Wrapping up our summer swimming adventures

I am starting to get the hang of this "4 kid" situation :) One crucial requirement is to jump on activities where multiple kids can participate at the same time... We had a great example of this for swimming lessons. All three older kids were in lessons during the exact same 30 min time slot ~ seriously, JACKPOT!! (aside from getting three wild hyenas showered and herded after the lesson was over... come ON!!!)

Another fun memory from this round of swimming... Marin has been working for three sessions now to pass the "Frog" class. It had quite a bit more requirements for independent swimming, and it just took her awhile to get it. This time she passed, and boy did that feel GREAT! A fun memory for me was gasping in surprise as I watched her DIVE into the deep end and armstroke over to her teacher. She can only do a handful of strokes before she needs assistance, but wow...So of course, because I'm an awesome mom and do not mind obnoxiousness if it means cheering on my kids, I leaned in and said MARIN, THAT WAS AMAZING (which then led to she and I doing our family cheer which goes something like this: "WAY! TO GO! WAY! WAY! TO GO... OH OHHHH!!" (with hand motions)  - while she sits on the side of the pool surrounded by her classmates. I love my life :)

So, a snapshot of the three little swimmers (Max with his shirt on for "modesty"... OH MY WORD SON, you are a boy)...

Happy 6th Birthday Madeline Marie

My Maddy girl turned 6 years old! Goodness, this girls brings me so much joy. I feel like the luckiest person ever that I have the gift of being a mom to these four little treasures. Blessed is more like it. Such a delight to see Madeline growing and sprouting (seriously, this girls in a huge growth spurt!)... She is now officially the tallest Corrigan sibling... She and Marin love their little saying "Marin is the oldest, Maddy is the tallest" when people ask them if they are twins :) They both feel special in their own way... Her personality and enjoyment of trying new thing is also growing each year. I just love this kid!!!

Her birthday fell on a Monday this year, and JUST as everything was ramping up in "back to school" season. Soccer practices starting up, swimming lessons finishing up... dentist appointments, "end of the year playdates"... her birthday fell during a busy, busy week!  We really had to plan out the time to make time for birthday festivities.

 

She chose Cookie Crisp for her birthday cereal, buttered noodles and cooked carrots for her dinner, and a special mega-cookie for birthday dessert (this we shared with a few school friends who came over for a special birthday playdate). She insisted on me taking pictures of almost all her gifts. Such huge smiles, that girls loves her presents.

 

Happy birthday to my darling baby girl!!

 

Marin made her a countdown paper chain... Sweetness :)

 

 

Birthday visit to Starbucks after a successful trip for the three older ones to the dentist (poor kid, why did I schedule it that day???)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basketball camp: small and tall

I found this perfect little basketball camp for the summer. it was sandwiched in between Max & Madeline's birthdays... The camp is for 4-5 year olds, so because of when it fell, Madeline was barely still 5, and Max had just turned 4... So, in addition to the two of them being the very youngest and oldest, they were also the smallest and tallest. Well technically, Max had a few buddies in the small category with him, but Madeline was by far the tallest. This girl might actually have a future in basketball! Oh, and they held hands every day walking out onto the court :)

 

 

 

 

Happy 4th Birthday Maddox Keevin!

My sweet boy has turned four years old! I don't know what it is about the age of 4, but I remember with the other kids too that it felt like a LONG time coming... Like they already seemed that age, and FINALLY their birthday confirmed what was their reality... Just a funny mommy memory there :)

 

We celebrated Max's special milestone with a specially tailored day of his choosing. I was so pleased by the end of the day, because I could tell it really filled him up. He loved every minute.

 

His birthday cereal (for the second year in a row) was Lucky Charms... He opened a couple special presents, and then after breakfast, we went to church and Max got to announce to his class that it was HIS BIRTHDAY! And his girls promptly told everyone in their path "It's my brother's BIRTHDAY!!!" - they sang to him and he got a special birthday ribbon to wear. After church we went to Out of this World Pizza & Play, and used our gift card that Auntie Sarah & Uncle Drew gave the kids. They got a table-full of yummy food, and all the wild playing & jumping their hearts could handle. This lasted about four hours (Kyle ended up taking Marcus home for his nap, the other kids were still just going and GOING)... After we got home, it was pretty late for naps, so instead we let Max choose a new movie to watch (his choice: The Incredibles) and the kids sacked out together on the couch. We did a "make-your-own" pizza bar (his choice for dinner), and enjoyed a visit from Nana & Poppy who were swinging through town. Max then proceeded to dive into the remainder of his presents and went for a scooter ride through the neighborhood. The kids topped off the night with a swim in their underoos in the back yard kiddy pools (in their underwear?! why was that idea so appealing?! Seriously, redneck rodeo going on in our backyard...) - only to briefly pause for more cupcakes and ice cream. A good, good day to celebrate my special boy.

 

So the best of days to celebrate my precious little love. He has a sparkle to him that is just special and warms my entire heart. I am excited for this year of being 4 :) Happy Birthday to my darlin' Maxy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at those cute buns...

 

 

 

 

We got all three big kids new scooters for Max's birthday... Took them for a spin (even Mom hopped on for awhile)!

 

 

 

 

 

The fruit of our land

Blueberry harvest from the Corrigan Vineyard!

 

Camping Trip 2013

I can't believe it! We actually went camping with a baby :) So proud of us... We had a fabulous, beautifully sunny & gorgeous, fun-filled, free-wheeling, food experimenting, freezing at night, roasting at day, baby-only-got-burned-once-on-the-campfire, staying up late, life sharing, letting loose week with our Bury Besties. That makes 4 adults & 7 kids... Perfection.

 

I cannot say enough how much I absolutely LOVE camping. Even despite the fact that normal things are 10x harder with little kids (bathroom situations), and you have to adapt to the change of 'living outside' (freezing at night)... But these are all things that you start to master, the more you do it... And the challenges pale in comparison to the immense joy I feel at having the fresh air in my hair, no makeup, communing with nature, campfire roasted food, the sun on my face. What can I say, I am a nature girl at heart! Too much of my life is lived indoors in a sanitary & technology soaked environment. Going camping & hiking just reminds me how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE being in out nature :)

 

We had a total blast with each other!! Side note: while we were all at the beach one afternoon, Sommer was observing our kids playing and how interesting it is to see their relationships change as they grow up. We were watching Max/Silas play smash ball, and Maddy/Jewel hugging each other and rolling down a sand hill together. What started as primarily a "Maddy & Silas" special bond, has morphed into: "Marin & Silas" adventure partners, "Maddy & Silas" quiet time partners, "Jewel & Maddy" girl power buddies, "Max & Silas" boy power buddies, "Trey & Marcus" hugging contest partners... just so fun to see how they change and grow. And it's all.so.special. Cherishing these moments in my heart!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This little boy... loves nothing more than to be perched somewhere with this Da-da... I love their relationship :)

 

 

 

Growing up...

I know this may seem insignificant, but I just had to take this picture of Marin. Her first time being allowed to use a very sharp knife to help prepare the dinner veggies. I am probably too much of a safety freak... But I was proud of myself for letting her go for it!

 

 

ps. do you see those beautiful flowers next to her? just a sweet thing Kyle brought home for me... just cuz :) love.