April's Antics

April was full of fun activities...

{...YE OLDE RENAISSANCE...}

Lex being in sixth grade meant he had to participate in their Renaissance Faire. Thankfully this kid went with a simple 'project' and took drinks. However, his costume cost some money. He wanted to be a knight, so because I wasn't in the mood to be creative and we found a costume for a good price, he became a costumed knight. He made it look good.

{...CARTOONS OF THE 90'S, REBORN...}

There was a cartoon I knew about when I was a teenager, but I never watched it. However, there was enough advertising about it that an image stuck in my mind. And image that Lex inadvertently created one day during Spring Break...

{...CUTIES...}

{...NON-HIRED HELP...}

While cleaning the bathroom one day, Jace said, "I wanna help." So I gave him his own gloves and let him help me. How can you say no to that cute little face.

{...JUST BECAUSE...}

One day this appeared on the porch. It was delicious and so needed. Just wish I knew WHO it came from.

What Happens Next...

October's Oddness

Now we'll take a look at the random happenings from October. There are a lot. October was pretty much chock full of random...

{...DADDY'S SOCKS...}

Jacen is a Daddy's boy in so many ways, but one way I've never seen in any kid I know - is a love for socks. Even if they are Daddy's and 20 sizes too big!

{...JUST BECAUSE IT'S FALL...}

I love surprises, even if they are in the form of flowers, so this special delivery was super exciting to me. Eric knows me so well.

{...JACK'S JACK O' LATERNS...}

Eric and I were called to teach the 10-11 year olds in Primary awhile ago and one of the boys in our class is named Jack. He stopped by one night and had this plate of cookies for us. He (his mom) had perfect timing as I was craving something sweet and these sugar cookies hit the spot. I don't think I'll ever stop being amazed at how different sugar cookies can taste depending on the recipe. I may have eaten all 3 cookies (not in the same night) and didn't leave any for Eric - but I was doing him a favor as he doesn't much care for sweets anyway.

{...HUNGRY, HUNGRY HIPPOS...}

Nate got Hungry, Hungry Hippos last Christmas from my brother. We had it put up in a closet and he never asked to play it much. Recently though, it made it's way down and it's been being used quite often. I was super surprised to see every age group in my house playing this game together. After Nate and Ailey had been playing for quite some time, Jace jumped in. Lex, Shaylyn and Tanis thought it'd be fun to play with him. I just sat in amazement that something so simple could entertain a toddler and teenagers. I was thankful for such a game one time in my life.

{...SUNDAY AFTERNOON ANTICS...}

We spent a lot of Sunday afternoons visiting with Eric's mom. The kids spent a lot of time messing around. One such Sunday gave us some good laughs. Jace had went into the play room and came out with a bucket on his head and one in his hand. He kept them on for a good 5 minutes or so and laughed right ablong with us.

This same Sunday, Eric mom's best friend, Kathy was also visiting. Kathy was kind of like a 2nd mom to Eric and his brothers when they were growing up and has since become something of a 2nd Grandma to the kids. Nate and Ailey especially like having her around. Ailey was playing a game on the Kindle and somehow convinced Kathy to sit down and play with her.

{...STUDENT OF THE WEEK...}

Shaylyn's never been a 'bad' student, but about 5th or 6th grade she got in the bad habit of not turning in her homework. It didn't matter too much in elementary school, but when she hit middle school, it did affect her grades a little bit. She still managed A's and B's because she does well on tests, but those B's could've been A's had she put forth a little more effort. For some reason we've seen a shift this year and she is on top of her homework and turning it in. So much so that her History teacher nominated her as Student of the Week. I was thrilled to see the award, I think she was just more thrilled for the free milkshake.

{...THINK ABOUT WHAT?!?!?!...}

Ailey was being a bit naughty one night and we sent her to her room to 'think about what she did'. Apparently Jace followed her into her room and instead of taking the time to think about her actions, she took the time to play artist....on her brother. Thank goodness for washable markers.

And that's another glimpse of the randomness that is our life in the Hardy household. It's never boring in these four walls.

What Happens Next...

September Shenanigans

Most of September was just a bunch of random happenings. We have months like that, and it's perfectly okay with me.

{...FASHION SENSE...}

Eric's mom was at Costco one day before we had gone school shopping and saw a cute outfit that she just had to get Ailey. So when I actually had Ailey wear it I had to take a picture. This outfit also came with a grey jacket thing with yellow flowers on it, but it was way too hot this day to put it on as well.

{...JUST DANCE...}

We were watching one of Ailey's best friends while his mom was at the dr. These two decided to play Just Dance and it was hilarious to watch. The song they chose has got to be one of the most difficult dances on the game, but it's also one of the most fun ones. (Sorry for Shaylyn's chatter during the video - she must not have realized I was recording)

{...REPLACEMENT...}

I happened to notice one day that the freezer wasn't freezing things anymore. I mentioned it to Eric as it had happened before and he was able to fix it. When he got home from work he went about trying to fix it the same way, but decided it was a lost cause. 

We took a trip to Best Buy as that was the best payment plan we could find and took a look at what they had. We made our choice, but it was goint to take a week and half to be delivered. That was a crazy long time to go without refrigeration, but we managed using coolers and a lot of boxed and canned foods.

It was almost like Christmas Day for me when my new fridge arrived.

{...Out with the old...}

{...In with the new...}

{...LITTLE DANCING FEET...}

I finally got around to getting Ailey into a dance class. I chose to go with a tumbling, tap and ballet combo class as she's never had any dance before. I thought for sure she'd be all eager to go, but she wasn't nearly as thrilled as she'd led me to believe she'd be whenever she talked about dancing before. Either way, we got her to go and she actually did enjoy herself.

{...CUTE KIDS...}

Jace loves being outside and when he figured out he could play in the backyard, he spent a lot of time there. One day I decided to go sit out there while he played. Ailey joined in a little later and these two just looked so cute that I started taking some pictures. I was super happy with some moments I just happened across.

{...He was giving kisses...}

{...MAKE ROOM DADDY...}

For the most part, Jace and Ailey get along really well. However, they are also both prone to jealousy when mom or dad is holding one and not the other. This almost happened one night with Daddy, but thankfully Daddy has long arms and long legs. The perfect amount of space for 2 little bodies.

{...SILLY DOG...}

There are moments as owners of dogs that make you laugh out loud. This was one such sight. I don't know why our dogs are so attached to soft things...

(...JUST CHILLIN'...}

My older sister sent my little sister and I a text one day with a photo of her daughter in the dryer and with the caption, "I have to get this one out of the dryer." 

My little sister responded with a photo of her 2 year old literally hanging on the bar in the car like a monkey while waiting to get his sister from Kindergarten. She replied with "Haha! Do you need us to buy some towels so you don't have to dry her? Then we have monkey boy over here..."

I quickly snapped this photo of Jace and said, "Don't know why you two are having issues, mine is being an angel."

{...2 YEAR OLD TWINS...}

So I was watching my friends boys again while she had a dr. appt. Jace and her kid are only 4 months apart or so and it gives me a pretty good idea of what having 2 year old twin boys would be like. I'm grateful the Lord never blessed me with twins. I might really be crazy. These two monkeys were having the funnest time peeking through the blinds at absolutely nothing...They are fun, but a lot of work.

What Happens Next...

Jammin' July

Here's this months installment of all the random crap this family does in a month.

{...A SCENIC DAY OUT...}

Lex's baseball team won 1st place or something in our city's league which meant they were able to go to a state or region tournament (I'm still not sure which it was). His first game was set for about 9 or 10 in the morning and it ended up that the other team never showed so Lex's team got an auto win. They had another game later on in the afternoon and the coach's also wanted to have a team picnic. They found a park close to the ballfield and we had a picnic.

I left the other kids home, but took Jace with me. It was going to be a long day and I knew it would be rough for the other kids. So while Lex was off with his ball friends, Jace and I strolled around the park and I really enjoyed the scenery.

(Yes, I'm a horrible mother and didn't get any pics of the tourney)

{...The Goose With No Fear...}

{...I texted this picture to Eric saying it was almost his dream home. He really dreams of having turret type architecture on his dream home...}

Really this park was one of the most beautiful parks I've seen in my life. I had to spend a little too much time there, but at least it was peaceful and calm.

{...CRAZY HAIR DON'T CARE...}

Shaylyn and her BF, Mikayla are two of a kind. They don't mind being crazy and wild together and they are always good for a laugh. They're also good sports and let their crazy moms take pictures that will embarrass them as they get older.

{...A LITTLE TOO MUCH...}

When we bought our new car (Hey, we bought a new car sometime in June) we got the option to get some DVD players installed. The DVD players came with headphones! BONUS for mom. The older kids are pretty good at using them, but Jace wasn't too sure of them. One Sunday heading to Eric's mom's I caught Jace wearing a set. It was very brief and they were off almost as soon as they were on, but dang this boy looked cute with them on.

{...TIME FOR BED?!?!...}

I told the kids it was almost time for bed. Ailey ran into her room for a minute and came out with every play necklace and bracelet she owns. She told me she was THEN ready for bed. I'm not sure how she thought she could get any sleep with all of those necklaces on!

{...SOUS CHEF...}

Ailey really has an interest in baking and cooking. I can't count the number of times she asks if she can help when I'm doing either. There are times I let time issues get to me or issues with a bigger mess and tell her no. But there are other times I really understand that her help really isn't going to hurt much. There was a night she asked to help with dinner and since it was something so super simple, I let her help. She was beyond thrilled.

What Happens Next...