The girl across the street delivers eggs on a weekly basis to some of the neighbors in our subdivision. The eggs come straight from Michigan State campus and are incredibly fresh and even cheaper than the ones that you can buy in the store. One week, she was going to be on vacation, so she asked my girls if they would be willing to take over her egg route for the week. It would mean inspecting all of the eggs, packaging them in dozen-size containers, traveling to the various houses on the list and leaving invoices. They were all for it -- and they didn't even know that they would each receive the egg profit for the week ... $5 for each of them.
They took their job very seriously.
I am now considering doing an apple and cider business for them in the future. It would be a wonderful way for them to start saving for college while also teaching them some of the details of doing business.
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Now that the girls are in school, Jack is my kitchen helper. It makes me smile because I can remember when Sam was my main assistant ... and then once she started school, Sophia took on that role ... and now it is Jack.
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The neighbors built a boat this summer. Yes, they ... built ... a ... boat. It was an almost useless excuse for a boat and probably could have been hauled off to the scrap metal yard at any time. But, they worked as a family and rebuilt it and then added a slide. Much to my surprise, the girls were very excited to try out the slide. In this picture, Sophia was getting ready to go down. (She had her life jacket on and the neighbor was at the bottom just in case she had any problems, which she didn't!).
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Before bed each time, Jack either requests a book or he likes to listen to construction truck songs on our phones. One night, I walked in his room to tuck him in and found him and Steve laying together watching the video on Steve's phone. My heart swelled 100x.
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Speaking of construction trucks, Jack has a huge fascination with them right now. So much so, that I am strongly considering that to be the theme of his next birthday ... in May! We saw this construction magazine at the orchard when we were out there one weekend and we snagged it for him. You would think that it was a toy magazine or something for as much time as he spends looking at it. Instead, it is a bunch of equipment, averaging about $100,000 apiece.
Keep dreaming, buddy.
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Sophia's hair is really beginning to grow these days. It has taken 5 1/2 years, but that is because the curls are so tight (much like mine were when I was little). I am loving the fact that we have versatility now (mini pigtails, barrettes, headbands) instead of just hair bands. The curls are absolutely the cutest ringlets that you have ever seen and she receives compliments on them daily.
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The major portion of our garage expansion is now complete, including the concrete driveway. It meant that our house was a revolving door for several weeks; I never knew who was going to show up each day. But, it was worth it. And the kids loved watching the action each and every day, like when the concrete was getting poured.
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Samantha's hair was in need of a little trim; just enough to put her layers back in and give it some extra bounce. Rather than make her an appointment, we headed out to the front porch after her shower one night and I trimmed away until my heart was content.
Of course, Sophia looked on with adoration. I have only trimmed her hair once in her whole life. Once.
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Look who is sitting up on his own now? Yup, and he has the smiles to prove it.
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My curly-haired girls, ready for school one morning. I say it all the time, and I hope that it continues forever -- Sophia loves accessories and is never one to leave the house without them. Headbands, bracelets, necklaces, lip gloss. She loves it all.
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This boy loves a nice, quiet morning once the girls get on the bus and he basically has me all to himself. The girls are gone and James is usually still sleeping. We turn on a show and he settles in with his blanket (and sometimes Shelby, the light-up musical seahorse that my kids have all grown up with).
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Dirt, dirt and more dirt. Jack has been in heaven digging every ... minute ... of ... every ... single ... day.
Give the kids a shovel, a rake or a hoe. It doesn't matter. He can make them all work.
And then, when he is done digging, he brings out any and all construction vehicles that he can find.
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Sophia lost her first tooth (we had been waiting for over a week for it to fall out) and was so excited to put it in her new tooth fairy pillow before bed that night.
It's a definite "right of passage" and she was more than ready for it to happen.
All ready to set out.
Showing me, one more time, the gaping hole in her mouth before closing her eyes for bed:
And the next morning, she woke up to find that the Tooth Fairy has sprinkled lots (and LOTS!) of purple glitter all over her nightstand, the floor and her bed. And since she is such a restless sleeper, she had rolled in it and was COVERED from head to toe.
After a quick cleaning and some styling of that unruly mass of curls, she was excited to head to school and tell all of her friends and teacher about the glitter and the gold $1 coin that she received.
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This girl is growing up so fast. I can't believe how long her legs have become and how quickly the "baby chub" from her face is disappearing.
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And this one too. I sent this picture to his preschool picture because she had requested one for her bulletin board. It's hard to imagine that he is almost 3 1/2 years old.
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School picture day. We compromised this year and I love how cute her outfit turned out. I can't wait to see the final pictures once they are developed.
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Another task that has been passed on down the line from Samantha to Sophia and now to Jack is assisting me with putting stickers on my students' graded papers. Even though I teach college-level courses, I still give out stickers to the students that received 80% or better on their papers. The students LOVE this and so do my kids!
Such a great helper.
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Always smiling. Always. It is probably one of my most favorite things about her.
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