handsful

Summer is going quickly, it seems.  And, we’re busy…no surprise there.

Last week, Dylan did something he’s been DYING to do.  He went to soccer camp!

He had all the gear.  Shy of one shin guard that…well, didn’t need guarding.  Maybe the other kids should have toe guards?

It was really hot all week, and despite putting sunscreen on him everyday, he’s now sporting a mad tan.

Yes, I’m a little jealous.

I took some shots of his last day…

Her name’s Katie.  And, yes, he’s holding her hand.  He had three blond haired girls surrounding him, taking turns hugging him goodbye at the end.

The coach is the director of our area’s recreational soccer league…he said Dylan was (1) fearless and (2) had incredible balance, even compared to the “two-legged” kids.

We’re signing him up for soccer in the fall.

Last Sunday was Father’s Day, and we were blessed to have Randy’s dad and my dad here with us.  The big kids had their last local Testify choir concert that same day, so they were able to attend with us.  What made it even better is that all the kids were scheduled to do their “parts” that day (all the acting parts and solos are double-casted so they take turns with performing in concerts).

Pictures first, of course.

Father of the Year…

“Hey, jump in and hug”….boys, that’s not what I meant.

I’m pretty sure some heads got clunked here.

The big kids were at rehearsal…

Randy and his dad.  My mom took a picture of me and my dad, but I didn’t get one with my camera.  Ugh!

Soon, it was time to head to the concert.

Payton plays Mason, a highschool junior struggling with his commitment to his faith.

Payton’s about to get tagged…

Abbey is Toni, a “groupie” to the highschool bully.

And, she dances.

Marley sings with her friend Kylie, they each have solo parts in the same song.

Ethan has a solo and…

plays a drum box.  I’m told it’s called a cajone.

Randy gives the invitational message each night…and, did I mention that he also wrote the script for the play?

At the end of the concert, all the dads of the students were invited up to sing along with their theme song “Testify to Love”.

The whole crew, after the concert…see, I was there that day!

As of this morning, Randy and the bigs are on tour in Tennessee for the next 6 days.  It’s just me and the littles, which is weird!  But, we’re taking advantage of our time together to do fun stuff and I’m tackling a few projects that I never seem to get around to.

Here’s to another fun, and busy week!

It’s been raining here a lot lately.  It finally cleared up today, thankfully….but, we had a few solid days of rain and more rain.

I hope my garden didn’t “drown”.

One afternoon last week, the littles were tired of being cooped up.

They didn’t know I was watching them from the kitchen door.

No thunder and lightning means  playing in the rain is a-ok.

They were soaked through.

Oops.  They see me.

That can only mean one thing.  They’ll turn into hams for the camera.

See, I was right.

Then, Lainey decides to up the ante on the water fun…

They continued this for a while, dumping or throwing water on each other while giggling hysterically.

Chilled to the bone, they were done and in their warm, dry PJ’s.

Playing in the pouring rain?

Why not?

Heh. Heh.

Our 6 kids are involved in a program called Acrofitness.  It combines floor acrobatics (and/or dancing) with fitness moves.

Hence, the name.

There are a variety of classes, and all of the kids have found the one that really fits their interests.

Abbey takes hip-hop…Marley is in advanced tumbling (since she’s had years of gymnastics in FL)…Payton and Ethan take a Free Running class (also called Parkour; google that one)…Lainey and Dylan take beginning tumbling.

Last night, Acro had their Fitness Festival.  A recital of sorts, where all the classes did a special routine to show what they’ve learned during the last year.  Combining all of the individual classes with all of the teams (those are audition-based that do about 40 shows during the year at various events), we watched 45 routines.  Abbey’s group was #19, the littles were #26.

The boys and Marley opted out…which was fine, since you’ve gotta purchase the event attire and it ain’t cheap.

The littles being goofy, while we waited for Abbey to get ready to go.

These aren’t great pics, but it’s the best we could do given all the heads in front of us.

Loved their routine…their instructor, Heather, is so good (she’s the dark haired gal in the white suit in the first pic)

Lainey and Dylan both did great…and D loved being in front of that many people.  Ham.

They’re on the right end.

L and D with their fav coach, Mr. Joey.  He’s SO good with them and they adore him.

All the kids will enjoy their summer break, but we’ll all be back at Acro again next year.  Three nights per week.  Flipping, jumping, and dancing.

It’s been TWO years since Dylan YuHai Clark joined our crazy family…and, we celebrated him last Thursday night.

As is our custom for both birthday and forever family days, the special kid chooses where we go out to eat.  We KNEW that Dylan would choose the same place we went to last year.  He brings it up all the time, always asking us WHEN are we going back there?!

But, no.  He decided to confuse us and picked one of our favorite Asian restaurants from when we lived in Florida.  Problem is the closest one to us now is a 45 minute drive.  So, we drove.

While we’re driving, enjoy some of the shots I got of our little guy earlier that day…

Mom, the sun is in my eyes!  (moving to another outside spot…)

I had nothing to do with it, so I don’t feel bad saying….he’s just so dang cute.

There’s the silliness.

Time to eat…

And, because an ice cream place was right next door…why not?

Giving the special kid a book is also a tradition with forever family days.  I’d been sick, and ordered the book a little late.  And, it hadn’t arrived in time.  It showed up the next day, though.

He’s big-time into all things super hero, so a huge pop-up book with all of them was just the right choice.

Dylan has come a long way in two years.  As with any adoption, there are bumps in the road as the child learns to be part of a family.  And, more bumps as the existing family members make room for another.  We are fortunate, in that Dylan’s adjustment-pains have been relatively easy.  Bedtime used to be a bear…we believe due in part to losing his crib-mate(s).  Now, he loves his room and his bed.  He also used to zone out when things just got to be too much for him to handle….no more.  His biggest struggle is self-control over his emotions.  He becomes upset/cries very easily, especially if he feels like you’re mad or disappointed in him.

But, most of the time he’s a very laid-back, low-maintenance kid who loves bursting into ninja-like moves when you least expect it.  How can you not smile at that?

We love you Dyl-pickle!

I’m finally getting around to posting about Lainey and Dylan’s birthday last week. After the birthday-palooza, I kinda crashed. And, then got busy with life. Life these days is a tad full. Plus, our camera isn’t functioning correctly and the pictures just aren’t that great. Irks me to death. The favorite pics I took of the trips somehow didn’t even save to the memory card. THAT makes me mad. In the words of Francesca B, “this is the stuff that drives me crazy…”

Like my cupcakes? Spiderman and Hello Kitty (her bow, that is) designs. But, I’m jumping ahead. Their birthday was, of course, on July 4th. We had a somewhat lazy first part of the day, and then broke out the presents.

It’s a shame some of these shots are fuzzy (trying to remain calm…)

Lainey got a Rapunzel Barbie (she requested a Barbie with “very long straight blond hair”…I think I hit the mark on that one), and skates. She wears Marley’s all the time, so she was thrilled. (She even got to try them out at MPE’s party the following night!)

Dylan got his first bike. We attach his prosthesis foot to the pedal with a strap of velcro and he’s been biking all over the house. We might get a pedal clip, but for now this is working. How much do I love watching my boy ride a bike?!?

As is the custom, we then took the family out for dinner, to celebrate. We had a gift card to a certain restaurant, so we talked the littles into going there ;)

Fast forward to July 7th. Which is Marley, Payton, and Ethan’s birthday. But, this post is about the littles! We actually had their party ON the trips birthday. Yes, we asked them if they minded that. They were happy to lounge around the house that morning (after their mega-sleepover the night before…more on that next post).

We met a few of their friends at the local splash park for some water fun.

It was HOT that day. Almost 100. They took turns going in the playground section and water section.

Next stop, our house for more fun…

Back into dry clothes, and added another friend :)

Presents!

Cupcakes!

In the end, we’ve now got a 6 year old and a 5 year old. No more “preschoolers” in the house. I feel like we’ve somehow moved to the next level. Which makes me shake a little in my boots when I think of this coming school year. But, that’s another post.

Happy Birthday, Lainey and Dylan…we love you bunches.

It’s just me and the wee ones this week, with Randy out of town for work and the big kids on choir tour. It’s been WEIRD. I’ve only washed clothes and ran the dishwasher ONCE. Unheard of.

It’s also been nice, spending time with them. We’ve worked together to get the chores done (I now appreciate my boys even more for lugging the trash cans and recycle bins down our looonngg driveway). We’ve played, and we’ve been lazy.

Today I told them we were going to do something fun, and I think I delivered on that promise. With the heat we’ve been having lately, finding a play place indoors was key!

Excuse the phone pics, it’s all I had…

Fireman’s pole complete with a real truck to climb on

Not to be outdone…

Grocery store…Lainey’s working the register.

C’mon, you know you always weigh your milk and ice cream too, right?

A quick climb…it was hard for Dylan, imagine climbing this without being able to bend (put weight on) your leg? Hmmm…

My new doctor…she looks trustworthy, huh?

Climbing on a sunken ship…

Flying a plane!

Driving a race car…

and, a boat! This place had it all.

Lainey’s face says “hey, I’m trying to bring in the crops here, leave me alone”

Their favorite room was the Cafe, which I have no pictures of. That’s because I was busy sitting at the counter, ordering food, and eating. They were busy rushing around the kitchen, pouring tea, bringing ice cream, and bringing me my bill!

They were already asking when we’d come back, before we even left. Score, mom!

We got a very special package in the mail yesterday…

We told the guy at the door what it was, and he seemed genuinely excited for the little guy jumping up and down in the hallway.

Lightening McQueen was the choice this go-round. See that cool knee joint?!?

Getting all suited up…

Time for a test drive. Right now, he takes big steps and then kicks it to make the knee joint straighten again. As he gets used to it, this won’t be quite so clumsy. In the picture above, he’s still sticking it out to the side, as he’s gotten used to doing with his stationery knee.

And, here he is doing the kick-thing.

He was very excited about trying it, and gave it all he had.

But, by the afternoon he was getting scared of it, because he fell once or twice…and, it’s kind of a violent fall. So, he’s gone back to walking by swinging it to the side. We’re giving him some time. He fell today because he didn’t think it would bend, but it did. We’re hoping he’ll come to the conclusion that practicing with it bending might be a better idea.

The foot on his other leg. Amazing how a very-well made (but man-made) foot can look worn down like this after 8 months, when our intelligently created feet last a lifetime. Had to put that out there :)

Comparing feet. Oh, like you don’t do this at home…

He still wouldn’t bend it much today, but we encouraged him to a few times. It’ll take some time for him to warm up to this. But, he will.