Happy 4th Birthday to Cole!

The Birthday boy had a great day at the Children's Museum of Houston with his siblings and best friend, Scott. He also had cake and ice cream at Grama and Papaw's house. Christen came over with her 3 girls, so he had fun. Here's the most recent picture I have of him. Aunt Sharon took it earlier this month at the Guadalupe River. Rocks are so yummy!?

It's only been about 8 months...

... since I last posted! We are all doing well. We have had a good start on our Summer with lots of swimming at the Y and a nice trip to San Antonio to see our cousins. Rivers rock! We went to play in the Guadalupe River with the Texas Arnolds and it was a blast! This week we are without our Daddy and Dallin, though. Mom and the other babies miss our big boys. Dan will be home for a brief spell before leaving for Scout Camp. And Dallin should be home soon from taking a trip up to Indiana with Grammie. I miss my boys!

Updates:

Dallin is done with school for a spell. Yeah! He did great with his Virtual Public school and he will start again in August as a 5th grader! He will also move up to Intermediate band. He plays Alto Sax. He will be finished with his Arrow of Light any time now (1/2 activity badge left) and can move on up to Boy Scouts soon. Cool!

Aubree is learning to play violin and taking art lessons. She was baptized in April and enjoys being involved in Activity Day girls. She will also be doing the Virtual Public school this fall as a 3rd grader.

Zoe is working on reading and excelling in Math. She is also taking art lessons and is drooling over the thought of playing violin the next year. Being 6 is awesome. She is awaiting the day she will lose her first tooth, so she can be cute like cousin Carlee.

Cole is 4 and is so excited to be big! He is working on Pre-K materials and will be starting Choir this fall. He is getting that much closer to swimming like a true Haddock fishee. He is getting bigger, but he's still mommy's lover-boy.

Emma is sassy and fun. This is one BOSSY little girl! She loves giving her opinion on everything, especially which radio station/ song she wishes to listen to. She loves being the baby and is very good at it. She is getting to be quite a big girl. She is just about ready to be fully potty trained and Mom is excited! No more diapers!

Kiwi, our Shitzu, is spunky and little. She and Emma match in temperment. Her latest conquest involved the death of our neighbors pet chicken (who has a CHICKEN in a residential neighborhood?). When her boy, Dallin, was viciously attacked by a young chicken (it landed on his head), she ran to the rescue and took care of the situation. Poor little chicken, he didn't have a chance. She was proud of herself. Dan was actually quite proud, too. Although it stunk to have to return a dead chicken carcass to a crying 7 year old girl.

Dan has been heavily involved with Scout stuff (preparing for summer camp) and is about ready for camp to be over with already. He has been serving with gusto and the boys adore him. Work is going well, but he gets stir-crazy. He has too much McCray in him... he hungers for 10+ acres of good smelling dirt!

Amie is busy with stinky babies EVERYWHERE! If its not dealing with her own five or serving in the Ward Primary presidency, its dealing with Cubscouts, Activity Day girls, or teaching music at a local Day Care. I enjoy kids... well, most of the time. Its what I am good at.

See why I rarely post? I am too long-winded!

Grandma McCray

We are leaving tomorrow morning for Snowflake, AZ. Dan's maternal grandmother, Jean McCray, passed away. Her passing has been more of a relief for her loved ones. She suffered terribly from illness for months and is now at peace. I can imagine that she is grateful to be with her dear eternal companion once again. She loved her boy and missed him these past 11 years. It is comforting to think that she had a good life, was a very righteous woman, and now can enjoy the fruits of her labors.

We are traveling out to be among the many, many loved ones at her services. The kids are excited to be present with all their other cousins there, all 17 from this line. We will also be able to have Halloween together. Grammie and Grandad will have their hands full of stinkers! We'll let you know how it all went.

Ike and aftermath

We survived hurricane Ike with no major damage. We had some fence down and a large tree limb to cut. Some of our friends were less fortunate. By and large, life is going back to normal for most. Many people here are still trying to get their lives and homes back, but they all seem positive.

During the storm we hung out with Aunt Sharon and her babies. The 10 kids had fun together, until the lights when out. They were hot and miserable, as were the mommies and daddies. But they survived. I think they will always remember most of the experience as fun.

Dan has had many opportunities to help out with the clean-up in the area. He ordered a very large chainsaw that has been put to good use. Many trees have been cleared using his new toy! Sharon and I were able to help out at a local Red Cross shelter a few weeks back. We cleaned (and sterilized) a playground and watched kids all day. But the highlight of the day was preventing a little boy from being molested by a teenager. We felt pretty good about that.

Everyone is doing good here. September and October were long and busy. Halloween is nearly here and we are ready! BOO!

School is Now in Session!

We started our first week of school amid illness and cranky babies. Somehow it all came together. We studied Ancient Egypt (3 weeks of studies), OT and PoGP, and Mammals among other things. The highlight of our week was our trip to the Zoo.

Although it was HOT as you know what, we were able to see some cool animals we have been studying and ride the Carousel. Aubree had written a 2nd grade paper on Cheetahs and got a front row ticket to see a Cheetah pair at the Zoo. She was so excited. Dallin's researched animal was not at our Zoo, unfortunately. He had written about the Echidna or Spiny Anteater. Oh, well.

Here are pics of the kids by an aquarium and Emma on a Carousel "Tortoise". Enjoy!

Seeing Reese and More

Last Thursday we were able to pick up Aunt Sheila and Reese from the airport and take her to Aunt Sharon's house. It was fun for all the cousins to play. Emma and Reese are getting along well and will be the best of buds someday. We even got a chance to visit on Friday, too. Fun.

While Mommy is in the hospital, Reese is staying with Sharon. It seems to be going well. A baby could NOT get any more attention anywhere else. She has constant entertainment and lots of people to love on her. I hear that she is eating well, sleeping well, and even went to Nursery class on Sunday. Big girl.

We will be beginning school on Friday, so I have been trying to ensure I have it all together. I am also trying to make sure I have the house more in order. My largest task is laundry. Yuck.

This past week we have had some "fun" mishaps that will NOt be fun paying for. Our AC went out on the van, after having had it "checked" one week prior. Isn't that nice? Last night our AC unit in our house leaked all over our brand new carpet. We tried using the carpet cleaner to suck up all the water. It was mostly dry, so we are hoping there will be no mold formation. Life is interesting, with never a dull moment.

Our babies:
Emma is a ham and a pincher. Last Friday she flirted for Evan every chance she got. Of course, he wanted to hold her constantly. She would bat her long eyelashes or laugh and ham it up. He didn't seem to mind. Her latest thing is to pinch and hit when she doesn't get her way. I am trying to teach her not to, but now she only hits back again. Isn't that precious?

Cole is working on "Potty Power" and not succeeding. I rented a video called "Potty Power" and he seems to enjoy it. We watched several times yesterday and I am hoping that today he'll be ready to put it into action. We will see how it goes.

Zoe is READY to start school. She cannot wait. She can read short vowel a words (3 letters). Her math is more advanced. Everyday she looks longingly at her school stuff and asks how many more days until she starts. She needs stimulation, or else she "finds" some elsewhere. (Like flour and water paste on the laminate floors or using permanent marker on her dolls faces.) Cute.

Aubree is sweet and pretty. She has been reading alot to win our summer reading contest. She has also been enjoying our swimming times. She has really become a little fish. She needs to be taught technique now. She has a true love of the water. Aubree is excited about school, but she really wants to start Co-op. She cannot wait to get her new Recorder.

Dallin loves to play video games and likes to swim. He has also been reading alot. He is excited about playing the Alto Sax this year. He has been driving me nuts with his constant desire to help me cook. I have been allowing him to help with breakfast and lunch. Soon enough he'll be helping with dinner.

That's about it.

Boo-boo Baby!

Last night our little cutie baby had an accident. She was sitting in a small chair, when Cole ran by and knocked the chair over. She bit her top lip really badly. She also ripped the little piece of skin that attaches the upper gums to the top lip. She bled profusely and was very upset. She was comforted ONLY by Mommy giving her an ice cold baba. Her lip was so swollen and black last night that I wasn't sure if she'd be able to eat today. Her swollen lip was as big and round as her nose. She is fine today, of course. She has small scabs on her top lip and is still sore inside her mouth. She will heal nicely.