The Kindness Manger - Day 3

 Since Cocoa warned us that our home was lacking Christmas Spirit, we started our "Kindness Manger" for family night. We drew names and started performing secret acts of kindness--always leaving a straw to be placed in the manger to soften Baby Jesus's bed. The first night of the Kindness Manger is always the best... our kids were scampering around everywhere performing little acts of love for each other. Here are just a few:

Dad's toothbrush prepped and ready along with a piece of chocolate!

A message on the fridge.

Ky's things for school all set out and ready... along with a piece of chocolate!

The next morning, we awoke to a fun letter from Cocoa!

The Children Were Nestled All Snug in Their Beds - Day 2

Cocoa's tip on spreading Christmas cheer:

Don't FORK-get to be KNIFE to everyone!

He's Back - Day 1

We pause these mid-summer catch-up blog posts to bring you some breaking news:

COCOA, THE ELF, IS BACK!

Phew! We were a little worried that he wouldn't find our new house, but we should have known better... Santa knows all! It's amazing how attached our family got to this little man in 25 days last December. His homecoming felt like the return of a long, lost, friend. On December 1st, we woke to find an official letter from the North Pole--though Cocoa was no where in sight. It seems that Cocoa has been keeping tabs on us throughout the year. . .

It was all smiles and giggles reading Cocoa's letter! But apparently, our home is lacking Christmas Spirit. Cocoa challenged us to find it together!

Cocoa brought us some chocolate he picked up in Switzerland.

 (Too bad it was fast Sunday!)

Can you spot Cocoa?

 Later that morning, I found Ashton sitting alone in the living room whispering to Cocoa. He told him all the things he wanted for Christmas... He knows the key to getting in with Santa!

June 2013

I'm so behind on this blog that 'months at a glance' is going to have to do...

Here is a bit of our June 2013:

Cute girls partying in the backyard!

Lemonade stand... Booming business in the Villas!

My reader... just like his Momma!

We planted our first garden!

My beautiful niece, Melissa, got married.

Summer IS running through the sprinklers!

We got to babysit our favorite neighbor/buddy... which qualified us for an actual legal sleepover!

Tent in the backyard... the boys were in heaven!

Kyler worked hard to earn the money for his own ripstick.

He and his buddies lived on these all summer long!

Re-doing Kenna's new room!

We LOVE our new neighborhood... lots of boys!!

A particularly rough night of sleep for everyone.

Both Mom and Dad ended up on the couch!

Fun at the Splash Park

Nothing like a summer night at a Chukars baseball game...

unless in rains!

Motorbiking at Grandpa's Stevens' farm.

Joy

Do you want to know what pure, unexpected joy looks like?

This...

Noelle & Ashton

These two....

 ... are the cutest!

Thanks goodness for COUSINS!

Kyler Immortalized

At the first of his fourth grade year, Kyler and his buddy Zach made a goal to get their picture permanently up in their school's library for having over 400 Accelerated Math points. Just staying up on all the required math scans was hard already... I really didn't know if it would be possible for Ky and Zach. However, when they hit the 200 point mark  in December, we started getting really excited--knowing that it was, in fact, possible!

Here is the "Honor Wall" that started it all...

And here is a picture of the class's overall progress on math scans. (Each sticker represents a scan.) I thought it was so funny that their teacher switched from stickers to tiny dots on Zach and Ky's line!

On the last day to qualify for the AC math award, Zach and Kyler were both a few points shy! Their very cool teacher let them drop everything and go to the library to work like crazy! I stayed for motivation and kept their blood sugar up! They worked through lunch and recess.

And by the end of the day, TA-DAH! They had both made it! Mr. Hood, the very wise man that he is, made sure that they both ended up with the same points. The came in at 403. They were honored at the end of the year school assembly. Their principal made a big deal about it. It was very cool.

Mr. Hood and the math phenoms.

But just last week, (5 months later) their picture was finally nailed up on the wall... the moment they had been waiting for! Each time they see this, they'll both be reminded that they can do hard things.

I am so proud of this kid. I love him more than words could ever describe. He was born with some serious drive, and I can't wait to see what he decides to do next.