Leighton on 2 Wheels

Our old house had a steep, narrow and crumbly driveway. To make matters worse we lived on a steep hill.  Needless to say, Leighton rarely got to practice riding his bike unless we smashed all the kids and all the bikes in to the van  and went to the park.  So Leighton was unable to learn to ride on two wheels.  With a couple days of being in our new house with a wide and flat driveway, he asked if we could take the training wheels off.  HE WAS MORE THAN READY.  It took him about 5 or 6 tries to get the hang of it and he was off to the races, riding fast in circles, stopping quickly, steering, etc.

Watching your kids succeed is a wonderful thing to experience!  I am a very proud momma! 

And these two bugs are equally as special to watch.  From golfing while wearing helmets to climbing on roofs, McCabe and Brooks make me a proud mom too! Doesn't this first picture of McCabe remind you of snoopy?

Happy 3rd Birthday Brooks

Happy 3rd Birthday B-Man!

Every single time one of my children has had a birthday I always find myself saying, "I can't BELIEVE that are already such and such age.  Seriously, with my 4 kids, we have celebrated 13 birthdays and accompanying the obvious joy, is the shocking reality that life is going way too fast.  This time was a little bit different.  Brooks is so big, so lively, so loud, so talkative, to daring, and always keeping pace with his older brothers that I always assume he is older.  When he turned 3 I truly felt like he should be turning 4.  He just seems older.  I guess that is what happens when you are the younger brother.  

And for the time as a 3 year old, I introduce to you, Mr. Brooks David Hukee ...

I love being Brooks' Mom.  I look forward to enjoying him as a 3 year old charmer.

Moving Day

Let the records state that we moved October 1st, 2013!

I will truly miss our small home.  I will miss that everyone has to figure out how to get along because there wasn't any room to spread out.  I will miss that I could hear every conversation my kids had even if I was on the other end of it.  (Of course the baby monitor helps with that!)

I will miss our backyard.  (Except for the raking!)

I will truly miss sitting in the spot I nursed my children.  I will miss lounging on the floor that I played with my children for countless hours on.  

But I am also so excited to make many new memories in your new home!

Packing to Move

Let it be known that packing is a hard task with 4 little ones running around you!

Let it also be known that empty cupboards keep the kiddos occupied while packing!

I am amazed at how many boxes it takes to pack.  They get filled up so quickly.

I am amazed at how much packing tape and masking tape it takes to pack.  They get used up so quickly.

I am amazed at how much packing you have to save to the last 24 hours.  We just use so much stuff.

Prayer Books

A few months back we made prayer books with pictures of family and friends on each page.  Lately Brooks has wanted this book with him throughout the day.  On this particular day, I found him snuggling it at bed time.  How precious.  Hopefully he also said some precious faith filled prayers.

First SOCCER Game

Oh my goodness.  There really aren't words to express to wonderful it is to see your children playing in their first sporting event.

It is that, 'I'm-so-proud-to-be-their-mom' feeling.
It is that, 'I-don't-even-care-if-you-have-more-hand-balls-than-kicks,' feeling.
It is that, 'I-love-watching-you-learn-something-new,' feeling.
It is that, 'butterflies-in-your-stomach-every-time-they-get-the-ball,' feeling.
It is that, 'tears-your-eyes-when-they-score-their-frist-goal,' feeling.
It is that, 'I-want-to-go-run-onto-the-field-and-hug-them-but-Im-gonna-play-it-cool,' feeling.
It is that, 'My-kids-are-old-enough-to-play-soccer?-life-is-going-to-fast,' feeling.

I thoroughly enjoyed starting this chapter of our lives.

Leighton:
Oh my goodness.  I was proud of this offensive machine!  He played offense so well, scoring 3 goals!  He was quick, had good coordination, and knew exactly where the goal was.  Every score, he turned toward dad, ran straight to him and gave him a jumping high-five.

McCabe:

Oh my goodness.  I was so proud of this defensive machine.  Without any coaching at all, McCabe was  the best defender in the bunch.  He stopped sooooooo many goals, the outran everyone to catch up and steak the ball away, he got in between the other teams offender and their goal almost every time, and in the words of his proud father and coach, "He naturally knew what to do on defense, he knew his angles, he did so great on defense!" As for offense, his one shot on goal missed by our 6 inches, so he caught up to it, used his hands to move it in front of the goal and proceed to kick it in, only to have an opponent block it centimeters before rolling into the goal.  

The fans:

Here we are cheering, laughing, and holding back tears of joy behind sunglasses!

The League:

One of my favorite aspects of this league is that it is put on my our church, so we know almost every coach and at least a couple families on each team.  Here they are slapping hands with Coach McGargill and the Red Pandas who had the Gray family on their team too.  

Refreshments:

This may have been one of their favorite parts of the game!?!?!?

Playground Buddies:  

They played on the playground for a while after the game.  Oh my dear boys.  I love every waking moment of life with them.  Love it!  Love it! Love it!

(I may post this many picture every game!)  

Wild

The boys have decided that one of their favorite things to do outside is get on some sort of toy with wheels, sit in it, stand on it, or go backwards on it down it little hill.  It is pretty entertaining to watch and they dont seem to care when their vehicle tips them out and rolls over them.  Notice Leighton has devised his own strapping device to keep him in it should it tip over.  Why he didn't just use the wagon belt, I don't know.  

Hours of entertainment.

No casualties!

We are sure going to miss our swingset and swing when we move.  The kids love it so much.

And then there is lady lu.  We all delight in her soooooo much.  She loves getting pulled around by Leighton in the wagon.  And even got sent down the hill all by herself by Leighton while mommy wasn't looking.  

 And then here is B-man.  Usually in the dirt!  Always handsome.