Carter's a rock star!

Carter's birthday was back in August; however, due to our lovely schedule, his birthday party did not get to take place until October! We had a great time and made sure he had one "rockin'" party! Carter invited 8 fun boys for a Rock Star party. We played some games (musical chairs and head pimple--a fun, new game my kids love), had pizza and pop, played some Lego Rock Band, ate cake & ice cream, played some more, and then it was over.

This was one of the bands who fought- - for their right - -to pa-a-a-ar-ty!

Band #2 gave Band #1 a good fight.

Musical chairs

To help them get some attitude, I helped them put on temporary tattoos.

Emma scared me with this pose. Who knew she had it in her?
The cake

For party gifts, Carter had discussed with Steve his favorite Rock songs and made a compilation CD for his friends. They got to decorate the label if they wanted and Carter signed them all. The party was loud, but tons of fun! Carter has some great buddies. One even said that the tattoo made him feel tougher as he played his soccer game the following morning. Rock on, brother!

Evan's eleven!

I can't believe my Evan is eleven! He's such a great kid to have around. He is an extremely talented young man with a really fun sense of humor. He is my Mr. Hobby. He loves to play football, swim, draw, sing, play the cello, play the piano (and he's AWESOME!), play the guitar, read, create computer animated videos on a website called "SCRATCH", and solve every rubiks cube he can get his hands on. He has always required a lot of energy from me to keep up with his own. I don't know when this will ever end. :) I hope he keeps me young!

Evan's advanced to BOY Scouts. Another milestone

I found the latest Rubiks cube puzzle, the RubiksSlide. Yep, he had it figured out within 24 hours.

You'll always be my superman, Evan. XOXO

Simply September

September is a month full of fun. I love the cooler weather, harvesting the garden, enjoying the sun, all the new stuff with school and activities, the sports, etc. I just wish it weren't so darn busy!!! In General Conference, President Uchdorf spoke to me. Now I know he was speaking to people all around the world, but I could feel the words penetrate into my mind and my spirit. My problem is implementing the "simplification" he was suggesting. I have 5 kids doing lots of great stuff right now! Plus, doesn't he realize it's fall? Simplify September. Hmmmm. How?
I don't know what to cut out. There's piano, choir, orchestra, cub scouts, webelos, young mens, 4 swim teams, football, soccer, homework, and eating and sleeping fit somewhere in there. I've decided I'm pushing through the end of October and then re-evaluating then. At least football and soccer will have finished by then. But then there's basketball, and hula classes, and...

Well, here are some of our September highlights.

Emma's cheer camp had its climax at our high school's JV football team's half-time. She and her 2 great friends shook their hips, jumped, and cheered their hearts out.

"Roar!" says this future wildcat.

Lizzie is in preschool now! She and her buddy Grant are attending together. She loves it! She is cracking me up coming home with all of her songs, crafts, and stories about the kids and teachers at class. I can't believe the information I'm able to get from her. My other kids basically could only remember the snack for the day. She's amazing me with how big she's getting!

FOOTBALL!

Evan is #73 on the Bills. They are currently undefeated...and have not found any team to be remotely close in any stats. His team from last year, which was made up of boys all from his school was disbanded as they all went to traveling teams...all but Evan and one other player. Evan and friend got put on another school's team, which has totally welcomed us with open arms. These are classy boys with kind, supportive parents. The coaching staff could not be greater. Steve and I can't believe the difference in our football experience this year, and also in our son's abilities. It is a treat to watch him on the offensive line open up the holes for the RBs to drive through. Wow!

Give him room!

Evan is engaging his man.

Ah, soccer! Carter has had the opportunity to be invited onto a competitive soccer team. The level of play is definitely a step up. He is also loving it! He has a lot of friends on the team and is improving his skills. Here he is after kicking a goal. I love watching him hustle!

This is Carter's good friend, who is another excellent player. He played goalie during a really difficult game and saved at least 20 attempts on goal. He's amazing!

Emma is playing kindergarten soccer, which is a little different from Carter's soccer. :) She is having fun and looks darling in her uniform. Skills, well, we're working on it.

Braxton and Carter had the opportunity to participate in a program called "Boys' Power Sing" hosted by our high school's choral directors and a community vocal organization (Young Naperville Singers, which Braxton was a part of years ago). Its purpose was to get boys excited about continuing in the choral programs offered in the school and community. For a few hours one Saturday morning, they learned a handful of fun "boyish" songs and rhythms, ate pizza, socialized with boys from 3rd-12th grade and put on a concert at the end. They had a great time and sounded quite good.

Carter was chosen to be one of the 2 yodelers in one song and he definitely made his voice heard. :)

He is definitely, without a doubt, a born performer.

Labor Day, Li'l John, Lizzie, and Las Vegas

John Sterling Alleman

Labor Day + Little John + Las Vegas + Lizzie = Lots of fun! Lizzie and I flew out Thursday afternoon and hung out with my brother, Matt, and his family (Rebecca and John). We had a great time! Luckily, a portion of Becca's family also arrived early and brought a friend along for Lizzie to play with. Thanks, Jane!

Friday, my parents arrived and drove us to my other brother's new home in Kingman, AZ. GORGEOUS! I am so excited for them and this great opportunity! I know Dr. Wade is working crazy hours, but I'm thrilled he's out of school, and being the doctor he's been training to be for so many years! It was so fun getting to hang out with them. Saturday we drove back to Vegas, went swimming at the beautiful Marriott pool, and then headed over to the church for a combined dinner with all of the guests (around 30) and some BYU football. Luckily, we won. {Wish we could say that for the past 2 Saturdays' games.}

Sunday was John's blessing and a little open house at Matt's. My mom and I teamed up to record his blessing. I don't know how many people still know how to write shorthand, but my mom is awesome! I am amazed as I look at her scribbles that she can still do it, but also understand it! It's like Chinese to me. Between the two of us, her shorthand and my speedy cursive, we can produce a fairly accurate and very cherished document that I know Matt and Becca will love reading over and over.

The rest of the weekend was full of food, more swimming, and relaxation. I even threw in a chocolate tasting fest at Matt's Monday night. I have a fellow choco-holic in my sister-in-law, Becca. So, together we walked down the chocolate aisle at Target and picked out a few fun things to try. I will admit the new Willy Wonka bars are not what I was expecting. Too sweet, too waxy. Too much like Hersheys. What did not disappoint me were the 2 new flavors of Lindt bars. One was a Sea Salt Milk Chocolate and the other was Dark Chocolate with Black Currants and almonds. Mmmmmm! I highly recommend both!

Here is my handsome brother who passed down his handsome genes.

The Allemans-4

(We missed you Mandi, Ryan, Chris, and Max!)

I love my forever family!

My baby is 3 years old!

Lizzie Kay is now 3 years old! She reminds me of this fact every few waking hours. In fact, today she decided she was too old for nursery at church--because she is three now. Of course, this was all said with her hand on her hip, her hip pushed out, toe pointed, and some major attitude radiating from her skin. I think I might have even seen an eye roll.

I just love this girl. I love her singing (Twinkle, Twinkle is still her favorite song). I love her piercing blue eyes. I love her hugs and kisses. I love her desire to be tickled. I love that she still can't say her "l"s and will obediently repeat my grandmother's name, "Luella Lewis", whenever I need to hear her cute speech. I love how she has to hold hands constantly. I love it when she refers to herself as my "little helper" when we do laundry and clean bathrooms. I love how she points out every different color of flower on our walks and bike rides. I love her belly laugh. I love that she wants to play the boardgame, "Princess Charming" every day. I love her ability to chew gum and not swallow it. I love that she's potty trained. I love her sassyness and how she teases Steve. Lizzie is a light in our lives.

Being the girly-girl that she is, she requested a pink cake with pink frosting. Well, being the crazy mom that I am and the tradition of making specialty birthday cakes, I decided to fit her request with an emblem of her favorite toy--strawberry shortcake doll--and make it into a strawberry. We made the cake for our family party and the cupcakes for her playdate with her friends.

Lizzie has 2 great friends from nursery that she asked to come over to celebrate with her. With short notice, these friends came over bearing gifts! They played dress up, barbies, strawberry shortcake, and tea party.

Lizzie received a darling PINK princess umbrella. She also uses it as a parasol. Dainty!

Funny thing about these girls. We have an entire bin of dress-up clothes. They all decided to dress-up in Lizzie's actual dresses that she wears. I was a little surprised when they all came down wearing her real dresses.

She also got a Fancy Nancy dress with shoes to match!

Because of crazy schedules, sports, curriculum nights, etc., we didn't have time to sing as a family or even eat cake! So, the next night we celebrated.

Isn't she cute sporting her strawberry sunglasses?!

Make a wish!

In all seriousness, I love Lizzie's birthdays! Not only do we get to celebrate her life and how blessed we are to have her in our family, but I get to ponder on my 2nd chance to life that I got that same day. I am so grateful to be here to support Steve and raise these precious children--no matter how many things they lose or how many times they forget to make their beds. It is my privilege and I am glad it's not something I take for granted anymore...at least not as much. I had the unique opportunity to fly to Nevada to spend time with my parents, brothers, and sisters again over Labor Day weekend. This always brings up what we were all doing 3 years before. Although I don't remember much of what went on that weekend, my family will never forget it. It is so sweet to see their eyes full of emotion as we remember that event and all of the feelings associated with it. I am grateful to be a part of that 3% that survives!

School is in session

It's hard for me to believe I have 4 kids in school all day. Braxton is in 7th grade, Evan-5th, Carter-3rd, and Emma- Kindergarten. Wowzers! Where has the time gone? Wasn't I just refilling their sippy cups, playing peek-a-boo, and putting them down for naps? We are all excited, though, for this new school year. Everyone is happy with their teachers AND has friends in their classes. My kids' excitement is helping me with my anxiety. I know I am more nervous than they are at the start of the year. So far, we are off to a good start!

Braxton has grown as much as our tree!

My 3 Kendall Elementary students

Carter is excited for Mrs. Donivan.

We've heard she's strict, but fun. Perfect for Carter!

Evan's got a good group of friends in his class. His teacher is known for her math and science skills! Sweet! Again, perfect for Evan.

Emma gets Mrs. Brown! And so did Braxton, Evan, & Carter!!! Amazing. She said she's definitely requesting Lizzie in a few years because... "You can't break up the set!"



Emma's first day at Kindergarten was an hour-long orientation. She was bummed it didn't last longer, so I took the girls to Dupage Children's Museum. They had a great time learning, exploring, dancing, climbing, etc.

Lizzie was discovering her different parts of her shadow. So cool!

Here she gets to encase herself in a gigantic bubble!

I think Lizzie and I will be frequenting this museum this school year. She will be starting preschool at the high school at the end of the month...and can't wait! Every day she asks when it's her turn to go to school. Poor girl. I'm not in a hurry. Meanwhile, we'll keep playing memory, U-No, cleaning, doing puzzles, reading, and dancing to princess music.

Summer: In Review

Summer is over and it's time to report. Every year we make a "bucket list" of all the things we want to do over the summer. It is quite extensive. We nearly completed the list. Our summer was also filled with swim teams, scout camps, and t-ball. This was supposed to be a scaled-down summer; however, time flew by. Here are some of our highlights:

Webelos Camp

Cheerleading Camp

My garden!!!

Singing around a campfire

Evan took 2 weeks of guitar lessons and is now good enough to jam with Dad.

S'mores

Lunch Entertainment in the park

Emma loves to boogie!

This year my parents flew the boys out for a long weekend. While the boys were gone, the girls got to play. We went to a cute, little zoo.

made cupcakes with Emma's cupcake maker,

painted our toenails

AND our fingernails--even Mom!

Made a pinwheel art project,

Went on a date with Dad--our for Chinese (1st time)

Swimming

buried in the sand and made into a princess...or tinkerbell...or a mermaid...or a butterfly...or a...

running through sprinklers ...with dolls

Then the boys came back. We missed them terribly.


We needed them to go miniature golfing.

Emma got to attend an Irish Dance camp. Here she's showing off her skip.

Carter's Birthday was August 13th. I can't believe he's 9 years old!

His request for the day was bowling.

Red velvet cake balls are too yummy to shove candles in, so we stuck them in the ice cream instead. :) Yummy!

Cantigny Museum with Aunt Mandi, Uncle Ryan, Chris, and Max

Climbing on the tanks was the highlight for the kids.

Coolin' off at the pool, "Centennial Beach"

Dad showing off his diving board skills

and enjoying the attention from his beautiful girls

Darling Max showed off his cute button.

Chris loved being Batman

Mandi and Ryan helped the kids build an awesome castle--complete with a moat!

The summer wouldn't be complete without visits to the Museum of Science and Industry.

Emma's favorite exhibit is the laughing garden.

Carter lost to Evan in the mind-relaxation game.They had a phenomenal storm exhibit with an electricity demonstration.

We also got to take care of a friend's dog, Catie, while her family was on vacation.

Catie provided lots and lots of entertainment for a little over 2 weeks. The children were very sad to see her go.

Paddle boats were a blast!

The boys kept chasing down the ducks and scaring them off.

We girls got our own boat. I will switch it up next year since my legs were the only ones long enough to reach the pedals. Wow! That was quite the work-out!

One more trip bowling...this time with Dad.

Braxton got a strike!


The day before school, we decided to redeem 4 of the kids' coupons they'd earned through the library's reading program. We took Dad out for a surprise lunch. That week he was not only going to be traveling out of town, but he was also starting to teach seminary. Translation: "See ya later, Dad."

What a great summer!