Soccer, Siblings, and Spectacles

I finally downloaded the pictures from my camera. Some of them have been on there for a month. That's really bad, I know.

A lot has been happening with Brianna especially. She was having some headaches and our pediatrician suggested that we take her to an optometrist. Sure enough, she needed glasses.

She looks pretty cute, huh? She had mixed feelings, partly excited for something new, and partly nervous about how she would look in glasses.

I like her new look. I think the glasses actually bring out her eyes and her exuberant personality.

Meyson is a little more camera shy.

They both love Silas very much and are wonderful siblings for her.

Brianna has started playing soccer and she loves it. AND, despite never having played before, she is really good at it. She is by far the most aggressive player on her team, which is a good thing. We can see her confidence level rising with every game and we can't wait to see her progress through the rest of the season.

She shoots...

SHE SCORES!!!!

So, there you go. The latest. Oh wait, one more. The cutest smile ever:

Recuperating

We visited our county fair yesterday and we are still exhausted after a full night of sleep. It's tiring enough to walk a long way and to subject your body to the rigors that some of the rides provide, but on top of that we were constantly looking around us to make sure we still had six little bodies with us. I can't even imagine the freak out if we were to lose one of them.

Cody and Carson are particularly hard to keep up with because they tend to be easily distracted by the noise and lights and crazy looking people. More than once I turned around to find them totally absorbed in something that had caught their eye.

We had the double stroller with us which takes Memphis out of the equation, thank God. Had he been loose we would have spent the entire time running after him shouting, "Hey you little monster! Don't you know we are here to protect you from the huge machinery and insane carnies? Stop running away!"

Brianna spent the afternoon trying to steal my cotton candy. I am very serious about cotton candy. It is the most amazing creation ever. So, I was glad that it seemed to satisfy Bri and the other kids when I gave them each a little bit.

Silas did amazingly well riding in the stroller or strapped to the front of either Brad or me. At one point, while I was wearing her, Brad was trying to talk me into riding a particularly scary ride. I said, "Alright, alright, but if I die it's your fault," and we proceeded to make our way over to The Inverter.

Meyson thought that I was going to leave Silas strapped to me during the ride and was extremely distraught at the thought of how scared she would be. He began trying fervently to convince me that it was a really, really bad idea. He's a good big brother.

We never did make it over to The Inverter, much to Brad's dismay, but I think everyone else got to ride everything they wanted to ride. Now we have a whole year to recover and it's a good thing because we're going to need it.

Once Upon A Time...

As part of our homeschooling, Cody and Carson have been doing a study of Cinderella. This has more educational opportunities than you might think. The study includes botany (the study of the pumpkin), math (telling time, measuring feet), social studies (how a princess acts), etc. By far my favorite activity came today. For the language arts portion of the study the girls had to write their own version of the story. There was a prewriting page to help them gather their thoughts and keep them on track. Carson, of course, had to dictate hers to me. Here is her rendering for your enjoyment:

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a girl named Cinderella. She was a maid and she lived in a faraway house on the beach in Mexico.

Her step-mother and step-sisters were always nice. They bought her what she wanted. They let her go hunting and get a starfish and they let her pick leaves and flowers. They bought her pumpkins. They ate pumpkins and they bought her scissors. They let her ride on a horse, go to a restaurant, and go fishing. They let her go to the ball and sharpen her own pencils.

Cinderella asked if she could go to the ball and if she could go see her fairy godmother. Her fairy godmother waved her wand and said the magic words:

"Poopy Locky Wo Poo Pea Soup Dee!"

She gave Cinderella a dress and a carriage made from a pumpkin. It was pulled by a horse and a horse was driving and there was a pig that made it go.

There was a storm and the pig ran away. The storm went away and a big pencil came. Cinderella was outside and she got smooshed by the big pencil.

The End

This story is the opposite of the traditional Cinderella. In every way. It cracks me up that it is so sunny and wonderful up until Cinderella is smooshed by a giant, runaway pencil. Carson is too short to use our pencil sharpener, and apparently this is an issue for her. She considers it a privilege to get to sharpen her own pencil. She may grow up to be a science-fiction writer.

I Told You Funny Would Return

I know, I know, it's been a long while. Sorry. Would you believe that I've been busy lately?

Anyway, I'll make up for it with a couple of Carsonisms.

Sunday morning I was getting myself ready for church. I pulled out a pair of pantyhose (yes, I own pantyhose) and began to inspect them for runs as I just don't wear them very often. Enter Carson:

"Wow! Your tights are big, Big, BIg, BIG, BIIIGG! Mom, those are some big tights!"

Yes, thank you.

And then later I was applying my makeup which, I suppose, I should do more often. Enter Carson again:

"I'm glad you are putting make-up on Mom. Then you won't be scary, scary, scary!"

Thanks again. Where, by the way, did all of this emphasis come from? Really, it only serves to add insult to injury that my hose are big times four instead of just plain big. And you thought I was self-conscious before.