Adventures with the Ensors

Micah is 4!

2013-05-29T06:30:00.000-05:00

Today the boy turns 4!! He is so full of energy. He is all boy. He definitely keeps me on my toes. Wish he would stop getting bigger but he just won't listen. Love that little boy. He told me the other day that he was little on the outside but big on the inside. Love him so.

Only a few days old

Night before he turned one. I though it was funny that he was sleeping exactly the same way tonight.

Tonight. Same position but a little bit bigger.

First birthday

Star Wars 4th birthday party.

Riding his new bike.

Coloring with his friends

Blowing out his candles

Opening his presents

Katy's butterfly birthday party

2013-03-17T16:47:00.001-05:00

This is Katy the night before her birthday. Some last moments of her being 5. Why does 6 seem so big.

Birthday donuts

I brought some cupcakes to Katy's class on her birthday.

This is when they were singing happy birthday to her :)

Her party was yesterday. She wanted butterflies. I found some butterflies for them to paint. I think they all really liked it.

More cupcakes.

Opening presents.

This is when she opened her wreck it ralph vanelope car.

Flash back 2007

2013-03-07T11:30:00.001-06:00

I was looking for some pictures for a project for Katy. All these pictures break my heart just a little because of how big the girls are now. These pictures are all from 2007 pre Micah. Sniff, sniff, tear.

Jed

2013-01-12T07:00:00.000-06:00

It has been 2 months since Jed died. It was a lot harder than I ever thought it would be. He was 11 years old. Eleven years is a long time to have someone with you 24/7. I miss him every day. It is a lot quieter around here, but a lot lonelier sometimes. My floor is a lot dirtier too :) He was a great dog and companion. Rest in Peace good buddy. We love you!

Me pregnant with Vail and Jed watching over me at Matthew's soccer game.

Flick's been busy

2012-12-17T07:00:00.000-06:00

Taking a snooze and keeping watch over the presents.

He got a little carried away and rolled toilet paper all the way down the hall and then rolled the christmas tree with it.

Last night Matthew was out of town and I guess Flick thought he would practice being man of the house. :)

Fishing and the zip line

2012-12-14T09:09:00.001-06:00

Being silly

2012-12-12T16:59:00.003-06:00

Flick had a little party last night with some girls and Chewbacca. Micah was not happy that Chewbacca participated in this but has allowed him to stacy up there all day.

Donuts

2012-12-11T08:21:00.001-06:00

Flick brought donuts again this year. The kids thought it was a very special treat. Of course I also got the question of where did he get the donuts? Maybe he made them. Then where did he get the box? Maybe he made that too. All I know is Flick needs to work on the uniformity of his donuts.

This is Katy's donut after she was done. Katy is my icing licker. Anything with icing on it she licks the icing and leaves the cake part. This donut was no exception. She said "Too much sugar". Agreed. Of course it didn't help that she got the Fat Albert donut with double the icing of the other two.

Flick has returned

2012-12-10T07:30:00.000-06:00

Well Flick showed up tonight. He decided to wait a little bit longer than last year so that Mom and Dad wouldn't have to think of too much mischief for him to get into. He left his book on Vail's bed and decided to hang out on Micah's fan until everyone found him. It took the girls a few minutes to find him but eventually he did. I wasn't too sure if they would still be excited about him but let's just say they were VERY excited he came back. Katy said "see elves are real". Vail kept saying "I can't believe it." We read the book as a friendly reminder to not touch the elf or he would have to go back to the North Pole. Let's hope that Mom and Dad can come up with some good ideas this year.

Side note....here is a picture of Vail's later artwork hanging up in school. I am not sure what it is but I think it looks like a lady with earrings.

iPhone picture dump

2012-11-26T15:26:00.003-06:00

Staying up way past bedtime because he had a nap earlier in the day.

Watching Elf one night

Daddy made a "car wash" in the garage.

Working on her handwriting over break.

After we put up the tree.

Making some decorations for outside.

Momma got to go to 3 Thanksgiving feasts all in one day. Vail's and Micah's overlapped so I only got to stop and say hi to Vail but she was a trooper about it.

Ready to watch Wreck It Ralph.

Katy finished up soccer.

Trick or treating at Daddy's office

Helping me make a pumpkin pie.

Flash Back to Vail's birthday.

2012-09-27T09:39:00.001-05:00

Vail turned 7 on July 25. We were actually at Dauphin Island for our little family beach vacation so it was pretty low key. This girl loves having her birthday at the beach. She is a beach girl. She wanted and American flag cake so we went with a red, white, and blue party. We let her open one gift at breakfast. She opened up a princess piggy bank that she had been asking for. She felt that the bank she had was too small so she wanted a new one. She was very happy.

The party decor.

She picked her star dress tow ear for her birthday. She loved her cake and the fact that she was finally 7.

Seriously, look how big she looks here. Also someone else thought they needed some attention.

First lego set.

If you know Vail at all you know she has loved fish from very early on. This was her dream come true. Her very own fish tank. It is only big enough for one fish. When we got home she got to pick out her fish. She picked a goldfish. We are currently on fish #2. Goldie the goldfish didn't last very long and we now have Blueberry the beta fish. I think Blueberry is going to be around for a while.

Up next...Flash back to our beach vacation.

Micah's in "school"

2012-09-17T13:53:00.000-05:00

Micah started going to preschool. He is in the 3 year old class. This first picture is from the half day that he went. I asked him to stand by his name so I could take his picture. He was super excited to be there :). On this day they really only stay in their class an hour while the parents are at a meeting. It is a kind of get to know your teacher thing.

Since I am kind of in tight with the director of our preschool program (she just happens to be my bestie) I left my camera on his first day and she took a few pictures for me.

Sitting on the carpet in his room. I am sure he sits perfectly still every time he is asked to. HA!

Getting ready for some work.

Snack time!

Lunch time! I could tell by the pictures that he probably had a hard time sitting still while eating. It was kind of funny. I pray for these teachers everyday.

School seems to be going really well. He goes on Tuesday and Thursday 9-2. They take a rest on mats around 1:00. The first day he apparently got a little upset because everyone else had a blanket and he didn't. Mother of the year right here. I sent one with him the next time and he was fine. He likes to play in the water after he washes his hands. He loves his star wars backpack and his iron man lunch box. Everyday when I take the girls to school he wants to get out his backpack no matter what day it is. It was a little hard for me the first week he was gone because it was so quiet around here. I am adjusting. It helps that he loves going and basically hops out of the car no problem when it is time to go in. I am very thankful for that.

Today Uncle Brian had the day off and came over to hang out for a bit and chat. It was a very nice surprise. He helped Micah put together a lego car and watched me fold laundry. I know he had so much fun :) He is an awesome Uncle.

Bus drama

2012-09-06T11:07:00.003-05:00

Micah is in preschool. This is the second day he has gone. I am sitting in a very quiet house. Too quiet. I know I will get to the point where I will enjoy my me time, but today I am sitting on my couch crying (only a little) because I miss my boy and girls. I am trying not to get up and go eat all the fun size bags of cheetos in the pantry because I know it won't make me feel any better. Why are cheetos so good?So I am updating my blog. I am also trying the whole vinegar/baking soda trick on my stinky mildew towels while I update my blog. It seems that overnight they ALL have started to smell. GROSS! One thing I am looking forward to is that I get to have a lunch date with my amazing hubby today!

For those of you who haven't heard the bus drama story yet here it is.....The girls had asked on a couple of occasions if they could ride the bus. I had been toying with the idea of letting them ride the bus home from school because lets be honest it just makes good sense. They would get dropped off pretty much minutes before I would get home from picking them up. Win win..I don't have to wait in the car line and they get to ride the bus. It also helps that the little girl across the street was going to be riding the bus. The second week of school they would start riding the bus home. I sent notes in their backpacks for their teachers, I called the school, and I reminded the girls about the change. All was set. Monday 3:45 I walk across the street to wait with my neighbor for the bus. I've got Micah, the dog, and my camera. I had big plans of documenting this moment. Here comes the bus. Neighbor girl gets off the bus. Vail gets off the bus. I snap a picture and start making a big deal about her riding the bus....

My one picture that I took of the bus ride.

Oh wait...is she crying? Where is Katy? Vail(sobbing): Katy is gone! She is missing! Me: what are you talking about? Vail: she never got on the bus! I don't know what happened to her!

Me (in my head): Awesome. Of course this is happening. I hate the bus.

Me (to Vail): Its ok babe she probably forgot to get on the bus. Its no big deal I will just go to the school and pick her up. Vail(tears immediately shut off): Can I stay here and play with Marhley? Me: Yes. ( I also abandoned my dog there too)

I immediately leave my house and drive to the school which is like 4 minutes from our house. I was thinking that they forgot she was switching to the bus and she would be waiting on me at the school to pick her up. Let me point out at this moment that I was physically shaking. I was on the verge of tears and trying not to panic. I mean I didn't know where my child was.

Get to the school, go inside, and see the secretary. I will say that the secretary at our school is VERY nice. In the next few moments I did actually want to punch her in the face.

Me: My child did not get off the school bus.

Secretary: Did you get on the bus and make sure she wasn't on there?

Me: Ummm....no but my other daughter got off the bus and said she never got on the bus. (I am realizing she is probably not waiting on me at school and I start to cry.)

Secretary: Oh..no. (not what a mom wants to hear). What is her name?

Me: Katy Ensor

Secretary: Oh she got on the bus because I had the list and I made sure she got on the bus. (still not making this mom feel any better.)

Me: Well I don't know what bus you put her on but it wasn't the right bus because she didn't get off the bus at my house!

At this point the secretary calls Katy's teacher, who I love very much, and they have a conversation about which bus Katy was on and where we live and oh they don't live there they live here. Then the secretary called transportation and told them that she thought Katy was on this certain bus so they called the bus and sure enough she was still on that bus.

Insert Hallelujah chorus here.

So Katy's teacher came to the office and she felt absolutely horrible. She is the same teacher that Vail had last year and apparently all last year she assumed we lived in a different subdivision. Instead of checking to make sure we did live in that subdivision she just went ahead and put Katy on the bus that goes to the WRONG subdivision. I think she learned to maybe double check that kind of stuff next time.

They said it would take about 20 minutes for the bus to get back to the school with my Katy on it. I am feeling better but now I am worried that she is scared. Everyone is falling all over themselves apologizing for what has happened. Lets face it....not ok people.

Bus pulls up. We go outside and Katy gets off the bus. I could tell she hadn't been crying on the bus but when she saw me she started crying. It was just a quiet sobbing. Poor little girl. I thought she may never ride the bus again. The principal promised her that the next day she would get to be her bus helper (whatever that is) and Katy ~~eventually~~ liked that idea. I however wanted something a little better like maybe free ice-cream for a week or a big giant chocolate cake for her mama and some diet coke. That qualifies as pain and suffering right? After about 10 minutes she stopped crying and we were able to leave the school. Moral of this story...Double check your subdivisions.

You may be asking yourself why didn't Vail or Marhley say anything about Katy not being on the bus. I have no idea. My best guess is that it was just all so new that none of them really knew what to do. I mean Katy was put on a bus by an adult she was told to obey. She must have assumed it was the right thing. Maybe she thought Vail and Marhley had gotten on the wrong bus. Vail told me later that she was so scared when Katy wasn't on the bus so she may have been to scared to say anything. I don't know. I am just thankful we found her and that she got on the bus the next day. Also I was very exhausted by the end of the day and considered never letting them out of my sights again.

BUS DRAMA #2

What there is another drama?! I am trying to make this the longest blog post ever. One of Vail's front teeth is extremely loose, but still not ready to come out yet. Tuesday I meet the bus and Vail comes off and starts talk/yelling at me :Mom! Mom!

Me (in my head): Oh my goodness why is there so much blood in her mouth! I mean her teeth were that yellow/orange color. You guys are never riding this bus again!!

"What happened to your mouth?!"

Vail: I bonked my mouth on Katy's head.

Me: What were you guys doing?

Katy: She was licking my face.

Me to Vail: life lesson.

Her tooth was barely hanging on. I tried to pull it but couldn't get it out. Man those things bleed a lot. Matthew had to pull it when he got home.

Stay tuned for Micah's first day of school and Vail's birthday (which was over a month ago :) )

First day of Kindergarten

2012-08-20T16:45:00.003-05:00

Friday Kates had her first full day of kindergarten. She was very excited. She has the same teacher that Vail had last year so I think that put me a bit more at ease. You know not so much new stuff for me. :) She was a little nervous about being able to find her class but we assured her that we would walk her there. She was fine after that. When we walked into class she went straight to her cubby and put her back pack up, got out her folder and put it in her mailbox, and sat down at her table and started to color her paper. I tell you she was a pro. I think I only teared up once. There were way less parents crying than last year so that helped me out some. She made it through the whole day and had a blast. Today was her second full day. Vail walked her to class this morning. I felt a little less like I was dropping them off at the airport than last year. I only cried for a little bit when I got home. This was the big news today.... K: mom I made a friend. Me: Awesome babe! K: his name is Hunter. Me: that is a great name. K: He is a boy. Is it ok that I am friends with a boy? Me: absolutely...until further notice.

All ready to go.

Sitting at her table

Micah not looking guilty at all about playing with the games.

Katy's cubby.

Katy telling her dad "Its ok dad, I'm going to be ok, I got this". Just kidding I have no idea what she was saying.

Micah playing with the turtle that was trying to bite his finger through the glass.

This a picture that hangs outside her class. It is a picture from her half day at school. They had to go find Ollie the owl. She didn't look too sure about this owl. Can't say that I blame her :)

Random bits of information

Right now Katy is upstairs trying to get Micah to play X-men with her.
I am totally overwhelmed with all the stuff Vail brought home from school today that she has to do, but lets face it I have to do it too.
At what grade will my kids be smarter than me and I will need a refresher course in everything.
Micah has been wearing underwear for over 3 weeks now and has done a great job.
Today I have cleaned up more pee than in the 3 weeks prior.

First Grade

2012-08-10T11:25:00.001-05:00

It is that time of year again. So far this year has gone much smoother than last year. Vail was up and dressed before 7 this morning. She was very excited. When I made a comment about her getting dressed fast she replied with "that was my plan". We headed out the door with our bags of school supplies and drove to school. I asked her if it would be ok if I walked her to class today and she said yes. Even though we had already been to the school once to meet her teacher today the hall seemed much longer than it did last time and her class is at the very end. When we got there everyone was already at their desks working on some sort of worksheet. Vail's teacher hugged her and then showed her to her desk. She looked so cute. She hung her back pack on her chair and sat right down. This is the point where her teacher began to tell me I had purchased the wrong type of folders. Which she also told me I probably wouldn't be able to find. I could do an entire post on my school supply woes. I used to love school supply shopping. Not so much anymore. Anyway...I snapped a quick picture of Vail at her desk and was out the door. I am proud to say I didn't shed a tear (yet). I felt very rushed to go in and out which I am sure will be the norm for any grade except kindergarten. I hope that Vail is ok and not nervous or scared. Yes I know she was excited. Yes I know she went there last year. She still gets a little nervous at new things and I don't want her to be scared. Praying for peace. She has been so excited for first grade. All summer long "Mom can't you believe I am going to be in first grade." I am glad it is here. She kept telling Katy that there are no toys in first grade only work. We will see how she feels at the end of next week. Katy starts school on Friday. That will be a totally different story than today. Hopefully she won't tell her teacher that she is a bus rider and them have to call me and freak me out like last year. Hopefully I won't leave her crying in the room when I leave. She has the same teacher that Vail did last year and her little neighbor friend is in her class too. Signing off for now. Hoping everyone has had great first days!

We have swimmers....

2012-07-13T15:49:00.000-05:00

All week long the girls have been going back to the pool with one of their teachers because the parents aren't allowed back by the pool. I hadn't even seen the pool! Today because it was the last day of lessons the second half of class was the girls swim "show". We had heard that we would be amazed at what they would actually learn during their week of swim lessons.(which was actually only 4 1/2 hours total). We were blown away. The girls did so great. I was a little nervous that Katy wouldn't "perform" in front of the crowd of parents but she surprised me. She didn't even hesitate doing anything. They both jumped off the diving board, went down the slide, swam from one side of the pool to the other, Vail floated on her back (sort of :) ) and Katy did some torpedos. I am so glad that we decided to do this swim camp this year. The girls have already asked to go back. I am hoping that we can do it again next summer and put Micah in also. Now we need lots of trips to the pool this summer so they can continue to practice what they have learned.

Vail jumping off the diving board

Ready for races

That big splash is Katy jumping in :)

All done and so so proud.

This is a video of both girls swimming across the pool. Vail is in the back in the blue/white stripe and Katy is in the front in the polka dot.

Katy jumping off the diving board

Vail going down the slide

Katy

Vail (blue stripes)

Swim Lessons

2012-07-09T15:35:00.000-05:00

Today was the first day of swim lessons. We signed up for lessons at this week long, one hour a day swim camp. We have only heard wonderful things about it and were all really excited for the girls to start. At this camp the parents are not allowed to go back to the pool with the kids. The teachers basically take the kids from the parking lot. I was totally fine with this because I think they would do better with me not being there. I have been talking up swim lessons for weeks. I wanted the girls to be really excited for them. I think this worked. Although they both were a little nervous this morning.

Parents had the option of staying or leaving. Now the pool is outside but you can't see it from the parking lot. I had been advised by a wonderful friend to leave because you can hear what goes on in the pool (if your kid is screaming or not). I chose to leave. While I trusted the people to keep my children safe I did not trust that I wouldn't go back there and get them if I heard them screaming. Micah and I went to Hobby Lobby. As we were leaving Micah says "Don't leave my girls they will cry" It was so sweet.

When the lessons were over they came out all smiles which was one of my goals. Reports from the girls: Vail jumped off the diving board and swam to her teacher. She went under water to get coins that Katy threw into the little pool for her to get. Katy kicked her feet and the teacher let go of her hands. She also went under water and grabbed on to the ladder. She told me the teacher threw her in the pool but later revised her story to just say he put her in the pool. That was all I was able to get out of them. Hoping tomorrow won't be as bad as they say the second day is.

Waiting to go back to the pool.

First day done and so proud.

Papa's GRAND ideas

2012-07-06T17:23:00.001-05:00

As part of our travels this summer, the kids and I went and spent a week with Jammie and Papa at their house in New Mexico. It kind of became part of routine that when Papa came home we would go play in the driveway with the various bikes and other toys they have out there. Well...on Sunday after church and nap time outside we went. Katy still had on the BEAUTIFUL dress that my mom had made for her. No big deal it is washable. Vail chose to change her dress. I digress. After a bit I decided to come in and start supper. Jan followed shortly after. Papa is alone outside with the kids. No big deal. I trust him. He is a fun Papa. At one point while dinner was simmering I walked by the front door on my way downstairs and I HAPPEN to glance outside. What I saw was my children (Kates in her beautiful dress) SPRAY PAINTING Jammie's old vacuum cleaner. Now imagine the three of them basically standing in a triangle with the vacuum in the middle SPRAY PAINTING. Do you see where I am going with this? I mean how could they possibly not get any paint on each other. I open the door and yell "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" The response I got was "Papa said we could"

Well that is all fine and dandy but lets not do this in our beautiful dress that Grams just made for you and this is the first time you have worn it please! So I promptly took off her dress and let them continue to paint the vacuum ghetto gold. I didn't consider the fact that they might get it in each others eyes. I was only worried about the dress. I looked at Papa and said "not your best idea" He replied with "I kind of figured that when the first thing Katy did was paint my truck" :) I replied with a laugh and "that is what you get"

I run the dress downstairs to our room and when I get back up Papa has decided to let them play with water. Much better idea Papa! I may have stuck my head out the door and told them to pour their buckets on his head ;)

Girls in beautiful dresses

Papa's payback.

Catch up

2012-07-03T00:04:00.000-05:00

About a month ago we headed over to St. Simon Island, Georgia. We stayed with some great friends who had just recently moved there. They opened their wonderful home to us crazies and all. Their house was about a mile from the beach which was very appealing to us. Unfortunately at the beginning of the week there was a tropical storm of sorts hanging out so we didn't spend much time at the beach. The time that was spent there was met with screams from children who were being slashed by the sand because it was so windy. They vowed never to go back again. While planning our trip we discovered that Disney World was about 4 hours from where we were staying. Of course we had to go for a day. We stayed 2 nights at a downtown Disney hotel and spent one day at the Magic Kingdom. The kids were thrilled when they found out. It was hot there and it did rain a few times (Thank you tropical storm Beryl) but we had a great time. After Disney we headed back to our friends house where we finally got a sunny day at the beach. It was fantastic until later that night when we discovered that even after multiple applications of sunscreen we all still got a little sunburned. Guess we were having too much fun. ;).

Legoland at Downtown Disney

Riding the elevator up to our room on the 12th floor.

Waiting on the Magic Kingdom bus

Vail's favorite ride..Small World

In line for Winnie the Pooh

Riding the teacups.

Dumbo

Riding the train while Daddy and Vail rode the Goofy roller coaster. These two were not tall enough.

Waiting on the show to start. They were hot and tired....can you tell.

He had just seen Goofy.

Watching her favorite princess.

Bus ride to the hotel.

Checking out a real clam Kates found at the beach.

No pearl was inside.

Playground by the ocean.

Cooling off at the water fountain

Couple of things:

1. Try not to forget your camera when you are going on vacation. If you do hopefully you have great friends who will lend you their camera.

2. Always reapply sunscreen one extra time. You will thank yourself later.

3. Playing in the sand in 40 mph winds isn't fun.

4. St. Simon Island is a great place to vacation.

5. We love the beach.

6. I thought about waiting to post this even longer just to bug Stacey.

7. She loves me anyway.

Bubs turns 3 TODAY!

2012-05-29T08:00:00.001-05:00

1 day old

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

The day I have been somewhat dreading has arrived. Dreading only because I am not ready. This little boy stole my heart from the first moment I laid eyes on him. Changed me forever. I love you Buddy! To the moon and back...no matter what!

Now

Last day of school

2012-05-23T15:36:00.001-05:00

Here we are on the last day of school. I actually asked Vail to wear the same outfit she had on on the first day of school so I could see how much she has changed. Look how much she grew in just 9 months. Everything is longer. She complained that the shoes hurt her feet so I am guessing her feet are bigger too. She learned a lot over the year. Right now she says she wants to be an author and illustrator. She is very excited about a sketchbook project her art teacher has given them for the summer. She is over the moon excited to be a first grader. I just can't believe how she has grown and matured over the school year. She is an amazing little girl with a big heart.

Pre-K graduation

2012-05-20T16:42:00.002-05:00

Well Katy had her preschool graduation. She was so excited. Here we are waiting very patiently for it to start. Grams and Daddy were there too but skipped out on the pictures. Actually Matthew took most of them. There may have been a few tears shed. Kindergarten here she comes!

Sprinkler Fun

2012-04-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today was absolutely beautiful and so so warm. We couldn't resist getting out the sprinkler....

Kindergarten Celebration

2012-04-25T09:15:00.003-05:00

Last Friday was Vail's Kindergarten program. Here she is dressed nice and ready to go. Skirt and shirt were made by Grams. :)

Katy and Micah waiting patiently for it to start.

There were lots of cute songs performed. These kids were amazing. They were like a well oiled machine. I am pretty sure they had been working on this since about October.

They walked around the gym for a song where they waved scarfs around. Vail was pretty much right in front of us. In this first picture she was trying to act all cool. Then she kept peeking back to be sure we were watching. Let me tell you...don't every stand in front of Vail when she is waving a scarf. She puts her whole body in it.

I have some cute video. In EVERY one of them you would get dizzy because every time I turned on the video Micah needed to be in my lap or right beside me. They are all moving like crazy. Ugh. I was afraid I would make you all sick.

Katy's quilt

2012-04-16T22:38:00.000-05:00

I cut out 154 squares. Then I cut those squares each into 5 pieces. Then I mixed up the middle square on each one and sewed the pieces back together. It was definitely a labor of love. I had fun making it. I love it so much. I hope that Kates loves it too. In case you are wondering the quilt pattern is from cluck cluck sew and is called Juice boxes and the fabric line is by Sarah Jane. The last picture is of some of the fabric I am using in Vail's quilt. I'm already working on it. :)