Happy 11th Birthday Jackson!!!

Monday morning was definitely a lazy morning. I got up with the intent to workout but that didn’t happen until nap time. The kids slowly rolled out of bed and I got the twins ready. I started knocking a couple things off my to-do list while they played with their new toys. Andrew asked if I could have Jackson and Ellie move some of the wood he had cut in our brush area and stack it over by our fireplace. So they went to work doing that. The kids also had to clean, dust and vacuum their rooms along with putting away their laundry. The Vincents showed up just in time. Kate helped Jackson and Ellie with the wood and Alex helped Lincoln with his chores. Lincoln and Alex were very proud of their team work.

Bennett was pretty whiny during the morning and then he came to me just wanting me to hold him. I knew he wasn’t feeling well so we went to the half bath and sat in there and read his new Thomas book. Eventually I moved him to our bathroom and had him lay down on a blanket.  It was about an hour later and he got sick. I was just thankful he was in our bathroom and not out on the couch. I got him in the shower and cleaned up the mess. He felt much better for a little bit. I set him up in our bathroom again and tried to start a movie on our old portable dvd player. It has finally gone kaput. So I got one of the laptops and turned on Despicable Me. He was fine for a little over an hour and then got sick again. He is a much better sick kid than Lincoln. He just hung out with his head over the toilet for a while, so cleanup was very minimal. Then it was back to the movie. He slept a lot the rest of the day and just got sick one more time.

Andrew came home from work a little early so he could stay with the twins while I took the older three to see Home with my mom, Molly, Amanda and her kids. Even Preston and Grayson got to join us and they did pretty well. The movie was really cute and I think all the kids liked it. After the movie we went over to my parents for pizza. Bennett slept on the floor by the bathroom and was fine all night. He cried out a little bit but didn’t get sick again. So the next morning I was getting him set up on the couch to watch some cartoons while I biked when he started acting like he may get sick again. We made it to the bathroom in time and then it was back to our bedroom. He got sick a few more times and slept more.  I started getting a little worried because I could hardly get him to drink anything. I tried some Gatorade but he didn’t like it. Thankfully he finally decided to drink some more water and later in the day he wanted some Cheezits.  And later that night, he was all better. I had him sleep with me again and he was well rested from his multiple naps during the day and didn’t feel like sleeping. He was talking up a storm and it took a while to settle him down. I was thankful he was feeling better though. I did feel bad though because Amanda had been in town for the week and we weren’t getting to see her that much.

The kids went back to school Tuesday and then Ellie got to decorate shirts after school for her 3on3 team. Jackson had ball practice that evening so we quickly ate dinner and I took him then made a quick trip to Wal-mart, picked up Ellie from dance and then went back to pick up Jackson. Ellie was home just long enough to eat dinner before we had to leave for gymnastics. She was exhausted when we got home. But she got a fun surprise Wednesday after school…Lori Ann took her to La Fuente. I guess she also needed to make a stop by Wal-mart and she let Ellie get some Peeps. Ellie loved all of it and it was so nice of Lori Ann to do that for her.

I had to include this picture of Miles listening to Bennett's heart while they were playing Wednesday.

It was nice out Wednesday evening so the kids got to play outside during small group. We have a brave group of sitters that keep them in line. They did have to come in towards the end because they thought it was going to rain. Then later that night after we got everything cleaned up and the kids to bed, I ran to Hy-Vee. I wanted to get Jackson some donuts for his birthday the next day but the closest thing I could find was donut puffs. I put them on a plate the next morning with a Happy Birthday flag and he was happy when he came in to tell me thank you while I was on the bike. Even though I thought I was prepared, the day went by quickly and a few unexpected things popped up so I was still rushing around last minute to get everything done. I realized around 3:30 that I still had not wrapped Jackson’s presents and I wanted to wrap Colton’s present so that Amanda could take it home with her. It had been on my to-do list for a while and I just kept putting it off. But it all came together and I think Jackson enjoyed his little party. Things were a little more low-key this year and I think he liked it that way. It was his first year of not taking anything to school. Man he is growing up fast.

We just had family over for dinner and cookie cake. Since he didn’t care about a theme this year, I just went with baseball. He did get kind of anxious for his birthday. He didn’t ask for anything in particular but Andrew had a big surprise for him. Andrew picked out a rifle for him and we had him open it last. We gave him a camo hunting jacket and then he opened some shells followed by a strap for the gun. He had no clue about the gun and was so excited when he figured out what it was.

Jackson continues to impress us every year. Being the first born, he of course gets annoyed and impatient with his younger siblings but many times his protective nature shines through.  And I feel like he has discovered the joy of playing with and guiding his younger siblings. He is a hard worked and has spent a lot of time out at the ranch helping his dad and has gained confidence from that too. He is also willing to help me out around the house. He may be reluctant now and then but generally he just does what he is supposed to do. And when he can tell that I may be stressed or upset about something, he gently offers to help. He is an amazing boy and I know that God has many wonderful things in store for him.

After everyone left from the party, it was time to get everything cleaned up. Andrew gave the twins and Lincoln a bath and then they decided to dress up as superheroes. I had them take it all off before they went to bed but they put it all back on first thing the next morning. I was on the bike and they came to visit me. Then they asked for me to hold their balloons on the bike while they went to the bathroom.

Later that morning, the three older Bobziens came over to play with the kids. They played inside at first while I finished some stuff up and then we headed outside. Andrew was nice enough to pick up some McDonalds for them and it worked out great because they just ate it all outside, taking little snack breaks in between playing. They got about every riding toy out of the garage and it they were soon spread all over the street. Next up was playing with the chalk. Carson and Lincoln wrote their names big on the street and then we did outlines of their bodies and they colored on those. Carson also made a hopscotch. Then Miles and Bennett wanted to get their buckets out and paint with water. Soon all the kids wanted to do the same and we ended up with a lot of chalk and water on the driveway and the kids. Andrew went out for a bike ride in the midst of it and got home just in time to pick up Jackson and Ellie from school.  Then Amanda picked her kids up and ended up taking Lincoln with them and she took them to get shakes. I think they all had a fun day.

When Ellie got home, she worked on her gymnastic routine for a bit and then it was time to get her ready for her Daddy Daughter Date. It was the night of the Daddy Daughter Dance but Ellie decided last year that she wasn’t a fan of it and would rather just go out to eat with her dad. She loves spending time with him and he thinks that is great. So they headed off to AJ’s for a yummy dinner and Ellie’s favorite vanilla ice cream with hot fudge.

While they were gone, the boys and I loaded up, dropped some Gatorade by the K-Life house for the 3on3 the next day and then went to my parents to watch the Cardinals game and have some pizza.

Then it was time to head home and get ready for all the activities the next day. Then I ended up making a last-minute trip to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. Just as I was getting ready to head to bed, Ellie came down to let me know that Miles had a bloody nose. So I got him downstairs and into the shower and Ellie offered to try to clean up the blood spots on the carpet while I helped Miles. She sprayed cold water on them and wiped them up. I was so appreciative of her help. Then she wanted to read the boys a book and put them to bed, so I let her do that while I cleaned up stuff around the house. Such a sweet girl. We have had a few conversations about how we all have to help out in the family and I think she wanted to show that she could do that.

We were up and at them Saturday morning. Andrew, Jackson and Lincoln left first to get things set up for his triathlon at the Aquatic Center. Then Molly came over so she could get Ellie to her first 3on3 game at the Middle School for the K-Life 3on3. Then the twins and I headed out to the Aquatic Center. The plan was to try to watch as much of the triathlon possible since it started at 9 and then get to Ellie’s game which started at 9:20. Well that didn’t really work out. They ended up doing the whole race for the youngest age group before they moved onto Jackson’s age group. So he didn’t even get started until after 9:30. Molly had to leave by 9:50 so I was trying to get a hold of one of the other moms and see if she could keep an eye on Ellie until I could get there. I was able to watch Jackson’s swim which he did a great job on. My parents even made it by to catch it too. They were dealing with Amanda’s kids getting sick and trying to head home so I didn’t think they would be able to. I felt so sorry for Amanda. I imagine it was not a fun drive home. After the swim, Jackson changed real quick in the locker room and made it out to the bike faster than I thought he would. I watched him take off on the bike and then I loaded up the twins and headed to the Middle School.

By the time I got to the middle school, the girls had already played two games. They were the only 8U girl team so they had to play the boys, which ended up not working out so well. The games went so quickly because the other teams always made enough baskets to call the game early. Ellie was sad when I saw her but when it was time for her next game, she went out and hustled and didn’t seem flustered at all. I was proud of all of the girls for not giving up. Ellie scored their only point during the last game and I guess she made a basket during one of their earlier games too. But being the only girls team, they still got their first place medals J. Then Lauren, one of her teammates, wanted her to hang out with her for part of the day so Ellie got to stay with her. I think they watched Lauren’s brother and sister play in the tournament, played some at Lauren’s house and then went to her sister’s softball game.

Andrew tried to make it to the last game but wasn’t able to. He said Jackson did a good job with the triathlon. Jackson said his legs were pretty tired for the run but he was glad he did it. After lunch, all the boys headed out to the ranch for a couple hours. They checked on the cows and did a little exploring.

Then after dinner that night, Ellie and I got to practice her look for her dance competition the next weekend as she was performing at the Relay for Life that night. We left a little early and then Andrew brought the boys at about show time. The event was being held at the Primary and she just danced in the gym. They had a group of five performances. Ellie had a couple good practice runs before we came over so she was feeling confident, but still a little nervous. She did a great job though. She had a couple small mistakes but worked through them very well, which is a great lesson to learn. So now I think she feels a little better about next weekend.

Andrew took the twins home right after Ellie was done while the rest of us stayed behind to watch the other performances. Then we ran through the drive-thru at Dairy Queen to get some ice cream and celebrate a good day. When we got home, Andrew, Jackson and Lincoln went through all the hunting gear to get stuff ready to do some youth turkey hunting the next morning.

Andrew got Jackson and Lincoln up early Sunday morning and they headed out to hunt. They were back earlier than I had expected with a story about a turkey sneaking up behind them. Lincoln kept talking about how close it was. So Jackson got resituated and got a shot off that hit the turkey but not in the right spot, so it flew off. I think he was happy he got a shot off though.

Andrew and I had talked about going for a bike ride but it was a dreary, kind of rainy day. So he went to the office for a bit while I worked with the kids on going through all of their clothes and seeing what fit for the next season. Some kids were more agreeable to this task than others but I am so glad to get it done. We put some clothes away for later with the boys, put away some girls clothes for cousins, and ended up with two trash bags of other clothes (including some from our closet that I had already cleaned out earlier) to take to the thrift store. Since Jackson has been picking out his own clothes for school the last couple of months, he picks the same shirts again and again. Very basic shirts. So I had him go through and pick out the shirts he would never pick out for himself to wear. I should have put a disclaimer on that though and say he couldn't do any dress shirts because he was throwing those all out. So I had him hang those back up.

After lunch things started clearing up a bit, so we decided to go for our bike ride. I had let Molly know that we may be going and she was able to come over and watch the kids. She is so nice to us! It was cool to start out with and the roads were kind of wet, but overall it was a good ride and it ended up being a nice day. Andrew’s long bike rides have definitely improved his speed and he probably felt like I was holding him back a bit. But he loves when I get to go with him so he doesn’t complain. We did our usual route out to the lake and back. It wasn’t quite 20 miles but we had to get back because Jackson had baseball practice.  Molly had laid the twins down for a nap while we were gone and she was outside playing with Lincoln and Ellie. Andrew had just enough time to change and then he and Jackson left for practice. That night Andrew grilled steaks and we had a yummy dinner before Andrew headed out back with Ellie to play some catch while the others played around in the backyard. A great end to a fun weekend.