The Berry Blog

Some News...

2012-01-25T12:53:00.001-08:00

We are expecting baby #5. We are very excited and feel so lucky. I am sick...the nausea gets worse with each pregnancy. I am still figuring out how to cope.

We had a doctor's appointment yesterday. We heard the heartbeat and saw the sweet little baby via ultrasound. (I'll scan the ultrasound sometime). The due date is September 4th, which makes me think it is a boy because that is right when all of our other boys have been born. I am 8 weeks in and praying for the next two months to pass quickly (last pregnancy I kept throwing up until after 16 weeks).

We are planning on adding on to our house. We have three bedrooms and this baby will make a total of 7 people in our family. We looked at selling and buying a new house, but it didn't feel right. We are hoping to start construction in March...depending on how long the loan papers and architecture work take. Does anyone have suggestions or experience with extensive home additions?

Exploring

2011-12-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

As I am driving the kids around from place to place, I am always looking for good photo spots. I don't consciously try to look for them, but I always catch myself doing it. I saw this lot that was for sale and just had to stop and try it out. The kids enjoyed exploring.

Ragged Mountain - S'mores

2011-12-10T19:24:00.000-08:00

We built a fire each night and roasted marshmallows one night. Estella pretty much goes crazy over sugar as you can see in this picture. Jackson and I are actually quite concerned about this lately. Estella is the first child to show major mood swings and behavior changes in connection to eating sugar and low quality foods. We eat much healthier than the majority of people. We really don't eat very much sugar. We eat whole grains almost 100% of the time, lots of fruits and veggies, and avoid all processed foods. I make most things from scratch including bread, granola, yogurt, and all of our meals. I can count on a difficult afternoon with Estella after church because her primary teachers give out candy almost every week (I love her primary teachers. They are wonderful and I don't blame them!). It isn't just Sundays...it is any day when she has sugar...especially if she has it on an empty stomach. It seems like if she eats a little bit with a good meal or just after a good meal, it doesn't bother her as much. I will probably share more details and discoveries about this soon. We are determined to discover how to best help her stay emotionally level. (even if it means pinning a sign to her back that says "Don't give me sugar!")

We borrowed a telescope from Jackson's parents and brought it with us. It was really cold once it got dark, so our telescope adventures were shorted than we would have liked, but we enjoyed them all the same! We all looked at the moon. It was inspiring to see it so close. We also looked at several different stars. After we got the kids to sleep, Jackson and I went out and looked for constellations. We have a book called The Stars by H.A Rey that is great! It is the best I have seen for helping you find and remember where the constellations are. We really enjoyed doing this.

Ragged Mountain- Jump Rope

2011-12-10T18:07:00.000-08:00

We brought two jump ropes with us....one long and one short. It was so much fun to see the kids learning to jump!

Thomas had a hard time keeping his pants up :)

Ragged Mountain- Grassy Field

2011-12-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

Ragged Mountain- Cement Circles

2011-12-07T21:14:00.000-08:00

Ragged Mountain-Dirty and Cute

2011-12-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

We didn't wash our hands or faces very much while we were there! The kids' hands were caked with layers of dirt and grime! I think we used baby wipes before a few meals, but not many :)

Ragged Mountain-Flying High

2011-12-05T19:36:00.000-08:00

Ragged Mountain-The Cabin

2011-12-03T07:32:00.001-08:00

There are several cabins at Ragged Mountain. I reserved the smallest one for our family. When we arrived the groundskeepers were upset and let us know that the water was shut off. They felt bad that we had came all that way, but they thought it best that we not stay. They didn't have our phone number, and couldn't contact us earlier. We told them that we really didn't mind not having any running water as long as they could share a bit of drinking water with us. They gave us plenty of water, let us stay in a bigger cabin, and then wouldn't let us pay.

There is a small lake right in the front yard of this cabin. It was beautiful!

I think the kids' favorite thing about the cabin was the stairs. Our house doesn't have any stairs, so they are a bit of a novelty. They took turns jumping off the stairs, edging up to a higher stair each time until it was really quite a jump! Nicholas actually jumped from the highest, which scares me. I could see wheels turning inside both Thomas and Estella's heads. They were thinking through the consequences of jumping from too high. Nicholas didn't think at all...just threw himself out into the air.

Ragged Mountain-Alexander Stands

2011-11-30T19:56:00.001-08:00

At Caprock (the school my kids are now going to) they have a fall break. Not just a wimpy fall break...a full week long fall break in October. We went to a church camp called Ragged Mountain and stayed in a cabin. It was a wonderful time. We really really really really really enjoyed ourselves. We made happy memories. I took LOTS of pictures. Whenever I take lots and lots of pictures of an event...and it is an event I want to document well...I tend to put the sorting and editing and documenting off because I feel like I need a big chunk of time to do it well. The big chunk of time never presents itself, and so the pictures sit and sit until I decided I have to do it whether I can do it well or not. This event is going to come in several small posts, because that is what is more manageable for me.

The most significant event that happened while we were there was that Alexander learned how to stand! He did this differently than any of our other children. The others would pull up on the edge of the couch or a chair and then let go. Alexander went to the middle of the floor, did the stink bug, and then stood. It was the most adorable thing to watch. He was so proud of himself and we were proud of him too. We were all clapping and cheering and smiling and basking in the joy of the moment. I was so happy to have caught this special moment on camera.

This attempt didn't get him vertical.

This attempt was the first successful one. You have to scroll down through about ten pictures to see the whole series. I LOVE that my camera fires like a machine gun! Go slowly and enjoy his joyful expressions in each picture...it is fun, I promise!

Oh, we love this little boy!

Tree Falling

2011-11-19T20:57:00.000-08:00

We had a tree in the back corner of our yard that was dying. We had a tree expert come look at it and he said the best thing to do would be to cut it down. The tree was very tall....about 60 feet tall. Jackson's friend, Brett, did it for us. He is amazing! If you ever need a tree taken down, call him!

History Day

2011-11-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

One of the things I LOVE about Caprock (the school my kids are going to) is history day. Each grade studies a particular event or time frame in history. Then, for an entire day the whole school has a history day. Everyone dresses up as the people they have been studying. They do projects, eat food, and learn as much as they can about that historical period. It was so fun to walk around the school and see the costumes and feel the excitement. They had the history day on Halloween weekend, so they didn't do "Halloween" costumes, just history costumes.

Sweet Aunt Diana let us raid her costume shed, which was such a stress relief for me! Nicholas was Christopher Columbus and Essie dressed up as Queen Isabella. Here they are pretending to sail a ship.

Thomas's class studied Ancient China, so here he is as a wealthy Chinese man.

Preschool

2011-11-12T19:05:00.000-08:00

I am doing a rotating preschool with a few friends for our little ones. Essie absolutely loves it. Nicholas enjoys the days when it is at our house...he has afternoon Kindergarten, so he is here during the fun! We did a Halloween party here and the vampire teeth were a hit.

Cello Recital

2011-11-11T11:40:00.000-08:00

Warehouse

2011-11-10T20:59:00.000-08:00

I had a photoshoot scheduled one evening and it was pouring rain. My dear friend Monica told me about a warehouse that she thought would work. I drove there with the kids to check it out and snapped a few pictures while we were there. This is Estella as she was. This is completely her choice of clothing and is very typical for her.

Essie's Party

2011-11-09T20:34:00.000-08:00

Halloween

2011-11-07T20:32:00.000-08:00

Nicholas Soccer

2011-11-06T20:25:00.001-08:00

Nicholas really did well this soccer season. Last season he was much more passive. This year he was very aggressive, ran fast to the ball, and got much better at dribbling. Several weekends both Thomas and Nicholas had games at the same time. Jackson was supposed to coach both of them....tricky. One weekend Aunt Jamie and Uncle Jordan were here visiting, and they kindly stepped in a coached Nicholas' team. The cheerleader in Aunt Jamie just kept bursting out :)

Coach Dad

2011-11-06T20:06:00.001-08:00

Our boys are so lucky to have a dad who is able to be the coach for both of their soccer teams. He does an amazing job and thoroughly enjoys it. It is also a sacrifice for him and demands a lot of time and energy. He is the best!

Thomas Soccer

2011-11-06T20:05:00.001-08:00

I am SO behind on pictures, so I will be doing some large posts with lots of pictures and not very many words to get caught up.

Grandma Groesbeck

2011-10-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

My mom needed a picture of herself doing something she loves to do, so I took one for her during our last visit. She is an avid reader. She goes through books so fast! She always has a huge stack by her bed. I love you Mom!

Applefest

2011-10-29T19:58:00.000-07:00

Mariokart Wii

2011-10-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

The boys LOVE to play Mariokart. It is great motivation for them to get their practicing done. They get 20 minutes of playing time if they finish their homework, practicing, and reading and still have enough time before bed. If they whine or beg, their next 20 minutes is taken away.

Alexander loves watching too:)

Baptism

2011-10-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

Thomas's baptism was so special. He was very prepared and ready to make that commitment. He was supported by so many friends and family. Both sets of grandparents, all aunts, uncles, and cousins that lived within a 4 hour drive, three friends from soccer and their families, his primary presidency and bishopric. During the program he played "Teach Me to Walk in the Light" on his violin with Jackson on the cello and me on the piano. Jackson performed both the baptism and the confirmation. Standing in the circle for the confirmation were:
Grandpa Berry (Bubba)
Grandpa Groesbeck
Uncle Judd
Uncle Chris
Uncle Jake
Uncle Cody
Uncle Jordan (soon to be uncle)
Great Uncle Alvin
Dad's cousin Shane
Bishop Douglas Rock

I have noticed an increased sense of responsibility in Thomas. He is maturing and making good choices. He seeks after the truth. He is determined and hard working. I feel privileged to be his mother.

After the baptism we had dinner with everyone at our house. We ate lots of soup, bread, and dessert and finished off the evening with a bit of Just Dance2 on the Wii.

Giant Sunflowers

2011-10-18T20:56:00.001-07:00

The favorite thing we grew in our garden this year was giant sunflowers. They were SO TALL...at least 8 feet! We harvested, soaked, and roasted them. They are delicious!

Make a Funny Face Mommy

2011-10-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

After I had finished taking way too many pictures of my kids in the driveway, Essie said she wanted to take a picture of me. I got everything set, showed her the button and helped her hold the camera up facing me. After a few shots she said, "Okay, now make a funny face Mommy. That was good, now a different one." I'm not very good at making funny faces. I planned on just deleting them, but decided against it. These are for you my funny face queen!

Graceful Dancer

2011-10-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

When I have seen other moms ask their kids to dance, I have usually seen the child do a fast, wiggly, twisty jig. When I ask Estella to dance, she swoops and glides gracefully in an interpretative dance style.
n

Skid Marks

2011-10-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

Nicholas suddenly LOVES making skid marks. I am still not used to the sound of it. Every time I hear his screeching tires I cringe, imagining that it is a car screeching to a stop to avoid hitting one of my children. It must be a phase that kids go through because I remember when Thomas did the same thing on the same bike.
n

Scoot Bike

2011-10-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

A neighbor grew out of this bike and passed it down to Essie. One of the training wheels broke, so Jackson and I decided to take off the pedals and let her scoot along on it. It took her a while to get used to it, but now she LOVES it! She cruises around on it, chasing after the boys. I think we just might skip training wheels with her.

Hot Ride

2011-10-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

Alexander makes this bike look good!

2011-09-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

We are so excited for Thomas's big day! I am posting this here because I worked hard on it and want to have it in our family photo book. We would love to have as many of our friends and family there as can make it!

Mountain Biking

2011-09-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

The day after Thomas' birthday, Judd and Amber invited us to go mountain biking with them for Newell's birthday. We had a blast! I had a fabulous time taking pictures of everyone, Jackson and Thomas loved riding the jumps and ramps, Nicholas and Essie favored climbing the hills, and Alexander ate dirt...yum. Jackson did convince me to get on his bike and go down the big hill once. I need some more practice and a bike that is my size. I am lucky I didn't crash!
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More Birthday

2011-09-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

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The big 8

2011-09-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

The party we planned for Nicholas was so much fun, Thomas decided to do the same party with his friends! It was great!

So this is love...

2011-09-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

We have three birthdays and our anniversary all squeezed into twelve days at the end of summer. Sometimes in the midst of the birthday party planning and preparing, planning for our anniversary gets pushed aside. This year, we did an impromptu visit to Enstrom's, our favorite ice cream place. It wasn't peaceful or romantic, but it was lovely just the same. This IS love.

Thomas and Nicholas were there too. Somehow they didn't make it into the pictures. Thomas was the photographer of the photos of Jackson and I.

Zandy Boy is 1!

2011-09-23T17:01:00.000-07:00

Passing Through

2011-09-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

Jake and Kaci were passing through on their way home from a summer in Texas. I am so glad they stopped to visit for a while!

Grass Love

2011-09-11T20:22:00.001-07:00

I have been wanting to take photography clients to grassy fields for pictures, but haven't felt confident enough that I would be able to get good photos there. We were on our way to a party and were about 10 minutes early, so we pulled over by a field and trespassed on a corner of it for 10 minutes. The owner actually came by when we were almost finished and asked what we were doing. Oops. I guess I need to make friends with someone who owns a field of weeds :)

Nicholas is 6!

2011-09-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

Nicholas had a fabulous birthday! He really wanted a pinata, so we made one at home by covering a balloon with newspaper dipped in a water-flour mixture. We filled it with slap bracelets, sticky hands, and finger-puppet snakes.

We started the party by playing with hot-wheels cars at the skate park. I was a bit worried about broken arms and cracked skulls with all the steep slopes around. We made a few places off-limits and luckily there were no injuries.

Then we walked over to to the playground and played red-rover. Then we had a treasure hunt to find the pinata. We only got around to doing one layer of newspaper, so it wasn't very strong. It broke quickly :)

Nicholas's friends were so generous with their gifts! He was on top of the world and kept saying things like, "I am so spoiled!" and "I am the luckiest boy in the world!" and "My friends are so nice!" I agreed with him. He was spoiled. It was so very fun to spoil such a thankful boy.

Cello Brothers

2011-09-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

This was Jackson's last twinkle class. It gave me goosebumps to see all of these handsome boys playing together. Can you imagine the fun they will have in middle and high school if they all stick with it?

Swimming Lessons

2011-09-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

This post is out of order. We did one two week session of swim lessons this summer. The kids loved it and all improved their swimming skills. Thomas's big accomplishment was going off the high dive. I was very impressed with him. He went off over and over.

More Rain

2011-09-01T12:12:00.000-07:00

This time Elly and Gracie joined in the fun. Their mom is a bit more on top of things and got them in their swimsuits.

Essie was really upset when she lost her shorts.

I took them off her and convinced her that her shirt was long enough to cover her. She wasn't so sure at first, but eventually decided that she would go back out.

Popsicles

2011-08-31T20:44:00.000-07:00

Our kids love our neighbors across the street, Elly and Gracie. Estella is constantly knocking on their door...that is a story for another post. This evening they all shared popsicles in the driveway.

Vibrant Estella

2011-08-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

Vibrant is a great word to describe Estella. She is full of life. She feels every emotion to its fullest. She wants to be a part of everything and loves to be the center of anything. Her primary teachers at church say she is quiet, reserved, and shy. I don't know what child is sitting in their class, but it surely can't be mine. This is the Estella I know. I love her!

Wet Baby

2011-08-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

After playing in the gutter Alexander was reluctant to be back in the house. He just crawled right back out the door if we set him down inside. I love his expression here!

Rain Storm

2011-08-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

I have said this over and over. I am going to say it again. I love Grand Junction's summer rainstorms. One minute the skies are blue and clear, and the next minute you hear a clap of thunder, the skies open and send down warm summer rain. The rain usually doesn't last long...10 or 15 minutes is all, so the instant the kids notice it they run out to enjoy it. This was Alexander's first time in the rain and he LOVED it! We all loved experiencing it with him.

The boys all took their shirts off, so Essie took hers off too. At what age is it not okay to let them do that anymore?

Notice Estella's pants. The next time you see her, she will be wearing different ones. She is the queen of quick clothing changes!

All of my boys...I love my boys!!!

Essie was putting her head in the gutter to get her hair all wet and then shaking her head as fast as she could to spray whoever was close by.

Home Again

2011-08-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

Family Reunion Part 6 - Buddies

2011-08-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

Noah LOVES kids! He took my kids under his wing and helped them the whole weekend. Essie especially loved him.

Family Reunion Part 5 - Sharing a Punch Bag

2011-08-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

Grandma Groesbeck lives close to the Ideal Dairy and always brings some of their punch bags for the kids. They were still a bit frozen (they are best that way) so Essie and Gator were taking turns slurping punch slush from the bag :)

Family Reunion Part 4

2011-08-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

Alexander and my cousin Brynne's baby Munchie got along like most babies do...they poked each other and both wanted the same toy.

Family Reunion Part 3

2011-08-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

Family Reunion Part 2

2011-08-23T09:11:00.000-07:00

Taylor loved playing with Alexander. She played peek-a-boo with him tirelessly and fed him without getting a drop of food on his clothes. I was impressed.

We always have fun crafts and this year was no exception. We did reverse-tie die shirts using freezer paper and bleach. Aunt Jamie dove in to Thomas's request for an Angry-Birds pattern and it turned out great!

Family Reunion Part 1

2011-08-22T09:09:00.001-07:00

I LOVE Groesbeck Family reunions! When I was growing up we went every year. Since I have been married and living farther away, we have only made it about every three years :(

I felt like I didn't get my camera out enough while we were there, but now that I am home going through the pictures I realize that I took plenty!

Estella and Gator were best friends from the moment we got there. They had little adventures all day long. The first day they went on "hikes" through the "forest." It was really a patch of weeds right next to the cabin, but to them it was a forest.

Giggles

2011-08-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

Watermelon

2011-08-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

Brothers

2011-08-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

Thomas

2011-08-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

Nicholas

2011-08-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

A Perfect Summer Afternoon

2011-08-11T20:53:00.000-07:00

This was the perfect way to spend a sunny summer afternoon!

Alexander had his first taste of fresh-out-of-the-garden peas. Oh boy, did he enjoy that! I couldn’t stop pointing my camera at his darling little face. He brings us all so much happiness and entertainment.

Dart Sucker

2011-08-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

Mica Mine

2011-08-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

There is an old mica mine not far from Grand Junction. Aunt Diana invited us to hike it with her and her grandson and a few others. I had never been there before and found it fascinating. The kids loved it as well!

You can see a vein of mica just behind Nicholas. It is soft and flakes. You can easily pull chunks of it off the wall. Nicholas was the most interested in collecting it. He brought home a small baggie full and treasures it.

Practicing With Estella

2011-08-09T20:06:00.000-07:00

Practicing with Estella is colorful.

(I can't remember now why she had her swimsuit on. I would have thought we were planning on going swimming that afternoon or something, but now that I look closer I see that she had panties underneath. That makes me think she was just wearing her swimsuit for fun, which happens often.)

First Day of School

2011-08-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

The boys' first day of school has long since come and gone and it was very good. They started school at Caprock Academy on July 25th. Our decision to have them go there is long and drawn out. Basically, it was the right decision for our family right now and I couldn't be happier. They started so early because they have every Friday off plus an extra week long break in October, I think.

They get to wear uniforms and I LOVE IT!!! They look so sharp every day.

Nicholas was super excited to start Kindergarten. He goes in the afternoon, which has turned out to work great for our family.

I was confused what time we were supposed to be there, so we had to wait quite a while in the heat for everyone else to get there. Caprock is quite a new school and just bought a property for their permanent location. They are still very much under construction and will be for several years. The kids (and parents) all seem very patient of the process, which is very nice to witness.

As soon as the teacher's aid called for the kids, Nicholas jumped right in line and didn't look back. He is enjoying making new friends and tells me about them every day.

Melted Blinds

2011-08-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

Estella must attract the sun, because the blinds on her window melted. Her window is right by our front door...a beautiful welcome to our house. They melted a little bit last year and I just tried to pretend that no one could notice from outside (I'm sure they could). Now they are destroyed beyond repair, which means I had to get new blinds for the entire front of the house. If you have seen our house you would agree with me. There are six windows that are all the same size. I didn't want the same thing to happen again, so I got some double cell, cellular shades. They are supposed to be the best for keeping out the heat. I am excited for them to come!!! I bet the neighbors are too :)

New Main Street Splash Pad

2011-08-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

The city has been doing some renovations to Main Street. The one I am the most excited about is the small splash pad. The kids and I have gone twice and loved it both times. I think it is very well done. I almost get hypnotized watching the water. I love the way water moves.

Eggs

2011-08-06T19:17:00.001-07:00

We eat a lot of eggs. I bought two 18 packs. All but two were smashed. At least only 18 ended up on the driveway. The other 16 landed inside the plastic bag :)

Sleeping Thomas

2011-08-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

Thomas gets very bothered by any noise when he is reading or going to sleep...even Nicholas' breathing bugs him. As a solution, Jackson lets him use the headset he used when riding in the deafening C-130. It is amazing at blocking out the noise. When we go in to tuck the kids in before going to sleep, this is how Thomas usually looks.

Poor Thomas is stuck in a little corner right now and doesn't have room to stretch out his legs while he is sleeping. Is this going to stunt his growth?

Essie's First Violin Lesson

2011-08-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

Estella has been begging and begging to start violin lessons. While I am practicing with the boys she is climbing all over me and is incredibly disruptive. I thought it might make my life easier if I started her. Grandma Chelle kindly accepted my request for lessons and Essie started about a month ago.

We are doing about 10 minutes lessons each week and 5-10 minutes practicing time each day. Essie is learning the parts of the violin, how to pick it up, how to handle it, how to hold the bow(the stick), how to bow (bend at the waist), and singing some fun songs. She brought her violin home a few weeks ago and didn't follow to rule to only get it out with Mommy's help. We decided it needed to stay at Grandma Chelle's house for a while until she was ready to remember the rules. She is looking forward to getting it back on Thursday at our lesson.

I had some leftover quilt blocks from a project I did for some young women years ago. Essie and I decided to turn them into a violin book bag for her. We both love how it turned out. I think it displays Estella's personality perfectly.

10 Year HS Reunion

2011-08-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

My 10 year High School reunion was held on the 4th of July weekend also. It was so fun to visit with many of my former classmates. I only wish we could have had more time together.

Groesbeck Fun in the Canyon

2011-08-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

While in Fillmore we went up the canyon and had a barbeque. My mom and dad make the best dutch oven food ever! While Dad was cooking, Jake, Kaci, and the boys were fishing. One of the boys saw a snake in the water where they were playing. They called Uncle Jake over to see it and he recognized it as a baby diamond-back rattlesnake! He quickly killed it by chopping off it's head. We were very grateful that it didn't bite one of the boys. That would have been traumatic.

Aunt Kara brought the portable crib and set it up for Cooper to sleep in.

Aunt Kaci beat both Grandma and Aunt Kara arm wrestling. They were both close matches.

Later that evening, back at Grandma's house, Nicholas found some dress ups and decided to give them a go. I thought he looked smashing! He thought it was hilarious to be dressed up like that. I think these pictures just might come in handy some day :)

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-31T20:42:00.001-07:00

We were in Fillmore for the 4th of July weekend. EVERYONE was there. It was so much fun! We didn't do anything super special and we had a fabulous time doing it!

Uncle Jake and Thomas played several games of chess. Uncle Jake is super competitive and was concentrating VERY hard to be sure not to lose to his 7 year old nephew :)

We set off fireworks in the yard on Saturday night instead of Monday the 4th because we had to leave Monday afternoon. The neighbor kids joined us for the fireworks.

This was the first 4th of July parade we have been to that my kids were old enough to enjoy. They were ecstatic to have candy thrown their way! Thomas and Nicholas used some hats to collect candy and Essie used her dress.

After the parade we spend about an hour sitting on a blanket in the park chatting with people as they walked by.

Denver Trip - Zoo

2011-07-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

I have a new plug-in for my editing software that will automatically upload any pictures into a new blog post for me. It is FABULOUS! It took me one click and BOOM...there were 30 pictures on the blog! I am in heaven! I am still trying to figure out how to make them a little bit bigger, but for now, this is great!

We LOVED LOVED LOVED the zoo. We haven't been to a zoo since we left Arkansas. We had a membership there and went very often, so we have missed it.

Right as we walked in the entrance the lion was roaring. I have never heard a real lion roar before. It was fascinating!

Essie and Juliette were inseparable. They were both wearing pink sunhats from Grandma Chelle and Bubba and looked adorable walking around holding hands.

Nicholas was so young in Arkansas that he doesn't remember anything from his visits there. He was very excited to see the giraffes, monkeys, and elephants especially.

Essie had a bit of a meltdown mid day. She was so exhausted!

We had a good spot for the seal and sea lion demonstration. We learned the differences between the two and saw them both do tricks.

The most disturbing thing we saw was this gorilla. He/she ? was sitting peacefully eating some food when another bigger gorilla came charging in. The peaceful gorilla seemed very startled and bothered and jumped away to the corner. It then squatted, pooped, ate the poop, and then smelled it's fingers. It was disgusting!

Denver Trip - Hotel and 16th Street

2011-07-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

Our hotel was right on 16th Street which is a fun street in Denver that is blocked to all traffic except a free bus system, bike-pulled-carts, and horse-drawn buggies. The night after we went to the museum we went out for a stroll (and bus ride) along the street.

The kids spotted a chess match in progress and wanted to watch for a while. As we walked up, the game had finished which left an empty seat. Ethan slid right into the empty seat without even blinking an eye. The man sitting across from him laughed, shrugged, and proceeded to set up the pieces. Ethan put up a good fight and then lost. Thomas really REALLY wanted us to stay longer so he could play, but we decided we needed to move on.

Every few blocks there was a piano sitting on the side of the road. Each one was painted differently. The kids enjoyed pounding on them as we walked by.

After our stroll and some ice cream, we hung out in the hotel basement playing games. Jackson was trying to take pictures of me and I was halfheartedly resisting :)

Denver Trip - Museum of Nature and Science - Human Body, Space, Dinos, Gems

2011-07-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

GEMS- I was surprised when I asked the kids what their favorite thing at the museum was (besides the Pirates) and Thomas and Nicholas both enthusiastically said, "The Gems!" They really liked looking at rocks.

DINOS

SPACE

HUMAN BODY

This was a pig heart, not a human heart (they are very similar, however). They had a few others that were cut up in different ways. I now understand the way the heart works better than I did before. I have to admit, though, that I felt a little bit squeamish even though I tried to pretend that I didn't. I think it was the smell that got to me.

I'm not quite sure how this came to be, but somehow this was once a real human arm. Everything is gone except the veins and arteries and capillaries and whatever else carries blood.

Denver Trip - Museum of Nature and Science - Pirates, Mummies, Animals, Sculptures

2011-07-23T15:20:00.000-07:00

The next day we went to The Museum of Nature and Science. We brought food and planned on staying all day. We were glad we did. It was full of great exhibits that kept the kids and adults interested all day.

ANIMALS- These were some of my favorite exhibits. I loved how they created lifelike scenes. I would start out thinking that there were only one or two animals in the scene. Then, as I looked closer and spent more time looking around carefully, more and more animals would 'appear.'

REAL PIRATES- This was the voted favorite exhibit. It is a traveling exhibit and just happened to be in Denver while we were there. We paid extra to go in and it was worth every penny. Pictures weren't allowed inside the exhibit (It was really hard for me to restrain myself!). We got to touch some of the actual treasure that was recovered from off the bottom of the ocean.

The story goes like this (as far as I can remember). There was a young man named Sam Bellamy who was in love with a beautiful girl. She returned his love and they wanted to be married. Her father wouldn't allow his daughter to marry a poor man, so Sam was compelled to seek a fortune. He decided to do it the fastest way possible at that time...through piracy. He was a very successful pirate and was on his way home in a stolen ship called the Whydah with treasure stolen from over 50 different ships (if I remember correctly). There was a terrible storm and within days of home the ship went down. Captain Bellamy died along with most of the crew. We loved this exhibit!

GEM SCULPTURES- These were miniature sculptures made out of precious gems. They all depicted life in Russia.

Jackson actually did this on his mission. It was some type of bath house where everyone went. Among other things, you went into a steamy room, laid naked on a wooden table and someone slapped your entire back side with sticks. It was supposed to make your pores open up or something. He said that everyone got really hot in the steam room and then went outside and jumped into the snow before running back inside again.

MUMMIES- We love learning about mummies. This one interesting because when it was found, there was the body of a rich woman inside the casket of a poor man. Why?...they don't know exactly.

MORE ANIMALS

Denver Trip - Casa Bonita

2011-07-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

We went on a family trip to Denver with Aunt Julia, Uncle Chris, Ethan, Aiden, Aunt Amber, Uncle Judd, Clarissa, Newell, Brynne, and Juliette. We had a great time and made fun memories. My shutter finger goes on overdrive when we go on vacation. I took hundreds and hundreds of pictures. I narrowed them down considerably, but there are still LOTS! There will be about five different Denver posts and we were only there for two days:)

We met everyone at Casa Bonita for dinner on Thursday evening. The food was quite gross. The kids absolutely LOVED the entertainment...divers, puppet shows, dark scary cave tunnels, face drawing, mini plays...they loved it!

We splurged and had the kid's faces drawn cartoon style.

They couldn't resist touching the water in the fountain in front while we were waiting for everyone to arrive.

Suzuki Camp

2011-07-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

Back in June, Jackson went to Suzuki camp to become certified to teach Books 2 and 3. He came back full of ideas, feeling confident and prepared to take his students through those books.

Thomas got to go as a student of violin. Grandma Chelle generously and happily went with him as his chaperone. She went with him to classes, took notes, and practiced with him in the evenings. She sincerely enjoyed it. Thomas doesn't realize how lucky he is to have had an entire week by himself with his grandma and his dad.

Thomas came back from camp completely in love with the violin. Now, after an hour of practicing, I say that we are finished and he says, "Really? That's all?" and then he plays fiddle tunes he learned at camp for a while longer.

One of the nights the kids and I were there we went swimming in the hotel pool.

Staying with the Smiths

2011-07-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

Thomas and Jackson went to a Suzuki camp back in June (pictures to come soon). I took the other three kids to Salt Lake for a few days so we could see one of Thomas's performances. We stayed with my dear friend from college, Elisa, and her sweet family. My kids loved her kids. I loved visiting in the small moments between the chaos of having 7 small children running around. Thank you E! My kids keep begging me to take them back to your house :)

The first evening we were there, Elisa invited a couple other college friends (Jessie and April) over for a bbq dinner.

Dirty

2011-07-14T17:32:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you aren't used to having a mobile baby...you set him down a few feet from a mud puddle, walk away for 30 seconds, come back expecting him to be exactly where you left him only to find him happily playing in the mud. I could have stopped it before he got this dirty, but he was enjoying himself so much and the other kids were enjoying watching him so much that I just decided to embrace the joy of the moment. It was worth it :)

Bath Time

2011-07-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

Ping Pong Ball Entertainment

2011-07-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure who figured this out. Now when I turn on the vacuum, the kids come running with ping pong balls.

Practice is Hard

2011-07-06T13:47:00.000-07:00

These are all really old pictures. They were taken in March. I had high hopes of editing them. That didn't happen, so I decided it was time to blog them before they were lost forever.

I didn't really know what I was getting in to when I started Thomas on the violin. I had no idea that I would be practicing with him every day. I imagined giving gentle reminders and cheering him on every now and then. Boy, was I WRONG!!! The responsibility for practicing is just as much mine as it is the child's, if not more. Total focus and attention is required of me during practice time in order to do it correctly.

This wasn't that big of a deal at first. Practicing only took about 10 minutes each day and I could do that while Essie was napping and Nicholas was happy. It was actually really fun to be so involved. Thomas and I enjoyed the time together. He is very receptive to teaching and is a quick learner, so practice time was generally a fun, happy time.

Fast-forward three years and it is an entire different story. I now have three children who need to practice each day. Essie's practicing takes 10 minutes. Nicholas's practicing takes about 30 minutes. Thomas's practicing could go on all day, but we generally keep it under an hour. That is close to two hours of my day, every day (except Sunday) that is dedicated to practicing instruments with my children. That is an enormous sacrifice. I often wonder if it is too much. Is giving my children the gift of musical ability worth that sacrifice? Are there other things that are more important that I am neglecting? I am not quite sure.

Also, I have many more demands on my time now than I did three years ago. Estella is at an especially demanding age. It is really hard for her to be ignored for an hour and a half while I am practicing with her brothers.

When Thomas first started, we never missed a practice. When I decide to do something, I like to really do it. If a teacher has given me an assignment, I want to do it well. I am having internal struggles now, because sometimes we are only practicing halfway. Sometimes I am tired and impatient and just plain don't want to do it. Sometimes I am feeling forced to choose which child gets the good practice time that day. I don't like that. I found myself giving practice priority to Thomas over Nicholas because it was easier for me to tell Nicholas's teacher (Jackson) that we didn't practice well than it was for me to tell Thomas's teacher (Jackson's mom). Since I have realized that I have really made an effort to change that.

Okay. I am finished complaining. I know that it will get easier. The kids will get older and more independent. I want to be able to look back and remember this time and the realities of it. Good things don't come easily. This isn't easy. It is good. It is a gift that I want to give my children. Music is so beautiful. It invites the Holy Spirit and feeds the soul.

FYI- Estella is learning to play the violin, not the cello. She had her first lesson last week with Grandma Chelle.

Housewife vs. Mother

2011-07-01T19:16:00.000-07:00

I am not a very good housekeeper. I am okay. I keep things in fairly good order. I'm not that great with cleaning, however. One of the first things I think when someone comes over is, "I hope they won't need to use my bathroom." As I have more children it is getting worse. I do my best. I don't think I am lazy. I am just not very good at staying on top of it. Also, I would much rather bake bread, or make food, or weed the garden, or mow the lawn, or do laundry, or do just about any other chore than clean the toilet or mop the floor. Sometimes I really focus in on how I am 'failing' at housekeeping and I get really cranky and upset about it.

My dear friend Ashley shared this on her blog a few weeks ago. The message of this poem has been coming into my mind ever since I read it. Ashley shared that this poem was hung on the wall in a frame during her childhood. She said that as she read it as a child it made her feel loved. I want my children to know that they matter more than a clean house.

I also need a good excuse for the dirt in my house :)

Some houses try to hide the fact that children shelter there.

Ours boasts of it quite openly, the signs are everywhere.

For smears are on the windows and little smudges are on the door.

I should apologize, I guess, for toys strewn across the floor.

But I sat down with the children and we played and laughed and read;

and if the doorbell doesn't shine, their eyes will shine instead.

For when at times I'm forced to choose the one job or the other,

I want to be a housewife, but first I'll be a mother.

-Author Unknown

Favorite Toy

2011-06-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite picture of Alexander...him with this current favorite toy...Daddy's phone. He LOVES to see the screen all lit up with bright colors. He has even figured out how to swipe his thumb across it to make things move. He doesn't get much time with it, though, because any moment Jackson isn't using it the other kids are. They each get 20 minutes a day to play on the phone if they have finished practicing their instrument and done their reading for the day.

Sleep Situation

2011-06-29T19:58:00.000-07:00

The sleeping situation in our house has been difficult ever since baby Alexander was born. You see, figuring out how to sleep six people in three bedrooms is a challenge when one of those people is a strong willed three year old and another one of those people is a light sleeping baby.

Thomas and Nicholas have shared a room for a long time. In fact, it seems like they have been in the same room forever. I have a hard time remembering the days when they weren't in the same room. Estella has always had her own room until now.

We started the sleeping arrangements by having Alexander sleep in our closet. That worked fine for everyone except me. I have a hard time getting good deep sleep when I have a child sleeping in my room. Even though he was behind the closed closet door, I didn't sleep well for the months he was sleeping there at night. I am a bit fuzzy now on when we actually moved him out of our closet. He is still sleeping there in a pack and play for naps during the day because that is the quietest room. I don't like telling the kids to be quiet all the time, so it is much easier for all of us if he is back there. After I feed him at 10:00 before I go to sleep, I move him to the crib that is currently in Essie's room.

The real problems started when I decided I couldn't stand to have Alexander in my closet at night anymore. I tried moving his pack and play into the studio (a room off our garage where Jackson teaches cello lessons). That had two drawbacks...(1) it isn't connected to our house, so I can't hear him at all unless I have the monitor set up. I don't mind using the monitor, but I only have one and I need it during the day which means moving both monitors twice a day. (2) It was weird to have a crib sitting in the middle of the room when Jackson was teaching lessons.

When I decided the studio arrangement wasn't working, I moved Essie's mattress onto the floor in the boy's room to see how it would go. It didn't go well. They all took hours longer to get to sleep than usual. It was also damaging the mattress to have it there because the room is so small that in order to move around the room you had to step on the mattress (and jump on it a few times).

One of the three mattresses in that room was smaller than the others, so I put the bunk bed up on blocks and slid a mattress underneath the bed. That worked okay, it was just a lot of work for me because it had to go in at an angle in order to fit and the kids couldn't do it on their own. I put Thomas on the floor mattress, Nicholas on the top bunk, and Essie in the middle. Essie couldn't resist rolling down onto Thomas. After a few weeks of that with no improvements I decided we needed to try something else.

I moved a bed for Thomas into the room with the baby. Thomas is the quietest sleeper and is old enough to know to be quiet. This is when I realized how light of a sleeper Alexander is. He began waking up over and over at night. I think it was when Thomas was rolling over or making slight noises in his sleep. When baby would wake up he would cry and cry and cry, keeping everyone awake. After three or four nights of this I gave up.

Right now we have all three older kids in the same room with Thomas' mattress in the corner, halfway underneath the bunk bed. This way Essie can't see him as much and is more able to settle down for sleep. It is still taking them much longer than I like to settle down and go to sleep. Essie, especially, isn't sleeping enough. She has been falling asleep in the car or on the living room floor some afternoons. She usually does this after throwing a screaming kicking fit. I haven't figured out how to help her, yet. I know she needs more sleep, but I'm not sure the solution. At some point, Alexander will be better able to share a room and I think that will help things. We will just keep shifting things around until we find something that works :)

Cooper's Blessing

2011-06-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

A few more pictures from the weekend of Cooper's blessing.

This is a picture of his "neck cheese." I swear, no matter how many times a day you clean a baby's neck at this age, there is always some sort of smelly gunk hidden in those neck rolls. :)

Paper Bag Game

2011-06-22T20:40:00.000-07:00

After the baby blessing Kara and Cody had a barbeque in their back yard. A lot of Cody's family came and we had a great time. Cody's brother Shane started up "The Paper Bag Game." The rules...stand on one leg and pick up the paper bag using only your teeth. You can't touch the ground with your hands or other foot. After everyone has tried, you cut off a bit of the bag and everyone goes again. It keeps getting shorter and shorter until you are basically eating grass. Quite a few of us are a bit competitive, so it was exciting and very entertaining. So if you are ever at a party and things are feeling a bit dull...pull out a paper bag and a pair of scissors...they will liven things up!

Once again...the pictures are out of sequence. The three of Jackson particularly are much better in sequence. Oh well.

Smores

2011-06-21T20:14:00.000-07:00

About a month ago we went to the Denver area and stayed with my sister and her husband during the weekend that her baby was blessed. My mom and dad and sister Jamie were also there. It is always so much fun to be with family. We don't do anything special...we just enjoy each other. Kara and Cody treated us to smores. Sitting around a fire visiting is one of my favorite things. The smores were pretty good too.

The pictures aren't loading in the order they usually do...what is the deal with that? This picture was supposed to be last. After the fire died down and the sun was fading away Thomas and Estella admired the beautiful clouds with Aunt Jamie.

Pole Climbing

2011-06-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

Thomas is a monkey. He always has been. I am still surprised sometimes, though, at the things he climbs up. This was a football goal post.

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

2011-06-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

Jackson and I got an urge to fly a kite one windless Sunday afternoon. We headed to his parent's house and borrowed his old kite. We took it across the street to the field and did a lot of running trying to keep it in the air. If we ran in the right direction it would fly as long as we didn't stop. It was really fun.

Great Soccer Coach

2011-06-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

These are a few soccer pictures I forgot to include with the others. These are from Nicholas' last soccer practice. Jackson is such a great coach. The kids love him and he does a great job teaching them the skills they need to learn while still making it lots of fun.

Estella can't wait to play. She has such a natural run. It looks so easy and free. I think she is really going to enjoy sports.

Lincoln Logs

2011-06-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from a month ago. It is amazing how fast babies change. When I look at these pictures, Alexander looks so different. The biggest difference is that he now has 4 teeth on the top.

Child Labor

2011-05-27T18:44:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure this would be classified as child labor, but it isn't forced. He wanted to try mowing the lawn and we weren't going to turn down a willing mower! He mowed most of the front lawn, did a great job, and was very excited about getting paid for it.

He had a hard time not leaving strips and tufts of long grass in between rows, but got much better as he went along. We have worked out a deal...$3 for the front lawn with tufts, $4 for the front lawn with just a few tufts, and $5 for the front lawn with no tufts.

Owls

2011-05-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

For our last date, Jackson and I went rollerblading on the river trail. It is a paved trail that follows the river. On our way back we passed a group of people who were all staring up into a tree. We stopped and bladed back to them (it takes us a while to slow down enough to stop :) ). They pointed out a mother owl with three babies. We found some landmarks to help us find the same tree again and planned to bring the kids out to see the owls.

The next Friday we packed a picnic lunch, picked up Jackson from work, and parked ourselves under the owl tree. We spotted one adult and two babies. They were sleepy...this one is giving a big yawn.

The adult wasn't sure if we were worth opening his/her eyes for.
We rummaged around underneath the nest and found bones...
...and a pellet!
We were so excited to find a pellet.
We ate our lunch and compared the owls to a book we had brought to try to figure out what kind of owl they were. We decided they were great horned owls.

This little one woke up a bit and peered down at us intensely.

Once we got home we used toothpicks and tweezers and carefully broke apart the pellet and separated the bones, feathers, and fur onto different plates.

Essie just picked her teeth with the toothpicks :)

We looked at the bones we had and compared the skull to some pictures online. We decided that our owl had eaten a mouse. I lucked out and found a life-size picture of a mouse skeleton. I printed it out and we matched all the bones we could. We weren't sure if we got some of them in the right places, but they looked pretty close to us.

Then, the boys drew pictures of one of the baby owls using one of the pictures we took as a guide. We also happened to have a "Wild America" video that had an episode about owls, so we watched that too. This was by far our favorite home school day yet!

New silly faces

2011-05-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

Berry Family Dinner

2011-05-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

Last week we had the Grand Junction-living Berry clan over for dinner. We love having everyone together. Just a few weeks ago we held a mini-concert at the retirement home Grammy lives in. While Jackson and I were playing some music, Alexander was bouncing and bopping to the beat. Grammy wanted to see him do that again, so she asked Jackson if he would play something for us. He got out two cellos and a guitar and had Julia and Judd join in with him. It was great!

FYI...Judd is a trumpeter not a guitarist. They take a while to get going, so you can skip the first half of the video. I get a bit impatient and tell them to hurry up and start playing...I was worried about Alexander on Grammy's lap. He was getting squirmy and she is quite weak.

Super-baby

2011-05-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

Hat

2011-05-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

The pictures aren't loading in the order that they usually do...hmmm...oh well. I'm not going to fix it.

Grandma Chelle and Bubba went to Hilton Head on vacation and brought back hats for all of the kids. Thomas loves to put his had on Alexander and watch him pull it over his face and struggle to get it off. For future reference, Alexander doesn't actually suck on the binki...he just chews on it and plays with it like a toy.

Berry Cousins 2011

2011-05-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

This year for Mother's Day I put together a wallet-sized accordion book full of pictures of grandchildren for both my mom and Jackson's mom and grandmothers. For the Berry cousins, I had them each choose a hobby to portray in the picture.

Nicholas-ism

2011-05-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

Nicholas..."These grapes are crunchy...INDEED they're crunchy."

If you know Nicholas very well, you can just hear his voice as you read these words. He doesn't talk very loud. So many times I look over and realize that he is in the middle of telling me a big story that I didn't even know I was listening to. He has so much to say, but Thomas and Estella talk so much louder and more insistently than he does that he often goes unheard. So...when I pass by him and he throws out a comment like this, talking to no one in particular, it sends me into a fit of giggles. I still giggle as I remember him saying this. He is so fun to have around!