Swinging

Loving the warm weather!  My boys can never get enough of swinging.

Dance Festival 2014

Every Year our elementary school has an end of year dance festival.  Each grade learns and performs a group dance that they perform for the parents.  This year the Kindergartners danced to We are the Dinosaurs.  It was a cute little dance that consisted of marching around in circles (on lines that were painted on the grass) and doing actions that matched up with the lyrics (like stopping to eat or sleep).  Caden was a little nervous the night before because he thought he might forget some of the choreography, but got so in to it and didn't miss a beat.

Lego Spaceship

Caden spends hours building with his Legos.  He was particularly proud of this creation, given its size.  He asked me to take this photo to memorialize his achievement, then promptly dropped it off the top bunk bed to watch it 'crash.'

Up, Up, and Away

See that little blue speck in the middle of the tree?  Thats Caden about halfway up the neighborhood climbing tree.  After this picture he went up even further before I used my mom card and made him come down for 'no good reason.'

LA Children's, Take 1

In the continuing saga of attempting to meet Caden's medical needs, we called in a favor and got him an appointment with a doctor at the LA Children's Hospital.  Everything seemed to be going perfectly, with the doctor recommending a few tests that seem like answers to prayers.  Then the insurance kicked in and put the brakes on the whole thing, not wanting to approve and pay for the new tests.  We ultimately decided to make the drive anyway, just to meet with the doctor.

Since we were only going to be gone a few days, Adam got to ride along.  My dad also came with me We left Sunday afternoon, after church, and drove to Aunt Kara's house in Hurricane.  She lit a fire in her backyard and let Caden roast marshmallows, which he burned and happily scarfed down.  Then she made him a bed out of couch cushions on the floor and he thought he was in heaven.

Monday morning we got up and finished the drive in to LA and met with the doctor that afternoon.  The doctor was amazing and felt really good about the appointment.  For being such a good patient, Caden got to pick a prize.  He chose a full size Darth Vader helmet that includes sounds.  Since he'd brought along his sword, Darth Vader was my companion on the return trip Tuesday.

Eating on the road with Caden is difficult to say the least, but one thing he can eat is hamburger patties and french fries.  We made a lot of pit stops at McDonalds to fill up our tummies and stretch our legs.  Caden was a good big brother and made sure Adam got to play on the play place as well.

It was a lot of work for a doctor's appointment, but I am hopeful and encouraged about the direction we are going.  We will continue the insurance appeal and will go back to LA in a few months.

Family Pictures

Kalina is in town with her tripod and fancy camera, so we got updated family pictures.  Years ago Karen and her girls were thrift store shopping and found red pea coats for all the ladies.  Its been fun to wear them on occasion when we've all been together, so Karen found a red coat for Lana and we threw them on for the picture.

It was pretty chilly outside, and my boys hid their hands in their sleeves, but they didn't complain and they smiled big, genuine smiles.  I love how happy the oldest two, in particular, look.  I think this is one of the best family photos we've had so far.

Adventures in Snow

Ryan's parents live right up against the mountain, which for little boys means there is an adventure right out their back door.  Kalina and Steve are in town with their kids, so we went up for a snow day.  We sledded, made snow trails, went 'hiking,' and found a gigantic birds nest.  The boys were so happy plodding through the snow and making memories.  The experience was extra enjoyable because Uncle Steve stayed in the nice warm house with the two littlest ones, and Aunt Karlee and Grandma helped round out the adult to kid ratio outside to 1:1.

A Visit to Santa

Tonight for family night we went to go visit Santa.  It was supposed to be a fun activity.  The line for this particular Santa is always really short, plus there is a horse drawn carriage ride to look at lights at the same location.  It was supposed to be fun.  It was also 6 degrees.  If you can't tell from the pictures, the boys were cold.  Especially Eric.  He spent the better part of the carriage ride screaming that he was freezing to death. The poor people riding with us.  By the time we got back to the van all three older boys were crying.  We came home and had hot chocolate.

At least we got smiles for the Santa pictures.  Eric hasn't changed much.  Last year he asked Santa for 'a toy' and this year he wants 'a present.' Caden wants two Star Wars Lego sets.  He was very specific about wanting  two and not just one.  Kyle just sat there and giggled.

Happy Halloween

By the time I take care of 4 kids and myself I usually forget the pictures.  So this year there are no 'official' Halloween pictures.  Eric gave up trick or treating after 20 minutes, saying he was cold and would just rather be home.  Caden thought the whole thing was an adventure and kept running ahead.  Kyle was delighted that people kept giving him candy and giggled every time, proudly showing off his new treasure before putting it in his bag.

There are also no pictures of the jack-o-lanterns.  The boys described their pumpkins with the following words: Kyle - Happy; Eric - Spooky; Caden - Creepy.  Due to limited time (read: Ryan spending every spare second working on the basement) there were no super detailed pumpkins or our traditional SCHERBEL pumpkin this year.

I did remember to take pictures of the boys at school.  Here is Eric (Batman) with his preschool class and Caden (Skeleton) in the Elementary school parade.

Green Machines

I finally became a 'soccer mom' this fall when I signed Caden up for a team.  The Green Machines had a fantastic coach (Coach Mac) who focused on teaching them basic skills.  The kids all grew leaps and bounds from their first game to their last.  They didn't win a single game, but it was still a good experience for this team of all first-timers.  Caden was lucky enough to count as his cheering section Grandma and Grandpa Scherbel, Grandma and Grandpa Dodds, and Aunt Kellie.  

All on the Bed

4 little boys on one big bed and the little one said, "Roll over!  Its crowded."  So they all rolled over and one fell off.

Ever since the demolition the TV has been in our bedroom.  Which means the party is in our bedroom.  The boys line up some pillows and get comfy to watch TV or play Wii.

Start Your Engines!

This year Caden wanted a race car birthday party.  I wanted to do something low key and easy.  Somehow he won.  We did a relay race with real tires, a bean bag toss, played Red Light Green Light (Caden's favorite game right now), blew hot wheels cars with party blowers, and then each kid made a soap box race car that they raced down a ramp.

After all the friends left we opened family presents.  Eric and Kyle were as thrilled with the gifts as Caden was.

Meeting Baby Brother

All three boys were so excited to meet their new baby brother.  After dinner Grandma and Grandpa Dodds brought them by the hospital so each boy could have a turn holding Adam.

Caden's First Day of Kindergarten

Where has the time gone?  Today, Caden started Kindergarten.  He wasn't nervous at all.  The thing he was most worried about was figuring out what time recess would be.  He is so opinionated about his looks right now.  Even though he'd insisted on a 'spikey' haircut for school, this morning he was just as insistent that it be combed 'smooth' and tomorrow we'll do 'spikey.'

I told Ryan this morning as we were getting ready that this felt a little anti-climatic.  It didn't feel like the big milestone everyone told me it would be.  Then as I was walking him to the door of the school I started to get teary eyed.  I'm not even sure I can peg the emotion I was feeling, I just wanted to hug him tight and never let him go.  

I'm still really scared about school and Caden's safety there, but the staff has been great to work with so far, which has helped a ton.  My mom sewed Caden a belt that goes under his shirt and carries his Auvi-Q (a new type of Epi-Pen) so he'd be able to self carry his epinephrine.   Having him self carry helps me breathe easier because my biggest worry is that an allergic reaction won't be recognized in time to get him to the office and get meds from there.

'Pets'

We got our first 'pets' today.  A neighbor lady gathered up caterpillar eggs and hatched them, then brought two by our house so we can finish taking care of them, watch them cocoon, and release the butterflies.  The boys are fascinated, and the parents think its pretty cool, too.  I've got to say, this is my kind of pet - contained, easy maintenance, short term commitment.

Aaaarg! Its a Pirate Party!

Eric turned 4 today!  He has been really in to pirates the last few months and likes to host pretend pirate parties in various rooms of our house, most frequently our walk in closet.  So of course, a pirate party was the only choice for his first friend party.

Caden helped draw and color the monster that the pirates defeated on their treasure hunt.  The treasure hunt, complete with digging for coins in the sandbox at the end, was the hit of the party.  Notice only one child is still wearing the pirate hats they made.  Eric loved all the attention and I think overall it was a great day for him.

NBS Summer Party at Hogle Zoo

Ryan's work done an annual summer party geared toward families.  There have been some great parties in recent years, but I think this one was my favorite.  We had a full day at the zoo with face painting and an animal show at lunch.  Caden asked for a dragon face and Eric wanted a boat.  Kyle did attend the party, I just didn't think he'd sit still long enough to get his face painted.

Caden designated himself as the wildlife photographer for our group and took over 75 pictures before the battery on the camera died.  Most of them were of the polar bear because that bear was just so entertaining to watch!  I was impressed at some of the great shots Caden got.  Here are a few of them.

A New 'Do

Caden has been asking all summer if we could spike his hair up, just in the front.  We've tried a few times, but it just didn't work with the haircut I'd given him.  So we took him to get his first professional haircut so he could have spikey hair for kindergarten.

Bunk Bed Ladder

August is going to be a month of some pretty big changes for our family.  First on the list is moving Caden from sharing a room with Kyle to sharing a room with Eric, which also means moving to the bunk bed.  In order to accommodate this, Ryan has to build a ladder for said bunk bed.  We got it used for a really good deal and didn't realize until we set it up that the missing ladder may have been part of why no one else wanted it.  Caden was so excited to help his dad build the ladder.  The finished product is fantastic and looks like it was factory built.  If Ryan is going  to do something, its going to be done the best way possible.

Swim Lessons, Take II

We decided to enroll Caden in another round of swim lessons so he wouldn't backslide on all the great progress he made the first session.  This time he got to be in the same class as his neighbor friend, so that was fun.  He can swim from the side of the pool to the blue rope you see in the picture.  He is most excited that that means he can go off the diving board now (which he loves to do).

Here is what his teacher wrote:
"Caden is a great swimmer and he was a great addition to our class!  Caden is always the first one to volunteer to perform a stroke.  He is enthusiastic about swimming and confident in the water.  Caden keeps his toes pointed and legs straight while doing his flutter kick.  He focuses on pushing his belly up towards the sky on his back float, and gives 100% on every drill."