Glimpse of Summer

Funny how you look forward to something (like summer) and now only officially under 2 weeks into it we are not sure what to do with our selves.. hahahah. Gotta love the endless days and the fighting banter that reminds you vividly why school was such a good idea. Here are a few pictures of the brood!

Sandlot Style Ball! Seems to be the new summer favorite. So glad we don't have picky kids when it comes to places to hang out.

Strike a pose! hahah. Alex and those blasted freckles make me wanna kiss his face. He is always soooo serious. I hope he lightens up a bit this summer. He's only six.

Drum solo Master Landon at your service. He is available for your next summer BBQ.

Austyn is practicing to be the next action stunt double. For whom we are not quite sure. But he may just reach the sky if he doesn't stop growing soon. Little brother is becoming a grand escape artist. Or at least that is is the story we are given by who ever is in charge of watching him when they all go out at once.. I am very suspicious that he isn't being watched with a very close eye.

Basketball is just a little too distracting for a group of boys.

Happy summer folks. More updates soon. I hope to have a post of the fabulous, lyric composer in our home.

School's Out for Summer!

Extra, Extra, Read All About It!

Our house full of boys have been off and running this year. We have been doing much of the same just one taxi driver at a time. So my free time has been limited to required work schedule and necessary bathroom maintenance for myself.
 You will be relieved to know that I get at least one shower a day! As for the necessary maintenance (shaving) that has been most often this season one leg at a time and not always on the same day. Does any other mother suffer from this? Please share. I feel I may be forming some sort of disorder.

 School is officially over at noon tomorrow! I have never looked forward to summer more than I have this year. In many waves this year I have struggled with what is motivating my parenting struggles. Most of it comes down to a lack of consistent time to regroup as a family and make sure we are all on the same page about where we are headed together on this crazy season of life. They are growing up so fast and the less control I have in their daily schedule the more I feel like we are on separate planets. I know this is a good thing for their growth as young men. But boy does it take it's toll on a mom.

 I have been so thankful that I HAVE to work at Knot Another Hat a few times a month to stay motivated and inspired to keep knitting. It has been a frenzy of knitting this last year. I did not take pictures like I should have. I am making notes in my knitting journal and keeping track of these finished projects I hope to be able to get pictures from the recipients of the gifts and post them. A few of these lovely creations are on display at the shop so be sure to stop in a take a look. "WIN" vest is my Olympics project that was finally finished up after a month of Chicken Pox and other forms of sickness.

 My little Alex has graduated from kindergarten. I am going to miss his teacher so much she has been so awesome. He LOVES TO READ! Yes, finally one of my boys can't stop reading. I almost cried the day he said mom can I stay up and finish this book...

Way to go buddy! You have had an exciting year of learning. I am so proud of you.

Keep up the good work. I know you will continue to wow our socks off. My mom is here visiting for a couple weeks and she helped me whip up 20 or so yarn lei's for this years graduation extravaganza. We had some big girls graduate high school this year too.

Not much more to report right now. This post has been long over due. I plan to post more often and then get stuck in busy-ness of life and don't seem to get it done. So for now I leave you with this update.

Welcome 2010

Hello All,
  We have been in the throws of growing children at Whitaker Central. We are fast approaching having 2 kids in the the double digits thankfully not both TEENAGERS but double digits bring on a whole new world. hahaha. The rest (except the little man) are in school all day.
  I hope all of you had a fabulous holiday and spent time enjoying family and friends, doing the things that make you feel wonderfully connected and ready for the New Year/Decade.
  In my attempt to bring in the New Year right. I have been going through one room at a time and getting rid of anything that does not bring me GREAT JOY. At times my husband has wondered if he and the kids will be the next to go.. I assured him that they all bring me great joy! (giggle).
  My 2009 has been filled with lots of trying moments that have led to trying circumstances. There have been many things that I won't be able to share with you here. But for those of you who have been there for us and come along side to support us with your friendship, prayers, extra hands, and encouragement. We are extremely greatful and want to thank you for all you done.
  During this I have discovered I have not been the BEST friend I could be to some of you and I apologize for that. But my being a better wife and mother this year has forced my focus to be a little more one sided for now. Please know that I so appreciate your friendship and hope you all understand that life has gotten in the way of my free time for now but I am getting back out there and hope to spend lots of time with you all this coming year. Forgive me if you feel displaced or ignored by us this last year.

  If I had sent out the standard Christmas Letter to all of you this Holiday Season it would have read something like this.....

 Dear Friends,
   Reflecting back on our year filled with bull and other non pleasant things. We have decided to postpone the holidays until I feel more like celebrating.
   Austyn is in full mode of teenger-dom. He is busy filling his day with things that revolve around him, planning what he will fill his never full belly and legs. I swear feeding a teenager will take another job. 
  He has been filling the remaining free time he enjoys each day doing odd jobs for bits of money to entertain himself and slave labor for us to keep the peace. The ever constant tapping of the ball bouncing off the bedroom wall is his calling card.
 Rick and I are going to enroll ourselves in a brand new language program this winter. The add reads..
---Parents do you want to understand your teen ?Join us in this fascinating 2-3 year program that will change your life. Do you find yourself asking them to speak up? Texting in code words and letters that you don't understand? Do you wonder what they said even when you can hear them? Join us in a loud/ music filled room once a week to explore this fascinating langauge designed to help you BOND with your teen.----
  I hope you know I am kidding but this is something we think will be coming soon. He is respectful and is growing at least a foot a week. We can't keep up with him. Eeeeeeek.
  We continue to discover we have average kids doing exceptionally well at being average. They challenge us daily with questions and non stop talking that make us long for the grunts and one word responses of their teenage brother.. ahhaha..
 The thing I discovered I miss most about homeschooling is the paitence I had with my kids. I am continually amazed at the lack of paitence I have with them when I only have a few hours with them each day.
 Austyn is in the 7th grade and skates by doing as little as he can but seems to be squeaking out a GPA that keeps him on the honor roll and the current sports line up and that makes everyone happy. He has discovered girls, or they have discovered him. I don't know exactly what order it happend but I am not looking forward to this venture..
 Makoa is in 4th grade and is being misunderstood. His rough and aggressive playground/sports actions makes most people view him that way. But he is a gentle spirit that cares about people and he see's and hear's WAY more than we care for him to take in.. hahaha. He continues to remind us that we are not treating eachother nicely or we need to make up.
 For Cole 2nd grade is bringing on a serious dislike of all things educational. He just wants to play. If anyone has a great carrer option for him that requires no schooling and he can make a good living please email me. At this point he has made HUGE progress in getting over his bad attitude about everything that doesn't go his way and we look forward to another year.
 Alex the ever present Lawyer of the bunch. He is a rapid fire kindergartener. Everything Mrs. Kingrey says and does is amazing and creative so he feels compelled to share his growing knowledge with us. I am shocked at all he is learning this year. It is fun to see him reading everything he sees. But I will be sending out a bulk email to every grocery store in America to remove the magazines from the check out lines. Having my 5 year old sound out words like BETTER SEX ALL YEAR, while you are loading you groceries is enough to send any mother into a red faced shock. What do you say?  Great job reading Alex. At those moments we have the slowest checker in the history of the store working, ANNND it is a stock up shopping trip with a two basket minimum.
 Landon, Landon, Landon. I can't really put all the things we are learning about him this year. It would bore everyone to tears and some would send you to the Personal Care isle for some Depends undergarments. His new best friend is the refridgerator. All the items in there make a huge mess and fantastic noises when you drop them on the ground in large quantities. Eggs,I have discovered crack with amazing ease in the hands of an almost 2 year old. The laughter that wells up in him when he get 10 plus on the ground at once is a priceless sound. Have you seen how much eggs cost these days?
 Anything we tell him not to do HE MUST DO. So I am working on a stratagie to tackle that. Nothing makes my heart happier than seeing my little guy walking around the house in underware and cowboy boots. That is his favorite outfit of all time.
 Hope your holiday is filled with the joy the season brings to your house. Happy New Year!
  Merry Christmas,
  Rick and Destiny and our Housefullofboys.

Rick didn't approve this letter but I wanted to post it anyway. We are looking forward to a better year in 2010.