Our Roundy Adventures

Topsail, North Carolina

2015-06-03T09:39:00.001-08:00

Over Memorial Day weekend we took a trip to North Carolina. We went to see the Newcomers and we got to go to the beach too. I didn't pull my phone out all day except to text Shad. The kids played all day in the sand and water, we collected Shark teeth and pebbles and sea glass. It was such a great day and I hope there are many more like it in the future.

Bubbers

2015-06-03T09:33:00.002-08:00

We call this little boy Bubbers.

He is such a mess.

And a Joy.

And Happy.

And Adorable.

He looks good in pink and every other color we put him in.

He is growing and moving up too fast.

He loves to explore the house.

And to help wherever help is needed.

End of School Year Festivities

2015-06-03T09:18:00.002-08:00

The end of the school year kept this mom very very busy.

There was Field Day for Dash,

Dash with Daniel and Logan.

Oh yeah.

And Field Day for Amaya.

There was the 2nd Grade play called Wackadoo Zoo. Amaya was a lion that crowed like a rooster and was one of the dancers.

Most adorable crowing lion EVER!

Then there was the Kindergarten celebration.

All 5 kindergarten classes sang songs,

And had speaking parts. Dash's line was "caring for others is the best part of all".

Then he received his Kindergarten Diploma from Mrs. Green.

There was an awards day for Amaya and Ella. Amaya got an award for all A's all year and an AR and a Math award.

Ella was recognized for her participation in Math Club and Science Olympiad. She received recognition again for her 3rd place finish at the Science Olympiad in the Entomology subject. Then she received Director's Choice for Choir. She was chosen becuase of her talent in music and the positivite attitude she brought to class throughout the whole year.

Ella, Ella T. and Adela.

Ella's last day of 6th and quite possibly the last time I can get her to wear a school uniform.

Amaya's last day as a 2nd grader.

Thank goodness this isn't my last Kindergartner. I love having a Kindergartner and Dash is now a 1st grader.

Ella was finished a week early because she got all A's. So she and I enjoyed the time we had with just the two of us (well and Jack) and we played tennis, and shopped, and went to lunch and ran errands.

Mrs. Huffman was a great teacher and let Amaya know she is smart and a great student.

Mrs. McDevitt will hold a special place in my heart for forever. I was terrified Dash wasn't going to enjoy school, because he didn't enjoy preschool. Mrs. McDevitt didn't let that happen. She made school fun for Dash and she was encouraging and loving. She told Dash that she loved him everyday, and he told her. She is a phenomenal teacher who has blessed our lives.

15 years

2015-06-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

15 years.

It sounds like a lot and that we should be really old now, but we still feel so young.

We are still best friends.

We still love to be together.

Baseball and Softball

2015-06-01T12:01:00.000-08:00

WHAT was I thinking? 3 kids in baseball and softball at the same time? At least they all played at the same fields.

Dash's coach was great. All the decisions he made were good ones, all except one. White pants on 5 and 6 year old boys with red dirt? Really?

Dash made it a goal to slide into a base during every time on base. He even slid into 1st once until he found out that wasn't allowed.

I apparently didn't get any pictures of Amaya playing. I did get some videos though. She was by far the smallest on her team and they all cheered and encouraged her just as they did the more well seasoned players. It was a great experience.

Jack was the best spectator. Here he is fighting off a nap so he can cheer Amaya on.

Ella enjoyed the playing of softball. She didn't enjoy the intensity that her coach had for it. He was very hard on the girls and didn't have any patience for errors. He knew what he was doing and I think Ella learned a lot. She did what she always does and learned from her mistakes and tried her hardest. I don't think she wants to play again anytime soon though.

Ellaville, and Jack

2015-06-01T11:48:00.000-08:00

While on our road trip with Grandma and Granddad back in January we came across a cute little town called Ellaville. Naturally we needed to get a picture of Ella with her township.

Then on the road to the beach on Ella' birthday weekend, we crossed the township of Jack, Alabama. Well of course you know what had to happen.

Now all we need is an Amaya City and a Dashleburgh.

Little things.

2015-06-01T11:44:00.005-08:00

Another month older! Sigh, Stop him from doing that.

A little snack in the tub.

Oh, those blue blue eyes.

I finally get to go on a field trip with Amaya. We went to the art museum.

Everyday this baby gets the biggest grins when Ella gets into the car after school. She could've had a horrible day and he will just squeal and giggle and grin at her. I think her day gets better when she sees him too.

Will not keep socks on.

Easter Egg dying is always a fun mess.

Off to Young Women's

And the Temple.

Well he sucked on this pickle during the whole time at lunch and was perfectly happy about it too.

Twinsies

He loves to eat paper as well as pickles.

Ella's Birthday #12 and a trip to the Beach

2015-06-01T07:42:00.001-08:00

Ella's birthday fell on Easter weekend this year. I wanted to get out of town and down to the beach, so we did. Since we weren't going to be home to sing her a Happy Birthday, I made her German Pancakes for breakfast and we sang to her then.

After Shad got off work, we hurried down to the beach.

And didn't waste anytime getting out to the water. It was beautiful outstide and we played and played until we got hungry.

We wanted to find a restaurant that Ella could order some shrimp. It's one of her favorite foods. After some doing, becuase it was spring break and dinner time we had a hard time finding a place without an hour long wait to get a table. We found a little diner that was perfect. We ordered fish and shrimp and cheesecake.

The next day called for rain, so Shad took the kids out swimming nice and early to get in some pool time. I hung out with the bubbers in the hotel room, so he could get a nap in.

For lunch we went to a place called the Back Porch that was right on the water and we listened to the sounds of the waves and soaked in the views while we ate.

After lunch we headed to Ft. Walton Beach's Annual Kite Flying Festival. It was turning out to be pretty rainy and windy and cold.

The girls and I walked back to the hotel.

We stayed one more night and went home the next morning. I was bummed that the weather wasn't warmer, but I really enjoyed our time at the beach. I always do. We took one more walk along the beach before the drive back home.

Spring Break Atlanta Style

2015-06-01T07:21:00.001-08:00

I really wanted to take my kids to Atlanta and visit the Zoo and Aquarium there. I asked my friend Shiloh if she wanted to go and we made it an overnight adventure.

We started at the zoo, man, there were a lot of people there. There are so many fun things at the Atlanta zoo. My favorites were all the babies they had in different exhibits.

This baby orangutan was being quite the daredevil hanging upside down. If you look really close at the top left of the picture you can see his mom was holding the rope, so it wouldn't swing too much and he could hold on more easily. It was so sweet and cute.

The panda exhibit is really neat too. Atlanta zoo has been quite successful at helping the pandas breed and bring more pandas into the world. Which with how cute they are, I think is a great thing.

Kangaroo Aspen and Kangaroo Amaya.

Jack was there too.

After the zoo we went to check into the hotel and try to find a place to swim. With no luck we ended up playing tag in Piedmont park. After exhausting ourselves and getting a good dose of insecticide (we didn't see that the grass we were playing on had just been sprayed), we went to find dinner and wait for it to get dark to go on the Ferris Wheel.

A quick stop before dinner to get some more energy out.

We ate at Johnny Rockets and then walked over to the Ferris Wheel.

Moab, Amaya, Ella, Dash, and Aspen are pretty excited tourists and pretty entertaining people to hang out with.

The next morning we had an early wake up call to the Aquarium. We saw the dolphin show, which was corny and quirky, but the animals were impressive. Jack cried through the whole thing, he was pretty scared at how loud it was. It made me exhausted trying to soothe him.

When we were done there, we crossed the street for some Subway lunch and then back over to Coke World. Which is just a place made up for you to pay to watch an advertisement, try different sodas from all over the world (some are very nasty), and then receive a really expensive souviner bottle.

The kids LOVED it!

My kids are no strangers to soda, but I don't let them drink just any sodas. I try to make sure they get just caffiene free stuff, so when I told them they could try any and all of the sodas they were pretty excited.

Dash trying Mountain Dew (daddy's drink).

Amaya has always loved Diet Coke. This can looks just the right size.

Dashle's 6th Birthday

2015-05-31T17:46:00.001-08:00

So its pretty great to live in the lower 48 for many reasons. Don't get me wrong we miss Alaska for many reasons, but we just didn't get visitors on a regular basis up there like we have here.

When Emily and Kade decided to be in town right around Dash's birthday we decided to party with them rather than without them.

We love having other Roundys come to visit, and wrestle us.

And apparently snuggle us.

And make us look like we have far too many children to still be sane people.

(there is an extra kid in there with the last name of Campbell)

And of course to party with us.

Dash got a blueberry pie this year.

I just love how my kids keep picking different desserts for their birthday treat.

It makes life more interesting.

Which makes it more fun.

There are no words I can use to effectively describe the feelings I get when I think of this boy and who he is. He is sweet and thoughtful and considerate and volatile and sensitive and loving and funny and goofy and energetic and hungry and awesome and handsome and snuggly.

Roundy Tidbits pt 2

2015-05-29T08:51:00.002-08:00

Dash reads to Jack.

Jack listens to Dash read.

Ever have one of those days where you just can't lift yourself up because your belly is so big?

And you just don't care?

Cuteness defined.

One of my favorite things this year was to watch Dash watch for me in the carpool pick up lane. I love having a kindergartner.

Preciousness defined.

Happiness defined.

Trouble defined.

Playing with Ella's hair with ideas from Pinterest.

Hotness defined.

Favorite book character at school day. Strangely this book character looks a lot like my Dash.

Annie from the Magic Treehouse.

Adorable-ness defined.

Loveliness defined.

Amaya getting into the song on the radio.

Roundy Tidbits

2015-05-29T05:37:00.002-08:00

Jack gets his first taste of solid foods and is not impressed.

Say cheese!

100th day of school requires a 100 year old man to attend.

My sisters came to see me and shop, and get pedicures, and eat, and talk, and hang out with my family. It was so very great.

We took Mariam and Lindsay to see the Montgomery State Capitol and other Montgomery historical sights. These steps have seen a lot of our nation's history.

Dash and I went on another Kindergarten field trip.

Jack turns 5 months old.

Ella said one time "Worcestershire sauce? It should be "bestestershire sauce"' We have called it that ever since.

He may not have liked solid foods, but he loves to be big and sit at the table with us.

She is getting too grown up.

Dash and his toothless smile....and wild hair.

Oh, the Bubbers. How he melts my heart. His roly-polyness shouldn't ever go away.

Or those blue blue eyes, that smile at me.

Be still my beating heart. A good lookin' man with an adorable baby.

This post should just be titled "The many faces of Jack"

That's all folks. Thanks for stopping by.

Hey, We're kinda good lookin'

2015-05-28T07:55:00.001-08:00

While Rebecca was here I made her take pictures of our family. Go on, admit it, you need a Rebecca.

Amaya Turns 8 and Gets Baptized

2015-05-28T07:25:00.000-08:00

Our January this year started with a great event. Amaya turned 8 and chose to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Let's begin this post with her actual birthday. It was a school day. So after Shad got home and we were able to celebrate her birthday as a family we sang to her and ice cream sundaes for the treat.

We are so very happy to be this little girl's parents. She is delightfully creative, funny, kind, nature-loving, helpful, considerate, thoughtful, spiritual, and on top of all that beautiful.

The next week we had a party at a bouncy house on Friday night. Our great friends and cousins the Newcomers arrived just in time to help us really celebrate the night. Amaya invited a few friends from school and church to join us too.

I couldn't pass up on the fun.

Amaya with in order from left to right, Gabi (from school), Victoria (from school and church), and Andrew (neighbor).

Leonna testing out this throne idea.

Amaya center of attention for the weekend.

That night Rebecca and I went to the airport and picked up Grandma and Granddad.

The next morning, Amaya was baptized by her Dad into the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I was so happy when she climbed the stairs out of the baptismal font I got all teared up. I enjoy being a mother to this little girl and all the good she encompasses in such a small body.

January Little Things

2015-03-28T05:15:00.002-08:00

Home made mustache stickers. This might be why I don't ever have any tape.

I can't get enough.

4 months and the chub just keeps coming.

Feeding the giraffes at the zoo.

Selfie with the white tiger.

I love this picture of my tigers with the posing tiger.

Beautiful January weather means tennis time.

Roundy/Newcomer Selfies and phone thieves.

Sunday evenings are for Family History, playing games, and baking cookies with family and friends.

Oh so many children!

Road trip with Grandma and Granddad to a Andersenville, GA. It's a civil war time prison site.

Dash defending our territory from bad guys.

Christmastime

2015-03-28T04:50:00.001-08:00

This year I wanted to put in some serious family time at this magical time of year. I made plans and shopped early to be ready to spend time with my favorite people.

I let things go, like letting the kids decorate the tree with small input from me.

One night we hunted Christmas light displays. There were some pretty impressive displays. It was such a fun night to spend together. I hope we can do it again next year.

Shad and Jack in their bowties on Christmas Sunday. I added this one because of the cutest little smirk on Jack's face.

When we got home we took pictures of the rest of the crew, Ella had already changed though. That girl is lightning fast when it comes to getting her PJ's on at home after church each Sunday.

Bowties!

On Christmas day we hung around the house and enjoyed our presents. Santa brought everyone legos to put together, so that took up a bit of the day. Ella got a reading/homework chair with a box of books, reading snacks and a reading light. Amaya got a guitar that she has been asking to get, she was at one time even saving money to buy her own. Dash got a remote control race car that he had been wanting. Shad had gone out to buy a Christmas present for me and while he was out he bought himself a spice grinder to grind up peppercorns for one of his signature dishes. Little did he know I had already purchased one for him and put it under the tree. I didn't tell him, I just let him open it on Christmas morning and we had a good laugh at it. He is really hard to buy gifts for because if he wants something he'll just go and get it. I made traditional orange rolls and hashbrown pie for breakfast and we enjoyed one of the gifts given to us by our Heavenly Father the gift of family.

Jack's first Christmas.

Shad has been really interested in buying silver and gold as an investment. When he saw the traditional silver cup that my parents give to their grandkids on their 1st Christmas, Shad wanted to see how much silver was in that little cup.

At the end of the Christmas break we went to the Montgomery zoo and looked at all the lights they put up there. I was ready for the kids to go back to school, but I didn't want all the fun times to end.

December-Time

2015-03-28T04:31:00.001-08:00

December flew by in a whirl. Our time here has gone by so fast. Why does time keep speeding up? I mean, sometimes I want it to be fast, like when I'm looking forward to visitors or going on a trip, or when one of the kids is in a particularly awful phase of life. Then there are other times I don't want it to go so fast, like when Jack falls asleep in my arms and I get to just sit and rock my baby.

Here are some of the little things that will or are going way too fast:

Amaya's little body that can do amazing things. She is getting older and taller by the second.

Speaking of things that are getting older and taller by the second:

Jack becoming 3 months, how did that happen so fast. Look at his cankles, oh how I love his cankles.

WE were getting ready to go to Ella's choir concert and Ella was taking care of Jack so I could get a few things done. When I glanced at her I saw her snuggling and dancing with a very content Jack. I love this scene. It melts my heart.

Ella had a speaking part at her choir concert. She is so beautiful and I love to hear how much she has learned in her choir class. It is her favorite class at school this year. In her book, it's pretty hard to beat Math, but choir did that this year.

Kindergarten is going WAY to fast. I love pulling up to the school and being surprised by a reindeer hopping in to my car. I love that he owns it and wears whatever get-up they make in Kindergarten and he is so excited to tell me all about it. SLOW DOWN, KINDERGARTEN. I need another year of this.

I love watching the interaction of my girls with their baby brother. I love watching the natural mothering instinct they have in them, it makes me so proud. I do look forward to watching them be mothers someday and seeing them experience such joy. I just don't need to see it if another 15-20 years though.

Sleeping in my arms....sigh.

Jack's Blessing Day

2015-03-27T13:15:00.002-08:00

Jack was blessed by his Dad the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Gene and Lenora and Pam and Dave all made it for the very special day.

Aunt Lindsay made these booties especially for his blessing outfit.

I almost always regret not taking enough pictures of days like this, so this time I put more effort into it.

It was a very bright day, can you tell? We were struggling with it a bit.

November-Time

2015-03-27T12:54:00.001-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we had Nana and Papa Roundy come and visit. They stayed for Jack's baby blessing. More on that in a minute. I actually made an effort in decorating the table. Something I have never done before, so I needed to take a picture of all the pretty.

Oh, this face.

Dash asked me for a treat and this was his pouty face.

This was his actual sad face when I said "no".

Oh, this face.

We attended a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the Alabama Shakespearean Festival. Our friend Aspen came with us.

It was so fun to be outside this time of year and only need a light jacket.

Oh, this face.

Jack is so snuggly. I adore all the mushy-squishy hugs I get from him. He still buries his face in me when he is scared (4 months later).

Dash is helping Shad on the computer on a Sunday morning. I love lazy weekends.

Autumn Time

2015-02-16T13:29:00.003-09:00

Ella has really enjoyed being such a big help with the baby.

Can he be 2 months already?

Sunday afternoons are lazy.

Dash had my phone. He might become a photographer.

A beautiful fall day at the park.

My days of seeing these two play like this are numbered.

Boys

2015-02-16T10:58:00.000-09:00

I love watching Dashle play. He gets so into his little imaginary world. I will miss it when he grows out of it. He played on this landing for about 40 minutes.

Jack is growing way too fast for me. I want to hang on to his littleness.

Dash did a photo shoot of Jack and his superman teddy bear one evening. I ended up with about 30 photos much like this one. Some of them had the bear on the other side of Jack though, so he was switching up the position somewhat.

Kindergarten Field Trip to the Farm

2015-02-16T10:50:00.001-09:00

Dash and I went the farm for his first field trip. He was so excited to ride on a bus and get out of the classroom. I was really happy I went out there with him.

This cow barrel was hooked onto the back of a tractor that took them around for a ride. The driver must love to watch the kids hold on for dear life because he race and sped around the track. It was pretty funny. We had some friends come to this farm before, so they warned us about all of the dust the tractor kicks up behind it. I gave Dash my sunglasses and boy did he need them. The other kids were all picking dust out of their eyes.

Halloween 2014

2015-02-16T07:28:00.001-09:00

Halloween was so nice this year. The weather was perfect it was light outside until a reasonable hour and the kids' costumes didn't get covered up by coats and snowpants.

"I'm not a witch, I'm Amaya.....wait, I'm a witch"

Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and a Witch.

Every Super Hero needs a Super Cute side kick like Jack dressed as Robin.

Gotham villains should be shaking in there boots. If these 3 don't get them with their super skills, then their killer good looks should do some damage.

BatmanBoys.

Dash organized his candy, he does this with his cars too. I love this about him.

Just some Pictures

2015-02-16T07:20:00.000-09:00

Dash wanted his picture taken with his brother.

Amaya had a blue sucker, can you tell?

Ella changed her first diaper.... can't get her to do it again.

Making Jack smile for the camera is a lot of work.

It requires all hands on deck.

Life is beautifully full

2015-02-16T06:34:00.000-09:00

Jack turns 1 month old.

I cut my hair off.

We take a trip to North Carolina. Why because we can now.

Leonna moving in on the snuggle fest of Roundys on the Newcomer couch.

Rebecca planned a playdate at Sonic for me to see old friends and their kids (the ones not in school). I got to meet kids they had while we were away in Alaska.

This one is Knox, he was born 5 days before Jack.

Rebecca soaked up my baby and remembered how awesome Roundy babies are.

Jack chillin in the NC.

We all invited ourselves over to the Carey's house for fun and Asian food. They welcomed us.

Shad and Randy took the kids fishing and caught some catfish.

A trip to Fayetteville wouldn't be complete without seeing the Teels.

I think we are going to have to make this trip again and soon. I love me some North Carolina and all my lovely friends there.