As the month of September came to a close we had finally settled in to our school week routines. As much as Mom had feared the chaos of getting everyone up, fed, dressed, and out the door in about an hour, with help from Dad she found it was more than possible.
With four kids and two adults we are a spectacle everywhere we go and our short walk from the parking lot to the school gate is no different. It's like a small parade coming down the road; all 6 people with 6 very different personalities exploding from their bodies.
Some of us beam with anticipation for the day to come.
Others treat the sidewalk like a stage and perform to the surrounding crowds in every way possible.
With our family you really do get it all.
Despite all the time consuming outfits, hair, accessories, and school gear that needs to be taken care of each morning, most days we still have time to take some pictures before leaving for school. Macie and I love these few moments in front of the camera when we get to be the sole focus (its tough to stand out in a family with 4 assertive and expressive kids).
It's funny to watch Presley and Nixon in front of the camera as they are both becoming hams like the rest of us...
The mornings have started to get a little cooler now that Fall is here and we have even had to wear jackets a few mornings (this is a big deal to people who live in the hot desert). Mom is thrilled that we have one more item to accessorize with...
Macie prefers to wear long sleeves instead of outerwear and Mom has learned that's probably a good idea- it's one less item for her to be responsible for. Last year Macie's teacher would give Mom piles of items at the end of every week. Jackets, leg warmers, are warmers, bows- all items she left behind at the end of the day when she sprinted to the doors in a hurry to the leave the concrete walls for the great outdoors.
At school we have different spirit theme days and we love to dress up to! Some weeks the theme is complex, but Denim Day was an easy one. If only getting everyone to smile for the camera at the same time was just as easy...
Mom laughed when she came across the pictures of Macie holding Savannah. She hopes that this isn't a preview of Macie's high school yearbook photo (apparently there were a few people that posed with animals her senior year).
Spirit dress up days are fun, but in our house every day is an opportunity to play dress up!
Another day this month we got to dress up in support of a sports team. Since it was a little chilly we got to wear our University of Wisconsin tops. Dad had to remind us that their mascot is a Badger so that we were "in the know."
Since Presley didn't have any sports jerseys in her closet Mom found an old Green Bay Packers tutu she had made and was thrilled when she managed to make it fit.
Presley and Nixon continue to spend their Fridays with Mom and Dad at the Children's Museum. Macie and I are jealous that they are able to run around and play while we are in school but each time we voice our discontent Mom reminds us that we spent many days as toddlers at museums as well (if only that argument made actually worked when parents used it).
Soccer has begun to encompass our Saturday's and Mom and Dad have had to strategically divide and conquer. Unfortunately this means that Mom rarely gets to enjoy games, but Dad sends her pictures and gives her the "cliff notes" version of the game when he gets home.
Sunday mornings seem to be the only time we get to just relax. Awana doesn't start until the late afternoon so we usually have most of the day free to play outdoors. One of our favorite things to do is go to the creek and explore. Mom is grossed out by the mossy rocks and dirty water but she enjoys watching us play from afar.
Our morning walks to the preschool drop off are never predictable. Some days we sloth up the path and others days we
Each morning our ETD (which puts us at the parking lot with time to leisurely walk up to the drop off- miss it by a few minutes and you are surrounded by car and pedestrian traffic ) is 8:30am. You can always tell what days we were running late by the location of our pictures. The ones taken on the walk to school mean we were down to the wire getting out the door; the ones taken in the driveway mean that we had a couple minutes to spare, and the ones taken in our court yard mean that we were ready ahead of schedule and have time to spare.
No matter what time we leave, Mom is always willing to stop for a photo op. Even if it means she must walk backwards up the path with a child on her hip while doing it. Our family has learned that Macie lives her life like she is on a stage and we have to be prepared to capture the moments (good or bad).
These morning photo shots before school are definitely rubbing off on Presley. She has become quite a little model for Mom. Macie and I deserve some credit for teaching her how to pose...
Unlike all of us girls, Nixon does not share our thirst for the camera. From time to time Mom is able to catch him mid action with a smile on his face.
Most of the time he just stares at her...
Despite some the minor shortcomings in their personalities they more than make up for it by being present every day. We have all enjoyed the extra time we have been able to spend with Dad over the last few months and the little ones have really bonded with him.
It's crazy to think that Nixon is going to be 2 very soon. He has become such an independent little man.
And by independent I mean determined. He wants to do everything ALL BY HIMSELF and becomes agitated when anyone tries to help- at the dinner table, in his car seat, pretty much anytime, anywhere.
Like most people he does not like to be told NO, but Nixon's stubbornness goes WAY beyond that. He really lets you know that he is upset...
Mom finds it amusing that her little boy has turned out to be the one that is the biggest whiner. She sure hopes that he outgrows this stage very soon. She often reminds herself that as frustrating as "this stage" can be there are some moments when she wishes she could stop time.
Like when he shrieks with excitement over trash trucks and studies the way they move with absolute awe...
Or when he grabs his guitar out of Dad's office and starts strumming with a huge smile on his face...
Or when he does silly things that make all of us laugh...
There will come a day when, like the rest of us, he is "too cool" to have unabashed fun. In fact, it seems like just yesterday that Presley was the one fumbling around on her little legs and crying when things didn't go her way. Not anymore. In her first month of preschool she has really matured to become a sweet, kind little helper.
Each day Nixon is SO excited to see Presley when she returns home from her 2 hour school day. He absolutely adores her and seeing the two of the play together is just priceless.
Their days together are filled with lots of laughter and mischief no matter where they go.
Mid October brought more than just fantastic weather to Las Vegas, it also brought the Ketcham's!
Our whole family was beyond thrilled to see two of our best buddies!
Their first day in town we spent the morning running, jumping, climbing and playing at Flippin Out Extreme. For hours we were some of the only people in the whole building (probably due to the fact that everyone else was in school- we made sure not to bring that up since it was one of Mom's stipulation's we had to agree to before skipping two days of school to be with our friends).
At lunch we feasted on burgers and fries at In N Out to fuel up for an afternoon of hiking at Red Rock.
As breathtaking as the scenery around us was, the moments together with our friends were beyond priceless.
The following morning we took the boys to the Children's museum where we spent most of our time crafting with paper. Mom and Miss Andrea laughed because, not only do Dean and I have a connection similar to that of an old married couple (we always have. Since the age of 2 we just "got" each other- that's the way I describe it to Mom), in this picture we actually look like one.
When Mom and Miss Andrea's stomachs started to rumble at the museum they put their heads together and came up with a super cool place to eat the picnic lunch we had packed at the house. From the museum we drove down to the Stratosphere for a lunch overlooking the city.
Aside from the amazing views, one of the best parts of our trip to the top of the tower was eating ice cream.
The views from the top were fantastic and we all agreed that we had two pretty amazing Mom's that also happen to be pretty fun to hang out with!
On the way out of the tower we were able to talk our Mom's into buying each of us a group photo. All 4 of us chose very different pictures that suit our own personalities to a T:
We stopped in the gift shop on the way out so that the boys could buy a souvenir pin for their collections. Leave it to Macie to find,and share, the inappropriate can cozy...
I'm not sure if the inappropriateness crept into all of our brains at that point, it came out in all it's glory during the game of MadLibs we played in the car on the way to the Container Park. Mom has always been a big proponent of the literary game. In the past she has proudly attributed our knowledge of grammar at an early age to the many hours we spent playing the word game on road trips and sang its praises to anyone whom would listen. Unfortunately, as she listened to our literary masterpiece she quickly began to question whether or not this was a game that we would be allowed to play without supervision in the future...
The 4 of us got the obligatory discussion from our mothers regarding appropriate word choice, but although she denies it, I swear I heard her struggle to stifle her laughter in the front seat while it was being read.
It was quiet at the container park mid week and we took advantage of the lack of crowds.
We were able to use all of the large building blocks to build ourselves a fortress!
After a second long day about town the four of us were tuckered. Back at the house, all showered and freshly dressed, we snuggled together in front of the tv and watched some "OG" episodes of Scooby Doo.
Friday morning it was back to real life. The Ketcham's had to head back home to Arizona and Macie and I had to go back to school. It saddened all of us to say goodbye but we know that someday soon our parents will plan a trip that will bring us together- they are cool like that!
The month of October is half over yet we still have SO much ahead of us; Nixon's birthday, the Fall Festival, not to mention all of the fantastic Halloween events and traditions. Check back soon to hear and see all the Frankwick Family fun!
