Hudson Turns Seven!!!

I can hardly believe that Hudson is seven years old. It just seems like yesterday that he was born or we were celebrating his second or third birthday. We had Jason's parents and his brother Tyler over for a bbq and celebrated Star Wars Style. The girls picked out this huge Darth Vader balloon at the balloon store so we got the rest of the party decorations to match!!

He was spoiled as is usual with all of our kids. He received money from his Nana and Papa (Deb's parents) and also from his Great Nanna back in Calgary (Wendy's mom). His Gram and Grandpa got him roller blades and pads which had him on cloud nine. He is so excited to try those out.

From his sisters he received a Star Wars Cloneblaster gun which is pretty noisy :( and from Jase and I he got the new Lego Indiana Jones Wii game he has been asking for as well as a new wireless Gamecube controller.

It was a nice day to kick back and relax with family and visit.

Jase and his boys!!

Max and Uncle Ty :)

Hudson and his roller blades!!

Swimming Turkeys

The kids were outside with me helping (a little until they got bored, haha) weed the yard and cut the grass and it was sooo hot outside (112 degrees) that i looked at them and said, "Do you guys want one of those small plastic pools?" Of course they said sure. So i changed my t-shirt and threw them in the car and off we went to Target to see if they had those little kiddie pools or a cool sprinkler or something.

When we found the pool section we were surprised to see that it was all marked as clearance...and at the time it was mid July. Apparently mid July in Arizona is considered off season for pools and accessories according to the sales clerk. I about laughed and looked through what they had. They had this one pool that was about the size of a 15 foot circular tramploline for 70% off. I couldn't argue with the price so i bought it instead of a little kiddie pool.

It is 15 feet wide and is made of thick pool vinyl, the top circular ledge is inflated with air, so it just floats on top of the water. It was amazingly easy to put up and so far has not required a whole lot of maintenance other than the usual pool chemicals and filter cleanings. It is a lot easier to take care of than our big in ground pool at our old house. It is only 29 inches deep so its shallow enough for Max to walk around in it.

The kids love it and it cools them off. Whenever the water gets too warm we just grab an ice block from the store and throw it in and it cools it down a bit. It packs up easily and when it cools off down here in say November, we can take it down and store it in the garage for a few months and then put it up probably after Christmas...hahaha. Actually last January it was 90 degrees so who knows!!

The kids in their new toy!

Tori being a goofball and Hudson being an even bigger one!

Yes, Max wanted to get out...

He is much happier now!!(two minutes later)

Making a lot of waves and even more noise. I'm sure our neighbors just love it!! There are only so many times you can tell them to keep it down before you finally give up and just let them be rowdy and have some fun.

Yes, Sometimes they sleep...

On the weekends the kids are allowed to watch movies in their rooms and on this night the girls hosted the dvd party.

This was taken the week after school started about half an hour into the movie. Jase and I were blown away that they had fallen asleep so quickly! Usually we have to go in to tell them that it is time to turn the movies off and get to sleep.

Hudson apparently decided to cuddle in bed with Tori as they watched and in turn fell asleep. I'm sure he loved sleeping surrounded by pink "Littlest Pet Shop" blankets but i don't know, he looks pretty comfortable!!

Aww, you mean they do like each other sometimes?

Emily sound asleep cuddling the bunk bed railing...doesn't look too comfortable.

Max in his big boy bed.

This month we decided that Max was old enough to make the move from his crib to a big boy bed. The girls' room was just too crowded with two beds in there so i began my search to help alleviate the problem.

I ended up finding a loft bed at Ikea. It worked out well since it came with slats for a top bunk and then Tori's bed fit underneath at a cool angle so we ended up only having to buy a mattress for Max's bed and gave him Emm's old bed.

Ended up working out well for everyone (especially Jase and I not having to outlay a large amount of cash to make a four bedroom house work for us!!) Everyone seems happy for now, until its time for Emily to have her own room and Max and Hudson will share...or so we plan, who knows.

First Day of School

Emily and Hudson were so excited to get back to school. With new back packs and clothes they were all set.
Emily's teacher is Ms. Wyman and Hudson's teacher is Ms. Dietz. Emily had Ms. Dietz last year and we thought she was a really good teacher. She is very strict and doesn't take any crap which will work very well with Hudson. Jase and I laugh about how much of a shock she will be in for when she realizes that Hudson is nothing at all like Emm. Apparently in class Emily is quiet and very studious (wish that would happen here!!) and Hudson is very outgoing and very artsy. He is also all boy and in turn can be a little hyper at times.

Both kids were excited about what friends were in their classes. Emily's best friend Sarah is in her class and Hudson has several of his buddies in his class with him.

We hope that they have a good year!

Tori starts preschool in September and watching her brother and sister go off to school when she isn't is killing her. We keep telling her that soon she will be able to use her backpack and wear her new school outfits.