Just April

House Projects:

When we move into a new place we set things up, and then more often then not change things around after a month or so when we realize what isn't working. And so it was with our school room. It was right next to Seth's room and so we couldn't do school during nap time without waking him up which was a huge problem considering that was our prime school time! So we moved school downstairs into the basement and gave the girls each their own rooms. Surprisingly, the boys didn't seem to care. The girls were both THRILLED! 

Natalie was especially ecstatic because now she doesn't have to "answer Jenna's 50 billion questions every night" and can turn on her lamp to read for as long as she likes! Did we even take pictures of the rooms before the switch? Ah well.  

Have I mentioned recently how grateful I am for Kent? Well I am! Even though homeschooling would not be his first choice, he is SO SUPPORTIVE of us and shows it by doing things like this! He got the kids desks and chairs and a cute little table for the preschoolers, which all the kids love actually. 

I was trying to organize all our books and supplies in these two units but it just wasn't working. Plus I told Kent about a dream I have of making a school books bookshelf that is organized according to reading level someday...

So he found this adorable bookshelf for us to use! Isn't it perfect?!? I love it! The bottom shelf is K-1st grade reading level, the next one up is 2nd-3rd, then 4th, the one with the most books on it is 5th grade reading level, then the next up is 6th, and the top shelf is upper grades. Natalie was tested at a 5th grade reading level at the beginning of the school year, so the challenge for us is to find things that are within her emotional and social range that are still academically stretching her. I feel good about the list I have created for this summer and the coming school year for non-recreational reading- that is if she will take my suggestions the stinker!!  

He also got the kids a school computer because the awesome charter school we signed up for has a $300 technology stipend. Homeschool for the win! We are so blessed!!

The next thing I have to brag about Kent over for house projects is our command wall. We both wanted to have one, but his scope and vision were so much broader than mine!! I guess I still just have a "use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without" mentality, and so when it comes to these projects I just think about what we already have and try to work with that. But not Kent! He thinks long term and greener pastures! =o]

Here is our mudroom, which I LOVE! And the empty wall was our space to work with. 

Here is a post from fb: 

Did you know that Kent MacKay is an interior designer extraordinaire? Well he is! We are in the process of doing our command wall as I posted about earlier and he never ceases to amaze me with his creative genius. We decided to do a black and white theme with splashes of bright colors (so no gray, brown, or pastels) and he found the most amazing stuff at the container store on Thursday, and then today we found the rest of the stuff we needed at hobby lobby. My favorite piece is this sign on the left- my mantra!!! I finished updating our celebration calendar this afternoon too- three girls have joined our family since the last time I worked on it with Melissa . And yes Derek I added one event that hasn't actually happened yet wink emoticon Can anyone guess what celebration each color signifies? And does anyone know where I can buy a white sharpie to use on the dark blue blocks? Oh! And the picture on top is Kent and I on our 1st happy MacKay day, the night we got engaged, and the cake is Natalie's first birthday cake smile emoticon Thanks Grandmom/ Janice Cobb Wallwork for giving it to me originally!

Anyway, he measured it all out and laid everything on the floor in the living room, and then hung it up piece by piece. 

The kids and I "helped" lol!

Almost there....

Again, from fb (I just already said it, so why reinvent the wheel?):

...and the rest of the chore chart system. These babies are highly motivational let me tell ya! Lol! They each have certain daily chores and then a dinner chore of their choice, but they can complete extra chores to earn MacKay bucks for rewards like screen time or special treats. Natalie has even saved up for stuff like American girl paper dolls and cowgirl boots smile emoticon

And DONE! I use it every day!!

This is what I posted on fb:

A pano picture! LOVE IT!! Our family goals are at the top and our FAVORITE painting of Christ is prominent. (Okay so it is the kids and I's favorite and Kent is still warming up to it. It is just how I imagine Him looking, just a cheerful, caring smile! He loves us and wants us to be HAPPY!) The calendars and meal planner are super functional and will work perfectly for our family "p-day" and everyday in between!

And we finally said see you later to the neighbors and got shutters! We also hung up some of our portraits and paintings/prints. 

Here is one corner of Kent's office. It really is pretty amazing that he took all the pictures in those collages. He has such a good eye!! Oh and the plant we got him as an Easter present was named "Lucky" by the kids lol! 

Jonathan Stayed with Us, Twice!!:

The first time was for Raycelan's Bridal Shower, which I will chronicle later, and the next time was before getting to move into his apartment for the summer. The kids have so much fun with him! And he is such a good uncle to them! We just have to remember to let him recharge his battery and things go swimmingly! =o]

He read countless stories. 

He played helicopter uncle.

He watched a movie with us and sports with Kent too. 

But mostly, he worked on getting a job. Seriously, I am so proud of him! He filled out so many applications that took forever with tons of crazy information but he kept at it. I don't think I have ever seen him so focused in my life! He was so nervous for his interview too, but he did it. And it paid off! He got a job for the summer in Provo!! We got him a cinnamon roll from Great Harvest when we picked him up from his interview to celebrate.

And here we are when we dropped him off at his apartment complex. As the kids say "Silly Uncle Jonathan!!" =o] 

The Weather:

Utah weather is crazy! Like literally changes multiple times daily!! 

Here is some nasty dirty rain that came after a dust storm.

And we had a snow day!

We got to try out the fireplace- which we all LOVED!

Crazy kids!

Jenna still refuses to wear winter clothing but at least she agreed to boots and a jacket!

Seth enjoyed some leftover hot chocolate left by the kids when they went back outside to play. Seriously, I hope the novelty wears off in the winter and they only go out once a day instead of a dozen times! So many puddles of mud, so little time. 

But most evenings and/or mornings find us outside taking a walk or a jog with the littles in the stroller and the big kids riding their bikes. 

Most days a neighbor friend or two joins us =o] 

Natalie:

When she isn't doing school or playing outside, this girl is reading! 

She even loves reading to her siblings. She told Seth to get a story for her to read to him and when she came back he had piled up all these books! I guess she's not the only one to loves it. 

Sometimes I have to go get her for breakfast because she had picked up where she left off the night before and wasn't coming down!

We had our first Fast Sunday discussion with Natalie in preparation for her baptism in September. It was great! She is so sweet and smart! 

Natalie is loving her horseback riding lessons! One time we got to meet this little filly. 

She is really learning to trust!

One lesson Caleb came along and the teacher let him ride back from the round pen with Natalie. 

He looked so proud!

Natalie also loves to care for the horses and always wants to come early and stay late to groom and feed them. 

Her teacher said she was ready and she got to get her first pair of spurs! 

Caleb:

Caleb also loves reading! But I think his 30 minutes a day is still at least partially motivated by the possibility of screen time lol!

This kid is all about imagination lately! Building forts and playing with legos and especially wanting to be with friends!

Here is Caleb at his Kindergarten checkup. He is waiting nervously for the doctor to arrive. Have we mentioned that Caleb doesn't do well with strangers? HE DOESN'T. I even told him that if he was cooperative we would get to go out for a special treat afterwards because I was so worried that he would freak out while we were there. But he did great! Well, she did great too. The first thing she did when she walked in the door was say "Well, who do we have here?" and when Caleb turned and hid his face behind his notebook she said "Hum, let me check my notes... Johnny?" Caleb turned around in shock. "Andrew??" "No! I'm Caleb!!" "Oh! Well nice to meet you!" =o] It was pure genius. Even though he was still shy, that just broke the ice. He was super brave for his shots and actually laughed hysterically after the first one because as he told me later he thought it was going to hurt way worse than it did and he just couldn't help laughing about it. They recommended that he goes to speech therapy in the fall through our district so we are in the process of setting that up. When I spoke with the therapist she said his consonant replacements are common and totally correctable. After reading the book "Hooway for Wodney Wat!" from the library Caleb has agreed he really should go. =o]   

Caleb started soccer! Sometimes it is fun!

Sometimes it is not! (We all ended up sick the weekend this was taken and I think he was starting in on it before/during the game, poor kid!)

Jenna:

This little miss is growing by leaps and bounds! She wants to help with baking and cooking and cleaning and just anything I am doing she is there asking questions and wanting to get in on the action. And if she's not asking me she is asking her siblings lol! She helped make this banana bread. Oh and her dinner chore of choice is setting the table, and she is actually super good at it!

Unfortunately, she is also going through a acting like a baby phase. Now that Seth is trying to say words in earnest we cheer and encourage him, so Jenna talks like him for attention. Same with all things baby that Seth has grown out of even: cups, chairs, spoons- you name it! It bugs Natalie the most, but honestly I just try to ignore it, and give her tons of positive attention for doing big girl things. Hopefully it will work itself out!

Jenna is also in the awesome phase of discovering her abilities and testing her limits. Here she is trying to touch her tongue to her nose like I can. I also found her on top of the cab of our neighbor's truck the other day, and down the street on her (Seth's) tricycle another. She gets herself all kinds of snacks, reads stories in amazing detail to her babies, builds clubhouses with the big legos for her princesses, and carries around purses that would give Mary Poppins a run for her money! 

Seth:

He is going full speed if he's awake and he's always good for a laugh!!

We finally gave him a haircut. I swear I took a picture of the process but I couldn't find it. Now he is officially one of the kids! Oh and we got Big Hero Six for Easter and he got to watch some of it. =o] He LOVES the music!! Seriously, this kid has got the moves!

He is also loving hats more and more lately. Adorable!

Okay now just a few more things I haven't covered:

We did our 72-hour kit update but just not on General Conference weekend because there was just too much else going on. I brought all the backpacks up and told the kids we would go through everything as soon as I got out of the bathroom. Literally two minutes later, I came out to this:

HOW???? Needless to say the project became a day job =o[

Let's just pray we never actually use them! Lol!

And last but not least, we had a delicious farewell pancake breakfast with the Harrisons.   

Despite the goofy smiles here, we couldn't have been sadder to say goodbye again! I have learned so much from Andrea and I hope our paths will cross again someday. She is one amazing woman and such a fun and loyal friend! Even as we hung out while the kids ran around I just felt so much gratitude for our friendship. I have been blessed a couple times in my life to meet the right friend exactly when and where I needed one most and she is one of them! 

There you go, April.