them all rotten and got them their own Minion to take with them to the movie. It is so much fun taking the kids to movies now. Kael and Eden do great, and Elara is almost there, but she did awesome during the Minions!

Texas Creatures

Summer brought all sorts of creatures to our home. Within a week I found a scorpion, bat, frog, spider, and a snake. Derek and Kael helped to catch most of them, but I SHARICE BRADLEY caught the scorpion! They are my new worst enemy!

Everything is bigger in Texas and I'm so done with the creepy crawly things!

June

End of school carnival. He wanted to have his face painted to look like Darth Maul because he is cool like that.

From the garden. We got only one giant zucchini and a couple small carrots and green beans. Its a fun learning process.

 The boy and his huge lizard.

 I FINALLY got a picture of all 4 of them. Don't mind they are all in pajamas ready for bed. I knew it was a moment to capture or it might not happen again while Connor was little.

Because he is adorable!

 My homeschool set up that I still haven't used 6 months later.

 For once I cut Kael's hair "before" summer was started... Usually I can't stand to part with his curls and after a long hot summer I cut them off. He asked for short hair so I got tough and just did it. 

These are the before pictures to show how long it got! I miss his curls but he loves the "big kid" short hairstyle.

End of school 2015

 The last week of school Kael had an awards ceremony for academic success. He did wonderful. He got good citizenship, math Olympics, and a good grades award. He worked really hard all year and became such a great reader and loved math. At the beginning of 1st grade his teacher Mrs. Brown showed me his reading level which was a little behind. He was reading short sentences. Then, she showed me where he would be reading by the end of the year. Small paragraphs per page... It was hard to believe, but success happened and Kael met that goal. I LOVE seeing my kids grow each year and the accomplishments they achieve. 

Eden learned how to count to 20, sound out all the letters, and memorized songs and nursery rhymes and has a love of learning. 

I'm so proud of these two kiddos learning accomplishments this year and their desire to keep learning.

Kind of a funny story, but my first grade teacher was Miss Velders. The end of the school year she moved to California and kept in touch with writing letters until I reached middle school. She ended up marrying a guy whose last name was Brown. So Kael and I both had first grade teachers with their married name as Brown. And both were awesome teachers!

The last days of pre k and 1st grade. They have grown so much over the last year. They looked out for each other and loved going to school.

Sharice's 30th Birthday June 16th

I knew that I would be having Connor around my 30th birthday and I wanted it to still be special somehow. I mean, you only turn 30 once right?! It felt like I truly became the woman I always wanted to be and I was/am living the life I always dreamed of. (Watch Mom's night out, it explains how I was feeling perfectly...) With a newborn there was no way to run away from life and feel like I was 20 again, I did it, I hit 30 and life responsibilities! And THAT is what I wanted to celebrate. I made this awesome paleo German Chocolate cake. I wanted to celebrate with the people who matter most and it was fun! We filled a couple hundred water balloons for the kids, made party hats, ate yummy cake, ate yummy Mexican food, and opened presents. It was PERFECT! The little people and my main man made me feel like the most special 30 year old on the planet. Derek got me a piano and went all out. Kael and Eden bought me gifts with their own money. Eden got me and ankle bracelet and toe ring, and Kael got me a hot cocoa mug.

Life is kind of amazing when you can say I am right where I want to be, doing exactly what I want to be doing. "Even if those days are long and hard." 

I was blessed, loved, and spoiled rotten.

I LOVE THESE PEOPLE!