Go, Cubs, Go!!!!

What a game! I can't believe it has taken me so long to get these up. We had a fabulous time at a Cubs vs. Giants game. The Cubs pulled out a 3-2 victory in the last out of the ninth. (Nail bitter for sure! I screamed myself hoarse.)

Beautiful AT&T Park in San Fran.

Our seats were in the upper deck but right behind home plate. The TV cameras were right next to us.

The fog comes rolling in . . .

Happy!

This Coke bottle holds a slide -- next summer we'll have to take the kids so they can enjoy it.

Blankie Babes!

A little morning snuggle:

What we've been up to. . .

I'm embarassed about how long it has been since I've posted. I just haven't seemed to get "update the blog" into our new schedule:-) Life at the Wicker house (with one in school) is setting into a routine. Anika comes home with something new everyday, it seems.

Hopscotch:

If Mom & Dad won't put a swing in the backyard, then kids will improvise something. (Thanks, Anne!)

Computer Age?

So what is the computer age? I think somewhere about 1.5 years:-) Crazy as it seems all of my kids developed an interest in the computer about this age. Of course, they couldn't do much except mess things up but they try! Kathryn has ended the life of our wireless mouse . . . but she is having so much fun being "grown up".

Fun with Photos

My sister, Heather, found this old photo of me in the mud after she saw the post of my mud-loving daughter.

Heidi:

Kathryn:

My Little Monkey

At this stage in life, a mother can't even go to the bathroom. . .

A true little monkey - she got up on the counter and began eating bananas, with the peel still on!!!

I'm not sure how much peel she ate. . .

Pretty proud!

Partner in crime. . .

Labor Day Camping "Trip"

How would we spend Labor Day weekend? We hadn't made any plans . . . Well, thank goodness our little kids find delight in simple things:-) We camped out in the backyard. Lloyd put up the tent and made a "bonfire" in the grill. We played "red light, green light", gymnastics (thank goodness Anika was close enough to home to have access to her costumes:-)), and catch. We ate dinner outside, roasted marshmallows for s'mores, and watched the first star come out. Kathryn went down in her own bed and then Daddy played guitar around the campfire. The kids settled down to sleep on the air mattress and were soon sawing logs. I couldn't believe they feel asleep out there. They slept part of the night in the tent and then we settled them in their own beds:-)

Anika said, "This is the best night of my life!" (Even though she says this often, it is still special to hear that she enjoyed our time together!)

Helping Dad set up the tent:

Having dinner outside:

So big:

Ballerina/gymnast/camper (it works, right?):

Unfortunately that isn't chocolate from s'mores. . . (I think she gets dirty than either of the other two!):

S'mores:

Kids on Wheels

I think imitation is an art of childhood. And Kathryn has plenty to imitate. She decided tonight that she needs to wear a helmet, just like her older sister and brother.

Andrew continues to work on his bike skills; he still can't start by himself but he has going and stopping down:-)

Kathryn's hair. . . well, it just makes me sigh and shrug my shoulders. I love her curls but what to do with it?!?!? I discovered hairbands this weekend. I love that she leaves them in and it keeps the hair out of her face. (And I don't need to cut off all those gorgeous curls!!!)

Introducing. . .

Author/Illustrator: Anika Wicker (enthusiastic applause). Anika is LOVING kindergarten. She comes home with something new everyday. I can't believe how much she has seemed to grow up in just a 1.5 weeks. She has been a very prolific author/illustrator the last few days (ever since she learned what they do:-))

Anika's set up includes a folding table, paper, stapler and pencil box of crayons/colored pencils.She was able to go to the surprise box at school since she kept all her smiley faces for five days. She picked out this wand pen.Hard at work:Take two (the next day she asked daddy to take some pictures of her!):