puppet masters

 Grant is the king of creating things at our house ... give him an empty box, some scissors and tape, and he could probably build you a castle.  On this particular day, I had an empty box lying around and he decided to use it build a puppet stage.  Grabbed some lunch sacks, designed some people, and before you know it, him, Max and Blake were putting on a puppet show.  By the looks of Blake's face in the picture, there was some smacking going on ... because they can never enjoy themselves without it having to do with fighting, wrestling, punching or shooting!   I have decided not to fight it and as long as no one gets hurt ... which only happens once in awhile.  ;)

I really enjoy watching them play creatively ... good thing the Xbox has been broken for awhile ;)

Blakey and his imagination ...

It's funny because a lot of times I'll compare my kids ... not doing it in a negative way, but I have really enjoyed seeing how they can be so unique, and Blakey is definitely his own unique self.  Katelyn, Grant and Max all loved people, were outgoing, Max would run off in stores, at the beach, anywhere, because he was so confident of where he was (me, not so much).  But, Blake ... he's his own little guy.  Loves his mommy (which I do love) and doesn't want to leave my side when we are out in public.  Literally freaks out.  We talk about going to school, and he's adamant that he's not going.  Little does he know ;)

But one of the things I really admire about Blake's personality is his amazing imagination ... I only wish I had a pinky full of this boy's creativity.  He can play by himself, talking the whole time, making up stories, sounds and animation to go along with it all.  We really weren't too surprised when he even came up with his own imaginary friend, Jakin.  It makes us laugh when he tells us stories about him.

I love when him and the little neighbor girl, Jillian play together.  They are so creative, and play so well together.  One of the things Blakey loves to do is dress up ... when we go outside to play, he rummages through the dress up clothes in the garage and comes up with some crazy outfits at times!  Today he insisted on wearing his Batman costume from last fall that was too small when we bought it.  So now it's really too small.  But he insisted it would fit over his clothes.

Before that he was some army guy or something ... all I remember hearing him say that he was being teleported ... to a baseball game (Max and Gavin were in the middle of a baseball game).  What 3-year-old knows what teleporting is?  I don't even know that!  But I enjoyed watching him march around the yard, in his own little world.

It is hard, because I know he is growing up ... I want him to stay my little Blakey, but I do enjoy watching him grow and learn ... but the thing I love most is that he still loves to snuggle and cuddle with him mom.  I hope that never goes away.  <3 you, Blakey!!!  

Pumpkin Patch ... Kindergarten style

Unfortunately, school budget cuts means no more field trips, which means no trip to the pumpkin patch for the Kindergarteners. It was a huge bummer, but some great parents stepped up, and brought the field trip to the school, by providing pumpkins, hay bales and all sorts of decorations to make it a really great morning for the kids!

The kids rotated stations, learning about sorting, the life cycle of the pumpkin, racing with a pumpkin on their head and all sorts of other fun things! They had a great time, and Max loved every minute of it!











october 15, 2009

Singing her heart out ...

One of Katelyn's favorite things to do is sing! So, she has always signed up for Choir since being in Middle School. This year it was a little harder, because she had to select it as her elective, so she wouldn't be able to choose any other electives all year. She weighed it all out and decided it would be worth it to continue on in Choir. She really enjoys her teacher who has a great deal energy and always gives us a good laugh during the performances! She gets very excited for them ;)

Here is Katelyn at one of her first performances of the year.





october 15, 2009

Blake's Turn at My Gym!

Soooo, Blake wasn't so sure about My Gym. Regardless of the fact that Max, Grant and Katelyn loved it, he did not want the teachers to talk to him, much less touch him! In fact, one of his first times at My Gym, Miss Lauren, tried to use him in her demonstration of a log roll. He did it, but burst out crying in the middle of it! Miss Lauren thought it was funny to later ask him if he wanted to do a log roll. I think we all thought it was hilarious, except Blake!

One of the teachers even mentioned that it wouldn't be right for me to have 4 perfect kids! LOL! We all know Blake is perfect, though ;) And she was totally kidding! It just took him some time to warm up, and he is definitely more of a momma's boy than Max ever was!

I'm very proud of him though ... he is now learning to sit at circle time without being in my lap (of course, his back has to be touching my leg), when asked his name at the beginning, says it on his own (then jumps in my lap), and he runs around on his own (making sure I'm nearby!), but he definitely looks forward to his time there and will even talk to the teacher once a month in awhile!







october 15, 2009

Now for a little volleyball!

One of the highlights of the fall was Katelyn making the 7th grade volleyball team! Out of over 100+ girls, she was one of 12 (I think!) girls that were on the team! It was pretty exciting, and although she felt a little unsure of herself at times, she learned sooooo much and had a great time! She is such a hard worker and was always working to improve her skills. Would even drag me to the gym to practice with her! Definitely made me miss getting to play volleyball (and also reminded me how old I am! Geesh!!).

Are you ready for some *flag* football???

Grant sure was! Grant has been developing a greater love for football, and this year informed Steve that he wanted to play for Centennial some day! Wonder if he'll be saying that once he starts tackle! Yikes! He had a great time this year in flag football ... as always enjoys playing with friends and had some good plays.

In this game, he had an interception and a couple "tackles."

Here's the interception:




That was fun!!!



Getting the flag ...



after him!!



october 1, 2009

Grant Matejka 4 Historian!

I'm so thankful my kids aren't like me ... I would have never attempted half of the stuff they attempt! Like running for student body! Pass a school constitution test? NO WAY! Get up in front of the whole school? NO WAY! Give a speech? NO WAY! I get sick just thinking of doing something like that!

Thankfully, they aren't like me, and challenge themselves to do things like run for student body! This year, Grant ran for Historian! He came up with his poster idea and speech all on his own, and while he didn't win, we are so proud of him for going for it!!

Speech time ... "Vote for me, because I rock!" ;)



cool sign!




Unlike me, Grant isn't in the bathroom throwing up ... just hamming it up with his friends before his speech:



So thankful that Grant has had some great friends from Kindergarten through 5th grade ... I hope they all stay friends forever!

Sweet Haylee ...




Caleb:



Cairo:




september 24, 2009

My love - hate relationship with Legos

LEGOS:

My Hate Relationship: I get so tired of picking them up, vacuuming them up, stepping of them in my bare feet and just overall seeing them all over the place!

My Love Relationship: The hours of fun they provide for my kids, and the incredible creativeness that comes out when they are in their hands! I honestly am sooooo amazed at what Grant can come up with when he sits with Legos for any period of time! Here are a few pictures of his creations. I can't even imagine coming up with some of the stuff he does ... I need directions that I can follow step by step!

Bathroom project

I have found a new love ... monsters! They are so cute and cuddly (LOL!). The boys' bedroom is a monster theme (granted, I still haven't finished painting the walls), but when I saw this shower curtain, it was a must-have!

I thought it would be fun to create my own wall art and decals, so after several hours of work, I created these paper art canvases and wall/mirror decals! It was a lot of fun, and I love how it turned out!

Crazy thing ... that wall color has been the best color I've ever picked. The last 4 shower curtains I've had (yes, I love shower curtains too!) have all matched perfectly!!! Great color!