Caught!

We caught Ana sleeping on Woody. It was so sweet. Ana is always trying to lie on Wood, but he never lets her. Except this day!

Pictures

If you've been following both my blogs, you'll have seen that I enjoy writing on this one the best!! But I want to share cute pictures on this post. And since I forgot again to put on the pictures before I wrote, you will have already seen the pics!

P.S. Woody's fur is really soft today!

My binder for school.

The first day of school, Lucas and I designed title pages for our main binders for school. Lucas chose to put Family Force 5, one of his favorite bands, on his page. I hunted through our pictures on the computer and found some nice pictures. I have to say, my binder is REALLY COOL! I found some really cute ways to frame the pictures. The first two pictures below are on the front of my binder. Side by side. Underneath them, I have the basic info stuff like Emily's Main Binder for 2009-2010. Then I have a picture of a cute, cartoon puppy.

On the back of my binder I have the following two pictures with the words, "Oops, turn the binder over!"

Now you just have to see my binder! Doesn't it sound cool? :)

Woody's Bath

We haven't given Woody a bath in years. And he hasn't really needed one. I mean, I think he stinks, but Mom says he just smells like dog.

Lately Woody has been annoying even Mom. He stands under the table and scratches his back-end on the wood above him. Of course, this makes the table shake, and since he chooses to do this while we're eating a meal, it drives all of us nuts. We weren't sure whether his skin was bothering him or if fleas were biting.

So Mom got some shampoo to bathe him. (We later found out it was for puppies)!

We got the bathroom ready. We put all the shampoo and conditioner bottles that were in the tub, on the counter, because there is no way it was going to stay on the shelf while Woody's tail was in the bathtub! We got tons of old towels, and found Woody.

Mom and Dad pointed Woody upstairs and he meekly followed their finger. But he was surprised when they stopped him at the kid's bathroom. He slowly walked into the bathroom. Then all of the sudden, memories of bathrooms and what it usually meant, came back to him, and he hit the brakes. Dad grabbed his front legs and Mom, his back and they lifted him into the tub. Woody was nervous. He wasn't good friends with water. In fact, he hates it. We all looked at him. Woody's eyes wandered up to the shower head and everyone cracked up. Mom turned on the bathtub spout and filled a mug with water while I filled a plastic, icecream bucket with water from the sink. We soaked him, then shampooed him, then finally rinsed him. Woody kept loosing grip on the towel under his feet. His front legs kept sliding away from him. He couldn't wag his tail or anything. When I talked baby talk to him, he just stared at me with his ears back. Woody was in shock!

When Woody was finally rinsed off, I tried to dry him with towels, but it is nearly impossible to do that with dogs!

Mom hooked his leash on him, Dad lifted him out of the tub, and Mom took off on a run trying to get Woody outside before he shook, (as all dogs are known to do). Too late. Woody stopped and decided to share his bathwater with the carpet. (Perhaps he thought it needed a drink).

Anyways, we got Woody outside where he spent maybe an hour or so playing with Dad until the mail guy came to the door and we ducked for cover inside since we were still in our p.j.s. (Okay, so maybe I did).

Woody kept shivering; we aren't sure why, but Ana tried to fix that by throwing a baby blanket over him.

So now Woody smells like the foam bath soap that Mom got me once when I was little. (Man, that stuff was neat)!

Our house might smell like wet dog right now, so if you visit, I warn you, BEWARE!!

3 Posts tonight!! This is about Ana

Ana keeps us laughing. This is what she said yesterday.

She, Lucas, and Ethan were climbing a tree in the front yard. They were finding all sorts of reasons for me to leave my book to help them somehow. They said someone needed help getting down, but the only thing I did was stand there looking up at them with my mind still back in my book wondering what poor Leah was going to do next. As soon as I found they didn't really need me, I would return to the front of the house. And in the background I could hear Ana shriek, (this is a common occurence at our house), Ethan squeal,(this is a common occurence at our house as well), and Lucas laugh, (this happens often too).

But Lucas came to me later laughing and told me what Ana had said along with one of her many screeches. He said he was helping her out of the tree, when she cried in a frightened voice, "Don't let me drown!!" Oh, poor Ana, I can guarantee you he won't let you drown from the tree! :)

I have to stop writing now. And, hey, leave a comment about what I should next write about on http://www.emwantsmore.blogspot.com/! I am running out of ideas!!!

Basketball

Okay, click on this picture to make it larger then take a good look at me in the key. :) This girl ain't gettin the ball!!!!

2009 Varsity Team, who were so awesome last year! WOW! Back (left to right), Ayanna, Hayley, Bethany, Alyssa. Front (left to right), Laura, Jamie, Anna, and Jessie

My team last year. Some of them are moving to varsity this year. Back (left to right), Gretchen, Me, Makayla,(spelling?), and Shannah. Front (left to right), Emily Bos, Bri, Kim, Dez(spelling?)

I guess I'm just in a sports mood today. Maybe I'm really excited about basketball season beginning soon! Yaay! I love basketball. My favorite part is reading people's mind and guessing where they are going next. So I guess I like defense. I stink at offense. I am not confident with the ball though I am working on that. The Bos kids say I play street ball. I foul a lot when I play at their house. I am trying to be better at not fouling, though. You know in movies how the lonely kid will be outside shooting hoops in a rusty hoop with a chain fence in the background, and then you hear the kid mutter as he lines up at the free throw, "No time left on the clock, foul on the last play. If (last name of player) makes this shot, his team wins the game." Then the kid puts up the shot and either makes it or doesn't depending on how the story is going to go. Well, I do this to practice my free throws, and believe it or not I seem to only make it when I put pressure on myself. But if you go to a game, please don't give me more pressure by expecting me to make it every time!!! Anyways, I'm excited for b-ball to start again.

I love football!

I love football. And at Ana's birthday party the guys went out to play some football. It was pretty cool. I liked it especially because the Dads were playing as well. That doesn't happen often, so that made that time pretty special.

I love watching the Pittsburgh Steelers on T.V., but I think next best football is at home. When you know the people and can cheer.

I'm not sure who won this game, but they sure had a lot of tiring fun. It makes me wonder how many of the Dads woke up with aching muscles the next day!!!

Cars

So, have you heard the story about what's happening on my 16th birthday???

You see, many years ago,(That's an exaggeration. It happened on my 13th birthday.), I was celebrating my birthday up at Big Lake like I usually do. Then Mom and Dad came over to me with a bunch of balloons, (12 or 13). They then told me that if I popped all these balloons within an amount of time, they would get me a car on my 16th birthday. What they didn't tell me was that my cousins and siblings could help me. See, it was supposed to be a mean trick. I would fail doing the job, and they would tell me, "too bad, you could have had people help you!" But my parents don't believe in lying, so when they were asked if anyone could help, they had to admit that the kids could.

So the race was on and Dad was juggling the timer trying to get it to start and end before we were done. How'd it end? With me and my cousins and siblings as victors!!!!!

My 16th birthday has come fast. Mom and Dad have offered me a horse instead,(yes, Kristin, a HORSE! :) ), and threatened to get me a match box car instead. But I have stuck with the car and this afternoon Dad went out to take a look at some cars. Some Saturns, actually. So, we'll see how this car thing ends out in about 8 days!!!!!!!!

Have a wonderful day!!!
Emily

School

We start school tomorrow. Mom is trying to get all our schoolwork together so we can begin school! We are starting in the middle of the week so that we won't have to do school on my sweet 16 birthday!

Last year we did Tapestry of Grace. Each week you read about a time in history. Then Tapestry connects the subjects of history, literature, geography, writing, etc. to what you read. So by the end of the week you've learned a lot of in depth stuff on a period of history. It sounds pretty neat, if I haven't confused you.

Lucas and I will be taking different math, (Lucas- Algebra 1, Me- Algebra 2), at KAT, (Kalamazoo Area Tutors). I'll probably take chemistry at KVCC, maybe in the spring. I'm also going to take a photography class somewhere.

Ana will be in kindergarten this year, and hopefully will be able to read a little by the end of the school year. It will be weird having her reading! She is such the baby of the family!

So that's what's going on with school!
Emily

What's goin on around here

We are in the middle of painting our fence. Lucas and I are trying to get it done, but since it might rain tomorrow, we didn't paint today! Whew!! Yesterday we painted basically all day and then went to the Bos's for basketball. MY LEGS HURT SO BADLY TODAY! I AM HAVING TROUBLE WALKING!

I am going to the Solomons soon! Yaay! The twins are getting so old! They are 9? months already. I can not believe it!

I hope to write longer soon.
Em

Pictures of Ethan

When Ana got her hair braided professionally, I posed her and took pictures. Ethan helped me out and then begged to pose for a picture, too. What could I do??

Scooters...and a cute kid

Once upon a time, we were planning presents for Mom's birthday. But Mom was nearby, so we were teasing her about what we were getting her. Ethan came up with the best... a dog slobber sandwich. We now use that everytime we tease about presents. In this picture, Lucas is telling Ethan that his present is a dog slobber sandwich and you can tell from the picture what Ethan thinks about that! YOU'RE NUTS!

Ethan fell asleep in the car after meeting the Solomon twins for the first time. Apparently two babies exhaust him!!! :)

This picture freakes me out, because it is like seeing in the future! He looks SO old!

Ethan Does a Headstand!

Ethan is such an amazing kid. He is strong. He is good at most every sport. (The rule at our house is one sport for each kid. I am trying to get Mom to allow Ethan to play basketball, baseball, and football each year.). He is patient and kind. You might've watched the video above where he allows Ana to push him around as she shows him how he should dance. It is so cute!

He loves Ana so much. Lots of people think that they are twins because they are always together doing something.

He is learning to play the piano. He is able to listen to someone play the piano, and maybe watch their fingers, then he can figure out how to play the piece. Lucas and I taught him our version of Do, Re, Mi on the piano and he later figured out how to play a simple tune Dad plays on the piano.

Ethan loves spaghetti! Actually, anything with pasta and sauce. When he eats, his eyes get big and focused. All he thinks about is food. FOOD, FOOD, FOOD!

He loves to read. Lately he has been reading Boxcar children mysteries. Sometimes Ana makes him read her a picture book. Then she'll "read" the story back to him, and it frustrates him when she makes her own version! The words are right there, why can't she understand!?

Ethan has just learned how to ride a bike without training wheels. Since he is short, he has trouble stopping without falling, but he's working on it!

Facts on Ethan:

He loves pasta!

He likes to play basketball with Lucas!

He had a big belly when he was a baby!

He has a giggle that noone can repeat! It is so cute!

I'd add more, but I'm really eager to see if these videos work. I will next have pictures!

Have a great day!

Em

Words from Ana

If you have seen the Veggie Tales video about a little snoodle bug or whatever, you'll appreciate this more.

Ana watched Dr. Jiggles and Mr. Sly today. This is a story about a gourd who wants to dance, but thinks people will make fun of him because he is "jiggly". Ana turned to me and said, "I am jiggly!" and she tried her best to make her tummy jiggle!!!

I've written a lot about Ana today, but everyone else will have their turn. Today is Ana's day. :)
Emily

Ana's Pictures

Ana, without braids!!! :)

Ana was a princess for Halloween.

We caught Ana asleep with her baby doll!
Ana was bored of waiting for Ethan's game to end. She was ready for hers!

"Hi, this is Daphne!"

Kisses

Ana and Junior, (before he ran away)

Ana is adorable!

Ana constantly keeps our family laughing!

Today she was riding her big wheel, (this is a tricycle type thing with a really large wheel in the front. So when you pedal it your feet are higher than your lap.) She used to call her big wheel, her four wheeler. It was really cute, and I still have problems calling it her big wheel!

Anyways, today her pedal kept falling off. It was extremely upsetting. Then as I was practicing my basketball shots, I turned around to watch her. Ana twisted and twisted the pedal on, then it popped on. She looked at me, saw me watching her and gave me a thumbs-up. I started laughing.

Ana grinned, and took off on her "four wheeler", and guess what, the pedal fell off yet again! I called to Ana and showed her that thumbs-down meant bad and thumbs-up meant good. Ana immediately gave me a thumbs-down until she fixed her pedal again and gave me thumbs-up. She continued this over and over again.

Ana loves the song I'm a Little Tea Pot. Unfortunately she sings it wrong. To her, it goes,

I'm a Little Tea Pot

Changed by: Adriana Mae Vander Hart

I'm a little tea pot, short and smout

Here is my handle, hear is my rout,

When I get a little steamed up, hear me shout,

Tip me over and pour me out!

She loves changing songs. One time she asked Mom to play the Steven Curtis Chapman song, "Boolah". Mom turned to me and I shrugged. I don't remember that song. Now, you might not know this, but Ana has a REALLY bad temper. Ethan explains best when he seriously told me once that sometimes it's best to say, "Yes, Ana." and then she'll stop. So, Ana got extremely mad and started screaming. "I want to listen to Boolah!!" Finally we were able to understand her say it was number 10 on the c.d. After making her calm down, I turned it on the stereo. Then we listened. It goes..

Children of God

By: Steven Curtis Chapman

Who are the treasured and the prized?

Who is the apple of God's eye?

Who is?

(Then loudly) We are, we are, we are

Who are the ones who bear His name?

Who are the children he has claimed?

We are, we are, we are

Now where is the "boolah"? We think she heard "we are" as boolah. Things like this happen all the time!!

Just 10 minutes or so ago Ana came in with flowers for Mom. How sweet. Wait a minute! What is all this mud on the kitchen floor? Look at Ana. Then at her feet. ANA! It rained today and Ana had a wonderful time squishing the mud in her toes. Now I have to admit that I love doing this. But Ana decided to do this, gather flowers and then COME INSIDE. It wasn't a bad mess, it's just so cute.

Some facts on Ana.

Her fav. Steven Curtis Chapman songs are Cinderella, Something Crazy, and Children of God

She hates BBQ chicken! Especially BBQ chicken sandwiches.

She loves playing house with Ethan as the baby.

She loves having her nails painted, but not clipped!

She hates getting her hair done, (That's why it's in braids all the time now. Plus, her baseball hat wouldn't have fit on her hair if it weren't braided. It's too puffy!)

She adores animals! The cats love her. Especially Collar Dude.

She is scared of little dogs, but not big dogs!

Ana is so cute. She looks forward to being a big sister to twin babies! I'll post pictures of her next!

Emily

Statistics

• So I know I just posted. But this is the stuff I have to know for my test. What better way to memorize it than sharing it! Don't panic too much! :)
  
  1 of every 7 young drivers will have a serious crash by his/her 17th birthday


• For 16 and 17 year old drivers, crash involvement is a lifetime high during first 6 months of driving on their own


• Research indicates that errors due to inexperience, rather than high speed and irresponsible behavior, account for largest share of young driver crashes


• Each year approximately 35,000,(1 of every 6) 16-17 year old drives are involved in a property damage, injury, or fatal crash


• Each year approximately 90 young drivers in Michigan are involved in a fatal crash


• 55% of all young driver fatal crashes occur in daylight


• 35% young driver fatal crashes happen on Fridays and Saturdays


• 96% of all young driver fatal crashes happen on roadways with speed limit of 55 mph or less


• 14% young driver fatal crashes occur at stop signs


• 17 year olds are extremely more likely to be involved in a crash than a 16 year old. ( They start to think they know everything about driving)


• In app. 1/3 fatal crashes, the driver was killed


• That means the remaining 2/3 were passengers or pedestrians


• 63% of young driver's fatal crashes involved 2 or more cars


• 19% of young driver's fatal crashes are head-on
• 4% of young driver's fatal crashes are rear-end
• 84% of young driver's fatal crashes occur in fair weather conditions
• 74% of young driver's fatal crashes occur on dry road surface
• In 25% of young driver's fatal crashes, they didn't use seatbelts
• Cell phone use impairs drivers ablility similar to a driver with an .08 BAC
• Drivers using cell phones are 4 times more likely to get in a crash
• 50% rear-end crashes and 30% crashes could be prevented with an additional 1/2 second reaction time
• 64% of young driver fatal crashes had male drivers while 36% were female (Yaay, Girls!)

So this is kind of boring, and I didn't share all. I was kind to you, picking only the more interesting things! It's kind of scary, readin' this. I hope I will never be involved in a fatal crash. Period.

Have a great day and drive safe on the wet roads!
Emily

Driver's Education

I haven't written in a while because I've been having to go to Driver's Ed. Segment 2. Driver's Education is NOT fun. And if you have kids that will take it someday, try to get them to take it with at least one person they know. I am taking it with a private company and lots of the kids there go to Portage Central. They seem very nice, but their mouths are very yucky. Most of them aren't people you want to be best friends with.

A lot of people have been asking me what the process is on driving and getting your license. Then an adult will share how they got their license when they were my age, and I wish it were that simple now. This is the procss.

1st- At 14 and 9 mo. a teen is able to take driver's ed. segment 1. This consists of talking, scary videos, homework, tests everyday on homework, and at the end, an EXTREMELY long test full of all the stuff you've learned. You must get a certain amount correct or you fail. If you fail then you have to take the test again in the next class. At the end of this 2 or 3 week course, you receive a certificate saying you did segment 1 and passed.

2nd- You now go to Sec. of State and receive your Level 1 license. This license has rules though. You may only drive with a parent or if your parents make a "permission slip" then you may drive with someone else over the age of 21 with a license.

3rd- A teen must now drive 50 hours, 10 in the dark with a parent or someone else.

4th- Once you have had at least 30 hours of driving and 90 days have passed since you took segment 1, you may take segment 2. This has lots of scary movies emphasizing alcohol and driving. I think they choose the scariest ones with warnings at the beginning for graphic images on purpose. You take a test on the statistics of teen driving and crashes. (I'm doing that today). I think this is dumb. If you fail this, you take another, and if you fail yet again, too bad.

5th- Once you have your hours in, you take a road skills test. Which sounds hard. One parent must ride along, but may not say one word or the teen will fail automatically.

6th- When you turn 16 and have all the above done, you go to Sec. of State and get your Level 2 license. You may now drive by yourself, but not between midnight and 5 a.m. Passenger limits are determined by the teen's parents.

7th- When you are 17, have had level 2 license for a minimum of 6 mo. and gone a year without an accident, you get a level 3 license. You now have all the driving privileges like your parents.

Yes, this is very hard. And confusing. I'm gonna end by telling you that there is a new law in the making. It is against texting while you're driving. If you are caught doing this, it will be said that you were intexticating! :) I thought this was really funny.

Em

Happy Anniversary, Dad and Mom

18 years ago, Paul and Jennifer fell in love and were married on August 17th. Today they celebrate.

Love you Mom and Dad!
Emily

He's Back

I was taking Woody out to do his you know what today, when I saw a cat bolt from our garage. Thinking it was Collar-Dude, I followed at a quick walk to see what he was chasing. He flew around the house and I saw him disappear into the field. "C?" I started calling him. The cat looked at me. I quickly put Woody into the fenced area and went out to go check out this familiar looking cat. The cat mewed and started walking away. But I caught up to him. And it was him! Grizzly.

He flopped onto his back like a dog and wiggled around while I pet him and told him how great he was looking. He is skinny, but his nasty wounds have healed! Yaaaay!

Don't get why I'm excited? We used to have six cats and they have run away or something until we are left with only two cats. Grizzly has run away, but he always comes back for a short visit and then is off again! I still get excited when I see him! He was my favorite of our triplets. And he definitely loves me, in a cat way, you know.

Anyways, so that's the most exciting new news for today.

Have a wonderful Sunday!
Emily

P.S. In the picture above, Collar Dude is staring at our new pets- our tadpoles. He loves to hunt! :(

Ethan can see!

Things are now clear over here! We now have an explanation as to why Ethan is always asking us what time it is when we're in the van. Unless we answer him with the time, our answer is always, "Look for yourself!" One time Lucas and Ethan were playing some sort of game and Luke asked Ethan to read a sign a distance away. Ethan answered that he couldn't read it from here.

So Ethan has gone to the doctor and is discovered to be near sighted! He now has some glasses that he has to wear all the time. They have helped him a lot. The problem is that he doesn't like how they feel on his nose! Poor kid.


I will put on a picture hopefully soon of him with his sweet new glasses!

Emily

Project Day

Today is the last day of our vacation. Ana and Ethan have made bird feeders. Luke is making a sandbox with Dad and this is my project. A blog.

We decided to have a vacation at home this year and so far it's been great.

Well, the first day, Sunday, was a little difficult. Dad and Mom surprised us with a camping trip to Fort Custer. It went fine until the storms came. Then we couldn't get the van started so we had to ask a guy to give us a jump in the pouring rain. Finally we got home as Ana and Ethan would definitely never sleep with a storm RIGHT over their heads. Dad and Lucas went back, (yes, I'm a chicken :) and slept in the tent.

On Monday we watched Over the Hedge and then Lucas and I watched Honey, I shrunk the Kids at night. (Watching a movie from Blockbuster has been against our rules since we began the adoption process. So Monday was a break the rules day!) We went to Michigan Adventure Tuesday. Ana loves scary rides. She rode every ride we went on that she could. This included several roller coasters and other scary rides like the Sea Dragon. Whew, I'm definitely scared of heights!!!! (But I rode it twice!)

Ethan does NOT like scary rides, we found out. The problem is, we also found out they don't stop the ride even if you yell, "STOP IT!" to the guy running it. Ethan tried this many times. His eyes were so wide and everytime the ride started slowing we'd say, "We're stopping E-E, it's okay" but the ride would continue and continue.... Ethan likes the little cars that slowly drive around the track and you can control the wheels a little.

We went to Lake Michigan the next day. Ana hates big waves. Ethan loves them. And, yes, I don't understand this either after how the day before went.

We cooked hotdogs and smores over a "fire" (small grill), Thursday. Then us kids slept in a tent the Solomons loaned us. It's huge! We enjoyed it so much that we did it again last night after a visit to Eagle Lake in Fort Custer.

And we're back to the beginning of my post. And this is a long post!
So that's what's up right now.

Hey, check out my other blog on our adoption!

Emily